Dynamic handover between legacy and extended DMRS processes

Abstract

The extended antenna port table includes both a legacy demodulation reference symbol (DMRS) and an extended DMRS (e.g., Rel-18DMRS). The UE obtains an indication of the extended antenna port table from the configured information in the memory or from the network, such as via RRC signaling. The indication may be an indication of a subset of an extended antenna port table. The network sends to the UE an index in the extended antenna port table from which the UE determines one or more DMRS ports (one per layer) to use. The extended DMRS port, which is the same as the corresponding traditional DMRS port, in the extended antenna port table reuses the serial number of the traditional DMRS port; and an extended DMRS port different from the conventional DMRS port uses a DMRS port number which is not used by the conventional DMRS port. In one embodiment, a network switches UEs between using legacy and extended antenna port tables via MAC-CE.

Description

[0001] This PCT application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 336,813, filed on April 29, 2022, entitled “Dynamic Switching Between Traditional and Advanced DMRS Protocols,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication networks, and in particular, to the use of an extended antenna port table that includes both legacy demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports and extended (eg, Rel-18) DMRS ports. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication networks are ubiquitous in many parts of the world. In one architecture, called a cellular network, a plurality of usually fixed base stations (also called radio base stations, base station controllers, Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs, etc.) each provide wireless communication services to a large number of usually mobile wireless devices (also called cellular phones, smart phones, and more generally user equipment or UEs). The base stations with wireless links to the UEs form a radio access network (RAN). The base stations in turn communicate (via wired or wireless links) with a core network (CN), which provides connectivity to other networks (such as the Internet and conventional telephone networks).

[0004] Technical specifications developed and published by standards bodies such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) govern the operation of networks and ensure interoperability between equipment from different manufacturers. These standards evolve to incorporate newly developed radio, computer, and networking technologies, thereby increasing the amount and quality of data transmission and supporting new use cases. The fourth generation (4G) wireless protocol, known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), has been deployed, and the fifth generation (5G), known as New Radio (NR), is in advanced development and early deployment. At a finer granularity, 3GPP technical standards evolve in numbered versions (e.g., Rel-14, Rel-15, etc.).

[0005] As the name implies, a wireless communication network employs wireless data transmission across the air interface of the RAN between UEs and base stations (and possibly between UEs). To improve accuracy, the channel is monitored, and the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), transmission power, and the like are determined and dynamically adjusted (called link adaptation) in response to the instantaneous channel quality. In order to monitor the channel, the UE and the base station each transmit various reference signals (RS, also called pilot signals), which are known data patterns. The receiver of the RS compares the data received in the RS with the data it "knows" was transmitted, and quantifies the quality of the channel based on the comparison. The specifications of the various RSs have evolved with different generations of 3GPP standards. In NR, different RSs are defined for each physical channel. In particular, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) is defined for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0006] Downlink (DL) PDSCH transmissions can be dynamically scheduled, i.e., in each slot, the gNB transmits downlink control information (DCI) via PDCCH about which UE the data will be transmitted to and on which RBs in the current downlink slot, or can be semi-persistently scheduled (SPS), where periodic PDSCH transmissions are activated or deactivated via DCI. Different DCI formats are defined in NR for DL ​​PDSCH scheduling, including DCI format 1_0, DCI format 1_1, and DCI format 1_2.

[0007] Similarly, UL PUSCH transmissions can also be dynamically or semi-persistently scheduled using uplink grants carried in PDCCH. NR supports two types of semi-persistent uplink transmissions, namely type 1 configured grants (CG) and type 2 configured grants, where type 1 configured grants are configured and activated through radio resource control (RRC), and type 2 configured grants are configured through RRC but activated / deactivated through DCI. The DCI formats used to schedule PUSCH include DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 0_2. DMRS Configuration

[0008] Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) is used for coherent demodulation of physical layer data channels (i.e., physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). DMRS is confined to the resource blocks carrying the associated physical layer channels and is mapped on the allocated resource elements of the time-frequency resource grid so that the receiver can efficiently handle time / frequency-selective fading radio channels.

[0009] The mapping of DMRS to resource elements is configurable in both the frequency domain and the time domain. There are two mapping types in the frequency domain, namely type 1 and type 2. In addition, there are two mapping types in the time domain, namely mapping type A and type B, which define the symbol position of the first OFDM symbol containing DMRS in the transmission interval.

[0010] The DMRS mapping in the time domain can also be single-symbol based or dual-symbol based, where the latter means that the DMRS is mapped in a pair of two adjacent OFDM symbols. For single-symbol based DMRS, the UE can be configured with one, two, three or four single-symbol DMRS (also called additional DMRS) in one time slot. For dual-symbol based DMRS, the UE can be configured with one or two such dual-symbol DMRS in one time slot. In the case of low Doppler shift, it may be sufficient to configure only the front-loaded DMRS, i.e., one single-symbol DMRS or one dual-symbol DMRS, while in the case of high Doppler shift, additional DMRS will be required in one time slot.

[0011] Figure 1A-Figure 1D Configurations of type 1 and type 2 front-loaded DMRS are shown, where different code division multiplexing (CDM) groups are indicated by different hashes. Figure 1A-Figure 1D An example of a time domain mapping type A with type 1 and type 2 front-loaded DMRS with single-symbol and double-symbol DMRS, and a first DMRS in the third OFDM symbol of a 14-symbol transmission interval is shown. As indicated in these figures, type 1 and type 2 differ in the mapping structure and the number of supported DMRS CDM groups, with type 1 supporting 2 CDM groups and type 2 supporting 3 CDM groups.

[0012] DMRS antenna ports are mapped to resource elements within one CDM group only. For single-symbol DMRS, two antenna ports can be mapped to each CDM group, and for dual-symbol DMRS, four antenna ports can be mapped to each CDM group. Therefore, for DMRS type 1, the maximum number of DMRS ports is four for single-symbol based DMRS configuration, and the maximum number of DMRS ports is eight for dual-symbol based DMRS configuration. For DMRS type 2, the maximum number of DMRS ports is six for single-symbol based DMRS configuration, and the maximum number of DMRS ports is twelve for dual-symbol based DMRS configuration.

[0013] An orthogonal cover code (OCC) of length 2 (ie, [+1, +1] or [+1, -1]) is used to separate antenna ports mapped in the same two resource elements within a CDM group. When two-symbol DMRS is configured, OCC is applied in the frequency domain (FD) as well as in the time domain (TD). This is done in the case of CDM group 0. Figure 1A-Figure 1D is shown in .

[0014] In NRRel-15, the mapping of PDSCH DMRS sequences r(m), m=0, 1, . . . on antenna port p and subcarrier k in OFDM symbol l for parameter set index μ is specified in 3GPP TS 38.211.

[0015] For PDSCH mapping type A, DMRS mapping is related to the time slot boundary. That is, the first front-loaded DMRS symbol in DMRS mapping type A is in the 3rd or 4th symbol of the time slot. In addition to the front-loaded DMRS, type A DMRS mapping can consist of up to 3 additional DMRS. Figure 2 Some examples of DMRS for PDSCH mapping type A are shown in Figure 3 (note that a PDSCH length of 14 symbols is assumed in the examples). The figure assumes that the PDSCH duration is a full time slot. If the scheduled PDSCH duration is shorter than a full time slot, the position of the DMRS changes according to specification TS 38.211.

[0016] For PDSCH mapping type B, DMRS mapping is related to the start of transmission. That is, the first DMRS symbol in DMRS mapping type B is in the first symbol of the start of type B PDSCH. Figure 3 Some examples of PDSCH mapping type B DMRS are shown in FIG. DMRS sequence generation

[0017] The DMRS sequence r(n) for both PDSCH and PUSCH is given by Definition, where the pseudo-random sequence c(i) is defined in clause 5.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.211. The pseudo-random sequence generator is initialized by Where l is the OFDM symbol number within the time slot, is the timeslot number within the frame, and ●For PDSCH DMRS, Given by the higher layer parameters scramblingID0 and scramblingID1 (if provided) in the DMRS-DownlinkConfig IE respectively, and the PDSCH is scheduled by the PDCCH using DCI format 1_1 or 1_2, where the CRC is scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI or CS-RNTI; ●For PUSCH DMRS, Given by higher layer parameters scramblingID0 and scramblingID1 (if provided) in the DMRS-UplinkConfig IE respectively, and PUSCH is scheduled by DCI format 0_1 ​​or 0_2 or by PUSCH transmission with a configured grant; ●For PUSCH DMRS, The PUSCH configuration for each msgA is given by the higher layer parameters msgA-ScramblingID0 and msgA-ScramblingID1 (if provided) in the msgA-DMRS-Config IE respectively, and the PUSCH transmission is triggered by a Type 2 random access; ●For PDSCH DMRS, Given by the higher layer parameter scramblingID0 in the DMRS-DownlinkConfig IE (if provided), and the PDSCH is scheduled by the PDCCH using DCI format 1_0, where the CRC is scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI or CS-RNTI; ●For PUSCH DMRS, Given by the higher layer parameter scramblingID0 in the DMRS-UplinkConfig IE (if provided), and the PUSCH is scheduled by DCI format 0_0, where the CRC is scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI or CS-RNTI; ● otherwise; ● and Given by the following formula ○ If the higher layer parameter dmrs-Downlink in the DMRS-DownlinkConfig IE or the higher layer parameter dmrs-Uplink in the DMRS-UplinkConfig IE is provided, the corresponding and Determined as where λ is the CDM group index. ○Otherwise, it is given by

