Control mechanism for multiple transmit receive point communications

Abstract

An apparatus for use by a communication element or communication function capable of multiple transmit and receive point (TRP) operation, the apparatus comprising: at least one processing circuit, and at least one memory to store instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, transmit and receive instructions to the at least one processor; the apparatus at least obtains channel state information reporting configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting, receives a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams comprising at least one set of beams for measurement and at least one set of beams for prediction, determines associations of the received plurality of beams with respective TRP of a communication network, and transmits the TRP to the communication network. Resources from at least one set of beams for the measurement are measured for identifying beam groups for simultaneous reception, and further beam groups available for simultaneous reception are determined by using a prediction model, wherein the further beam group comprises beams of the at least one beam set for measurement and the at least one beam set for prediction.

Description

Background Art Technical Field

[0001] Examples of the present disclosure relate to apparatus, methods, systems, computer programs, computer program products, and (non-transitory) computer-readable media that can be used to control multiple transmit points using beam management. Specifically, examples of the present disclosure relate to apparatus, methods, systems, computer programs, computer program products, and (non-transitory) computer-readable media that can be used to enable improved beam management that allows a communication element or communication function (such as a user device) to communicate with multiple transmit-receive points of a communication network. Background Art

[0002] The following description of the background technology may include insights, discoveries, understandings, disclosures or associations, or disclosures not known to the relevant prior art but provided by examples of at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. Some such contributions of the present disclosure may be specifically pointed out below, while other contributions of the present disclosure will be apparent from the relevant context.

[0003] The following meanings apply to the abbreviations used in this manual: 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project 4G Fourth Generation 5G Fifth Generation AI CPU Central Processing Unit CIR Configuration Information Request CRI CSI-RS resource indicator CSI Channel State Information DL Downlink DCI Downlink Control Information eNB E-UTRAN Node B FNN Fully Connected Neural Network FR Frequency Range gNB Next Generation Node B ID L1 Level 1 LTE Long Term Evolution LTE-A Advanced LTE ML Machine Learning MU MIMO Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output NN Neural Network NW Network, network side PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel RS reference signal RSRP Reference Signal Received Power RRC Radio Resource Control Rx Receiver SINR Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio SGD Stochastic Gradient Descent SSB Synchronous Signal Block TRP Transmit Receiving Point Tx Transmitter UE User Equipment UL Uplink Summary of the invention

[0004] According to an example of an embodiment, for example, a device is provided for use by a communication element or communication function capable of performing multi-transmit and receive point TRP operations, the device comprising: at least one processing circuit, and at least one memory for storing instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the device to at least: obtain channel state information reporting configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting, receive multiple beams, the multiple beams comprising at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction, determine an association between the received multiple beams and corresponding TRPs of a communication network, measure resources from at least one beam set for measurement for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception, determine additional beam groups that can be used for simultaneous reception by using a prediction model, wherein the additional beam groups comprise beams from at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction.

[0005] In addition, according to an example of an embodiment, a method for use in a communication element or communication function capable of multi-transmit and receive point TRP operation is provided, the method comprising: obtaining channel state information report configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting, receiving multiple beams, the multiple beams including at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction, determining an association between the received multiple beams and corresponding TRPs of a communication network, measuring resources from at least one beam set for measurement for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception, determining an additional beam group that can be used for simultaneous reception by using a prediction model, wherein the additional beam group includes beams from at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction.

[0006] According to further refinements, these examples may include one or more of the following features:

[0007] - in case an output for at least one additional beam set is generated based on the prediction of the prediction model, at least a part of the generated additional beam sets may be reported to a TRP of the communication network in a predefined order, wherein the predefined order reflects the reported suitability levels of the additional beam sets for simultaneous reception;

[0008] - when reporting at least a part of the generated further beam groups, an additional parameter indicating a communication property of a beam of at least one further beam group may be included, wherein the communication property may include at least one of the following: an indication of a reference signal received power, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, an indication of a reliability measure and a set of capability values ​​associated with the prediction model used;

[0009] - a capability for supporting prediction-based group-based beam reporting may be reported to a TRP of the communication network, wherein the channel state information reporting configuration information may be received in response to the reporting of the capability;

[0010] - for determining the association of the received plurality of beams with respective TRPs of the communication network, a predefined or received configuration may be used, the predefined or received configuration indicating an association of the received reference signal with at least two transmission points of the communication network;

[0011] - the beam may be represented by downlink reference signal resources, the downlink reference signal resources comprising at least one of a channel state information reference signal and a synchronization signal block resource, wherein the downlink reference signal resources are grouped into groups each corresponding to a respective TRP;

[0012] - at least one beam set for measurement may include a downlink reference signal transmitted by the corresponding TRP; and at least one beam set for prediction may include a downlink reference signal not transmitted by the corresponding TRP;

[0013] - the beam group forming the identified beam group or the further beam group may include one of: a) beams corresponding to two TRPs or spatial filters, wherein at least one beam corresponds to one TRP or spatial filter and the other beam corresponds to the other TRP or spatial filter, or b) beams corresponding to only one TRP or spatial filter, wherein a subset of beams in the beam group is from the set of beams used for measurement and another subset of beams in the beam group is determined from the set of beams used for prediction;

[0014] - as a resource for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception from at least one beam set for measurement, at least one of a reference signal received power or a channel state information amount can be measured based on a signal transmission from a communication network;

[0015] -The prediction model for determining additional beam groups that can be used for simultaneous reception is a machine learning prediction model configured using a neural network, the machine learning prediction model having multiple neural network blocks, the multiple neural network blocks including at least one of the following: a fully connected neural network block, an activation function layer, and a batch normalization layer.

[0016] - the prediction model used to determine the additional beam sets that can be used for simultaneous reception may be a non-machine learning prediction model;

[0017] - beam measurements and the identified beam sets for simultaneous reception can be used as input data for a prediction model;

[0018] - A prediction model to be applied may be determined based on information provided by the obtained channel state information report configuration information;

[0019] - at least a portion of the determined further beam sets available for simultaneous reception may be reported to the communication network as uplink control information;

[0020] - a spatial filter may be applied, the spatial filter being adjusted for receive beams identified or determined to be available for simultaneous reception; and

[0021] -The communication element or communication functionality may be included in a user equipment having multiple receiving panels for simultaneously receiving beams from multiple TRPs of the communication network.

[0022] According to an example of an embodiment, for example, there is provided a device used by a communication network control element or a communication network control function acting as a transmitting and receiving point TRP for communicating with a communication element or a communication function, the device comprising at least one processing circuit, and at least one memory for storing instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the device to at least: receive an indication of the ability of the communication element or the communication function to support prediction-based group-based beam reporting, and send channel state information report configuration information to the communication element or the communication function, the channel state information report configuration information being used to enable prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

[0023] In addition, according to an example of an embodiment, a method is provided for use in a communication network control element or a communication network control function for communicating with a communication element or a communication function, the communication network control element or the communication network control function acting as a transmitting and receiving point TRP, the method comprising: receiving an indication of the ability of the communication element or the communication function to support prediction-based group-based beam reporting, sending channel state information report configuration information to the communication element or the communication function, the channel state information report configuration information being used to enable prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

[0024] According to further refinements, these examples may include:

[0025] Prediction-based group-based beam reporting may be triggered by triggering aperiodic channel state information reporting of a communication element or communication function corresponding to channel state information reporting configuration information.

