Configuring network control repeater for beam indication of access link

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to devices and methods for a network control repeater (NCR) device to efficiently extend a coverage area of a base station. The repeater device transmits, to the base station (s), a beam designation of a beam in which the repeater device is capable of communicating with the user equipment via the third access link. In response, the base station (s) determines that the beam designations identify two or more user equipments in a first beam of the two or more beams that should use frequency division multiplexing services. The base station (s) transmit a configuration to the repeater device for downlink transmission and uplink reception on a third link between the repeater device and the two or more user equipments using the first beam.

Description

[0001] Priority application

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 377,517, filed on September 28, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to network control of repeaters that extend the coverage area of ​​wireless communications. Background Art

[0004] A wireless communication system may include one or more network communication devices, including a base station, which may be further referred to as an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB) or other suitable terms. Each network communication device, such as a base station, may support wireless communication of one or more user communication devices, which may be further referred to as a user equipment (UE) or other suitable terms. A wireless communication system may support wireless communication with one or more user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, time slots, subframes, frames, etc.) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers). In addition, a wireless communication system may support wireless communication across various radio access technologies, including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, and other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G)).

[0005] Coverage is a fundamental aspect of cellular network deployment. Mobile operators rely on different types of network nodes or network equipment to provide comprehensive coverage in their deployments. Deploying conventional full-stack cells is an option, but may not always be technically feasible or economically viable. Therefore, new types of network nodes have been considered to increase the flexibility of mobile operators in their network deployments. For example, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) is a new type of network node that does not require a wired backhaul. Another type of network node is a radio frequency (RF) repeater, which simply amplifies and forwards any signal received by the RF repeater. RF repeaters have been widely deployed in 2G, 3G, and 4G to supplement the coverage provided by conventional full-stack cells. The 5G New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) has RF and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements for such RF repeaters for NR for both frequency range 1 (FR1) and frequency range 2 (FR2). Summary of the invention

[0006] The present disclosure relates to providing a method, apparatus, and system for providing a process and signaling for a network controlled repeater (NCR) device to efficiently expand the coverage area of ​​a network device. In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure considers a user equipment (UE) for frequency domain multiplexing. The present disclosure provides an indication of a beam identifier (ID) of an access link of an NCR device and an associated time resource. The present disclosure provides an indication of two sets of beam IDs and corresponding time resources for an uplink (UL) and for a downlink (DL). The present disclosure provides an indication of a beam ID corresponding to a wide beam indicated by a capability for forwarding broadcast transmissions by an NCR device. The present disclosure provides an indication of a beam ID corresponding to a narrow beam within a wide beam for beam refinement and dedicated data / reference signaling (RS) transmission. The present disclosure provides an indication of multiple beam IDs per time resource to an NCR device, which supports simultaneous beam transmissions in a time slot / symbol.

[0007] Some implementations of the methods and apparatus described herein may include a method for wireless communication at a network device. In one or more embodiments, the method includes: via at least one transceiver of the network device: (i) communicating with a repeater device via a first link; and (ii) communicating indirectly with a user device via a second link to the repeater device, the repeater device relaying the communication with the user device via a third link. The method may include: receiving from the repeater device via at least one transceiver a beam designation of two or more beams that the repeater device is capable of communicating with two or more user devices via a third link. In response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams, the method may include generating a first configuration of a beam identifier and corresponding time domain resources for the first beam of the two or more user devices using frequency division multiplexing. The method may include: sending one or more control messages including a first configuration to the repeater device via at least one transceiver. The configuration is sent to prompt the repeater device to apply the configuration for transmission of downlinks and reception of uplinks on a third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices using the first beam.

[0008] Some implementations of the methods and apparatus described herein may include a method for wireless communication at a repeater device. In one or more embodiments, the method may include: communicating, via at least one transceiver of the repeater device: (i) communicating with at least one network device of a network via (a) a first link or (b) a second link; and (ii) communicating with a user device via a third link. The method may include: sending, via at least one transceiver, to at least one network device a beam designation of two or more beams in which the repeater device is capable of communicating with two or more user devices via a third link. At least one network device responds to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams by generating a beam identifier of a first beam for two or more user devices and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources using frequency division multiplexing. The method may include: receiving, via at least one transceiver, one or more control messages including a first configuration from at least one network device. The method may include: applying the configuration to at least one transceiver for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices using the first beam. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is an example of a wireless communication system that enables relaying of wireless communications through a network controller repeater (NCR) device according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 2 is a portion of a wireless communication system including a network device, an NCR device, and a user equipment (UE) located outside a coverage area of ​​the network device according to aspects of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 3 A wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure has the capability of an NCR device reporting narrow beams and wide beams supported in an access link to a network device.

[0012] Figure 4A is an example code that can be signaled to the NCR-MT using a common configuration according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 4B is an example of a dedicated RRC message to a relay with a beam ID indication and corresponding time resources according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 5 Illustrated is a block diagram of an apparatus for configuring a relay device with beam indication for relaying wireless communications to multiple UEs according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 6A flow chart of a method performed by a network device for configuring a relay device with a beam indication for relaying communications with a plurality of UEs on an access link according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 7 A flowchart of a method performed by a relay device to report a beam indication for relaying communications with multiple UEs on an access link according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Although conventional RF repeaters are a cost-effective component for extending network coverage to communication systems, RF repeaters also have their limitations. RF repeaters only perform amplification and forwarding operations and fail to consider various factors that can improve performance. These factors can include information about semi-static and / or dynamic downlink / uplink configurations, adaptive transmitter / receiver spatial beamforming, on-off states, etc.

[0018] The network controlled repeater (NCR) device is an enhancement of the conventional RF repeater, with the ability to receive and process side control information from the network. The NCR device includes two main components / functions, namely the NCR mobile terminal (NCR-MT) responsible for receiving the side control information via the control link (C-Link) and the NCR forwarding component (NCR-Fwd) responsible for amplifying and forwarding the uplink / downlink (UL / DL) physical (PHY) channels / signals for both the backhaul and access links. The side control information can allow the NCR device to perform amplification and forwarding operations in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits may include mitigating unnecessary noise amplification, transmitting and receiving with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration. NCR devices have problems in implementing the additional functions used by the side control information.

[0019] Specifically, the beam information of the access link, the beam index, and the corresponding time domain resource to which the beam is applied are indicated to the NCR device instead of using the traditional reference signal resource ID-based beam indication. In the traditional New Radio (NR) scheduling process, the gNB scheduler can schedule multiple UEs with different RB allocations in the same symbol / time slot, and try to schedule user equipments (UEs) reporting the same beam quality (i.e., in the same direction) using frequency division multiplexing (FDM) and schedule UEs with different beams using time division multiplexing (TDM).

[0020] Similarly, the gNB can communicate with a single beam on the backhaul link since the locations of both are fixed. However, the gNB scheduler does not know the location of each UE relative to the NCR devices on the access link. Therefore, the gNB cannot fully allocate resources because it does not know which UEs are not in the same beam of the access link from the NCR device. When the physical beams between the NCR device and the UE are in different directions, communication efficiency can be achieved by the gNB using FDM to schedule the UEs in the same time slot / symbol. Otherwise, the gNB must rely entirely on TDM. The gNB needs an indication of which beams of the NCR device on the access link can serve each UE.

