Spatial configuration adaptation

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer readable storage media for dynamic antenna port related configurations. The method comprises: receiving, at a terminal device, a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports from a network device; and receiving, at the terminal device, a second indication from the network device to deactivate at least one subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for spatial configuration adaptation. Background Art

[0002] The power consumption of the Radio Access Network (RAN) is high. Therefore, network energy saving techniques for transmission and / or reception are required in the time, frequency, space and power domains. For example, it is expected that the spatial elements of the gNB (such as antenna elements, logical antenna ports, etc.) adapt to the network conditions, system capacity, traffic demand, etc. This can be achieved through dynamic spatial domain configuration adaptation. Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for dynamic spatial configuration adaptation.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: receive a first indication of multiple subsets of antenna ports from a second device; and receive a second indication of deactivating at least one of the multiple subsets of antenna ports from the second device.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: send a first indication of multiple subsets of antenna ports to a first device; and send a second indication of deactivating at least one subset of the multiple subsets of antenna ports to the first device.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method comprises: receiving, at a terminal device, a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports from a network device; and receiving, at the terminal device, a second indication from the network device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided, comprising: sending, at a network device, a first indication of multiple subsets of antenna ports to a terminal device; and sending, at the network device, a second indication of deactivating at least one of the multiple subsets of antenna ports to the terminal device.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: means for receiving a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports from a network device; and means for receiving a second indication of deactivating at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports from the network device.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises: a component for sending a first indication of multiple subsets of antenna ports to a terminal device; and a component for sending a second indication of deactivating at least one subset of the multiple subsets of antenna ports to the terminal device.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receive a first indication of multiple subsets of antenna ports from a network device; and receive a second indication of deactivating at least one of the multiple subsets of antenna ports from the network device.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: send a first indication of multiple subsets of antenna ports to a terminal device; and send a second indication of deactivating at least one of the multiple subsets of antenna ports to the terminal device.

[0012] Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will also be apparent from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be presented below in an exemplary sense with reference to the accompanying drawings, and their advantages will be explained in more detail, wherein

[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be presented below in an exemplary sense with reference to the accompanying drawings, and their advantages will be explained in more detail, wherein

[0015] Figure 1 An example network system is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0016] Figure 2 shows a signaling diagram for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing an example group common configuration according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an example method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating another example method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0021] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes, and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the way described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an example embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0025] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the functions of the various elements. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0026] The terms used herein are used only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "include", "comprise", "include", "have", "have", "cover", and / or "contain" when used herein specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0027] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is combined by “and” or “or”, means at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0028] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as analog implementation only and / or implementation in digital circuits) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog circuit(s) and / or digital hardware circuit(s) and software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and (c) Hardware circuits and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessors, that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0029] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portions of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. If applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0030] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be communication technologies and systems of future types that can embody the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the aforementioned system.

[0031] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (NR NB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay, a low power node (such as a femto, pico, etc.). A network device is allowed to be defined as part of a gNB, for example in a CU / DU split, in which case the network device is defined as a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU.

[0032] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local ring phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (also known as a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0033] Although in various example embodiments, the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes, in other example embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a cellular phone or a tablet computer or a laptop computer or a desktop computer or a mobile IoT device or a fixed IoT device). The user equipment device may, for example, be appropriately equipped with the corresponding capabilities described in conjunction with the fixed and / or wireless network nodes. The user equipment device may be a user equipment and / or a control device configured to control the user equipment when installed in the user equipment, such as a chipset or a processor. Examples of such functions include a boot server function and / or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented in the user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to perform from the perspective of these functions / nodes. Example Environment

[0034] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, the communication environment 100 may include a plurality of first devices 110-1 to 110-N and a second device 120. The plurality of first devices 110-1 to 110-N may be terminal devices (e.g., UEs), and may be collectively referred to as first devices 110 hereinafter. The second device 120 may be a network device (e.g., a gNB) located in the cell 102 and serving the terminal devices.

[0035] The first device 110 and the second device 120 may communicate with each other. For example, the second device 120 may configure channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources for the first devices 110-1 to 110-N. Therefore, the first devices 110-1 to 110-N may receive and measure corresponding CSI-RS on those configured resources.

[0036] The CSI-RS may be UE-specifically configured via a radio resource control (RRC) message. Additionally or alternatively, the CSI-RS may also be shared between multiple UEs, i.e., more than one UE may be configured to receive the same resource element (RE). Figure 1In the example of , if all first devices 110-1 to 110-N within the cell 102 share the same CSI-RS resources, the arrangement may be referred to as a cell-specific CSI-RS. If only a portion of the first devices 110-1 to 110-N within the cell 102 share the same CSI-RS resources, for example, a group of first devices 110-1 to 110-3, the arrangement may be referred to as a group-specific CSI-RS. If each of the first devices 110-1 to 110-N has its own CSI-RS resources, the arrangement may be referred to as a UE-specific CSI-RS. However, the arrangement of the CSI-RS resources is only known to the second device 120, and the first device 110 does not know whether the CSI-RS resources are shared with another device.

[0037] In some cases, the first device 110 may be configured with up to 48 reporting configurations per component carrier (CC) or up to 4 reporting configurations per bandwidth part (BWP). One CSI resource configuration within 1 reporting configuration may be configured with up to 16 resource sets (e.g., aperiodic CSI), or 1 resource set. In each CSI resource set, there are up to 64 NZP CSI-RS resources, and 1 NZP-CSI-RS resource has up to 32 antenna ports.

[0038] For CSI acquisition, the first device 110 may also be configured with a codebook type. Given a measurement channel across CSI-RS resources, the first device 110 selects a codeword from a specified codebook, i.e., a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) and a channel quality indicator (CQI), a rank indicator (RI). The first device may also be configured to measure a number of CSI-RS resources (e.g., up to 8) within a resource set, and report the most preferred resource, a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), and the PMI, CQI, and RI corresponding to the selected resource.

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, the second device 120 may be equipped with an antenna array consisting of one or more panels 122 and 124, each panel including a plurality of antenna elements 130. These antenna elements 130 may also be arranged as antenna ports (not shown) for at least one CSI-RS resource or a set of CSI-RS resources.

[0040] It should be understood that a multi-panel gNB or a multi-panel network device is only one implementation of the second device 120. Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may be implemented by using a multi-transmission and reception (multi-TRP) technology.

