Energy saving beam selection

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may identify downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption for each of one or more candidate beams in a set of candidate beams. The UE may select a beam based at least in part on: at least one of a downlink throughput or an uplink throughput, at least one of a downlink power consumption or an uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds. The UE may communicate using the selected beam. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 17 / 664,937, filed on May 25, 2022, entitled “ENERGY-EFFICIENT BEAM SELECTION,” which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and to techniques and apparatus for energy-efficient beam selection. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communications for wireless communication devices, such as a user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. A "downlink" (or "DL") refers to a communication link from a network node to a UE, and an "uplink" (or "UL") refers to a communication link from a UE to a network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communications, such as via a local link (e.g., a side link (SL), a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and / or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, among other examples).

[0006] The above-mentioned multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at a city, country, region and / or global level. New Radio (NR) (which may be referred to as 5G) is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to improve spectrum efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards by using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink, using CP-OFDM and / or single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink, and supporting beamforming, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology and carrier aggregation, so as to better support mobile broadband Internet access. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR and other radio access technologies remain useful. Summary of the invention

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include identifying, for each of one or more candidate beams in a set of candidate beams, downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption. The method may include selecting a beam based at least in part on at least one of downlink throughput or uplink throughput, at least one of downlink power consumption or uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds. The method may include communicating using the selected beam.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a UE for wireless communication. The UE may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to identify, for each of one or more candidate beams in a candidate beam set, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption. The one or more processors may be configured to select a beam based at least in part on: at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds. The one or more processors may be configured to communicate using the selected beam.

[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication by a UE. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to identify downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption for each of one or more candidate beams in a candidate beam set. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to select a beam based at least in part on: at least one of downlink throughput or uplink throughput, at least one of downlink power consumption or uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to communicate using the selected beam.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for identifying, for each of one or more candidate beams in a set of candidate beams, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption. The apparatus may include means for selecting a beam based at least in part on at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds. The apparatus may include means for communicating using the selected beam.

[0011] Aspects collectively include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, network entities, network nodes, wireless communication devices and / or processing systems as fully described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0012] The features and technical advantages of the examples according to the present disclosure have been outlined quite extensively above in order to better understand the subsequent specific embodiments. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples can be easily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for the same purpose of achieving the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of protection of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both in terms of their organization and method of operation, and the associated advantages will be better understood by considering the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each of the drawings is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limitations of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to fully understand the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure, a more specific description of the invention briefly summarized above can be obtained by referring to various aspects (some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings). However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings only illustrate certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the specification may admit of other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0014] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between a network node and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example decomposed base station architecture according to the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a beam management procedure according to the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of energy-saving beam selection according to the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a UE according to the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 7 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, and should not be interpreted as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Instead, these aspects are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of protection of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether it is implemented independently or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such a device or method implemented using other structures, functions, or structures and functions in addition to or different from the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0022] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0023] Although various aspects may be described herein using terms generally associated with 5G or new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), various aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT, and / or post-5G RATs (e.g., 6G).

[0024] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or elements of a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, etc. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as network node 110a, network node 110b, network node 110c, and network node 110d), one user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UE 120a, UE 120b, UE 120c, UE 120d, and UE 120e), and / or other entities. The network node 110 is a network node that communicates with the UE 120. As shown in the figure, the network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, the network node 110 may be a clustered network node, which means that the clustered network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., within a single device or unit). As another example, the network node 110 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station), which means that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)).

[0025] In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with the UE 120 via a radio access link, such as an RU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link, such as a DU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or communicates with the core network via a backhaul link, such as a CU. In some examples, the network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a decomposed network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and / or one or more DUs. For example, the network node 110 may include an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G), a gNB (e.g., in 5G), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), a DU, a RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, network nodes 110 may be interconnected to each other or to one or more other network nodes 110 in wireless network 100 via various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and / or backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, air interfaces, or virtual networks) using any suitable transport network.

[0026] In some examples, the network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​the network node 110 and / or the network node subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. The network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by a UE 120 associated with the femto cell (e.g., a UE 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. The network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or a home network node. Figure 1In the example shown in , network node 110a may be a macro network node for macro cell 102a, network node 110b may be a pico network node for pico cell 102b, and network node 110c may be a femto network node for femto cell 102c. A network node may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​a cell may move depending on the location of a mobile network node 110 (e.g., a mobile network node).

[0027] In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a clustered base station, a decomposed base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station" or "network node" may refer to a CU, a DU, a RU, a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions (such as those described herein in conjunction with network node 110). In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to multiple devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a number of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeat the execution of at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one of the base station functions but not the other. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0028] The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that can receive transmissions of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmit transmissions of data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 that can relay transmissions for other UEs 120. Figure 1 In the example shown in , a network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with a network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and a UE 120d to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, a relay, etc.

[0029] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes different types of network nodes 110, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, etc. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and / or different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro network node may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while a pico network node, a femto network node, and a relay network node may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0030] The network controller 130 may be coupled to or in communication with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for the network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may also communicate directly with each other or indirectly via a wireless backhaul communication link or a wired backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be or may include a CU or a core network device.