[0018] If DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 is used, the quantity n SCID ∈{0,1} is given by the DMRS sequence initialization field (if present) in the DCI associated with the PDSCH transmission, or if DCI format 0_1 ​​or 0_2 is used, by the DMRS sequence initialization field (if present) in the DCI associated with the PUSCH transmission, or indicated by the higher layer parameter dmrs-SeqInitialization (if present) (for type 1 PUSCH transmissions with configured grant); otherwise n SCID =0. DMRS port signaling

[0019] The DMRS port(s) of the PDSCH or PUSCH are signaled in the corresponding scheduling DCI.In addition to the DMRS ports, the number of CDM groups not allocated to PDSCH or PUSCH and also the number of front-loaded DMRS symbols are dynamically signaled in the DCI.

[0020] In 3GPP TS 38.212, the "Antenna Port" field in DCI 1_1 is defined as follows: -(One or more) antenna ports - 4, 5 or 6 bits, as defined by Tables 7.3.1.2.2-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 and Tables 7.3.1.2.2-1A / 2A / 3A / 4A, where the number of CDM groups without data with values ​​of 1, 2 and 3 refers to CDM groups {0}, {0, 1} and {0, 1, 2}, respectively. Antenna ports {p0, ..., p υ-1} Shall be determined according to the ordering of the (one or more) DMRS ports given by Table 7.3.1.2.2-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 or Table 7.3.1.2.2-1A / 2A / 3A / 4A. When the UE receives an activation command that maps at least one code point of the DCI field 'Transmit Configuration Indication' to two TCI states, the UE shall use Table 7.3.1.2.2-1A / 2A / 3A / 4A; otherwise, it shall use Table 7.3.1.2.2-1 / 2 / 3 / 4. When two TCI states are indicated in the code points of the DCI field 'Transmit Configuration Indication', the UE may receive entries with DMRS ports equal to 1000, 1002, 1003.

[0021] If the UE is configured with both dmrs-DownlinkForPDSCH-MappingTypeA and dmrs-DownlinkForPDSCH-MappingTypeB, the bit width of this field is equal to max{x A ,x B}, where x A is the "antenna port" bit width derived from dmrs-DownlinkForPDSCH-MappingTypeA, and x B It is the "antenna port" bit width derived from dmrs-DownlinkForPDSCH-MappingTypeB. If the PDSCH mapping type corresponds to x A and x B If the smaller value is found, |x is filled in the MSB of the field. A -x B |Zeroes.

[0022] The "Antenna Ports" field in DCI 1_2 and DCI 0_2 is 0 bits if the higher layer parameters antennaPortsFieldPresentDCI-1-2 and antennaPortsFieldPresenceDCI-0-2 are not configured, respectively. The bit field index value of 0 is assumed in Tables 7.3.1.2.2-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 for DCI1_2 and Tables 7.3.1.1.2-6 to 7.3.1.1.2-23 for DCI0_2 to define the (one or more) antenna ports. In PUSCH scheduling, the number of layers is indicated separately from the DMRS port signaling in the DCI. For PDSCH scheduling, the number of layers and DMRS ports are jointly signaled in the DCI.

[0023] The "Antenna Port(s)" bit field in the DCI is used for this purpose. An example of a Type 1 DMRS with rank = 1 and a maximum number of front-loaded DMRS OFDM symbols of at most two for PUSCH is shown in Table 7.3.1.1.2-12 from 3gppTS 38.212. Another example of a Type 1 DMRS with a maximum number of front-loaded DMRS OFDM symbols of at most two for PUSCH is shown in Table 7.3.1.1.2-2 from 3gppTS 38.212. DCI 1_0, DCI 0_0

[0024] DCI 1_0 is the downlink evacuation DCI, and DCI0_0 is the uplink evacuation DCI. It is specified in NR that DCI 1_0 only applies type 1 DMRS, because DCI 1_0 can be used to signal system information and paging messages broadcast to all UEs. While DCI 0_0 can apply type 1 or type 2, whichever is the configured DMRS type, such as DMRS-Config under PUSCH-Config or configuredGrantConfig from UE-specific signaling. Coordinated Scheduling of UEs and SU-MIMO in Downlink

[0025] For the antenna port table defined for each DMRS type, some indexes are designated as being used only for SU-MIMO. For the remaining indexes that can be used for MU-MIMO, the UE assumes that the co-scheduled UEs are scheduled with the same DMRS-type and the same number of DMRS symbols.

[0026] For DMRS configuration type 1, - if the UE is scheduled with one codeword and is assigned an antenna port mapping with an index of {2, 9, 10, 11 or 30} in Table 7.3.1.2.2-1 and Table 7.3.1.2.2-2 of clause 7.3.1.2 of [5, TS 38.212], or - if the UE is scheduled with one codeword and is assigned an antenna port mapping with an index of {2, 9, 10, 11 or 12} in Table 7.3.1.2.2-1A of clause 7.3.1.2 of [5, TS 38.212] and {2, 9, 10, 11, 30 or 31} in Table 7.3.1.2.2-2A, or -If the UE is scheduled with two codewords, The UE may then assume that all remaining orthogonal antenna ports are not associated with transmission of a PDSCH to another UE.

[0027] For DMRS configuration type 2, - if the UE is scheduled with one codeword and is assigned an antenna port mapping with an index of {2, 10 or 23} in Table 7.3.1.2.2-3 and Table 7.3.1.2.2-4 of clause 7.3.1.2 of [5, TS 38.212], or - if the UE is scheduled with one codeword and is assigned an antenna port mapping with an index of {2, 10, 23 or 24} in Table 7.3.1.2.2-3A and {2, 10, 23 or 58} in Table 7.3.1.2.2-4A of clause 7.3.1.2 of [5, TS 38.212], or -If the UE is scheduled with two codewords, The UE may then assume that all remaining orthogonal antenna ports are not associated with transmission of a PDSCH to another UE. RRC Configuration

[0028] There are certain challenges at the moment. DCI Overhead

[0029] In NRRel-18, the number of orthogonal DMRS (antenna) ports will be expanded from 8 to 16 for Type 1 DMRS and from 12 to 24 for Type 2 DMRS. This requires a larger antenna port table (i.e., more rows) than the legacy DMRS antenna port table because more combinations of DMRS ports will be enabled when the number of DMRS ports is increased. With a larger antenna port table, the "antenna port" bit field in the DCI used to indicate one of the rows in the antenna port table will require more code points, which results in greater DCI overhead. Using Rel-18 UEs to coordinate scheduling of legacy UEs

[0030] One motivation for increasing the number of orthogonal ports is to increase the number of co-scheduled MU-MIMO UEs without increasing the DMRS overhead. However, for the foreseeable future, most UEs served in commercial NR networks will be legacy UEs, which do not support Rel-18 DMRS enhancements. This means that Rel-18 UEs will need to be co-scheduled with legacy UEs for MU-MIMO. The design of Rel-18 DMRS ports is still an open issue, and it has not been decided in 3GPP RAN1 whether Rel-18 DMRS ports will be orthogonal to legacy DMRS ports. If they are not orthogonal, Rel-18 UEs using Rel-18 DMRS cannot be co-scheduled with legacy UEs using legacy DMRS. SU-MIMO performance loss

[0031] One benefit of using more CDM groups is that with more CDM groups, more UEs can be co-scheduled using separated DMRS REs. The problem with this solution is that the DMRS density becomes sparse, which means that the SU-MIMO performance will be reduced compared to using traditional DMRS design due to longer OCC sequences in the frequency domain and increased sensitivity to delay spread in the channel. How to minimize this performance loss and sensitivity to delay spread is an open problem. Summary of the invention

[0032] A framework and signaling are disclosed that enable dynamic switching between legacy DMRS and Rel-18 DMRS (more generally referred to herein as "extended DMRS"), and between DMRS with different numbers of additional DMRS symbols.