[0026] Furthermore, according to an embodiment, for example, a computer program product for a computer is provided, comprising a software code portion, and when the product is run on the computer, the software code portion is used to perform the steps of the method defined above. The computer program product may include a computer-readable medium, and the software code portion is stored on the medium. In addition, the computer program product may also be directly loaded into the internal memory of the computer, and / or transmitted via a network by at least one of uploading, downloading and pushing a program. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Some examples of the present disclosure related to the embodiments are described below by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] Figure 1 An example diagram illustrating a communication network environment in which examples of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0029] Figure 2 A signaling diagram illustrating an example of a beam reporting procedure according to examples of the present disclosure is shown;

[0030] Figure 3 A diagram showing a beam measurement process according to an example of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 4 A diagram showing a NN design for beam prediction according to an example of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating processing in a communication element or communication function according to some examples of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 6 A flow chart illustrating processing performed in a communication network control element or a communication network control function according to some examples of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 7 A diagram illustrating communication elements or communication functions according to some examples of the present disclosure; and

[0035] Figure 8 A diagram showing communication network control elements or communication network control functions according to some examples of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In recent years, communication networks have been expanding globally, such as wired communication networks, such as integrated services digital networks (ISDN), digital subscriber lines (DSL), or wireless communication networks, such as cdma2000 (code division multiple access) systems, third generation cellular communication networks (3G), such as universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), fourth generation (4G) communication networks or enhanced communication networks based on long term evolution (LTE) or long term evolution-enhanced (LTE-A), fifth generation (5G) communication networks, second generation cellular communication networks (2G), such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio system (GPRS), enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE)) or other wireless communication systems (such as wireless local area networks (WLAN), Bluetooth or world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX)). Several organizations such as European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Telecommunications and Internet Convergence Services and Protocols for Advanced Networks (TISPAN), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), WiMAX Forum, etc. are developing standards or specifications for telecommunication networks and access environments.

[0037] In order to improve the performance of communication networks, such as throughput, robustness, accuracy or reliability, several developments are carried out. For example, in 5G networks, beamforming (or beam management) and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MU MIMO) are used in combination to improve performance in terms of throughput and connection density. Massive MIMO uses multiple antenna arrays and spatial multiplexing to send independent and individually coded data signals, so-called "streams". In this way, it is possible to communicate with multiple user equipment (UE) simultaneously in the same time period and frequency resources. On the other hand, beamforming is used in combination with MIMO to focus the communication beam more tightly on a single UE, thereby achieving a higher connection density and minimizing interference between individual beams.

[0038] To further improve performance, artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) for the NR air interface is studied, for example in Release 18 of the 3GPP specifications. The goal is to explore the benefits of enhancing the air interface with features that enable improved support for AI / ML-based algorithms to enhance performance and / or reduce complexity / overhead. As a goal, enough use cases should be considered to enable the identification of a common AI / ML framework, including functional requirements for the AI / ML architecture, which can be used in various projects. Attempts are also made to identify areas where AI / ML can improve the performance of air interface functions.

[0039] One initial use case includes beam management. For example, consider measurements for overhead and delay reduction related to beam prediction in the spatial domain (BM - Example 1) and beam prediction in the time domain (BM - Example 2).

[0040] Regarding the use cases BM-Instance 1 and BM-Instance 2 indicated above, it is agreed that for AI / ML based beam management, BM-Instance 1 will be considered in conjunction with spatial DL beam prediction for beam set A based on measurement results of beam set B, while BM-Instance 2 will be considered for temporal DL beam prediction for beam set A based on historical measurement results of beam set B. It should be noted that the beams in set A and set B can be in the same frequency range (FR). For use case BM-Instance 1, for example, set B is a subset of set A, or the beams of set A and set B are different. Typically, set B is used for DL ​​beam measurement and set A is used for DL ​​prediction.

[0041] For AI / ML input, consider performing L1-RSRP measurement based only on set B, or alternatively, performing L1-RSRP measurement based on set B and auxiliary information. For example, the available auxiliary information may include one or more of the following: Tx and / or Rx beam shape information (e.g., Tx and / or Rx beam diagram, Tx and / or Rx beam boresight direction (azimuth and elevation), 3dB beam width, etc.), expected Tx and / or Rx beams for prediction (e.g., expected Tx and / or Rx angles, Tx and / or Rx beam IDs for prediction), UE location information, UE direction information, Tx beam usage information, UE orientation information, etc.

[0042] In communication networks such as 5G New Radio (NR) systems, beamforming is used both on the network side Transmit Receive Point (TRP) (such as gNB) and on the User Equipment (UE) side. Beam management is used to acquire and maintain the TRP and UE beams for communication. For example, the beam management process is used to determine the appropriate Tx beam to be adopted by the TRP and the appropriate Rx beam to be adopted by the UE. The selected TRP Tx beam and UE Rx beam are then used for communication. For example, the reference signal used for beam management is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0043] For example, the TRP sends a specific reference signal to the UE, and the UE uses the reference signal to measure the radio link quality. After the measurement, the UE can report to the TRP which Tx beams are better for communication, and the reported content can include a Tx beam index or a beam pair link index and a reference signal received power (RSRP). Considering a large number of beams, the overhead for reporting beam status may be high. In order to reduce this overhead, group-based beam reporting has been proposed. The UE can report several (e.g., two) Tx beams that can be received simultaneously.

[0044] More specifically, in 3GPP, the following group-based beam reporting mechanism is provided.

[0045] In Release 15, groupBasedBeamReporting allows the UE to report two beams that can be received simultaneously by the UE. The UE is unaware that the two beams are from the same TRP or different TRPs. For example, Release 15 reporting is valid for L1-RSRP or L1-SINR reporting (reportQuantity of CSI-ReportConfig is set to "cri-RSRP", "ssb-Index-RSRP", "cri-RSRP-capabilitysetindex", "ssb-Index-RSRP-capabilitysetindex", "cri-SINR", "ssb-Index-SINR", "cri-SINR-capabilitysetindex" or "ssb-Index-SINR-capabilitysetindex").

[0046] On the other hand, in Release 17, group-based beam reporting allows the UE to report a group of two CRIs or SSBRIs selected from each of two CSI resource sets for reporting, where the CSI-RS and / or SSB resources of each group can be received by the UE simultaneously. Here, the UE knows that the beam is associated with the TRP, and the beams reported in the beam group are from different TRPs. Release 17 group-based beam reporting (groupBasedBeamReporting-r17) is supported by configuring the UE for two CSI resource sets. Otherwise, the number of configured CSI-RS resource sets is limited to one. Release 17 reporting is valid for L1-RSRP reporting (reportQuantity of CSI-ReportConfig is set to "cri-RSRP", "ssb-Index-RSRP", "cri-RSRP-capabilitysetindex" or "ssb-Index-RSRP-capabilitysetindex").

[0047] In the following, different exemplary examples of the present disclosure will be described to illustrate the processing for simultaneous communication of UEs with multiple TRPs, using group-based reporting with AI / ML. To this end, as an example of a communication network to which the examples of the present disclosure can be applied, a communication network architecture based on 3GPP standards for communication networks (such as 5G) is used, without limiting the present disclosure to such an architecture. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the examples of the present disclosure can also be applied to other types of communication networks, such as Wi-Fi, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Personal Communications Service (PCS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), wired access, etc. In addition, without loss of generality, the description of some examples of the present disclosure relates to mobile communication networks, but the principles of the present disclosure can also be extended and applied to any other type of communication network, such as a wired communication network.

