Channel state feedback for enhanced dynamic spectrum sharing

Abstract

This application relates to devices and components including apparatuses, systems, and methods for configuring or utilizing rate matching patterns and interference measurements.

Description

[0001] Cross-referencing of related patent applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 134,886, filed January 7, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Background Technology

[0003] Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) has been introduced in the 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) framework to share spectrum between LTE and NR cells. The DSS framework allows NR cells to rate match around the LTE reference signal, which would otherwise lead to strong interference and compromise spectrum efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0004] Figure 1 A cellular system is shown based on some aspects.

[0005] Figure 2 A time-frequency resource grid is shown based on several aspects.

[0006] Figure 3 The signaling diagram is shown based on some aspects.

[0007] Figure 4 Another signaling diagram is shown based on some aspects.

[0008] Figure 5 The configuration for reporting channel state information based on several aspects is shown.

[0009] Figure 6 The operational flow / algorithm structure is shown based on some aspects.

[0010] Figure 7 Another operational flow / algorithm structure is shown based on some aspects.

[0011] Figure 8 Another operational flow / algorithm structure is shown based on some aspects.

[0012] Figure 9 The user equipment is shown according to some aspects.

[0013] Figure 10 The gNB is shown according to some aspects. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The following detailed description relates to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, specific details, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth for illustrative and non-limiting purposes to provide a thorough understanding of all aspects of the subject matter. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that all aspects of the subject matter may be practiced in other examples departing from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of the subject matter with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" means (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0015] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0016] As used herein, the term "circuit" means, is part of, or includes: hardware components such as electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or grouped) or memories (shared, dedicated, or grouped), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable system-on-a-chip (SoCs)), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc. In some respects, a circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the functions described. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the functions (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these respects, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0017] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" means, is part of, or includes the following: a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may also refer to an application processor, baseband processor, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit, single-core processor, dual-core processor, triple-core processor, quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional procedures).

[0018] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" can refer to one or more hardware interfaces; for example, a bus, I / O interface, peripheral component interface, network interface card, etc.

[0019] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to equipment of a remote user that has radio communication capabilities and can describe network resources in a communication network. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can be considered synonymous and can be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Additionally, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can include any type of wireless / wired equipment or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0020] As used herein, the term "computer system" means any type of interconnected electronic device, computer device, or component thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to the various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing resources or network resources.

[0021] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to physical or virtual devices, physical or virtual components within a computing environment, or physical or virtual components within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power supply, input / output operations, port or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, databases and applications, units of workload, etc. "Hardware resource" can refer to computing, storage, or networking resources provided by physical hardware components. "Virtualized resource" can refer to computing, storage, or networking resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The terms "network resource" or "communication resource" can refer to resources that computer equipment / systems can access via a communication network. The term "system resource" can refer to any kind of shared entity providing services and can include computing or network resources. System resources can be considered as a coherent set of functions, network data objects, or services accessible through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

[0022] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium used for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices used for transmitting and receiving information.

[0023] As used in this article, the terms "instantiate" and "instantiate" refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to the concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0024] The term "connection" can mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0025] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as networked computers, network hardware, network equipment, network nodes, virtualized network functions, etc.

[0026] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual content of an information element, or the data element that contains that content. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0027] Figure 1 A cellular system 100 is illustrated according to some aspects. Cellular system 100 may include multiple user equipment (UEs), such as UEs 104A and 104B, and base stations 108A, 108B, and 108C. Base station 108 may provide multiple radio serving cells, such as 3GPP NR cells and LTE cells, to provide radio access to UE 104.

[0028] UE 104 and base station 108 can communicate via an air interface compatible with 3GPP technical specifications such as those defining LTE or NR radio access technologies. Base station 108 may include an evolved Node B (eNB) coupled to an evolved Packet Core (EPC) network or a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) node coupled to a 5G core network. The NG-RAN node may be a gNB providing NR user plane and control plane protocol termination to UE 104, or an ng-eNB providing Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol termination to UE 104.

[0029] Each base station 108 may include one or more transmit-receive points (TRPs) to provide radio resource control (RRC) connectivity for a specific area covering 120°. As shown, base station 108A may include TRP0_0, TRP0_1, and TRP0_2; base station 108B may include TRP1_0, TRP1_1, and TRP1_2; and base station 108C may include TRP2_0, TRP2_1, and TRP2_2. Each area can be considered its own serving cell. In some aspects, each area may also include serving cells for different radio access technologies (RATs). For example, each area may include NR serving cells provided by NR base stations / TRPs (or generally, gNBs) and LTE serving cells provided by LTE base stations / TRPs (or generally, eNBs).

[0030] The performance of a cellular system can be driven by two key performance indicators (KPIs): signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), which can be combined to form signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). These KPIs can affect system performance differently depending on the UE's location relative to its connected TRP. For example, consider UE 104A and UE 104B, both connected to an NR cell provided by base station 108C. UE 104A may experience near-cell conditions where both signal levels (from the gNB) and interference (from the eNB) are high, while noise levels (which can depend primarily on thermal noise and other noise sources independent of the UE's location within the cell) are low. Therefore, the SNR can be much higher than the SIR. Under near-cell conditions, the spectral efficiency of an NR cell can be limited by interference from LTE cells unless we avoid using resource elements with high interference. In this case, DSS can provide greater gain.

[0031] Far from base station 108C, UE 104B may experience far-cell conditions where signal levels are low (e.g., SNR ~ SIR ~ 0dB) within the range of interference and noise levels. In this case, all resource elements (REs) in the time-frequency resource grid can support relatively similar low spectral efficiency across all REs.

[0032] As illustrated by near-cell and far-cell conditions, spectral efficiency can be highly dependent on SIR.

[0033] Figure 2A time-frequency resource grid 200 is illustrated based on several aspects. This resource grid 200 can be divided into multiple subcarriers in the frequency domain and multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in the time domain. As shown, the resource grid 200 includes 12 subcarriers and 14 OFDM symbols; however, this does not limit other aspects. A RE can be defined as one subcarrier and one OFDM symbol.