[0033] In response to the indication of the index from the DMRS antenna port table, via the DCI field "Antenna Port(s)" field, the UE applies the mapping of the configured subset from the antenna port table to code points when the extended DMRS type is enabled. ● Multiple subsets can be concatenated and mapped to code points to indicate antenna port selection ○One subset comes from the traditional antenna port table, and one subset comes from the extended antenna port table • Both DCI 1_1 and DCI 1_2 apply the subset selected by the selected antenna port. For DCI 1_2, when the length of the bit field of antenna port is defined, the subset of antenna ports configured under DMRS-Config is further extracted from the subset of DCI 1_1. - DCI field "Antenna Port(s)", the bit length is aligned across multiple DMRS configurations to the maximum bit length required when dynamic switching indicated by a field in the MAC CE or DCI is enabled. Additional dynamic switching of DMRS symbol configuration. • The UE signals to the network that it can dynamically switch between different values ​​of the number of additional DMRS symbols. ● The network configures multiple values ​​of additional DMRS symbols in the DMRS configuration. • MAC CE or DCI field is used to indicate which value is to be used as additional DMRS symbols for scheduled / configured PDSCH and PUSCH associated with DCI 1_1 / DCI 1_2 and DCI 0_1 / DCI0_2, respectively. Dynamic switching across multiple DMRS configurations. The UE signals to the network that it is capable of dynamic DMRS switching across DMRS configurations and it indicates the intended association between a DMRS configuration and one of the following identities ○Panel, TCI group, TA group, coreset group, SRS group, antenna group. ● In higher layers, at least 2 DMRS configurations can be configured for the UE ○ including additional DMRS symbols and / or cyclic shift of TD-OCC on additional DMRS symbols, ○DMRS type, mapping type, number of ports, maximum number of layers ●UE aligns the DCI field according to the maximum bits required for each DMRS configuration • In one embodiment, the switching of additional DMRS symbols and cyclic shifts may be indicated via a MAC CE. ○MAC CE contains information associated with DMRS configuration: ■ (Explicit indication) DMRS configuration ID, additional DMRS symbols, and / or cyclic shift of TD-OCC on non-contiguous DMRS symbols ■Activated TCI status, coresetPoolIndx, TA group ID, panelID, CORESETID, SRS resource set ID, TCI group ID, DMRS configuration ID, antenna group ID ○ Before the UE receives the MAC CE, the default configuration is applied o In one embodiment, the switching of additional DMRS symbols and cyclic shifts may be indicated in the DCI. The DCI contains a field associated with the DMRS configuration: ■ (Explicit indication) DMRS configuration ID, additional DMRS symbols, and / or cyclic shift of TD-OCC on non-contiguous DMRS symbols ■TCI status ID, coresetPoolIndx, TA group ID, panelID, CORESETID, SRS resource set ID, TCI group ID, antenna group ID.

[0034] One embodiment relates to a method performed by a wireless device operating in a wireless communication network having a conventional protocol for generation, transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS and an extended protocol for generation, transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS that is different from the conventional protocol. An indication of an extended antenna port table including both conventional DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports is obtained. One or more DMRS ports are determined from the extended antenna port table. The wireless device communicates with the network using the one or more determined DMRS ports.

[0035] Another embodiment relates to a wireless device operating in a wireless communication network having a conventional defined protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS and an advanced protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS that is different from the conventional protocol. The wireless device includes a communication circuit and a processing circuit operatively connected to the communication circuit. The processing circuit is configured to obtain an indication of an extended antenna port table including both conventional DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports; determine one or more DMRS ports from the extended antenna port table; and communicate with the network using the one or more determined DMRS ports.

[0036] Still another embodiment relates to a method performed by a base station operating in a wireless communication network. The network has a conventionally defined protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS, and an advanced protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS that is different from the conventional protocol. The base station indicates to a wireless device an extended antenna port table that includes both conventional DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports. An index in the extended antenna port table is sent to the wireless device, whereby the wireless device determines one or more DMRS ports. The base station communicates with the wireless device using the one or more determined DMRS ports.

[0037] Still other embodiments relate to a base station operating in a wireless communication network. The network has a conventionally defined protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS, and an advanced protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS that is different from the conventional protocol. The base station includes a communication circuit and a processing circuit operatively connected to the communication circuit. The processing circuit is configured to indicate to a wireless device an extended antenna port table including both conventional DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports; send to the wireless device an index in the extended antenna port table, whereby the wireless device determines one or more DMRS ports; and communicate with the wireless device using the one or more determined DMRS ports. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1A is a time / frequency diagram showing type 1 single-symbol DMRS.

[0039] Figure 1B is a time / frequency diagram showing Type 1 dual-symbol DMRS.

[0040] Figure 1C is a time / frequency diagram showing type 2 single-symbol DMRS.

[0041] Figure 1D is a time / frequency diagram showing type 2 dual-symbol DMRS.

[0042] Figure 2 is a time diagram showing DMRS repetition.

[0043] Figure 3 is a time diagram showing DMRS configuration for PDSCH.

[0044] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a method for selecting between legacy and advanced protocols for DMRS.

[0045] Figure 5 The present invention is a flowchart of a method for controlling a UE to use a high-level protocol DMRS.

[0046] Figure 6It is the hardware block diagram of the wireless device.

[0047] Figure 7 is a functional block diagram of a wireless device.

[0048] Figure 8 It is the hardware block diagram of the network node.

[0049] Fig. 9 It is a functional block diagram of a network node.

[0050] Fig.10 It is a simplified diagram of a communication system.

[0051] Fig.11 This is a block diagram of UE.

[0052] Fig.12 It is a block diagram of a network node.

[0053] Fig.13 is a block diagram of a host device.

[0054] Fig.14 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment.

[0055] Fig.15 is a block diagram of a UE communicating with a host via a wireless network. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Dynamically switch between legacy DMRS types and (Rel-18) extended DMRS types.

[0056] In some embodiments herein, it is assumed that new independent antenna port tables have been introduced for Rel-18 DMRS types (the two new DMRS types are referred to herein as "extended DMRS type 1" and "extended DMRS type 2"). This means that there will be separate antenna port tables for "legacy DMRS type 1" (i.e., DMRS type 1 in legacy NR) and for "extended DMRS type 1", and there will be separate antenna port tables for "legacy DMRS type 2" (i.e., DMRS type 2 in legacy NR) and for "extended DMRS type 2".

[0057] In one embodiment, the UE signals support in UE capability signaling to indicate whether it supports dynamic switching between a first DMRS configuration and a second DMRS configuration for the same type of PDSCH / PUSCH (e.g., two DMRS configurations for PDSCH type A or type B; or two DMRS configurations for PUSCH type A or type B).

[0058] In one embodiment, the first DMRS configuration may be "legacy DMRS type 1" and the second DMRS configuration may be "extended DMRS type 1". Similarly, the first DMRS configuration may be "legacy DMRS type 2" and the second DMRS configuration may be "extended DMRS type 2". Dynamic switching of the number of additional symbols

[0059] In another embodiment, the first DMRS configuration includes a first number of additional DMRS symbols (ie, a number between 0-3). ), the second DMRS configuration includes a second number of additional DMRS symbols (ie, a number between 0 and 3 ). Depending on UE speed or Doppler spread (which may be derived by the gNB using measurements of the UL SRS or via UE feedback of such information to the gNB), the gNB dynamically indicates a first number of additional DMRS symbols or a second number of additional DMRS symbols that need to be used. For low UE speeds and / or low Doppler spread, the UE may receive a dynamic indication of a DMRS configuration corresponding to a lower number of additional DMRS symbols. For high UE speeds or high Doppler spread, the UE may receive a dynamic indication of a DMRS configuration corresponding to a higher number of additional DMRS symbols. New DCI field for dynamic switching

[0060] In one embodiment, if the UE supports dynamic switching between legacy DMRS and Rel-18 DMRS, a new parameter (or flag) may be configured in the "DMRS-DownlinkConfig information element" and / or the "DMRS-UplinkConfig information element" to indicate whether dynamic switching should be applied to DL and / or UL transmission. In one embodiment, if dynamic switching is applied in DL, an additional unit bit field is included in DL DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2, wherein the unit bit field is used to indicate whether the DCI bit field "(one or more) antenna ports and number of layers" included in the same DCI is associated with an antenna port table for legacy DMRS or an antenna port table for Rel-18 DMRS. In one embodiment, if dynamic switching is applied in UL, an additional unit bit field is included in UL DCI formats 0_1 and 0_2, wherein the unit bit field is used to indicate whether the DCI bit field "antenna port" included in the same DCI is associated with an antenna port table for legacy DMRS or an antenna port table for Rel-18 DMRS. In one embodiment, instead of introducing a new bit field in the DCI to indicate whether legacy DMRS or Rel-18 DMRS needs to be applied, the DCI bit field "(one or more) antenna ports and number of layers" for DL ​​or "antenna ports" for UL can be extended with more code points (and potentially more bits), and wherein a first subset of code points is used to indicate an entry in the antenna port table associated with legacy DMRS, and another (different) set of code points is used to indicate an entry in the antenna port table for Rel-18 DMRS. In another alternative embodiment, the DCI bit field "(one or more) antenna ports and number of layers" for DL ​​or "antenna ports" for UL can be extended with more bits, wherein a first number of bits in the (one or more) "(one or more) antenna ports and number of layers" / "antenna ports" field is used to indicate whether an entry in the antenna port table is associated with a legacy DMRS or an entry in the antenna port table for Rel-18 DMRS. New MAC-CE for dynamic switching