[0031] UE 120 can be distributed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 can be stationary or mobile. UE 120 can include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station and / or a subscriber unit. UE 120 can be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device and / or a satellite radio), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node and / or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0032] Some UEs 120 may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and / or eMTC UEs may include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and / or location tags, which may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered as customer premises equipment. UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as a processor component and / or a memory component. In some examples, a processor component and a memory component may be coupled together. For example, a processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and a memory component (e.g., a memory) may be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and / or electrically coupled.

[0033] In general, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a specific RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. RAT may be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency may be referred to as a carrier, frequency channel, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0034] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly (e.g., without using network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with each other) using one or more side link channels. For example, UE 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), and / or mesh networks. In such examples, UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by network node 110.

[0035] The devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using an electromagnetic spectrum that may be subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency or wavelength. For example, the devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency ranges designated FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although portions of FR1 are greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "below 6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. A similar naming problem sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0036] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and therefore the features of FR1 and / or FR2 can be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to more than 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz-71GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz-114.25GHz) and FR5 (114.25GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0037] Considering the above examples, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "below 6 GHz" or the like is used herein, the term may broadly refer to frequencies that may be lower than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, the term may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) may be modified, and the techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0038] In some aspects, UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may identify, for each of one or more candidate beams in a set of candidate beams, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption; select a beam based at least in part on: at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds; and communicate using the selected beam. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0039] As indicated above, Figure 1 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 1 Different than described.

[0040] Figure 2 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a network node 110 communicating with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T≥1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R≥1). The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as an antenna 234 and a modem 254. In some examples, the network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include a radio frequency component that facilitates direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs or one or more DUs.

[0041] At the network node 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) from the data source 212. The transmit processor 220 may select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for the UE 120 based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 based at least in part on the MCS selected for the UE 120, and provide data symbols for the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource allocation information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, and / or upper layer signaling), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) (shown as modems 232a to 232t). For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of the modem 232. Each modem 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) using a corresponding modulator component to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or up-convert) the output sample stream using a corresponding modulator component to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a to 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a to 234t).

[0042] At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a to 252r) may receive downlink signals from the network node 110 and / or other network nodes 110 and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) (shown as modems 254a to 254r). For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a corresponding demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modem 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, and / or a CQI parameter, among other things. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in the housing 284.

[0043] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0044] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a to 234t and / or antennas 252a to 252r) may include or be included within one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and / or one or more antenna arrays, etc. Antenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and / or antenna arrays may include one or more antenna elements (in a single housing or multiple housings), sets of coplanar antenna elements, sets of non-coplanar antenna elements, and / or may be coupled to one or more transmit and / or receive components (such as, Figure 2 One or more antenna elements of one or more components in.

[0045] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and / or CQI). The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be pre-decoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, where applicable, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and sent to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 252, a modem 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, and / or a TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (eg, controller / processor 280) and memory 282 to perform the functions described herein (eg, with reference to Figures 3 to 7 ) or any aspect of any of the methods described herein.

[0046] At the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 and / or other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component of the modem 232 shown as DEMOD), detected by the MIMO detector 236 (where applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink and / or uplink communications. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna 234, modem 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and / or TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform operations described herein (e.g., with reference to Figures 3 to 7 ) or any aspect of any of the methods described herein.

[0047] The controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other components of the network node 110 may perform one or more techniques associated with beamforming, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other component of the Figure 6 600 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. Memory 242 and memory 282 may store data and program codes for network node 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some examples, memory 242 and / or memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and / or program code) for wireless communication. For example, one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of network node 110 and / or UE 120 (e.g., directly, or after compilation, conversion and / or interpretation), may cause the one or more processors, UE 120 and / or network node 110 to perform or direct, for example, Figure 6 The process 600 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running instructions, converting instructions, compiling instructions, and / or interpreting instructions, etc.

[0048] In some aspects, a UE (e.g., UE 120) includes: means for identifying, for each of one or more candidate beams in a set of candidate beams, downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption; means for selecting a beam based at least in part on: at least one of downlink throughput or uplink throughput, at least one of downlink power consumption or uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds; and / or means for communicating using the selected beam. Means for the UE to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: communications manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller / processor 280, or memory 282.

[0049] Although Figure 2 The blocks in the 2000 and 2010 are illustrated as distinct components, but the functionality described above for these blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functionality described for the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0050] As indicated above, Figure 2are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 2 Different than described.

[0051] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or components in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station or network equipment can be implemented in a clustered or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR BS, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a TRP or a cell, etc.) or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality can be implemented as a clustered base station (also referred to as an independent base station or a monolithic base station) or a decomposed base station. "Network entity" or "network node" may refer to a decomposed base station or one or more units of a decomposed base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof).

[0052] A clustered base station (e.g., a clustered network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). A decomposed base station (e.g., a decomposed network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs). In some examples, a CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other network nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of a CU, a DU, and a RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), and the like.

[0053] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a decomposed base station may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as a network configuration initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)) to facilitate the scaling of a communication system by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be deployed separately. A decomposed base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented virtually for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a decomposed base station may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the decomposed base station.

