Measuring and / or reporting a reference signal (RS) port subset

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a UE, a network node and a method for measuring and / or reporting a subset of one or more RS ports. A method at a UE for reporting measurements of one or more RS ports includes determining a first number of subsets of RS ports, each subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with a same RS configuration; receiving, from the network node, one or more messages indicating one or more first subsets of RS ports from the first number of subsets of RS ports; measuring one or more first RS port subsets; and transmitting a report message indicating the measurement of the one or more first subset of RS ports to the network node.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to PCT International Application No. PCT / CN2022 / 084538, filed on March 31, 2022, entitled “Measurement and / or Reporting Reference Signal (RS) Port Subsets,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to a user equipment (UE), a network node, and a method for measuring and / or reporting a subset of one or more reference signal (RS) ports.

[0004] background

[0005] With the development of electronics and telecommunication technologies, mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, in-car devices) have become an important part of our daily lives. To support a large number of mobile devices, energy-efficient radio access networks (RANs) are required, such as the fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) access network (RAN).

[0006] Due to the streamlined design of 5G NR, its network (NW) power consumption is said to be lower than that of long-term evolution (LTE). However, in current implementations, NR is likely to consume more power than LTE due to, for example, higher bandwidth and the introduction of additional elements (e.g., 64 transmit (TX) / receive (RX) ports and associated digital radio frequency (RF) chains). Since the network (NW) is expected to support the UE at its maximum capabilities (e.g., throughput, coverage, etc.), the network (NW) may need to use a full configuration even if the UE actually rarely needs the maximum network (NW) support.

[0007] In addition, the increase in the number of TX / RX ports also results in an increase in the number of reference signals (e.g., channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) that the NW needs to send (and be measured by the UE) for proper signal detection. Therefore, the additional TX / RX ports may result in another additional power consumption, namely the transmission of a larger number of CSI-RS to the UE. In addition, it should also be noted that a larger number of CSI-RS transmissions may also consume valuable NW resources. Summary of the invention

[0008] By configuring multiple CSI-RS configurations that can be activated / deactivated or switched for the UE, the NW can flexibly decide which CSI-RS should be used at a time. For example, the NW can use the following mechanism to utilize multiple CSI-RS configurations.

[0009] 1. Configure multiple CSI-RS configurations for the UE.

[0010] 2. Instruct the UE to switch from the first CSI-RS configuration to the second CSI-RS configuration.

[0011] 3. After sending the switching indication, the NW may then send the CSI-RS according to the second CSI-RS configuration.

[0012] On the UE side, the UE may receive a first CSI-RS configuration and a second CSI-RS configuration, and then the UE may start measuring or reporting with the first configuration as the default configuration, and at a certain moment, the UE may receive a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) command or downlink control information (DCI) indicating that the UE should measure or report based on the second configuration, so the UE measures the CSI-RS based on the second configuration or the UE reports the CSI based on measuring the second CSI-RS configuration.

[0013] In some embodiments, a group of UEs may receive a command to switch to a second configuration. For example, this may be implemented as a group MAC or group common search space to DCI. A group of UEs may then be configured to switch CSI-RS configurations using low signaling overhead and low latency. A single CSI-RS configuration may still be configured per UE. The group switching command may, for example, be expressed as:

[0014] - All UEs in the group switch to a specific configuration index, for example, switch to (nzp-CSI-RS-ResourcesDefault) or (nzp-CSI-RS-ResourcesB).

[0015] - All UEs in the group switch to the implicitly indicated configuration, for example, switching to the CSI-RS configuration with the shortest period, the densest time / frequency allocation, and the largest number of ports.

[0016] However, there are still some problems with the above embodiment. For example, it is necessary to configure multiple CSI-RS resources for the UE so that the UE can measure different numbers or groups of CSI-RS ports. When it is necessary to measure multiple CSI-RS port combinations, more resources will be consumed. In addition, when MAC CE or DCI is used to instruct the UE which CSI-RS resource to measure, it will be associated with the actual antenna mute. Since it takes time to turn the hardware on and off, the overhead of this solution is also large.

[0017] Therefore, in order to solve or at least partially alleviate the above problems, the present disclosure provides some embodiments.

[0018] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for reporting measurement of one or more reference signal (RS) ports at a UE side is provided. The method comprises: determining a first number of RS port subsets, each subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; receiving one or more messages from a network node, the one or more messages indicating one or more first RS port subsets from the first number of RS port subsets; measuring the one or more first RS port subsets; and sending a report message indicating the measurement for the one or more first RS port subsets to the network node.

[0019] In some embodiments, the step of determining the number of the first number of RS port subsets includes at least one of the following: receiving a first message indicating the number of the first number of RS port subsets from a network node; and determining the first number of subsets or the number of RS ports based on a local configuration preconfigured or hard-coded at the UE. In some embodiments, at least one of the first message and the one or more messages is received via at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling dedicated to the UE; system information (SI) broadcast by the network node; a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE); and downlink control information (DCI).

[0020] In some embodiments, the one or more messages include at least one of the following: a second message indicating the number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets of the second number, each of which belongs to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a second message indicating a single RS port subset; a third message indicating the number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets of the third number, each of which belongs to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a third message indicating a single subset; and a fourth message requesting the UE to report the measurement results of the RS ports without specifying which RS port subset to measure. In some embodiments, at least one of the following is true: the second message indicates one or more of the first number of subsets as a single subset or a second number of subsets; the third message indicates one or more of the first number of subsets as a single subset or a third number of subsets; and when the second message is also received, the third message indicates one or more of the second number of subsets as a single subset or a third number of subsets.

[0021] In some embodiments, at least one of the following is true: the first message is received via RRC signaling or system information (SI) broadcast by a network node; the second message is received via MAC CE; the second message is received via DCI, while the third message is not received; and the third message is received via DCI. In some embodiments, receiving the DCI of one of the one or more messages includes a bit field indicating that one or more of the one or more subsets are to be measured. In some embodiments, at least one of the following is true: each value of the bit field indicates that the corresponding first subset is to be measured; and each bit in the bit field indicates whether the corresponding first subset is to be measured.

[0022] In some embodiments, one of the one or more messages is received via a MAC CE, the MAC CE comprising a bit field indicating a portion of a first number of subsets as a second number of subsets, and each bit in the bit field indicating whether a corresponding one of the first number of subsets is indicated as one of the second number of subsets. In some embodiments, when the first message is received via SI broadcast by a network node, the second message and / or the third message is a group common DCI sent from the network node to a UE group including the UE. In some embodiments, the step of sending the report message comprises: sending the report message to the base station via a first resource, the first resource being different from a second frequency resource within the UE group and used by another UE in the UE group to send its report message.

[0023] In some embodiments, the step of determining one or more first RS port subsets includes at least one of the following: when a third message is received, determining a single subset or a third number of subsets indicated by the third message as one or more first subsets; when the third message is not received and the second message is received, determining a single subset or a second number of subsets indicated by the second message as one or more first subsets; and when the first message is received without receiving the third message and the second message is not received, determining the first number of subsets indicated by the first message as one or more first subsets.

[0024] In some embodiments, the step of sending the report message includes at least one of the following: sending the report message to the network node at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a reception timing at which one of the messages is received and a relationship between the report timing and the reception timing indicated by at least one of the one or more messages; sending the report message to the network node at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a preconfigured or hard-coded relationship between the reception timing at which one of the messages is received and the report timing and the reception timing; and sending the report message to the network node, the report message also indicating one or more identifiers for identifying one or more first subsets of actual measurements. In some embodiments, the relationship is indicated by a DCI message.

[0025] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the bit field of the DCI message for indicating the first RS port subset depends on at least one of the following: the number of RS ports configured at the UE; the number of RS port subsets configured by the network node for the UE, which belong to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; and higher layer signaling. In some embodiments, the minimum time interval between the time slot containing the DCI that triggers the RS port measurement and the time slot containing the RS port is defined at the UE. In some embodiments, when one or more messages include DCI, the DCI is one of the following: DCI format 1_1; DCI format 1_2; group common DCI; and a DCI format different from any DCI format defined in 3GPPTS36.212, V17.0.0, 3GPPTS38.212v17.0.0 and / or any previous version thereof.

[0026] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: determining one or more second RS port subsets based on at least one of the first message, one or more messages, and another local configuration, each second subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with another RS ​​configuration; measuring one or more second RS port subsets; and sending another report message to the network node, the other report message indicating the measurement of the one or more second RS port subsets. In some embodiments, the report message has at least one of the following: a format matching one or more first subsets; and a format matching a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration, wherein the report message indicates a predetermined value of any RS port included in the set but not included in the one or more first subsets. In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a fifth message from the network node, the fifth message indicating a determined RS port subset belonging to one or more RS port sets associated with the same RS configuration; and periodically measuring the determined RS port subset and periodically sending a report message to the network node, the report message indicating the measurement for the determined RS port subset. In some embodiments, the determined RS port subset corresponds to an antenna muting mode applied at the network node.

[0027] In some embodiments, the fifth message is received via at least one of: RRC signaling dedicated to the UE; SI broadcast by the network node; MAC CE; and DCI. In some embodiments, one or more RS ports are CSI-RS ports. In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more RS port subsets corresponds to an antenna muting mode at the network node. In some embodiments, the same RS configuration is a configuration indicating a non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resource.

[0028] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a UE is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor executes any one of the methods in the first aspect.

[0029] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a UE is provided. The UE includes: a determination module configured to determine a first number of RS port subsets, each subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a receiving module configured to receive a message indicating one or more first RS port subsets from a first number of RS port subsets from a network node; a measurement module configured to measure one or more first RS port subsets; and a sending module configured to send a report message indicating a measurement for one or more first RS port subsets to the network node. In some embodiments, the UE may include one or more other modules configured to perform any of the methods in the first aspect.

[0030] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method for facilitating UE to report measurement of one or more RS ports at a network node is provided. The method includes: determining one or more first RS port subsets to be measured by the UE, each first subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; sending one or more messages to the UE, requesting the UE to report measurement of the one or more first RS port subsets, so that the UE can determine the one or more first RS port subsets based at least on the one or more messages; and receiving a report message indicating measurement of the one or more first RS port subsets from the UE.

[0031] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more messages is sent via at least one of: RRC signaling dedicated to the UE; SI broadcast by the network node; MAC CE; and DCI. In some embodiments, the one or more messages include at least one of the following: a first message indicating a first number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the first number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a second message indicating a second number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the second number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a second message indicating a single RS port subset; a third message indicating a third number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the third number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a third message indicating a single subset; and a fourth message requesting the UE to report measurements of the RS ports without specifying which RS port subset to measure. In some embodiments, at least one of the following is true: when the first message is also sent, the second message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is a single subset or a second number of subsets; when the first message is also sent, the third message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is a single subset or a third number of subsets; and when the second message is also sent, the third message indicates that one or more of the second number of subsets is a single subset or a third number of subsets.

[0032] In some embodiments, at least one of the following is true: the first message is sent via RRC signaling or SI broadcast by the network node; the second message is sent via MAC CE; the second message is sent via DCI without sending the third message; and the third message is sent via DCI.