[0061] In one embodiment, a new MAC-CE is introduced to dynamically indicate whether a legacy DMRS or a Rel-18 DMRS should be used for DL ​​and / or UL communications. Table 3 shows an illustrative example of a new MAC-CE for indicating whether a legacy DMRS or a Rel-18 DMRS should be applied to the DL (based on a unit bit field "DL DMRS type"), and whether a legacy DMRS or a Rel-18 DMRS should be applied to the UL (based on a unit bit field "UL DMRS type"). Note that other bit fields indicating other information to the UE in the same or different octaves may also be included in the MAC-CE. Table 3

[0062] In one embodiment, the MAC-CE also includes other DMRS parameters for DL ​​and / or UL, such as one or more of the following: dmrs-Type, as specified in TS 38.331 dmrs-Type-Rel18, which may be a new parameter introduced in TS 38.331 in Rel-18 to indicate whether "Extended DMRS Type 1" or "Extended DMRS Type 2" should be applied to DL and / or UL DMRS DMRS-AdditionalPosition, as specified in TS 38.331 ●maxLength, as specified in TS 38.331.

[0063] In these embodiments, it is assumed that a new antenna port table has been introduced in Rel-18, wherein the new antenna port table includes rows / entries associated with legacy DMRS types and other rows / entries associated with Rel-18 DMRS types. This means that the UE can switch between legacy DMRS and Rel-18 DMRS using a single bit field in the DCI associated with a single antenna port table.

[0064] For both legacy DMRS type 1 and legacy DMRS type 2, a DMRS parameter configuration table is defined in TS 38.211 (see Table 4 below), where each row of the table consists of a cell port number P for the corresponding DMRS type. Then, in 38.212, an antenna port table is defined, where each row consists of a table index set that maps to an antenna port number of the DMRS parameter configuration table, the number of DMRS CDM groups without data, and the number of front-loaded symbols (if applicable). Table 4 (Table 7.4.1.1.2-5: PDSCH DMRS time index l and antenna port p)

[0065] In one embodiment, the DMRS parameter configuration table and the new antenna port table reuse the legacy antenna port numbering for the legacy DMRS and use new antenna port numbering for the Rel-18 DMRS (which is different from the conventional way of numbering antenna ports, where the DMRS (antenna) ports are numbered first according to the first single-symbol DMRS and then according to the double-symbol DMRS), as shown in Table 1.

[0066] For "Extended DMRS Type 1", the DMRS parameter configuration table consists of rows for antenna ports P, which are numbered from 1008 to 1023 for dual-symbol DMRS and from 1004 to 1011 for single-symbol DMRS. For Extended DMRS Type 2, the parameter configuration table consists of rows for antenna ports P, which are numbered from 1012 to 1035 for dual-symbol DMRS and from 1006 to 1017 for single-symbol DMRS. This numbering can simplify UE implementation, because UEs supporting new extended types can reuse their implementation for existing types, with only a few new rows needed to support more MU-MIMO combinations and therefore be added to the existing table. This also facilitates backward compatibility for legacy DMRS-Types. Table 1: Alternative 1 for numbering antenna ports for new DMRS types for PDSCH.

[0067] In one embodiment, the antenna port table of the extended type is defined by adding new rows to the existing Type1 / 2 table, and those new rows only contain antenna ports for the extended type number, as shown in Table 5.

[0068] Another alternative is alternative 2, which adds indexes to antenna ports starting from 1000 as shown in the following table, and thus overwrites the legacy DMRS ports for UEs configured with Rel-18 DMRS. Table 6: Alternative 2 for numbering antenna ports for new DMRS types for PDSCH.

[0069] In another embodiment, assuming that the legacy DMRS port is included in the set of extended DMRS ports, the set of extended DMRS ports identical to the legacy DMRS ports reuses the antenna port number in Table 4, while the set of extended DMRS ports different from the legacy ports is assigned a new number. An example of this embodiment is shown in Table 8. Table 2: Alternative 3 for numbering antenna ports for new DMRS types for PDSCH. Subset selection of indices from antenna port table to reduce DCI overhead

[0070] The bit field "(one or more) antenna ports and number of layers" in DCI 1_1 / 1_2 is at most 6 bits, and the bit field "(one or more) antenna ports" in DCI0_1 / 0_2 is at most 5 bits, which is already very large. When a new antenna port table consisting of both legacy DMRS ports and Rel-18 DMRS ports is used, the DCI overhead will increase even more if additional bits are added to indicate the (one or more) antenna ports.

[0071] Therefore, in one embodiment, only a subset of the new antenna port table is configured for the UE via higher layer signaling. The subset of the new antenna port table may consist of both legacy DMRS ports and Rel-18 DMRS ports. The subset selection of the index in the antenna port table may be configured explicitly or implicitly as described below. Explicit subset selection configured by higher layers

[0072] A subset selection of indices from the antenna port table(s) is configured in dmrs-DownlinkConfig to indicate the selection of a subset of rows from the extended antenna port table. The decision on the bitmap is based on the gNB's choice of scheduling to focus on higher rank transmissions, or to support a larger number of co-scheduled users, or to support C-JT.

[0073] In one embodiment, only the columns of 1 codeword in the antenna port table apply the subset selection (because the number of rows of 2 codewords is small).

[0074] In one embodiment, separate subset selection configurations are provided to the 2 codeword columns of the antenna port table(s) as follows: DMRS-DownlinkConfig Information Element

[0075] For uplink, a subset selection of indices from the antenna port table may be configured for all ranks less than the maxRank configured in PUSCH-Config as follows: DMRS-UplinkConfig Information Element

[0076] The length of the DCI field "antenna port" is determined by the subset configuration. For example, if 8 is the number of bits set to "1", if a bitmap is applied to indicate the selection of the index, the bit field will require 3 bits. If multiple bitmaps are configured, the DCI field is determined by the maximum number of bits that are "1" across the bitmap. For example, if for DMRS-UplinkConfig, the bitmaps for rank1, rank2, and rank3 are configured as "11101100000000000000000000000000", "110010001100100000", "10000", where the number of bits with the value "1" is 5, 6, and 1, then correspondingly, the bit field length is determined by the maximum number 6, ceil(log26)=3.

[0077] For the short DCI format DCI1_2, if antennaPortFieldPresenceDCI-1-2 is not configured, then after the configured subset selection is applied, the bit field index value is assumed to be 0 to define the antenna port(s).

[0078] For the short DCI format DCI1_2, if antennaPortFieldPresenceDCI-1-2 is not configured, then after the configured subset selection is applied, the bit field index value is assumed to be 0 to define the antenna port(s). Implicit subset selection configured by higher layers

[0079] In this method, subset selection is implicitly indicated by configuring the bit field length "antennaPortsFieldLengthDCI-X_Y" for the "(One or more) antenna ports" field of DCI 1_1 and / or DCI 1_2 in PDSCH-Config and DCI 0_1 and / or DCI 0_2 in PUSCH-Config, respectively. If the pre-configured size is smaller than the number of bits required for the entire table, only the lower indexed rows from the antenna port table can be selected. In an alternative, the starting index of the antenna port table can be configured. Cascading of (one or more) TypeX and extended TypeX antenna ports

[0080] In this approach, for each DMRS type - Type 1, Type 2, Extended Type 1, Extended Type 2 - a subset of the antenna port table may be configured by higher layers.

[0081] As shown in the following example, if extended-dmrs-Type is enabled: 2 subsets of the antenna port table associated with DMRS type 1 and DMRS type 1 extension can be configured and concatenated to map to the "(one or more) antenna ports" DCI field, and if dmrs-Type is not configured as type2 (which means that the default type type1 is configured); if dmrs-Type is configured as type 2, a subset of the antenna port table associated with DMRS type 2 and DMRS type 2 extension can be concatenated and mapped to the antenna port DCI field. In one embodiment, the subset selection of the antenna port table can be indicated to the UE in the MAC CE instead of the RRC.

[0082] For example, if in DMRS-DownlinkConfig, extended-dmrs-Type is set to enabled and oneCodewordAntennaPortTableSubset0 is configured as “110010001010000000000000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 1010 0000 0000 0000”, then oneCodewordAntennaPortTableSubset1 is configured as “111110001011000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000”, the antenna port table index {0, 1, 4, 8, 10, 48, 50} is the subset selected from the extended Type1 table. The code points in the DCI field "(one or more) antenna ports" are mapped to selected subsets of the legacy table and the extended table. In this example, subset0 contains 7 indices and subset1 contains 8 indices, a total of 7+8=15 indices can be indicated, and ceil(log215)=4 bits are required for the "antenna port" DCI field. The indexes are mapped to the code points in ascending order. If the code point 0011 is indicated to the UE, the UE will receive the PDSCH to which the index with the value 8 in the legacy antenna port table is applied.