[0054] Figure 33 is a diagram illustrating an example decomposed base station architecture 300 according to the present disclosure. The decomposed base station architecture 300 may include a CU 310, which may communicate directly with a core network 320 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more decomposed control units (such as a near-RT RIC 325 via an E2 link, or a non-RT RIC 315 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 305, or both). The CU 310 may communicate with one or more DUs 330 via respective midhaul links, such as via an F1 interface. Each of the DUs 330 may communicate with one or more RUs 340 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 340 may communicate with one or more UEs 120 via respective radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 120 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 340.

[0055] Each of the units (including CU 310, DU 330, RU 340) and the near-RT RIC 325, non-RT RIC 315, and SMO framework 305 may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to one or more communication interfaces of the corresponding unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. In some examples, each of these units may include a wired interface and a wireless interface, the wired interface being configured to receive signals or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium, and the wireless interface may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as an RF transceiver), which is configured to receive signals or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0056] In some aspects, CU 310 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 310. CU 310 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP) functionality), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP) functionality), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 310 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface such as an E1 interface. As needed, CU 310 may be implemented to communicate with DU 330 for network control and signaling.

[0057] Each DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU 330 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers, at least in part, according to a functional partition such as that defined by 3GPP. In some aspects, one or more high PHY layers may be implemented by one or more modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc. In some aspects, the DU 330 may also host one or more low PHY layers, such as one or more modules for fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming or physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc. Each layer (which may also be referred to as a module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330 or with control functions hosted by the CU 310.

[0058] Each RU 340 may implement lower layer functionality. In some deployments, the RU 340 controlled by the DU 330 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions based on functional splits (e.g., functional splits defined by 3GPP) such as lower layer functional splits, or low PHY layer functions such as performing FFT, performing iFFT, digital beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, etc. In this architecture, each RU 340 may be operated to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 120. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communications with the RU 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable each DU 330 and CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture such as a vRAN architecture.

[0059] The SMO framework 305 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 390) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, non-RT RIC 315, and near-RT RIC 325. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 305 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 311) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate directly with each of the one or more RUs 340 via a corresponding O1 interface. The SMO framework 305 can also include a non-RT RIC 315 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 305.

[0060] The non-RT RIC 315 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 325. The non-RT RIC 315 may be coupled to or in communication with the near-RT RIC 325 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 325.

[0061] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 325, the non-RT RIC 315 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 325 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 305 or the non-RT RIC 315. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 315 or the near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 315 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 305 (such as via reconfiguration of the O1 interface) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 interface policies).

[0062] As indicated above, Figure 3 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 3 Different than described.

[0063] Figure 4 4 is a diagram illustrating examples 400, 410, and 420 of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beam management procedure according to the present disclosure. Figure 4 As shown, examples 400, 410, and 420 include UE 120 communicating with network node 110 in a wireless network (e.g., wireless network 100). Figure 4 The devices shown are provided as examples, and the wireless network may support communication and beam management between other devices (e.g., between UE 120 and network node 110 or a transmit receive point (TRP), between a mobile termination node and a control node, between an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) child node and an IAB parent node, and / or between a scheduled node and a scheduling node). In some aspects, UE 120 and network node 110 may be in a connected state (e.g., an RRC connected state).

[0064] like Figure 4 As shown, example 400 may include network node 110 and UE 120 communicating to perform beam management using CSI-RS. Example 400 depicts a first beam management procedure (e.g., P1 CSI-RS beam management). The first beam management procedure may be referred to as a beam selection procedure, an initial beam acquisition procedure, a beam scanning procedure, a cell search procedure, and / or a beam search procedure. Figure 4 As shown in example 400, CSI-RS may be configured to be sent from network node 110 to UE 120. CSI-RS may be configured to be periodic (e.g., using RRC signaling), semi-persistent (e.g., using medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) signaling), and / or aperiodic (e.g., using downlink control information (DCI)).

[0065] The first beam management procedure may include the network node 110 performing beam scanning on multiple transmit (Tx) beams. The network node 110 may use each transmit beam used for beam management to transmit a CSI-RS. In order to enable the UE 120 to perform receive (Rx) beam scanning, the base station may use the transmit beam to transmit each CSI-RS multiple times within the same RS resource set (e.g., using repetition) so that the UE 120 can scan through the receive beam in multiple transmission instances. For example, in the case where the network node 110 has a set of N transmit beams and the UE 120 has a set of M receive beams, the CSI-RS may be transmitted M times on each of the N transmit beams, so that the UE 120 can receive M instances of the CSI-RS per transmit beam. In other words, for each transmit beam of the network node 110, the UE 120 may perform beam scanning on the receive beam of the UE 120. Thus, the first beam management procedure may enable UE 120 to measure CSI-RS on different transmit beams using different receive beams to support selection of a network node 110 transmit beam / UE 120 receive beam pair. UE 120 may report the measurements to network node 110 to enable network node 110 to select one or more beam pairs for communication between network node 110 and UE 120. Although example 400 has been described in conjunction with CSI-RS, the first beam management procedure may also use synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to perform beam management in a similar manner as described above.