[0021] In the present disclosure, a technical solution for beam indication for access link is provided, which takes into account frequency domain multiplexed UE. The present disclosure provides an indication of a beam identifier (ID) of an access link of an NCR device and associated time resources. The present disclosure provides an indication of two sets of beam IDs and corresponding time resources for uplink (UL) and for downlink (DL). The present disclosure provides an indication of a beam ID corresponding to a wide beam indicated by a capability used by an NCR device to forward broadcast transmissions. The present disclosure provides an indication of a beam ID corresponding to a narrow beam within a wide beam for beam refinement and dedicated data / reference signaling (RS) transmission. The present disclosure provides an indication of multiple beam IDs per time resource to the NCR device, which supports simultaneous beam transmission in a time slot / symbol.

[0022] In one or more aspects of the present disclosure, an NCR device and a method performed by the NCR device include: receiving a first configuration of a beam ID and a corresponding time resource from a gNB. The method includes: receiving a second configuration of a beam ID and a corresponding time domain resource from the gNB. The method includes: applying an indicated beam ID on an indicated time domain resource for transmitting DL and receiving UL in an access link between the NCR device and the UE. In one or more embodiments, the first configuration includes: an indication of a beam ID and time resource corresponding to a reported wide beam from a repeater for forwarding broadcast and transmission of an initial access channel / signal for (multiple) UEs in a capability report.

[0023] In one or more embodiments, the corresponding time domain resources of the first configuration are specifically indicated to the NCR device together with the beam ID in a relay-specific RRC message for each transmission. In one or more embodiments, the corresponding time domain resources are implicitly indicated based on a simultaneous signal block (SSB) / RACH opportunity (RO) configuration in a system information block 1 (SIB1). In one or more embodiments, the second configuration includes: an indication of the beam ID and time resources corresponding to a narrow beam for forwarding a report of a UE-specific transmission with a narrow beam from the NCR device in a capability report.

[0024] In one or more embodiments, the configuration is sent to the NCR device in a relay-specific RRC message. In one or more embodiments, the configuration is sent to the relay in a relay-specific DCI format. In one or more embodiments, if the relay supports simultaneous beam transmission, the NCR device receives multiple beam IDs for the timeslot / symbol to be applied simultaneously at the relay. In one or more embodiments, the gNB sends a beam indication of the UE scheduled in the frequency domain in the timeslot / symbol, where the beam ID corresponds to the beam reported by the UE with a satisfactory reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold.

[0025] In one or more embodiments, the gNB sends a beam indication of the UEs scheduled in the frequency domain in a timeslot / symbol. The beam ID corresponds to the reported best beam for the UE with high priority data. In one or more embodiments, the priority depends on the QoS of the UE and whether the forwarded signal is new data or a retransmission which is given high QoS and retransmissions are given higher priority. In accordance with one or more embodiments, the relay capabilities and the UEs connected via the relay are indicated, as well as whether the UE can be served by the same beam or by different beams. These indications are used as input for UE scheduling at the gNB.

[0026] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 that enables wireless communication to be relayed by a network controller repeater (NCR) device according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network devices 102, one or more UEs 104, a core network 106, and a packet data network 109. The wireless communication system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communication system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communication system 100 may be a 5G network, such as a new radio (NR) network. In other implementations, the wireless communication system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network. The wireless communication system 100 may support radio access technologies other than 5G, or other suitable radio access technologies, including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20. Additionally, the wireless communication system 100 may support technologies such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA).

[0027] One or more network devices 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form a wireless communication system 100. One or more network devices 102 described herein may be, may include, or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a radio access network (RAN), a base transceiver station, an access point, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a network device, or other suitable terms. The network device 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a communication link 108, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, the network device 102 and the UE 104 may wirelessly communicate (e.g., receive signaling, send signaling) via a user-to-user (Uu) interface.

[0028] The network device 102 may provide a geographic coverage area 110, and the network device 102 may support services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area 110. For example, the network device 102 and the UE 104 may support wireless communications of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) according to one or more radio access technologies. In some implementations, the network device 102 may be mobile, for example, a satellite 107 associated with a non-terrestrial network and communicating via a satellite link 111. In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but different geographic coverage areas 110 may be associated with different network devices 102. The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the specification may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0029] One or more UEs 104 may be dispersed throughout the geographic area of ​​the wireless communication system 100. UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a remote unit, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable term. In some implementations, UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, and other examples. Additionally or alternatively, UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, and other examples. In some implementations, UE 104 may be stationary in the wireless communication system 100. In some other implementations, UE 104 may move in the wireless communication system 100.

[0030] One or more UEs 104 may be devices in different forms or with different functions. Figure 1 Some examples of UE 104 are illustrated in FIG. UE 104 may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as network device 102, other UEs 104, or network devices (e.g., core network 106, packet data network 109, relay device, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or another network device), such as Figure 1 Additionally or alternatively, UE 104 may support communications with other network devices 102 or UE 104 (which may act as a relay in wireless communication system 100).

[0031] UE 104a may also support wireless communication directly with other UE 104b via communication link 112. For example, UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployment, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployment, or a cellular V2X deployment, communication link 112 may be referred to as a side link. For example, UE 104a may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104b via a PC5 interface. PC5 refers to a reference point where UE 104a communicates directly with another UE 104b via a direct channel without communicating with network device 102a.

[0032] The network device 102 may support communication with the core network 106 or with another network device 102, or both. For example, the network device 102 may interface with the core network 106 via one or more backhaul links 114 (e.g., via S1, N2, or another network interface). The network devices 102 may communicate with each other via the backhaul links 114 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or another network interface). In some implementations, the network devices 102 may communicate directly with each other (e.g., between the network devices 102). In some other implementations, the network devices 102 may communicate with each other indirectly (e.g., via the core network 106). In some implementations, one or more network devices 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). The ANC may communicate with one or more UEs 104 via one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission and reception points (TRPs).

[0033] In some implementations, the network entity or network device 102 may be configured as a decomposed architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed between two or more network entities or network devices 102, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN)). For example, the network entity or network device 102 may include one or more of the following: a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) (e.g., a near real-time RIC (Near-RT RIC), a non-real-time RIC (Non-RT RIC)), a service management and orchestration (SMO) system, or any combination thereof.

[0034] The RU may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio unit (RRU), or a transmission and reception point (TRP). One or more components of a network entity or a network device 102 in a decomposed RAN architecture may be collocated, or one or more components of a network entity or a network device 102 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some implementations, one or more network entities or network devices 102 of a decomposed RAN architecture may be implemented as a virtual unit (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU), a virtual DU (VDU), a virtual RU (VRU)).

[0035] The division of functions between CU, DU, and RU can be flexible, and different functions can be supported depending on which functions are performed at the CU, DU, or RU (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, radio frequency functions, and any combination thereof). For example, a functional division of the protocol stack can be adopted between the CU and the DU, so that the CU can support one or more layers of the protocol stack, and the DU can support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some implementations, the CU can host upper protocol layer (e.g., Layer 3 (L3), Layer 2 (L2)) functions and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)). The CU can be connected to one or more DUs or RUs, and one or more DUs or RUs can host lower protocol layers, such as Layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer) functions and signaling, and can each be at least partially controlled by the CU.

