Method and system for beam indication in a wireless network

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed for techniques for indicating beam information that can be used on an access link, a backhaul link, and a control link. In one implementation, a method of wireless communication includes receiving a beam indication for an access link, the access link including at least one of a first forwarding link from a network node to a wireless communication device or a second forwarding link from the wireless communication device to the network node; receiving a beam indication for a backhaul link, the backhaul link comprising at least one of a third forwarding link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a fourth forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication node; and receiving a beam indication for a control link, the control link comprising at least one of a first control link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a second control link from the network node to the communication node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This patent document relates generally to wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Mobile communication technologies are driving the world towards an increasingly connected and networked society. The rapid growth of mobile communications and technological advances have led to greater demands for capacity and connectivity. Other aspects such as energy consumption, equipment cost, spectrum efficiency, and latency are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios. Various technologies are being discussed, including new methods for providing higher quality of service, longer battery life, and improved performance. Summary of the invention

[0003] Among other things, this patent document describes techniques for indicating beam information that can be used on access links, backhaul links, and control links.

[0004] In one aspect, a data communication method is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a network node, a beam indication for an access link from a wireless communication node, the access link including at least one of a first forwarding link from the network node to a wireless communication device or a second forwarding link from the wireless communication device to the network node; and performing communication using at least one of the access links. The method may also include receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for a backhaul link from a wireless communication node, the backhaul link including at least one of a third forwarding link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a fourth forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication node; and performing communication using at least one of the backhaul links. The method may also include receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for a control link from a wireless communication node, the control link including at least one of a first control link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a second control link from the network node to the communication node; and performing communication using at least one of the control links.

[0005] In another aspect, a data communication method is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a network node from a wireless communication node, configuration information indicating information associated with a number of beams configured for the network node on an access link.

[0006] In another example aspect, a wireless communication apparatus is disclosed, the wireless communication apparatus comprising a processor configured to implement the above method.

[0007] In another example aspect, a computer storage medium is disclosed, on which is stored codes for implementing the above method.

[0008] These and other aspects are described in this document. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system based on some example embodiments of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0010] Figure 2 is a block diagram representation of a portion of an apparatus based on some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0011] Figure 3 An example of a network controlled repeater is shown.

[0012] Figure 4 An example of a unified numbering mechanism for NCR beams on access links based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0013] Figure 5 An example of a group numbering mechanism for NCR beams on an access link based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0014] Figure 6 Example indexing of wide beams and narrow beams based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0015] Figure 7 An example of a separate numbering mechanism for beams of access links based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0016] Figure 8 An example listing of beam patterns based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0017] Fig. 9 An example of an ordered sequence of beam IDs based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0018] Fig.10 Examples of wireless communication procedures based on some example embodiments of the disclosed technology are shown.

[0019] Fig.11 Another example of a wireless communication process based on some example embodiments of the disclosed technology is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The section headings used in this document are only for ease of understanding and do not limit the scope of the embodiments to the section in which they are described. In addition, although the embodiments are described with reference to 5G examples, the disclosed technology can be applied to wireless systems using other protocols other than 5G or 3GPP protocols.

[0021] Figure 1An example of a wireless communication system (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, or NR cellular network) including a BS 120 and one or more user equipments (UEs) 111, 112, and 113 is shown. In some embodiments, uplink transmissions (131, 132, 133) may include uplink control information (UCI), high-layer signaling (e.g., UE assistance information or UE capabilities), or uplink information. In some embodiments, downlink transmissions (141, 142, 143) may include DCI or high-layer signaling or downlink information. The UE may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a mobile computer, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a terminal, a mobile device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.

[0022] Figure 2 It is a block diagram representation of a portion of an apparatus based on some embodiments of the disclosed technology. An apparatus 205, such as a network device or base station or a wireless device (or UE), may include a processor electronic device 210, such as a microprocessor that implements one or more of the technologies presented in this document. The apparatus 205 may include a transceiver electronic device 215 for sending and / or receiving wireless signals through one or more communication interfaces (such as (multiple) antennas 220). The apparatus 205 may include other communication interfaces for sending and receiving data. The apparatus 205 may include one or more memories (not explicitly shown) configured to store information such as data and / or instructions. In some implementations, the processor electronic device 210 may include at least a portion of the transceiver electronic device 215. In some embodiments, at least some of the disclosed techniques, modules, or functions are implemented using the apparatus 205.

