Antenna port indication for more than four layer physical uplink shared channel operation

Abstract

The application relates to devices and components, including apparatuses, systems, and methods, that provide antenna port indications for more than four layer physical uplink shared channel operations.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 409,160, filed on September 22, 2022, entitled “Antenna Port Indication for more than Four LayerPhysical Uplink Shared Channel Operation,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of wireless technology, and in particular to antenna ports for more than four-layer Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) operations. Background Art

[0004] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network can utilize multiple antenna ports to send communications between a base station and a user equipment (UE). The network indicates the antenna port to be used for transmission via the base station. The UE determines the antenna port that can be used for transmission and sends the transmission via the antenna port indicated by the network. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 An exemplary demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port mapping for cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0006] Figure 2 An exemplary DMRS port mapping for CP-OFDM according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0007] Figure 3 An exemplary table for use with method 1.2 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0008] Figure 4 An exemplary table for use with method 1.3 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 5 An exemplary table for use with method 1.4 according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 6 An exemplary table for use with method 1.5 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 7 An exemplary table for use with Method 2.2 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 8 An exemplary table for use with method 2.3 according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0013] Fig. 9 An exemplary table for use with method 3.2 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0014] Fig.10 An exemplary table for use with method 3.3 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0015] Fig.11 An exemplary table for use with method 3.5 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0016] Fig.12 An exemplary table for use with method 3.6 is illustrated according to some embodiments.

[0017] Fig.13 An exemplary signaling diagram is illustrated that may implement at least a portion of one or more methods according to some embodiments.

[0018] Fig.14 An exemplary signaling diagram is illustrated that may implement at least a portion of one or more methods according to some embodiments.

[0019] Fig.15 A Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) arrangement is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0020] Fig.16 Example processes for operating a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments are illustrated.

[0021] Fig.17 Example processes for operating a UE according to some embodiments are illustrated.

[0022] Fig.18 Exemplary processes for operating a base station according to some embodiments are illustrated.

[0023] Fig.19 An exemplary UE according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0024] Fig. 20 An exemplary next generation Node B (gNB) according to some embodiments is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following specific embodiments refer to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are described for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of various embodiments due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0026] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0027] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functionality, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system on a chip (SoC)), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc. In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and a program code for executing the functionality of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0028] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transferring digital data. The term "processor circuit" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0029] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is a part of, or includes a circuit that enables information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, etc.

[0030] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. In addition, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. In addition, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0031] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0032] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor / CPU time, a processor / CPU usage, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage, a power supply, an input / output operation, a port or a network socket, a channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, a network, a database and an application, a unit of work, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage or network resources provided by a virtualized infrastructure to an application, a device, a system, etc. The term "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that a computer device / system can access via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service, and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services that can be accessed through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0033] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for communicating data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent to "communication channel", "data communication channel", "transmission channel", "data transmission channel", "access channel", "data access channel", "link", "data link", "carrier", "radio frequency carrier" or any other similar term representing a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection made between two devices for sending and receiving information.

[0034] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0035] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0036] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure for providing wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, etc.

[0037] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0038] As used herein, the term "based at least in part on" may indicate that one item is based only on another item and / or based on another item and one or more additional items. For example, in an embodiment, determining item 1 based at least in part on item 2 may indicate determining item 1 based only on item 2 and / or determining item 1 based on item 2 and one or more other items.

[0039] Problem Statement

[0040] In legacy New Radio (NR), for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) operation, in the downlink control information (DCI) format 0_1 / 0_2 that schedules PUSCH, we have two operating modes: non-codebook, i.e., txConfig = non-codebook, the number of layers and precoding are indicated by the "Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator" field; codebook, i.e., txConfig = codebook, the number of layers and precoding are indicated by the "Precoding Information and Number of Layers" field. For example, a legacy system can operate in non-codebook and codebook operating modes for transmission. In non-codebook operation, the network can indicate the number of layers and precoding to the user equipment (UE) via the SRS Resource Indicator field. In codebook operation, the network can indicate the number of layers and precoding to the UE via the precoding information and number of layers field.