[0066] like Figure 4As shown, example 410 may include network node 110 and UE 120 communicating to perform beam management using CSI-RS. Example 410 depicts a second beam management procedure (e.g., P2CSI-RS beam management). The second beam management procedure may be referred to as a beam refinement procedure, a base station beam refinement procedure, a TRP beam refinement procedure, and / or a transmit beam refinement procedure. Figure 4 As shown in example 410, the CSI-RS may be configured to be transmitted from the network node 110 to the UE 120. The CSI-RS may be configured to be non-periodic (e.g., using DCI). The second beam management procedure may include the network node 110 performing beam scanning on one or more transmit beams. The one or more transmit beams may be a subset of all transmit beams associated with the network node 110 (e.g., determined at least in part based on measurements reported by the UE 120 in conjunction with the first beam management procedure). The network node 110 may transmit the CSI-RS using each of the one or more transmit beams used for beam management. The UE 120 may measure each CSI-RS using a single (e.g., identical) receive beam (e.g., determined at least in part based on measurements performed in conjunction with the first beam management procedure). The second beam management procedure may enable the network node 110 to select the best transmit beam based at least in part on measurements of the CSI-RS reported by the UE 120 (e.g., measured by the UE 120 using a single receive beam).

[0067] like Figure 4 As shown, example 420 depicts a third beam management procedure (e.g., P3 CSI-RS beam management). The third beam management procedure may be referred to as a beam refinement procedure, a UE beam refinement procedure, and / or a receive beam refinement procedure. Figure 4As shown in example 420, one or more CSI-RS may be configured to be sent from the network node 110 to the UE 120. The CSI-RS may be configured to be non-periodic (e.g., using DCI). The third beam management procedure may include the network node 110 sending the one or more CSI-RS using a single transmit beam (e.g., determined at least in part based on measurements reported by the UE 120 in conjunction with the first beam management procedure and / or the second beam management procedure). In order to enable the UE 120 to perform receive beam scanning, the base station may use the transmit beam to send (e.g., using repetition) the CSI-RS multiple times within the same RS resource set, so that the UE 120 can scan through one or more receive beams in multiple transmission instances. The one or more receive beams may be a subset of all receive beams associated with the UE 120 (e.g., determined at least in part based on measurements performed in conjunction with the first beam management procedure and / or the second beam management procedure). The third beam management procedure may enable the network node 110 and / or the UE 120 to select the best receive beam based at least in part on reported measurements received from the UE 120 (e.g., the reported measurements are measurements of the CSI-RS of the transmit beam using the one or more receive beams).

[0068] In some cases, the UE 120 and the network node 110 may use beamforming to improve the performance associated with communication over a millimeter wave (mmW) channel. For example, mmW channels (e.g., in FR2 and / or FR4) may suffer from high propagation losses because mmW signals have higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths than various other radio waves used for communication (e.g., communications below 6 GHz in FR1). Therefore, mmW signals typically have a shorter propagation distance, may suffer from atmospheric attenuation, and / or may be more easily blocked and / or suffer from penetration losses through objects or other obstacles, etc. For example, mmW signals may be reflected by lamp posts, vehicles, glass / windows, and / or metal objects, may be diffracted by the edges or corners of buildings and / or walls, and / or may be scattered via irregular objects such as walls and / or human bodies (e.g., a hand blocking an antenna module when the device is operating in a gaming mode). Therefore, beamforming may be used at both the UE 120 and the network node 110 to counteract propagation losses in mmW channels and thereby improve the performance of mmW communications. For example, to achieve beamforming gain on the downlink, the network node 110 may generate a downlink transmit beam steered in a particular direction, and the UE 120 may generate a corresponding downlink receive beam. Similarly, to achieve beamforming gain on the uplink, the UE 120 may generate an uplink transmit beam steered in a particular direction, and the network node 110 may generate a corresponding downlink receive beam. In some cases, the UE 120 may be permitted to select a downlink receive beam to optimize reception of downlink transmissions from the network node 110, and / or may be permitted to select an uplink transmit beam to optimize reception at the network node 110 of uplink transmissions made by the UE 120. In general, the UE 120 is free to select beams in order to optimize reception of the network node 110's signals at the UE 120 (on the downlink) and to optimize reception of the UE 120's signals at the network node 110 (on the uplink).

[0069] UE 120 may have several antennas (e.g., antenna 252). For example, an antenna module may include one or more antennas, such as multiple antennas. A beam may be generated by manipulating electrical parameters (e.g., phase, amplitude, etc.) of these antennas relative to each other. UE 120 may be able to utilize all antennas of the antenna module or a subset (e.g., an appropriate subset) of the antennas of the antenna module. For beams generated using n antenna elements, the power consumption and thermal cost (i.e., the heat generated) of UE 120 may be related to n. For example, the power consumption and thermal cost may be approximately proportional to n. In addition, the throughput may generally be roughly proportional to n. As described above, a larger number of active antennas (e.g., a larger value of n) may generally generate a narrower beam with a higher beamforming gain than a smaller number of active antennas.

[0070] In some cases, the UE may maximize the number of active antennas (i.e., all antennas of the antenna module may be used to generate a beam), which provides beamforming gain and can reduce interference by narrowing the beam that the UE uses to communicate. As described above, a larger number of active antennas (i.e., a larger value of n) is generally associated with higher power consumption, thermal costs, and throughput compared to a smaller number of active antennas. Although maximizing throughput is beneficial to the UE in some respects, there are situations where a threshold level of throughput is sufficient (without maximizing throughput). For example, an application or application layer of the UE may have a throughput requirement, and meeting the throughput requirement may be sufficient for acceptable operation of the UE. In such cases, maximizing the number of active antennas increases power consumption and thermal costs without providing a throughput benefit as long as the throughput requirement is met. For example, the increased thermal costs and power consumption associated with maximizing the number of active antennas may outweigh the benefits of "excess throughput" provided by maximizing the number of active antennas (exceeding the throughput requirement).

