Phase tracking reference signal transmission for physical uplink shared channel reliability enhancement

Abstract

The invention relates to phase tracking reference signal transmission for physical uplink shared channel reliability enhancement. The present application relates to devices and components, including apparatuses, systems, and methods for physical uplink shared channel transmissions that have repetition on different transmit beams and utilize phase tracking reference signals.

Description

[0001] Related Applications Citations

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with international application number PCT / CN2020 / 121835, international application date October 19, 2020, date of entry into the Chinese national phase April 18, 2023, Chinese national application number 202080106373.0, and invention name “Phase tracking reference signal transmission for enhanced reliability of physical uplink shared channel”. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communications. Background Art

[0004] A Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS) may be associated with the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) to compensate for the phase offset of each symbol. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 A network environment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0006] Figure 2 Timeslot transmission according to some embodiments is shown.

[0007] Figure 3 A signaling diagram according to some embodiments is shown.

[0008] Figure 4 Another signaling diagram according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 5 An operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0010] Figure 6 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0011] Figure 7 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0012] Figure 8 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0013] Fig. 9 A beamforming component of a device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0014] Fig.10 User equipment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0015] Fig.11A base station according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The following specific embodiments relate to the accompanying drawings. The same figure numbers may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so that the description of various embodiments will not be obscured by unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0017] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0018] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functions, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system on chip (SoC)), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc. In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functions. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and a program code for performing the functions of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0019] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0020] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to a circuit that enables, is a part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, etc.

[0021] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. In addition, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. In addition, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0022] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0023] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor / CPU time, a processor / CPU usage, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage, a power supply, an input / output operation, a port or a network socket, a channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, a network, a database and an application, a unit of work, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage or network resources provided by a virtualized infrastructure to an application, a device, a system, etc. The term "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that a computer device / system can access via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service, and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services that can be accessed through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0024] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent to "communication channel", "data communication channel", "transmission channel", "data transmission channel", "access channel", "data access channel", "link", "data link", "carrier", "radio frequency carrier" or any other similar term representing a path or medium through which data is transmitted. In addition, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection made between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

[0025] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0026] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0027] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure for providing wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, etc.

[0028] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0029] Figure 1 A network environment 100 is shown according to some embodiments. Network environment 100 may include UE 104 and base station 108. Base station 108 may provide one or more wireless service cells, such as 3GPP New Radio "NR" cells, through which UE 104 may communicate with base station 108.

[0030] The UE 104 and the base station 108 can communicate over an air interface compatible with 3GPP technical specifications, such as technical specifications defining fifth generation (5G) NR system standards. The base station 108 can be a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) node coupled to a 5G core network. The NG-RAN node can be a gNB that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE 104, or an ng-eNB that provides Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE 104.

[0031] The base station 108 may be coupled to one or more distributed antenna panels (APs) (e.g., AP 116 and AP 120). The distributed AP 116 / 120 may be implemented in a transmission reception point (AP) or other device. Generally speaking, the base station 108 may perform most of the operations of the communication protocol stack, including scheduling, while the AP 116 / 120 acts as a distributed antenna. In some embodiments, the AP 116 / 120 may perform some low-level operations of the communication protocol stack (e.g., emulating physical (PHY) layer operations).

[0032] Base stations 108 may use APs 116 / 120 to geographically separate points where signals may be transmitted to or received from UEs 104. This may increase flexibility in communicating with UEs 104 using multiple-input, multiple-output, and beamforming enhancements. APs 116 / 120 may be used to transmit downlink transmissions to UEs 104 and receive uplink transmissions from UEs 104. In some embodiments, the distributed transmit / receive capabilities provided by APs 116 and 120 may be used for cooperative multi-point or carrier aggregation systems from one or more base stations.

[0033] Although the network environment 100 shows one base station 108 communicating with the UE 104 through the AP 116 / 120, in various embodiments, the network environment 100 may include multiple other network elements (e.g., base stations, TRPs, eNBs, etc.) to facilitate wireless access network connectivity for the UE 104. For example, in some embodiments, the base station 108 may be locally coupled to the AP 116, while another base station may be locally coupled to the AP 120. The base station 108 may communicate with other base stations via an ideal or non-ideal backhaul to facilitate communication with the UE 104.

[0034] The base station 108 can transmit information (e.g., data and control signaling) in the downlink direction by mapping logical channels onto transport channels and mapping transport channels onto physical channels. Logical channels can transfer data between the radio link control (RLC) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer; transport channels can transfer data between the MAC and PHY layers; and physical channels can transfer information across the air interface.

[0035] One or more antenna panels on the AP 116 and UE 104 may include arrays of antenna elements that allow for receive or transmit beamforming. Beamforming can improve uplink and downlink budgets by determining and using uplink and downlink beams that increase antenna gain and overall system performance. Using beam management operations, the UE 104 and base station 108 can determine the desired uplink-downlink beam pairs based on reference signal measurements and channel reciprocity assumptions.

[0036] In the downlink direction, the base station 108 may send synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) and channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RSs) measured by the UE 104 to determine the downlink beam pairs required for transmission / reception of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions. In some embodiments, the network element may assume uplink / downlink beam correspondence and use the required downlink beam pairs as the uplink beam pairs required for PUSCH and PUCCH transmissions. In some embodiments, the beam pairs may be determined independently for the uplink direction based on the sounding reference signals (SRSs) transmitted by the UE 104. In various embodiments, beam management may include different stages, such as initial acquisition of uplink and downlink beams and later refinement of uplink and downlink beams.

[0037] PUSCH can be used to transmit user data of the user plane and signaling radio bearer (SRB) messages of the control plane. PUSCH can also be used to transmit various control information, such as (for example) buffer status report, cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), configured grant configuration and power headroom report.

[0038] The base station 108 may schedule a PUSCH transmission 124. The PUSCH transmission 124 may be scheduled using multiple repetitions that may be transmitted by one or more beams. Each repetition of the PUSCH transmission may carry the same transport block (TB) to increase the reliability of the PUSCH transmission. Each repetition may be transmitted on one or more transmission layers using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology.