[0041] For PUSCH operation, after the network (NW) indicates the number of layers and precoding to the user equipment (UE), the NW also needs to indicate to the UE which antenna port(s) to use for demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.212 (3GPP Organization Partnership, "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Multiplexing and Channel Coding (Release 17)", TS 38.212 V17.2.0, June 2022) for cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM). Tables 7.3.1.1.2-8 / 9 / 10 / 11 of TS 38.212 are for DMRS configuration type 1 and a maximum of 1 DMRS symbol per DMRS position. Tables 7.3.1.1.2-12 / 13 / 14 / 15 of TS 38.212 are for DMRS configuration type 1 and a maximum of 2 DMRS symbols per DMRS position. Table 7.3.1.1.2-16 / 17 / 18 / 19 of TS 38.212 is used for DMRS configuration type 2 and a maximum of 1 DMRS symbol per DMRS position. Table 7.3.1.1.2-20 / 21 / 22 / 23 of TS 38.212 is used for DMRS configuration type 2 and a maximum of 2 DMRS symbols per DMRS position.

[0042] So far, New Radio (NR) supports up to 4-layer PUSCH operation. For example, UL transmissions transmitted via PUSCH are limited to a maximum of four layers. Therefore, based on the UL transmission being limited to a maximum of four layers, UL transmissions can be sent via a maximum of four antenna ports.

[0043] In Release 18 (Rel-18) NR, in the approved Work Item Description (WID), RP-213598, it was agreed to specify two things: DMRS enhancement to support double the number of DMRS ports for CP-OFDM; more than 4-layer PUSCH operation.

[0044] Study and, if justified, specify a larger number of orthogonal DMRS ports (without increasing demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) overhead) for downlink and uplink multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO), for CP-OFDM only. Strive for common design between downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) DMRS. Up to 24 orthogonal DM-RS ports, with the maximum number of orthogonal ports for both single-symbol and dual-symbol DMRS doubled for each applicable DMRS type.

[0045] Study and, if justified, specify UL DMRS, SRS, SRS Resource Indicator (SRI), and Transmit Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI) (including codebook) enhancements to enable 8-transmit (Tx) UL operation to support 4 and more layers per UE in the UL targeting Customer Terminal Equipment (CPE) / Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) / Vehicles / Industrial Equipment. NOTE: Potential limitations to the scope of this target (including coherence assumptions, full / non-full power modes) will be identified as part of the study.

[0046] The methods described herein provide antenna port indication enhancements to support more than 4-layer PUSCH operation: Legacy DMRS, dmrs-Type=1, maxLength=2; Legacy DMRS, dmrs-Type=2, maxLength=1; Legacy DMRS, dmrs-Type=2, maxLength=2; General Design. For example, the methods described herein may enable the NW to indicate to the UE via the base station the antenna port to be used for UL transmissions sent by the UE.

[0047] Legacy DMRS port mapping for CP-OFDM in legacy NR. Figure 1 An exemplary DMRS port mapping 100 for CP-OFDM according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, the DMRS port mapping 100 illustrates a DMRS Type 1 port mapping according to some embodiments.

[0048] The DMRS port mapping 100 may include a first CDM group 102 (referred to as CDM group 0) and a second CDM group 104 (referred to as CDM group 1). Ports for DMRS type 1 may be divided into the first CDM group 102 and the second CDM group 104. The ports may be divided into the first CDM group 102 and the second CDM group 104 based on antenna elements corresponding to the ports.

[0049] DMRS type 1 may include eight ports. The eight ports may be equally divided between the first CDM group 102 and the second CDM group 104. In particular, the first CDM group 102 may include a first port 106 (referred to as port 0), a second port 108 (referred to as port 1), a fifth port 110 (referred to as port 4), and a sixth port 112 (referred to as port 5). The second CDM group 104 may include a third port 114 (referred to as port 2), a fourth port 116 (referred to as port 3), a seventh port 118 (referred to as port 6), and an eighth port 120 (referred to as port 7). As further described throughout the present disclosure, via the base station, the network may indicate a port of the eight ports to be used for PUSCH uplink transmission for DMRS type 1 operation.

[0050] Figure 2 An exemplary DMRS port mapping 200 for CP-OFDM according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, the DMRS port mapping 200 illustrates a DMRS Type 2 port mapping according to some embodiments.

[0051] The DMRS port mapping 200 may include a first CDM group 202 (referred to as CDM group 0), a second CDM group 204 (referred to as CDM group 1), and a third CDM group 206 (referred to as CDM group 2). Ports for DMRS type 2 may be divided into the first CDM group 202, the second CDM group 204, and the third CDM group 206. The ports may be divided into the first CDM group 202, the second CDM group 204, and the third CDM group 206 based on antenna elements corresponding to the ports.