[0034] Resource grid 200 illustrates the patterns of cell-specific reference signals (CRS) transmitted in an LTE serving cell. For example, resource grid 200 illustrates LTE CRS 204 transmitted in partitions associated with TRP0_2, TRP1_2, and TRP2_2; LTE CRS 208 transmitted in partitions associated with TRP0_0, TRP1_0, and TRP2_0; and LTE CRS 212 transmitted in partitions associated with TRP0_1, TRP1_1, and TRP2_1.

[0035] To estimate the supported spectral efficiency, the gNB can configure channel state reports to the UE by configuring Interference Measurement Resources (IMR). Resource grid 200 illustrates NR IMR 216 with 2x2 RE shapes and 4x1 RE shapes in the frequency / time direction. These NR IMR patterns may not allow for accurate estimation of interference caused by neighboring LTE cells. This may prevent the determination of which REs should be rate matched around via DSS.

[0036] The desired DSS rate matching can be a function of the UE's ability to accurately and precisely identify LTE interference and, if possible, mitigate it through methods such as interference cancellation. The desired DSS rate matching can also be a function of the gNB's ability to set appropriate rate matching modes for REs that are objects of LTE interference that cannot be effectively mitigated or eliminated at the UE. Therefore, aspects describing IMR and rate matching mode configuration and selection, along with related signaling, to improve DSS operation and enhance overall system performance.

[0037] In some aspects, multiple new configurations can be defined to facilitate DSS operation. For example, new CSIIMR, CSI resource configurations, and reporting volumes can be defined in various aspects.

[0038] The new CSI IMR can be configured to have a pattern that matches the pattern of potential interference with the LTE reference signal. For example, the CSI IMR pattern can correspond to the LTE CRS by having frequency intervals of three, six, or multiples thereof to allow downsampling at the UE side. Additionally, the network can provide the UE with additional information for reconstructing the LTE reference signal. This enables the UE to perform interference cancellation (if the UE supports this operation). The additional information may include, but is not limited to, the cell ID, the initialization seed for the scrambling sequence, etc.

[0039] The new CSI resource configuration (e.g., CSI-ResourceConfig) allows the network to map IMRs from different potentially interfering cells and map them to the reporting configuration. As will be described, this allows base station 108 to flexibly select the IMR pattern that most closely matches the real-time interference that UE 104 may experience at a given location within the cell and in the vicinity of neighboring cells.

[0040] The new reporting quantity may include a Layer 1 (L1) metric, which includes the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) corresponding to the configured neighboring cells. In some aspects, the L1 metric may be referred to as L1 Neighboring Cell (NC) RSRP (L1-nc-RSRP).

[0041] UE 104 can use a new configuration to measure interference from different interfering LTE cells and provide the network with an indication of the energy from neighboring cells. The gNB can use the reported information, such as L1-nc-RSRP, to configure rate matching for DSS. In this way, a clear view of the interference level can be provided to the serving gNB without requiring the UE to perform inter-RAT measurements using the LTE modem. This allows single-mode 5G modems to still perform DSS well when camped in NR cells sharing spectrum with LTE cells.

[0042] Figure 3 Signaling diagram 300 is shown according to some aspects. Signaling diagram 300 describes the operation and signaling between UE 304 and gNB 308. UE 304 may be similar to UE 104 and is substantially interchangeable with it. gNB 308 may be similar to base station 108 and is substantially interchangeable with it.

[0043] At 312, gNB 308 can be configured with multiple information elements (IEs) to facilitate the measurement of IMR corresponding to the LTE reference signal.

[0044] In some aspects, the gNB 308 can be configured with multiple IMR LTEs. IMR LTEs may include REs mapped to specific LTE reference signals. For example, in some aspects, IMR LTEs may be configured for one or more of the always-on signals for an LTE cell, including, for example, CRS, primary synchronization signal (PSS) / secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0045] IMR LTE can be configured via the CSI IMR (CSI-IM-Resource) Information Element (IE) as follows.

[0046]

[0047]

[0048] The CSI-IM-Resource IE may include a CSI-IM-resource identifier (ID) field, a resource element mode with corresponding parameters, a frequency band indicating the frequency occupancy of the CSI-IM, or a periodicity and offset field indicating the periodicity and slot offset of periodic or semi-persistent CSI-IM. The mode field may include the corresponding subcarrier and symbol positions for the respective mode. Generally, mode 0 may correspond to a 2×2RE mode, mode 1 may correspond to a 4×1RE mode, and modes 2-n may correspondingly correspond to the modes of the LTE reference signal. In addition to the subcarrier and symbol positions, modes 2-n may include a density field that allows downsampling across time slots.

[0049] In some respects, another pattern can be added with reference to RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS IE (which may be similar to that described below). Where the center frequency (e.g., DC carrier), bandwidth, and periodicity are already provided in a given RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS IE, it is not necessary to include parameters such as the frequency band or periodicity and offset parameters shown in the IE above.

[0050] The gNB 308 can configure resource sets, each with a set of IMR-LTEs that can be associated with the same cell. For example, a first LTE cell may include three LTE reference signals, LTE1, LTE2, and LTE3, against which interference measurements for NR cells are desired. The gNB 308 can then configure a CSI IMR set (using the CSI-IM-ResourceSet IE), which includes references to the CSI IMRs corresponding to the three LTE reference signals (e.g., three CSI-IM-ResourceIDs). The CSI-IM-ResourceSet IE may also include set-specific parameters.

[0051] The gNB 308 can be further configured with CSI-Resource settings (using the CSI-ResourceConfig IE) to define a set of CSI IMR collections. The CSI-ResourceConfig IE can include a list of CSI IMR collections (CSI-IM-ResourceSetList) for the relevant resource sets.

[0052] At 316, gNB 308 can configure a CSI report (using CSI-ReportConfig IE) to indicate to UE 304 a specific selection of REs that may be interfered with by LTE reference signals. CSI-ReportConfigIE can be used to configure periodic / semi-persistent / aperiodic reports that reference the identity of a CSI-ResourceConfig providing the desired IMR LTE configuration. In some instances, the report may include a combination of periodic resources (e.g., IMRs for measuring LTE interference) and periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic resources from the NR. For example, the report may include periodic resources (e.g., IMRs) and aperiodic resources (e.g., Channel Measurement Resources (CMRs)).