[0023] As new radio (NR) systems move to higher frequencies (around 4 GHz for FR1 deployment and above 24 GHz for FR2), propagation conditions deteriorate compared to lower frequencies, exacerbating coverage challenges. Therefore, further densification of cells may be required. Although it is preferred to deploy conventional full-stack cells, this may not always be a possible (e.g., backhaul is not available) or an economically viable option. In order to provide comprehensive coverage in cellular network deployments at a relatively low cost, RF repeaters with full-duplex amplification and forwarding operations have been used in 2G, 3G, and 4G systems. However, the main problem with RF repeaters is that they amplify both signals and noise and increase interference in the system.

[0024] In addition, NR systems use multi-beam operations and associated beam management in higher frequency bands defined for time division duplex (TDD). Multi-antenna technology consisting of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) for frequency range 1 (FR1) and analog beamforming for frequency range 2 (FR2) helps to cope with the challenging propagation conditions of these higher frequency bands. RF repeaters without beam management capabilities may not be able to provide beamforming gain in their signal forwarding.

[0025] To cope with unnecessary interference, one can consider using smart nodes, which utilize control information from their connected BSs to implement intelligent amplification and forwarding operations.

[0026] In some embodiments, the disclosed techniques may be implemented to provide beam information indication for a cellular network having smart nodes.

[0027] RF Repeater

[0028] Radio frequency (RF) repeaters have been used in 2G, 3G and 4G deployments to supplement the coverage provided by conventional full-stack cells with various transmission power characteristics. They constitute the simplest and most cost-effective method for improving network coverage. The main advantages of RF repeaters are their low cost, ease of deployment and no added latency. The main disadvantage is that they amplify signals and noise and may therefore increase interference (pollution) in the system. Among RF repeaters, there are different categories based on power characteristics and the amount of spectrum configured to amplify (e.g., single-band, multi-band, etc.). RF repeaters are non-regenerative relay nodes, and they simply amplify and forward signals in an omnidirectional manner.

[0029] Network Control Repeater (NCR)

[0030] Figure 3 An example of a network controlled repeater is shown.

[0031] From a functional perspective, the overall structure of NCR is as follows: Figure 3 shown.

[0032] The NCR controller maintains a control link (C-link) between the base station (BS) and the NCR to enable information exchange, such as carrier-side control information.

[0033] The NCR-RU (Radio Unit) forwards data between the BS and (multiple) UEs using forwarding links (F links), which can be referred to as F links for backhaul (e.g., F links 1 and 2) and F links for access (e.g., F links 3 and 4). The behavior of the F links will be controlled according to the side control information received from the BS.

[0034] The NCR needs to indicate the beam information used on the F link to the NCR. The beam information used on the F link includes beams used for access links (e.g., F links 3 and 4) and beams used for backhaul links (e.g., F links 1 and 2).

[0035] Example 1: Beam information of access link

[0036] In some implementations of the disclosed technology, the logical beam index / ID can be used to directly indicate the beam information of the access link. The NCR needs to report its beamforming capability information to the BS, or the BS can receive the beamforming capability information from the OAM. The capability information of the NCR includes at least one of the following: the number of NCR beams, the index / ID of the NCR beam, the width of the NCR beam, the direction of the NCR beam, the location of the NCR, or the type of the NCR beam. Here, the type of the NCR beam can refer to different widths of the NCR beam, or it can refer to a fixed beam or an adaptive beam. In addition, the granularity of the beamforming capability information can be per link or per NCR, which means that the BS can receive different beamforming capability information of different NCRs, or the BS can receive beamforming capability information of different links of the NCR, and the link can refer to at least one of an access link, a backhaul link, or a control link. The above capability information can be directly sent to the BS by the NCR or the operation administration and maintenance unit (OAM). After receiving the capability information of the NCR, the BS can configure the number of NCR beams used on the access link and the corresponding logical beam index to the NCR.

[0037] Case 1: The BS may directly indicate the NCR beam index of the access link to the NCR. In some implementations of the disclosed technology, the detailed indication information includes the following options:

[0038] Figure 4 An example of a unified numbering mechanism for NCR beams on access links based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0039] Option 1: The BS can have a unified number for all NCR beams (including wide beams and narrow beams) used on the access link. Figure 4 As shown, NCR can support up to M (e.g., M=5) beams on the access link, NCR has 4 narrow beams and 2 wide beams, and these 6 beams can be uniformly numbered from beam 1 to beam 6. In this case, the gNB can directly indicate the beam using the corresponding beam index.

[0040] Figure 5 An example of a group numbering mechanism for NCR beams on an access link based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0041] In other implementations, a group indication mechanism may be used for the BS to indicate the beam information of the access link to save signaling costs. For example, the NCR beams supported on the access link may distinguish between narrow beams and wide beams. Figure 5 As shown, there are X (in this example, X=2, W0 and W1 are wide beams) wide beams on the access link of NCR, and each wide beam includes Y (in this example, Y=4, N0, N1, N2, N3 are narrow beams) narrow beams. In this case, different methods can be used to indicate the beam index, as described below.