[0041] The antenna ports of the second device 120 may be divided into a plurality of subsets of antenna ports, and each of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports may include at least one antenna port. The plurality of subsets of antenna ports may include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to a first CSI-RS resource set and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to at least one second CSI-RS resource set. For each of the first devices 110-1 to 110-N, at least one subset of antenna ports may be configured.

[0042] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may deactivate or enable at least one of the subset of antenna ports, for example, for energy saving purposes. A deactivation or activation indication may be sent to the first device 110 via downlink control information (DCI), a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), a system broadcast message, or the like. Such indications may be sent separately for different devices 110-1 to 110-N, or sent in group common signaling, which will be described in detail below. It should be understood that in some example embodiments, the terms "enable" and "re-enable" may have similar meanings and may therefore be used interchangeably. For example, for a subset of antenna ports that was previously deactivated from an activated state, the second device 120 then enables the antenna port, in which case the term "enable" means that such antenna port is enabled again, i.e., re-enabled.

[0043] In addition to the above-mentioned antenna port configuration and indication, in some other embodiments, additional information or parameters (such as codebook configuration, codebook subset restriction (CBSR), rank restriction, multi-panel restriction (e.g., ng-N1-N2 parameters), CSI-RS resource mapping, CSI resource periodicity and offset, etc.) can also be dynamically adapted and configured by the second device 120 via separate signaling for different devices or group common signaling.

[0044] It should also be understood that Figure 1 The number of network devices and terminal devices and the arrangement of antenna panels and antenna elements shown in are given for illustrative purposes and do not imply any limitation. Communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices and use different arrangements of antenna panels and antenna elements.

[0045] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices and their connections and the arrangement of antenna arrays shown are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. Communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices or different arrangements of antenna arrays configured to implement the example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more additional devices may be located in cell 102 and one or more additional cells may be deployed in communication environment 100.

[0046] It should also be noted that although the second device 120 is shown as a network device, the second device 120 may be a device other than a network device. Although the first device 110 is shown as a terminal device, the first device 110 may be a device other than a terminal device. Hereinafter, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described in which the first device 110 operates as a terminal device and the second device 120 operates as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and the operations described in conjunction with the network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0047] In some example embodiments, if first device 110 is a terminal device and second device 120 is a network device, the link from second device 120 to first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from first device 110 to second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0048] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0049] Spatial domain adaptation can further affect the operation of UE, including but not limited to reference signal (RS) measurement, channel state information (CSI) feedback, uplink transmission (e.g., PUSCH, PDSCH, etc.) repetition, sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission, TCI (transmission configuration indicator) configuration, beam management, beam failure recovery, radio link monitoring, cell selection, cell reselection handover, initial access, etc. Therefore, there is a need to improve spatial domain adaptation and configuration. Working principles and example signaling for communication

[0050] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a scheme for dynamic antenna port related configuration is provided. In this scheme, the UE receives a first indication of multiple subsets of antenna ports from the gNB. The UE also receives a second indication of deactivating at least one of the multiple subsets of antenna ports. These indications can be sent to different UEs in separate messages or in group common messages. Antenna ports can be dynamically enabled or disabled based on network conditions, business requirements, etc. In this way, network energy saving can be achieved. In addition, both group common configuration and UE-specific configuration are supported, so that DL signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0051] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0052] Reference now Figure 2 , which shows a signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the signaling diagram 200 involves first devices 110-1 to 110-N and second devices 120, wherein the first devices 110-1 to 110-3 are composed of a group of devices 110. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 To describe the signaling diagram 200. Figure 2 , first devices 110-1 to 110-3 and 110-N and one second device 120 are shown, but it should be understood that there may be multiple first devices and larger or smaller device groups to perform operations similar to the operations described below with respect to the shown first device 110, and there may be multiple second devices to perform operations similar to the operations described below with respect to the second device 120.

[0053] As previously described, the second device 120 may divide the antenna ports into a plurality of subsets of antenna ports, including a primary subset and at least one secondary subset. In process 200, the second device 120 sends (205) a first indication of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports to the first device 110-1. Similarly, the second device 120 also sends a first indication to other devices including the first devices 110-2 to 110-N. In some example embodiments, the antenna port subsets may be code division multiplexing (CDM) port groups, or may include antenna ports from the same CDM port group. In some other embodiments, the antenna port subsets may include antenna ports across different CDM port groups.

[0054] Second device 120 can dynamically adapt the spatial elements, which may depend on network energy consumption, traffic demand, network conditions, etc. In some cases, second device 120 may determine to deactivate some of the plurality of antenna port subsets. In this case, second device 120 sends (210) a second indication to first device 110-1 to deactivate at least one of the plurality of antenna port subsets. Figure 1 In the example of , the first devices 110 - 1 to 110 - 3 are in the same group, and thus the second indication may be sent in a group common message (eg, DCI, MAC CE, etc.) specific to the group of devices 110 - 1 to 110 - 3 .

[0055] In some example embodiments, each of a group of devices 110-1 to 110-3 may receive a second indication in a group common message based on a radio network temporary identity (RNTI), a search space set (SSS), a control resource set (CORESET), or the like.

[0056] In some example embodiments, the second indication in the group common message may include at least one of the following: ● first information regarding whether at least one secondary subset of antenna ports for the corresponding first device 110 is enabled or disabled, ●When the first device 110 is configured with multiple secondary subsets, second information about which secondary subset of at least one secondary subset used for the corresponding first device 110 is enabled or disabled, ●Third information about whether at least one of the first information or the second information goes to the first device 110.

[0057] Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the same second indication to deactivate or activate the antenna port subset may be sent to all first devices 110-1 to 110-3. This may be appropriate in case of CSI-RS resources specific to a cell or UE group.

[0058] In some other embodiments, the second indication may be sent separately to different UEs. Figure 2 As shown, the second device 120 may send (215) the second indication in a message specific to the first device 110-N. The message may be, for example, a DCI, a MAC CE, etc. It should be understood that in some other embodiments, the second device 120 may also send the second indication in a separate message (e.g., a DCI, a MAC CE, etc.) for devices in the same group.

[0059] In some example embodiments, information about which one or more CSI-RS resources or CSI-RS resource sets the at least one antenna port subset (i.e., as indicated as deactivated or activated) corresponds to may also be sent in or together with the second indication. Additionally or alternatively, in some other embodiments, such information may be sent via a message (e.g., DCI, MAC CE, RRC, etc.) separate from the message used to carry the second indication.