[0036] Additionally or alternatively, a functional division of the protocol stack may be employed between the DU and the RU such that the DU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU may support one or more different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs). In some implementations, the functional division between the CU and the DU or between the DU and the RU may be within the protocol layer (e.g., some functions of the protocol layer may be performed by one of the CU, DU, or RU, while other functions of the protocol layer may be performed by a different one of the CU, DU, or RU).

[0037] The CU may be further functionally divided into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. The CU may be connected to one or more DUs via a medium-range communication link (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u), and the DU may be connected to one or more RUs via a fronthaul communication link (e.g., an open fronthaul (FH) interface). In some implementations, the medium-range communication link or the fronthaul communication link may be implemented based on an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by a corresponding network entity or network device 102 communicating via such a communication link.

[0038] The core network 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include control plane entities that manage access and mobility (e.g., mobility management entity (MME), access and mobility management function (AMF)) and user plane entities that route packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., serving gateway (S-GW), packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management of one or more UEs 104 served by one or more network devices 102 associated with the core network 106.

[0039] The core network 106 may communicate with the packet data network 109 via one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via S1, N2, N2, or another network interface). The packet data network 109 may include an application server 118. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server 118. The UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session, etc.) with the core network 106 via a network entity or network device 102. The core network 106 may use the established session (e.g., an established PDU session) to route traffic (e.g., control information, data, etc.) between the UE 104 and the application server 118. A PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the core network 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the core network 106).

[0040] In the wireless communication system 100, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may use the resources of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, time slots, subframes, frames, etc.) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communication). In some implementations, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and other suitable radio access technologies, the network entity or network device or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures). The network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more digital technologies.

[0041] One or more digital technologies may be supported in the wireless communication system 100, and the digital technologies may include subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefixes. A first digital technology (e.g., μ = 0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, a first digital technology (e.g., μ = 0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second digital technology (e.g., μ = 1) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third digital technology (e.g., μ = 2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth digital technology (e.g., μ = 3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth digital technology (e.g., μ = 4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[0042] The time intervals of resources (e.g., communication resources) can be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames). Each frame can have a duration, for example, a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms). In some implementations, each frame can include multiple subframes. For example, each frame can include 10 subframes, and each subframe can have a duration, for example, a duration of 1 ms. In some implementations, each frame can have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame can have the same duration.

[0043] Additionally or alternatively, the time interval of resources (e.g., communication resources) can be organized according to time slots. For example, a subframe may include multiple (e.g., quantity) time slots. The number of time slots in each subframe may also depend on one or more digital technologies supported in the wireless communication system 100. For example, the first digital technology, the second digital technology, the third digital technology, the fourth digital technology, and the fifth digital technology (i.e., μ = 0, μ = 1, μ = 2, μ = 3, μ = 4) associated with the corresponding subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and 240kHz may utilize a single time slot, two time slots per subframe, four time slots per subframe, eight time slots per subframe, and 16 time slots per subframe, respectively. Each time slot may include multiple (e.g., quantity) symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols). In some implementations, the number of time slots (e.g., quantity) of a subframe may depend on the digital technology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a time slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., for a 60 kHz subcarrier spacing), a slot may include 12 symbols. For a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix, the relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame may depend on the digital technology. It should be understood that references to a first digital technology (e.g., μ=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

[0044] In the wireless communication system 100, the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum can be divided into various categories, frequency bands, channels, etc. based on frequency or wavelength. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can support one or more operating frequency bands, such as the frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz–24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz–114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz–71 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz–300 GHz). In some implementations, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 can perform wireless communications on the one or more operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 can be used by the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 and other devices or apparatuses for cellular communication traffic (e.g., control information, data). In some implementations, FR2 may be used by network entities or network devices 102 and UE 104 and other devices or apparatuses for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

[0045] FR1 may be associated with one or more digital technologies (e.g., at least three digital technologies). For example, FR1 may be associated with a first digital technology (e.g., μ=0), which includes a 15kHz subcarrier spacing; associated with a second digital technology (e.g., μ=1), which includes a 30kHz subcarrier spacing; and associated with a third digital technology (e.g., μ=2), which includes a 60kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or more digital technologies (e.g., at least 2 digital technologies). For example, FR2 may be associated with a third digital technology (e.g., μ=2), which includes a 60kHz subcarrier spacing; and associated with a fourth digital technology (e.g., μ=3), which includes a 120kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0046] The network control repeater (NCR) device 130 can enable the network device 102a to communicate with the UE 104c located outside the coverage area 110a. The network device 102a communicates with the NCR device 130 via a control link 132 and a backhaul link 134. The NCR device 130 relays the uplink and downlink signals on the backhaul link 134 on the access link 140 with the UE 104c. The NCR device 130 efficiently extends the network coverage in both the uplink and downlink with the help of the side control information from the network. The information may include time division duplex (TDD) switching, timing information, power control, and public and UE-specific spatial information for beamforming.

[0047] Figure 2 The diagram shows a network device 102a, an NCR device 130, and a coverage area 110a ( Figure 1) outside of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 can extend the coverage area 110a of the network device 102a by including an NCR device 130 that can reach the UE 104c. The NCR device 130 communicates with the network device 102a via a side control link 132 (which can be referred to as a "C-link") and via a backhaul link 134. The side control link 132 terminates at the NCR device 130, which thus acts as an NCR mobile terminal (NCR-MT) 136. The NCR device 130 includes an NCR forwarding section 138 that receives and amplifies DL radio frequency (RF) signals received via the backhaul link 134, and forwards the DL RF signals to the UE 104c via the access link 140 with minimal delay. Similarly, the NCR forwarding section 138 receives and amplifies UL RF signals received via the access link 140, and forwards the UL RF signals to the network device 102a with minimal delay via the backhaul link. The network device 102a is able to configure the NCR forwarding section 138 via configuration information sent to the NCR-MT 136 via the side control link 132. The NCR device 130 has capabilities such as supported beams 211a to 211n for supporting the NCR-Fwd access link 140 of the UE 104c. The NCR device 130 transmits a capacity report 215 including a beam indication 216 to the network device 102a via the backhaul beam(s) 217 ​​on the control link 132.

[0048] Aspects of the present disclosure may be more generally applicable to communication links referenced with different labels.In one or more embodiments, the control link 132 may generally be a first link, the backhaul link 134 may generally be a second link, and the access link 140 may generally be a third link.