[0042] Figure 6 Example indexing of wide beams and narrow beams based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0043] Option 2: The index of the wide beam and the index of the narrow beam can be indicated together using the same signaling. In some implementations, the content of the signaling may include two parts: (1) a portion of continuous bits can be used to indicate the index of the wide beam, and (2) another portion of continuous bits can be used to indicate the index of the narrow beam. bits (1 bit in this example) can be used to indicate the wide beam to which it belongs. bits (2 bits in this example) can be used to indicate the index of the narrow beam in the wide beam group to which it belongs. Figure 5 As shown, when the UE is under the forwarding narrow beam N3 of the NCR and the BS wants to indicate to the NCR the narrow beam N3 of the wide beam W0 used for the access link, the bit indication information from the BS to the NCR can be 011, where the first bit represents the index of the wide beam (here "0" represents wide beam W0, and "1" represents wide beam W1), and the last two bits represent the index of the narrow beam in the selected wide beam.

[0044] Option 3: To further save signaling costs, different signaling modes or techniques can be used to indicate the indexes of the wide beam and narrow beam respectively. For example, the BS can first indicate the index of the wide beam, and then use another signaling to indicate the index of the narrow beam. The NCR can determine the beam after receiving these two pieces of information. In this case, if the wide beam index of the access link does not change, the BS can only indicate the index of the narrow beam to the NCR to save signaling costs. If the wide beam changes, the BS can reconfigure the index of the wide beam to update the wide beam index to the NCR. For example, in a case such as Figure 5In the first beam indication of the access link shown, the BS can use one bit to configure the beam index of the wide beam (for example, bit "0" indicates the wide beam W0), and then use 2 bits to configure the beam index of the narrow beam (for example, bit "01" indicates the narrow beam N1 in the narrow beam W0). In addition, if the indicated wide beam information can remain valid until the NCR receives the next new configuration from the BS, the BS can only use two bits to indicate the updated narrow beam index to save signaling overhead.

[0045] Figure 7 An example of a separate numbering mechanism for beams of access links based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0046] Option 4: Different numbering of wide beams and narrow beams of NCR on the access link can be considered. All wide beams can be numbered one by one, and all narrow beams can also be numbered one by one. The indexes of wide beams and narrow beams can be indicated using the same signaling, and in order to distinguish the beam indication between wide beams or narrow beams, a bit flag (for example, the first bit in the beam indication) can be used in the beam information indication to distinguish the bit information between wide beams and narrowband beams. Therefore, in the beam information indication, one bit of the multiple bits can be used to indicate whether a beam is a wide beam or a narrow beam, and the remaining bits of the multiple bits can be used to indicate the beam index of the corresponding wide beam and / or narrow beam. For example, as Figure 7 As shown, first BS wants to instruct NCR Figure 5 The wide beam W0 shown in FIG. 1 , the two wide beams of the NCR may be numbered from beam 0 to beam 1, and the narrow beams of the NCR may be numbered from beam 0 to beam 3. In this case, a bit (e.g., the first bit in the bit information) may be used to indicate whether the indication index is for a wide beam or a narrow beam. The BS may indicate "10" to the NCR, where the first bit is a bit flag, and since Figure 7 There are only two wide beams in , so the last bit is enough to indicate that it is the beam index of a wide beam. In addition, the BS wants to indicate to the NCR Figure 7 For narrow beam 1 shown, the BS may indicate "001" to the NCR, where the first bit is a bit flag, and since there are four narrow beams, the last two bits indicate that it is the beam index of the narrow beam.

[0047] Case 2: The SSB / CSI-RS index can be directly used to indicate the beam of the access link.

[0048] During the beam scanning phase, the NCR-RU needs to use different beams of the NCR-RU to send different SSB / CSI-RS (synchronization signal block / channel state information reference signal) to the UE. Since the number of beams of the NCR-RU needs to be indicated to the BS, the reference signal set (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, SRS, DMRS) index can be mapped one-to-one to the forwarding beam of the NCR-RU for the access link. For example, there are four forwarding beams 1-4 on the access link, and the SSBs can be used to be mapped one-to-one to the forwarding beams: {SSB1 is mapped to beam #1, SSB2 is mapped to beam #2, SSB3 is mapped to beam #3, SSB4 is mapped to beam #4}