[0060] In some example embodiments, second device 120 is one of a plurality of TRPs serving first device 110, each TRP may have at least one antenna port subset that can be dynamically deactivated, enabled, or reactivated. In this case, the second indication or a separate indication (via DCI, MAC CE, or RRC) may also carry information about, for example, which one or more TRPs the at least one indicated deactivated antenna port subset corresponds to, where the TRP may be identified, for example, by a TRPID, a CORESETPoolIndex, or a physical cell ID, etc.

[0061] In the case of multiple TPRs, the second device 120 may send a second indication to deactivate antenna port subsets for each TRP by using the same message. Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, an association between an identifier of a TRP (e.g., a TRP ID, a CORESETPoolIndex, or a PCI) and at least one secondary port subset may be configured. For example, where a CORESETPoolIndex is used to identify a TRP and an association of at least one secondary port subset with a corresponding CORESETPoolIndex, the first device 110 may know which antenna port subset to focus on based on a PDCCH carrying a DCI or a CORESET scheduling a PDSCH carrying a MAC CE, the CORESET containing the second indication. An antenna port subset is a subset associated with a CORESETPoolIndex to which a CORESET belongs.

[0062] The UE does not need to carry measurement or report CSI for any subset of antenna ports that are deactivated. Therefore, the first device 110 can determine an activated subset of antenna ports based on the first indication and the second indication. For example, the first device 110-1 can determine (220) at least one first subset of antenna ports from multiple subsets of antenna ports based on the first indication and the second indication. In the context of the example embodiment, the at least one first subset of antenna ports refers to at least one activated subset of antenna ports used for communication between the first device 110 and the second device 120. Similarly, the first devices 110-2 to 110-N can also determine the corresponding first subset of antenna ports based on the first indication and the second indication.

[0063] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may then transmit (225) at least one CSI-RS to first device 110 via at least one first subset of antenna ports. Taking first device 110-1 as a representative of first devices 110-1 through 110-N, first device 110-1 may measure (230) at least one CSI-RS corresponding to at least one first subset of antenna ports. In this case, first device 110 may then transmit (235) a first CSI report related to the measurement result of the at least one CSI-RS to second device 120.

[0064] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may determine to re-enable some subsets of antenna ports that were previously disabled. In this case, second device 120 may send (240) a third indication to enable at least one subset that was disabled via the second indication. Similarly, the third indication may be sent via a group common message specific to a group of devices 110-1 to 110-3. Additionally or alternatively, second device 120 may send (245) the third indication in a separate message specific to an independent device (e.g., first device 110-N).

[0065] Still taking the first device 110-1 as an example, in this case, the first device 110-1 may determine (250) multiple second subsets of antenna ports from multiple subsets of antenna ports based on the third indication. The second device 120 may send (255) multiple CSI-RS corresponding to the multiple second subsets of antenna ports. Therefore, the first device 110 may measure (260) the multiple CSI-RS. Then, the first device 110 may send 265 a second CSI report related to the multiple CSI-RS to the second device 120.

[0066] In some example embodiments, the primary subset of antenna ports may not be dynamically deactivated. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the primary subset of antenna ports may be dynamically deactivated or activated in a similar manner as described with respect to the secondary subset of antenna ports.

[0067] In some example embodiments, first device 110 determines to deactivate at least one secondary subset of antenna ports based on the second indication. Based on the determination, first device 110 may apply a CBSR or related parameters (e.g., ng-N1-N2 parameters) associated with at least one secondary subset of antenna ports for first device 110. In this case, the association of the antenna port subset with the CBSR implicitly indicates whether the N1-N2 parameters are applicable. This allows for reduced signaling overhead and power consumption, as dynamic configuration or indication of the CBSR may be omitted.

[0068] In addition to the second indication of deactivating or enabling the antenna port subset, other configurations or parameters may be indicated to the first device 110 in a message specific to an individual device or specific to a group of devices. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may send a fourth indication of the CBSR, such as a ng-N1-N2 parameter or a N1-N2 parameter. Additionally or alternatively, the second device 120 may send a fifth indication of the rank restriction to the first device 110.

[0069] Either or both of the fourth indication and the fifth indication may be sent in a manner similar to that described with respect to the second indication, i.e., in separate DCI or MAC CEs to different UEs, or alternatively, in the same DCI or MAC CE to multiple UEs, for example via group common signaling as described above.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the fourth indication of the CBSR may be sent together with the second indication to deactivate or activate the subset of antenna ports. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an example group common configuration 300 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The group common configuration 300 may be used to carry a second indication in a group common message (e.g., a DCI, MAC CE specific to a group of devices 110-1 to 110-3). It should be understood that the length of the group common configuration 300 may be scalable, depending on the number of devices in the group.

[0071] like Figure 3 As shown, the group common configuration 300 includes at least a first field for deactivation or activation of a port subset and a second field for CBSR. The size of the first field may depend on the number of secondary antenna port subsets. In the case where a single secondary subset of antenna ports is configured, there is only one bit in the first field. The first field includes at least one bit for indicating whether at least one of the multiple subsets of antenna ports is deactivated or enabled. The size of the second field may depend on the number of CBSRs or N1-N2 parameters that are general or dedicated to dynamic changes. The second field includes at least one bit for indicating a CBSR for a group of devices 110-1 to 110-3. In some example embodiments, in addition to deactivation or activation of a port subset, a restriction on rank may also be indicated for each of the first devices 110-1 to 110-N.

[0072] In some example embodiments, where second device 120 is a multi-panel gNB, such as a type I multi-panel gNB, a multi-panel limit (e.g., ng-N1-N2 parameters) and / or the number of panels may be indicated to multiple UEs via a group common DCI or MAC CE. Alternatively, any or both information may be indicated to different UEs via separate DCI or MAC CEs. In this case, second device 120 may send a sixth indication of at least one of the following: a multi-panel limit for second device 120 or a number of antenna panels for second device 120, or which panels are muted or active.

[0073] In some example embodiments, at least one of the following parameters or configurations may also be indicated via individual DCI or MAC CEs or group common DCI or MAC CEs for different UEs: ●CSI-RS-ResourceMapping or any parameters within this information element (IE), such as nrofPorts, frequencyDomainAllocation, etc. ●Any parameters within the NZP-CSI-RS-Resource IE, such as CSI-ResourcePeriodicityAndOffset, resource mapping, etc. Any parameters in CodebookConfig

[0074] It should be understood that some steps in process 200 are optional or can be omitted, and the order of the steps is given for illustrative purposes. In addition, some steps can be performed in parallel with other steps. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this regard.