[0052] DMRS type 2 may include twelve ports. The twelve ports may be equally divided between the first CDM group 202, the second CDM group 204, and the third CDM group 206. In particular, the first CDM group 202 may include a first port 208 (referred to as port 0), a second port 210 (referred to as port 1), a seventh port 212 (referred to as port 6), and an eighth port 214 (referred to as port 7). The second CDM group 204 may include a third port 216 (referred to as port 2), a fourth port 218 (referred to as port 3), a ninth port 220 (referred to as port 8), and a tenth port 222 (referred to as port 9). The third CDM group 206 may include a fifth port 224 (referred to as port 4), a sixth port 226 (referred to as port 5), an eleventh port 228 (referred to as port 10), and a twelfth port 230 (referred to as port 11). As further described throughout the present disclosure, via the base station, the network may indicate a port of eight ports to be used for PUSCH uplink transmission for DMRS type 2 operation.

[0053] The antenna port table should depend on the following factors. Legacy DMRS or enhanced DMRS: Legacy DMRS; Enhanced DMRS: Double the amount of DMRS ports. DMRS configuration type: Configuration type 1: dmrs-Type=1; Configuration type 2: dmrs-Type=2. Maximum number of DMRS symbols per DMRS position: maxLength=1; maxLength=2. Rank (i.e., number of layers) for scheduling PUSCH: rank=1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8. For example, the antenna port to be used for PUSCH transmission may be determined based on whether legacy DMRS or enhanced DMRS is being utilized, based on the DMRS configuration type associated with the PUSCH transmission, based on the maximum number of DMRS symbols per DMRS position, based on the rank of the scheduled PUSCH, or some combination thereof. In enhanced DMRS, the DMRS may have twice the amount of DMRS ports of a legacy DMRS. The DMRS configuration type may be configuration type 1 or configuration type 2. The maximum number of DMRS symbols per DMRS position may be one or two. The rank may be the number of layers scheduling PUSCH and may have a value of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. An antenna port table may be utilized to indicate antenna ports to be utilized.

[0054] Method 1: Traditional DMRS, dmrs-Type = 1, maxLength = 2

[0055] Method 1.1: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 1 (dmrs-Type=1) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position to support more than 4 layers of PUSCH. For example, method 1.1 can be for DMRS configuration type 1 with up to two symbols per DMRS position. The number of indicated frontload symbols must be 2. The number of indicated data-free DMRS CDM groups must be 2. For DMRS configuration type 2 with up to two symbols per DMRS position, the number of indicated data-free DMRS CDM groups can be two or three, and the number of indicated frontload symbols can be two to support more than four layers of PUSCH.

[0056] Method 1.2: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 1 (dmrs-Type=1) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank=5, one or more of the rows in the following table may be considered. For example, method 1.2 may be for DMRS configuration type 1, with up to two symbols per DMRS position and rank of five, for PUSCH transmission.

[0057] Figure 3An exemplary table 300 for method 1.2 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 300 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 1 with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of five. Table 300 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 300 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 300.

[0058] Table 300 may include three options for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The options may be defined based on the number of DMRS CDM groups 302 with no data, the antenna ports 304 to be used for transmission, and the number of frontloading symbols 306.

[0059] As can be seen from table 300, the first option 308 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 302 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 306 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 304 of the first option 308 may be port 2, port 3, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate to the UE that it will utilize port 2, port 3, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the first option 308 of table 300.

[0060] The second option 310 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 302 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 306 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 304 of the second option 310 may be port 0, port 1, port 4, port 5, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 4, port 5, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the second option 310 of the table 300.

[0061] The third option 312 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 302 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 306 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 304 of the third option 312 may be port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the third option 312 of the table 300.

[0062] The options shown in Table 300 may be compatible with options in a legacy table corresponding to rank three. For example, the options in Table 300 may indicate antenna ports for transmission that are different from the corresponding options in the legacy table corresponding to rank three. Therefore, in MU-MIMO, the base station may use Table 300 to indicate antenna ports to be utilized by the first UE, and use the legacy table corresponding to rank three to indicate antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE, where the antenna ports to be utilized by the first UE are different from the antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE. Based on these indications, the first UE and the second UE may use different antenna ports to send PUSCH transmissions. The options in Table 300 may be compatible with the legacy Table 7.3.1.1.2-14 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0063] Method 1.3: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 1 (dmrs-Type=1) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank=6, one or more of the rows in the following table may be considered. For example, method 1.3 may be for DMRS configuration type 1, with up to two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of six, for PUSCH transmission.