[0048] The following examples and embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples only. Although the specification may refer to "one", "an" or "some" examples or (multiple) embodiments in several places, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference is related to the same (multiple) examples or (multiple) embodiments, or that a feature applies only to a single example or embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. In addition, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" should be understood as not limiting the described embodiments to consist only of those features that have been mentioned; such examples and embodiments may also contain features, structures, units, modules, etc. that have not been specifically mentioned.

[0049] The basic system architecture of a (tele)communication network including a mobile communication system (as some examples of the present disclosure apply) may include the architecture of one or more communication networks including a radio access network subsystem and a core network. Such an architecture may include one or more communication network control elements or functions, access network elements, radio access network elements, access service network gateways or base station receiver stations (such as base stations (BS), access points (AP), node B (NB), eNB or gNB), distributed or centralized units, which control corresponding coverage areas or cells, and one or more communication stations (such as communication elements, user equipment or terminal equipment, such as UE) or another device with similar functions (such as a modem chipset, chip, module, etc., which may also be part of a station, element, function or application capable of communication, such as UE, an element or function that can be used in a machine-to-machine communication architecture, or attached as a separate element to such an element, a function or application capable of communication, etc.) capable of communicating via one or more channels via one or more communication beams for sending several types of data in multiple access domains. In addition, core network elements or network functions may be included, such as gateway network elements / functions, mobility management entities, mobile switching centers, servers, databases, etc.

[0050] The general functionality and interconnection of the described elements and functions (which also depends on the actual network type) are known to those skilled in the art and are described in the corresponding specifications, so a detailed description thereof is omitted here. However, it is to be noted that several additional network elements and signaling links may be used for communication with a certain element, function or application, such as communication endpoints, communication network control elements (such as servers, gateways, radio network controllers), and other elements of the same or other communication networks in addition to those described in detail below herein.

[0051] The communication network architecture considered in the examples of the present disclosure may also be able to communicate with other networks (such as a public switched telephone network or the Internet), as well as with individual devices or groups of devices that are not considered part of the network (such as monitoring devices, such as cameras, sensors, sensor arrays, etc.). The communication network may also be able to support the use of cloud services for virtual network elements or their functions, where it should be noted that the virtual network portion of the telecommunications network may also be provided by non-cloud resources, such as an internal network or similar resources. It should be understood that the network elements and / or corresponding functions of the access system, core network, etc. may be implemented by using any node, host, server, access node or entity, etc. suitable for such use. In general, the network functions may be implemented as network elements on dedicated hardware, software instances running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on an appropriate platform (e.g., a cloud infrastructure).

[0052] In addition, network elements or network functions (such as UE, TRP, such as gNB) or other network elements or network functions described herein, as well as any other elements, functions or applications, can be implemented by software, such as by a computer program product for a computer, and / or by hardware. In order to perform the respective processing, the corresponding device, node, function or network element used may include several parts, modules, units, components, etc. (not shown in the figure) required for control, processing and / or communication / signaling functions. For example, such components, modules, units and components may include one or more processors or processor units, which include one or more processing parts for executing instructions and / or programs and / or for processing data, storage or memory units or components (e.g. ROM, RAM, EEPROM, etc.) for storing instructions, programs and / or data for use as working areas for processors or processing parts, etc., input or interface components (e.g. floppy disks, CD-ROMs, EEPROMs, etc.) for inputting data and instructions by software, user interfaces (e.g. screens, keyboards, etc.) for providing monitoring and manipulation possibilities to the user, other interfaces or components for establishing links and / or connections under the control of the processor units or parts (e.g. wired and wireless interface components, radio interface components including, for example, antenna units, etc., components for forming radio communication parts, etc.), etc., wherein the corresponding components forming interfaces such as radio communication parts may also be located at remote sites (e.g. radio heads or radio stations, etc.). It should be noted that in this specification, a processing part should not only be considered to mean a physical part of one or more processors, but also a logical division of the referenced processing tasks performed by one or more processors.

[0053] It should be understood that according to some examples, a so-called "liquid" or flexible network concept may be adopted, in which the operations and functions of a network element, a network function or another entity of the network may be performed in a flexible manner in different entities or functions, such as in a node, a host or a server. In other words, the "division of labor" between the network elements, functions or entities involved may vary depending on the situation.

[0054] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0055] (a) pure hardware circuit implementation (such as analog implementation and / or digital circuit only) and

[0056] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable):

[0057] (i) a combination of analog and digital hardware circuits with software / firmware, and

[0058] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor), software, and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions as well as hardware circuits and or processors, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate but that software may not be present when not required for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also includes an implementation of only one hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, the term circuitry also includes a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit (as applicable to a particular claim element) used in a mobile device or server, a cellular network device, or other computing or networking device that is similarly integrated circuited.

[0059] Figure 1 A diagram illustrating an example of a communication network environment in which examples of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. Figure 1 In the figure, a UE 10 is shown as an example of a communication element or a communication function, which is located in a communication network represented by two TRPs, namely TRP#120 and TRP#225, which are, for example, communication network control elements or communication network control functions, such as gNB.

[0060] UE 10 is capable of communicating with multiple TRPs simultaneously. For example, UE 10 is equipped with multiple antenna panels 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. UE 10 uses panels 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 to support multi-TRP operation, where multiple panels are used to communicate with one or more TRPs via beams, so as to facilitate simultaneous reception.

[0061] like Figure 1 As shown, the TRPs (i.e., TRP#120 and TRP#225) each provide multiple beams, i.e., the beams on TRP#2 are P1 to P4 and the beams on TRP#120 are Q1 to Q4.

[0062] It should be noted that Figure 1 The configurations described in are examples for illustrative purposes only. In an environment where the UE performs multi-TRP communications, each TRP can provide more UEs, more TRPs, and more or fewer beams. In addition, the description of the panel for each UE may vary.

[0063] In some cases, not all beams are suitable for joint transmission toward a UE, even though they can be received by the UE individually (via a single TRP transmission). Figure 1 In the configuration shown, it can be assumed that the UE 10 cannot receive beams Q1 and P3 (or P4) simultaneously because they are received at the same panel 10-2.

[0064] In other words, it is difficult for a UE operating in FR2 to receive from two TRPs simultaneously unless the UE has different panels. Therefore, the benefit to the network of scheduling transmissions onto two (or more) beams is questionable unless it is known in advance that the UE can receive them.

[0065] In view of this, as described above, group-based beam reporting can be adopted, where the beams are divided into two sets and reporting can be performed for beam groups. However, in this regard, it is to be considered that the beams used by each TRP can follow beam refinement individually, and beam pairs (beam groups) can be reported after such beam refinement phase of each TRP. Typically, each TRP has to send a large number of reference signals, such as SSB and CSI-RS, which leads to overhead issues because each beam is associated with different SSB or CSI-RS resources. In addition, the overall beam reporting used for group-based beam reporting may have a large delay because the time required for the TRP and the UE to complete beam scanning / refinement and select beam groups to support simultaneous transmission is usually based on multiple rounds of measurements.