[0049] Figure 3 The network device 102a, the NCR device 130, and the coverage area 110a ( Figure 1). An example of a wireless communication system 100 for a UE 104 other than a UE 104 of the wireless communication network 100. The NCR device 130 communicates with the access link 140 using beams B0 311, B1 312, and B2 313. The first user equipment UE1 104a and the second user equipment UE2 104b are positioned in beam B1 312. The third user equipment UE3 104c is located in beam B0 311. The fourth user equipment UE4 104d. The network device 102a schedules the UE based on the beam indication of the access link of the UE considering frequency domain multiplexing. In the conventional NR scheduling process, the gNB scheduler can schedule multiple UEs with different RB allocations in the same symbol / time slot. According to the implementation of the scheduler, it is important to schedule UEs reporting the same beam index in the frequency domain (i.e., according to the FDM scheme) and schedule UEs with different beams in the time domain (i.e., according to the TDM scheme) because for the RF chain and / or antenna panel, beam switching is performed in the time domain according to the time slot or according to the symbol. By introducing the network controlled repeater, it is noted that the beam transmission in the backhaul link from the gNB perspective towards the repeater does not require frequency beam switching, because both the gNB and the repeater have fixed locations, and a single backhaul beam can be used for all UEs connected via the repeater. Therefore, for efficient UE scheduling, from the gNB perspective, the same transmission beam can still be used and multiple UEs can be scheduled in the frequency domain in the same time slot / symbol, while these UEs are served by different access beams at the repeater access link. This enhances the scheduling efficiency, but at the same time needs to be considered when indicating the beam index and the corresponding time domain resources to the repeater for the access link. UE1, UE2, UE3 and UE4 are connected to the gNB via different access beams, and some of them are scheduled in the frequency domain using FDM.

[0050] In embodiment 1, the present disclosure provides a network controlled relay with an access link beam indication for broadcast transmission. According to embodiment 1, the NCR-MT is configured using a common or relay-specific RRC and / or a relay-specific DCI (rDCI), wherein (multiple) configuration messages carry information of a beam index to be used in the access link and a corresponding time domain resource. The gNB performs mapping / association of the beam indicated to the UE and the beam reported by the relay for the access link based on the relay capability reported during the attachment process of the NCR-MT or based on a gNB request for simulated beams supported by the access link and their characteristics. The capability reported from the relay is sent in the NCR-MT UL using the PUCCH or PUSCH of the NCR-MT in the C link. Among them, the relay capability may include beam capability information, which may include the maximum number of supported DL transmission and UL reception beams, the 3dB beam width of each beam, and the association / grouping of narrow beams within the wide beam. Wide beams may be used to forward broadcast channels or channels / signals such as SSB / PRACH / common DCI, etc. during initial access, while narrow beams may be used for dedicated RS / data transmission to (multiple) UEs after or during beam refinement.

[0051] For broadcast / public transmissions, the gNB identifies the beams needed for forwarding broadcast channels (e.g., for initial access of UEs) based on the indicated relay capabilities, and semi-statically configures the relay to use the reported wide beams during locations of SSB, RO, public DCI, etc. In one implementation, Figure 4A is example code, which can be sent to NCR-MT using a common configuration (eg, as part of ServingCellConfigCommon).

[0052] In another implementation, the beam index may be sent to the relay using a relay-specific RRC message. The gNB sends the beam index and the corresponding timeslot to the relay for forwarding the broadcast channel / signal. In one implementation, the relay receives information about the beam index for each timeslot to be used for the broadcast channel. In another implementation, the relay is indicated with a mapping of a single SSB / RO burst and applies the same configuration to the rest of the SSB / PRACH transmissions based on the periodicity configured in the SIB as long as there is no indication from the gNB to use a different configuration. Figure 4B is an example of a dedicated RRC message sent to a relay with a beam ID indication and corresponding time resources.

[0053] In embodiment 2, the present disclosure provides access link beam indication for unicast transmission / reception for a network controlled relay. According to embodiment 2, the NCR-MT uses a relay-specific RRC configuration and / or uses a relay-specific DCI (rDCI) for dynamic configuration, wherein the configuration message carries information of a beam index to be used in the access link and a corresponding time domain resource. The gNB performs mapping / association of the beam indicated to the UE and the beam reported by the relay for the access link based on the relay capabilities reported during the attachment process of the NCR-MT or based on a gNB request for simulated beams supported by the access link and their characteristics. The capabilities reported from the relay are sent in the NCR-MT UL using the PUCCH or PUSCH of the NCR-MT in the C link. Among them, the relay capabilities may include beam capability information, which may include the maximum number of supported DL transmission and UL reception beams, the 3dB beam width of each beam, and the association / grouping of narrow beams within the wide beam. Wide beams can be used to forward broadcast channels such as SSB / PRACH / common DCI, etc., while narrow beams can be used for dedicated RS / data transmission after or during beam refinement.

[0054] For UE-specific data / RS transmission, since multiple UEs can be scheduled in the same time domain resource (time domain scheduling unit), which can be a time slot or a symbol, the indication of the corresponding beam of the time slot needs to take into account the UEs scheduled in different frequency domains in the time slot, and the fact that the relay beamforming is based on the time domain and cannot beamform different frequency bands within the time slot.

[0055] Continue to refer Figure 3 , the gNB schedules the UEs served by the NCR device using different access beams. UE1, UE2 and UE3 are scheduled in DL with the same backhaul transmission beam in the same time slot, and UE3 reports the best beam, which corresponds to the best NCR-Fwd access beam, which can be different from those of UE1 and UE2. In addition, UE1, UE2, UE3 and UE4 are scheduled in UL with the same receive beam at the gNB but with different access beams at the repeater side. Based on the latest development of RAN1, the gNB indicates the beam ID and the corresponding time resource of each beam ID at the access link for the repeater to apply when forwarding the signal to the UE in the DL direction and to the gNB in ​​the UL direction. Since the repeater operation in the forwarding link is based on the time domain and the repeater cannot access the frequency allocation details in the time slot / symbol, the gNB needs to decide which access beam to indicate to the repeater in a certain time domain scheduling unit. Therefore, the indication needs to consider the ability of the UE and the repeater to perform simultaneous beam transmission in the access link for frequency domain scheduling.

[0056] The gNB indicates two sets of beam IDs and corresponding time resources, one for DL ​​and the other for UL. In one implementation, if the scheduled UEs can be served using the same beam, the gNB associates / maps the beam with the corresponding beam index at the relay access link and indicates the beam and the corresponding time domain scheduling unit (time domain resources in terms of (multiple) symbols / (multiple) time slots) to the relay. The indication of the time domain resources may be a time slot index, a symbol index within a time slot, or a starting symbol and length of the corresponding beam to be applied, such as a start and length indicator value (SLIV). In another implementation, if the UEs scheduled in the time slot want / need to be served using different beams, the gNB associates the best access beam that can serve the UE. The selection of a suitable beam index may depend on the UE's measurement reports on different beams. The gNB selects a beam that has been reported by multiple UEs in common and whose RSRP meets a threshold, for example, a wide beam that covers a narrow beam of a UE reported from multiple UEs with satisfactory RSRP. The selected beam may not be the best beam for all UEs. However, it can be used as a trade-off to serve different UEs scheduled in the same time domain scheduling unit.

[0057] In another implementation, if a UE scheduled in a timeslot is to / needs to be served by a different beam, the gNB associates the best relay access beam based on the priority of the UE traffic and / or whether the transmission is new data or a retransmission, and gives the retransmission the highest priority. For example, the beam index associated with the best CSI-RS beam reported by the UE with the most critical data / or retransmission of a failed TB is prioritized and indicated to the relay to be applied in that timeslot.

[0058] In another implementation, if the UEs scheduled in the time slot want / need to be served by different beams, and after receiving capability information from the relay that it can support multiple simultaneous analog beam transmissions, the gNB then indicates multiple beam indices of the time scheduling unit to the relay, where the indicated beams are associated with the best reported CSI-RS beam of each scheduled UE in the time domain scheduling unit.