[0071] Some techniques described herein provide energy-saving beam selection to reduce power consumption and thermal costs while providing acceptable uplink and / or downlink throughput. For example, for a beam set, UE 120 may identify one or more throughputs (e.g., downlink throughput and / or uplink throughput) and one or more power consumptions (e.g., downlink power consumption and / or uplink power consumption). UE 120 may select beams in a beam set based at least in part on one or more throughputs, one or more power consumptions, and one or more throughput thresholds (e.g., one or more throughput requirements). For example, UE 120 may select a beam associated with the most favorable (e.g., highest) ratio of throughput and power consumption and satisfying one or more throughput thresholds. In some examples, the selected beam may utilize fewer antennas than all antennas of an antenna module of UE 120, thereby reducing power consumption and thermal load. For example, a beam set may include beams utilizing different numbers of antenna elements. Thus, one or more throughput thresholds are met while reducing power consumption and thermal load.

[0072] As indicated above, Figure 4 is provided as an example of a beam management procedure. Other examples of beam management procedures may be related to Figure 4 For example, UE 120 and network node 110 may perform the third beam management procedure before performing the second beam management procedure, and / or UE 120 and network node 110 may perform a similar beam management procedure to select a UE transmit beam.

[0073] Figure 5is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of energy-saving beam selection according to the present disclosure. As shown, the example 500 includes a UE (eg, UE 120) and a network node (eg, network node 110).

[0074] like Figure 5 As shown, and by reference numeral 510, the UE may identify a set of one or more candidate beams. For example, the UE may identify a set of one or more candidate beams based at least in part on a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) measurement, a channel quality index, etc. associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., SSBs and / or CSI-RS) transmitted by the network node. For example, at periodic intervals (e.g., every X milliseconds), the network node may transmit a set of synchronization signal (SS) bursts including a plurality of SS bursts, and each SS burst may include one or more SSBs carrying a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and / or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). In some aspects, multiple SSBs may be included in one SS burst (e.g., by transmitting on different beams), and the PSS, SSS, and / or PBCH may be the same across each SSB in the SS burst. Thus, different SSBs may be beamformed in different ways (e.g., transmitted using different beams) and may be used for cell search, cell acquisition, beam management, and / or beam selection. For example, in some aspects, the UE may monitor and / or measure SSBs using different receive beams during an initial network access procedure, a beam selection procedure, and / or a beam refinement procedure, etc. Thus, because SSB transmissions are always-on signaling that the UE may use to identify strong beams for access link communications with a network node, the UE may identify one or more SSBs with the strongest RSRP measurements, which may be used as a candidate beam set to avoid selecting uplink and / or downlink beams that may degrade channel state feedback (CSF) and / or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) performance.

[0075] In some aspects, different beams in one or more candidate beams may be associated with different numbers of antenna elements. For example, the antenna elements may be used with one or both of horizontal polarization (indicated herein by "H") or vertical polarization (indicated herein by "V"). A beam generated using m active antenna elements utilizing horizontal polarization and n active antenna elements utilizing vertical polarization is represented herein as mH+nV. For a given beam, the values ​​of m and n may be equal to each other or may not be equal to each other. Non-exhaustive examples include 5H+5V, 2H+2V, 1H+1V, 5H+0V, 2H+0V, and 1H+0V. In many cases, the power consumption (and thermal load) of a beam utilizing a lower number of active antenna elements is lower than the power consumption (and thermal load) of a beam utilizing a higher number of active antenna elements. In many cases, the power consumption of a given downlink beam (e.g., utilizing a specific number and configuration of active antenna elements) is lower than the power consumption of a given uplink beam (utilizing the same number and configuration of active antenna elements).

[0076] As shown by reference numeral 520, the UE may identify downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and / or uplink power consumption for one or more candidate beams. For example, for a given candidate beam, the UE may identify downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption. The UE may determine these values ​​for each of the one or more candidate beams. Thus, the UE may compare power consumption and throughput across different beams for beam selection, as described below.

[0077] Throughput (such as downlink throughput or uplink throughput) may represent an estimated throughput, an observed throughput, or a combination thereof associated with a beam. For example, the throughput may indicate the data rate achieved or estimated when the beam is used for communication at the UE. The uplink throughput is the throughput associated with the beam used for uplink communication. The downlink throughput is the throughput associated with the beam used for downlink communication. A beam may be associated with an uplink throughput and a downlink throughput because the same beam may be used at the UE for uplink communication (as a transmit beam) and downlink communication (as a receive beam). In some examples, the throughput may be expressed in bits per second, although other examples may use different units.