[0075] Figure 4 4 is a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be implemented at a terminal device, for example, referring to Figure 1 The first device 110 (ie, any one or more of the first devices 110-1 to 110-N) is described. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 The method 400 is described. However, in some other embodiments, the method 400 may also be implemented at any other device, for example, a gNB, such as a CU, a DU, etc. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0076] At 410, the first device 110 receives a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports from the second device 120. The first indication may be via, for example, a DCI, a MAC CE, an RRC message, a system broadcast message, or the like.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the multiple subsets of antenna ports may include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to a first set of CSI-RS resources and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to at least one second set of CSI-RS resources.

[0078] At 420 , the first device 110 receives a second indication from the second device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the second indication may be via a DCI, MAC CE, etc., or a system broadcast message specific to first device 110. In other words, a different and separate second indication may be sent by second device 120 for each of first devices 110-1 through 110-N.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the second indication may be via a DCI, MAC CE, etc. specific to a group of devices including the first device 110. In this case, the second indication may be received based on at least one of the following: an RNTI for the group of devices, or an SSS associated with the group of devices, or a control resource associated with the group of devices (e.g., CORESET). In this case, the second indication is provided as a group common indication, and the group of devices 110-1 to 110-3 may share the same second indication.

[0081] In some example embodiments, where the plurality of subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to a group of devices 110-1 to 110-3 and a plurality of secondary subsets of antenna ports, the second indication may include at least one of: ● first information about whether at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the first device 110 is enabled or disabled, or ● second information about which of the at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the first device 110 is activated or deactivated, or ●Third information related to whether at least one of the first information or the second information is destined for the first device 110.

[0082] In some example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports may correspond to a CDM group.

[0083] In some other example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports includes at least one of: at least one antenna port from the same CDM port group, or at least one antenna port across different CDM port groups.

[0084] In some example embodiments, after receiving the first indication and the second indication, first device 110 may determine at least one first subset of antenna ports from a plurality of subsets of antenna ports based on the first indication and the second indication. In this case, the at least one first subset of antenna ports refers to at least one activated subset of antenna ports to be used for communication between first device 110 and second device 120. Accordingly, first device 110 may measure at least one CSI-RS corresponding to the at least one first subset of antenna ports. Then, first device 110 may send a first CSI report related to the at least one CSI-RS to second device 120.

[0085] In some example embodiments, after receiving the first indication and the second indication, the first device 110 may receive a third indication from the second device 120 to enable at least one subset that was disabled via the second indication. In other words, the second device 120 sends a third indication to re-enable some subsets that were previously disabled. The first device 110 may determine multiple second subsets of antenna ports from the multiple subsets of antenna ports based on the third indication. In this case, the multiple second subsets of antenna ports refer to the activated subsets of antenna ports to be used for communication between the first device 110 and the second device 120. Accordingly, the first device 110 may measure multiple CSI-RS corresponding to the multiple second subsets of antenna ports. Then, the first device 110 may send a second CSI report related to the multiple CSI-RS to the second device 120.

[0086] In some example embodiments, where the plurality of subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the first device 110 and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports, the first device 110 may determine, based on the second indication, that at least one secondary subset of antenna ports is to be deactivated. Based on the determination, the first device 110 may apply a CBSR or related parameters (e.g., N1, N2 parameters) associated with the at least one secondary subset of antenna ports for the first device 110. In this case, the association of the antenna port subset with the CBSR implicitly indicates whether the N1-N2 parameters are applicable. This allows for reduced signaling overhead and power consumption because dynamic configuration or indication of the CBSR may be omitted.

[0087] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may receive at least one of a fourth indication of the CBSR or a fifth indication of the rank restriction from second device 120. Either or both of the fourth indication and the fifth indication may be via at least one of the following: ● DCI, MAC CE, etc. specific to the first device 110, i.e. sent in separate messages for different UEs, or • DCI, MAC CE, etc., or system broadcast messages specific to a group of devices including the first device 110, ie, sent in the same set of common messages for multiple UEs.

[0088] In some example embodiments, a fourth indication of the CBSR may be received together with the second indication in a message specific to a group of devices including the first device 110. The message may include at least a first field for port subset deactivation or activation and a second field of the CBSR. The first field may include at least one bit for indicating whether at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is deactivated or enabled. In some cases, the number of bits in the first field may depend on the number of auxiliary subsets of antenna ports. In the case where a single auxiliary subset of antenna ports is configured, the first field has 1 bit. The second field may include at least one bit for indicating a CBSR for a group of devices 110-1 to 110-3. The number of bits in the second field may depend on the number of configurations of a CBSR or N1-N2 parameter that is general or dedicated to dynamic changes. In some example embodiments, in addition to the port subset deactivation or activation, a restriction on the rank for each of the first devices 110-1 to 110-N may also be indicated.

[0089] In the case of a multi-panel gNB, such as for a type I multi-panel, a multi-panel limit (e.g., ng-N1-N2 parameter), the number of panels, etc., may be indicated to multiple UEs via separate indications or group common indications. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a sixth indication from the second device 120 of at least one of the following: a multi-panel limit for the second device 120 or the number of antenna panels of the second device 120, or which panels are muted or active. The sixth indication may be received together with the second indication, or separately from the second indication.

[0090] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, the sixth indication may be via at least one of the following: ● DCI, MAC CE, etc. specific to the first device 110, or ● A DCI, MAC CE, etc., or a system broadcast message specific to a group of devices including the first device 110.

[0091] In some example embodiments, where the second indication is via a message specific to a group of devices including first device 110, the second indication may be received together with at least one of: ●CSI-RS resource mapping information, such as CSI-RS-ResourceMapping or any parameters within this IE, ●The number of antenna ports, such as nrofPorts, ● CSI resource periodicity and offset parameters, such as, CSI-ResourcePeriodicityAndOffset, ● Resource mapping parameters for NZP-CSI-RS resources, ●Codebook configuration.

[0092] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may receive a seventh indication of CSI-RS resource information related to at least a subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication from second device 120. In this case, the seventh indication may be received together with the second indication, or separately from the second indication.