[0033] In some embodiments, a DCI for sending one of the one or more messages includes a bit field indicating that one or more subsets of the one or more subsets are to be measured. In some embodiments, at least one of the following is true: each value of the bit field indicates that the corresponding first subset is to be measured; and each bit in the bit field indicates whether the corresponding first subset is to be measured. In some embodiments, a MAC CE for sending one of the one or more messages includes a bit field indicating that a portion of a first number of subsets is a second number of subsets, and each bit in the bit field indicates whether a corresponding one of the first number of subsets is indicated as one of the second number of subsets. In some embodiments, when the first message is sent via SI broadcast by the network node, the second message and / or the third message is a group common DCI sent from the network node to a group of UEs including the UE. In some embodiments, the step of receiving a report message includes: receiving a report message from a UE on a first frequency resource, the first frequency resource being different from a second frequency resource used by the network node to receive another report message from another UE in the group of UEs.

[0034] In some embodiments, the step of receiving the report message includes at least one of the following: receiving the report message from the UE at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a reception timing at which one of the messages is received by the UE and a relationship between the report timing and the reception timing indicated by at least one of the one or more messages; receiving the report message from the UE at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a preconfigured or hard-coded relationship between the reception timing at which one of the messages is received by the UE and the report timing and the reception timing; and receiving the report message from the UE, the report message also indicating one or more identifiers for identifying one or more first subsets of actual measurements. In some embodiments, the relationship is indicated by a DCI message.

[0035] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the bit field of the DCI message for indicating the first RS port subset depends on at least one of the following: the number of RS ports configured at the UE; the number of RS port subsets configured by the network node for the UE, which belong to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; and higher layer signaling. In some embodiments, the minimum time interval between the time slot containing the DCI that triggers the RS port measurement and the time slot containing the RS port is defined at the network node. In some embodiments, when one or more messages include DCI, the DCI is one of the following: DCI format 1_1; DCI format 1_2; group common DCI; and a DCI format different from any DCI format defined in 3GPPTS36.212, V17.0.0, 3GPPTS38.212v17.0.0 and / or any previous version thereof.

[0036] In some embodiments, before the step of sending one or more messages, the method further comprises: determining one or more second RS port subsets to be measured by the UE, each second subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with another RS ​​configuration; and, after the step of sending one or more messages, the method further comprises: receiving from the UE another report message indicating measurements for the one or more second RS port subsets. In some embodiments, the report message has at least one of the following: a format matching the one or more first subsets; and a format matching the set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration, wherein the report message indicates a predetermined value for any RS port included in the set but not included in the one or more first subsets.

[0037] In some embodiments, when the UE measures one or more first subsets, one or more RS ports not included in the one or more first subsets are not muted. In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining which one or some of the RS port sets are to be muted based at least on the report message; and muting the determined one or more RS ports. In some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following: in response to determining that the report message cannot be correctly decoded, decoding the report message according to the report format used to decode the previous report message; and resending at least one of the one or more messages to the UE to request the UE to perform the measurement or report the measurement again. In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining the RS port subset that the UE is to measure and report periodically based at least on the measurement of the one or more first RS port subsets, the determined RS port subset belonging to one or more RS port sets associated with the same RS configuration; sending a fifth message indicating the determined RS port subset to the UE; and periodically receiving a report message indicating the measurement of the determined RS port subset from the UE. In some embodiments, the determined RS port subset corresponds to an antenna muting mode applied at the network node. In some embodiments, the fifth message is sent via at least one of: RRC signaling dedicated to the UE; SI broadcast by a network node; MAC CE; and DCI.

[0038] In some embodiments, the one or more RS ports are CSI-RS ports. In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more RS port subsets corresponds to an antenna muting pattern at the network node. In some embodiments, the same RS configuration is a configuration indicating NZP CSI-RS resources.

[0039] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor executes any one of the methods described in the fourth aspect.

[0040] According to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided. The network node includes: a determination module configured to determine one or more first RS port subsets to be measured by the UE, each first subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a sending module configured to send one or more messages to the UE, requesting the UE to report measurements for one or more first RS port subsets, so that the UE determines the one or more first RS port subsets based at least on the one or more messages; and a receiving module configured to receive a report message indicating measurements for one or more first RS port subsets from the UE. In some embodiments, the network node may include one or more other modules configured to perform any of the methods in the fourth aspect.

[0041] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of the first and fourth aspects.

[0042] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carrier, which contains the computer program of the seventh aspect. In some embodiments, the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal or a computer-readable storage medium.

[0043] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a telecommunication system is provided. The telecommunication network includes: one or more UEs of the second aspect or the third aspect; and at least one network node of the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect.

[0044] With some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method can help the gNB make the correct antenna muting decision before actually performing the antenna muting. It can save the resources required to obtain CSI-RS reports corresponding to different antenna muting modes or CSI-RS port combinations / configurations. In addition, the method can be used to prepare for antenna muting, that is, to determine the specific set of ports to be muted while maintaining the maximum possible performance in the muted state. There is no need to perform actual antenna muting when trying different hypotheses (or RS port subsets) and corresponding muting options, which can reduce the time required for antenna muting, thereby improving performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary telecommunication network in which a UE and a gNB may operate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an exemplary overview of CSI-RS parameters and their configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which can apply measurement and / or reporting of RS port subsets.

[0047] Figure 3A and Figure 3B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna panel that may be used to measure and / or report RS port subsets according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0048] Figure 4 is a diagram of an exemplary MAC CE that may be used to measure and / or report a subset of RS ports according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna panel with different subsets of RS ports selected by a UE for measurement and / or reporting according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0050] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating exemplary dynamic changes between different subsets of RS ports according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 7 is a diagram of an example scenario in which a gNB indicates a subset of CSI-RS ports to be measured and / or reported before and after performing antenna muting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method at a UE for reporting measurements of an RS port according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0053] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for assisting a UE in reporting measurements of an RS port at a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] Fig.10 An embodiment of a device that can be used in a UE or a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0055] Fig.11 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0056] Fig.12 is a block diagram of an exemplary network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] Fig.13 A telecommunication network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0058] Fig.14 is a general block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user device through a base station over a partially wireless connection according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0059] Figures 15 to 18is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host, a base station, and a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the descriptions of known structures and technologies are omitted below to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present invention.

[0061] Those skilled in the art will understand that the term "exemplary" is used herein to mean "illustrative" or "as an example" and does not imply that a particular embodiment is superior to another embodiment or that a particular feature is essential. Similarly, the terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and similar terms are used only to distinguish one particular instance of an item or feature from another instance and do not imply a particular order or arrangement, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, the term "step" is used herein to mean synonymous with "operation" or "action." Any description of a sequence of steps herein does not imply that the operations must be performed in a particular order, or even that the operations are performed in any order at all, unless the context or details of the operations clearly indicate otherwise.

[0062] Conditional language used herein, such as "may," "might," "possibly," "for example," and the like, unless expressly stated otherwise or otherwise understood in the context in which it is used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and / or states, while other embodiments do not include certain features, elements, and / or states. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and / or states are in any way necessary for one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining whether such features, elements, and / or states are included or executed in any particular embodiment, regardless of input or prompting by the author. In addition, the term "or" is used in its inclusive sense (rather than in its exclusive sense), so when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term "or" means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. In addition, the term "each" used herein, in addition to having its usual meaning, may also mean any subset of the set of elements to which the term "each" is applied.

[0063] The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". The following may include other explicit and implicit definitions. In addition, unless otherwise expressly stated, language such as the phrase "at least one of X, Y, and Z" should be understood as context and generally used to express that an item, term, etc. can be X, Y, or Z, or a combination thereof.

[0064] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. The singular forms "a", "an", and "the" used herein are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the terms "include", "comprise", "have", "include" and / or "include" used herein specify the presence of the features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof. It should also be understood that the terms "connect", "being connected", "connected", etc. used herein only indicate that there is an electrical connection or communication connection between two elements, and they can be connected directly or indirectly, unless explicitly stated to the contrary.

[0065] Of course, the present disclosure can be implemented in other specific ways except as described herein, without departing from the scope and basic features of the present disclosure. One or more specific processes discussed below can be implemented in any electronic device including one or more appropriately configured processing circuits, which in some embodiments can be embodied in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). In some embodiments, these processing circuits may include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers and / or digital signal processors, which are programmed with appropriate software and / or firmware to perform one or more of the above operations or their variants. In some embodiments, these processing circuits may include custom hardware to perform one or more of the above functions. Therefore, the present embodiment should be considered illustrative and non-restrictive in all respects.

[0066] Although several embodiments of the present disclosure will be shown in the drawings and described in the following detailed description, it will be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is also capable of various rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the disclosure which will be set forth and defined in the claims.

[0067] In addition, please note that although the following description of some embodiments of the present disclosure is given in the context of 5GNR, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In fact, as long as RS measurement reports are involved, the inventive concepts of the present disclosure can be applied to any appropriate communication architecture, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Time Division Synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA), CDMA2000, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advance (LTE-A) or 5GNR, etc. Therefore, it can be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the terms used herein may also refer to equivalent terms in any other infrastructure. For example, the term "user equipment" or "UE" used herein may refer to a terminal device, a mobile device, a mobile terminal, a mobile station, a user device, a user terminal, a wireless device, a wireless terminal or any other equivalent term. For another example, the term "gNB" as used herein may refer to a network node, a base station, a base transceiver station, an access point, a hotspot, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB, a network element, or any other equivalent. In addition, please note that the term "indicator" as used herein may refer to a parameter, a coefficient, an attribute, a characteristic, a setting, a configuration, a profile, an identifier, a field, one or more bits / octets, an information element, or any data that may directly or indirectly indicate information of interest.

[0068] Further, although "CSI-RS" is described in some embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, other types of reference signals may be involved, such as a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS), or any other reference signal applicable to the teachings of the present disclosure.

[0069] In addition, the following 3GPP documents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety:

[0070] -3GPP TS 38.211 V17.0.0 (2021-12), Technical Specifications, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 17);

[0071] - 3GPP TS 38.214 V17.0.0 (2021-12), Technical Specifications, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Physical Layer Procedures for Data (Release 17);

[0072] - 3GPP TS 38.321 V16.7.0 (2021-12), Technical Specifications, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Specification (Release 16); and

[0073] -3GPP TS 38.331 V16.7.0 (2021-12), Technical Specification, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification (Release 16)

[0074] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary telecommunication network 10 in which UE#1 100-1, UE#2 100-2, and gNB 105 can operate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Although the telecommunication network 10 is a network defined in the context of 5GNR, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0075] like Figure 1 As shown, the network 10 may include one or more UEs 100-1 and 100-2 (collectively referred to as UE 100) and a RAN node 105. The RAN node 105 may be a base station, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a gNB, or an AN node that provides network access for the UE 100. In addition, the network 10 may include Figure 1 The core network part is not shown.

[0076] However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, the network 10 may include additional nodes, fewer nodes, or Figure 1 For example, in a network with a 4G architecture, the entity performing these functions (e.g., eNB) may be associated with Figure 1 For another example, in a network with a hybrid 4G / 5G architecture, some entities may be different from the entities shown in FIG. Figure 1 The entities shown in are the same, while other entities may be different.