[0066] According to an example of the present disclosure, a process is provided that allows for improved beam management, so that when a communication element or communication function such as a UE communicates with multiple TRPs of a communication network, the performance of the communication network can be enhanced. That is, according to an example of the present disclosure, when considering, for example, the above-mentioned BM-Example 1 (spatial beam prediction), a UE (such as a UE) that supports multi-TRP operation (single DCI or multi-DCI) Figure 1 UE 10 in the example of the present disclosure reports the beam pairs that UE 10 can receive simultaneously. With the help of the measurements proposed in the examples of the present disclosure, UE 10 is able to predict the beam pairs for simultaneous reception. Therefore, reduced RS overhead and reduced delay in beam measurement and reporting can be achieved.

[0067] Specifically, according to an example of the present disclosure, the following process is proposed. Figure 1 The principle underlying the example of the present disclosure is described as an example of adopting the measures according to the example of the present disclosure.

[0068] For example, the UE 10 obtains configuration information that can be used for prediction-based group-based beam reporting from the communication network. For example, when the UE 10 reports to the communication network its ability to support such prediction-based group-based beam reporting, the corresponding configuration information is obtained. Prediction-based group-based beam reporting involves an indication to the network that one or more beam pairs (or one or more beam groups) that support simultaneous communication (i.e., reception on the UE side) can be reported based on beam prediction, which is based on, for example, an algorithm, a specified method, or an implementation used on the UE side. Alternatively, there are other examples of enabling the UE 10 to obtain the configuration information, for example, when answering a corresponding query from the network, or based on a preset configuration assumption, for example, that the UE attached to the network is capable of supporting prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

[0069] For example, in response to the corresponding report, the UE 10 receives a CSI report configuration that enables prediction-based group-based beam reporting. In addition, the UE 10 receives multiple beam sets, such as at least two beam sets for measurement (referred to as set B1 and set B2) and at least two beam sets for prediction (referred to as set A1 and set A2). Sets A1 and B1 are received from one TRP (e.g., TRP #120), while sets A2 and B2 are received from another TRP (e.g., TRP #225).

[0070] For example, according to some examples of the present disclosure, the full measurement set of beams (set B) may be a superset of the union of the beams in set B1 and set B2. In addition, the full prediction set of beams (set A) may be a superset of the union of the beams in set A1 and set A2. According to some other examples of the present invention, set B1 may be a subset of set A1, and set B2 may be a subset of set A2. In another variant, set B1 and set A1 may be different from each other, and set B2 and set A2 may be different from each other.

[0071] According to some examples of the present disclosure, UE 10 is configured to use a predefined or received configuration indicating an association of a measurement / prediction beam set (set A1 / A2 and set B1 / B2) with a TRP, such as a TRP ID, a physical cell ID, or a CORESETPoolIndex (CORESET represents a physical resource set (i.e., a specific area on the NR downlink resource grid) and a parameter set for carrying PDCCH / DCI). Alternatively, a reference index for PDCCH / PDSCH reception may also be used.

[0072] It should be noted that according to some examples of the present disclosure, beam sets may be associated with each other. For example, set A1 and set B1 (or set A2 and set B2) may also be associated with each other based on the association defined between the beam set and TRP / PCI / CORESETPolindex (or with the reference index applied to PDCCH / PDSCH reception).

[0073] In addition, according to some examples of the present disclosure, UE 10 measures resources from measurement sets (i.e., set B1 and set B2) and uses beam measurements (e.g., L1-RSRP and beam index) to identify beam pairs from set B1 and set B2 suitable for simultaneous reception.

[0074] The UE 10 then determines additional beam groups or bam pairs that are suitable or available for simultaneous reception. This is determined using a prediction model. The prediction model uses at least the beam measurements (L1-RSRP and beam index) from set B1 and set B2 and the identified beam groups / pairs as inputs to the prediction model. The additional beam groups / pairs may include, for example:

[0075] - a beam pair containing a beam from a prediction set corresponding to one TRP / PCI / CORESETPoolindex (e.g., set A1) and a beam from another prediction set (e.g., set A2) corresponding to another TRP / PCI / CORESETPoolindex,

[0076] - a beam pair containing a beam from the measurement set corresponding to one TRP / PCI / CORESETPoolindex (Set B1 or Set B2) and another beam from the prediction set corresponding to the other TRP / PCI / CORESETPoolindex (Set A2 or Set A1), and

[0077] - A beam pair containing beams from a measurement set corresponding to one TRP / PCI / CORESETPoolindex (e.g., set B1) and from another measurement set corresponding to another TRP / PCI / CORESETPoolindex.

[0078] After determination, UE 10 reports the predefined part of the determined beam pair to the network, for example, to TRP#120. The predefined part includes, for example, the best or most suitable beam pair among the beam pairs determined in a preset order (for example, from best to worst or from worst to best). In addition, the information sent to the network may also include other information, such as additional parameters. For example, these parameters include one or more of the following: corresponding L1-RSRP / L1-SINR values, reliability metrics associated with the prediction, and capability value set indications. It should be noted that the corresponding parameters may also be omitted.

[0079] According to another example of the present disclosure, the UE 10 may also report beam pairs / groups corresponding to the identified (from set B1 and set B2) and determined (from set A1 / B1 and set A2 / B2) beam groups / pairs.

[0080] Furthermore, according to another example of the present disclosure, the UE 10 is configured to report a limited number of beam groups / pairs, and each group / pair may have at least two beams.

[0081] When the reporting of the determined beam pair / group is completed, the UE 10 can apply different spatial filters to receive the reported beam group / pair. In addition, according to the examples of the present disclosure, based on the reported beam group / pair, the UE 10 can be scheduled to receive simultaneous data transmissions from multiple TRPs at the same time, where the corresponding reported beam pairs are assumed to receive data.

[0082] Figure 2 A signaling diagram illustrating an example of a beam reporting procedure according to an example of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 2 A possible way to achieve the above process is provided. Figure 2 In the example shown, it is assumed that periodic CSI-RS transmission and CSI reporting configuration are associated with aperiodic CSI triggering. This enables beam prediction reporting to be done in a dynamic manner, taking into account measurements and predictions.

[0083] like Figure 2 As shown, a UE (eg, Figure 1 10) with two TRPs (e.g., Figure 1 On the UE side, as a signaling example, UL and DL communication elements, a measurement module for measuring the signal received via the beam, and a prediction model entity are provided.

[0084] In S200, UE 10 sends a capability indication indicating that it supports prediction-based group-based beam reporting to the network (eg, TRP #120).

[0085] In S210, the UE receives configuration information, for example, via RRC, in the form of CSI-ReportConfig that enables group-based beam reporting. In this regard, information is provided that enables the UE 10 to further define a beam set for measurement and a beam set for prediction, for example, up to four RS (reference signal) sets, where the CSI-ReportConfig may indicate the RS sets as CMR1 to CMR4 (i.e., sets A1 / A2 / B1 / B2 as described above).

[0086] In S230 , the UE 10 determines, based on the received CSI-reportConfig information, that a prediction model can be applied to group-based beam reporting and a related RS set for measurement and prediction.

[0087] In S235, the UE 10 further determines that the RS set is associated with at least two TRPs (e.g., two CORESETPoolIndex for the mDCI scenario). The association determination may be performed, for example, via a predefined configuration or a configuration received from the communication network. For example, in S235, it is determined that the set A1 / B1 is associated with CORESETPoolIndex0 (TRP#120), and the set A2 / B2 is associated with CORESETPoolIndex1 (TRP#225).