[0039] As shown, PUSCH transmission 124 may include four repetitions, where repetition #1 and repetition #2 are scheduled to be transmitted to AP 116 using beam #1, and repetition #3 and repetition #4 are scheduled to be transmitted to AP 120 using beam #2. The repetitions may be divided into repetition sets, each of which includes repetitions having similar beam configurations. For example, repetitions #1 and #2 may be included in repetition set 1, while repetitions #3 and #4 may be included in repetition set 2.

[0040] In some embodiments, similar beam configurations may be determined based on repetitions in a repetition set sharing an SRS resource indicator (SRI) or a transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI). A repetition set may include one or more repetitions.

[0041] The base station 108 may schedule PUSCH transmissions using a dynamic grant (DG) or a configured grant (CG). A PUSCH scheduled by a dynamic grant (DG-PUSCH) may be scheduled by a DCI in a PDCCH that provides separate resource allocations for the DG-PUSCH. A PUSCH scheduled by a configured grant (CG-PUSCH) may be scheduled by a base station 108 that configures a dedicated set of resource blocks that may be used for the CG-PUSCH to the UE 104. Control signaling for the CG-PUSCH may include RRC signaling with or without layer 1 (e.g., PHY layer) signaling that serves as an activation trigger.

[0042] The UE 104 may utilize the PUSCH to transmit an uplink phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) to allow the base station 108 to estimate and compensate for both phase noise and frequency offset that may be generated based on the operation of the oscillators at the transmitter and receiver. This may be particularly prevalent in higher frequency bands where there may be greater phase noise, which may result in phase shifts for different symbols.

[0043] Figure 2 A time slot transmission 200 according to some embodiments is shown. The time slot transmission 200 may include DMRS 204, PUSCH transmission 208, and PTRS 212. PTRS 212 may be inserted into an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol that does not include DMRS 204. Phase noise may vary over time rather than over frequency. Therefore, the density of PTRS 212 in the time domain may be higher than in the frequency domain.

[0044] Assuming that the same precoder is used to transmit DMRS 204 and PTRS 212, the base station 108 can compensate for the phase noise effect and phase shift in DMRS 204 after receiving the time slot transmission 200. Specifically, the receiver of the base station 108 can compare the phase shift between PTRS 212 and DMRS 204 to calculate the phase offset, which can be used to compensate for the phase shift of all subcarriers of DMRS 204.

[0045] In the current version of the 3GPP technical specifications, up to two PTRS ports may be supported. If the UE 104 includes multiple antenna panels, two PTRS ports may be desired, given that the local oscillators associated with each panel may be separate sources of phase noise and frequency offset. The UE 104 may signal its support for transmitting PTRS on one or two antenna ports via the onePortsPTRS information element (IE) and the twoPortsPTRS IE, respectively. The onePortsPTRS IE may indicate whether the UE supports single-port PTRS in Band 1 (410 MHz-7125 MHz), as the UE 104 may be required to support single-port PTRS in Band 2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz).

[0046] Each PTRS port can be associated with a DMRS port, where the same digital precoder is applied to the PTRS and its associated DMRS. The two PTRS ports can be used for incoherent / partially coherent precoders.

[0047] The association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port can be provided by providing control signaling of authorization information. For example, for DG-PUSCH, referring to one PTRS port in Table 1 and two PTRS ports in Table 2, the association between the PTRS and DMRS ports can be indicated by the DCI field PTRS-DMRS association. Table 1 corresponds to Table 7.3.1.1.2-25 in 3GPP TS 38.212v16.3.0 (2020-09), and Table 2 corresponds to Table 7.3.1.1.2-26 of 3GPP TS 38.212.

[0048] value DMRS Port 0 1st DMRS scheduling port 1 Second DMRS scheduling port 2 3rd DMRS scheduling port 3 4th DMRS scheduling port

[0049] Table 1 - PTRS-DMRS association for UL PTRS port 0

[0050]

[0051] Table 2 - PTRS-DMRS association for UL PTRS ports 0 and 1

[0052] For example, if one PTRS port is enabled and a value of '0' is indicated in the DCI, the one PTRS port (eg, PTRS port 0) is associated with the first DMRS scheduling port based on Table 1. Therefore, the precoder for PTRS can be the same as the first transmission layer, which can also be referred to as layer 0.

[0053] If two PTRS ports are enabled and bit values ​​'01' are indicated in the DCI, then based on Table 2, PTRS port 0 is associated with the first transport layer (based on the most significant bit (MSB) value '0') and PTRS port 1 is associated with the second transport layer (based on the least significant bit (LSB) value '1').

[0054] The number of PTRS ports can be determined by RRC signaling and an indicated precoder (e.g., TPMI) for PUSCH transmission. When PTRS is associated with PUSCH, 2-port PTRS can be enabled when all of the following conditions are true: Condition 1—In RRC, the maximum number of uplink PTRS ports is configured as two; Condition 2—The codebook subset is configured as non-coherent or partially coherent; and Condition 3—PUSCH is transmitted through ports 1000 / 1002 and ports 1001 / 1003. For Condition 3, ports 1000 / 1002 can be associated with the first antenna panel, and ports 1001 / 1003 can be associated with the second antenna panel. Therefore, Condition 3 corresponds to dual-panel PUSCH transmission. Consider, for example, Table 3, which corresponds to an excerpt from Table 6.3.1.5-5 of 3GPP TS 38.211v16.3.0 (2020-09).

[0055]

[0056] Table 3 - Precoding matrix W for dual-layer transmission using four antenna ports with transform precoding disabled

[0057] In this example, when TPMI = 0, 2, 3, 5 for rank 2 and 4-port codebooks and the UE reports that it supports 2 PTRS ports, PUSCH can be scheduled with non-coherent or partially coherent precoders on ports 1000 / 1002 and ports 1001 / 1003, and thus conditions 2 and 3 can be met. Assuming condition 1 is also met, dual-port PTRS can be used.

[0058] If all three conditions are not met, a single-port PTRS may be transmitted when the PTRS is associated with the PUSCH.

[0059] As mentioned above Figure 1As discussed, the PUSCH transmission 124 may include repetitions transmitted using different precoders. This may complicate PTRS operation relative to known techniques. Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure describe how to determine the number of PTRS ports for each PUSCH repetition; and also describe how to determine the PTRS to DMRS association for each PUSCH repetition. Specifically, each embodiment describes a PTRS transmission for a PUSCH with repetitions from multiple beams / precoders. Some aspects include control signaling for a certain number of PTRS ports and PTRS to DMRS association indications. Other aspects include UE behavior to determine the number of PTRS ports and PTRS transmission characteristics.