[0077] In addition, despite Figure 1 Two UEs 100 and one gNB 105 are shown in FIG. 1 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, the network 10 may include any number of UEs and / or any number of gNBs.

[0078] like Figure 1 As shown, UE100 can be communicatively connected to gNB105, and gNB105 can be communicatively connected to the corresponding core network (CN) and then connected to the Internet, so that UE100 can ultimately, for example, transmit its user plane data with other devices outside the network 10 via gNB105.

[0079] As mentioned above, CSI-RS reporting is one of the key functions to achieve energy-efficient RAN. In NR, the CSI-RS generation process is defined in 3GPPTS38.211 Section 7.4.1.5. CSI-RS can be used for time / frequency tracking, CSI calculation, L1-reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) calculation, L1-signal to interference plus noise ratio (L1-SINR) calculation, and mobility. After configuring CSI-RS, the UE needs to follow the process described in 3GPPTS38.214 Section 5.1.6.1.

[0080] For CSI-RS resources associated with the higher layer parameter repeation set to 'on' in NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet, the UE shall not expect CSI-RS to be configured on symbols configured as monitoring control resource sets (CORESETs), while for other NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet configurations, if the UE configures CSI-RS resources and search space sets associated with a CORESET in the same OFDM symbol, the UE may assume that the CSI-RS and PDCCHDM-RS transmitted in all search space sets associated with the CORESET are quasi-co-located with 'typeD', if 'typeD' is applicable. This also applies to the case where the CSI-RS and CORESET are located in different in-band component carriers, if 'typeD' is applicable. In addition, the UE shall not expect CSI-RS to be configured in physical resource blocks (PRBs) that overlap with the CORESET in the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols occupied by the search space set.

[0081] The UE does not expect to receive CSI-RS and SIB1 messages in overlapping PRBs in the OFDM symbols where SIB1 is transmitted.

[0082] If the UE is configured with discontinuous reception (DRX),

[0083] - if the UE is configured to monitor DCI format 2_6 and is configured to report CSI by the higher layer parameter ps-TransmitOtherPeriodicCSI, where the higher layer parameter reportConfigType is set to 'periodic' and reportQuantity is set to a quantity other than 'cri-RSRP' and 'ssb-Index-RSRP', and the most recent CSI measurement occasion occurs within the DRX active time when the drx-onDurationTimer in the DRX-Config is not started, or within the duration indicated by the drx-onDurationTimer in the DRX-Config, which is also outside the DRX active time for which CSI is to be reported;

[0084] - if the UE is configured to monitor DCI format 2_6 and is configured to report L1-RSRP via the higher layer parameter ps-TransmitPeriodicL1-RSRP with the higher layer parameter reportConfigType set to 'period' and reportQuantity set to cri-RSRP, the most recent CSI measurement occasion occurred within the DRX active time when the drx-onDurationTimer in the DRX-Config is not started, or within the duration indicated by the drx-onDurationTimer in the DRX-Config and outside the DRX active time for which CSI is to be reported;

[0085] - Otherwise, the nearest CSI measurement opportunity occurs within the DRX active time in order to report CSI.

[0086] According to the NR specification, Section 5.2.2.3.1 of 3GPP TS38.214, the UE can configure one or more NZP CSI-RS resource set configurations, as indicated by the high-level parameters CSI-ResourceConfig and NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet. Each NZP CSI-RS resource set consists of K ≥ 1 NZP CSI-RS resources. The following content is excerpted from TS38.331 about CSI-ResourceConfig.

[0087] CSI-ResourceConfig Information Element

[0088]

[0089]

[0090] Below is NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet.

[0091] NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet information element

[0092]

[0093] In each NZP CSI-RS resource, NW can set CSI-RS resources using different powerControlOffset, scramblingID, etc. The following content is excerpted from TS38.331.

[0094] NZP-CSI-RS-Information Metadata

[0095]

[0096] Before sending, CSI-RS will be mapped according to the configured CSI-RS-ResourceMapping, where NW can set configurations such as cdm-Type, frequencyDomainAllocation, and nrofPorts.

[0097] CSI-RS-ResourceMapping information element

[0098]

[0099]

[0100] The explanation of CSI-RS parameters can be found in Section 5.2.2.3.1 of TS.38.214:

[0101] -nzp-CSI-RS-ResourceId determines the CSI-RS resource configuration identifier.

[0102] -periodityAndOffset defines the CSI-RS period and slot offset of periodic / semi-persistent CSI-RS. All CSI-RS resources in a set are configured with the same period, while the slot offsets of different CSI-RS resources can be the same or different.

[0103] -resourceMapping defines the number of ports, CDM type, and OFDM symbol and subcarrier occupancy of CSI-RS resources within a time slot given in TS38.211 Section 7.4.1.5.

[0104] -nrofPorts in resourceMapping defines the number of CSI-RS ports, where the allowed values ​​are given in clause 7.4.1.5 of TS38.211.

[0105] The density in -resourceMapping defines the CSI-RS frequency density for each CSI-RS port in each PRB, and the CSI-RS PRB offset when the density value is 1 / 2, where the allowed values ​​are given in Clause 7.4.1.5 of TS 38.211. For density 1 / 2, the odd / even PRB allocation indicated in density is relative to the common resource block grid.

[0106] The cdm-Type in -resourceMapping defines the CDM value and mode, where the allowed values ​​are given in section 7.4.1.5 of TS38.211.

[0107] -powerControlOffset: This is the assumed ratio of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) energy per resource element (EPRE) to NZP CSI-RSEPRE when the UE derives CSI feedback, and takes values ​​in the range [-8,15]dB in steps of 1dB.

[0108] -powerControlOffsetSS: This is the assumed ratio of NZP CSI-RSEPRE to synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block EPRE.

[0109] -scramblingID defines the scrambling ID of CSI-RS, which is 10 bits long.

[0110] -BWP-Id in CSI-ResourceConfig defines in which bandwidth part the configured CSI-RS is located.

[0111] -qcl-InfoPeriodicCSI-RS contains a reference to the Transmit Configuration Indicator (TCI) state indicating the quasi-co-located (QCL) source RS and the QCL type. If the TCI state is configured with a reference to an RS associated with qcl-Type set to "typeD", the RS may be a SS / PBCH block located in the same or different component carrier (CC) / DL bandwidth part (BWP), or a periodic CSI-RS resource configured to be located in the same or different CC / DL BWP.

[0112] The CSI-RS resources (or CSI-RS resource sets) that the UE needs to measure are configured in the RRC configuration, for example in the CSI-MeasConfig information element (IE). In this IE, the NW can add or delete (release) the CSI-RS or (CSI-RS resource sets) that the UE needs to measure according to its specific considerations. The following is excerpted from 3GPPTS38.331 。

[0113]

[0114]

[0115] like Figure 2 shows an overview of the CSI-RS parameters discussed above. Each parameter may consist of several configurations, for example CSI-RS-ResourceMapping may consist of nroPorts or NZP-CSI-RS-Resource may consist of resourceMapping and powerControlOffsetsSS parameters. For simplicity, Figure 2Does not include all configurations for each parameter. Figure 2 As can be seen in the figure, the parameters are just mapped to each other using their different configurations. Most of them are mapped to CSI-MeasConfig.

[0116] After receiving the CSI-RS, the UE can report its measurements back to the NW. The reporting configuration of CSI can be aperiodic (using the physical uplink shared channel or PUSCH), periodic (using the physical uplink control channel or PUCCH), or semi-persistent (using PUCCH and DCI-activated PUSCH). CSI-RS resources can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. Table 5.2.1.4-1 in TS38.214 (rewritten below) shows the supported combinations of CSI reporting configurations and CSI-RS resource configurations, and how CSI reporting is triggered for each CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0117]

[0118] Table 1. CSI reporting trigger / activation for possible CSI-RS configurations

[0119] In some embodiments, methods and mechanisms are disclosed that allow for faster and resource efficient dynamic CSI-RS configuration adaptation by using the following alternatives:

[0120] -Configure multiple resource mappings, or configure multiple configurations per parameter within a CSI-RS resource, such as different numbers of ports, power control offsets, QCL information, etc., and use MAC CE or DCI to activate / deactivate a configuration (or switch between these configurations).

[0121] -Configure multiple CSI-RS resources within one CSI-RS resource set and use MAC CE or DCI to activate / deactivate the configured CSI-RS resources (or switch between CSI-RS resources).

[0122] -Configure multiple CSI-RS resource sets and use MAC CE or DCI to activate / deactivate one or more configured CSI-RS resource sets (or switch between CSI-RS resource sets).

[0123] -Other CSI-RS parameters included in CSI-MeasConfig There can be multiple CSI-RS configurations, and MACCE or DCI is used to activate / deactivate one or more configured CSI-RS resource sets (or switch between CSI-RS resource sets).

[0124] In some embodiments, it may be assumed that the UE is configured with multiple CSI-RS configurations. These embodiments are intended to provide a fast dynamic adaptation mechanism, where the UE may be instructed to switch between different CSI-RS configurations. The switching may be done, for example, by the NW during port adaptation, i.e., the NW determines to change the number of ports to be used to serve the corresponding UE.

[0125] In some embodiments, the term "multiple CSI-RS configurations" may refer to multiple CSI-RS configurations that may be activated / deactivated or switched through MAC-CE or DCI signaling.

[0126] In one example, a bit field in the DCI may indicate whether a default configuration or another configuration is activated. For example, the UE may configure a first CSI-RS configuration and a second CSI-RS configuration, where the first configuration is the default configuration. Additional bits in the DCI may be configured, such as DCI1_1 and / or DCI1_2, where if the bit state is "1", the UE receives the bit, thereby treating the second CSI-RS configuration as activated and the default configuration as deactivated. Bit "0" may be considered reserved, or the UE should treat the default CSI-RS configuration as the active configuration. In another example, the number of bits in the DCI may depend on the number of CSI-RS configurations. For example, 2 bits may correspond to four CSI-RS configurations, where 00 may refer to the default CSI-RS configuration.

[0127] In some of the following embodiments, when multiple configurations are not set for the UE, the legacy behavior may be applied. For example, the UE needs to monitor all CSI-RS, which are included in, for example, CSI-MeasConfig. In some embodiments, the additional bit field in the DCI for adaptive indication may not be included in the DCI sent to the UE.

[0128] By configuring multiple CSI-RS configurations that can be activated / deactivated or switched for the UE (via MAC-CE or DCI), the NW can flexibly decide which CSI-RS should be used at a time. The NW can select the activated CSI-RS configuration based on the status of port adaptation, etc. For example, the NW can use the following mechanism to utilize multiple CSI-RS configurations.

[0129] 1. Configure multiple CSI-RS configurations for the UE.

[0130] The various CSI-RS configurations here can be obtained by one of the several methods mentioned above, for example, by configuring the UE with multiple parameter configurations, such as the parameters in the CSI-RS-ResourceMappingIE.

[0131] 2. Instruct the UE to switch from the first CSI-RS configuration to the second CSI-RS configuration.

[0132] The NW may decide to change the CSI-RS configuration, for example, when there are no more activated UEs in the cell, or when there are no activated UEs that need or can utilize transmission of a large number of ports (e.g., continuous transmission with multiple layers and narrow beams). In this case, the NW may decide to switch from a first CSI-RS configuration suitable for transmission of a large number of ports to a second CSI-RS configuration suitable for transmission of a small number of ports. As described above, this may be indicated, for example, by DCI and / or MAC-CE.