[0093] In some example embodiments, where second device 120 includes at least one transmission and reception point of a plurality of transmission and reception points (multi-TRP), first device 110 may receive an eighth indication of at least one identifier of at least one transmission and reception point associated with at least one subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication from second device 120. In this case, the eighth indication may be received together with the second indication or separately from the second indication.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the at least one identifier may include at least one of the following: at least one TRP ID, at least one CORESETPoolIndex, at least one physical cell identity.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the association of respective identifiers of multiple TRPs with multiple subsets of antenna ports may be predetermined. In this case, the first device 110 may determine at least one identifier of at least one TRP corresponding to at least one resource for receiving the second indication. The first device 110 may then determine at least one subset of antenna ports associated with the at least one identifier of the at least one TRP.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may include a terminal device (e.g., a UE), and the second device 120 may include a network device (e.g., a gNB).

[0097] Figure 5 1 shows a flow chart of an example method 500 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be implemented at a network device, for example, referring to Figure 1 For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to the second device 120. Figure 1 The method 500 is described. However, in some other embodiments, the method 500 may also be implemented at any other device. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0098] At 510, the second device 120 sends a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports to the first device 110. The first indication may be via, for example, a DCI, a MAC CE, an RRC message, a system broadcast message, or the like.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the multiple subsets of antenna ports may include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to a first set of CSI-RS resources and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to at least one second set of CSI-RS resources.

[0100] At 520 , the second device 120 sends a second indication to the first device 110 to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the second indication may be via a DCI, MAC CE, etc., or a system broadcast message specific to first device 110. In other words, a different and independent second indication may be sent by second device 120 for each of first devices 110-1 through 110-N.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the second indication may be via a DCI, MAC CE, etc. specific to a group of devices including the first device 110. In this case, the second indication may be sent based on at least one of the following: an RNTI for the group of devices, or an SSS associated with the group of devices, or a control resource associated with the group of devices (e.g., CORESET). In this case, the second indication is provided as a group common indication, and the group of devices 110-1 to 110-3 may share the same second indication.

[0103] In some example embodiments, where the plurality of subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to a group of devices 110-1 to 110-3 and a plurality of secondary subsets of antenna ports, the second indication may include at least one of the following: ● first information about whether at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the first device 110 is enabled or disabled, or ● second information about which of the at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the first device 110 is activated or deactivated, or ●Third information related to whether at least one of the first information or the second information is destined for the first device 110.

[0104] In some example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports may correspond to a CDM group.

[0105] In some other example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports includes at least one of: at least one antenna port from the same CDM port group, or at least one antenna port across different CDM port groups.

[0106] In some example embodiments, after receiving the first indication and the second indication, second device 120 may transmit at least one CSI-RS via at least one first subset of antenna ports from the plurality of subsets of antenna ports to first device 110. Second device 120 may then receive a first CSI report from first device 110 related to the at least one CSI-RS.

[0107] In some example embodiments, after receiving the first indication and the second indication, second device 120 may send a third indication to first device 110 to enable at least one subset that was disabled via the second indication. Second device 120 may send a plurality of CSI-RSs corresponding to a plurality of second subsets of antenna ports from the plurality of subsets of antenna ports to first device 110. Second device 120 may then receive a second CSI report related to the plurality of CSI-RSs from first device 110.

[0108] In some example embodiments, where the plurality of subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the first device 110 and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports, the second indication may implicitly indicate that a CBSR or related parameters (e.g., N1, N2 parameters) associated with at least one secondary subset of antenna ports is applicable. In other words, the association of the antenna port subset with the CBSR implicitly indicates whether the N1-N2 parameters are applicable. This allows for reduced signaling overhead and power consumption, because in this case, the configuration or indication of the CBSR may be omitted.

[0109] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may send at least one of a fourth indication of the CBSR or a fifth indication of the rank restriction to first device 110. Either or both of the fourth indication and the fifth indication may be via at least one of the following: ● DCI, MAC CE, etc. specific to the first device 110, i.e. sent in separate messages for different UEs, or • DCI, MAC CE, etc., or system broadcast messages specific to a group of devices including the first device 110, ie, sent in the same set of common messages for multiple UEs.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the fourth indication of the CBSR may be received together with the second indication in a message specific to a group of devices including the first device 110. The message may include at least a first field for port subset deactivation or activation and a second field of the CBSR. The first field may include at least one bit for indicating whether at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is deactivated or enabled. In some cases, the number of bits in the first field may depend on the number of secondary subsets of antenna ports. In the case where a single secondary subset of antenna ports is configured, the first field has 1 bit. The second field may include at least one bit for indicating a CBSR for a group of devices 110-1 to 110-N. The number of bits in the second field may depend on the number of configurations of a CBSR or N1-N2 parameter that is general or dedicated to dynamic changes. In some example embodiments, in addition to the port subset deactivation or activation, the second device 120 may also indicate a restriction on the rank for each of the first devices 110-1 to 110-N.

[0111] In the case of a multi-panel gNB, such as for a type I multi-panel, a multi-panel limit (e.g., ng-N1-N2 parameter), the number of panels, etc. may be indicated to multiple UEs via separate indications or group common indications. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may send a sixth indication to the first device 110 of at least one of the following: a multi-panel limit for the second device 120 or the number of antenna panels of the second device 120, or which panels are muted or active. The sixth indication may be received together with the second indication, or separately from the second indication.

[0112] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, the sixth indication may be via at least one of the following: ● DCI, MAC CE, etc. specific to the first device 110, or ● A DCI, MAC CE, etc., or a system broadcast message specific to a group of devices including the first device 110.

[0113] In some example embodiments, where the second indication is via a message specific to a group of devices including first device 110, the second indication may be received together with at least one of: ●CSI-RS resource mapping information, such as CSI-RS-ResourceMapping, or any parameters within this IE, ●The number of antenna ports, such as nrofPorts, ● CSI resource periodicity and offset parameters such as CSI-ResourcePeriodicityAndOffset, ● Resource mapping parameters for NZP-CSI-RS resources, ●Codebook configuration.

[0114] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may send a seventh indication of CSI-RS resource information related to at least a subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication to first device 110. The seventh indication may be sent together with the second indication or separately from the second indication.