[0064] Figure 4 An exemplary table 400 for method 1.3 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 400 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for DMRS configuration type 1 PUSCH transmissions with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of six. Table 400 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 400 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 400.

[0065] Table 400 may include six options for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The options may be defined based on the number 402 of DMRS CDM groups without data, the antenna ports 404 to be used for transmission, and the number 406 of frontloading symbols.

[0066] As can be seen from table 400, the first option 408 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 402 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 406 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 404 of the first option 408 may be port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate to the UE that it will utilize port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the first option 408 of table 400.

[0067] The second option 410 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 402 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 406 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 404 of the second option 410 may be port 0, port 1, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the second option 410 of the table 400.

[0068] The third option 412 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 402 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 406 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 404 of the third option 412 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the third option 412 of the table 400.

[0069] The fourth option 414 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 402 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 406 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 404 of the fourth option 414 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, and port 5. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, and port 5 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fourth option 414 of the table 400.

[0070] The fifth option 416 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 402 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 406 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 404 of the fifth option 416 may be port 1, port 2, port 3, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 1, port 2, port 3, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fifth option 416 of the table 400.

[0071] The sixth option 418 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 402 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 406 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 404 of the sixth option 418 may be port 0, port 1, port 3, port 4, port 5, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 3, port 4, port 5, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the sixth option 418 of the table 400.

[0072] The options shown in Table 400 may be compatible with options in a legacy table corresponding to rank two. For example, the options in Table 400 may indicate antenna ports for transmission that are different from the corresponding options in the legacy table corresponding to rank two. Therefore, in MU-MIMO, the base station may use Table 400 to indicate antenna ports to be utilized by the first UE, and use the legacy table corresponding to rank two to indicate antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE, wherein the antenna ports to be utilized by the first UE are different from the antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE. Based on these indications, the first UE and the second UE may use different antenna ports to send PUSCH transmissions. The options in Table 400 may be compatible with the legacy Table 7.3.1.1.2-13 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0073] Method 1.4: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 1 (dmrs-Type=1) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank=7, one or more of the rows in the following table may be considered. For example, method 1.4 may be for DMRS configuration type 1, with up to two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of seven, for PUSCH transmission.

[0074] Figure 5 An exemplary table 500 for method 1.4 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 500 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 1 with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of seven. Table 500 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 500 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 500.

[0075] Table 500 may include two options for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The options may be defined based on the number 502 of DMRS CDM groups without data, the antenna ports 504 to be used for transmission, and the number 506 of frontloading symbols.

[0076] As can be seen from table 500, the first option 508 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 502 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 506 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 504 of the first option 508 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, and port 6. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, and port 6 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the first option 508 of table 500.

[0077] The second option 510 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 502 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 506 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 504 of the second option 510 may be port 0, port 1, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the second option 510 of the table 500.

[0078] Method 1.5: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 1 (dmrs-Type=1) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank=8, the following table may be considered. For example, method 1.5 may be for DMRS configuration type 1, with up to two symbols per DMRS position and rank eight, for PUSCH transmission.

[0079] Figure 6 An exemplary table 600 for method 1.5 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 600 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 1 with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of eight. Table 600 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 600 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 600.

[0080] Table 600 may include one option for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The option may be defined based on the number 602 of DMRS CDM groups without data, the antenna ports 604 to be used for transmission, and the number 606 of frontloading symbols.

[0081] As can be seen from table 600, option 608 may be for PUSCH transmission with the number 602 of DMRS CDM groups without data equal to two and the number 606 of front-end symbols equal to two. Available antenna ports 604 for option 608 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate to the UE that it will utilize port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating option 608 of table 600.

[0082] Method 2: Traditional DMRS, dmrs-Type = 2, maxLength = 1

[0083] Method 2.1: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type=2) and up to 1 symbol per DMRS position to support more than 4 layers of PUSCH. The number of DMRS CDM groups indicated without data must be 3. For example, method 2.1 can be applied to DMRS configuration type 2 and up to one symbol per DMRS position associated with PUSCH transmission. For method 2.1, the number of DMRS CDM groups indicated without data can be three to support more than four layers of PUSCH.