[0133] 3. After the NW sends the switching indication, it may send the CSI-RS according to the second CSI-RS configuration.

[0134] In all the above examples, if the activation / deactivation mechanism is based on DCI, based on MAC CE, the NW can configure the UE through higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling) as well as underlying configuration (e.g., bit fields in DCI and their interpretation). Alternatively, the UE can be pre-configured, for example, as described in a standardization document, for example, if two fields are configured for a parameter (e.g., number of ports), the UE automatically expects the MAC CE or DCI to be able to activate or deactivate the configuration, for example, as determined in the standard.

[0135] On the UE side, the UE may receive the first CSI-RS configuration and the second CSI-RS configuration according to the example embodiments described herein, for example, through RRC signaling. The UE may then start measuring or reporting based on the first configuration as a default configuration, and at a certain moment, the UE may receive a MAC CE command or DCI indicating that the UE should perform measurement or reporting based on the second configuration, so the UE measures the CSI-RS based on the second configuration or reports the CSI based on measuring the second CSI-RS configuration.

[0136] In some embodiments, a group of UEs may receive a command to switch to a second configuration. This may be achieved, for example, using a group common search as a group MAC or DCI space. A group of UEs may then be configured with low signaling overhead and low latency to switch CSI-RS configurations. A single CSI-RS configuration may still be configured per UE. The group switching command may, for example, be expressed as:

[0137] - All UEs in the group switch to a specific configuration index, for example, switching to nzp-CSI-RS-ResourcesDefault or nzp-CSI-RS-ResourcesB.

[0138] - All UEs in the group switch to the implicitly indicated configuration, such as the CSI-RS configuration with the shortest period, the densest time / frequency allocation, and the largest number of ports.

[0139] However, there are still some problems with the above embodiments. For example, multiple CSI-RS resources need to be configured for the UE so that the UE can measure different numbers or groups of CSI-RS ports. This will consume a lot of resources when multiple CSI-RS port combinations need to be measured. In addition, when MAC CE or DCI is used to indicate which CSI-RS resource the UE is to measure, it is related to the actual antenna muting. Since it takes time to turn the hardware on and off, the overhead of this solution is also high.

[0140] Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method in which multiple hypotheses are defined and linked to one CSI-RS resource. Please note that the term "hypothesis" or "assumption" used in some embodiments may refer to a subset of CSI-RS ports (or, in general, a subset of RS ports) associated with a CSI-RS configuration (or an RS configuration or RS resource associated therewith). In some embodiments, the term "hypothesis" may be used to indicate one of multiple options or possibilities for CSI-RS port activation that the NW can apply, the option or possibility being from a large set of such options. The current hypothesis may be provided to the UE via MAC CE or DCI signaling. In some embodiments, the UE cannot detect the current hypothesis by blind detection or the like.

[0141] A proper subset of a common or complete set of RS ports associated with an RS configuration. In some other embodiments, the RS port subset may be a common or complete set of RS ports associated with an RS configuration.

[0142] As described above, the assumptions may determine the selection of the subset of configured CSI-RS ports to be measured (how many and which ones to measure). In addition, in some embodiments, the assumptions may determine the selection d of the subset of configured CSI-RS ports to be measured at what rate. These assumptions may be predefined in the specification, configured by RRC, or configured in other higher layer signaling methods (e.g., SI broadcast).

[0143] In some embodiments, the MAC CE may be used to select a subset of hypotheses from the full set, for example, when the number of hypotheses of interest is high. In some embodiments, the DCI may be used to indicate one specific hypothesis that the UE needs to apply when performing and reporting its measurements.

[0144] With these embodiments, when the UE measures RS ports (eg, CSI-RS ports) using different assumptions, there is no need to perform actual antenna muting.

[0145] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with multiple hypotheses associated with one NZP CSI-RS resource, where each hypothesis may determine how many and which CSI-RS ports need to be measured in the configured CSI-RS resource. In some embodiments, the hypotheses may be predefined or configured using RRC or other types of higher layer signaling (e.g., SI broadcast). In some embodiments, a subset of hypotheses may be selected via the MAC CE when there are too many hypotheses to indicate directly in the DCI. In some embodiments, a bit field may be defined in the DCI to indicate which hypothesis the UE should apply for measurement. In some embodiments, the timing from the UE receiving the DCI with the hypothesis to the gNB receiving the measurement report may be well defined, either based on preconfiguration or indicated in the DCI. In some embodiments, the UE measurement report may be extended to carry the hypothesis number so that it is clear at the gNB which hypothesis the report is associated with. This may be an alternative to the timing method in the previous embodiment. In some embodiments, CSI-RS port muting is not performed during the hypothesis change.

[0146] With some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method can help the gNB make the correct antenna muting decision before actually performing the antenna muting. It can save the resources required to obtain CSI-RS reports corresponding to different antenna muting patterns or CSI-RS port combinations / configurations. In addition, the method can be used to prepare for antenna muting, i.e., determine the specific set of ports to be muted, while maintaining the maximum possible performance in the muted state. There is no need to perform actual antenna muting when trying different hypotheses and corresponding muting options, which can reduce the time required for antenna muting, thereby improving performance.

[0147] Currently, a UE configured with N CSI-RS ports measures all N ports, so that the channel from the gNB to the UE can be fully understood. The gNB uses the measurement reports from the UE to determine how to send data to the UE through these antenna ports. For energy-saving scenarios, sometimes the gNB does not need to keep all N ports open all the time, or keep all ports at the same transmission rate and / or bandwidth (BW). However, it is not clear which CSI-RS ports should be activated and how many CSI-RS ports should be activated.

[0148] Configuring the UE with multiple CSI-RS resources, one for each possible antenna muting pattern, takes some resources. Additionally, muting the antennas and then asking the UE to do measurements based on the muting pattern takes time, especially when it is not clear which antenna ports need to be muted and how many, as the gNB may try many options that have different performance impacts.

[0149] Some embodiments of the present disclosure enable the gNB to obtain measurement reports for some configured CSI-RS ports using one CSI-RS resource without performing actual muting operations. For example, for an N-port CSI-RS resource, the gNB may configure multiple hypotheses for the UE, each of which may be associated with which ports of the N-port CSI-RS need to be measured.

[0150] In some embodiments, if desired, RRC signaling can be used to define a set with quite a few hypotheses. In some embodiments, a subset within the full set can be activated (optionally) using MAC CE. In some embodiments, DCI can be used to indicate to the UE which hypothesis the UE needs to measure.

[0151] In some embodiments, in addition to RRC signaling, other types of higher-layer signaling, such as SI broadcast, may be used. This is particularly useful if the CSI-RS and its underlying assumptions are broadcast to all UEs in a cell, so it is useful to include it in a system information block (SIB). In this case, in one embodiment, the NW may decide to use a group common DCI, e.g., a DCI scrambled with a group or cell-level RNTI, to trigger reporting for all or part of the UEs in the cell associated with the assumption. This can save resources on the NW side and enable faster reaction when a specific muting pattern is applied.

[0152] In some embodiments, when the gNB asks the UE to make a measurement, the gNB does not mute antennas or CSI-RS ports. This is just like a normal aperiodic CSI trigger and measurement. The difference is that now the UE only measures a subset of the CSI-RS ports in the CSI-RS resources enabled by the MAC CE or indicated in the DCI. In some embodiments, with explicit timing from aperiodic CSI trigger to measurement reporting, the gNB can clearly know which CSI-RS ports are associated with the measurement report sent from the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the UE can indicate the hypothesis index / identity in the report so that the gNB can associate the measurement with the correct hypothesis.

[0153] Figure 3A and Figure 3B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna panel that may be used to measure and / or report RS port subsets according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3A An antenna panel 300 is shown on which a plurality of antenna subarrays 310 of antenna elements are arranged. Figure 3AAs shown, the four CSI-RS ports can be mapped to the antenna elements 320, respectively. For example, CSI-RS port 0 is mapped to the two leftmost columns of the antenna elements 320, and CSI-RS port 3 is mapped to the two rightmost columns of the antenna elements 320. In addition, CSI-RS port 1 is mapped to the two left middle columns, and CSI-RS port 2 is mapped to the two right middle columns.

[0154] However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the four CSI-RS ports may be mapped to the antenna panel 300 in various ways. In some embodiments, CSI-RS port 0 is mapped to the top two columns of antenna elements 320, and CSI-RS port 3 is mapped to the bottom two columns of antenna elements 320. In addition, CSI-RS port 1 is mapped to the middle upper two columns, and CSI-RS port 2 is mapped to the middle lower two columns. In practice, the mapping of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements may be determined in any appropriate manner.

[0155] In addition, the number of CSI-RS ports is not limited to Figure 3A The four CSI-RS ports shown in FIG. Figure 3B As shown, 8 CSI-RS ports are shown. Generally speaking, any suitable number of CSI-RS ports may be applicable to embodiments of the present invention.

[0156] refer to Figure 3A , where a 4-port CSI-RS configuration is shown, the gNB may define a set of 15 assumptions for the 4-port CSI-RS configuration and send them to the UE, for example, via RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the following assumptions may also be pre-defined (e.g., pre-configured or hard-coded) in the specification. An example table of assumptions is provided below:

[0157] In some other embodiments, another table may be defined, for example:

[0158]

[0159]

[0160] Table 2: Example definitions of assumptions

[0161] However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, other tables may be defined, for example:

[0162] Hypothesis Index Hypothetical CSI-RS port combination 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 0、1 5 2、3 6 0、1、2 7 1、2、3

[0163] Table 3: Example definitions of assumptions

[0164] Referring to Table 2, it is assumed that there are only 2 bits in the DCI to indicate the hypothesis. In this case, it is not possible to use only 2 bits to indicate which hypothesis among the 15 options. Therefore, the MAC CE can be used to select the hypothesis subset defined in the RRC signaling. Figure 4 Some exemplary fields of MAC CE are shown. Figure 4 As shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 1 , when a bit of a field is set to 1, it indicates that the corresponding hypothesis is selected. Figure 4 As shown in (a), hypotheses with indices 4, 7, and 13 are selected, while Figure 4 As shown in (b), hypotheses with indices 3, 6, 9, and 12 are selected.

[0165] For such a MAC CE, 2 bits in the DCI can be used to indicate which hypothesis indicated by the MAC CE should be measured and reported by the UE. Figure 4 In the MAC CE shown in (a), a bit field with "00" in the DCI may reference an assumption with an index of 4, a bit field with "01" may reference an assumption with an index of 7, and a bit field with "10" may reference an assumption with an index of 13. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, different interpretations of the DCI bits may be applied. For example, a bit field with "10" in the DCI may reference an assumption with an index of 4, a bit field with "00" may reference an assumption with an index of 7, and a bit field with "01" may reference an assumption with an index of 13. In fact, as long as the UE and the gNB agree on the same interpretation of the DCI bits, the interpretation may work properly.