[0115] In some example embodiments where second device 120 includes at least one TRP of the plurality of TRPs, second device 120 may send an eighth indication of at least one identifier of at least one TRP associated with at least a subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication to first device 110. The eighth indication may be sent together with the second indication or separately from the second indication.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the at least one identifier may include at least one of the following: at least one TRP ID, at least one CORESETPoolIndex, at least one physical cell identity.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the association of respective identifiers of multiple TRPs with multiple subsets of antenna ports may be predetermined. In this case, from the perspective of the first device 110, it may determine that at least one identifier of at least one TRP corresponds to at least one resource for receiving the second indication. The first device 110 may then determine at least one subset of antenna ports associated with the at least one identifier of the at least one TRP.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may include a terminal device (e.g., a UE), and the second device 120 may include a network device (e.g., a gNB).

[0119] According to an example embodiment, group common indication is supported for antenna port related configuration. Through effective adaptation of antenna port related configuration, a subset of antenna ports can be dynamically deactivated or reactivated at the RAN. In this way, power consumption in the network can be reduced and communication efficiency can be improved.

[0120] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 400 (e.g., first device 110) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 400. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. In some embodiments, the components may include at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause execution of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports from a network device; and means for receiving a second indication of deactivating at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports from the network device.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the multiple subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to a first set of channel state information reference signal resources and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to at least one second set of channel state information reference signal resources.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the second indication is via downlink control information or a medium access control element specific to the apparatus.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the second indication is received via downlink control information or a medium access control control element specific to a group of apparatuses including the apparatus, and the second indication is received based on at least one of: ● a radio network temporary identity for the group of devices, or ● the set of search spaces associated with the group of devices, or - Control resources associated with the group of devices.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the plurality of subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the group of apparatuses and a secondary subset of the plurality of antenna ports, and the second indication includes at least one of: first information regarding whether at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the apparatuses is enabled or disabled, or ● second information relating to which of the at least one secondary subset corresponding to the device is enabled or disabled, or - Third information related to whether at least one of the first information or the second information is destined for the device.

[0126] In some example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports corresponds to a code division multiplexing port group.

[0127] In some example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports includes at least one of: at least one antenna port from the same code division multiplexing port group, or at least one antenna port across different code division multiplexing port groups.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes: a component for determining at least one first subset of antenna ports from a plurality of subsets of antenna ports based on the first indication and the second indication; a component for measuring at least one channel state information reference signal corresponding to the at least one first subset of antenna ports; and a component for sending a first channel state information report related to the at least one channel state information reference signal to a network device.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from a network device, a third indication for enabling at least one subset that was disabled via the second indication; means for determining, based on the third indication, multiple second subsets of antenna ports from the multiple subsets of antenna ports; means for measuring multiple channel state information reference signals corresponding to the multiple second subsets of antenna ports; and means for sending, to the network device, a second channel state information report relating to the multiple channel state information reference signals.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the plurality of subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the apparatus and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports. The apparatus further includes: a unit for determining at least one secondary subset of antenna ports based on a second indication; and a component for applying, for the apparatus, codebook subset restrictions or related parameters associated with at least one secondary subset of antenna ports in accordance with determining that at least one secondary subset of antenna ports is to be deactivated based on the second indication.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving at least one of a fourth indication of a codebook subset restriction or a fifth indication of a rank restriction from a network device.

[0132] In some example embodiments, at least one of the fourth indication or the fifth indication is via at least one of: ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to the device, or ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to a group of devices including the device.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the fourth indication is received in a message together with the second indication, and wherein the message comprises: - a first field comprising at least one bit indicating whether at least one subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is deactivated or activated, and - A second field comprising at least one bit indicating a codebook subset restriction for the group of devices.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving, from the network device, a sixth indication of at least one of: ●Multi-panel restrictions for network devices, or ●The number of antenna panels used for network equipment, The sixth instruction is received together with the second instruction, or is received separately from the second instruction.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the sixth indication is via at least one of: ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to the device, or ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to a group of devices including the device.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the second indication is via a message specific to a group of devices including the device, and the second indication is received together with at least one of: ●Channel state information reference signal resource mapping information, ●Frequency domain allocation configuration, ●The number of antenna ports, ●Channel state information resource period and offset parameters, ● Resource mapping parameters for non-zero power channel state information reference signal resources, ●Codebook configuration.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving, from a network device, a seventh indication of channel state information reference signal resource information related to at least a subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication, wherein the seventh indication is received together with the second indication or separately from the second indication.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the network device includes at least one transmission and reception point of a plurality of transmission and reception points, and the apparatus further includes means for receiving, from the network device, an eighth indication of at least one identifier of at least one transmission and reception point associated with at least a subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication, wherein the eighth indication is received together with the second indication or separately from the second indication.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the at least one identifier comprises at least one of: at least one transmission and reception point identification, at least one control resource set pool index, at least one physical cell identification.

[0140] In some example embodiments, associations of respective identifiers of a plurality of transmission and reception points with a plurality of subsets of antenna ports are predetermined, and the apparatus further comprises: means for determining at least one identifier of at least one transmission and reception point corresponding to at least one resource for receiving a second indication; and means for determining at least one subset of antenna ports associated with the at least one identifier of the at least one transmission and reception point.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0142] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 500 (e.g., second device 120) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 500. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. In some embodiments, the components may include at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause execution of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for sending a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports to a terminal device; and means for sending a second indication of deactivating at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports to the terminal device.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the multiple subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to a first set of channel state information reference signal resources and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to at least one second set of channel state information reference signal resources.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the second indication is via downlink control information or a medium access control control element specific to the terminal device.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the second indication is sent via downlink control information or a medium access control element specific to a group of apparatuses including the terminal device, and the second indication is sent based on at least one of: ● a radio network temporary identity for the group of devices, or ● the set of search spaces associated with the group of devices, or - Control resources associated with the group of devices.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the plurality of subsets of antenna ports include a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the group of apparatuses and a secondary subset of the plurality of antenna ports, and the second indication includes at least one of: first information relating to whether at least one secondary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the terminal device is enabled or disabled, or ● second information relating to which of the at least one secondary subset corresponding to the terminal device is activated or deactivated, or ● Third information related to whether at least one of the first information or the second information is destined for the terminal device.

[0148] In some example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports corresponds to a code division multiplexing port group.