[0084] Method 2.2: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type=2) and a maximum of 1 symbol per DMRS position, for rank=5, the following table may be considered. For example, method 2.2 may be for DMRS configuration type 2, with a maximum of one symbol per DMRS position and a rank of five, for PUSCH transmission.

[0085] Figure 7 An exemplary table 700 for method 2.2 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 700 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 2 with one symbol per DMRS position and a rank of five. Table 700 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 700 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 700.

[0086] Table 700 may include one option for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The option may be defined based on the number 702 of DMRS CDM groups without data, the antenna ports 704 to be used for transmission, and the number 706 of frontloading symbols.

[0087] As can be seen from table 700, option 708 may be for PUSCH transmission with the number 702 of DMRS CDM groups without data equal to three and the number 706 of front-end symbols equal to one. The available antenna ports 704 of option 708 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, and port 4. Therefore, the base station may indicate to the UE that it will utilize port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, and port 4 for PUSCH transmission by indicating option 708 of table 700.

[0088] The options shown in Table 700 may be compatible with options in a legacy table corresponding to rank three. For example, the options in Table 700 may indicate antenna ports for transmission that are different from the corresponding options in the legacy table corresponding to rank three. Thus, in MU-MIMO, the base station may use Table 700 to indicate antenna ports to be utilized by the first UE, and use the legacy table corresponding to rank three to indicate antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE, wherein the antenna ports to be utilized by the first UE are different from the antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE. Based on these indications, the first UE and the second UE may use different antenna ports to send PUSCH transmissions. The options in Table 700 may be compatible with the legacy Table 7.3.1.2-16 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0089] Method 2.3: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type=2) and up to 1 symbol per DMRS position, for rank=6, the following table may be considered. For example, method 2.3 may be for DMRS configuration type 2, with up to one symbol per DMRS position and rank of six, for PUSCH transmission.

[0090] Figure 8 An exemplary table 800 for method 2.3 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 800 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of type 2 with a DMRS configuration of one symbol per DMRS position and a rank of six. Table 800 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 800 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 800.

[0091] Table 800 may include one option for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. This option may be defined based on the number 802 of DMRS CDM groups without data, the antenna ports 804 to be used for transmission, and the number 806 of frontloading symbols.

[0092] As can be seen from table 800, option 808 may be for PUSCH transmission with the number 802 of DMRS CDM groups without data equal to three and the number 806 of front-end symbols equal to one. The available antenna ports 804 of option 708 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, and port 5. Therefore, the base station may indicate to the UE that it will utilize port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, and port 5 for PUSCH transmission by indicating option 808 of table 800.

[0093] Proposal 3: Traditional DMRS, dmrs-Type = 2, maxLength = 2

[0094] Method 3.1: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type=2) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, in order to support more than 4 layers of PUSCH, the following are possible combinations. (3 CDM groups, 1 symbol DMRS): Maximum number of DMRS ports = 6. (2 CDM groups, 2 symbol DMRS): Maximum number of DMRS ports = 8. (3 CDM groups, 2 symbol DMRS): Maximum number of DMRS ports = 12. For example, method 3.1 can be applied to DMRS configuration type 2 and up to two symbols per DMRS position. For method 3.1, different combinations of the number of CDM groups with no data and the number of front-load symbols can be supported. For example, a combination of three CDM groups and one symbol DMRS can be supported, and the combination can have up to six DMRS ports. A combination of two CDM groups and two symbol DMRS can be supported, and the combination can have up to eight DMRS ports. A combination of three CDM groups and two symbol DMRS can be supported, and the combination can have up to twelve DMRS ports.

[0095] Method 3.2: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type=2) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank=5, one or more of the rows in the following table may be considered. For example, method 3.2 may be applied to DMRS configuration type 2 and up to two symbols per DMRS position associated with PUSCH transmission. For method 3.2, a rank of five may be associated with PUSCH transmission.

[0096] Fig. 9 An exemplary table 900 for method 3.2 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 900 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 2 with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of five. Table 900 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 900 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 900.

[0097] Table 900 may include ten options for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The options may be defined based on the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 902, the antenna ports to be used for transmission 904, and the number of frontloading symbols 906.

[0098] As can be seen from table 900, the first option 908 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to one. The available antenna ports 904 of the first option 908 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, and port 4. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will utilize port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, and port 4 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the first option 908 of table 900.

[0099] The second option 910 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the second option 910 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, and port 6. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, and port 6 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the second option 910 of the table 900.