[0083] The example configuration above shows a bitmap based subset selection, which provides the most flexibility from the gNB perspective. Subset selection can also be based on predefined index groups, for example, row indices {0, 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10} are defined as group 0 and row indices {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5} are defined as group 0.

[0084] In one embodiment, multiple consecutive rows may be configured in PDSCH-Config, wherein at least one consecutive row is selected from a legacy antenna port table for Type1 / Type2, and one consecutive row is selected from a new antenna port table extendedType1 / extendedType2.

[0085] Enable dynamic switching between Type I and Type I extension, between Type II and Type II extension, and between Type I, Type II, and Type II extension. For Type I extension antenna table design, a subset of the existing Type 1 antenna port table configuration is included in the new Type I extension antenna port table. For Type II extension, a subset of the existing Type II antenna port table configuration is included in the new Type II extension antenna port table.

[0086] In one embodiment, the legacy port table corresponding to code point 0 / 00 is always included in the selected antenna port. Code points 0 and 00 are used to determine PT-RS, which is also used to determine antenna port selection using short DCI.

[0087] In one embodiment, DCI 1_0 and DCI 0_0 scrambled with C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, CS-RNTI may be configured with one of the indexes indicated by the subset selection.

[0088] In one embodiment, when configuring Rel-18 DMRS, the number of bits for the DCI field "antenna port" in DCI 0_1 / 0_2 and DCI 1_1 / 1_2 can be configured to use a subset of the rows from the legacy table and a subset of the rows from the new antenna port mapping table. The portion or row can be defined as starting from the first value index in the legacy table to be mapped to the lowest code point of the available code points defined by the RRC configuration, and the index from the table is mapped to the code points in ascending order. The second value index in the new table is configured as the lowest value index to be mapped to the lowest code point among the remaining available code points, and then the rows from the new table are mapped to the code points in ascending order of the installation value index. The switch between the legacy table and the Rel-18 table is dynamically indicated by applying different code points for the "antenna port" in DCI 0_1 and 0_2. Explicit dynamic switching using DCI or MAC CE indication

[0089] In this method, the switching between the legacy type and the extended type is explicitly indicated in the DCI or MAC CE.

[0090] The bit field in the DCI can be used for the UE to dynamically switch between the legacy DMRS type antenna port table and the new extended type antenna port table. The dynamic switching between DMRS types can be configured in PDSCH-Config and / or PUSCH-Config.

[0091] In one embodiment, multiple subset selections may be configured by higher layers for each DMRS type, the additional positions may be configured to be different for Type1 and extendedType1, MAC CE or DCI is used to dynamically switch between DMRS types, and subset selection is applied for the corresponding DMRS type.

[0092] In one embodiment, the additional DMRS symbol positions may be configured differently for the extended type and the legacy type, and different additional DMRS symbols may be dynamically switched via dynamic switching between the legacy and extended types. DMRS-DownlinkConfig Information Element Dynamic switching across multiple DMRS configurations

[0093] This section is related to the multi-TRP, multi-TA, multi-panel, C-JT, unified TCI enhancements in Rel-18. We assume that some identifiers are defined for multi-TRP, multi-TA, multi-panel, C-JT, TCI groups that need to indicate the UE's transmit and receive antenna constellations. The identifiers can be: coreset, PoolIndx, TA group ID, panelID, CORESETID, SRS resource set ID, TCI group ID, DMRS configuration ID, antenna group ID.

[0094] In one embodiment, one DMRS configuration may be associated with one such ID, and the ID may be indicated in the DCI or MAC CE. The UE applies the corresponding DMRS configuration associated with the ID after it receives the PDCCH or MAC CE indication. For each configuration, the DCI field needs to be aligned with the maximum bit field. Method and device

[0095] Figure 4A method 100 is depicted in accordance with a particular embodiment. The method 100 is performed by a wireless device operating in a wireless communication network having a legacy protocol for generation, transmission, reception, and processing of demodulation reference symbols (DMRS), and an extended protocol for generation, transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS that is different from the legacy protocol. The extended DMRS protocol is also referred to herein as Rel-18 DMRS. An indication of an extended antenna port table including both legacy DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports is obtained (block 102). One or more DMRS ports are determined from the extended antenna port table (block 104). The wireless device communicates with the network using the one or more determined DMRS ports (block 106).

[0096] Figure 5 A method 200 according to other specific embodiments is depicted. The method 200 is performed by a base station operating in a wireless communication network. The network has a conventionally defined protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS, and an extended protocol for transmission, reception, and processing of DMRS that is different from the conventional protocol. The extended DMRS protocol is also referred to herein as Rel-18 DMRS. The base station indicates an extended antenna port table including both conventional DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports to a wireless device (block 202). An index in the extended antenna port table is sent to the wireless device, whereby the wireless device determines one or more DMRS ports (block 204). The base station communicates with the wireless device using the one or more determined DMRS ports (block 206).

[0097] The device described herein can perform methods 100, 200 and any other processing herein by implementing any functional components, modules, units or circuits. For example, in one embodiment, the device includes a corresponding circuit or circuit module configured to perform the steps shown in the method diagram. In this regard, the circuit or circuit module may include a circuit dedicated to performing a specific functional process and / or one or more microprocessors combined with a memory. For example, the circuit may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, and the like. The processing circuit may be configured to execute program codes stored in a memory, and the memory may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory, a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, and instructions for implementing one or more technologies described herein. In an embodiment using a memory, the memory stores program code, and the program code, when executed by the one or more processors, implements the technology described herein.

[0098] For example, Figure 6 A hardware block diagram of a wireless device 10 as implemented according to one or more embodiments is shown. As shown, the wireless device 10 includes a processing circuit 14 and a communication circuit 18. The communication circuit 18 (e.g., a radio circuit) is configured to transmit information to one or more other nodes and / or receive information from one or more other nodes, for example, via any communication technology. Such communication can be performed via one or more antennas 20, which can be inside or outside the wireless device 10, as indicated by the dotted lines. The processing circuit 14 is configured to perform the above-mentioned processing, such as by executing instructions stored in the memory 16. In this regard, the processing circuit 14 can implement certain functional components, units or modules.

[0099] Figure 7 A wireless network according to still other embodiments (eg, Fig.10 ) in a wireless network. As shown in the figure, the wireless device 30 is, for example, connected via Figure 6 The processing circuit 14 in the embodiment and / or via software code implements various functional components, units or modules. For example, these functional components, units or modules for implementing the method 100 herein include, for example: an extended antenna port table indication obtaining unit 32, a DMRS port determining unit 34 and a communication unit 36. The extended antenna port table indication obtaining unit 32 is configured to obtain an indication of an extended antenna port table including both traditional DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports. The DMRS port determining unit 34 is configured to determine one or more DMRS ports from the extended antenna port table. The communication unit 36 ​​is configured to communicate with the network using the one or more retrieved DMRS ports.

[0100] Figure 8 A hardware block diagram of a network node 50 as implemented according to one or more embodiments is shown. As shown, the network node 50 includes a processing circuit 52 and a communication circuit 56. The communication circuit 56 is configured to transmit information to one or more other nodes and / or receive information from one or more other nodes via any communication technology, for example. The network node 50 can act as a base station (e.g., eNB, gNB, etc.), any of which can communicate wirelessly with multiple wireless devices 10, 30 via one or more antennas 58. As indicated by the dotted line, the antenna 58 can be positioned away from the network node 50, such as on a tower or building. The processing circuit 14 is configured to perform the above-mentioned processing, such as by executing instructions stored in the memory 54. Although represented as being within the network node 50, it is understood by those skilled in the art that some or all of the processing circuits 54 can be implemented as virtualized servers in a data center, such as in a so-called cloud. In this regard, the processing circuit 54 can implement certain functional components, units or modules.

[0101] Fig. 9 A wireless network according to still other embodiments (eg, Fig.10 1 is a functional block diagram of a network node 60 in a wireless network as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the network node 60 is, for example, connected via Figure 8 The processing circuit 54 in the embodiment and / or the software code are used to implement various functional components, units or modules. For example, these functional components, units or modules used to implement the method 200 herein include, for example: an extended antenna port table indication unit 32, an extended antenna port table index sending unit 34 and a communication unit 36. The extended antenna port table indication unit 32 is configured to indicate to the wireless device an extended antenna port table including both traditional DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports. The extended antenna port table index sending unit 34 is configured to send an index in the extended antenna port table to the wireless device, whereby the wireless device determines one or more DMRS ports. The communication unit 36 ​​is configured to communicate with the wireless device using the one or more determined DMRS ports.

[0102] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the embodiments herein also include corresponding computer programs.

[0103] The computer program includes instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor of the device, cause the device to implement any one of the above-mentioned corresponding processes. In this regard, the computer program may include one or more code modules corresponding to the above-mentioned components or units.