[0059] Figure 5 An example of a block diagram 500 of a device 502 supporting beam indication of an NCR device according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The device 502 may be a network entity or a network device 102 or a UE 104 ( Figure 1). Device 502 may support wireless communications with one or more network entities or network devices 102, UE 104, or any combination thereof. Device 502 may include components for bidirectional communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, such as processor 504, memory 506, transceiver 508, and I / O controller 510. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0060] The processor 504, the memory 506, the transceiver 508, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. For example, the processor 504, the memory 506, the transceiver 508, or various combinations thereof or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more operations described herein.

[0061] In some implementations, the processor 504, the memory 506, the transceiver 508, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in a communication management circuit system). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, which is configured to or otherwise supports components for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. The controller 507 includes a processor 504 that configures the device 502 to perform the functions of the present disclosure. The controller 507 is communicatively coupled to the memory 506 to execute program code. The controller 507 may include a dedicated memory that is accessible only by the processor 504, which is part of the memory 506. In some implementations, the processor 504 and the memory 506 coupled to the processor 504 may be configured to perform one or more functions of the controller 507 described herein (e.g., the instructions stored in the memory 506 are executed by the processor 504). In one example, the processor 504 of the device controller 514 executes the NCR beam direction application 509 to act as an NCR-MT when determining beam direction for configuring the transceiver 508 of the device 502 to perform NCR forwarding.

[0062] The processor 504 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 504 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other implementations, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 504. The processor 504 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 506) to cause the device 502 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0063] The memory 506 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 506 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code, which includes instructions that, when executed by the processor 504, cause the device 502 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a system memory or another type of memory. In some implementations, the code may not be directly executable by the processor 504, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some implementations, the memory 506 may include a basic I / O system (BIOS), etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0064] I / O controller 510 can manage input and output signals of device 502. I / O controller 510 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 502. In some implementations, I / O controller 510 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some implementations, I / O controller 510 can utilize a processor such as a CPU, a CPU module, or a CPU controller. or another known operating system. In some implementations, I / O controller 510 can be implemented as part of a processor, such as processor 504. In some implementations, a user can interact with device 502 via I / O controller 510 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 510.

[0065] In some implementations, the device 502 may include a single antenna 512. However, in some other implementations, the device 502 may have more than one antenna 512 (i.e., multiple antennas), including multiple antenna panels or antenna arrays, which may be able to simultaneously send or receive multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 508 may use one or more receivers 515 and one or more transmitters 517 to perform bidirectional communication via one or more antennas 512, wired or wireless links, as described herein. For example, the transceiver 508 may represent a wireless transceiver and may perform bidirectional communication with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 508 may also include a modem to modulate packets, provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 512 for transmission, and demodulate packets received from one or more antennas 512.

[0066] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the device 502 may be an NCR device 130 ( Figures 1 to 6 The device 502 has at least one transceiver 508, which includes at least one receiver 515 and at least one transmitter 517, which enable the device 502 to communicate with a network entity or network device 102a and a network entity such as UE 104a ( Figure 1 Specifically, at least one transceiver 508 enables the device 502 to: (i) communicate via (a) a control link 132 ( Figures 1 to 5 ) or (b) backhaul link 134 ( Figures 1 to 5 ) and the wireless communication system 100( Figure 1 ) of at least one network device 102a ( Figure 1 ) to communicate; and (ii) via access link 140 ( Figures 1 to 5 ) and user equipment (UE 104a( Figure 1 The controller 514 of the device 502 is communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver 508 .

[0067] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the device 502 may be a network device 102 ( Figures 1 to 3). The device 502 may include a scheduler 519 that is communicatively coupled to the controller 514. In some implementations, the scheduler 519 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise cooperating with the receiver 515, the transmitter 517, or both. For example, the scheduler 519 may receive information from the receiver 515, send information to the transmitter 517, or be integrated with the receiver 515, the transmitter 517, or both to receive information, send information, or perform various other operations as described herein. Although the scheduler 519 is shown as a separate component, in some implementations, one or more functions described with reference to the scheduler 519 may be supported or performed by a processing subsystem (such as the controller 514, the memory 506, or any combination thereof). For example, the memory 506 may store code that may include instructions executable by the controller 514 to cause / configure the device 502 to perform various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein, or the controller 514 and the memory 506 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0068] According to aspects of the present disclosure, scheduler 519 considers UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) uses NCR capability reports and information about the connectivity of UEs via relays when scheduling. According to the above embodiment, the reported beam information capabilities and the reported measurements of the UEs served by the access beam, the scheduler takes this information into account to group the UEs, thereby achieving efficient scheduling.

[0069] After determining that UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) is / can be served by the relay, the scheduler 519 considers this information to schedule based on the UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) Connectivity / potential connectivity via relay to UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) is grouped. Upon receiving the UE 104 ( Figure 1 ), the scheduler 519 sends a measurement report of the access beam of the UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) are grouped and given to UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) priority for FDM scheduling. UE 104 with different best access beam reports ( Figure 1 ) is scheduled in TDM mode. If the relay can support simultaneous beam transmission, the scheduler 519 can schedule UE 104 with different reported best beams in FDM ( Figure 1 ), and the device 502 indicates these beams to the relay for these UEs 104 ( Figure 1 )Serve.

[0070] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a network device 102 ( Figure 1 ) for wireless communication. In one or more embodiments, the device 502 includes at least one transceiver 508, which enables the device 502 to: (i) communicate via a first link (such as the control link 132 ( Figure 1 )) and a repeater device (eg, NCR device 130 ( Figure 1 )) to communicate; and (ii) via a second link (such as backhaul link 134 ( Figure 1 )) indirectly with a user equipment (e.g., UE 104 ( Figure 1 )) communicates via a third link (such as access link 140 ( Figure 1 )) communicates with a user device. The controller 507 is communicatively coupled to at least one transceiver 508. The controller 507 receives, from the repeater device via the at least one transceiver 508, beam designations of two or more beams in which the repeater device is able to communicate with two or more user devices via a third link. The device 502 determines that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams. In response, the device 502 generates a first configuration of beam identifiers and corresponding time domain resources for a first beam of the two or more user devices using frequency division multiplexing. The device 502 sends one or more control messages including the first configuration to the repeater device via the at least one transceiver. The first configuration prompts the repeater device to apply the configuration for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices using the first beam.

[0071] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 determines that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in different beams of the two or more beams. In response, the controller 507 generates a second configuration of two or more beam identifiers and corresponding time domain resources for different beams of the two or more user devices using time division multiplexing. The controller 507 sends one or more control messages including the second configuration to the repeater device via at least one transceiver. The second configuration prompts the repeater device to apply the second configuration for transmission of the downlink and reception of the uplink on the third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices, so as not to use the first beam and the second beam simultaneously.

[0072] In one or more specific embodiments, in response to determining that the beam capabilities of the repeater device include simultaneous beam transmission, the controller 507 sends a second configuration, the second configuration comprising: two or more beam identifiers and indications of simultaneous time resources for time slots / symbols to be applied at the repeater device for simultaneous beam transmission.