[0078] In some aspects, the UE may identify the throughput using a higher layer of the UE (such as an application layer). For example, the UE may obtain an indication of the throughput associated with the beam from a higher layer (e.g., based at least in part on a periodicity, such as every 500 ms). In this example, the throughput includes one or more real-time throughput values, where the real-time throughput value indicates the throughput obtained from the higher layer. In some aspects, the UE may identify the throughput by estimating the throughput (e.g., determining the estimated throughput value). For example, the UE may estimate the throughput based at least in part on at least one of the following: the number of activated carriers, the downlink and uplink duty cycles (such as indicated by the uplink / downlink mode configured by RRC), the number of resource blocks transmitted or received or scheduled at the UE, the estimated or observed spectral efficiency, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the UE may determine the estimated or observed spectral efficiency based at least in part on RSRP measurements in horizontal and vertical polarities on the transmit beam and on the receive beam, the maximum transmit power, or a combination thereof.

[0079] Power consumption (such as uplink power consumption or downlink power consumption) may represent a power consumption rate associated with generating a given beam (such as in joules per second, but other units may be used). For example, uplink power consumption may represent a power consumption rate at the UE when a given beam is generated for uplink communications, and downlink power consumption may represent a power consumption rate at the UE when a given beam is generated for downlink communications. The UE may store information indicating downlink power consumption and / or uplink power consumption associated with a beam. The stored information may be pre-configured for the UE (such as by an original equipment manufacturer) or may be determined by the UE during operation (e.g., the UE may generate a beam, identify power consumption associated with the beam, and store information indicating power consumption associated with the beam). Power consumption determined by the UE may be referred to herein as historical power consumption.

[0080] In some aspects, the UE may determine one or more throughput thresholds. The throughput threshold indicates a threshold associated with the throughput (e.g., a minimum throughput, an acceptable throughput range, etc.). In some aspects, the UE may determine an uplink throughput threshold and / or a downlink throughput threshold. For example, the UE may determine an uplink throughput threshold and a downlink throughput threshold. In some aspects, the UE may obtain one or more throughput thresholds, such as from an application or application layer of the UE. For example, an application or application layer may be associated with an application layer throughput requirement, and one or more throughput thresholds may be defined so that when one or more throughput thresholds are met, the application layer throughput requirement is met. In some aspects, the one or more throughput thresholds include a downlink throughput threshold and an uplink throughput threshold.

[0081] As shown by reference numeral 530, the UE may select a beam based at least in part on throughput (e.g., downlink throughput and / or uplink throughput), power consumption (e.g., downlink power consumption and / or uplink power consumption), and one or more throughput thresholds. In some aspects, the UE may select a beam based at least in part on a ratio of downlink throughput and downlink power consumption. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may select a beam based at least in part on a ratio of uplink throughput and uplink power consumption. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may select a beam so that one or more throughput thresholds are met. For example, the UE may select a beam associated with a maximum ratio of uplink throughput and uplink power consumption and / or a maximum ratio of downlink throughput and downlink power consumption from one or more beams that meet the one or more throughput thresholds. Thus, the UE may optimize at least one of a ratio of downlink throughput and downlink power consumption or a ratio of uplink throughput and uplink power consumption.

[0082] In some aspects, the UE may select a beam based at least in part on a weighting factor. The weighting factor may indicate a weight assigned to a downlink relative to an uplink. The weighting factor may be, for example, a number between 0 and 1 (including endpoints). In this example, if the weighting factor is 0, the UE may consider only downlink throughput, downlink power consumption, and downlink throughput threshold for beam selection. In this example, if the weighting factor is 1, the UE may consider only uplink throughput, uplink power consumption, and uplink throughput threshold for beam selection. Examples of weighting factors are provided below.

[0083] In some aspects, the UE may select a beam using Equation 1:

[0084]

[0085] such that Tput DL(i) >TPUT DL and Tput UL(i) >TPUT UL

[0086] In Formula 1, Ω is a set of candidate beams (e.g., a beam set containing all beams utilizing different numbers of UE antenna elements) and the selected beam i is selected from Ω. Tput_DL(i) and Tput_UL(i) represent the downlink throughput and uplink throughput associated with beam i, respectively. Power_DL(i) and Power_UL(i) represent the downlink power consumption and uplink power consumption associated with beam i, respectively. α is a weighting factor between uplink and downlink and can be between 0 and 1 (including the endpoints). TPUT DL is the downlink throughput threshold, and TPUTUL is the uplink throughput threshold. "argmax" is the operation of finding the independent variable that gives the maximum value from the function of formula 1. Therefore, the UE may choose to use The output of maximizing beam i is determined, where beam i is associated with an uplink throughput that satisfies an uplink throughput threshold and a downlink throughput that satisfies a downlink throughput threshold.

[0087] As shown by reference numeral 540, the UE may communicate using the selected beam. For example, the UE may configure an antenna set (e.g., antenna 252) to generate the selected beam. In some aspects, the UE may send communications using the selected beam. In some aspects, the UE may receive communications using the selected beam. In some aspects, the UE may send information identifying the selected beam. For example, the UE may send a report indicating the selected beam to the network node 110. In some aspects, the UE may send or receive communications associated with an application, such as an application from which an uplink throughput threshold and / or a downlink throughput threshold is derived. In this way, the UE may select a beam that satisfies the uplink downlink throughput threshold and / or the uplink throughput threshold and maximizes a formula based at least in part on a ratio of throughput and power consumption.

[0088] As indicated above, Figure 5 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 5 Different than described.

[0089] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example process 600 performed, for example, by a UE according to the present disclosure. Example process 600 is an example of a UE (eg, UE 120) performing operations associated with energy-saving beam selection.