[0104] The embodiment also includes a carrier containing such a computer program. The carrier may include one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal or a computer-readable storage medium.

[0105] In this regard, the embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable (storage or recording) medium and including instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform as described above.

[0106] The embodiment also includes a computer program product, the computer program product includes a program code portion, the program code portion is used to perform the steps of any embodiment in this document when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. The computer program product can be stored on a computer readable recording medium. Network Description and Over-the-Top (OTT) Implementation

[0107] Fig.10 An example of a communication system QQ 100 is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0108] In this example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunications network QQ102, which includes an access network QQ104 such as a radio access network (RAN) and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes QQ110a and QQ110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network node QQ110), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network node QQ110 facilitates direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UE QQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UE QQ112) to the core network QQ106 via one or more wireless connections.

[0109] Exemplary wireless communications over wireless connections include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. In addition, in different embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the transmission of data and / or signals, whether via a wired connection or a wireless connection. The communication system QQ100 may include any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems and / or be connected to any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems via an interface.

[0110] UE QQ 112 may be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node QQ 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node QQ 110 is arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE QQ 112 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network QQ 102 to enable and / or provide network access (such as wireless network access) and / or perform other functions (such as management in telecommunication network QQ 102).

[0111] In the depicted example, the core network QQ106 connects the network node QQ110 to one or more hosts (such as host QQ116). These connections can be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node can be directly coupled to the host. The core network QQ106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) constructed by hardware and software components. The features of these components can be substantially similar to those described with respect to UE, network nodes and / or hosts, so that their description is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node QQ108. The example core network node includes a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier de-hiding function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection agent (SEPP), a network open function (NEF) and / or a user plane function (UPF) One or more functions.

[0112] The host QQ 116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of the telecommunications network QQ 102 and / or the access network QQ 104, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host QQ 116 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include real-time and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (such as retrieving and compiling data about various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analysis functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by the server.

[0113] on the whole, Fig.10 The communication system QQ100 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0114] In some examples, the telecommunication network QQ 102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, the telecommunication network QQ 102 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunication network QQ 102. For example, the telecommunication network QQ 102 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or providing massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to still other UEs.

[0115] In some examples, UE QQ 112 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network QQ 104 on a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the access network QQ 104. In addition, the UE may be configured to operate in a single-RAT or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate with any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (new air interface), and LTE, i.e., configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Air Interface-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0116] In this example, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d) and a network node (e.g., network node QQ110b). In some examples, the hub QQ114 can be a controller, a router, a content source, and an analysis tool, or any of the other communication devices described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub QQ114 can be a broadband router for the UE that enables access to the core network QQ106. As another example, the hub QQ114 can be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. Commands or instructions can be received from the UE, the network node QQ110, or can be received through executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in the hub QQ114. As another example, the hub QQ114 can be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, analysis or other processing of the data can be performed. As another example, the hub QQ114 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the hub QQ 114 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and the hub QQ 114 then provides the VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub QQ 114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, particularly if one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0117] The hub QQ114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 110b. The hub QQ114 may also consider different communication schemes and / or scheduling between the hub QQ114 and the UE (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d) and between the hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, the hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. In addition, the hub QQ114 may be configured to be connected to an M2M service provider and / or to another UE via a direct connection via the access network QQ104. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node QQ110 while still being connected via a wired or wireless connection and via the hub QQ114. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub, that is, a hub whose main function is to route communications from the network node QQ110b to the UE / route communications from the UE to the network node QQ110b. In other embodiments, hub QQ 114 may be a non-dedicated hub, ie, a device operable to route communications between UEs and network node QQ 110b, but otherwise capable of operating as a communications origin and / or endpoint for certain data channels.

[0118] Fig.11 UEQQ200 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, UE refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicle mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communications (MTC) UEs and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0119] The UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for direct link communications, dedicated short range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, the UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not or may not initially be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart meter).

[0120] UE QQ200 includes processing circuitry QQ202, which is operatively coupled to input / output interface QQ206, power source QQ208, memory QQ210, communication interface QQ212, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, via bus QQ204. Fig.11 All or a subset of the components shown in . The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another UE. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0121] The processing circuit QQ202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine that operates to execute instructions stored in the memory QQ210 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit QQ202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors such as microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit QQ202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0122] In this example, the input / output interface QQ206 can be configured to provide an interface or multiple interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device can allow a user to capture information into the UE QQ200. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional pads, trackpads, rollers, smart cards, and the like. A presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, a biosensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device can use an interface port of the same type as an input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port can be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0123] In some embodiments, the power source QQ208 is constructed as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power sources such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical socket), a photovoltaic device, or a power cell can be used. The power source QQ208 may further include a power circuit for delivering power from the power source QQ208 itself and / or an external power source to various parts of the UE QQ200 via an interface or input circuit such as a power cable. The delivered power can be used, for example, for charging the power source QQ208. The power circuit can perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power source QQ208 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components of the UE QQ200 being powered.

[0124] The memory QQ210 may be or be configured to include a memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable cassette, a flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory QQ210 includes one or more application programs QQ214 (such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other applications) and corresponding data QQ216. The memory QQ210 may store any of a variety of different operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE QQ200.

[0125] The memory QQ210 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, internal hard drive, Blu-ray optical drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, such as a smart card memory of a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) (including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) such as USIM and / or ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card". The memory QQ210 may allow the UE QQ200 to access instructions, applications, and the like stored on a temporary or non-temporary storage medium to unload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or contained in memory QQ 210 , which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0126] The processing circuit QQ202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface QQ212. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ222. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more transceivers for communicating, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., a network node in an access network or another UE). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ218 and / or a receiver QQ220 suitable for providing network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter QQ218 and the receiver QQ220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ222) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, the transmitter QQ218 and the receiver QQ220 may be implemented separately.

[0127] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication function of the communication interface QQ212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near field communication, location-based communication such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, new radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), QUIC, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0128] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE can provide an output of the data captured by its sensor via its communication interface QQ212, via a wireless connection to a network node. The data captured by the UE's sensor can be delivered via another UE, via a wireless connection to a network node. The output can be periodic (e.g., every 14 minutes if it reports a sensed temperature), random (e.g., balancing the load of reports from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., sending an alarm when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0129] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch can change. For example, the UE can include a motor that adjusts the control surface or rotor of an unmanned aircraft in flight according to the received input or adjusts the motor of a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0130] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, including but not limited to urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are the following devices or devices embedded in the following: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electric meter, a robotic vacuum cleaner, a voice-controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electric door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a monitoring system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), a wearable device for tactile enhancement or sensory enhancement, a sprinkler, an animal or item tracking device, a sensor for monitoring plants or animals, an industrial robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device like a heart rate monitor or a remotely controlled surgical robot. In addition to the above, the present invention also provides a method for implementing a UE in a manner that is suitable for use in an IoT device. Fig.11 In addition to the other components described in the UE QQ200 shown in FIG. 1 , a UE in the form of an IoT device includes circuits and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0131] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or a network node. The UE in this case may be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, a UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0132] In fact, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or may be integrated into a drone and provide speed information of the drone (obtained by a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller for operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first and / or second UE may also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE may include a sensor and an actuator and handle the transfer of data from both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0133] Fig.12A network node QQ300 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NRNodeBs (gNBs)).

[0134] Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power level), and thus, depending on the amount of coverage provided, a base station may be referred to as a femto base station, a pico base station, a micro base station, or a macro base station. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio device. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0135] Other examples of network nodes include a multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access node, a multi-standard radio (MSR) device such as an MSR BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or a minimization of drive tests (MDT).

[0136] The network node QQ300 includes a processing circuit QQ302, a memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306 and a power source QQ308. The network node QQ300 may be composed of a plurality of physically separated components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), and the plurality of physically separated components may each have their own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node QQ300 includes a plurality of separated components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more of the separated components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control a plurality of NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered as a single independent network node in some instances. In some embodiments, the network node QQ300 may be configured to support a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs). In such an embodiment, some components may be duplicated (e.g., independent memory QQ304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna QQ310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ300 may also include multiple sets of various illustrated components for different wireless technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technology, integrated into the network node QQ300. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node QQ300.

[0137] The processing circuit QQ302 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide network node QQ300 functionality either alone or in combination with other network node QQ300 components such as memory QQ304.

[0138] In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit QQ312 and a baseband processing circuit QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0139] The memory QQ304 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to a persistent storage device, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a flash drive, a compact disk (CD), or a digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit QQ302. The memory QQ304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables), and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300. The memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit QQ302 and / or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 and the memory QQ304 are integrated.