[0088] In S240, the network (i.e., TRP#120) triggers a prediction-based group-based beam report via triggering an aperiodic CSI report in the DCI corresponding to the CSI-ReportConfig. In addition, in S250 and S255, TRP#120 and TRP#225 send corresponding RS sets. For example, the RS can be sent in a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner. For example, UE 10 receives CSI-RS (or SSB) transmissions associated with set B1 from TRP#120 and set B2 from TRP#225.

[0089] In S260, the measurement module of UE 10 measures, for example, L1-RSRP or other suitable CSI quantity based on the received CSI-RS (or SSB). UE 10 also determines a beam pair (or beam group) for simultaneous reception (ie, for multi-TRP reception).

[0090] In S270 , beam measurements (eg, beam index, and other parameters such as measured L1-RSRP) and the identified beam pairs are used as inputs to a prediction model.

[0091] In S280, the UE 10 performs group-based beam prediction by using the prediction model (e.g., AI / ML model) determined in S230. As input to the prediction model, data provided based on the beam measurement in S260 corresponding to the set B1 and the set B2 is used. As a result of the prediction, for example, the best beam pair (group) considering simultaneous reception of the set A1 / B1 and the set A2 / B2 is determined. It is worth noting that, for example, the following is based on Figure 4 An example of such an AI / ML predictive model is described.

[0092] In S290, the output of the prediction model including the determined best beam pair and the corresponding L1-RSRP is provided, for example in a preset sorting order. The output is used in S295, and the UE constructs a report CSI feedback (as UL control information) based on the report number configured in CSI-ReportConfig, and the report number is used to report the CSI number to the communication network (e.g., TRP#120).

[0093] Figure 3 Further details about the beam measurement process according to an example of the present disclosure are shown. Specifically, Figure 3 A process is shown for supporting multi-TRP operation using a limited number of beam measurements from each TRP.

[0094] exist Figure 3 , beams from TRP#120 and TRP#225 are depicted, wherein beam set A1 including six beams from TRP#120 (indicated by CRI_x1, RSRP_x1 to CRI_x6, RSRP_x6) and beam set A2 including six beams from TRP#225 (indicated by CRI_y1, RSRP_y1 to CRI_y6, RSRP_y6) are shown. Assume that Figure 3 In the example, set B1 and set B2 are subsets of set A1 and set A2 respectively.

[0095] Beam measurement without RSRP refers to set B1 (e.g., CRI_x4, CRI_x3) and set B2 (e.g., CRI_y3, CRI_y5) corresponding to TRP#120 and TRP#225, respectively. It should be noted that the numbers indicated in brackets refer to the assumed relative strength of L1-RSRP for each measurement beam (i.e., (0) to (3), where (0) represents the case without RSRP and (3) represents the case with high RSRP).

[0096] like Figure 3 As shown, the UE 10 identifies two beam pairs based on beam measurements (eg, CRI_x5, CRI_y4 and CRI_x6, CRI_y1). These beam pairs represent the identified beam pairs.

[0097] Figure 3 Reference numeral 30 in the figure represents a prediction model. The input of the prediction model is provided by beam measurements (i.e., the identified beam pairs, beam indexes, and L1-RSRP values). Based on the input, the prediction model 30 predicts more beam pairs and corresponding L1-RSRPs for sets A1 and A2, which are represented as beam pairs that can be received simultaneously according to the prediction (e.g., in addition to the identified beam pairs CRI_x5, CRI_y4 and CRI_x6, CRI_y1, there are also beam pairs CRI_x1, CRI_y3 and CRI_x4, CRI_y1).

[0098] Next, Figure 4 A diagram of a NN design for spatial beam prediction according to an example of the present disclosure is shown as an example of a prediction model related to the example of the present disclosure. It is worth noting that Figure 4 Only one example of available prediction models is shown. In general, the UE may select an available prediction model, for example based on an implementation decision, wherein the UE may use different approaches for prediction models, such as machine learning (ML) or non-machine learning (non-ML) based models, wherein the accuracy of the prediction may be variably set.

[0099] like Figure 4 As shown, as input to the prediction model, beam measurements 400 of set B1 and beam measurements 410 of set B2 are used. In addition, the identified beam pairs (from set B1 and set B2) for beam measurements are used.

[0100] The prediction model consists of multiple NN blocks ( Figure 4NN block 1 to NN block L) configuration in . NN block 1 takes beam measurements as input, considering the CRI and RSRP measurements for each set of beams (set B1 and set B2) on the xi (i=1,…,N) and yi (i=1,…,N) CSI-RS resources, and the identified best beam pair (xi,yj) (i,j=1,…,N). Then, each inner NN block (2,…,L-1) has a neuron (i.e., the number of neurons), and finally NN block L has M output neurons corresponding to the CRI pairs (set A1 and set A2 resources, i.e., corresponding to the paired resource / beam pairs of xi,yj (i,j=1,…,N)).

[0101] It should be noted that each NN block can include a fully connected layer (FNN), an activation function layer, and a batch normalization layer, such as Figure 4 In this case, information is only moved forward from the input block to the output block.

[0102] In the lth NN block, the output vector m l It is calculated using the nonlinear activation function σ and can be expressed as Where m l-1 is the output of the previous NN block, is the weight of the lth NN block, is the bias of the lth NN block. Weight and bias Form the trainable parameters W of the lth NN block l Finally, output m L Corresponding to the output of the last NN block of the machine learning model, the nonlinear function Represents, for l=1,…,L as a combination of machine learning model input and trainable parameters of different NN blocks:

[0103] Then, the network output m L Passed to the SoftMax function, so P y =softmax(m L ) to obtain the probability distribution P over the set of ML model outputs m Therefore, consider arranging these probabilities in descending order and selecting the best K beam pairs as follows: f = arg sort P m Wherein the set includes the best CRI / beam pairs.

[0104] According to an example of the present disclosure, the ML model ( Figure 4An example is shown) can be trained with a stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithm, which calculates the weights W relative to the ML model. l The minimum value of the loss function in the gradient direction of . Input data and the corresponding label m (i) The training set formed, given n i data samples. SGD first calculates the gradient estimate Then update the weights (where η is the learning rate). SGD iterates these two steps until a stopping condition is met.

[0105] Figure 5 A flowchart of processing performed in a communication element or communication function (such as a UE) according to some examples of the present disclosure is shown, wherein the communication element or communication function is capable of multi-TRP operation. That is, Figure 5 shows the connection with a communication element or communication function (such as also in combination Figures 1 to 4 Flowcharts related to the processing performed by the described UE 10). According to some examples of the present disclosure, the UE has multiple receiving panels for simultaneously receiving beams from multiple TRPs of the communication network.

[0106] In S510, the UE obtains channel state information reporting configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting. According to some examples of the present disclosure, in order to obtain CSI reporting configuration information, the UE pre-reports to a TRP of the communication network a capability for supporting prediction-based group-based beam reporting, wherein the CSI reporting configuration information is received in response to a report of the capability.

[0107] In S520, the UE receives multiple beams, where the multiple beams include at least one beam set for measurement (referred to as set B above) and at least one beam set for prediction (referred to as set A above).