[0053] Referring to the layout of cellular system 100, gNB 308 can determine that UE 304 is also close to the LTE cell corresponding to TR0_2 when connecting to the NR cell provided by TRP2_0. Therefore, gNB 308 can be configured with a CSI report for CSI-ResourceConfig, which includes a first CSI IMR set corresponding to TRP 2_0 (including, for example, IMRLTE corresponding to LTE CRS 208) and a second CSI IMR set corresponding to TR0_2 (including, for example, IMRLTE corresponding to LTE CRS 204). In this case, UE 304 may not be near the partition provided by TRP2_1, so LTE CRS 212 may be disregarded.

[0054] CSI-ReportConfigIE may include a reporting quantity that identifies the CSI-related quantities to be reported. In some aspects, a new reporting quantity may be used to instruct UE 304 to perform Layer 1 RSRP measurements on configured neighboring cells. This reporting quantity may also be referred to as L1-nc-RSRP.

[0055] Unless otherwise stated herein, the parameters of CSI-IM-Resource, CSI-IM-ResourceSet, CSI-ResourceConfig, and CSI-ReportConfig IE may be similar to those described in section 6.3.2 of 3GPP TS 38.331v16.2.0 (2020-09).

[0056] At 320, gNB 308 can transmit a configuration IE to UE 304 to implement these configurations. It can be noted that the configuration IE may be transmitted to UE 304 in multiple different configuration messages and at different times. In some respects, the configuration IE may be transmitted via RRC signaling and may be part of a Radio Resource Management (RRM) procedure.

[0057] In some aspects, gNB 308 may further provide UE 304 with additional side information at 320 that UE 304 can use to reconstruct interfering signals. For example, the additional side information may allow UE 304 to adequately estimate the channel / time / frequency offset of neighboring cells to reconstruct the LTE reference signal and reduce interference associated with the desired NR signal. By providing this additional information, UE 304 does not need to blindly and directly detect broadcast system information from LTE cells, which would require additional time and platform resources (e.g., LTE modem).

[0058] At position 324, UE 304 can perform L1 RSRP measurements on IMR LTE configured via CSI-ReportConfig IE. In this way, UE 304 can estimate the interference caused by the corresponding LTE reference signal. If UE 304 can eliminate or mitigate any interference on IMR LTE, the L1 RSRP measurement can reflect this reduction in interference.

[0059] At 328, UE 304 can transmit a CSI report, including L1 RSRP measurements, configured via CSI-ReportConfig to gNB 308.

[0060] At position 332, the gNB can estimate the SIR based on the L1 RSRP measurement received from UE 304 to derive the desired rate matching mode and PDSCH parameters. In this way, the gNB 308 can have visibility into resource elements that are truly impaired by LTE reference signals in neighboring cells. Therefore, the gNB 308 can select a rate matching mode that partially or completely avoids impaired resource elements.

[0061] At 336, gNB 308 can transmit PDCCH / PDSCH. The PDCCH can provide an indication of one or more selected rate matching modes and can schedule the PDSCH. Alternatively, the selected one or more rate matching modes can be provided independently of scheduling the PDCCH.

[0062] Figure 4 Signaling diagram 400 is shown according to some aspects. Signaling diagram 400 describes the operation and signaling between UE 404 and gNB 408. UE 404 may be similar to UE 104 and is substantially interchangeable with it. gNB 408 may be similar to base station 108 and is substantially interchangeable with it.

[0063] The gNB 408 can be similar to the one mentioned above. Figure 3 The described method configures resources at 412, configures reports at 416, and sends the configuration to UE 404 at 420. However, in this respect, the CSI-ReportConfig IE may include new reporting quantities to instruct UE 404 to provide a Rate Matching Indicator (RMI). For example, the reporting quantity may be an rmi-cri-ri-li-pmi-cqi reporting quantity that, in addition to requesting the RMI, may request an additional Channel State Feedback (CSF) metric, such as, but not limited to, a CSI-RS Resource Indicator (CRI), Rank Indicator (RI), Layer Indicator (LI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), or Channel Quality Information (CQI).

[0064] At 424, the UE can measure the IMR LTE to estimate interference from different interfering LTE cells (and, if possible, eliminate or mitigate the interference) and select a preferred rate matching configuration, for example, to achieve the desired spectral efficiency. The preferred rate matching configuration can be indicated by an RMI, which can be a bitmask of resource elements that instructs the UE 404 to recommend rate matching for subsequent PDSCHs.

[0065] Other CSF metrics can be determined based on the assumption that a preferred rate-matching configuration is selected.

[0066] At 428, UE 404 transmits a CSI report to gNB 408. At 432, gNB 408 can use the reported CSF metrics (including RMI) to derive the remaining portion of the rate matching mode and PDSCH parameters. In some aspects, gNB 408 can use RMI information to dynamically configure the zero-power reference signal such that resource elements are subject to LTE reference signal interference, and that the interference of these resource elements cannot be sufficiently reduced, and / or are not used for PDSCH scheduling. In some aspects, gNB 408 can use signaling based on Media Access Control (MAC) or Downlink Control Information (DCI) to dynamically configure the zero-power reference signal.

[0067] Given that a given UE 404 has visibility into how interference from different LTE cells can combine at its location and has an understanding of its expected demodulation performance, a UE 404 with a preferred rate-matching configuration can increase the spectral efficiency provided by the DSS.

[0068] In some respects, UE 104 may determine the preferred rate matching configuration (e.g., RMI) as follows.

[0069] Generally speaking, a network can be configured with multiple resources, and UE 104 can establish multiple assumptions to estimate which combination of interference sources and rate matching modes results in the highest throughput.

[0070] Figure 5 A CSI-Report Config 500 according to some implementation schemes is shown. In this aspect, the network configures the CSI-Report Config 500 to have a desired signal (Non-Zero Power (NZP) 504), an IMR (IMR 508), and three IMR-LTE resources (IMR-LTE0 512, IMR-LTE1 516, and IMR-LTE2 520). The following assumptions can be estimated.

[0071] In the first assumption, rmi = 0. For example, none of the interfering cells are rate-matched. Under this assumption, spectral efficiency can be a function of the following four ratios: NZP / LTE0; NZP / LTE1; NZP / LTE2; and NZP / IMR. The first three of these ratios can be considered as SIR, while the last ratio can be considered as SNR, as it describes the general noise reflected by the IMR.