[0049] In addition, the BS indicates to the NCR the mapping relationship between the SSB / CSI-RS index and the corresponding beam index of the NCR-RU for the access link. In this case, when the BS wants to indicate the beam information of the access link, the BS can directly indicate the SSB / CSI-RS index to the NCR according to the received mapping relationship. Then, the NCR can control the NCR-RU to send / receive signals using the corresponding beam based on the mapping relationship. In addition, if the width of the beam of the NCR on the access link is different (for example, a wide beam and a narrow beam), and each wide beam may include multiple narrow beams, and different types of reference signals are mapped to beams of different widths. In this case, the QCL relationship of the reference signal for the narrow beam can refer to the reference signal for the wide beam to which it belongs. For example, different SSB IDs (SSB1 is mapped to wide beam 1, SSB2 is mapped to wide beam 2) are mapped to the wide beam of the NCR access link, and different CSI-RS IDs are mapped to the narrow beam of the NCR access link (for the group of wide beam 1, CSI-RS1 is mapped to narrow beam 1, CSI-RS2 is mapped to narrow beam 2; for the group of wide beam 2, CSI-RS3 is mapped to narrow beam 3, CSI-RS4 is mapped to narrow beam 4). Therefore, the QCL relationship of CSI-RS1 and CSI-RS2 can refer to the corresponding SSB1, and the QCL relationship of CSI-RS3 and CSI-RS4 can refer to SSB2.

[0050] Example 2: Beam information of the backhaul link

[0051] Since the control link and backhaul link of the NCR share the same communication conditions, the following options may be considered for the beam indication for the backhaul link.

[0052] Option 1: If the BS configures beam information for the control link of the NCR, the beam information of the backhaul link can be the same as the beam information of the control link. In this case, once there is a beam indication for the control link, the beam information of the backhaul link can directly follow the control link.

[0053] However, the NCR controller may be running in sleep mode or not functioning properly for some reason. In this case, there is no beam indication for the control link. Therefore, the beam information for the backhaul link may be considered.

[0054] Option 2: The beam information of the backhaul link can still follow the traditional beam information configured for the control link. Considering the static deployment of NCR, the communication conditions do not change frequently, and therefore the beam information may not change. In this case, when the NCR controller is not working, the traditionally configured beam information of the control link can still be reused for the backhaul link.

[0055] Option 3: Additional indications may be configured by the BS to indicate beam information for the backhaul link. Therefore, when the NCR controller operates in sleep mode or is unable to operate normally for some reason, the BS may use additional signaling dedicated to the backhaul link to indicate beam information, or new signaling may be defined from the BS to determine that the indicated TCI state is for beam information for the backhaul link.

[0056] Option 4: For the NCR beam on the backhaul link, the beam indication mechanism for the access link described in Embodiment 1 is also applicable to the backhaul link. In some implementations, the beam indication for the backhaul link may directly use the beam index, and the different numbering options shown in Embodiment 1 may be applied to the backhaul link, or a mapping relationship between the reference signal ID and the beam index of the backhaul link may be defined.

[0057] Embodiment 3: Beam indication for access link

[0058] In some implementations of the disclosed technology, a list of beam patterns may be used to indicate beam information of an access link of an NCR. The following two cases may be considered.

[0059] Figure 8 An example listing of beam patterns based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0060] Case 1: A list of beam patterns may be configured by the BS (e.g., by radio resource control (RRC) or media access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE)), where each beam pattern is an ordered sequence of beams to be used one by one. In this case, the BS may directly indicate the beam pattern ID to the NCR, for example, using DCI to indicate the beam pattern. Here, the beam information of each beam in the beam pattern may be a beam index, a source RS ID, or a TCI state ID. For example, the NCR has 4 beams, and the BS may configure a list including 3 beam patterns, such as Figure 8Therefore, if the BS wants to configure beam pattern 3 to the NCR, the BS can directly use bit "10" to indicate the beam information to the NCR. In addition, the signaling of the beam information can be indicated by the BS via RRC, MAC CE or DCI.

[0061] Fig. 9 An example of an ordered sequence of beam IDs based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0062] Case 2: The BS can directly indicate to the NCR an ordered sequence of beam IDs to be used one by one, for example using a field of DCI. Here, the beam ID of each beam can be a beam index, a source RS ID, or a TCI state ID. In addition, the signaling of the beam information can be indicated via RRC, MAC CE, or DCI.

[0063] Regarding applicable time information for the above two situations, the following options can be considered.

[0064] Option 1: No explicit time indication, which means that a default time length is used for each beam. In addition, the default time length can be a slot, a symbol, a predetermined number of slots, or a predetermined number of symbols. In this case, if different time granularities of the time length of each beam in the beam pattern are considered (for example, slot-level granularity is required in the beam training phase, and symbol-level granularity is required in the data transmission phase), a flag can be defined to indicate whether the time granularity is a slot or a symbol.