[0108] In S530, the UE determines the association between the received multiple beams and the corresponding TRPs of the communication network.

[0109] According to some examples of the present disclosure, in order to determine the association of the received multiple beams with the corresponding TRPs of the communication network, the UE uses a predefined or received configuration indicating the association of the received reference signal with at least two transmission points of the communication network.

[0110] In S540, the UE measures resources from at least one beam set for measurement to identify a beam group for simultaneous reception.

[0111] It should be noted that according to some examples of the present disclosure, a beam is represented by a DL reference signal resource including at least one of a CSI RS and an SSB resource, wherein the DL signal resources are grouped into groups each corresponding to a corresponding TRP (e.g., TRP#120 or TRP#225 as above).

[0112] In addition, according to some examples of the present disclosure, at least one beam set for measurement includes a downlink reference signal sent by the corresponding TRP, and at least one beam set for prediction includes a downlink reference signal not sent by the corresponding TRP.

[0113] According to some examples of the present disclosure, the beam groups forming the identified beam group or another beam group include beams corresponding to two TRPs or spatial filters, wherein at least one beam corresponds to one TRP or spatial filter and the other beam corresponds to the other TRP or spatial filter. Alternatively, the beam groups forming the identified beam group or another beam group each include beams corresponding to only one TRP or spatial filter, wherein a subset of beams in the beam group is from a set of beams for measurement, and another subset of beams in the beam group is determined from a set of beams for prediction.

[0114] According to some examples of the present disclosure, as a resource for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception from at least one beam set for measurement, at least one of a reference signal received power or an amount of channel state information is measured based on a signal transmission from a communication network (e.g., an RS transmission from a corresponding TRP).

[0115] In S550, the UE determines another beam group that can be used for simultaneous reception by using the prediction model. The other beam group includes beams in at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction.

[0116] According to some examples of the present disclosure, in a case where an output for at least one additional beam group is generated based on a prediction of a prediction model, the UE reports at least a portion of the generated additional beam groups to a TRP of the communication network in a predefined order. The predefined order reflects the reported suitability levels of the additional beam groups for simultaneous reception (e.g., in ascending or descending order of suitability levels).

[0117] According to some examples of the present disclosure, when reporting at least a portion of the generated additional beam groups, the UE may include additional parameters indicating communication properties of the beams of at least one additional beam group, wherein the communication properties include at least one of: an RSRP indication, a SINR, an indication of a reliability metric associated with the prediction model used, and an indication of a set of capability values.

[0118] According to some examples of the present disclosure, the prediction model for determining the additional beam groups that can be used for simultaneous reception is a machine learning prediction model configured using a neural network, the machine learning prediction model having multiple NN blocks, the multiple NN blocks including at least one of the following: a fully connected neural network block, an activation function layer, and a batch normalization layer. Alternatively, the prediction model for determining the additional beam groups that can be used for simultaneous reception is a non-machine learning prediction model.

[0119] According to some examples of the present disclosure, the UE uses beam measurements and the identified beam groups for simultaneous reception as input data for a prediction model.

[0120] In addition, according to some examples of the present disclosure, the UE is configured to determine the prediction model to be applied based on information provided by the obtained channel state information report configuration information. For example, the prediction model to be used is determined based on the signaling attributes of the RS from the network.

[0121] In addition, according to some examples of the present disclosure, the UE reports at least a portion of the determined additional beam groups available for simultaneous reception to the communication network as uplink control information.

[0122] According to some examples of the present disclosure, the UE applies a spatial filter that is adjusted for receive beams identified or determined to be available for simultaneous reception.

[0123] Figure 6 A flowchart of processing performed in a communication network control element or communication network control function (such as a gNB serving as a TRP (e.g., TRP #120)) according to some examples of the present disclosure is shown. That is, Figure 6 The invention is shown in conjunction with a communication network control element or a communication network control function (such as also in conjunction with Figures 1 to 4 Flowchart related to the processing performed by TRP#120) described.

[0124] In S610, the TRP receives from the UE an indication of the capability of a communication element or communication function to support prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

[0125] In S620, the TRP sends CSI reporting configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting to the UE.

[0126] In addition, according to some examples of the present disclosure, the TRP is configured to trigger prediction-based group-based beam reporting by triggering a non-periodic channel state information report for the UE corresponding to the CSI reporting configuration information.

[0127] Figure 7 Shown as a combination Figures 1 to 4A diagram of a communication element or communication function (such as UE 10) described to perform processing according to some examples of the present disclosure. It should be noted that a network element or function such as UE 10 may include other elements or functions in addition to those described below. In addition, even if reference is made to a network element or function, the element or function may be another device or function with a similar task, such as a chipset, chip, module, application, etc., which may also be part of a network element or attached to a network element as a separate element, etc. It should be understood that each block and any combination thereof may be implemented by various means or combinations thereof, such as hardware, software, firmware, one or more processors and / or circuits.

[0128] Figure 7 The UE 10 shown may include a processing circuit, a processing function, a control unit or a processor 101, such as a CPU, etc., which is suitable for executing instructions given by a program or the like related to a control process. The processor 101 may include one or more processing parts or functions dedicated to a specific process as described below, or the process may be run in a single processor or processing function. For example, the part for performing such a specific process may also be provided as a discrete component or in one or more other processors, processing functions or processing parts, such as in a physical processor like a CPU or in one or more physical or virtual entities. Reference numeral 102 represents an input / output (I / O) unit or function (interface) connected to the processor or processing function 101. The I / O unit 102 may be used to communicate with a communication network such as TRPs 20 and 25. The I / O unit 102 may be a combined unit including a communication device toward several entities, or may include a distributed structure with multiple different interfaces for different entities. Reference numeral 104 represents a memory that can be used, for example, to store data and programs to be executed by the processor or processing function 101 and / or used as a working storage for the processor or processing function 101. It should be noted that memory 104 may be implemented by using one or more memory portions of the same or different types of memory.

[0129] The processor or processing function 101 is configured to perform processing related to the above control process. Specifically, the processor or processing circuit or function 101 includes one or more of the following sub-parts. Sub-part 1011 is a processing part that can be used as a part for obtaining CSI report configuration. Part 1011 can be configured to Figure 5 In addition, the processor or processing circuit or function 101 may include a sub-portion 1012 that can be used as a part for receiving a beam. Portion 1012 may be configured to perform according to Figure 5In addition, the processor or processing circuit or function 101 may include a sub-section 1013 that can be used as a section for determining the association. Section 1013 may be configured to perform according to Figure 5 In addition, the processor or processing circuit or function 101 may include a sub-section 1014 that can be used as part of the measurement. Section 1014 may be configured to perform according to Figure 5 In addition, the processor or processing circuit or function 101 may include a sub-section 1015 that can be used as a part for determining the beam group. Section 1015 can be configured to perform according to Figure 5 The S550's processing.

[0130] Figure 8 A diagram showing a communication network control element or communication network control function, such as a gNB is a TRP (e.g., TRP #120), which performs communication control according to some examples of the present disclosure, such as in conjunction with Figures 1 to 4 As described. It should be noted that a network element or function such as TRP20 may include other elements or functions in addition to those described below herein. In addition, even if reference is made to a network element or function, the element or function may be another device or function with a similar task, such as a chipset, a chip, a module, an application, etc., which may also be part of a network element or attached to a network element as a separate element, etc. It should be understood that each block and any combination thereof may be implemented by various means or combinations thereof, such as hardware, software, firmware, one or more processors and / or circuits.