[0072] In the second assumption, rmi = 1. For example, only LTE0 is rate matched. In this assumption, the spectral efficiency can be a function of the following three ratios: NZP / LTE1, NZP / LTE2, and NZP / IMR. Since the PDSCH will be rate matched around resource elements that will experience interference from LTE0, NZP / LTE0 need not be considered.

[0073] In the third assumption, rmi = 2. For example, only LTE1 is rate matched. In this assumption, the spectral efficiency can be a function of the following three ratios: NZP / LTE0; NZP / LTE2; and NZP / IMR. Since the PDSCH will be rate matched around resource elements that will experience interference from LTE1, NZP / LTE1 need not be considered.

[0074] In the third assumption, rmi = 3. For example, LTE0 and LTE1 are rate matched. In this assumption, the spectral efficiency can be a function of two ratios: NZP / LTE2 and NZP / IMR. Since the PDSCH will be rate matched around resource elements that will experience interference from LTE0 and LTE1, NZP / LTE0 or NZP / LTE1 need not be considered.

[0075] Additional assumptions may also be considered.

[0076] In some respects, a weighted metric can be used to estimate spectral efficiency, which combines different SIR estimates of the number of resource elements known to skip rate matches. The spectral efficiency for a given rmi can be provided as follows:

[0077]

[0078] Where sum(w) n ) = 1 and This represents the logical negation of x.

[0079] In this equation, w i (rmi) represents the percentage of total REs with interference estimated by the associated IMR. For example, w0(rmi) is the percentage of total available REs with interference estimated from IMR LTE0 (interference caused by LTE0). The SE(NZP,IMR…) component represents the spectral efficiency as a function of the SIR ratio. This can be calculated on an RE-by-RE basis.

[0080] The component description specifies the resource elements that will be excluded from consideration for a given RMI. For example, for rmi=2, the first and third rows... The expression will return 1, while the second line... This will result in 0, which effectively removes the row that considers LTE1 interference from the SE calculation, since when rmi=2, the signal will be rate matched around LTE1.

[0081] UE 304 can then choose to provide the RMI with the highest relative spectral efficiency, for example,

[0082] 3GPP Releases 15 and 16 provide up to six LTE CRS modes for rate matching of the PDSCH of NR cells around the LTE CRS at the RE level. These LTE CRS modes are configured per NR component carrier (CC) due to the maximum bandwidth difference between LTE and NR and multiple TRP operations (e.g., three per TRP to account for up to 100 Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) in LTE and up to 275 PRBs and up to two TRPs in NR).

[0083] As mentioned above, six rate matching modes may not provide sufficient flexibility to account for multiple adjacent LTE cells, rather than just one LTE cell overlapping with an NR cell within the coverage area. Therefore, in some aspects, the gNB may be allowed to configure more than six LTE CRS modes for rate matching per NR serving cell. In some aspects, 18 rate matching modes may be configured; however, other aspects may include other numbers. Providing additional rate matching modes allows the gNB to more effectively perform rate matching around the LTE reference signal transmitted in adjacent cells. This can be particularly beneficial for UEs located at cell boundaries.

[0084] In some aspects, the gNB can use the RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS (IE) to configure a rate-matching pattern around the LTE CRS. This IE, which can be transmitted to the UE via RRC signaling, may include: the center frequency of the LTE carrier; the bandwidth of the LTE carrier in terms of the number of PRBs; the LTE Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframe configuration; the number of LTE CRS antenna ports used for rate matching; and the offset value v-shift in the LTE used for rate matching around the LTE CRS.

[0085] The rateRateMatchPatternLTE-CRS IE can be set as follows:

[0086]

[0087] In addition to what is noted herein, rateRateMatchPatternLTE-CRS IE may be similar to that described in section 6.3.2 of 3GPP TS 38.331.

[0088] DC carriers (e.g., subcarrier 0) can be handled differently in LTE and NR. In LTE, the DL DC carrier is punctured, while in NR it is treated as a normal subcarrier. Therefore, when we overlay the LTE resource grid and the NR resource grid, from the NR perspective, when the LTE CRS starts across the DC subcarrier, the LTE CRS occurrence may skip one subcarrier, and the LTE CRS may not have a uniform spacing around the LTE DC subcarrier (e.g., every three REs). For CRS, the DC (or the center of the LTE CC) is configured as described above. Therefore, there is no ambiguity for the UE. Therefore, there are two options for how to configure / match the LTE CRS mode using CSI-IM. In the first option, the gNB can split an LTE CRS into two CSI-IM resources, for example, one to the left of the LTE DC and one to the right of the LTE DC. In the second option, the LTE CRS mode can be configured using the LTE CRS mode itself. For example, the LTE CRS mode can be included as a mode in the CSI-IM-Resource element. The LTE CRS mode can be included by directly incorporating it into the CSI-IM resource element or by referencing it using an index, such as the LTE CRS mode index.

[0089] In some aspects, one or more rate matching modes in the additional rate matching modes may include a DC carrier. For example, a rate matching mode may allow the transmission of resource elements using subcarrier 0, which, as noted above, is not available for data transmission in LTE.

[0090] In some aspects, based on the UE-enhanced CSI report, the gNB can dynamically acquire information about whether the UE can perform interference cancellation regarding LTE CRS or to what level the UE can perform interference cancellation regarding LTE CRS. Therefore, the gNB can dynamically activate or deactivate one or more RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS. In some aspects, activation / deactivation can be achieved by the gNB transmitting control signals via MAC-CE or DCI.

[0091] For example, consider that the gNB initially configures ten RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS for a given NR serving cell. As mentioned above, this can be done by transmitting one or more IEs to the UE via RRC signals. At a later time, the UE can transmit a CSI report to the gNB with L1-nc-RSRP values, which provide an indication (or a basis for determining) of resource elements on which interference cannot be adequately mitigated. The gNB can then determine which combination of the ten configured RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS provides the desired spectral efficiency. If it is determined that the first three modes should be activated (e.g., the three modes with the lowest ID numbers) and the last seven modes should be deactivated, the gNB can transmit appropriate control signals, for example, via a bitmap {11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0}. The UE can then determine the resource elements around which rate matching for the PDSCH is performed based on the set of activated RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS. The gNB will not rate match the PDSCH around the resource elements indicated by the deactivated RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS pattern. In some respects, the UE may use the activated / deactivated RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS to assist in performing LTE CRS cancellation.