[0166] In addition, although the above embodiments are described as each value of the bit field indicating the corresponding hypothesis to be measured, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, each bit in the bit field may indicate whether the corresponding hypothesis is to be measured. For example, when the bit field in the DCI has 3 bits, each bit with a value of "1" may indicate that the UE is to measure the corresponding hypothesis, and each bit with a value of "0" may indicate that the UE does not measure the corresponding hypothesis. In this case, the gNB may indicate multiple hypotheses to be measured by the UE.

[0167] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna panel with different subsets of RS ports selected by a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0168] When the UE defines or configures Table 2, and the gNB sends the UE Figure 4When the MAC CE shown in (a) and the DCI with the bit field being "00", the UE can determine that CSI ports 0 and 1 need to be measured and reported, while CSI ports 2 and 3 do not need to be measured and reported, just as if they were muted (they do not need to be actually muted), as shown in FIG. Figure 5A For another example, when the UE defines or configures Table 2, and the gNB sends the UE Figure 4 When the MAC CE shown in (a) and the DCI with the bit field being "01", the UE can determine that CSI ports 1 and 2 need to be measured and reported, while CSI ports 0 and 3 do not need to be measured and reported, just as if they were muted, such as Figure 5B shown.

[0169] With this approach, the gNB can quickly understand the predicted performance of different antenna muting combinations.

[0170] In addition, when multiple UEs receive the same MAC / CE and / or the same DCI (e.g., group-common DCI), each UE may interpret the MAC / CE and / or DCI in its own way. For example, by defining / configuring different assumption tables, a UE configured with Table 2 may determine that the CSI-RS port to be measured is different from the port determined by another UE that defines Table 3. For another example, when the same table is configured at multiple UEs and multiple UEs receive group-common DCI, they may still determine different CSI-RS ports to be measured, for example, because the multiple UEs receive different MAC CEs or different mappings from DCI bit field values ​​to subsets indicated by the MAC CE are applied at the multiple UEs.

[0171] In addition, although the table / MAC CE / DCI is described in the above embodiments as being associated with a specific CSI-RS configuration or a resource indicated by a specific CSI-RS configuration, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, a table / MAC CE / DCI may be defined for more than one CSI-RS configuration. In this case, even if the table / MAC CE / DCI is the same for multiple UEs, the UEs may measure different CSI-RS ports mapped to different frequency / time resources, respectively.

[0172] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the dynamic changes between different RS port subsets in an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the block marked with "D" indicates that at least a portion (symbol) of the time slot can be used for downlink transmission, and the block marked with "U" indicates that at least a portion (symbol) of the time slot can be used for uplink transmission.

[0173] like Figure 6As shown, at time slot N, the DCI may instruct the UE to measure according to hypothesis index 4 (e.g., setting the bit field to “00”), while at time slot N+1, the DCI may instruct the UE to measure according to hypothesis index 7 (e.g., setting the bit field to “01”). During this period, since there is no actual antenna muting, the change from one hypothesis to another can be very fast. Once the gNB has the measurement results for the various hypotheses, it can decide which transceivers are the best or suitable enough to communicate with the UE and choose to utilize power saving states on other transceiver chains based on the results. For example, if the UE reports a good enough channel state estimate at index 7 on time slot N+8, the gNB can maintain the data channels (e.g., PDSCH) on the transceivers associated with ports 1 and 2. The gNB can now choose not to send data (PDSCH) on ports 0 and 3. As a result, the gNB uses less energy.

[0174] In some embodiments, a maximum size of the DCI bit field for this feature may be defined, for example, a maximum of 2, 3, 4 bits, etc. The maximum size may also depend on the number of configured ports. For example, for a UE configured with ports 2 and 4, the maximum size of the antenna muting bit field may be 2 and 4 bits, respectively. The maximum number of hypotheses may then depend on the maximum bit field size.

[0175] In some embodiments, MAC CE signaling can be used to fully define the subset of hypotheses to be reported without requiring additional indications in the DCI. This can limit the specification impact to the MAC CE without requiring new DCI formats or bit interpretation definitions.

[0176] In some embodiments, a bitmap may be used to indicate the active port subset, e.g., using 4 bit positions in the above example, where each bit position indicates whether the corresponding port is active. The assumed value may then be directly the value corresponding to the bitmap. In this embodiment, no CSI-RS port combinations need to be predefined, e.g., by SI or by RRC.

[0177] In some embodiments, the actual bit size may also depend on the number of hypotheses actually configured for the UE. For example, if the UE is configured with 4 ports, but the gNB is only configured with 8 hypotheses, the bit field size may be 3 bits instead of 4. In some embodiments, the bit size may also be explicitly configured via higher layer signaling.

[0178] In some embodiments, a minimum time gap between a time slot containing a DCI indicating CSI-RS measurement and a time slot containing CSI-RS may be defined. In one example, this may be achieved by setting a limit. For example, when configuring this feature for a UE, an aperiodicTriggeringOffset must be configured for the UE, and its value is greater than a certain threshold, such as greater than 0. In another example, a minimum gap may also be configured, such as in RRC, through which the UE knows that the value of aperiodicTriggeringOffset will be equal to or greater than the configured minimum gap. The minimum gap may be a newly defined parameter or may be derived from a Rel.16minimumSchedulingOffsetK0 parameter, etc.

[0179] In some embodiments, the DCI may be an existing scheduling DCI for triggering CSI reporting, such as DCI1_1 and / or DCI1_2. In another embodiment, it may be a new DCI format specifically designed to indicate NW energy saving measures to the UE, or a group common DCI. The latter is particularly useful when the intention is to trigger some or all UEs within a cell to report assumed measurement results. In this case, in one approach, all UEs may report their CSI measurement results at the same time, but possibly in different frequency resources, or the UEs may be divided into one or more groups, and each group receives its own resources in which it may report measurement results.

[0180] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting, and in this case, the MAC CE may again be used to enable a set of assumptions, and then the associated DCI may be applied to determine the assumptions that the UE should consider for a particular CSI-RS resource in one or more upcoming CSI reporting occasions. In one example of this embodiment, the DCI may indicate a first assumption associated with a first CSI-RS resource, a second assumption associated with a second CSI-RS resource, and so on. The second CSI-RS resource may be the same as the first CSI-RS resource, but transmitted at a different time.

[0181] In some embodiments, the UE may generate the CSI-RS reporting format to match the currently valid assumptions. This can result in the highest signaling efficiency when the UE's interpretation of the current assumptions matches the transmission and configuration pattern used by the gNB. If the DCI-based assumption change indication is lost or received incorrectly, the reporting format may be difficult for the gNB to understand or may be misinterpreted. In some embodiments, the UE may perform all reporting based on the maximum configured number of ports, but for inactive ports (i.e., ports not measured), report a value of zero or another predetermined value.

[0182] In some embodiments, if the format of the current report is incompatible with the current expected reporting configuration, an alternative misalignment mitigation measure on the gNB side may be to interpret the current report according to the reporting format corresponding to the previous assumption and / or resend the current assumption configuration command.

[0183] With CSI reports for different assumptions, the gNB can know which assumption provides the best performance to meet the traffic requirements and can therefore make antenna muting decisions. In some embodiments, a message can then be sent from the gNB to the UE to inform the UE that from now on it should measure according to this CSI-RS port configuration, which may correspond to actual antenna muting. The UE can then report CSI reports regularly without further triggering messages. This is shown in Fig. 7.

[0184] Figure 2 shows an example scenario of a gNB indicating a subset of CSI-RS ports to be measured and / or reported before and after performing antenna muting. Figure 7 As shown, a gNB with 64 antenna elements activated may request a UE to perform partial measurements on CSI-RS ports, such as by the above method. For example, the gNB may instruct the UE to measure subset 1 of the CSI-RS ports and report its measurements, and then may instruct the UE to measure subset 2 of the CSI-RS ports and report its measurements, such as Figure 7 As shown. Once the two measurement results are obtained, the gNB can determine to turn off some antenna elements based on the measurement results. For example, the gNB can turn off the antenna elements associated with the CSI-RS ports with lower performance (e.g., lower RSRP, higher noise, etc.). As a specific example, Figure 7 As shown, the gNB switches off the 32 antenna elements associated with subset 2. Thereafter, as instructed by the gNB, the UE may periodically measure subset 1 and report its measurements periodically without any further signaling / triggering.

[0185] Flowchart of an exemplary method 800 for reporting measurements of one or more RS ports at a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 800 may be performed at a user equipment (e.g., UE100). Method 800 may include steps S810, S820, S830, and S840. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, method 800 may include more steps, fewer steps, different steps, or any combination thereof. In addition, the steps of method 800 may be performed in an order different from that described herein. In addition, in some embodiments, the steps in method 800 may be divided into a plurality of sub-steps and performed by different entities, and / or a plurality of steps in method 800 may be combined into a single step.

[0186] The method 800 may begin at step S810 , where a first number of RS port subsets may be determined, each subset belonging to a group of one or more RS ports associated with a same RS configuration.

[0187] At step S820, one or more messages indicating one or more first RS port subsets of the first number of RS port subsets may be received from a network node.

[0188] At step S830, one or more first subsets of RS ports may be measured.

[0189] At step S840, a report message indicating measurements for the one or more first RS port subsets may be transmitted to the network node.

[0190] In some embodiments, the step of determining the first number of RS port subsets may include at least one of the following: receiving a first message indicating the first number of RS port subsets from a network node; and determining the first number of subsets or RS ports based on a local configuration preconfigured or hard-coded at the UE. In some embodiments, at least one of the first message and the one or more messages may be received via at least one of the following: RRC signaling dedicated to the UE; SI broadcast by the network node; MAC CE; and DCI.

[0191] In some embodiments, the one or more messages may include at least one of the following: a second message indicating a second number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the second number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a second message indicating a single RS port subset; a third message indicating a third number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the third number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a third message indicating a single subset; and a fourth message requesting the UE to report measurements of the RS ports without specifying which RS port subset to measure. In some embodiments, at least one of the following may be true: the second message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is a single subset or a second number of subsets; the third message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is a single subset or a third number of subsets; and when the second message is also received, the third message indicates that one or more of the second number of subsets is a single subset or a third number of subsets.

[0192] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may be true: the first message is received via RRC signaling or SI broadcast by the network node; the second message is received via MAC CE; the second message is received via DCI, while the third message is not received; the third message is received via DCI. In some embodiments, receiving the DCI of one of the one or more messages may include a bit field indicating that one or more subsets of the one or more subsets are to be measured. In some embodiments, at least one of the following may be true: each value of the bit field indicates that the corresponding first subset is to be measured; and each bit in the bit field indicates whether the corresponding first subset is to be measured.

[0193] In some embodiments, a MAC CE receiving one of the one or more messages may include a bit field indicating a portion of a first number of subsets as a second number of subsets, and each bit in the bit field may indicate whether a corresponding one of the first number of subsets is indicated as one of the second number of subsets. In some embodiments, when the first message is received via SI broadcast by the network node, the second message and / or the third message may be a group common DCI sent from the network node to a UE group including the UE. In some embodiments, the step of sending a report message may include sending the report message to the network node via a first frequency resource different from a second frequency resource used by another UE in the UE group to send its report message.