[0131] Figure 8 The TRP 20 shown in may include processing circuits, processing functions, control units or processors 201, such as a CPU or the like, which are suitable for executing instructions given by a program or the like associated with a control process. The processor 201 may include one or more processing parts or functions dedicated to a specific processing as described below, or the processing may be run in a single processor or processing function. For example, the part for performing such a specific processing may also be provided as a discrete component or within one or more additional processors, processing functions or processing parts, such as in one physical processor like a CPU or in one or more physical or virtual entities. Reference numerals 202 and 203 represent input / output (I / O) units or functions (interfaces) connected to the processor or processing function 201. The I / O unit 202 may be used to communicate with a communication element or communication function (such as a UE), such as Figure 1As shown. I / O unit 203 may be used to communicate with other network functions. I / O units 202 and 203 may be combined units including communication devices toward several entities, or may include a distributed structure with multiple different interfaces for different entities. Reference numeral 204 denotes a memory that may be used, for example, to store data and programs to be executed by processor or processing function 201 and / or to serve as working storage for processor or processing function 201. It should be noted that memory 204 may be implemented by using one or more memory portions of the same or different types of memory.

[0132] The processor or processing function 201 is configured to perform processing related to the above control process. Specifically, the processor or processing circuit or function 201 includes one or more of the following sub-parts. Sub-part 2011 is a processing part that can be used as a part of receiving capability indication. Part 2011 can be configured to receive the capability indication according to the following sub-parts: Figure 6 In addition, the processor or processing circuit or function 201 may include a sub-portion 2012 that can be used as part of the configuration for sending the CSI report. Portion 2012 may be configured to perform according to Figure 6 The S620 process.

[0133] It should be noted that the examples of the embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable to a variety of different network configurations. In other words, the examples shown in the above-mentioned figures (which serve as the basis for the above-mentioned examples) are merely illustrative and do not limit the present disclosure in any way. That is, based on the defined principles, additional existing and proposed new functions available in the corresponding operating environment can be used in conjunction with the examples of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0134] Furthermore, even though in the above-described examples of the embodiments, the UE is mainly described as a communication element or a communication function to which the proposed control process is applied, the examples of the embodiments may also relate to other communication elements or communication functions to which the corresponding process is applicable.

[0135] According to another example of an embodiment, for example, a device is provided for use by a communication element or communication function capable of performing multi-transmit and receive point TRP operations, the device comprising: a component configured to obtain channel state information report configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting; a component configured to receive multiple beams, the multiple beams including at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction; a component configured to determine an association between the received multiple beams and corresponding TRPs of a communication network; a component configured to measure resources from at least one beam set for measurement for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception; and a component configured to determine an additional beam group that can be used for simultaneous reception by using a prediction model, wherein the additional beam group includes beams from at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction.

[0136] In addition, according to some other examples of the embodiment, the apparatus defined above may further include a device for performing at least one of the processes defined in the method above, for example, according to the combination Figure 5 Describe the method.

[0137] According to another example of an embodiment, for example, there is provided a device for communicating with a communication element or a communication function, used by a communication network control unit or a communication network control function acting as a transmission and reception point TRP, the device comprising: a component configured to receive an indication of the ability of the communication element or the communication function to support prediction-based group-based beam reporting; and a component configured to send channel state information report configuration information to the communication element or the communication function, the channel state information report configuration information being used to enable prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

[0138] In addition, according to some other examples of the embodiment, the apparatus defined above may further include a device for performing at least one of the processes defined in the method above, for example, according to the combination Figure 5 Describe the method.

[0139] According to another example of an embodiment, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform processing when a communication element or communication function capable of multi-transmit and receive point TRP operation is used, the processing including: obtaining channel state information reporting configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting, receiving multiple beams, the multiple beams including at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction, determining an association between the received multiple beams and corresponding TRPs of a communication network, measuring resources from at least one beam set for measurement for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception, determining additional beam groups that can be used for simultaneous reception by using a prediction model, wherein the additional beam groups include beams from at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction.

[0140] According to another example of an embodiment, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for causing a device to perform processing when a communication element or communication function capable of multi-transmit and receive point TRP operation is used, the processing including: receiving an indication of the ability of the communication element or communication function to support prediction-based group-based beam reporting, and sending channel state information report configuration information to the communication element or communication function, the channel state information report configuration information being used to enable prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

[0141] Through the above configuration, RS overhead and delay in beam measurement and reporting can be reduced.

[0142] It should be understood that

[0143] -Access technology for transmitting traffic between entities in a communication network may use any suitable existing or future technology, such as WLAN (Wireless Local Access Network), WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), LTE, LTE-A, 5G, Bluetooth, infrared, etc.; in addition, the embodiments may also apply wired technology, such as IP-based access technology, such as a wired network or a fixed line.

[0144] -Embodiments suitable for being implemented as software code or portion thereof and running using a processor or processing functionality are software code independent and may be specified using any known or future developed programming language, such as a high-level programming language such as objective-C, C, C++, C#, Java, Python, Javascript, other scripting languages, etc., or a low-level programming language such as machine language or assembly language.

[0145] -The implementation of the embodiments is hardware independent and may be implemented using any known or future developed hardware technology or any mix of these, such as a microprocessor or CPU (Central Processing Unit), MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor), CMOS (Complementary MOS), BiMOS (Bipolar MOS), BiCMOS (Bipolar CMOS), ECL (Emitter Coupled Logic) and / or TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic).

[0146] -Embodiments may be implemented as individual devices, means, units, components or functions, or in a distributed manner, for example, one or more processors or processing functions may be used or shared in a process, or one or more processing segments or processing portions may be used and shared in a process, where one physical processor or more than one physical processor may be used to implement one or more processing portions dedicated to the specific process being described.

[0147] - the device may be implemented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset or a (hardware) module including such a chip or chipset;

[0148] - The embodiments may also be implemented as any combination of hardware and software, such as ASIC (Application Specific IC (Integrated Circuit)) components, FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) components or DSP (Digital Signal Processor) components.

[0149] The embodiments may also be implemented as a computer program product, including a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code being adapted to execute the processes as described in the embodiments, wherein the computer usable medium may be a non-transitory medium.

[0150] Although the present disclosure has been described herein before with reference to specific embodiments thereof, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and various modifications may be made thereto.

Claims

1. An apparatus for use by a communication element or communication function capable of multiple transmit and receive point (TRP) operation, the apparatus comprising: at least one processing circuit, and at least one memory for storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: obtaining channel state information reporting configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting, receiving a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams comprising at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction, determining an association of the received plurality of beams with corresponding TRPs of a communication network, measuring resources from the at least one set of beams for measurement for identifying a group of beams for simultaneous reception, An additional beam set available for simultaneous reception is determined by using a prediction model, wherein the additional beam set includes beams in the at least one beam set for measurement and the at least one beam set for prediction.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: In the case where an output for at least one additional beam group is generated based on the prediction of the prediction model, at least a portion of the generated additional beam groups are reported to the TRP of the communication network in a predefined order, wherein the predefined order reflects the reported suitability level of the additional beam groups for simultaneous reception.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: When reporting at least a portion of the additional beam groups generated, additional parameters are included indicating communication properties of the beams of the at least one additional beam group, wherein the communication properties include at least one of the following: an indication of a reference signal received power, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, an indication of a reliability metric and a set of capability values ​​associated with the prediction model used.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: The TRP report to the communication network is used to support the capability of prediction-based group-based beam reporting, wherein the channel state information reporting configuration information is received in response to the report of the capability.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: For determining the association of the received multiple beams with corresponding TRPs of the communication network, a predefined or received configuration is used, wherein the predefined or received configuration indicates the association of the received reference signal with at least two transmission points of the communication network.