[0092] The NR PDCCH is configured by a control resource set (CORESET) that sets the frequency and number of symbols for the control channel. The search space associated with the CORESET configures the timing of the control channel, such as periodicity and offset. In 3GPP Releases 15 and 16, NR PDCCHs are rate-matched around LTE CRS at the symbol level. For example, NR PDCCHs cannot be configured in symbols that time-overlap with symbols carrying LTE CRS.

[0093] LTE CRS is a dense signal consisting of four symbols per time slot for one-port or two-port CRS and six symbols per time slot for four-port CRS. This significantly reduces the number of symbols available for NR CORESET.

[0094] In some aspects, the gNB may be allowed to configure NRPDCCH in symbols that conflict with symbols including LTE CRS. This may be limited to situations where the UE is able to receive NR PDCCH in the presence of interfering LTE CRS. For example, if the UE can eliminate or sufficiently mitigate the interference caused by LTE CRS (which can be enabled by the gNB providing the additional information as described above), it can properly receive NR PDCCH that would otherwise conflict with LTE CRS. In some aspects, the UE may provide an indication that it is able to receive such NR PDCCH, and the gNB may schedule NR PDCCH only in symbols that overlap with LTE CRS symbols for UEs that are signaling their ability to receive such signals.

[0095] In some aspects, the gNB can dynamically indicate whether an NR PDCCH might conflict with an LTE CRS (e.g., be scheduled in a symbol overlapping with an LTE CRS) based on CSI feedback and capability reports from the UE. This dynamic indication can be made through any combination of RRC, MAC CE, or DCI signaling. When an NR PDCCH conflicts with an LTE CRS, if the gNB has provided a dynamic indication to enable such conflict, the UE can monitor the corresponding NR PDCCH candidate. If the gNB has not yet enabled conflict, the UE can choose not to monitor the corresponding PDCCH candidate.

[0096] Figure 6 An operational flow / algorithm structure 600 is illustrated based on some aspects. The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may be executed or implemented by a base station such as, for example, base station 108, gNB 308, 408 or 1000; or by components such as baseband processor 1004A.

[0097] The operation flow / algorithm structure 600 may include, at 604, transmitting one or more messages to configure interference measurements based on CSI IMR corresponding to the LTE reference signal. In some aspects, the one or more messages may be RRC messages for configuring various measurement objects and reports. For example, the one or more RRC messages may configure IEs, such as CSI-IM-Resources, CSI-IM-ResourceSet, CSI-ResourceConfig, or CSI-ReportConfig as described herein.

[0098] In some aspects, one or more messages transmitted at 604 may also include additional side information that enables the receiving UE to reconstruct interfering LTE reference signals. This allows the UE to reduce interference caused by such signals.

[0099] The operation procedure / algorithm structure 600 may also include, at 608, receiving an indication of the NC-RSRP value. The NC-RSRP value may represent the measurement performed by the UE on the CSI IMR corresponding to the interfering LTE reference signal. In some aspects, the NC-RSRP value may reflect the UE's ability to reduce interference caused by the LTE reference signal by reconstructing the LTE reference signal using additional side information provided by the base station.

[0100] While each aspect describes UE feedback including the NC-RSRP value, other aspects may include other measurements such as, but not limited to, the Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value.

[0101] The operation procedure / algorithm structure 600 may also include, at 612, selecting the rate matching mode based on the NC-RSRP value. In some aspects, the gNB may have previously configured multiple rate matching modes for the UE. Then, at 612, the gNB can select which combinations of rate matching modes provide the desired spectral efficiency.

[0102] In some respects, gNB can estimate the SIR of individual resource elements based on NC-RSRP values. These SIRs can be used to select the desired rate matching pattern.

[0103] The operation flow / algorithm structure 600 may also include, at 616, scheduling PDSCH transmissions based on rate matching modes. The gNB can schedule PDSCH transmissions by transmitting PDCCH to the UE. The gNB may also provide an indication of the selected rate matching mode in the PDCCH or separately.

[0104] Figure 7 An operation flow / algorithm structure 700 is shown according to some aspects. The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 can be executed or implemented by a UE such as, for example, UE 104, 304, 404 or 900; or by its components such as baseband processor 904A.

[0105] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include receiving one or more messages at 704 to configure the CSI IMR. Similar to the above, the CSI IMR may correspond to a potential interfering LTE reference signal. In some aspects, multiple CSI IMRs corresponding to multiple potential interfering LTE reference signals (from one or more neighboring LTE cells) may be received at 704. The UE may receive one or more RRC configuration (or reconfiguration) messages to configure the CSI IMR.

[0106] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include, at 708, measuring multiple resource elements based on CSI IMR. The UE may measure the energy on the resource elements indicated by the CSI IMR to determine signal quality metrics, such as, but not limited to, RSRP. In some aspects, the UE may further determine the SIR of the resource element as a ratio to the interfering signal based on information corresponding to the desired signal (e.g., an NZP signal) as the measured RSRP. In some aspects, the measured RSRP may be reduced to a degree achievable by the UE's receiver in eliminating or mitigating interference from the LTE reference cell.

[0107] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include, at 712, selecting a rate matching mode from multiple rate matching modes. In some aspects, the multiple rate matching modes available for selection may have been pre-configured by the gNB. The UE may determine which combinations of rate matching modes increase the spectral efficiency as a function of the SIR, a resource element. In some aspects, the available RMI may correspond to the permissible combinations of rate matching modes. The UE may then cycle through the available RMIs to select the desired RMI.

[0108] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include at 716 a report including an RMI corresponding to the selected rate matching mode (or combination of modes).

[0109] In some respects, the report may include an RMI and one or more additional CSF measures, such as, but not limited to, CRI, RI, PMI, or CQI. These additional CSF measures may be based on the selected RMI.

[0110] Figure 8 An operational flow / algorithm structure 800 is shown according to some aspects. The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 can be executed or implemented by a gNB such as, for example, base station 108, gNB 308, gNB 408 or gNB 1000; or by components such as baseband processor 1004A.

[0111] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include, at 804, configuring multiple rate matching modes for the UE. In some aspects, the gNB may transmit one or more RRC signals to configure the rate matching mode. For example, the gNB may transmit one or more RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS IEs to configure the corresponding rate matching mode.