[0140] The communication interface QQ306 is used in the wired or wireless transmission of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface QQ306 includes (one or more) ports / (one or more) terminals QQ316 used to send data to the network and receive data from the network, for example, via a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes a radio front-end circuit QQ318 that can be coupled to the antenna QQ310 or is a part of the antenna QQ310 in some embodiments. The radio front-end circuit QQ318 includes a filter QQ320 and an amplifier QQ322. The radio front-end circuit QQ318 can be connected to the antenna QQ310 and the processing circuit QQ302. The radio front-end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna QQ310 and the processing circuit QQ302. The radio front-end circuit QQ318 can receive digital data to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit QQ318 can use a combination of a filter QQ320 and / or an amplifier QQ322 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna QQ310. Similarly, when data is received, antenna QQ310 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted into digital data by radio front end circuit QQ318. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0141] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node QQ300 does not include a separate radio front end circuit QQ318, instead the processing circuit QQ302 includes the radio front end circuit and is connected to the antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 is part of the communication interface QQ306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ306 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, the radio front end circuit QQ318 and the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with the baseband processing circuit QQ314, which is part of the digital unit (not shown).

[0142] Antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna QQ310 may be coupled to a radio front end circuit QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna QQ310 is separate from network node QQ300 and may be connected to network node QQ300 via an interface or port.

[0143] Antenna QQ310, communication interface QQ306 and / or processing circuit QQ302 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna QQ310, communication interface QQ306 and / or processing circuit QQ302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0144] The power source QQ308 provides power to the various components of the network node QQ300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current level required by each respective component). The power source QQ308 may further include or be coupled to a power management circuit to supply power to the components of the network node QQ300 for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit of the power source QQ308. As another example, the power source QQ308 may include a power source in the form of a battery or a battery pack, connected to or integrated into the power circuit. If the external power source fails, the battery may provide backup power.

[0145] Embodiments of the network node QQ300 may include Fig.12 Additional components beyond those shown in the figure are used to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may include a user interface device to allow information to be entered into the network node QQ300 and to allow information to be output from the network node QQ300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node QQ300.

[0146] Fig.13 is a block diagram of a host QQ400 according to various aspects described herein, and the host QQ400 may be Fig.10 1. The host QQ 400 is an embodiment of the host QQ 116. As used herein, the host QQ 400 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, including processing resources in a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-enabled server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or a server farm. The host QQ 400 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0147] The host QQ400 includes a processing circuit QQ402, which is operatively coupled to an input / output interface QQ406, a network interface QQ408, a power source QQ410, and a memory QQ412 via a bus QQ404. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of the previous figures (such as Figures QQ2 and QQ3), so that their description is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host QQ400.

[0148] The memory QQ412 may contain one or more computer programs, including one or more host applications QQ414 and data QQ416, which may contain user data, such as data generated by the UE for the host QQ400 or data generated by the host QQ400 for the UE. An embodiment of the host QQ400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application QQ414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., generic video coding (VVC), high efficiency video coding (HEVC), advanced video coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, advanced audio coding (AAC), MPEG, and g.711), including transcoding for multiple different categories, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). The host application QQ414 may also provide user authentication and permission checks, and may periodically report health, routing, and content availability to a central node (such as a device in a core network or on the edge). Thus, the host QQ 400 may select and / or indicate different hosts for over-the-top services for the UE. The host application QQ 414 may support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0149] Fig.14 It is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment QQ500 in which the functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage device, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization is applicable to any device or component thereof described herein and is related to the implementation in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components performed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments QQ500 hosted by one or more hardware nodes in a hardware node (such as a hardware computing device operated as a network node, UE, core network node, or host). In addition, in an embodiment in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (such as a core network node or host), a node may be fully virtualized.

[0150] Application QQ502 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual device, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) is run in a virtualized environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0151] Hardware QQ504 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. The software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers QQ506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMQQ508a and QQ508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VM QQ508), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to be networked hardware to VMQQ508.

[0152] VMQQ508 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage devices, and can be run through a corresponding virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device QQ502 can be implemented on one or more VMs in VM QQ508, and the implementation can be made in different ways. Virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) in some contexts. NFV can be used to integrate many network device types onto industry standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices that can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0153] In the context of NFV, VM QQ 508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM in VM QQ 508 and that portion of hardware QQ 504 on which that VM executes, whether it is hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with other VMs in the VM, form an independent virtual network element. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling a specific network function running in one or more VM QQ 508 on top of hardware QQ 504 and corresponds to an application QQ 502.

[0154] Hardware QQ504 can be implemented in an independent network node with general or specific components. Hardware QQ504 can implement some functions by means of virtualization. Alternatively, hardware QQ504 can be part of a larger hardware cluster (for example, such as in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration QQ510, which also supervises the life cycle management of application QQ502. In some embodiments, hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units, each of which includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit can communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and can be combined with virtual components to use the radio unit to provide radio capabilities to virtual nodes, such as radio access nodes or base stations. In some embodiments, a control system QQ512 can be used to provide some signaling, and the control system QQ512 can be alternatively used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0155] Fig.15 A communication diagram is shown in which a host QQ 602 communicates with a UE QQ 606 via a network node QQ 604 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Fig.15 Describe the UE discussed in the previous paragraphs (such as Fig.10 UEQQ112a and / or Fig.11 UEQQ200), network nodes (such as Fig.10 The network node QQ110a and / or Fig.12 network nodes QQ300) and hosts (such as Fig.10 Host QQ116 and / or Fig.13 An example implementation of the host QQ400) according to various embodiments.

[0156] Similar to the host QQ400, an embodiment of the host QQ602 includes hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. The host QQ602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host QQ602 and can be executed by the processing circuit. The software includes a host application, which can be operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE QQ606 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection QQ650 extended between the UE QQ606 and the host QQ602. When providing services to remote users, the host application can provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection QQ650.

[0157] Network node QQ 604 contains hardware that enables it to communicate with host QQ 602 and UE QQ 606. Connection QQ 660 can be direct or through a core network (such as Fig.10 The core network QQ106 of the present invention) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private or managed networks. For example, the intermediate network can be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0158] UE QQ606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE QQ606 and can be executed by UE processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or an operator-specific "app", which can be operated to provide services to human or non-human users via UE QQ606 with the support of host QQ602. In host QQ602, the executed host application can communicate with the executed client application via the OTT connection QQ650 that terminates at UE QQ606 and host QQ602. When providing services to users, the client application of the UE can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection QQ650 can transmit both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data, which it provides to the host application via the OTT connection QQ650.

[0159] The OTT connection QQ650 may be extended via a connection QQ660 between the host QQ602 and the network node QQ604 and via a wireless connection QQ670 between the network node QQ604 and the UE QQ606 to provide a connection between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606. The connection QQ660 and the wireless connection QQ670 over which the OTT connection QQ650 may be provided have been abstractly drawn to illustrate the communication between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606 via the network node QQ604, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0160] As an example of transmitting data via OTT connection QQ650, in step QQ608, host QQ602 provides user data, which can be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with UE QQ606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE QQ606, which shares data with host QQ602 without explicit human interaction. In step QQ610, host QQ602 initiates a transmission carrying user data toward UE QQ606. Host QQ602 can initiate the transmission in response to a request transmitted by UE QQ606. The request can be caused by human interaction with UE QQ606, or by the operation of a client application executed on UE QQ606. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission can be transmitted via network node QQ604. Therefore, in step QQ612, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node QQ604 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host QQ602 to UE QQ606. In step QQ614 , UEQQ606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executing on UEQQ606 associated with a host application executed by host QQ602 .

[0161] In some examples, UE QQ606 executes a client application that provides user data to host QQ602. User data can be provided as a reaction or response to data received from host QQ602. Therefore, in step QQ616, UE QQ606 can provide user data, which can be performed by executing the client application. When providing user data, the client application can also consider the user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UE QQ606. Regardless of the specific manner of providing user data, in step QQ618, UE QQ606 initiates the transmission of user data toward host QQ602 via network node QQ604. In step QQ620, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node QQ604 receives user data from UE QQ606, and initiates the transmission of the received user data toward host QQ602. In step QQ622, host QQ602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE QQ606.

[0162] One or more of the various embodiments use OTT connection QQ 650 to improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE QQ 606, where wireless connection QQ 670 forms the final segment. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve the quality of physical layer communications and thereby provide benefits such as higher data rates, reduced errors and reduced retransmissions and therefore power savings.