[0149] In some example embodiments, a subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports includes at least one of: ● at least one antenna port from the same CDM port group, or • At least one antenna port across different code division multiplexing port groups.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a component for sending at least one channel state information reference signal to a terminal device via at least one first subset of antenna ports from a plurality of subsets of antenna ports; and a component for receiving a first channel state information report related to the at least one channel state information reference signal from the terminal device.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a component for sending a third indication to a terminal device to enable at least one subset that was disabled via the second indication; a component for sending a plurality of channel state information reference signals corresponding to a plurality of second subsets of antenna ports from a plurality of subsets of antenna ports to the terminal device; and a component for receiving a second channel state information report relating to the plurality of channel state information reference signals from the terminal device.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending at least one of a fourth indication of codebook subset restriction or a fifth indication of rank restriction to the terminal device.

[0153] In some example embodiments, at least one of the fourth indication or the fifth indication is via at least one of: ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to a terminal device, or ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to a group of apparatuses including the terminal device.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the fourth indication is received in a message together with the second indication, and wherein the message comprises: - a first field comprising at least one bit indicating whether at least one subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is deactivated or activated, and - A second field comprising at least one bit indicating a codebook subset restriction for the group of devices.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for sending a sixth indication of at least one of the following to the terminal device: ●Multi-panel restrictions for the device, or - The number of antenna panels used for the device, wherein the sixth indication is sent together with the second indication, or is sent separately from the second indication.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the sixth indication is via at least one of: ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to a terminal device, or ● Downlink control information or medium access control control elements specific to a group of apparatuses including the terminal device.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the second indication is via a message specific to a group of apparatuses including the terminal device, and the second indication is received together with at least one of: ●Channel state information reference signal resource mapping information, ●Frequency domain allocation configuration, ●The number of antenna ports, ●Channel state information resource period and offset parameters, ● Resource mapping parameters for non-zero power channel state information reference signal resources, ●Codebook configuration.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a component for sending a seventh indication of channel state information reference signal resource information related to at least a subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication to a terminal device, wherein the seventh indication is sent together with the second indication or separately from the second indication.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes at least one transmission and reception point of a plurality of transmission and reception points, and the apparatus further includes: means for sending an eighth indication of at least one identifier of at least one transmission and reception point associated with at least one subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication to a terminal device, wherein the eighth indication is sent together with the second indication or separately from the second indication.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the at least one identifier comprises at least one of: at least one transmission and reception point identification, at least one control resource set pool index, or at least one physical cell identification.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the association of respective identifiers of a plurality of transmission and reception points with a plurality of subsets of antenna ports is predetermined.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises a network device.

[0163] Figure 6 600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be used to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The first device 110 or the second device 120 shown. As shown, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more transmitters and / or receivers (TX / RX) 640 (ie, communication module 640) coupled to the processor 610.

[0164] TX / RX 640 is used for bidirectional communication. TX / RX 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements.

[0165] As non-limiting examples, processor 610 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock of a synchronized main processor.

[0166] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that will not last for the duration of a power outage.

[0167] Computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by associated processor 610. Program 630 may be stored in ROM 624. Processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 630 into RAM 622.

[0168] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by means of program 630, so that the device 600 can execute the following steps: Figures 2 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0169] In some embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 600 (e.g., memory 620) or other storage device accessible to the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0170] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0171] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figure 4 and Figure 5 Method 400 or 500 described. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0172] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented when the program code is executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0173] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0174] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0175] In addition, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or performing all the operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment 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.

[0176] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: receiving a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports from a second device; as well as A second indication is received from the second device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

2. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the multiple subsets of antenna ports include a main subset of antenna ports corresponding to a first channel state information reference signal resource set and at least one auxiliary subset of antenna ports corresponding to at least one second channel state information reference signal resource set. 3 . The first device of claim 1 , wherein the second indication is via downlink control information or a medium access control control element specific to the first device.

4. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the second indication is received via downlink control information or a medium access control control element specific to a group of devices including the first device, and the second indication is received based on at least one of: a radio network temporary identity for the set of devices, or a set of search spaces associated with the set of devices, or A control resource associated with the set of devices.

5. The first device of claim 4, wherein the plurality of subsets of antenna ports comprises a primary subset of the antenna ports corresponding to the group of devices and a plurality of secondary subsets of the antenna ports, and The second instruction includes at least one of the following: first information relating to whether at least one secondary subset of the antenna ports corresponding to the first device is activated or deactivated, or second information about which of the at least one secondary subset corresponding to the first device is enabled or disabled, or Third information related to whether at least one of the first information or the second information is destined for the first device. 6 . The first device according to claim 1 , wherein one of the plurality of subsets of the antenna ports corresponds to a code division multiplexing port group.

7. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a subset of the plurality of subsets of the antenna ports comprises at least one of the following: At least one antenna port from the same CDM port group, or At least one antenna port across different CDM port groups.

8. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: determining, based on the first indication and the second indication, at least one first subset of antenna ports from the plurality of subsets of antenna ports; measuring at least one channel state information reference signal corresponding to the at least one first subset of antenna ports; as well as A first channel state information report related to the at least one channel state information reference signal is sent to the second device.

9. The first device of claim 8, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: receiving, from the second device, a third indication to enable at least one subset that was disabled via the second indication; determining, based on the third indication, a plurality of second subsets of antenna ports from the plurality of subsets of antenna ports; measuring a plurality of channel state information reference signals corresponding to the plurality of second subsets of antenna ports; as well as A second channel state information report related to the plurality of channel state information reference signals is sent to the second device.

10. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plurality of subsets of antenna ports comprises a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the first device and at least one secondary subset of antenna ports, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: determining, based on the second indication, that the at least one secondary subset of the antenna ports is to be deactivated; and In accordance with determining that the at least one secondary subset of the antenna ports is to be deactivated based on the second indication, applying a codebook subset restriction or related parameter associated with the at least one secondary subset of the antenna ports for the first device.

11. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: At least one of a fourth indication of a codebook subset restriction or a fifth indication of a rank restriction is received from the second device.

12. The first device according to claim 11, wherein the at least one of the fourth indication or the fifth indication is via at least one of: downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to the first device, or Downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to a group of devices including the first device.

13. The first device of claim 12, wherein the fourth indication is received together with the second indication in a message, and wherein the message comprises: a first field comprising at least one bit, the at least one bit indicating whether the at least one subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is deactivated or activated, and A second field includes at least one bit, wherein the at least one bit indicates the codebook subset restriction for the group of devices.

14. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: receiving, from the second device, a sixth indication of at least one of the following: Multi-panel restrictions for the second device, or the number of antenna panels used for the second device, The sixth indication is received together with the second indication, or is received separately from the second indication.