[0065] Option 2: Explicit indication, where a time length indication can be used and indicated to the NCR together with the corresponding indication beam information, and the time length applies to all beams. In addition, the granularity of the time length can be a time slot or a symbol. For example, the BS can indicate to the NCR that the applicable time length for each beam is 2 time slots.

[0066] Option 3: Explicit indication, where multiple time lengths corresponding to multiple beams may be indicated by the BS to the NCR, where each time length is associated with a beam.

[0067] Fig.10 Examples of wireless communication procedures based on some example embodiments of the disclosed technology are shown.

[0068] In some implementations, the wireless communication process 1000 may include receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for an access link from the wireless communication node at 1010, the access link including at least one of a first forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication device or a second forwarding link from the wireless communication device to the network node. In some implementations, the wireless communication process 1000 may include receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for a backhaul link from the wireless communication node at 1020, the backhaul link including at least one of a third forwarding link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a fourth forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication node. In some implementations, the wireless communication process 1000 may include receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for a control link from the wireless communication node at 1030, the control link including at least one of a first control link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a second control link from the network node to the communication node. In one example, the process 1000 includes operations 1010 and 1020. In another example, the process 1000 includes operations 1020 and 1030. In another example, the process 1000 includes operations 1010 and 1030. In one example, process 1000 includes operations 1010, 1020, and 1030. In some implementations, wireless communication process 1000 may include performing communication using at least one of an access link, a backhaul link, or a control link at 1040. In some implementations, different beam indication mechanisms may be used for different links (e.g., access link, backhaul link, control link). In one example, beam indications for different links are independent of each other.

[0069] In some implementations, the network node may be an NCR, the wireless communication device may be a UE, and the wireless communication node may be a BS. In some implementations, the first forwarding link may be a forwarding link 3 from the NCR to the UE, and the second forwarding link may be a forwarding link 4 from the UE to the NCR.

[0070] Fig.11 Another example of a wireless communication process based on some example embodiments of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0071] In some implementations, the wireless communication process 1100 may include receiving, by a network node from a wireless communication node, configuration information at 1110, the configuration information indicating information associated with a number of beams configured for the network node on an access link.

[0072] It should be understood that this document discloses techniques for determining downlink control information in a wireless network that can be embodied in various embodiments. The disclosure and other embodiments, modules, and functional operations described in this document can be implemented in a digital electronic circuit system, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this document and their structural equivalents, or in a combination of one or more of them. The disclosed embodiments and other embodiments can be implemented as one or more computer program products, that is, one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium for execution by a data processing device or for controlling the operation of a data processing device. The computer-readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter that affects a machine-readable propagation signal, or a combination of one or more of them. The term "data processing device" covers all devices, devices, and machines for processing data, including, for example, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. In addition to hardware, the device may also include code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, for example, code that constitutes a processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. A propagated signal is an artificially generated signal, such as a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

[0073] A computer program (also referred to as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any manner, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program may be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files storing one or more code modules, subroutines, or portions). A computer program may be deployed to execute on one or more computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0074] The processes and logic flows described in this document may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows may also be performed by, and apparatus may also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

[0075] For example, processors suitable for executing computer programs include general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any type of digital computer. Typically, the processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The basic elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer will also include one or more mass storage devices for storing data, such as magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks, or be operably coupled to such mass storage devices to receive data from them or to transmit data to them or both. However, a computer does not necessarily have such a device. Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and memory devices, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented by or incorporated into a dedicated logic circuit system.

[0076] Some embodiments may preferably implement one or more of the following solutions listed in clause format. The following clauses are supported and further described in the above embodiments and this document. As used in the following clauses and claims, a wireless device may be a user equipment, a mobile station, or any other wireless terminal including a fixed node such as a base station. Network equipment includes a base station, including a next generation NodeB (gNB), an enhanced NodeB (eNB), or any other device that performs as a base station.

[0077] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a network node, a beam indication for an access link from a wireless communication node, the access link comprising at least one of a first forwarding link from the network node to a wireless communication device or a second forwarding link from the wireless communication device to the network node; and performing communication using at least one of the access links.

[0078] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1 further includes: receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for a backhaul link from the wireless communication node, the backhaul link comprising at least one of a third forwarding link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a fourth forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication node; and performing communication using at least one of the backhaul links.

[0079] Clause 3. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2 further includes: receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for a control link from the wireless communication node, the control link comprising at least one of a first control link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a second control link from the network node to the communication node; and performing communication using at least one of the control links.

[0080] Clause 4. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the wireless communication node receives beamforming capability information from the network node or an operations administration and maintenance (OAM) unit.