[0060] Three options may be provided to determine the number of PTRS ports for each PUSCH repetition. These options are not mutually exclusive. Aspects of some of these options may be used with other options.

[0061] A first option may include using a single-port PTRS port for PUSCH scheduled with repetitions having multiple beams / precoders. For example, even if the three conditions for using dual-port PTRS are met (e.g., the maximum number of UL PTRS ports may be configured to be more than one; the codebook subset is configured as non-coherent / partially coherent, and dual-panel transmissions are to be used), the UE 104 will still only apply one PTRS port. The UE 104 may transmit PTRS via one antenna port, and that PTRS may be used for all PUSCH repetitions. In various embodiments, a single PTRS port transmission may be transmitted in different antennas / panels in different repetition sets.

[0062] The second option may include: using the same number of PTRS ports for all PUSCH repetitions. For example, the initial number of PTRS ports for each repetition (or repetition set) may be determined based on a configuration set for the repetition or repetition set. The initial determination result may be based on whether the configuration set (e.g., based on RRC signaling and an indicated precoder for the repetition (or repetition set)) satisfies the above three conditions. For example, if in the RRC, the maximum number of uplink PTRS ports for one repetition (or repetition set) is configured as 2; the codebook subset is configured as non-coherent or partially coherent; and the repetition (or repetition set) will be transmitted through port 1000 / 1002 and port 1001 / 1003, the repetition (or repetition set) may be initially determined to have two PTRS ports. Otherwise, one PTRS port may be initially determined for the repetition (or repetition set).

[0063] In some embodiments, the repetitions (or repetition sets) transmitted via ports 1000 / 1002 and ports 1001 / 1003 may be transmitted via one beam defined at the UE layer, for example, beamforming weights applied to two antenna panels to form one beam. Alternatively, the repetitions (or repetition sets) transmitted via ports 1000 / 1002 and ports 1001 / 1003 may be transmitted via two beams defined at the antenna panel layer.

[0064] Although an initial determination result, a number of PTRS ports may be selected to be used for all PUSCH repetitions. The selection of the number to be used for all PUSCH repetitions may be performed as described with reference to one of the subsequent sub-options.

[0065] Sub-option 2-1 may include determining the number of PTRS ports to be used based on the number of PTRS ports initially determined for a particular PUSCH repetition. The PUSCH repetition may be, for example, the first PUSCH repetition (or repetition set); however, in other embodiments, it may be other PUSCH repetitions (or repetition sets). Consider, for example, that it was initially determined that one PTRS port was used for repetition set 1 and two PTRS ports were used for repetition set 2. In sub-option 2-1, UE 104 may determine that one PTRS port is used for both repetition sets 1 and 2.

[0066] Sub-option 2-2 may include determining the number of PTRS ports to use for all PUSCH repetitions (or repetition sets) based on the minimum number of PTRS ports for all PUSCH repetitions (or repetition sets). Consider, for example, that it was initially determined that two PTRS ports were used for repetition set 1 and one PTRS port was used for repetition set 2. In sub-option 2-2, UE 104 may determine that one PTRS port is used for both repetition sets 1 and 2.

[0067] Sub-option 2-3 may include determining the number of PTRS ports to use for all PUSCH repetitions (or repetition sets) based on the maximum number of PTRS ports for all PUSCH repetitions (or repetition sets). Consider, for example, that it was initially determined that two PTRS ports were used for repetition set 1 and one PTRS port was used for repetition set 2. In sub-option 2-3, UE 104 may determine that two PTRS ports are used for both repetition sets 1 and 2.

[0068] Sub-options 2-4 may include implementing a scheduling constraint where the base station 108 scheduling should result in the same number of PTRS ports being used for each PUSCH repetition. For example, the base station 108 may schedule PUSCH transmissions 124 as follows: for repetition sets 1 and 2, the same number of PTRS ports is initially determined, e.g., 1 PTRS port or two PTRS ports. In this embodiment, if the repetition sets are scheduled in such a way that different numbers of PTRS ports are determined for different repetition sets, then the implementation may be considered to be erroneous.

[0069] In some embodiments, base station 108 may limit scheduling changes between repetition sets in order to ensure that the same number of PTRS ports are determined for different repetition sets. For example, if base station 108 schedules repetition set 1 in a manner that satisfies the three conditions for 2 PTRS ports, then the base station's scheduling for repetition set 2 must also satisfy the three conditions for 2 PTRS ports. It will be appreciated that there may still be some scheduling changes between two repetition sets. For example, as long as the first precoder in the second precoder is a non-coherent or partially coherent precoder (and therefore satisfies condition 2), the first repetition set may be scheduled using the first precoder and the second repetition set may be scheduled using the second precoder.

[0070] A third option for determining the number of PTRS ports for each PUSCH repetition (or repetition set) may include determining the number of PTRS ports for each PUSCH repetition (or repetition set) individually. For example, for each PUSCH repetition (or repetition set), it may be determined whether the RRC signaling and precoder satisfy three conditions. For example, it may be determined whether: in the RRC, the maximum number of uplink PTRS ports is configured as 2; the codebook subset is configured as non-coherent or partially coherent; and the PUSCH repetition (or repetition set) will be transmitted via port 1000 / 1002 and port 1001 / 1003. If so, two PTRS ports may be applied to the PUSCH repetition (or repetition set). Otherwise, one PTRS port may be used for the repetition (or repetition set). It may be noted that the PUSCH repetition may indicate an actual or nominal PUSCH repetition.

[0071] Three options may be provided to determine PTRS to DMRS association for DG-PUSCH transmissions with repetitions. These options are not mutually exclusive. Aspects of some of these options may be used with other options.

[0072] A first option may include determining the PTRS to DMRS association for each PUSCH repetition (or set of repetitions, e.g., PUSCH repetitions with the same precoder / beam) based on an indicator provided by a single DCI. This may be performed according to at least two sub-options.