[0112] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may also include, at 808, receiving an indication regarding whether the UE can eliminate or mitigate LTE reference signal interference. This indication may be received independently of, as part of, or together with a requested feedback regarding measurements of the configured CSI IMR.

[0113] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may also include, at 812, activating one or more rate matching modes in the rate matching modes based on this indication. The gNB can determine which rate matching modes should be activated based on UE feedback. The UE feedback may indicate the requested rate matching mode or a measurement (RSRP measurement). If the feedback is based on a measurement, the gNB can estimate the SIR based on the measurement and determine which rate matching modes provide the desired spectral efficiency.

[0114] In some respects, the indication of which rate matching mode should be activated can be transmitted via MAC CE or DCI. For example, activation signaling can refer to previously configured rate matching modes and the indication of whether they should be activated or deactivated.

[0115] Figure 9 UE 900 is shown according to some aspects. UE 900 may be similar to UE 104, 304 or 404 and is substantially interchangeable with them.

[0116] UE 900 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, mobile phones, computers, tablets, industrial wireless sensors (e.g., microphones, carbon dioxide sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, thermometers, motion sensors, accelerometers, laser scanners, fluid level sensors, stock sensors, voltmeters / ammeters, actuators, etc.), video surveillance / monitoring devices (e.g., cameras, camcorders, etc.), wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches), and loosely coupled IoT devices.

[0117] UE 900 may include a processor 904, RF interface circuitry 908, memory / storage device 912, user interface 916, sensor 920, drive circuitry 922, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 924, antenna structure 926, and battery 928. Components of UE 900 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 9 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 900. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other specific implementations.

[0118] The components of UE 900 can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 932, which can represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connector, etc., allowing various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0119] Processor 904 may include processor circuitry such as baseband processor circuitry (BB) 904A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 904B, and graphics processing unit circuitry (GPU) 904C. Processor 904 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage device 912) to cause UE 900 to perform the operations described herein.

[0120] In some aspects, the baseband processor circuit 904A can access the communication protocol stack 936 in the memory / storage device 912 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor circuit 904A can access the communication protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, and PDU layers; and control plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and non-access layers. In some aspects, PHY layer operations may additionally / optionally be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 908.

[0121] The baseband processor circuit 904A can generate or process baseband signals or waveforms carrying information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some aspects, the waveforms used for NR can be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (“CP-OFDM”) in the uplink or downlink, and Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (“DFT-S-OFDM”) in the uplink.

[0122] The memory / storage device 912 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, including instructions (e.g., a communication protocol stack 936) that can be executed by one or more processors in processor 904 to cause UE 900 to perform the various operations described herein. The memory / storage device 912 may also store CSI IMR, reporting, and rate mode configuration information as described elsewhere.

[0123] The memory / storage device 912 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout the UE 900. In some aspects, some of the memory / storage devices 912 may be located on the processor 904 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage devices 912 may be located external to the processor 904 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage device 912 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0124] The RF interface circuitry 908 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 900 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. The RF interface circuitry 908 may include various components arranged in the transmit or receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, control circuitry, etc.

[0125] In the receiving path, the RFEM can receive the radiated signal from the air interface via antenna structure 926 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). This signal can be provided to the receiver of the transceiver, which downconverts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 904.

[0126] In the transmission path, the transceiver's transmitter upconverts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM amplifies the RF signal using a power amplifier before it is radiated across the air interface via antenna 926.

[0127] In various aspects, the RF interface circuit 908 can be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0128] Antenna 926 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and to convert received radio waves back into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged in one or more antenna panels. Antenna 926 may have omnidirectional, directional, or combinations thereof antenna panels to enable beamforming and multiple-input multiple-output communication. Antenna 926 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, etc. Antenna 926 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band included in FR1 or FR2.

[0129] User interface circuitry 916 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable users to interact with UE 900. User interface 916 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, particularly including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators such as light-emitting diodes "LEDs") and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., liquid crystal displays "LCDs", LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), wherein the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by the operation of UE 900.

[0130] Sensor 920 may include devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in their environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to other devices, modules, subsystems, etc. Examples of such sensors include, in particular: inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) including triaxial accelerometers, triaxial gyroscopes, or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless aperture sensors); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors, etc.); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other similar audio capture devices; etc.

[0131] The driving circuitry 922 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 900. The driving circuitry 922 may include various drivers that allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may exist within or be connected to the UE 900. For example, the driving circuitry 922 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device; a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface; a sensor driver for acquiring sensor readings from sensor circuitry 920 and controlling and allowing access to sensor circuitry 920; a driver for acquiring actuator positions of electromechanical components or controlling and allowing access to electromechanical components; a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device; and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0132] The PMIC 924 manages the power supplied to various components of the UE 900. Specifically, relative to the processor 904, the PMIC 924 controls power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0133] Battery 928 can power UE 900, but in some examples, UE 900 may be mounted in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the mains. Battery 928 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, battery 928 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0134] Figure 10 The gNB 1000 is shown according to some aspects. The gNB node 1000 may be similar to the base station 108, gNB 308 or gNB 408, and is basically interchangeable with them.

[0135] The gNB 1000 may include a processor 1004, an RF interface circuit 1008, a core network (CN) interface circuit 1012, a memory / storage device circuit 1016, and an antenna structure 1026.

[0136] The gNB 1000 components can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1028.

[0137] The processor 1004, RF interface circuit 1008, memory / storage device circuit 1016 (including communication protocol stack 1010), antenna structure 1026, and interconnect 1028 can be similar to those described above. Figure 9 Similar named elements are shown and described.

[0138] The CN interface circuit 1012 can provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5G core network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol (such as Carrier Ethernet) or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to / from the gNB 1000 via fiber optic or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 1012 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 1012 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0139] In some aspects, the gNB 1000 can be coupled to a TRP such as TRP 102 or 106 using antenna structure 1026, CN interface circuit 1012 or other interface circuits.

[0140] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0141] For one or more aspects, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0142] Example

[0143] Further exemplary aspects are provided in the following sections.

[0144] Example 1 includes a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: transmitting one or more messages to a user equipment (UE) in a new radio (NR) cell to configure interference measurement based on channel state information (CSI) interference measurement resources (IMR) corresponding to a long-term evolution (LTE) reference signal; receiving from the UE an indication of one or more neighboring cell (NC)-reference signal received power (RSRP) values ​​corresponding to the CSI IMR; selecting a rate matching mode based on the one or more NC-RSRP values; and scheduling physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission based on the rate matching mode.