[0081] Clause 5. A method according to clause 4, wherein the beamforming capability information includes at least one of the following: the number of beams available to the network node; the index or identification of the beams available to the network node; the type of beams available to the network node; the width of the beams available to the network node; the direction of the beams available to the network node; or the location of the network node.

[0082] In some implementations, the type of beam may indicate beams of different widths and / or fixed / adaptive beams.

[0083] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the beamforming capability information is defined at a granularity, wherein the granularity is at least one of per network node or per link.

[0084] In some implementations, the link of “each link” may be at least one of the first forwarding link, the second forwarding link, the third forwarding link, the fourth forwarding link, the first control link, or the second control link.

[0085] Clause 7. The method of clause 1, wherein the beam indication for the access link is associated with an index or identification of a beam for the network node on the access link.

[0086] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the index or identification of the beams for the network nodes on the access link are uniformly numbered one by one.

[0087] Clause 9. A method according to clause 7, wherein the width of the beam used for the network node on the access link includes a first width of the beam and a second width of the beam, wherein each beam of the first width has a width wider than each beam of the second width, and wherein each beam of the first width includes a group of beams of the second width.

[0088] Clause 10. The method according to any one of clauses 7 and 9, wherein the indexes or identifiers of the beams of the first width are numbered uniformly, and the indexes or identifiers of the beams of the second width under the same beam of the first width are numbered one by one.

[0089] Clause 11. A method according to any one of clauses 7, 9 and 10, wherein the index or identification of the beam for the network node on the access link is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node using a single signaling.

[0090] Clause 12. A method according to clause 11, wherein the single signaling comprises a plurality of bits, the plurality of bits comprising a first bit set and a second bit set, wherein the first bit set indicates the index or identification of the beam of the first width on the access link, and the second bit set indicates the index or identification of the beam of the second width on the access link.

[0091] Clause 13. A method according to any one of clauses 7, 9 and 10, wherein the index or identification of the beam of the first width on the access link is indicated using a first signaling, and the index or identification of the beam of the second width on the access link is indicated using a second signaling.

[0092] Clause 14. The method of any one of clauses 7 and 9, wherein the indices or identifications of the beams of the first width are numbered one by one, and the indices or identifications of all beams of the second width are numbered one by one.

[0093] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the index or identification of the beam of the first width or the beam of the second width is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node using a single signaling.

[0094] Clause 16. A method according to clause 15, wherein the single signaling includes multiple bits, the multiple bits including a first bit set and a second bit set, wherein the first bit set includes a bit for determining whether the indicated beam index or identifier is for a beam of the first width or a beam of the second width, and the second bit set includes the beam index or identifier for the beam of the first width or the beam of the second width.

[0095] Clause 17. The method of clause 1, wherein the beam indication for the access link for the network node on the access link is associated with a plurality of indices or identifications of reference signal sets.

[0096] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein the reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0097] Clause 19. A method as described in any of clauses 17 to 18, wherein the index or identification of the reference signal set is mapped one-to-one to multiple beams of a network node on the access link.

[0098] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein the mapping relationship between the index or identification of the reference signal set and the plurality of beams is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node.

[0099] Clause 21. The method according to clause 19, wherein the mapping relationship between the index or identification of the reference signal set and the plurality of beams is configured by the wireless communication node or OAM unit.

[0100] Clause 22. A method according to clause 19, wherein the width of the beam used for the network node on the access link includes two widths, wherein the two widths include the first width of the beam and the second width of the beam, wherein each beam of the first width has a width wider than each beam of the second width, and wherein each beam of the first width includes a group of beams of the second width.

[0101] Clause 23. A method according to clause 22, wherein different types of reference signals are mapped to beams of different widths for the network node on the access link, and the quasi-co-site (QCL) relationship of the reference signal corresponding to the beam of the second width is the reference signal identification (ID) corresponding to the beam of the first width.

[0102] Clause 24. The method of clause 2, wherein the beam indication for the backhaul link is associated with an index or identification of a beam of the network on the backhaul link.

[0103] Clause 25. The method of clause 2, wherein the beam indication for the backhaul link is associated with a plurality of indices or identities of a reference signal set.

[0104] Clause 26. A method as described in any of clauses 2 to 3, wherein the beam information associated with the backhaul link is the same as the beam information of the control link.

[0105] Clause 27. The method of clause 2, wherein the wireless communication node indicates beam information using additional signaling dedicated to the backhaul link.

[0106] Clause 28. The method of clause 2, wherein the wireless communication node determines using additional signaling a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for beam information associated with the backhaul link.

[0107] Clause 29. A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a network node from a wireless communication node, configuration information indicating information associated with a number of beams configured for the network node on an access link.