6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The beam is represented by downlink reference signal resources, which include at least one of a channel state information reference signal and a synchronization signal block resource, wherein the downlink reference signal resources are grouped into groups each corresponding to a corresponding TRP.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein The at least one beam set used for measurement includes a downlink reference signal transmitted by a corresponding TRP; and The at least one beam set used for prediction includes a downlink reference signal that is not sent for the corresponding TRP.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein The beam group forming the identified beam group or the further beam group comprises one of: a) beams corresponding to two TRPs or spatial filters, wherein at least one beam corresponds to one TRP or spatial filter and the other beam corresponds to the other TRP or spatial filter, or b) beams corresponding to only one TRP or spatial filter, wherein one subset of beams in the beam group is from the beam set used for measurement and another subset of beams in the beam group is determined from the beam set used for prediction.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: At least one of a reference signal received power or a channel state information amount is measured based on a signal transmission from the communication network as the resource for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception from the at least one beam set for measurement.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The prediction model for determining the additional beam groups that can be used for simultaneous reception is a machine learning prediction model configured using a neural network, the machine learning prediction model having a plurality of neural network blocks, the plurality of neural network blocks including at least one of the following: a fully connected neural network block, an activation function layer, and a batch normalization layer.

11. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein The prediction model used to determine the additional beam sets that can be used for simultaneous reception is a non-machine learning prediction model.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: The beam measurements and the identified beam sets for simultaneous reception are used as input data to the prediction model.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: Based on the information provided by the obtained channel state information report configuration information, a prediction model to be applied is determined.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: At least a portion of the determined additional beam sets available for simultaneous reception is reported to the communication network as uplink control information.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: A spatial filter is applied that is adjusted for the receive beams identified or determined to be available for simultaneous reception.

16. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the communication element or communication function is included in a user equipment, and the user equipment has multiple receiving panels for simultaneously receiving beams from multiple TRPs of the communication network.

17. A method for use in a communication element or communication function capable of multiple transmit and receive point (TRP) operation, the method comprising: obtaining channel state information reporting configuration information for enabling prediction-based group-based beam reporting, receiving a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams comprising at least one beam set for measurement and at least one beam set for prediction, determining an association of the received plurality of beams with corresponding TRPs of a communication network, measuring resources from the at least one set of beams for measurement for identifying a group of beams for simultaneous reception, An additional beam set available for simultaneous reception is determined by using a prediction model, wherein the additional beam set includes beams in the at least one beam set for measurement and the at least one beam set for prediction.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: In the case where an output for at least one additional beam group is generated based on the prediction of the prediction model, at least a portion of the generated additional beam groups are reported to the TRP of the communication network in a predefined order, wherein the predefined order reflects the reported suitability level of the additional beam groups for simultaneous reception.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: When reporting at least a portion of the additional beam groups generated, additional parameters are included indicating communication properties of the beams of the at least one additional beam group, wherein the communication properties include at least one of the following: an indication of a reference signal received power, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, an indication of a reliability metric and a set of capability values ​​associated with the prediction model used.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, further comprising: The TRP report to the communication network is used to support the capability of prediction-based group-based beam reporting, wherein the channel state information reporting configuration information is received in response to the report of the capability.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, further comprising: For determining the association of the received multiple beams with corresponding TRPs of the communication network, a predefined or received configuration is used, wherein the predefined or received configuration indicates the association of the received reference signal with at least two transmission points of the communication network.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein The beam is represented by downlink reference signal resources, which include at least one of a channel state information reference signal and a synchronization signal block resource, wherein the downlink reference signal resources are grouped into groups each corresponding to a corresponding TRP.

23. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein The at least one beam set used for measurement includes a downlink reference signal transmitted by a corresponding TRP; and The at least one beam set used for prediction includes a downlink reference signal that is not sent for the corresponding TRP.

24. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein The beam group forming the identified beam group or the further beam group comprises one of: a) beams corresponding to two TRPs or spatial filters, wherein at least one beam corresponds to one TRP or spatial filter and the other beam corresponds to the other TRP or spatial filter, or b) beams corresponding to only one TRP or spatial filter, wherein one subset of beams in the beam group is from the beam set used for measurement and another subset of beams in the beam group is determined from the beam set used for prediction.

25. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 24, further comprising: At least one of a reference signal received power or a channel state information amount is measured based on a signal transmission from the communication network as the resource for identifying a beam group for simultaneous reception from the at least one beam set for measurement.

26. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein The prediction model for determining the additional beam groups that can be used for simultaneous reception is a machine learning prediction model configured using a neural network, the machine learning prediction model having a plurality of neural network blocks, the plurality of neural network blocks including at least one of the following: a fully connected neural network block, an activation function layer, and a batch normalization layer.

27. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein The prediction model used to determine the additional beam sets that can be used for simultaneous reception is a non-machine learning prediction model.

28. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 27, further comprising: The beam measurements and the identified beam sets for simultaneous reception are used as input data to the prediction model.

29. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 28, further comprising: Based on the information provided by the obtained channel state information report configuration information, a prediction model to be applied is determined.

30. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, further comprising: At least a portion of the determined additional beam sets available for simultaneous reception is reported to the communication network as uplink control information.

31. The method of any one of claims 17 to 30, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: A spatial filter is applied that is adjusted for the receive beams identified or determined to be available for simultaneous reception.

32. An apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 31, wherein the communication element or communication function is included in a user equipment, and the user equipment has multiple receiving panels for simultaneously receiving beams from multiple TRPs of the communication network.

33. A device used by a communication network control element or a communication network control function acting as a transmit and receive point TRP for communicating with a communication element or a communication function, the device comprising at least one processing circuit, and at least one memory for storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving an indication of a capability of a communication element or communication function to support prediction-based group-based beam reporting, Channel state information reporting configuration information is sent to the communication element or communication function, the channel state information reporting configuration information being used to enable prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to at least: Prediction-based group-based beam reporting is triggered by triggering aperiodic channel state information reporting of the communication element or communication function corresponding to the channel state information reporting configuration information.

35. A method for use in a communication network control element or a communication network control function for communicating with a communication element or a communication function, the communication network control element or the communication network control function acting as a transmit and receive point (TRP), the method comprising: receiving an indication of a capability of a communication element or communication function to support prediction-based group-based beam reporting, Channel state information reporting configuration information is sent to the communication element or communication function, the channel state information reporting configuration information being used to enable prediction-based group-based beam reporting.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising: Prediction-based group-based beam reporting is triggered by triggering aperiodic channel state information reporting of the communication element or communication function corresponding to the channel state information reporting configuration information.

37. A computer program product for a computer, comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any one of claims 17 to 32 or claims 35 to 36 when the product is run on the computer.

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