[0073] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 determines that: (i) the beam capabilities of the repeater device include one or more wide beams; and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the repeater device includes broadcast content. In response, the controller 507 sends a first configuration including one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more wide beams and an indication of a time resource. In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 sends the first configuration via a repeater-specific radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0074] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 determines that: (i) the beam capabilities of the relay device include one or more narrow beams; and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the relay device is user equipment (UE)-specific content. In response, the controller 507 sends a first configuration, the first configuration including: one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more narrow beams and an indication of a time resource.

[0075] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 generates a first configuration in a relay-specific downlink control information (DCI) format. In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 sends the first configuration scheduled in the frequency domain in a time slot / symbol. The one or more beam identifiers correspond to beams of user equipment in two or more user equipments with high priority data. In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 prioritizes scheduling in the first configuration according to quality of service (QoS) of the two or more user equipments and assigns a higher priority to retransmissions than new data transmissions.

[0076] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 receives from the relay device via at least one transceiver: (i) a relay capability report including beam designations of two or more beams of the relay device for a third link; (ii) identifications of two or more UEs connected to the relay device via the third link; and (iii) identifications of whether each of the two or more user devices can be served by the same beam of the two or more beams or whether a different beam is required. The controller 507 generates a first configuration based on the relay capability report, the identifications of the two or more UEs, and the identifications of the same or different beams.

[0077] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a device 502 for wireless communication is provided, such as an NCR device 130 ( Figure 1 In one or more embodiments, the device 502 includes at least one transceiver 508, which enables the device 502 to: (i) communicate with the user via (a) a first link (eg, control link 132 ( Figure 1 ) or (b) a second link (eg, backhaul link 134 ( Figure 2)) and at least one network device 102 ( Figure 1 ) to communicate; and (ii) via a third link (e.g., an access link ( Figure 1 )) and a user equipment (eg, UE 104 ( Figure 1 )) for communication. The controller 507 of the device 502 is communicatively coupled to at least one transceiver 508. The controller 507 sends, via the at least one transceiver 508, to at least one network device a beam designation of two or more beams on which the device 502 is capable of communicating with two or more user devices via a third link. The at least one network device responds to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams by generating a beam identifier of a first beam for two or more user devices and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources using frequency division multiplexing. The controller 507 receives, via the at least one transceiver 508, one or more control messages including the first configuration from the at least one network device. The controller 507 applies the configuration to the at least one transceiver for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between the relay device and the two or more user devices using the first beam.

[0078] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 receives one or more control messages including a second configuration from at least one network device via at least one transceiver. The at least one network device determines that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in different beams of two or more beams. In response, the at least one network device generates two or more beam identifiers and a second configuration of corresponding time domain resources for different beams of the two or more user devices using time division multiplexing. The controller 507 applies the second configuration for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices to not use the first beam and the second beam simultaneously.

[0079] In one or more specific embodiments, the controller 507 sends a beam capability report indicating beam capability for simultaneous beam transmission to the at least one network device to prompt the at least one network device to generate a second configuration including simultaneous beam transmission. The controller 507 applies an indication of a second configuration of two or more beam identifiers and simultaneous time resources for time slots / symbols used for simultaneous beam transmission at the repeater device.

[0080] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 sends a beam capability report indicating the beam capability of one or more wide beams to at least one network device. The controller 507 receives a first configuration, the first configuration including: one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more wide beams and an indication of time resources. The controller 507 applies the first configuration to at least one transceiver to relay broadcast content.

[0081] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 receives the first configuration via a relay-specific radio resource control (RRC) message. In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 sends a beam capability report indicating beam capabilities of one or more wide beams to at least one network device. The controller 507 receives the first configuration, the first configuration comprising: one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more narrow beams and an indication of time resources. The controller 507 applies the first configuration to at least one transceiver to relay user equipment (UE)-specific content.

[0082] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 receives a first configuration in a relay-specific downlink control information (DCI) format via at least one transceiver 508. In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 receives a first configuration scheduled in a frequency in a time slot / symbol, wherein one or more beam identifiers correspond to a beam of a user equipment of two or more user equipments having high priority data. In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 receives a schedule in the first configuration prioritized according to quality of service (QoS) of the two or more user equipments, and assigns a higher priority to retransmissions than new data transmissions.

[0083] In one or more embodiments, the controller 507 transmits from the relay device via at least one transceiver 508: (i) a relay capability report including beam designations of two or more beams of the relay device for a third link; (ii) identifications of two or more UEs connected to the relay device via the third link; and (iii) identifications of whether each of the two or more user devices can be served by the same beam of the two or more beams or whether a different beam is required. The transmission prompts at least one network device to generate a first configuration based on the relay capability report, the identifications of the two or more UEs, and the identifications of the same or different beams.

[0084] Figure 6 A flow chart of a method 600 for configuring a repeater device for wireless communication at a network device for extending coverage according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 600 may be implemented by a device or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 600 may be implemented by a network device (such as the network device 102 ( Figures 1 to 3 ) or device 502( Figure 5 )) execution. In some implementations, the network device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network device to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the user equipment may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0085] At 605, method 600 may include: via at least one transceiver of the network device: (i) communicating with a repeater device via a first link; and (ii) communicating indirectly with a user device via a second link to the repeater device, the repeater device relaying the communication with the user device via a third link. The operations of 605 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 605 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0086] At 610, method 600 may include receiving, via at least one transceiver, from a relay device a beam designation of two or more beams that the relay device can use to communicate with two or more user devices via a third link. The operations of 610 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 610 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0087] At 615, method 600 may include determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams. The operations of 615 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 615 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0088] At 620, method 600 may include: generating a first configuration of a beam identifier and corresponding time domain resources for a first beam for two or more user equipments using frequency division multiplexing. The operations of 620 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 620 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0089] At 625, method 600 may include: sending one or more control messages including the first configuration to the relay device via at least one transceiver to prompt the relay device to apply the configuration for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between the relay device and two or more user devices using the first beam. The operations of 625 may be performed according to the examples described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 625 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0090] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, in response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in different beams of two or more beams, method 600 may also include: using time division multiplexing to generate two or more beam identifiers and a second configuration of corresponding time domain resources for different beams of the two or more user devices. Method 600 may include: sending one or more control messages including the second configuration to the repeater device via at least one transceiver. The second configuration is used to prompt the repeater device to apply the second configuration for transmission of downlinks and reception of uplinks on a third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices, so as not to use the first beam and the second beam simultaneously.

[0091] In one or more embodiments, in response to determining that the beam capability of the repeater includes simultaneous beam transmission, method 600 may also include: sending a second configuration, the second configuration comprising: two or more beam identifiers and indications of simultaneous time resources for time slots / symbols to be applied at the repeater device for simultaneous beam transmission.

[0092] In one or more embodiments, the method 600 may further include: determining that: (i) the beam capability of the repeater device includes one or more wide beams; and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the repeater device includes broadcast content. In response, the method 600 may further include: sending a first configuration, the first configuration including: one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more wide beams and an indication of a time resource.