[0145] Example 2 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein transmitting the one or more messages includes: providing a CSI Resource Information Element (IE) for configuring the CSI IMR for measurement; and providing a CSI Report IE that references the CSI Resource IE to configure a report based on the CSI IMR.

[0146] Example 3 includes the method according to Example 2 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the CSI resource IE is used to configure a set of CSI IMRs, the set of CSI IMRs having a plurality of CSI IMRs including the CSI IMR, wherein each of the plurality of CSI IMRs corresponds to a corresponding LTE reference signal.

[0147] Example 4 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other example herein, and further includes: transmitting to the UE information for reconstructing the reference signal, wherein the information includes a cell identifier of the LTE cell transmitting the LTE reference signal or an initialization seed for a scrambling sequence for the LTE reference signal.

[0148] Example 5 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other example herein, further comprising: estimating the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of one or more resource elements based on the one or more NC-RSRP values; and generating the rate matching pattern based on the SIR of the one or more resource elements.

[0149] Example 6 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other examples herein, wherein the NC-RSRP value is a Layer 1 value.

[0150] Example 7 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: configuring the UE with a plurality of rate matching modes for the NR cell, wherein the plurality is a number greater than six; selecting one or more rate matching modes from the plurality of rate matching modes, including the rate matching mode; and transmitting to the UE an indication of the selected one or more rate matching modes.

[0151] Example 8 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the one or more messages are used to configure two CSI IMRs to correspond to the LTE reference signal and to indicate a DC carrier that is punctured relative to the LTE reference signal; or to configure the CSI IMR by including an LTE cell reference signal (CRS) mode information element corresponding to the LTE reference signal.

[0152] Example 9 includes a method of operating user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving one or more messages from a gNB to configure interference measurement based on channel state information (CSI) interference measurement resources (IMR) corresponding to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) reference signal; measuring a plurality of resource elements based on the CSI IMR; selecting one or more rate matching modes from a plurality of rate matching modes based on the measurement of the plurality of resource elements; and transmitting a report to the gNB including a rate matching indicator (RMI) corresponding to the one or more rate matching modes.

[0153] Example 10 includes the method according to Example 9 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the one or more messages are used to provide: a CSI Resource Information Element (IE) for configuring the CSI IMR; and a CSI Report IE for configuring a report based on the CSI IMR by referring to the CSI Resource IE.

[0154] Example 11 includes the method according to Example 11 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the CSI resource IE is used to configure a set of CSI IMRs having a plurality of CSI IMRs including the CSI IMR, wherein each of the plurality of CSI IMRs corresponds to a corresponding LTE reference signal.

[0155] Example 12 includes the method according to Example 9 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: receiving additional information from the gNB, the additional information including a cell identifier of the LTE cell transmitting the LTE reference signal or an initialization seed for a scrambling sequence for the LTE reference signal; determining that the UE can eliminate or mitigate interference relative to at least one resource element caused by the LTE reference signal by reconstructing the LTE reference signal based on the additional information; and selecting one or more rate matching modes based on the determination that the UE can eliminate or mitigate the interference.

[0156] Example 13 includes the method according to Example 9 or some other example herein, wherein the RMI includes or corresponds to a bitmask of the resource element around which the request for rate matching of the physical downlink shared channel is identified.

[0157] Example 14 includes the method according to Example 13 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: determining one or more report indicators based on the RMI, the one or more report indicators including a channel state information reference signal resource indicator, a rank indicator, a precoding matrix indicator, or a channel quality indicator; and including the one or more indicators in the report.

[0158] Example 15 includes the method according to Example 9 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the one or more messages are used to configure a plurality of CSI IMRs corresponding to a plurality of respective LTE reference signals, and the method further includes: estimating an associated spectral efficiency for each of the plurality of RMIs; and selecting from the plurality of RMIs an RMI associated with the relatively highest estimated spectral efficiency.

[0159] Example 16 includes the method according to Example 15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein estimating the associated spectral efficiency for the RMI includes: for each of a plurality of LTE reference signals, determining a component based on an estimated spectral efficiency that is a function of the signal and the interference caused by the respective LTE reference signal multiplied by an expected portion of a resource element that will experience the interference from the respective LTE reference signal, for transmission using the one or more rate-matching modes associated with the RMI.

[0160] Example 17 includes a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: configuring a plurality of rate matching modes to a user equipment (UE) connected to a new radio (NR) cell using radio resource control (RRC) signaling; receiving from the UE an indication that the UE is capable of eliminating or mitigating interference associated with one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Reference Signals (RS); and activating one or more of the plurality of rate matching modes based on the indication that the UE is capable of eliminating or mitigating the interference.

[0161] Example 18 includes the method according to Example 17 or some other embodiment herein, wherein activating the one or more rate matching modes includes: transmission medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE) or downlink control information to identify the one or more rate matching modes activated.

[0162] Example 19 includes the method according to Example 17 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: rate matching of Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions around at least some resource elements based on one or more activated rate matching modes.

[0163] Example 20 includes a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: receiving a capability indication from a user equipment (UE) connected to a new radio (NR) cell, the capability indication indicating whether the UE supports scheduling an NR physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on a symbol that overlaps with a symbol on which an LTE cell reference signal (CRS) is to be transmitted in a long-term evolution (LTE) cell; and configuring the NR PDCCH based on the capability indication.

[0164] Example 21 includes the method according to Example 20 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: receiving from the UE an indication that the UE is capable of eliminating or mitigating interference caused by one or more LTE reference signals (RS); and transmitting to the UE an indication of whether to transmit the NR PDCCH on a symbol that overlaps with the symbol on which the LTE CRS is to be transmitted.

[0165] Implementation 22 includes the method according to embodiment 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the indication is transmitted using radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC)-control element (CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

[0166] Example 23 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22 or any other method or process described herein.

[0167] Example 24 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the method or any other method or process described herein, as described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22.

[0168] Example 25 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuitry for performing one or more elements of the method described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22 or any other method or process described herein.

[0169] Example 26 may include any of the methods, techniques or processes described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22, or parts or components thereof.

[0170] Example 27 may include an apparatus comprising one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22.