[0090] like Figure 6 As shown in , in some aspects, process 600 may include identifying downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption for each of one or more candidate beams in a candidate beam set (block 610). Figure 7 The communication manager 140 and / or identification component 708 depicted in FIG. 1 may identify downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption for each of one or more candidate beams in the candidate beam set, as described above.

[0091] like Figure 6As further shown in FIG. 6 , in some aspects, process 600 may include selecting a beam based at least in part on at least one of downlink throughput or uplink throughput, at least one of downlink power consumption or uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds (block 620). For example, a UE (e.g., using Figure 7 The communication manager 140 and / or selection component 710 depicted in the figure may select a beam based at least in part on: at least one of downlink throughput or uplink throughput, at least one of downlink power consumption or uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds, as described above.

[0092] like Figure 6 As further shown in FIG. 6 , in some aspects, process 600 may include communicating using the selected beam (block 630). For example, a UE (e.g., using Figure 7 The communication manager 140 and / or beamforming component 712 depicted in FIG. 1 may use the selected beam to communicate, as described above.

[0093] Process 600 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0094] In a first aspect, the selection of the beam is based at least in part on optimizing at least one of: a ratio of the downlink throughput to the downlink power consumption, or a ratio of the uplink throughput to the uplink power consumption.

[0095] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the throughput threshold is based at least in part on an application layer throughput requirement.

[0096] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise real-time throughput values.

[0097] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise estimated throughput values.

[0098] In a fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, one of the estimated throughput values ​​is based at least in part on at least one of: the number of activated carriers, downlink and uplink duty cycles, the number of resource blocks, or an estimated spectral efficiency.

[0099] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, the downlink power consumption and the uplink power consumption are based at least in part on historical power consumption associated with the candidate beam set.

[0100] In a seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, the one or more throughput thresholds include a downlink throughput threshold and an uplink throughput threshold.

[0101] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the selection of the beam is based at least in part on a weighting factor indicative of a weight assigned to a downlink relative to an uplink.

[0102] although Figure 6 An example block diagram of process 600 is shown, but in some aspects, process 600 may include Figure 6 Additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the process 600. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks in the process 600 may be performed in parallel.

[0103] Figure 7 700 is a diagram of an example apparatus 700 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. The apparatus 700 may be a UE, or the UE may include the apparatus 700. In some aspects, the apparatus 700 includes a receiving component 702 and a transmitting component 704, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus 700 may communicate with another apparatus 706 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the receiving component 702 and the transmitting component 704. As further shown, the apparatus 700 may include a communication manager 140. The communication manager 140 may include one or more of an identification component 708, a selection component 710, or a beamforming component 712, etc.

[0104] In some aspects, the apparatus 700 may be configured to perform Figures 3 to 5 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 700 may be configured to perform one or more of the processes described herein (such as Figure 6 In some aspects, Figure 7 The device 700 and / or one or more components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 One or more components of the UE. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 7 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the component set may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or codes stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0105] The receiving component 702 may receive communications from the device 706, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. The receiving component 702 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 700. In some aspects, the receiving component 702 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 700. In some aspects, the receiving component 702 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memories or combinations thereof of the UE.

[0106] The transmitting component 704 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 706. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 700 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 704 for transmission to the device 706. In some aspects, the transmitting component 704 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 706. In some aspects, the transmitting component 704 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the UE. In some aspects, the transmit component 704 can be co-located with the receive component 702 in a transceiver.

[0107] The identification component 708 can identify, for each of the one or more candidate beams in the set of candidate beams, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption. The selection component 710 can select a beam based at least in part on at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds. The beamforming component 712 can communicate using the selected beam.

[0108] Figure 7 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Figure 7 Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Figure 7 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Figure 7 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 7 The component set (one or more components) shown may be described as being executable by Figure 7 Another component shown may be a collection of components that perform one or more functions.

[0109] The following provides an overview of some aspects of the disclosure:

[0110] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying downlink throughput, uplink throughput, downlink power consumption, and uplink power consumption for each of one or more candidate beams in a candidate beam set; selecting a beam based at least in part on: at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds; and communicating using the selected beam.

[0111] Aspect 2: A method according to Aspect 1, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on optimizing at least one of the following items: the ratio of the downlink throughput to the downlink power consumption, or the ratio of the uplink throughput to the uplink power consumption.

[0112] Aspect 3: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 2, wherein the throughput threshold is based at least in part on an application layer throughput requirement.

[0113] Aspect 4: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise real-time throughput values.

[0114] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise estimated throughput values.

[0115] Aspect 6: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein one of the estimated throughput values ​​is based at least in part on at least one of: the number of activated carriers, downlink and uplink duty cycles, the number of resource blocks, or the estimated spectral efficiency.

[0116] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein the downlink power consumption and the uplink power consumption are based at least in part on historical power consumption associated with the candidate beam set.

[0117] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the one or more throughput thresholds include a downlink throughput threshold and an uplink throughput threshold.

[0118] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on a weighting factor, the weighting factor indicating a weight assigned to a downlink relative to an uplink.

[0119] Aspect 10: An apparatus for performing wireless communications at a device, the apparatus comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more of the methods described in Aspects 1 to 9.