[0073] In sub-option 1-1, a single DCI field may be used to jointly configure the PTRS to DMRS association for each repetition (or repetition set). In some embodiments, the single DCI field may refer to a preconfigured table of values ​​corresponding to different repetitions (or repetition sets). Consider, for example, Table 4, which associates UL PTRS port 0 to the first DMRS scheduling port or the second DMRS scheduling port for the first and second PUSCH repetition sets. In this embodiment, a repetition set is defined as a repetition that shares a first SRI / TPMI and a repetition that shares a second SRI / TPMI.

[0074]

[0075]

[0076] Table 4 - PTRS to DMRS association for UL PTRS port 0

[0077] For example, if the DCI field provides an indication of a value of '1', the DMRS port for the first repetition set will be the second DMRS scheduling port (e.g., transport layer 1); and the DMRS port for the second repetition set will be the first DMRS scheduling port (e.g., transport layer 0). Therefore, PTRS port 0 will be associated with both the first DMRS scheduling port and the second DMRS scheduling port. Therefore, the PTRS transmitted from PTRS port 0 will use the same precoder as the following items: DMRS transmitted with the first repetition set via transport layer 0; and DMRS transmitted with the second repetition set via transport layer 1.

[0078] In some embodiments, the maximum number of layers used for each PUSCH repetition (or repetition set) may be limited to reduce overhead. For example, in some embodiments, up to two transmission layers may be allowed (e.g., two precoders / beams may be applied for all PUSCH repetitions). This may allow the use of a 2-bit PTRS to DMRS association field with reference to a PTRS-DMRS association table (such as Table 4) for a PTRS port indication.

[0079] In sub-option 1-2, multiple DCI fields may be used to configure the PTRS to DMRS association for each repetition (or repetition set). For example, assuming that two repetition sets are to be transmitted, the first DCI field may indicate a first association value with reference to a PTRS-DMRS association table (such as Table 1) for the first repetition set; and the second DCI field may indicate a second association value with reference to a PTRS-DMRS association table for the second repetition set.

[0080] In a second option for determining PTRS to DMRS association for a DG-PUSCH with multiple precoders / beams for which repetitions are performed, the PTRS DMRS association may not be based on the DCI. For example, the association may not be indicated in the DCI, or if indicated, may be ignored by the UE 104. This may be performed according to at least two sub-options.

[0081] In option 2-1, the PTRS to DMRS association may be based on a predefined value of the PTRS to DMRS association. For example, one association value may be assumed as a default PTRS to DMRS association to be applied. For example, the UE 104 may determine that the PTRS is always associated with the first DMRS port, e.g., with reference to any of Table 1, Table 2, or Table 4, the PTRS to DMRS association value is 0.

[0082] In option 2-2, PTRS to DMRS association may be configured via higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC or MAC CE). In this way, the association value may be updated based on a specific configuration scenario. However, the rate at which the association value will be updated may be less than the rate at which dynamic signaling is updated via DCI as described above.

[0083] In options 2-3, the PTRS to DMRS association may be based on a per precoder port cycle, where the association is based on the number of DMRS ports and the number of repetitions within a repetition set. Specifically, according to some embodiments, the association may be determined by the number of associated DMRS ports (N) and the repetition index (k) between repetitions within a repetition set (e.g., repetitions that share the same precoder / beam). For example, the first repetition of a repetition set may have a k value of 0, the second repetition of a repetition set may have a value of 1, and so on. PTRS port 0 may then be associated with DMRS port k mod N.

[0084] Consider, for example, according to some embodiments Figure 3 Signaling diagram 300. Similar to Figure 1 The signaling diagram 300 may include a PUSCH transmission 300 including a first repetition set 304 including PUSCH repetition #1 and PUSCH repetition #2. The PUSCH transmission 300 may also include a second repetition set 308 including PUSCH repetition #3 and PUSCH repetition #4. The first repetition set 304 may be transmitted via beam #1, and the second repetition set 308 may be transmitted via beam #2.

[0085] Assuming that one PTRS port is enabled, the port cycling of option 2-3 may result in: on the first transmission layer, transmitting PUSCH repetition #1 (where PTRS port 0 is associated with DMRS port 0 (based on k=0 and N=2)); on the second transmission layer, transmitting PUSCH repetition #2 (where PTRS port 0 is associated with DMRS port 1 (based on k=1 and N=2)); on the first transmission layer, transmitting PUSCH repetition #3 (where PTRS port 0 is again associated with DMRS port 0 (based on k=0 and N=2)); and on the second transmission layer, transmitting PUSCH repetition #4 (where PTRS port 0 is associated with DMRS port 1 (based on k=1 and N=2)).

[0086] In a third option for determining PTRS to DMRS association for a DG-PUSCH whose repetitions have multiple precoders / beams, for the DG-PUSCH, the PTRS to DMRS association for PUSCH repetitions other than the first PUSCH repetition, or for PUSCH repetitions having a precoder / beam different from the first PUSCH repetition, may be indicated by a second-level DCI.

[0087] Figure 4 A signaling diagram 400 with a second level indication of PTRS to DMRS association according to some embodiments is shown. The signaling diagram includes a first level DCI 404 and a second level DCI 408. The first level DCI 404 may schedule a DG-PUSCH transmission 412. The DG-PUSCH transmission 412 may include a first repetition set 416 with PUSCH repetitions #1 and #2 and a second repetition set 420 with PUSCH repetitions #3 and #4.

[0088] The first level DCI 404 may provide a dynamic grant for a DG-PUSCH transmission 412. Additionally, the first level DCI 404 may provide a PTRS to DMRS association for a first repetition set. In this embodiment, the association may indicate that PTRS port 0 is associated with DMRS port 0. Thus, the first repetition set 416 may be transmitted by a first transport layer. In some embodiments, the first level DCI may also provide an indication of a second level DCI 408, and may provide a location of the second level DCI.

[0089] The second level DCI 408 may provide an indication of PTRS to DMRS association for repetition sets subsequent to the first repetition set. For example, the second level DCI 408 may indicate that PTRS port 0 is associated with DMRS port 1 of the second repetition set 420. Thus, the second repetition set 420 may be transmitted by a second transmission layer.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first level DCI 404 may provide a dynamic grant for the DG-PUSCH 412, while the second level DCI 408 provides an indication of PTRS to DMRS association for all repetition sets.