[0171] Example 28 may include a signal, or a portion thereof, as described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22.

[0172] Example 29 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0173] Example 30 may include a signal encoded with data, or a portion or component thereof, as described or otherwise in this disclosure, according to any one of Examples 1 to 22.

[0174] Example 31 may include signals encoded as datagrams, IEs, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages, or portions or components thereof, as described or otherwise in this disclosure, as described in any of Examples 1 to 22.

[0175] Example 32 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein one or more processors execute the computer-readable instructions to cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 22.

[0176] Embodiment 33 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein the program is executed by a processing element to cause the processing element to perform, or a portion thereof, a method, technique, or process described or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 22.

[0177] Example 34 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0178] Example 35 may include methods for communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0179] Example 36 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0180] Example 37 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0181] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the examples above may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the aspects to the precise form disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or can be derived from practice in various aspects.

[0182] Although the foregoing aspects have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the foregoing disclosure is fully understood. This disclosure is intended to render the following claims as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for operating a baseband processor, the method comprising: Generate one or more messages for transmission to user equipment (UE) in a new radio (NR) cell, the one or more messages being used to configure interference measurement based on channel state information (CSI) interference measurement resources (IMR) corresponding to a long-term evolution (LTE) reference signal; The UE receives an indication of one or more neighboring cell (NC)-reference signal received power (RSRP) values ​​corresponding to the CSI IMR; Selecting a rate matching mode based on one or more of the NC-RSRP values; and The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission is scheduled based on the rate matching mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the one or more messages comprises: Provides CSI resource information elements (IEs) for configuring the CSI IMR for measurement; as well as Provides a CSI reporting IE that references the CSI resource IE to configure reports based on the CSI IMR.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the CSI resource IE is used to configure a CSI IMR set, the CSI IMR set having a plurality of CSI IMRs including the CSI IMR, wherein each of the plurality of CSI IMRs corresponds to a corresponding LTE reference signal.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Generate information for reconstructing the LTE reference signal to be transmitted to the UE, wherein the information includes the cell identifier of the LTE cell transmitting the LTE reference signal or an initialization seed for the scrambling sequence of the LTE reference signal.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on the one or more NC-RSRP values, estimate the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of one or more resource elements. as well as The rate matching pattern is generated based on the SIR of the one or more resource elements.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the one or more NC-RSRP values ​​include layer 1 values.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: Configure the UE with multiple rate matching modes for the NR cell, wherein the multiple is a number greater than six; Select one or more rate matching modes from the plurality of rate matching modes, wherein the one or more rate matching modes include the rate matching modes; as well as Generate an indication for the selected one or more rate matching modes for transmission to the UE.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the one or more messages are used to configure two CSIIMRs to correspond to the LTE reference signal and to indicate a DC carrier that is punctured relative to the LTE reference signal; or to configure the CSI IMR by including an LTE cell reference signal (CRS) mode information element corresponding to the LTE reference signal.

9. A computer-readable medium having instructions, when executed by one or more processors, to cause a baseband processor in a new radio (NR) cell to perform the following operations: Receive one or more messages from the base station, the one or more messages being used to configure interference measurement based on the Channel State Information (CSI) Interference Measurement Resource (IMR) corresponding to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Reference Signal; Multiple resource elements are measured based on the CSI IMR; Based on the measurements of the multiple resource elements, one or more rate matching modes are selected from multiple rate matching modes; as well as Generate a report for transmission to the base station, including a Rate Matching Indicator (RMI) corresponding to the one or more rate matching modes.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the one or more messages are configured to provide: CSI Resource Information Element (IE) used to configure the CSI IMR; and Refer to the CSI Resource IE to configure the CSI Report IE based on the CSI IMR.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the CSI resource IE is used to configure a set of CSI IMRs, the set of CSI IMRs having a plurality of CSI IMRs including the CSI IMRs, wherein each of the plurality of CSI IMRs corresponds to a corresponding LTE reference signal.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the baseband processor to: Receive additional information from the base station, the additional information including the cell identifier of the LTE cell transmitting the LTE reference signal or the initialization seed for the scrambling sequence of the LTE reference signal; It is determined that the baseband processor is capable of eliminating or mitigating interference relative to at least one resource element caused by the LTE reference signal by reconstructing the LTE reference signal based on the additional information; as well as The baseband processor is selected based on the determination that it can eliminate or mitigate the interference.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the RMI includes or corresponds to a bitmask for identifying the resource element around which a request for rate matching of a physical downlink shared channel surrounds.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the baseband processor to: Based on the RMI, one or more reporting indicators are determined, including a channel state information reference signal resource indicator, a rank indicator, a precoding matrix indicator, or a channel quality indicator; and Include one or more of the indicators in the report.

15. The computer-readable medium according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the one or more messages are configured to configure a plurality of CSI IMRs corresponding to a plurality of respective LTE reference signals, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the baseband processor to: For each of the multiple RMIs, estimate the associated spectral efficiency; and Select the RMI associated with the highest relative estimated spectral efficiency from among the plurality of RMIs.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein, in order to estimate the associated spectral efficiency of the RMI, the instructions, when executed, further cause the baseband processor to: For each of the multiple LTE reference signals, values ​​are determined based on a first component, a second component, and a third component, where the first component represents the spectral efficiency as a function of the signal-to-interference ratio, the second component is the expected portion of the resource element that will experience interference from the corresponding LTE reference signal, and the third component indicates the resource element that will be excluded from consideration for the RMI.

17. An apparatus implemented in a base station, the apparatus comprising: A memory, wherein the memory is used to store rate mode configuration information; and Processing circuitry, coupled to the memory, is used for: Based on the rate mode configuration information, multiple rate matching modes are configured for user equipment (UE) connected to a new radio (NR) cell using radio resource control (RRC) signaling; The UE receives an indication that it is capable of eliminating or mitigating interference associated with one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Reference Signals (RS); as well as Based on the indication that the UE can eliminate or mitigate the interference, one or more of the plurality of rate matching modes are activated.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein, in order to activate the one or more rate matching modes, the processing circuitry: Generate Media Access Control (MAC) - Control Element (CE) or downlink control information to identify one or more active rate matching modes.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 or 18, wherein the processing circuitry further comprises: Rate matching is performed on Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions around at least some resource elements based on one or more activated rate matching modes.

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