[0093] In one or more embodiments, the method 600 may further include: sending the first configuration via a relay-specific radio resource control (RRC) message. In one or more embodiments, the method 600 may further include: determining: (i) the beam capabilities of the relay device include one or more narrow beams; and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the relay device includes user equipment (UE)-specific content. In response, the method 600 may further include: sending the first configuration, the first configuration including: one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more narrow beams and an indication of the time resources.

[0094] In one or more embodiments, the method 600 may further include: generating a first configuration in a relay-specific downlink control information (DCI) format. In one or more embodiments, the method 600 may further include: sending the first configuration scheduled in the frequency domain in a time slot / symbol. One or more beam identifiers correspond to a beam of a user device among two or more user devices with high priority data. In one or more embodiments, the method 600 may further include: prioritizing the scheduling in the first configuration according to the quality of service (QoS) of the two or more user devices, and assigning a higher priority to the retransmission than the new data transmission.

[0095] In one or more embodiments, the method 600 may further include: receiving from the relay device via at least one transceiver: (i) a relay capability report including beam designations of two or more beams of the relay device for the third link; (ii) identifications of two or more UEs connected to the relay device via the third link; and (iii) identifications of whether each of the two or more user devices can be served by the same beam of the two or more beams or whether a different beam is required. The method 600 may also include generating a first configuration based on the relay capability report, the identifications of the two or more UEs, and the identifications of the same or different beams.

[0096] Figure 7 1 is a flow chart of a method 700 for wireless communication at a repeater device according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 700 may be implemented by a device or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 700 may be implemented by a repeater device (such as NCR device 130 ( Figures 1 to 3 ) or device 502( Figure 5 )) execution. In some implementations, the user device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network device to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the user device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0097] At 705, method 700 may include: via at least one transceiver of the relay device: (i) communicating with at least one network node of the network via (a) the first link or (b) the second link; and (ii) communicating with the user equipment via the third link. The operations of 705 may be performed according to the examples described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 705 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0098] At 710, method 700 may include: transmitting, via at least one transceiver, to at least one network device, beam designations of two or more beams in which the relay device is capable of communicating with two or more user devices via a third link. The at least one network device generates a beam identifier for a first beam for the two or more user devices and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources using frequency division multiplexing in response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams. The operations of 710 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 710 may be performed by reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0099] At 715, method 700 may include: receiving, via at least one transceiver, one or more control messages including a first configuration from at least one network device. The operations of 715 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 715 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0100] At 720, method 700 may include applying a configuration to at least one transceiver for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between the relay device and two or more user devices using the first beam. The operations of 720 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 720 may be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 5 The device described performs the following.

[0101] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, method 700 may also include: via at least one transceiver of the relay device: (i) communicating with at least one network node of the network via (a) the first link or (b) the second link; and (ii) communicating with the user equipment via the third link. Method 700 may also include: sending, via at least one transceiver, to at least one network device a beam designation of two or more beams with which the relay device can communicate with two or more user equipment via the third link. At least one network device determines that the beam designation identifies two or more user equipment in a first beam of the two or more beams. In response, at least one network device generates a beam identifier and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources for the first beam for the two or more user equipment using frequency division multiplexing. Method 700 may include: receiving one or more control messages including the first configuration from at least one network device via at least one transceiver. Method 700 may include: applying the configuration to at least one transceiver for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between the relay device and the two or more user equipment using the first beam.

[0102] In one or more embodiments, method 700 may include: receiving one or more control messages including a second configuration from a network device via at least one transceiver. At least one network determines that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in different beams of two or more beams. In response, at least one network generates two or more beam identifiers and a second configuration of corresponding time domain resources for different beams of the two or more user devices using time division multiplexing. Method 700 may include: applying the second configuration for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on a third link between a repeater device and two or more user devices to not use the first beam and the second beam simultaneously.

[0103] In one or more specific embodiments, method 700 may include: sending a beam capability report indicating beam capability for simultaneous beam transmission to at least one network device. The beam capability report prompts at least one network device to generate a second configuration including simultaneous beam transmission. Method 700 includes: applying an indication of a second configuration of two or more beam identifiers and simultaneous time resources for time slots / symbols for simultaneous beam transmission at a repeater device.

[0104] In one or more embodiments, the method 700 may include: sending a beam capability report indicating the beam capability of one or more wide beams to at least one network device. The method 700 may include: receiving a first configuration, the first configuration including one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more wide beams and an indication of time resources. The method 700 may include: applying the first configuration to at least one transceiver to relay broadcast content. In one or more embodiments, the method 700 may include: receiving the first configuration via a repeater-specific radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0105] In one or more embodiments, the method 700 may include sending a beam capability report indicating beam capabilities of one or more wide beams to at least one network device. The method 700 may include receiving a first configuration including one or more beam identifiers and an indication of time resources corresponding to one or more narrow beams. The method 700 may include applying the first configuration to at least one transceiver to relay user equipment (UE) specific content.

[0106] In one or more embodiments, the method 700 may include: receiving, via at least one transceiver, a first configuration in a relay-specific downlink control information (DCI) format. In one or more embodiments, the method 700 may include: receiving a first configuration scheduled in a frequency in a time slot / symbol, wherein one or more beam identifiers correspond to a beam of a user device among two or more user devices having high priority data. In one or more embodiments, the method 700 may include: receiving a schedule in the first configuration prioritized according to quality of service (QoS) of the two or more user devices, and assigning a higher priority to retransmissions than new data transmissions.

[0107] In one or more embodiments, method 700 may include: transmitting from the relay device via at least one transceiver: (i) a relay capability report including beam designations of two or more beams of the relay device for a third link; (ii) identifications of two or more UEs connected to the relay device via the third link; and (iii) identifications of whether each of the two or more user devices can be served by the same beam of the two or more beams or whether a different beam is required. The transmission prompts at least one network device to generate a first configuration based on the relay capability report, the identifications of the two or more UEs, and the identifications of the same or different beams.

[0108] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0109] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination of these. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0110] Computer-readable media include both non-transient computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that is convenient for transferring a computer program from one place to another. Non-transient storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general or special-purpose computer. As an example and not limitation, non-transient computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store desired program code devices in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a general or special-purpose computer or a general or special-purpose processor. Any other non-transient medium.

[0111] Any connection can be appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disks and optical discs as used herein include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, wherein disks typically copy data magnetically, while optical discs use lasers to optically copy data. The above combination is also included in the scope of computer-readable media.

[0112] As used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items ending with a phrase such as "at least one" or "one or more") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C is intended to indicate A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). In addition, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on". In addition, as used herein, including in the claims, a "set" may include one or more elements.

[0113] When referring to a network entity, the terms "send," "receive," or "transmit" may refer to any part of a network entity (e.g., base station, CU, DU, RU) that communicates with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities) through the RAN.

[0114] The description set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describes example configurations and does not represent all examples that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "used as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "in favor of other examples." The detailed description includes specific details in order to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0115] The description herein is provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be given the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A base station for wireless communication, the base station comprising: at least one transceiver that enables the base station to: (i) communicate with a repeater device via a first link; and (ii) communicating indirectly with the user equipment via a second link to the repeater device, the repeater device relaying communications with the user equipment via a third link; as well as a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver, and the controller: receiving, from the relay device via the at least one transceiver, a beam designation of two or more beams by which the relay device can communicate with two or more user devices via the third link; as well as In response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams: generating a beam identifier and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources of the first beam for the two or more user equipments using frequency division multiplexing; as well as One or more control messages including the first configuration are sent to the repeater device via the at least one transceiver to prompt the repeater device to apply the configuration for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on the third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices using the first beam.

2. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the controller: In response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user equipment in different ones of the two or more beams: generating, using time division multiplexing, a second configuration of two or more beam identifiers and corresponding time domain resources for the different beams for the two or more user equipments; and One or more control messages including the second configuration are sent to the repeater device via the at least one transceiver to prompt the repeater device to apply the second configuration for downlink transmission and uplink reception on the third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices so as not to use the first beam and the second beam simultaneously.

3. The base station according to claim 2, wherein the controller: In response to determining that the beam capabilities of the repeater device include simultaneous beam transmissions: Sending the second configuration, where the second configuration includes: An indication of two or more beam identifiers and simultaneous time resources of time slots / symbols to be applied at the repeater device for simultaneous beam transmission.

4. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the controller: In response to determining that: (i) the beam capabilities of the repeater device include one or more wide beams; and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the repeater device includes broadcast content: Sending the first configuration, where the first configuration includes: An indication of one or more beam identifiers and time resources corresponding to the one or more wide beams. 5 . The base station of claim 1 , wherein the controller sends the first configuration via a relay-specific radio resource control (RRC) message.

6. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the controller: In response to determining that: (i) the beam capabilities of the relay device include one or more narrow beams; and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the relay device includes user equipment (UE)-specific content: Sending the first configuration, where the first configuration includes: An indication of one or more beam identifiers and time resources corresponding to the one or more narrow beams.

7. The base station of claim 1, wherein the controller generates the first configuration in a relay-specific downlink control information (DCI) format.

8. The base station of claim 1, wherein the controller sends the first configuration scheduled in the frequency domain in a time slot / symbol, wherein the one or more beam identifiers correspond to a beam of a user equipment among the two or more user equipments having high priority data.

9. The base station of claim 1, wherein the controller prioritizes scheduling in the first configuration according to quality of service (QoS) of the two or more user equipments and assigns a higher priority to retransmissions than new data transmissions.

10. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the controller: receiving from the repeater device via the at least one transceiver: a repeater capability report including said beam-specifications for two or more beams of said repeater device for said third link; identifications of the two or more user equipments connected to the relay device via the third link; as well as an identification of whether each of the two or more user equipments can be served by the same beam of the two or more beams or whether a different beam is required; as well as The first configuration is generated based on the relay capability report, the identification of the two or more user equipments, and the identification of the same or different beams.

11. A method for wireless communication at a base station, the method comprising: via at least one transceiver of the base station: (i) communicating with the repeater device via a first link; and (ii) communicating indirectly with the user equipment via a second link to the repeater device, the repeater device relaying communications with the user equipment via a third link; receiving, from the relay device via the at least one transceiver, a beam designation of two or more beams by which the relay device can communicate with two or more user devices via the third link; as well as In response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user devices in a first beam of the two or more beams: generating a beam identifier and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources of the first beam for the two or more user equipments using frequency division multiplexing; as well as One or more control messages including the first configuration are sent to the repeater device via the at least one transceiver to prompt the repeater device to apply the configuration for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on the third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices using the first beam.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: In response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user equipment in different ones of the two or more beams: generating, using time division multiplexing, a second configuration of two or more beam identifiers and corresponding time domain resources for the different beams for the two or more user equipments; as well as One or more control messages including the second configuration are sent to the repeater device via the at least one transceiver to prompt the repeater device to apply the second configuration for downlink transmission and uplink reception on the third link between the repeater device and the two or more user devices so as not to use the first beam and the second beam simultaneously.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: In response to determining that the beam capability of the repeater device includes simultaneous beam transmission, the second configuration is sent, the second configuration comprising: two or more beam identifiers and indications of simultaneous time resources for time slots / symbols to be applied at the repeater device for simultaneous beam transmission.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: In response to determining that (i) the beam capabilities of the repeater device include one or more wide beams and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the repeater device includes broadcast content, sending the first configuration, the first configuration including: one or more beam identifiers and an indication of time resources corresponding to the one or more wide beams; and In response to determining that (i) the beam capabilities of the repeater device include one or more narrow beams and (ii) the content scheduled for relaying by the repeater device includes user equipment (UE)-specific content, the first configuration is sent, wherein the first configuration includes: one or more beam identifiers corresponding to the one or more narrow beams and an indication of time resources.

15. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: Scheduling in the first configuration is prioritized according to quality of service (QoS) of the two or more user equipments, and retransmissions are assigned a higher priority than new data transmissions.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: receiving from the repeater device via the at least one transceiver: a repeater capability report including said beam-specifications for two or more beams of said repeater device for said third link; identifications of the two or more user equipments connected to the relay device via the third link; as well as an identification of whether each of the two or more user equipments can be served by the same beam of the two or more beams or whether a different beam is required; as well as The first configuration is generated based on the relay capability report, the identification of the two or more user equipments, and the identification of the same or different beams.

17. A repeater device for wireless communication, the repeater device comprising: at least one transceiver, enabling the relay device to: (i) communicate with at least one network node of the network via (a) the first link or (b) the second link; and (ii) communicate with a user equipment via a third link; as well as a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver, and the controller: transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, to at least one base station, beam designations of two or more beams in which the relay device is capable of communicating with two or more user equipment via the third link, wherein the at least one base station generates a beam identifier and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources for the first beam for the two or more user equipment in response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user equipment in a first beam of the two or more beams by using frequency division multiplexing to generate a beam identifier and a first configuration of corresponding time domain resources for the first beam for the two or more user equipment; receiving, via the at least one transceiver, from the at least one base station, one or more control messages including the first configuration; as well as The configuration is applied to the at least one transceiver for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on the third link between the relay device and the two or more user equipments using the first beam.

18. The repeater device according to claim 17, wherein the controller: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, from the base station one or more control messages including a second configuration, wherein in response to determining that the beam designation identifies two or more user equipments in different beams of the two or more beams, the at least one base station generates the second configuration of two or more beam identifiers and corresponding time domain resources for the different beams for the two or more user equipments using time division multiplexing; and The second configuration is applied for transmission of a downlink and reception of an uplink on the third link between the relay device and the two or more user equipments so as not to use the first beam and the second beam simultaneously.

19. The repeater device of claim 18, wherein the controller: sending a beam capability report indicating beam capability of simultaneous beam transmission to the at least one base station to prompt the at least one base station to generate the second configuration including simultaneous beam transmission; and An indication of said second configuration of two or more beam identifiers and simultaneous time resources for time slots / symbols for simultaneous beam transmissions at said relay device is applied.

20. The repeater device of claim 17, wherein the controller: transmitting from the repeater device via the at least one transceiver: a repeater capability report including said beam-specifications for two or more beams of said repeater device for said third link; identifications of the two or more user equipments connected to the relay device via the third link; as well as Whether each of the two or more user devices can be served by the same beam among the two or more beams or whether a different beam is required is identified to prompt the at least one base station to generate the first configuration based on the repeater capability report, the identification of the two or more user devices, and the identification of the same or different beams.

Images