15. The first device of claim 14, wherein the sixth indication is via at least one of: downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to the first device, or Downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to a group of devices including the first device.

16. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second indication is received via a message specific to a group of devices including the first device, and the second indication is received together with at least one of: Channel state information reference signal resource mapping information, or Frequency domain allocation configuration, or The number of antenna ports, or Channel state information resource period and offset parameters, or Resource mapping parameters for non-zero power channel state information reference signal resources, or Codebook configuration.

17. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: receiving, from the second device, a seventh indication of channel state information reference signal resource information related to the at least one subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication; The seventh indication is received together with the second indication, or is received separately from the second indication.

18. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second device comprises at least one transmission and reception point of a plurality of transmission and reception points, and wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: receiving from the second device an eighth indication of at least one identifier of the at least one transmission and reception point associated with the at least one subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication, The eighth indication is received together with the second indication, or is received separately from the second indication.

19. The first device of claim 18, wherein the at least one identifier comprises at least one of: at least one transmission and reception point identifier, or At least one control resource collection pool index, or At least one physical cell identifier.

20. The first device of claim 19, wherein the association of the respective identifiers of the plurality of transmission and reception points with the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is predetermined, and wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: determining at least one identifier of the at least one transmission and reception point corresponding to at least one resource used to receive the second indication; and The at least one subset of antenna ports associated with the at least one identifier of the at least one transmission and reception point is determined.

21. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

22. A second device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: sending a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports to a first device; as well as A second indication is sent to the first device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of the antenna ports.

23. The second device of claim 22, wherein the multiple subsets of antenna ports include a main subset of antenna ports corresponding to a first channel state information reference signal resource set and at least one auxiliary subset of antenna ports corresponding to at least one second channel state information reference signal resource set.

24. The second device of claim 22, wherein the second indication is via downlink control information or a medium access control control element specific to the first device.

25. The second device of claim 22, wherein the second indication is sent via downlink control information or a medium access control control element specific to a group of devices including the first device, and the second indication is sent based on at least one of: the radio network temporary identity of the set of devices, or a set of search spaces associated with the set of devices, or A control resource associated with the set of devices.

26. The second device of claim 25, wherein the plurality of subsets of antenna ports comprises a primary subset of antenna ports corresponding to the group of devices and a plurality of secondary subsets of antenna ports, and The second instruction includes at least one of the following: first information relating to whether at least one secondary subset of the antenna ports corresponding to the first device is activated or deactivated, or second information about which of the at least one secondary subset corresponding to the first device is enabled or disabled, or Third information related to whether at least one of the first information or the second information is destined for the first device.

27. The second device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports corresponds to a code division multiplexing port group.

28. The second device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein a subset of the plurality of subsets of the antenna ports comprises at least one of the following: At least one antenna port from the same CDM port group, or At least one antenna port across different CDM port groups.

29. The second device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: transmitting at least one channel state information reference signal to the first device via at least one first subset of antenna ports from the plurality of subsets of antenna ports; and A first channel state information report related to a measurement result of the at least one channel state information reference signal is received from the first device.

30. The second device of claim 29, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: sending a third indication to the first device to enable at least one subset that was disabled via the second indication; sending, to the first device, a plurality of channel state information reference signals corresponding to a plurality of second subsets of antenna ports from the plurality of plurality of subsets of antenna ports; A second channel state information report related to the plurality of channel state information reference signals is received from the first device.

31. The second device of any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: At least one of a fourth indication of codebook subset restriction and a fifth indication of rank restriction is sent to the first device.

32. The second device of claim 31 , wherein the at least one of the fourth indication or the fifth indication is via at least one of: downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to the first device, or Downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to a group of devices including the first device.

33. The second device of claim 32, wherein the fourth indication is received together with the second indication in a message, and wherein the message comprises: a first field comprising at least one bit, the at least one bit indicating whether the at least one subset of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is deactivated or activated, and A second field includes at least one bit, wherein the at least one bit indicates the codebook subset restriction for the group of devices.

34. The second device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: Sending a sixth indication of at least one of the following to the first device: Multi-panel restrictions for the second device, or the number of antenna panels used for the second device, The sixth indication is sent together with the second indication, or is sent separately from the second indication.

35. The second device of claim 34, wherein the sixth indication is via at least one of: downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to the first device, or Downlink control information or medium access control elements specific to a group of devices including the first device.

36. The second device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the second indication is received via a message specific to a group of devices including the first device, and the second indication is received together with at least one of: Channel state information reference signal resource mapping information, or Frequency domain allocation configuration, or The number of antenna ports, or Channel state information resource period and offset parameters, or Resource mapping parameters for non-zero power channel state information reference signal resources, or Codebook configuration.

37. The second device of any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: sending, to the first device, a seventh indication of channel state information reference signal resource information related to the at least one subset of antenna ports indicated by the second indication, The seventh indication is sent together with the second indication, or is sent separately from the second indication.

38. The second device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the second device comprises at least one transmission and reception point of a plurality of transmission and reception points, and wherein the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: sending to the first device an eighth indication of at least one identifier of the at least one transmission and reception point associated with the at least one subset of antenna ports indicated via the second indication, The eighth indication is sent together with the second indication, or is sent separately from the second indication.

39. The second device of claim 38, wherein the at least one identifier comprises at least one of: at least one transmission and reception point identifier, or At least one control resource collection pool index, or At least one physical cell identifier.

40. The second device of claim 39, wherein the association of respective identifiers of the plurality of transmission and reception points with the plurality of subsets of antenna ports is predetermined.

41. The second device according to any one of claims 22 to 40, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

42. A method comprising: receiving, at a terminal device, from a network device, a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports; as well as A second indication is received at the terminal device from the network device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

43. A method comprising: Sending, at a network device, a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports to a terminal device; as well as A second indication is sent at the network device to the terminal device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

44. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a network device, a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports; as well as Means for receiving, from the network device, a second indication to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

45. An apparatus comprising: means for sending a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports to a terminal device; as well as Means for sending a second indication to the terminal device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

46. ​​A computer-readable medium comprising instructions, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: receiving a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports from a network device; and A second indication is received from the network device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

47. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: sending a first indication of a plurality of subsets of antenna ports to a terminal device; and A second indication is sent to the terminal device to deactivate at least one of the plurality of subsets of antenna ports.

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