[0194] In some embodiments, the step of determining one or more first RS port subsets may include at least one of the following: when a third message is received, determining a single subset or a third number of subsets indicated by the third message as one or more first subsets; when the third message is not received and the second message is received, determining a single subset or a second number of subsets indicated by the second message as one or more first subsets; and when the third message and the second message are not received and the first message is received, determining the first number of subsets indicated by the first message as one or more first subsets.

[0195] In some embodiments, the step of sending the report message may include at least one of the following: sending the report message to the network node at a report timing determined based on the reception timing of one of the received messages and a relationship between the report timing and the reception timing indicated by at least one of the one or more messages; sending the report message to the network node at a report timing determined based on the reception timing of one of the received messages and a preconfigured or hard-coded relationship between the report timing and the reception timing; and sending the report message to the network node, the report message also indicating one or more identifiers for identifying the one or more first subsets of the actual measurement. In some embodiments, the relationship may be indicated by a DCI message.

[0196] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the bit field of the DCI message for indicating the first RS port subset may depend on at least one of: the number of RS ports configured at the UE; the number of RS port subsets configured by the network node for the UE and belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; and higher layer signaling. In some embodiments, a minimum time interval between a time slot containing a DCI that triggers RS port measurement and a time slot containing an RS port may be defined at the UE. In some embodiments, when one or more messages include DCI, the DCI may be one of the following: DCI format 1_1; DCI format 1_2; group common DCI; and a DCI format different from any DCI format defined in 3GPPTS36.212, V17.0.0, 3GPPTS38.212v17.0.0, and / or any previous version thereof.

[0197] In some embodiments, the method 800 may further include: determining one or more second RS port subsets based on at least one of the first message, one or more messages, and another local configuration, each second subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with another RS ​​configuration; measuring one or more second RS port subsets; and sending another report message to the network node, the other report message indicating the measurement of the one or more second RS port subsets. In some embodiments, the report message may have at least one of the following: a format matching the one or more first subsets; and a format matching the set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration, wherein the report message may indicate a predetermined value of any RS port included in the set but not included in the one or more first subsets. In some embodiments, the method 800 may further include: receiving a fifth message from the network node, the fifth message indicating a determined RS port subset belonging to the set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; and periodically measuring the determined RS port subset, and periodically sending a report message indicating the measurement of the determined RS port subset to the network node. In some embodiments, the determined RS port subset may correspond to an antenna muting mode applied at the network node.

[0198] Flowchart of an exemplary method 900 for assisting a UE in reporting measurements of one or more RS ports. Method 900 may be performed at a network node (e.g., gNB 105). Method 900 may include steps S910, S920, and S930. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, method 900 may include more steps, fewer steps, different steps, or any combination thereof. In addition, the steps of method 900 may be performed in an order different from that described herein. In addition, in some embodiments, the steps in method 900 may be divided into multiple sub-steps and performed by different entities, and / or multiple steps in method 900 may be combined into a single step.

[0199] The method 900 may start at step S910 , where one or more first RS port subsets to be measured by the UE may be determined, each first subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration.

[0200] In step S920, one or more messages may be sent to the UE to request the UE to report measurements for one or more first RS port subsets, so that the UE may determine the one or more first RS port subsets based at least on the one or more messages.

[0201] At step S930 , a report message indicating measurement for one or more first RS port subsets may be received from the UE.

[0202] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more messages may be sent via at least one of: RRC signaling dedicated to the UE; SI broadcast by a network node; MAC CE; and DCI. In some embodiments, the one or more messages may include at least one of: a first message indicating a first number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the first number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a second message indicating a second number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the second number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a second message indicating a single RS port subset; a third message indicating a third number of RS port subsets including one or more first subsets, each of the third number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a third message indicating a single subset; and a fourth message requesting the UE to report measurements of the RS ports without specifying which RS port subset to measure. In some embodiments, at least one of the following may be true: when the first message is also sent, the second message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is a single subset or a second number of subsets; when the first message is also sent, the third message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is a single subset or a third number of subsets; and when the second message is also sent, the third message indicates that one or more of the second number of subsets is a single subset or a third number of subsets.

[0203] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may be true: the first message is sent via RRC signaling or SI broadcast by the network node; the second message is sent via MAC CE; the second message is sent via DCI without sending the third message; and the third message is sent via DCI.

[0204] In some embodiments, a DCI for sending one or more messages may include a bit field indicating that one or more of the one or more subsets are to be measured. In some embodiments, at least one of the following may be true: each value of the bit field indicates that the corresponding first subset is to be measured; and each bit in the bit field indicates whether the corresponding first subset is to be measured. In some embodiments, a MAC CE for sending one or more messages may include a bit field indicating that a portion of a first number of subsets is a second number of subsets, and each bit in the bit field may indicate whether a corresponding one of the first number of subsets is indicated as one of the second number of subsets. In some embodiments, when the first message is sent via SI broadcast by a network node, the second message and / or the third message may be a group common DCI sent from the network node to a UE group including the UE. In some embodiments, the step of receiving a report message may include: receiving a report message from a UE via a first frequency resource, the first frequency resource being different from a second frequency resource used by the network node to receive another report message from another UE in the UE group.

[0205] In some embodiments, the step of receiving the report message may include at least one of the following: receiving the report message from the UE at a report timing determined based on the reception timing of one of the messages received by the UE and a relationship between the report timing and the reception timing indicated by at least one of the one or more messages; receiving the report message from the UE at a report timing determined based on the reception timing of one of the messages received by the UE and a preconfigured or hard-coded relationship between the report timing and the reception timing; and receiving the report message from the UE, the report message also indicating one or more identifiers for identifying one or more first subsets of actual measurements. In some embodiments, the relationship may be indicated by a DCI message.

[0206] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the bit field of the DCI message for indicating the first RS port subset may depend on at least one of: the number of RS ports configured at the UE; the number of RS port subsets configured by the network node for the UE, which belong to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; and higher layer signaling. In some embodiments, the minimum time interval between the time slot containing the DCI that triggers the RS port measurement and the time slot containing the RS port may be defined at the network node. In some embodiments, when one or more messages include DCI, the DCI may be one of the following: DCI format 1_1; DCI format 1_2; group common DCI; and a DCI format different from any DCI format defined in 3GPPTS36.212, V17.0.0, 3GPPTS38.212v17.0.0 and / or any previous version thereof.

[0207] In some embodiments, before the step of sending one or more messages, the method 900 may further include: determining one or more second RS port subsets to be measured by the UE, each second subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with another RS ​​configuration; and after the step of sending one or more messages, the method 900 may further include: receiving another report message from the UE indicating measurements for the one or more second RS port subsets. In some embodiments, the report message may have at least one of the following: a format matching the one or more first subsets; and a format matching the set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration, wherein the report message may indicate a predetermined value of any RS port included in the set but not included in the one or more first subsets.

[0208] In some embodiments, when the UE measures one or more first subsets, one or more RS ports not included in the one or more first subsets may not be muted. In some embodiments, the method 900 may further include: determining which or which of the RS port sets are to be muted based at least on the report message; and muting the determined one or more RS ports. In some embodiments, the method 900 may further include at least one of the following: in response to determining that the report message cannot be correctly decoded, decoding the report message according to the report format used to decode the previous report message; and resending at least one of the one or more messages to the UE to request the UE to perform the measurement or report the measurement again. In some embodiments, the method 900 may further include: determining the RS port subset that the UE is to measure and report periodically based at least on the measurement of the one or more first RS port subsets, the determined RS port subset belonging to one or more RS port sets associated with the same RS configuration; sending a fifth message indicating the determined RS port subset to the UE; and periodically receiving a report message indicating the measurement of the determined RS port subset from the UE. In some embodiments, the determined RS port subset may correspond to an antenna muting mode applied at the network node. In some embodiments, the fifth message may be sent via at least one of: RRC signaling dedicated to the UE; SI broadcast by a network node; MAC CE; and DCI.

[0209] In some embodiments, one or more RS ports may be CSI-RS ports. In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more RS port subsets may correspond to an antenna muting pattern at a network node. In some embodiments, the same RS configuration may be a configuration indicating an NZP CSI-RS resource.

[0210] An embodiment of an apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be used for a user equipment (e.g., UE 100) or a network node (e.g., gNB 105). The apparatus 1000 includes a processing unit 1006, for example, having a digital signal processor (DSP) or a central processing unit (CPU). The processing unit 1006 may be a single unit or a plurality of units to perform different actions of the process described herein. The apparatus 1000 may also include an input unit 1002 for receiving signals from other entities and an output unit 1004 for providing signals to other entities. The input unit 1002 and the output unit 1004 may be arranged as an integrated entity or as separate entities.

[0211] In addition, the apparatus 1000 may include at least one computer program product 1008 in the form of a non-volatile or volatile memory, such as an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory and / or a hard disk. The computer program product 1008 includes a computer program 1010, which includes code / computer-readable instructions. When the processing unit 1006 in the apparatus 1000 executes the code / computer-readable instructions, the code / computer-readable instructions cause the apparatus 1000 and / or the UE / network node contained therein to perform actions, such as the above-mentioned Figures 1 to 9 the described process or any other variation.

[0212] The computer program 1010 may be configured as computer program code, which is constituted in the form of computer program modules 1010A, 1010B, 1010C, and 1010D. Therefore, in an exemplary embodiment, when the apparatus 1000 is used for a UE, the code in the computer program of the apparatus 1000 includes: a module 1010A configured to determine a first number of RS port subsets, each subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a module 1010B configured to receive one or more messages from a network node, the message indicating one or more first RS port subsets from the first number of RS port subsets; a module 1010C configured to measure the one or more first RS port subsets; and a module 1010D configured to send a report message to the network node, the report message indicating the measurement of the one or more first RS port subsets.

[0213] Additionally or alternatively, the computer program 1010 may be configured as a computer program code constructed with computer program modules 1010E, 1010F, and 1010G. Therefore, in an exemplary embodiment when the apparatus 1000 is used in a network node, the code in the computer program of the apparatus 1000 includes: module 1010E, configured to determine one or more first RS port subsets to be measured by the UE, each first subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; module 1010F, configured to send one or more messages to the UE, requesting the UE to report measurements for the one or more first RS port subsets, so that the UE can determine the one or more first RS port subsets based at least on the one or more messages; and module 1010G, configured to receive a report message indicating measurements for the one or more first RS port subsets from the UE.

[0214] 1 to Fig. 9 The actions of the flow shown are performed to simulate a UE or a network node. In other words, when different computer program modules are executed in the processing unit 1006, they may correspond to different modules in a UE or a network node.

[0215] Despite the combination Fig.10 In the above disclosed embodiments, the code device is implemented as a computer program module, which, when executed in a processing unit, causes the device to perform the actions described in conjunction with the above figures, but in alternative embodiments, at least one code device may be at least partially implemented as a hardware circuit.

[0216] The processor may be a single CPU (central processing unit), but may also include two or more processing units. For example, the processor may include a general-purpose microprocessor; an instruction set processor and / or an associated chipset and / or a dedicated microprocessor, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor may also include a board memory for caching purposes. The computer program may be carried by a computer program product connected to the processor. The computer program product may include a computer-readable medium on which the computer program is stored. For example, the computer program product may be a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM) or an EEPROM, and the above-mentioned computer program modules may be distributed on different computer program products in the form of memory within the UE and / or network node in an alternative embodiment.