[0091] In some embodiments, the bit width in the second-level DCI 408 may be adjusted based on the scheduling of the first-level DCI 404. The scheduling of the DG-PUSCH 412 may form a smaller subset of the values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association table that are valid and need to be referenced. For example, if a port PTRS is used with only two transmission layers, only one bit may be needed to provide an indication of the PTRS to DMRS association. In some embodiments, the bit width of the PTRS-DMRS indication in the second-level DCI 408 may be determined by the number of PTRS ports M and the number of layers N. For example, the bit width may be log2(ceil(N / M))*M.

[0092] For CG-PUSCH with repetitions from multiple beams / precoders, the base station 108 can configure different PTRS to DMRS associations for each repetition (or repetition set) through RRC signaling. Two options for configuring port associations using RRC signaling are provided below. These options are not mutually exclusive. Aspects of one of these options can be used with the other.

[0093] In the first option, an RRC parameter may be introduced to configure the PTRS to DMRS association for PUSCH repetitions. This may be jointly indicated by a single RRC parameter or a PTRS to DMRS association list. For example, if two transport layers and one PTRS port are used to schedule CG-PUSCH, the RRC parameter may indicate whether the PTRS port is associated with the first DMRS scheduling port or the second DMRS scheduling port for each of the multiple repetition sets of CG-PUSCH.

[0094] In a second option, an RRC parameter may be introduced to enable PTRS port cycling. Once enabled, UE 104 may use the same protocol as described above with reference to options 2-3 and Figure 4 A similar method as described above.

[0095] In some embodiments, the RRC parameters for configuring port associations may be incorporated into the RRC signaling used to provide a configuration grant for the CG-PUSCH. Additionally / alternatively, the RRC parameters may be provided when the configuration grant is updated.

[0096] Figure 5An operational flow / algorithm structure 500 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104 or UE 1000) or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 1004A).

[0097] The operation flow / algorithm structure 500 may include: at 504, processing the scheduling information to determine a schedule with repeated PUSCH transmissions. In some embodiments, the scheduling information may be dynamically granted scheduling information transmitted via DCI. In other embodiments, the scheduling information may be configured as a grant scheduling information transmitted via RRC and optionally DCI.

[0098] The repetitions of PUSCH transmissions may be divided into multiple repetition sets, which are scheduled for transmission on corresponding multiple transmit beams. The repetition set scheduling on the corresponding transmit beams may be based on a common SRI or TPMI configuration for each repetition within the repetition set. A repetition set may include one or more repetitions. A repetition set may include different numbers of repetitions.

[0099] The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may also include determining a PTRS port number for transmitting the PTRS associated with the repetition, at 508. The PTRS port number may be determined to be the same or different for all repetition sets.

[0100] In one embodiment, for each repetition set, an initial number of PTRS ports can be determined. Based on whether a configuration set for a specific repetition set meets the above three conditions, the initial number can be determined (for example, the maximum number of uplink PTRS ports is configured as two; the codebook subset is configured as non-coherent or partially coherent; and the repetition set is transmitted through port 1000 / 1002 and port 1001 / 1003). In some embodiments, one of the initial numbers can be used for all repetition sets. The initial number can be the number associated with the first repetition set, the maximum number of the initial numbers, or the minimum number of the initial numbers. In other embodiments, the initial number can be used to transmit the corresponding repetition set.

[0101] The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may also include transmitting a PUSCH transmission having repetitions, at 512. The PUSCH transmission may be transmitted using a transmit beam as configured by a dynamic grant or a configured grant.

[0102] The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may further include, at 516 , transmitting the PTRS via the PTRS port number determined at 508 .

[0103] Figure 6An operational flow / algorithm structure 600 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104 or UE 1000) or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 1004A).

[0104] The operation flow / algorithm structure 600 may include receiving one or more DCIs to schedule PUSCH transmissions and indicate an association value at 604. The PUSCH transmission in this embodiment may be a DG-PUSCH with multiple repetition sets. Each repetition set may include one or more repetitions of a shared SRI / TPMI.

[0105] One or more DCIs may include an indication of an association value in one or more fields. For example, in a first embodiment, a single DCI field may be used to jointly configure the association for each repetition set. In another embodiment, multiple DCI fields may be used to individually configure the association for corresponding multiple repetition sets.

[0106] In some embodiments, the one or more DCIs may include a first level DCI including scheduling information and a second level DCI including relevance information. In some embodiments, the first level DCI may include relevance information for a first repetition set, and the second level DCI may include relevance information for a second repetition set. In other embodiments, the second level DCI may include relevance information for all repetition sets.

[0107] The operation flow / algorithm structure 600 may also include determining PTRS to DMRS associations for each repetition set at 608. Specifically, one or more PTRS ports may be associated with one or more DMRS scheduling ports. These associations may be determined by using the association information to reference one or more PTRS-DMRS storage tables, such as (for example) Table 1, Table 2, or Table 4 as described herein.

[0108] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may also include, based on the association, transmitting the PTRS; and transmitting the PUSCH transmission, at 612. The PTRS may be transmitted using the same precoder used for the associated DMRS, which is transmitted using the corresponding repetition set.

[0109] Figure 7 An operational flow / algorithm structure 700 according to some embodiments may be included. The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104 or 1000) or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 1004A).

[0110] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may include receiving a DCI to schedule a PUSCH transmission at 704. In this embodiment, the PUSCH transmission may be a DG-PUSCH scheduled by a DCI similar to that described above.

[0111] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include: at 708, based on the configuration information, determining the PTRS to DMRS association for the repetition set. In this embodiment, the configuration information may be predefined or received from high-level signaling. As used herein, high-level signaling may refer to signaling above the physical layer. For example, high-level signaling may include RRC signaling or MAC control signaling (e.g., MAC CE).

[0112] If the DCI includes relevance information, it may be discarded or otherwise ignored by the UE.

[0113] In some embodiments, the configuration information may indicate that the PTRS to DMRS association is based on a predefined value. This predefined value may refer to a PTRS-DMRS table, such as the table described above with reference to Table 1, Table 2, or Table 3. The predetermined value may be a static value that is used as a default value when no other association information is configured, such as by higher layer signaling.

[0114] In some embodiments, the configuration information may indicate that the PTRS to DMRS association is to be based on a PTRS port cycle. For example, if a DG-PUSCH transmission is associated with N DMRS ports, where N is an integer, the PTRS to DMRS association may be determined for each repetition of a repetition set based on a repetition index (k) between one or more repetitions. For example, a PTRS port may be associated with a DMRS port k mod N. In this embodiment, k=0 is used for the first repetition of a particular repetition set, and is incremented by one for subsequent repetitions of the repetition set. When determining the association for each repetition in a subsequent repetition set, the value k may be reset to 0.