[0163] In an example scenario, plant status information can be collected and analyzed by host QQ602. As another example, host QQ602 can process audio and video data that has been obtained from UE for creating a map. As another example, host QQ602 can collect and analyze real-time data to help control traffic congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, host QQ602 can store surveillance videos uploaded by UE. As another example, host QQ602 can store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR or AR that it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UE. As other examples, host QQ602 can be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical electrical loads to balance power generation demand, location services, presentation services (such as compiled maps based on data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0164] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments. There may also be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection QQ650 between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host QQ602 and / or in the software and hardware of the UE QQ606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection QQ650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by supplying the values ​​of the monitored quantities of the above examples or supplying the values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection QQ650 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node QQ604. Such processes and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve dedicated UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, and the like by the host QQ 602. The measurements may be accomplished because software causes messages (particularly empty or "dummy" messages) to be transmitted using the OTT connection QQ 650 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0165] Although the computing devices (e.g., UE, network node, host) described herein may include a combination of the hardware components shown, other examples may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, the following operations: converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with the information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making a determination as a result of the processing. In addition, although the components are depicted as being located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the computing device may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and functionality may be divided between the various components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any component described herein, and / or the functionality of the component may be divided between the processing circuit and the communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0166] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by a processing circuit without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those specific embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functionality, regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to separate processing circuits or other components of a computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or generally by end users and wireless networks.

[0167] The embodiments described herein provide many advantages over the prior art. DL / UL performance is improved because the DMRS configuration can be quickly switched / optimized for the current use (e.g., MU-MIMO or SU-MIMO). Another benefit is that dynamic switching between different numbers of additional DMRS symbols can be performed depending on the UE speed, which helps achieve a good trade-off between channel estimation performance and DMRS overhead.

[0168] Generally, all terms used in this article will be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant technical field, unless clearly given and / or different meanings are implied from the context of its use. All references to one / an / the element, equipment, assembly, part, step, etc. should be interpreted as referring to at least one example in the element, equipment, assembly, part, step, etc., unless otherwise clearly stated. The steps of any method disclosed herein are not necessarily performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is clearly described as after or before another step, and / or when it is implied that a step must be after or before another step. Where appropriate, any feature of any aspect disclosed herein can be applied to any other aspect. Similarly, any advantage of any aspect can be applied to any other aspect, and vice versa. According to the description, other purposes, features and advantages of the included aspects will become clear. As used herein, the term "configured to" means to establish, organize, adapt or be arranged to operate in a particular way; the term is synonymous with "designed to". As used herein, a specific "program" may also refer to a "protocol", or a standardized method for processing data or performing tasks.

[0169] Of course, without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure, the present disclosure may be implemented in other ways than those specifically set forth herein. The presented aspects are considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes within the meaning and equivalent range of the appended claims are intended to be included therein.

Claims

1. A method (100) performed by a wireless device (10, 30) operating in a wireless communication network, the wireless communication network having a conventional process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing a demodulation reference symbol (DMRS), and an extended process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing a DMRS different from the conventional process, the method comprising: obtaining (102) an indication of an extended antenna port table including both legacy DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports; Determining (104) one or more DMRS ports from the extended antenna port table; as well as Communicating with the network using the one or more determined DMRS ports (106).

2. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein: Communicating (106) with the network includes one or both of: receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network, or transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to the network.

3. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein: Obtaining (102) an indication of an extended antenna port table includes retrieving the indication of the extended antenna port table from pre-configured information stored in a memory (16) of the wireless device (10, 30).

4. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein: Obtaining (102) an indication of an extended antenna port table includes receiving an indication of the extended antenna port table from the network.

5. The method (100) of claim 4, wherein: Receiving an indication of the extended antenna port table from the network includes receiving the indication via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

6. The method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The indication of the extended antenna port table is an indication of a subset of the extended antenna port table.

7. The method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: Determining (104) one or more DMRS ports from the extended antenna port table includes: receiving an index into the extended antenna port table from the network; and The one or more DMRS ports in the extended antenna port table are determined using the index.

8. The method (100) of claim 7, wherein: Receiving the index into the extended antenna port table from the network includes receiving the index in downlink control information (DCI).

9. The method (100) of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: indexing a DMRS description table with the one or more DMRS ports to determine parameters associated with each of the DMRS ports; as well as Wherein communicating with the network using the one or more determined DMRS ports (106) includes communicating with the network using the one or more determined DMRS ports and determined parameters associated with each of the DMRS ports.

10. The method (100) of claim 9, wherein: The determined parameter associated with the DMRS includes at least one of the following: a code division multiplexing CDM group index, a frequency domain orthogonal cover code FD-OCC, and a time domain orthogonal cover code TD-OCC.

11. The method (100) of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein The extended DMRS port in the extended antenna port table that is the same as the corresponding traditional DMRS port reuses the traditional DMRS port number; and The extended DMRS ports in the extended antenna port table that are different from the conventional DMRS ports use DMRS port numbers that are not used by the conventional DMRS ports.

12. The method (100) of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: obtaining an indication of a legacy antenna port table including only legacy DMRS ports; receiving an indication from the network whether to use a conventional antenna port table or the extended antenna port table; receiving from the network an index into the indicated antenna port table; as well as One or more DMRS ports are determined from the indicated antenna port table.

13. The method (100) of claim 12, wherein: Receiving an indication from the network whether to use the legacy antenna port table or the extended antenna port table includes receiving the indication in a control element CE of a medium access control MAC.

14. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein generating the legacy DMRS from one of two codes; and The extended DMRS is generated from one of four codes.

15. A wireless device (10, 30) operating in a wireless communication network having a conventional process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing a demodulation reference symbol (DMRS), and an extended process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing a DMRS different from the conventional process, the wireless device comprising: Communication circuit (18); as well as A processing circuit (14) operatively connected to the communication circuit (18), the processing circuit (14) being configured to obtaining (102) an indication of an extended antenna port table including both legacy DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports; Determining (104) one or more DMRS ports from the extended antenna port table; as well as Communicating with the network using the one or more determined DMRS ports (106).

16. The wireless device (10, 30) of claim 15, wherein: The processing circuit (14) is further configured to perform any of the steps of the method according to any one of claims 2 to 14.

17. A method (200) performed by a base station (50, 60) operating in a wireless communication network having a conventional process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing demodulation reference symbols (DMRS) and an extended process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing DMRS that is different from the conventional process, the method comprising: indicating (202) to a wireless device (10, 30) an extended antenna port table including both legacy DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports; sending (204) an index to the extended antenna port table to the wireless device (10, 30), wherein the index identifies one or more DMRS ports; as well as Communicating (206) with the wireless device (10, 30) using the one or more determined DMRS ports.

18. The method (200) of claim 17, wherein: The communication (106) with the wireless device (10, 30) includes one or both of: transmitting a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to the wireless device (10, 30) or receiving a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) from the wireless device (10, 30).

19. The method (200) of claim 18, wherein: Indicating (202) an extended antenna port table to a wireless device (10, 30) includes sending an indication of the extended antenna port table to the wireless device (10, 30) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

20. The method (200) of claim 18, wherein: The indication of the extended antenna port table is an indication of a subset of the extended antenna port table.

21. The method (200) of any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein: Sending (204) an index to the extended antenna port table to the wireless device (10, 30) includes sending the index in downlink control information (DCI).

22. The method (200) of any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein: The index into the extended antenna port table additionally determines one or more of: a code division multiplexing CDM group index, a frequency domain orthogonal cover code FD-OCC, and a time domain orthogonal cover code TD-OCC.

23. The method (200) of any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein The extended DMRS port in the extended antenna port table that is the same as the corresponding traditional DMRS port reuses the traditional DMRS port number; and The extended DMRS ports in the extended antenna port table that are different from the conventional DMRS ports use DMRS port numbers that are not used by the conventional DMRS ports.

24. The method (200) of any one of claims 17-23, further comprising: indicating to the wireless device (10, 30) a legacy antenna port table including only legacy DMRS ports; sending an indication to the wireless device (10, 30) as to whether to use the conventional antenna port table or the extended antenna port table; sending to the wireless device (10, 30) an index in the indicated antenna port table, whereby the wireless device (10, 30) determines one or more DMRS ports; as well as Communicating with the wireless device (10, 30) using the one or more determined DMRS ports.

25. The method (200) of claim 24, wherein: Sending an indication to the wireless device (10, 30) whether to use the conventional antenna port table or the extended antenna port table includes sending the indication in a control element CE of a medium access control MAC.

26. The method (200) of claim 17, wherein generating the legacy DMRS from one of two codes; and The extended DMRS is generated from one of four codes.

27. A base station (50, 60) operating in a wireless communication network having a conventional process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing demodulation reference symbols (DMRS) and an extended process for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing DMRS that is different from the conventional process, the base station comprising: Communication circuit (56); as well as a processing circuit (52) operatively connected to the communication circuit (56), the processing circuit (52) being configured to indicating (202) to a wireless device (10, 30) an extended antenna port table including both legacy DMRS ports and extended DMRS ports; sending (204) an index to the extended antenna port table to the wireless device (10, 30), whereby the wireless device (10, 30) determines one or more DMRS ports; as well as Communicating (206) with the wireless device (10, 30) using the one or more determined DMRS ports.

28. The base station (50, 60) of claim 27, wherein: The processing circuit (52) is further configured to perform any of the steps of the method of any one of claims 17 to 27.

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