[0120] Aspect 11: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 9.

[0121] Aspect 12: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one means for performing the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 9.

[0122] Aspect 13: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 9.

[0123] Aspect 14: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform one or more of the methods described in aspects 1 to 9.

[0124] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of these aspects.

[0125] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other names, "software" should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures and / or functions, etc. As used herein, a "processor" is implemented in a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software. It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented by a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software in different forms. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit various aspects. Therefore, there is no reference to a specific software code herein to describe the operation and behavior of the system and / or method, because those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the system and / or method based at least in part on the description herein.

[0126] As used herein, "satisfying a threshold" may refer to a value being greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, etc., depending on the context.

[0127] Although the specific combination of features is set forth in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features can be combined in a manner that is not specifically described in the claims and / or is not disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim combined with each other claim in the claim set. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" the list of items refers to any combination of these items (it includes a single member). As an example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c and a+b+c, and any combination with multiple identical elements (for example, a+a, a+a+a, a+a+b, a+a+c, a+b+b, a+c+c, b+b, b+b+b, b+b+c, c+c and c+c+c, or any other ordering of a, b and c).

[0128] Any element, action or instruction used herein should not be interpreted as key or necessary, unless explicitly stated. In addition, as used herein, the article "one" is intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the article "said" is intended to include one or more items connected to the article "said", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If only one item is intended to be referred to, the phrase "only one" or similar terms will be used. Moreover, as used herein, the terms "have", "have" etc. are intended to be open terms, which do not limit the elements they modify (for example, "elements with" A can also have B). In addition, the phrase "based on" is intended to represent "based at least in part on", unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be open-ended and used interchangeably with "and / or" unless explicitly stated otherwise (eg, if used in conjunction with "either" or "only one of").

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying, for each of the one or more candidate beams in the set of candidate beams, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption; The beam is selected based at least in part on: at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds; and The selected beam is used for communication.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on optimizing at least one of: a ratio of the downlink throughput to the downlink power consumption, or A ratio of the uplink throughput to the uplink power consumption. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the throughput threshold is based at least in part on an application layer throughput requirement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise real-time throughput values.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise estimated throughput values.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein one of the estimated throughput values ​​is based at least in part on at least one of: The number of activated carriers, Downlink and uplink duty cycles, The number of resource blocks, or Estimated spectral efficiency.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink power consumption and the uplink power consumption are based at least in part on historical power consumption associated with the candidate beam set.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more throughput thresholds include a downlink throughput threshold and an uplink throughput threshold.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on a weighting factor indicating a weight assigned to a downlink relative to an uplink.

10. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, the user equipment (UE) comprising: Memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: identifying, for each of the one or more candidate beams in the set of candidate beams, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption; The beam is selected based at least in part on: at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds; and The selected beam is used for communication.

11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on optimizing at least one of: a ratio of the downlink throughput to the downlink power consumption, or A ratio of the uplink throughput to the uplink power consumption.

12. The UE of claim 10, wherein the throughput threshold is based at least in part on an application layer throughput requirement.

13. The UE of claim 10, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise real-time throughput values.

14. The UE of claim 10, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise estimated throughput values.

15. The UE of claim 14, wherein one of the estimated throughput values ​​is based at least in part on at least one of: The number of activated carriers, Downlink and uplink duty cycles, The number of resource blocks, or Estimated spectral efficiency.

16. The UE of claim 10, wherein the downlink power consumption and the uplink power consumption are based at least in part on historical power consumption associated with the candidate beam set.

17. The UE of claim 10, wherein the one or more throughput thresholds include a downlink throughput threshold and an uplink throughput threshold.

18. The UE of claim 10, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on a weighting factor indicating a weight assigned to a downlink relative to an uplink.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising: One or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: identifying, for each of the one or more candidate beams in the set of candidate beams, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption; The beam is selected based at least in part on: at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds; and The selected beam is used for communication.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on optimizing at least one of: a ratio of the downlink throughput to the downlink power consumption, or A ratio of the uplink throughput to the uplink power consumption.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the throughput threshold is based at least in part on an application layer throughput requirement.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise real-time throughput values.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the downlink throughput and the uplink throughput comprise estimated throughput values.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein one of the estimated throughput values ​​is based at least in part on at least one of: The number of activated carriers, Downlink and uplink duty cycles, The number of resource blocks, or Estimated spectral efficiency.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the downlink power consumption and the uplink power consumption are based at least in part on historical power consumption associated with the candidate beam set.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more throughput thresholds include a downlink throughput threshold and an uplink throughput threshold.

27. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on a weighting factor indicating a weight assigned to a downlink relative to an uplink.

28. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: means for identifying, for each of one or more candidate beams in the set of candidate beams, a downlink throughput, an uplink throughput, a downlink power consumption, and an uplink power consumption; Means for selecting a beam based at least in part on: at least one of the downlink throughput or the uplink throughput, at least one of the downlink power consumption or the uplink power consumption, and one or more throughput thresholds; and Means for communicating using the selected beam.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the selection of the beam is based at least in part on optimizing at least one of: a ratio of the downlink throughput to the downlink power consumption, or A ratio of the uplink throughput to the uplink power consumption.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the throughput threshold is based at least in part on an application layer throughput requirement.

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