[0115] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include transmitting a PTRS and a PUSCH transmission, at 712. As discussed above, the PTRS may be transmitted using the same precoder as its associated DMRS.

[0116] Figure 8 An operational flow / algorithm structure 800 according to some embodiments may be included. The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may be performed or implemented by a base station (such as, for example, base station 108 or gNB 1100) or a component thereof (e.g., baseband processor 1104A).

[0117] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include transmitting RRC signaling for CG-PUSCH at 804. The CG-PUSCH may be a type 1 configuration grant (fully configured by RRC signaling) or a type 2 configuration grant (configured by RRC signaling and subsequently triggered by DCI transmission).

[0118] In some embodiments, in addition to configuring the grant information, the RRC signaling may also include association information to configure different PTRS to DMRS associations for each repetition set. In some embodiments, the association information may be included in one or more RRC parameters or association lists. In some embodiments, the association information may enable, trigger, or reconfigure the PTRS port cycle for use by the receiving UE.

[0119] The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may also include receiving a CG-PUSCH transmission and a PTRS at 808. The CG-PUSCH transmission and the PTRS may be transmitted by the UE based on the scheduling and association information provided by the RRC signaling at 804.

[0120] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may also include: processing CG-PUSCH based on PTRS at 812. Specifically, the base station may determine a phase shift based on the PTRS and may use the determined phase shift to process the DMRS associated with the PTRS. In this way, the base station may then demodulate the PUSCH repetition based on the recovered DMRS.

[0121] Fig. 9 A beamforming circuit 900 is shown according to some embodiments. The beamforming circuit 900 may include: a first antenna panel, panel 1 1004; and a second antenna panel, panel 2 908. Each antenna panel may include multiple antenna elements. Other embodiments may include other numbers of antenna panels.

[0122] The digital beam forming (BF) component 928 can be obtained from, for example, a baseband processor (such as, for example Fig.10 The baseband processor 1004A of the embodiment of the present invention receives an input baseband (BB) signal. The digital BF component 928 can rely on complex weights to precode the BB signal and provide a beamformed BB signal to the parallel radio frequency (RF) chain 920 / 924.

[0123] Each RF chain 920 / 1124 may include a digital-to-analog converter to convert the BB signal into the analog domain; a mixer to mix the baseband signal into an RF signal; and a power amplifier to amplify the RF signal for transmission.

[0124] The RF signal may be provided to analog BF components 912 / 1116, which may additionally apply beamforming by providing phase shifts in the analog domain. The RF signal may then be provided to antenna panels 904 / 1108 for transmission.

[0125] In some embodiments, beamforming may be done solely in the digital domain or solely in the analog domain, instead of the hybrid beamforming shown here.

[0126] In various embodiments, control circuitry that may reside in a baseband processor may provide BF weights to analog / digital BF components to provide transmit beams at corresponding antenna panels. These BF weights may be determined by the control circuitry to provide directional deployment of serving cells as described herein. In some embodiments, the BF components and antenna panels may operate together to provide a dynamic phased array capable of steering a beam in a desired direction.

[0127] Fig.10 UE 1000 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 1000 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 104 and is substantially interchangeable therewith.

[0128] UE 1000 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, an actuator, etc.), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera, a camcorder, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or a loose IoT device.

[0129] UE 1000 may include a processor 1004, an RF interface circuit 1008, a memory / storage device 1012, a user interface 1016, a sensor 1020, a driving circuit 1022, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1024, an antenna structure 1026, and a battery 1028. The components of UE 1000 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a portion of an integrated circuit, a discrete electronic device or other module, logical component, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Fig.10 The block diagram of UE 1000 is intended to show a high-level view of certain of the components of UE 1000. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0130] Components of UE 1000 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1032, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., which allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0131] The processor 1004 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 1004A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 1004B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 1004C. The processor 1004 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program codes, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 1012) to cause the UE 1000 to perform operations as described herein.

[0132] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 1004A can access the communication protocol stack 1036 in the memory / storage device 1012 to communicate through a 3GPP compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 1004A can access the communication protocol stack to: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some embodiments, the PHY layer operations can be additionally / alternatively performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1008.

[0133] The baseband processor circuit 1004A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compatible network. In some embodiments, the waveforms used for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM ("CP-OFDM") in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM ("DFT-S-OFDM") in the uplink.

[0134] The memory / storage 1012 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 1036) that may be executed by one or more processors in the processor 1004 to cause the UE 1000 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 1012 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 1000. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 1012 may be located on the processor 1004 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 1012 is located external to the processor 1004 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 1012 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0135] The RF interface circuit 1008 may include a transceiver circuit and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 1000 to communicate with other devices through a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 1008 may include various elements arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0136] In the receive path, the RFEM may receive the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 1026 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low noise amplifier). The signal may be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 1004.

[0137] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 1026.

[0138] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 1008 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0139] Antenna 1026 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1026 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 1026 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, a phased array antenna, etc. Antenna 1026 may have one or more panels that are designed for a specific frequency band including a band in FR1 or FR2.

[0140] The user interface circuit 1016 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 1000. The user interface 1016 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual device for accepting input, including in particular one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual device for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuit may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including in particular one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light emitting diodes "LEDs") and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays "LCDs", LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 1100.

[0141] Sensor 1020 may include a device, module, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, or a magnetometer; a level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0142] The driver circuit 1022 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1000. The driver circuit 1022 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 1000. For example, the driver circuit 1022 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 1020 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 1020, a driver for obtaining an actuator position of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0143] The PMIC 1024 may manage power provided to various components of the UE 1000. Specifically, with respect to the processor 1004, the PMIC 1024 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0144] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1024 may control or otherwise be a part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 1000, including DRX, as discussed herein.

[0145] The battery 1028 can power the UE 1000, but in some examples, the UE 1000 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 1028 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 1028 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0146] Fig.11 FIG. 1 shows a gNB 1100 according to some embodiments. The gNB node 1100 may be similar to Figure 1 base station 108 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0147] gNB 1100 may include a processor 1104, RF interface circuitry 1108, core network “CN” interface circuitry 1112, memory / storage device circuitry 1116, and antenna structure 1126.