[0108] Clause 30. The method of clause 29, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of beam patterns, wherein each beam pattern comprises an ordered sequence of beam information to be sequentially used by the network node on the access link.

[0109] Clause 31. The method of clause 29, wherein the configuration information comprises an ordered sequence of beam information to be sequentially used by the network nodes on the access links.

[0110] Clause 32. A method according to any one of clauses 30 to 31, wherein the beam information is associated with at least one of an index or identification of the beam, a source reference signal identification (RS ID), or a TCI state ID.

[0111] Clause 33. A method according to any one of clauses 30 to 31, wherein the signaling of the configuration information is indicated via at least one of a radio resource control (RRC), a medium access control control element (MAC CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

[0112] Clause 34. The method of clause 30, wherein all beam patterns in the list are sequentially numbered with an index or identification.

[0113] Clause 35. The method of clause 34, wherein the wireless communication node uses the index or identification of the beam pattern to the network node to determine the beam information used by the network node on the access link.

[0114] Clause 36. The method of any one of clauses 30 to 31, further comprising determining timing information applicable to the ordered sequence of beams.

[0115] Clause 37. The method of clause 36, wherein the timing information associated with the beam based on a default time length is used for each beam in an ordered sequence of beams.

[0116] Clause 38. The method of clause 37, wherein the default length of time comprises at least one of a slot, a symbol, a predefined number of slots, or a predefined number of symbols.

[0117] Clause 39. The method of clause 36, wherein the timing information is a time length applicable to all beams in an ordered sequence of beams.

[0118] Clause 40. The method of clause 39, wherein a flag is used to determine a granularity of the time length, the granularity being a time slot or a symbol.

[0119] Clause 41. The method of clause 39, wherein the length of time is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node.

[0120] Clause 42. The method of clause 36, wherein the timing information comprises a plurality of time lengths corresponding to a plurality of beams, wherein each time length is associated with a beam.

[0121] Clause 43. The method of clause 42, wherein the plurality of time lengths are indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node.

[0122] Clause 44. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 43.

[0123] Clause 45. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method of any one of clauses 1 to 43.

[0124] Some of the embodiments described herein are described in the general context of a method or process, which in one embodiment can be implemented by a computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium, which includes computer-executable instructions, such as program code, executed by a computer in a network environment. Computer-readable media may include removable and non-removable storage devices, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc. Therefore, computer-readable media may include non-transitory storage media. Typically, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Computer or processor executable instructions, related data structures, and program modules represent examples of program codes for executing the steps of the methods disclosed herein. A specific sequence of such executable instructions or related data structures represents an example of corresponding actions for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes.

[0125] Some of the disclosed embodiments can be implemented as a device or module using hardware circuits, software, or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuit implementation can include discrete analog and / or digital components, such as integrated as a part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules can be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) devices. Some implementations can additionally or alternatively include a digital signal processor (DSP), which is a dedicated microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing associated with the disclosed functions of the present application. Similarly, various components or subcomponents within each module can be implemented with software, hardware, or firmware. The connection between the modules and / or the components within the modules can be provided using any of the connection methods and media known in the art, including but not limited to using appropriate protocols.

[0126] Although this document contains many details, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the claimed invention or what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of specific features of specific embodiments. Certain features described in this document in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination. In addition, although features may be described above as working in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features may be removed from the claimed combination in some implementations, and the claimed combination may involve a sub-combination or a variant of a sub-combination. Similarly, although operations are depicted in a particular order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring that these operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or that all of the operations shown be performed to obtain the desired result.

[0127] Only a few implementations and examples are described, and other implementations, enhancements, and variations can be made based on what is described and illustrated in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a network node from a wireless communication node, a beam indication for an access link, the access link comprising at least one of a first forwarding link from the network node to a wireless communication device or a second forwarding link from the wireless communication device to the network node; and Communication is performed using at least one of the access links.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the network node, a beam indication for a backhaul link from the wireless communication node, the backhaul link comprising at least one of a third forwarding link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a fourth forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication node; as well as Communications are performed using at least one of the backhaul links.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, further comprising: receiving, by the network node, from the wireless communication node, a beam indication for a control link, the control link comprising at least one of a first control link from the wireless communication node to the network node or a second control link from the network node to the communication node; as well as The communication is performed using at least one of the control links.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless communication node receives beamforming capability information from the network node or an operations administration and maintenance (OAM) unit.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the beamforming capability information includes at least one of the following: the number of beams available to the network node; the index or identification of the beams available to the network node; the type of beams available to the network node; the width of the beams available to the network node; the direction of the beams available to the network node; or the location of the network node.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the beamforming capability information is defined at a granularity, wherein the granularity is at least one of per network node or per link.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam indication for the access link is associated with an index or identification of a beam for the network node on the access link.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the indexes or identifications of the beams used for the network nodes on the access link are uniformly numbered one by one.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the width of the beam for the network node on the access link comprises a first width of the beam and a second width of the beam, wherein each beam of the first width has a width wider than each beam of the second width, and wherein each beam of the first width comprises a group of beams of the second width.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 and 9, wherein the indexes or identifiers of the beams of the first width are numbered uniformly, and the indexes or identifiers of the beams of the second width under the same beam of the first width are numbered one by one.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7, 9 and 10, wherein the index or identification of the beam used for the network node on the access link is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node using a single signaling.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the single signaling includes multiple bits, the multiple bits include a first bit set and a second bit set, wherein the first bit set indicates the index or identification of the beam of the first width on the access link, and the second bit set indicates the index or identification of the beam of the second width on the access link.