[0217] Corresponding to the above method 800, an exemplary user equipment is provided below. Fig.11 1 is a block diagram of a UE 1100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, the UE 1100 may be, for example, UE 100 .

[0218] UE 1100 may be configured to perform the above combination Figure 8 The method 800 is described. Fig.11 As shown, UE1100 may include: a determination module 1110, configured to determine a first number of RS port subsets, each subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a receiving module 1120, configured to receive one or more messages indicating one or more first RS port subsets from the first number of RS port subsets from a network node; a measurement module 1130, configured to measure the one or more first RS port subsets; and a sending module 1140, configured to send a report message indicating measurements for the one or more first RS port subsets to the network node.

[0219] The above modules 1110, 1120, 1130 and / or 1140 may be implemented as a pure hardware solution or a combination of software and hardware, for example, by one or more of the following: a processor or microprocessor and appropriate software and a memory for storing the software, a programmable logic device (PLD) or other electronic components or processing circuits, configured to perform the above actions, for example, Figure 8 In addition, UE1100 may include one or more other modules, each of which may execute the reference Figure 8 Any step of method 800 described.

[0220] Corresponding to the above method 900, a network node is provided. Fig.12 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary network node 1200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, the network node 1200 may be, for example, a gNB 105.

[0221] The network node 1200 may be configured to perform the above-mentioned Fig. 9 The method 900 is described. Fig.12 As shown, the network node 1200 may include: a determination module 1210, configured to determine one or more first RS port subsets to be measured by the UE, each first subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; a sending module 1220, configured to send one or more messages to the UE, requesting the UE to report measurements for the one or more first RS port subsets, so that the UE can determine the one or more first RS port subsets based at least on the one or more messages; and a receiving module 1230, configured to receive a report message indicating measurements for the one or more first RS port subsets from the UE.

[0222] The above modules 1210, 1220 and / or 1230 may be implemented as a pure hardware solution or a combination of software and hardware, for example, by one or more of the following: a processor or microprocessor and appropriate software and a memory for storing the software, a PLD or other electronic component or processing circuit, which is configured to perform the above actions, and for example, in Fig. 9 In addition, the network node 1200 may include one or more other modules, each of which may execute the reference Fig. 9 Any steps of method 900 described.

[0223] refer to Fig.13 According to one embodiment, the communication system includes a telecommunication network 3210, such as a cellular network of the 3GPP type, which includes an access network 3211, such as a wireless access network, and a core network 3214. The access network 3211 includes a plurality of base stations 3212a, 3212b, 3212c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each of which defines a corresponding coverage area 3213a, 3213b, 3213c. Each base station 3212a, 3212b, 3212c may be connected to the core network 3214 via a wired or wireless connection 3215. A first UE 3291 located in the coverage area 3213c is configured to be wirelessly connected to or paged by the corresponding base station 3212c. A second UE 3292 in the coverage area 3213a may be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 3212a. Although multiple UEs 3291 , 3292 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are also applicable to situations where a single UE is located within the coverage area or a single UE is connected to a corresponding base station 3212 .

[0224] The telecommunications network 3210 itself is connected to a host 3230, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a stand-alone server, a cloud-enabled server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host 3230 may be owned or controlled by a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. The connections 3221, 3222 between the telecommunications network 3210 and the host 3230 may extend directly from the core network 3214 to the host 3230, or may be made through an optional intermediate network 3220. The intermediate network 3220 may be one of a public, private, or managed network, or a combination of multiple; the intermediate network 3220 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; specifically, the intermediate network 3220 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0225] The communication system of 13 as a whole realizes the connection between one of the connected UE3291, 3292 and the host 3230. The connection can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 3250. The host 3230 and the connected UE3291, 3292 are configured to transmit data and / or signaling through the OTT connection 3250, using the access network 3211, the core network 3214, any intermediate network 3220 and possible other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 3250 can be transparent because the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 3250 passes do not know the routes of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 3212 may not or need not be informed of the past routes of incoming downlink communications from the host computer 3230, and the data of the communication will be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE3291. Similarly, the base station 3212 does not need to know the future routes of outgoing uplink communications from the UE3291 toward the host computer 3230.

[0226] Fig.14 Describe an example implementation of a UE, a base station, and a host computer according to an embodiment. In the communication system 3300, the host computer 3310 includes hardware 3315, which includes a communication interface 3316, which is configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of different communication devices of the communication system 3300. The host computer 3310 also includes a processing circuit 3318, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. Specifically, the processing circuit 3318 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown), suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 3310 also includes software 3311, which is stored in the host computer 3310 or can be accessed by the host computer 3310, and can be executed by the processing circuit 3318. Software 3311 includes a host application 3312. The host application 3312 can be used to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 3330 connected via an OTT connection 3350 terminating at the UE 3330 and the host computer 3310. In providing services to the remote user, the host application 3312 can provide user data sent using the OTT connection 3350.

[0227] The communication system 3300 also includes a base station 3320, which is set in the telecommunication system and includes hardware 3325 to enable it to communicate with the host computer 3310 and the UE 3330. The hardware 3325 may include a communication interface 3326 for establishing and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with the interface of different communication devices of the communication system 3300, and a radio interface 3327 for establishing and maintaining a connection with a network located in the coverage area ( Fig.14The communication interface 3326 may be configured to facilitate a connection 3360 with the host computer 3310. The connection 3360 may be direct, or it may be through a core network (eg, a wireless network) of the telecommunications system. Fig.14 3320) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 3325 of the base station 3320 also includes processing circuitry 3328, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown), adapted to execute instructions. The base station 3320 also has software 3321 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0228] The communication system 3300 also includes the UE 3330 already mentioned. Its hardware 3335 may include a radio interface 3337, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 3370 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 3330 is currently located. The hardware 3335 of the UE 3330 also includes a processing circuit 3338, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown), suitable for executing instructions. The UE 3330 also includes software 3331, which is stored in the UE 3330 or can be accessed by the UE 3330 and can be executed by the processing circuit 3338. The software 3331 includes a client application 3332. The client application 3332 can provide services to human or non-human users through the UE 3330 with the support of the host 3310. In the host 3310, the execution host application 3312 can communicate with the execution client application 3332 through the OTT connection 3350 terminated at the UE 3330 and the host 3310. When providing services to users, the client application 3332 can receive request data from the host application 3312 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 3350 can send the request data and the user data. The client application 3332 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0229] It is worth noting that Fig.14 The host 3310, base station 3320 and UE 3330 shown in FIG. Fig.13 The host 3230, one of the base stations 3212a, 3212b, 3212c, and one of the UEs 3291, 3292 in the embodiment are the same. That is, the internal working mode of these entities can be as follows Fig.14 shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Fig.13 The network topology shown.

[0230] exist Fig.14, an OTT connection 3350 is abstractly drawn to illustrate communications between a host 3310 and a user device 3330 through a base station 3320, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages through those devices. The network infrastructure can determine the route, which can be configured to hide the route from the UE 3330 or the service provider operating the host 3310, or from both. While the OTT connection 3350 is active, the network infrastructure can further make decisions by which the route is dynamically changed (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or network reconfiguration).

[0231] The wireless connection 3370 between the UE 3330 and the base station 3320 is consistent with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improves the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 3330 using the OTT connection 3350, where the wireless connection 3370 constitutes the last leg. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve latency and power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0232] A measurement procedure may be provided for monitoring data rates, delays, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 3350 between the host 3310 and the UE 3330 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 3350 may be implemented in the software 3311 of the host 3310, or in the software 3331 of the UE 3330, or in both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 3350 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement procedure by providing the value of the above-mentioned monitored quantity or providing the value of other physical quantities, from which the software 3311, 3331 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantity. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 3350 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 3320, and may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 3320. Such procedures and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling to facilitate the host 3310's measurement of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented by the software 3311, 3331 using the OTT connection 3350 to send messages, particularly empty messages or "dummy" messages, while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0233] Fig.15 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 1Those described in 13 and Fig.14 To simplify the present disclosure, this section will only include Fig.15 Drawing reference of. In a first step 3410 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step 3411 of the first step 3410, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In a second step 3420, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In an optional third step 3430, the base station transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. In an optional fourth step 3440, the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0234] Fig.16 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig.13 and Fig.14 To simplify the present disclosure, this section will only include Fig.16 In a first step 3510 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In a second step 3520, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. According to the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transmission can be delivered by a base station. In an optional third step 3530, the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0235] Fig.17 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 1 Those described in 13 and Fig.14 To simplify the present disclosure, this section will only include Fig.17Drawing reference. In an optional first step 3610 of the method, the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step 3620, the UE provides user data. In an optional sub-step 3621 of the second step 3620, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In a further optional sub-step 3611 of the first step 3610, the UE executes a client application that provides the user data in response to receiving input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates sending the user data to the host computer in an optional third sub-step 3630. In a fourth step 3640 of the method, the host computer receives the user data sent from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure.

[0236] Fig.18 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig.13 and Fig.14 To simplify the present disclosure, this section will only include Fig.18 In an optional first step 3710 of the method, the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. In an optional second step 3720, the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host. In a third step 3730, the host receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0237] The present invention has been described above in conjunction with the embodiments, but these embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents. Those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications without departing from the protection scope of the present invention, and these changes and modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method (800) for reporting measurements of one or more reference signal (RS) ports on a user equipment (UE) (100), the method (800) comprising: determining (S810) a first number of RS port subsets, each subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with a same RS configuration; receiving (S820) one or more messages from a network node (105), the one or more messages indicating one or more first RS port subsets from the first number of RS port subsets; measuring (S830) the one or more first RS port subsets; as well as A report message is sent (S840) to the network node (105), the report message indicating measurements on the one or more first RS port subsets.

2. The method (800) of claim 1, wherein the step of determining (S810) a first number of RS port subsets comprises at least one of: - receiving (105) a first message from a network node, said first message indicating said first number of RS port subsets; and - Determining said first number subset or number of RS ports according to a local configuration pre-configured or hard-coded at the UE (100).

3. The method (800) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first message and at least one of the one or more messages are received by at least one of: - Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling dedicated to the UE (100); - System Information (SI) broadcast by the network node (105); - Medium Access Control (MAC) Element (CE); and - Downlink Control Information (DCI).

4. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The one or more messages include at least one of the following: - a second message indicating a second number of RS port subsets including the one or more first subsets, each of the second number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; - a second message indicating a single subset of RS ports; - a third message indicating a third number of RS port subsets including the one or more first subsets, each of the third number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; - a third message indicating a single subset; as well as - A fourth message requests the UE (100) to report the measurement results of the RS ports, but does not specify which RS port subset to measure.

5. The method (800) of claim 4, wherein: At least one of the following is true: The second message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is the single subset or the second number of subsets; The third message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is the single subset or the third number of subsets; as well as When the second message is also received, the third message indicates that one or more of the second number of subsets is the single subset or the third number of subsets.

6. The method (800) of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein at least one of the following is true: - receiving the first message via RRC signaling or SI broadcast by the network node (105); - receiving, through the MAC CE, the second message; - receiving the second message through DCI, but not receiving the third message; as well as - receiving the third message via DCI.

7. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The DCI through which one of the one or more messages is received includes a bit field indicating which subset or subsets of the one or more subsets are to be measured.

8. The method (800) of claim 7, wherein: At least one of the following is true: Each value of the illustrated bit field indicates that a corresponding first subset is to be measured; and Each bit in the bit field indicates whether the corresponding first subset is to be measured.

9. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: A MAC CE through which one of the one or more messages is received includes a bit field indicating a portion of a first number of subsets as a second number of subsets, and each bit in the bit field indicates whether a corresponding subset of the first number of subsets is indicated as one of the second number of subsets.

10. The method (800) according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein: When the first message is received through the SI broadcast by the network node (105), the second message and / or the third message is a group common DCI sent from the network node (105) to a group of UEs including the UE (100).

11. The method (800) according to claim 10, wherein the step of sending (S840) the report message comprises: The report message is sent to a sending network node (105) via a first frequency resource, wherein the first frequency resource is different from a second frequency resource used by another UE in the UE group to send the report message.

12. The method (800) according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein: The step of determining one or more first subsets of RS ports comprises at least one of the following: When the third message is received, determining the single subset or the third number of subsets indicated by the third message as the one or more first subsets; When the third message is not received and the second message is received, determining the single subset or the second number of subsets indicated by the second message as the one or more first subsets; as well as When the third message and the second message are not received and the first message is received, the first number subset indicated by the first message is determined as the one or more first subsets.

13. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the step (S840) of sending the report message comprises at least one of the following: sending the report message to the network node (105) at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a reception timing of one of the messages and a relationship between the report timing and the reception timing indicated by at least one of the one or more messages; sending the report message to the network node (105) at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a reception timing of one of the messages and a preconfigured or hard-coded relationship between the report timing and the reception timing; as well as The report message is sent to the network node (105), the report message further indicating one or more identifiers, the one or more identifiers being used to identify one or more first subsets of actual measurements.

14. The method (800) of claim 13, wherein the relationship is indicated by a DCI message.

15. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein: The number of bits in the bit field of the DCI message used to indicate the first subset of RS ports depends on at least one of the following: - the number of RS ports configured on the UE (100); - the number of RS port subsets configured by the network node (105) for the UE (100), the subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; and -High layer signaling.

16. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: The minimum time gap between a time slot containing DCI triggering RS port measurement and a time slot containing the RS port is defined at the UE (100).

17. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein: When the one or more messages include DCI, the DCI is one of the following: -DCI format 1_1; -DCI format 1_2; - Group common DCI; and - A DCI format different from any DCI format defined in 3GPP TS 36.212 v17.0.0, 3GPP TS 38.212 v17.0.0 and / or any previous version thereof.

18. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, further comprising: determining one or more second subsets of RS ports based at least on the first message, the one or more messages, and at least one of other local configurations, each second subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with another RS ​​configuration; measuring the one or more second subsets of RS ports; as well as A further report message is sent to the network node (105), the further report message indicating measurements for one or more second subsets of RS ports.

19. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein: The report message has at least one of the following: - a format matching the one or more first subsets; and - a format matching a set of the one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration, wherein the report message indicates a predetermined value for any RS port included in the set but not included in the one or more first subsets.

20. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 19, further comprising: receiving (105) a fifth message from the network node indicating a determined subset of RS ports belonging to the one or more sets of RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; as well as The determined RS port subset is measured periodically, and a report message indicating the measurement for the determined RS port subset is sent periodically to the network node (105).

21. The method (800) of claim 20, wherein: The determined subset of RS ports corresponds to an antenna muting pattern applied at the network node (105).

22. The method (800) of claim 20 or 21, wherein the fifth message is received by at least one of: -RRC signaling dedicated to the UE (100); - SI broadcast by the network node (105); -MAC CE; and -DCI.

23. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein: The one or more RS ports are channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ports.

24. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein: At least one of the one or more sub-RS port subsets corresponds to an antenna muting pattern at the network node (105).

25. The method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the same RS configuration is a configuration indicating non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resources.

26. A user equipment (UE) (100, 1000, 1100), comprising: Processor (1006); A memory (1008) for storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor (1006), causes the processor (1006) to perform the method (800) according to any one of claims 1 to 25.

27. A method for facilitating, at a network node (105), a UE (100) to report one or more reference signal (RS) ports, the method (900) comprising: Determining (S910) one or more first RS port subsets to be measured by the UE (100), each first subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; sending (S920) one or more messages to the UE (100) requesting the UE (100) to report measurements of the one or more first RS port subsets, so that the UE (100) can determine the one or more first RS port subsets based at least on the one or more messages; as well as A report message is received (S930) from the UE (100), the report message indicating measurements on the one or more first RS port subsets.

28. The method (900) of claim 27, wherein at least one of the one or more messages is sent by at least one of: -RRC signaling dedicated to the UE (100); - SI broadcast by the network node (105); -MAC CE; and -DCI.

29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, wherein: The one or more messages include at least one of the following: - a first message, used to indicate a first number of RS port subsets including the one or more first subsets, each of the first number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; - a second message, used to indicate a second number of RS port subsets including the one or more first subsets, each of the second number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; - a second message for indicating a single subset of RS ports; - a third message, used to indicate a third number of RS port subsets including the one or more first subsets, each of the third number of subsets belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; - a third message for indicating a single subset; as well as - A fourth message is used to request the UE (100) to report the measurement results of the RS ports, but does not specify which RS port subset is to be measured.

30. The method (900) of claim 29, wherein: At least one of the following is true: When the first message is also sent, the second message indicates one or more of the first number of subsets as a single subset or the number of the second subsets; When the second message is also sent, the third message indicates that one or more of the first number of subsets is a single subset or the third number of subsets; as well as The third message indicates that one or more subsets of the second number of subsets are a single subset or the third number of subsets.

31. The method (900) of claim 29 or 30, wherein at least one of the following is true: - The first message is sent via RRC signaling or SI broadcast by the network node (105); -The second message is sent via MAC CE; - the second message is sent via DCI, while the third message is not sent; and -The third message is sent via DCI.

32. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein: The DCI through which one of the one or more messages is sent includes a bit field indicating which subset or subsets of the one or more subsets are to be measured.

33. The method (900) of claim 32, wherein: At least one of the following is true: Each value of the bit field indicates a corresponding first subset to be measured; and Each bit in the bit field indicates whether the corresponding first subset is to be measured.

34. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 33, wherein: The MAC CE through which one of the one or more messages is sent includes a bit field, which indicates a part of the first number of subsets as a second number of subsets, and each bit in the bit field indicates whether a corresponding subset in the first number of subsets is indicated as a subset in the second number of subsets.

35. The method (900) according to any one of claims 29 to 34, wherein: When the first message is sent via SI broadcast by the network node (105), the second message and / or the third message is a group common DCI sent by the network node (105) to a group of UEs including the UE.

36. The method (900) according to claim 35, wherein the step of receiving (S930) the report message comprises: The report message is received from the UE (100) via a first frequency resource, the first frequency resource being different from a second frequency resource used by the network node (105) to receive another report message from another UE in the UE group.

37. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 36, wherein receiving (S930) the report message comprises at least one of the following: receiving the report message from the UE (100) at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a reception timing at which one of the messages is received by the UE and a relationship between the report timing and the reception timing indicated by at least one of the one or more messages; receiving the report message from the UE (100) at a report timing, the report timing being determined based on a reception timing at which one of the messages is received by the UE (100) and a preconfigured or hard-coded relationship between the report timing and the reception timing; as well as A report message is received from the UE (100), the report message further indicating one or more identifiers, the one or more identifiers being used to identify one or more first subsets of actual measurements.

38. The method (900) of claim 37, wherein the relationship is indicated by a DCI message.

39. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 38, wherein: The bits in the bit field of the DCI message used to indicate the first RS port subset depend on at least one of the following: - the number of RS ports configured on the UE (100); the number of RS port subsets configured by the network node (105) for the UE (100), the RS port subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; and -High layer signaling.

40. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 39, wherein: A minimum time gap between a time slot containing a DCI-triggered RS port measurement and a time slot containing the RS port is defined at the network node (105).

41. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 40, wherein: When the one or more messages include DCI, the DCI is one of the following: -DCI format 1_1; -DCI format 1_2; - Group common DCI; and - A DCI format different from any DCI format defined in 3GPP TS 36.212 v17.0.0, 3GPP TS 38.212 v17.0.0 and / or any previous version thereof.

42. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 41, wherein before sending (S920) the one or more messages, the method (900) further comprises: determining one or more second subsets of RS ports to be measured by the UE (100), each second subset belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with another RS ​​configuration; and After sending (S920) the one or more messages, the method (900) further includes: Another report message is received from the UE (100) indicating measurements for one or more second subsets of RS ports.

43. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 42, wherein: The report message has at least one of the following: - a format matching one or more of the first subset; and - a format matching a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration, wherein the report message indicates a predetermined value for any RS port included in the set but not included in the one or more first subsets.

44. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 43, wherein: When the UE (100) is measuring the one or more first subsets, one or more RS ports not included in the one or more first subsets are not muted.

45. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 44, further comprising: Determining which one or more ports in the set of RS ports need to be muted based at least on the report message; as well as Mute the identified RS port or ports.

46. ​​The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 45, further comprising at least one of the following: In response to determining that the report message cannot be correctly decoded, decoding the report message according to a report format used to decode a previous report message; and At least one of the one or more messages is retransmitted to the UE (100) for requesting the UE (100) to perform a measurement or to report a measurement again.

47. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 46, further comprising: Determining a subset of RS ports to be periodically measured and periodically reported by the UE (100) based at least on measurements of the one or more first subsets of RS ports, the determined subset of RS ports belonging to a set of one or more RS ports associated with the same RS configuration; sending (100) a fifth message indicating the determined RS port subset to the UE; as well as A report message indicating measurements for the determined subset of RS ports is periodically received from the UE (100).

48. The method (900) of claim 47, wherein: The determined subset of RS ports corresponds to an antenna muting pattern applied at the network node (105).

49. The method (900) of claim 47 or 48, wherein: The fifth message is sent by at least one of the following: -RRC signaling dedicated to the UE (100); - SI broadcast by the network node (105); -MAC CE; and -DCI.

50. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 49, wherein: The one or more RS ports are CSI-RS ports.

51. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 50, wherein: At least one of the one or more RS port subsets corresponds to an antenna muting pattern at the network node (105).

52. The method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 51, wherein the same RS configuration is a configuration indicating NZP-CSI-RS resources.

53. A network node (105, 1000, 1200), comprising: Processor (1006); A memory (1008) storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor (1006), cause the processor (1006) to perform the method (900) according to any one of claims 27 to 52.

54. A computer program (1010) comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor (1006), cause the at least one processor (1006) to perform the method (800, 900) of any one of claims 1 to 25 and 27 to 52.

55. A carrier (1008) comprising the computer program of claim 54, wherein: The carrier (1008) is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal or a computer-readable storage medium.

56. A telecommunication system (10), comprising: One or more UEs (100) as claimed in claim 26; as well as The at least one network node (105) of claim 53.

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