[0148] Components of gNB 1100 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1128.

[0149] The processor 1104, RF interface circuit 1108, memory / storage circuit 1116 (including communication protocol stack 1110), antenna structure 1126 and interconnect 1128 may be similar to those of reference Fig.10 Like named elements are shown and described.

[0150] The CN interface circuitry 1112 may provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5th generation core network "5GC" using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity may be provided to / from the gNB 1100 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 1112 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN controller circuitry 1112 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0151] In some embodiments, gNB 1100 may use antenna structure 1126, CN interface circuitry, or other interface circuitry to couple to a TRP such as TRP 112 or 116.

[0152] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0153] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the following example section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. For another example, the circuits associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the example section below.

[0154] Example

[0155] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0156] Embodiment 1 may include a method of operating a UE, the method comprising: processing scheduling information to determine a schedule for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission having multiple repetitions, wherein the multiple repetitions include at least two repetition sets to be transmitted using at least two transmit beams, respectively; determining a certain number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports for transmitting PTRS associated with each of the at least two repetition sets; transmitting the PUSCH transmission having multiple repetitions using at least two transmit beams; and transmitting the PTRS through the number of PTRS ports.

[0157] Embodiment 2 may include the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising: determining that multiple PTRS ports are configured; and determining that one PTRS port will be used to transmit the PTRS associated with each repetition set in the first repetition set and the second repetition set.

[0158] Embodiment 3 may include a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein a first number of PTRS ports is initially determined for a first repetition set among at least two repetition sets, and a second number of PTRS ports is initially determined for a second repetition set among at least two repetition sets, and determining the number of PTRS ports includes: determining that the first number of PTRS ports will be used to transmit PTRS associated with multiple repetitions.

[0159] Embodiment 4 may include a method according to Embodiment 3 or some other embodiment herein, wherein an initial number of PTRS ports is determined for each of at least two repetition sets, and the method further comprises: determining that the first number of PTRS ports will be used to transmit PTRS associated with multiple repetitions based on the first number being the minimum value of the initial number of PTRS ports; or determining that the first number of PTRS ports will be used to transmit PTRS associated with multiple repetitions based on the first number being the maximum value of the initial number of PTRS ports.

[0160] Embodiment 5 may include the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: determining an indicated maximum number of PTRS ports from radio resource control (RRC) signaling for a first repetition set among at least two repetition sets; determining a codebook subset for the first repetition set; determining one or more antenna ports for transmitting the first repetition set; and determining a first number of PTRS ports for transmitting the PTRS associated with the first repetition set based on the indicated maximum number, the codebook subset, and the one or more antenna ports.

[0161] Embodiment 6 may include a method according to embodiment 5 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: if the indicated maximum number is one, the codebook subset is not configured as non-coherent or partially coherent, or one or more antenna ports do not include port 1000 or 1002 and port 1001 or 1003, then determining that the first number of PTRS ports is one port.

[0162] Embodiment 7 may include a method according to embodiment 5 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: if the indicated maximum number is two, the codebook subset is configured as non-coherent or partially coherent, and one or more antenna ports include port 1000 or 1002 and port 1001 or 1003, then determining that the first number of PTRS ports is two ports.

[0163] Embodiment 8 may include a method of operating a UE, the method comprising: storing a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS)-demodulation reference signal (DMRS) association table; receiving one or more downlink control information (DCI) to: schedule a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission having a first repetition set and a second repetition set, the first repetition set including one or more repetitions of a shared first scheduling request indicator (SRI) or a transmitted precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and the second repetition set including one or more repetitions of a shared second SRI / TPMI; and indicating one or more association values ​​in a single field or multiple fields; determining a PTRS to DMRS association for a first repetition set or a second repetition set based on the one or more association values ​​and the PTRS-DMRS association table; transmitting a PTRS based on the PTRS to DMRS association; and transmitting the first repetition set and the second repetition set.

[0164] Embodiment 9 may include a method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiment herein, wherein one or more DCIs include a single two-bit field for indicating one or more association values, and determining the PTRS to DMRS association includes: determining that the PTRS port is associated with a first DMRS scheduling port or a second DMRS scheduling port, wherein the DMRS port for a first repetition set is the first DMRS scheduling port or the second DMRS scheduling port, and the DMRS port for a second repetition set is the first DMRS scheduling port or the second DMRS scheduling port.

[0165] Embodiment 10 may include a method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiment herein, wherein one or more DCIs include a first field for indicating a first association value among one or more association values ​​and a second field for indicating a second association value among one or more association values, and determining the PTRS to DMRS association includes: based on the first association value, determining a PTRS port associated with a DMRS port for a first repetition set; and based on the second association value, determining a PTRS port associated with a DMRS port for a second repetition set.

[0166] Embodiment 11 may include a method according to embodiment 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the PTRS port associated with the DMRS port for the first repetition set and the PTRS port associated with the DMRS port for the second repetition set are different PTRS ports.

[0167] Embodiment 12 may include a method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the method further comprises: determining, based on the PTRS to DMRS association, that the first PTRS port is associated with the first DMRS port for the first repetition set; and transmitting the PTRS via the first PTRS port and transmitting the DMRS via the first DMRS port using a common precoder.

[0168] Embodiment 13 may include a method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiment herein, wherein one or more association values ​​include a first association value and a second association value, one or more DCIs include a first-level DCI for scheduling PUSCH transmission and a second-level DCI for including a second association value, and the method further includes: determining the PTRS to DMRS association for a first repetition set based on the first association value and the PTRS-DMRS association table; and determining the PTRS to DMRS association for a second repetition set based on the second association value and the PTRS-DMRS association table.

[0169] Embodiment 14 may include a method according to embodiment 13 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second-level DCI comprises a bit width of log2(ceil(N / M)*M, where M is the number of PTRS ports and N is the number of transport layers.

[0170] Embodiment 15 may include a method according to embodiment 13 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the first relevance value is in a first level DCI or a second level DCI.