13. A method according to any one of claims 7, 9 and 10, wherein the index or identification of the beam of the first width on the access link is indicated using a first signaling, and the index or identification of the beam of the second width on the access link is indicated using a second signaling.

14. The method according to any one of claims 7 and 9, wherein the indexes or identifications of the beams of the first width are numbered one by one, and the indexes or identifications of all beams of the second width are numbered one by one.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the index or identification of the beam of the first width or the beam of the second width is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node using a single signaling.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the single signaling includes multiple bits, the multiple bits include a first bit set and a second bit set, wherein the first bit set includes a bit for determining whether the indicated beam index or identification is for the beam of the first width or the beam of the second width, and the second bit set includes the beam index or identification of the beam of the first width or the beam of the second width.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam indication for the access link for the network node on the access link is associated with a plurality of indices or identities of a reference signal set.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

19. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 18, wherein the index or identification of the reference signal set is mapped one-to-one to multiple beams of the network node on the access link.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the mapping relationship between the index or identification of the reference signal set and the plurality of beams is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the mapping relationship between the index or identifier of the reference signal set and the plurality of beams is configured by the wireless communication node or an OAM unit.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the width of the beam for the network node on the access link comprises two widths, wherein the two widths comprise the first width of the beam and the second width of the beam, wherein each beam of the first width has a width wider than each beam of the second width, and wherein each beam of the first width comprises a group of beams of the second width.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein different types of reference signals are mapped to beams of different widths for the network node on the access link, and the quasi-co-site (QCL) relationship of the reference signal corresponding to the beam of the second width is the reference signal identification (ID) corresponding to the beam of the first width.

24. The method of claim 2, wherein the beam indication for the backhaul link is associated with an index or identification of a beam of the network on the backhaul link.

25. The method of claim 2, wherein the beam indication for the backhaul link is associated with a plurality of indices or identities of a reference signal set.

26. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein the beam information associated with the backhaul link is the same as the beam information of the control link.

27. The method of claim 2, wherein the wireless communication node indicates beam information using additional signaling dedicated to the backhaul link.

28. The method of claim 2, wherein the wireless communication node uses additional signaling to determine a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for beam information associated with the backhaul link.

29. A method of wireless communication, comprising: Configuration information is received by a network node from a wireless communication node, the configuration information indicating information associated with a number of beams configured for the network node on an access link.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of beam patterns, wherein each beam pattern comprises an ordered sequence of beam information to be sequentially used by the network nodes on the access link.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the configuration information comprises an ordered sequence of beam information to be sequentially used by the network nodes on the access link.

32. A method according to any one of claims 30 to 31, wherein the beam information is associated with at least one of an index or identification of the beam, a source reference signal identification (RSID), or a TCI state ID.

33. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 31, wherein the signaling of the configuration information is indicated via at least one of Radio Resource Control (RRC), Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

34. The method of claim 30, wherein all beam patterns in the list are sequentially numbered using an index or an identification.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the wireless communication node uses the index or identification of the beam pattern to the network node to determine the beam information used by the network node on the access link.

36. The method of any one of claims 30 to 31 , further comprising determining timing information applicable to the ordered sequence of beams.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the timing information associated with the beam based on a default time length is used for each beam in an ordered sequence of beams.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the default time length comprises at least one of a time slot, a symbol, a predefined number of time slots, or a predefined number of symbols.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the timing information is a time length applicable to all beams in an ordered sequence of beams.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein a flag is used to determine the granularity of the time length, the granularity being a time slot or a symbol.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the length of time is indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node.

42. The method of claim 36, wherein the timing information comprises a plurality of time lengths corresponding to a plurality of beams, wherein each time length is associated with a beam.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the plurality of time lengths are indicated by the wireless communication node to the network node.

44. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

45. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon codes which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

Images