[0171] Embodiment 16 includes a method comprising: receiving downlink control information (DCI) to schedule a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission having multiple repetition sets to be transmitted using at least two transmit beams; determining a PTRS to DMRS association for each of the multiple repetition sets based on configuration information predefined by or received from radio resource control (RRC) or medium access control (MAC) control signaling; transmitting a PTRS based on the PTRS to DMRS association; and transmitting a PUSCH transmission having multiple repetitions.

[0172] Embodiment 17 may include a method according to embodiment 16 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the configuration information includes a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0173] Embodiment 18 may include a method according to embodiment 16 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the PUSCH transmission is associated with N DMRS ports, where N is an integer, and determining the PTRS to DMRS association includes: for each repetition of one or more repetitions of a first repetition set among multiple repetition sets, based on a repetition index (k) between the one or more repetitions, determining that the PTRS port is associated with the DMRS port k mod N, where k = 0 for the first repetition of the one or more repetitions, and for subsequent repetitions in the one or more repetitions, it is incremented by one.

[0174] Embodiment 19 may include a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: transmitting to a user equipment a radio resource control (RRC) signaling for a configuration authorization-physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission having multiple repetition sets, wherein the RRC signaling includes one or more parameters to configure multiple PTRS to DMRS associations corresponding to the multiple repetition sets; receiving a CG-PUSCH transmission; receiving a PTRS associated with the CG-PUSCH transmission; and processing the CG-PUSCH transmission based on receiving the PTRS.

[0175] Embodiment 20 may include a method according to embodiment 19 or some other embodiment herein, wherein one or more parameters include a single RRC parameter to jointly indicate each repetition set having PTRS to DMRS association; or include multiple RRC parameters to indicate separately.

[0176] Embodiment 21 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 20, or any other method or process described herein.

[0177] Embodiment 22 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 20 or any other method or process described herein.

[0178] Embodiment 23 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 20, or any other method or process described herein.

[0179] Embodiment 24 may include methods, techniques or processes described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or parts or components thereof.

[0180] Embodiment 25 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20.

[0181] Embodiment 26 may include a signal as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion or component thereof.

[0182] Embodiment 27 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0183] Embodiment 28 may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0184] Embodiment 29 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0185] Embodiment 30 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20.

[0186] Embodiment 31 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion thereof.

[0187] Embodiment 32 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0188] Embodiment 33 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0189] Embodiment 34 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0190] Embodiment 35 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0191] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be obtained from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0192] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Processing downlink control information DCI to identify a first value in a first phase tracking reference signal PTRS-demodulation reference signal DMRS association field and a second value in a second PTRS-DMRS association field; Determine a first PTRS-DMRS association for a first sounding reference signal resource indicator SRI or precoding information based on the first value; determining a second PTRS-DMRS association for a second SRI or precoding information based on the second value; generating a first PUSCH repetition based on the first SRI or precoding information; and A second PUSCH repetition is generated based on the second SRI or precoding information. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first PTRS-DMRS association is an association between a PTRS port and a DMRS port.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: generating a PTRS to be transmitted by the PTRS port using a precoder; as well as A DMRS is generated to be transmitted by the DMRS port using the precoder.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the DCI is used to schedule a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition associated with the first SRI or precoding information and a second PUSCH repetition associated with the second SRI or precoding information.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An indicated maximum number of PTRS ports for transmission associated with both the first SRI or precoding information and the second SRI or precoding information is determined based on radio resource control RRC signaling.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A number of PTRS ports to be used for transmitting a PTRS associated with the first SRI or precoding information is determined.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the PTRS is a first PTRS, the number is a first number, and the method further comprises: A second number of PTRS ports to be used for transmitting a second PTRS associated with the second SRI or precoding information is determined.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: If the indicated maximum number is one or the codebook subset is not configured as non-coherent or partially coherent, it is determined that the first number of PTRS ports or the second number of PTRS ports is one port.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: If the indicated maximum number is two, the codebook subset is configured as non-coherent or partially coherent, and the antenna ports associated with the first SRI or precoding information to be used for transmission include ports 1000 and 1002 or ports 1001 and 1003, then it is determined that the first number of PTRS ports or the second number of PTRS ports is two ports.

10. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a processing circuit to: Processing downlink control information DCI to identify a first value in a first phase tracking reference signal PTRS-demodulation reference signal DMRS association field and a second value in a second PTRS-DMRS association field; Determine a first PTRS-DMRS association for a first sounding reference signal resource indicator SRI or precoding information based on the first value; determining a second PTRS-DMRS association for a second SRI or precoding information based on the second value; as well as generating a first PUSCH repetition based on the first SRI or precoding information; and A second PUSCH repetition is generated based on the second SRI or precoding information.

11. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the first PTRS-DMRS association is an association between a PTRS port and a DMRS port.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuit to: generating a PTRS to be transmitted by the PTRS port using a precoder; and A DMRS is generated to be transmitted by the DMRS port using the precoder.

13. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 10, wherein the DCI is used to schedule a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition associated with the first SRI or precoding information and a second PUSCH repetition associated with the second SRI or precoding information.

14. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuit to: An indicated maximum number of PTRS ports for transmission associated with both the first SRI or precoding information and the second SRI or precoding information is determined based on radio resource control RRC signaling.

15. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, further wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuit to: A number of PTRS ports to be used for transmitting a PTRS associated with the first SRI or precoding information is determined.

16. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the PTRS is a first PTRS, the number is a first number, and the instructions when executed further cause the processing circuit to: A second number of PTRS ports to be used for transmitting a second PTRS associated with the second SRI or precoding information is determined.

17. A processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to: Generate downlink control information DCI to identify a first value in a first phase tracking reference signal PTRS-demodulation reference signal DMRS association field and a second value in a second PTRS-DMRS association field, wherein the first value is used to indicate a first PTRS-DMRS association for a first sounding reference signal resource indicator SRI or precoding information, and the second value is used to indicate a second PTRS-DMRS association for a second SRI or precoding information; and The DCI is output for transmission. 18 . The processing circuit of claim 17 , wherein the first PTRS-DMRS association is an association between a PTRS port and a DMRS port.

19. The processing circuit of claim 17, wherein the DCI is used to schedule a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition associated with the first SRI or precoding information and a second PUSCH repetition associated with a second SRI or precoding information.

20. The processing circuit of claim 17, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling is generated to indicate a maximum number of PTRS ports for transmission associated with both the first SRI or precoding information and the second SRI or precoding information.

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