[0100] The third option 912 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the third option 912 may be port 0, port 1, port 3, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 3, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the third option 912 of the table 900.

[0101] The fourth option 914 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the fourth option 914 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fourth option 914 of the table 900.

[0102] The fifth option 916 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the fifth option 916 may be port 4, port 5, port 9, port 10, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 4, port 5, port 9, port 10, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fifth option 916 of the table 900.

[0103] The sixth option 918 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the sixth option 918 may be port 2, port 3, port 8, port 9, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 2, port 3, port 8, port 9, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the sixth option 918 of the table 900.

[0104] The seventh option 920 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the seventh option 920 may be port 4, port 5, port 7, port 10, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 4, port 5, port 7, port 10, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the seventh option 920 of the table 900.

[0105] The eighth option 922 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the eighth option 922 may be port 0, port 1, port 6, port 7, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 6, port 7, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the eighth option 922 of the table 900.

[0106] The ninth option 924 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the ninth option 924 may be port 2, port 3, port 7, port 8, and port 9. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 2, port 3, port 7, port 8, and port 9 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the ninth option 924 of the table 900.

[0107] The tenth option 926 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 902 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 906 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 904 of the tenth option 926 may be ports 0, 1, port 6, port 7, and port 9. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will utilize ports 0, 1, port 6, port 7, and port 9 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the tenth option 926 of the table 900.

[0108] The options shown in Table 900 may be compatible with options in a legacy table. For example, an option in Table 900 may indicate an antenna port for transmission that is different from a corresponding option in a corresponding legacy table. Thus, in MU-MIMO, a base station may use Table 900 to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a first UE, and use a corresponding legacy table to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a second UE, wherein the antenna port to be utilized by the first UE is different from the antenna port to be utilized by the second UE. Based on these indications, the first UE and the second UE may use different antenna ports to send PUSCH transmissions. The second option 910 and the third option 912 of Table 900 may be compatible with the legacy table 7.3.1.1.2-21 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling. The fourth option 914, the fifth option 916, the sixth option 918, the seventh option 920, the eighth option 922, the ninth option 924 and the tenth option 926 of the table 900 may be compatible with the legacy table 7.3.1.1.2-22 / 23 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0109] Method 3.3: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type = 2) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank = 6, one or more of the rows in the following table may be considered. For example, method 3.3 may be applied to DMRS configuration type 2 and up to two symbols per DMRS position associated with PUSCH transmission. For method 3.3, a rank of six may be associated with PUSCH transmission.

[0110] Fig.10 An exemplary table 1000 for method 3.3 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 1000 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 2 with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of six. Table 1000 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 1000 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 1000.

[0111] Table 1000 may include eight options for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The options may be defined based on the number of DMR SCDM groups 1002 with no data, the antenna ports 1004 to be used for transmission, and the number of frontloading symbols 1006.

[0112] As can be seen from table 1000, the first option 1008 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 1002 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 1006 of front-end symbols is equal to one. The available antenna ports 1004 of the first option 1008 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, and port 5. Therefore, the base station may indicate to the UE that the UE will utilize port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, and port 5 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the first option 1008 of table 1000.

[0113] The second option 1010 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 1002 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 1006 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1004 of the second option 1010 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the second option 1010 of the table 1000.

[0114] The third option 1012 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1002 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1006 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1004 of the third option 1012 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the third option 1012 of the table 1000.

[0115] The fourth option 1014 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1002 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1006 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1004 of the fourth option 1014 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 8, and port 9. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 8, and port 9 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fourth option 1014 of the table 1000.

[0116] The fifth option 1016 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1002 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1006 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1004 of the fifth option 1016 may be port 0, port 1, port 4, port 5, port 10, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 4, port 5, port 10, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fifth option 1016 of the table 1000.

[0117] The sixth option 1018 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1002 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1006 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1004 of the sixth option 1018 may be port 4, port 5, port 8, port 9, port 10, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 4, port 5, port 8, port 9, port 10, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the sixth option 1018 of the table 1000.

[0118] The seventh option 1020 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1002 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1006 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1004 of the seventh option 1020 may be port 4, port 5, port 6, port 7, port 10, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 4, port 5, port 6, port 7, port 10, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the seventh option 1020 of the table 1000.

[0119] The eighth option 1022 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 1002 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to three and the number 1006 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1004 of the eighth option 1022 may be port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 8, and port 9. Therefore, the base station may indicate, by indicating the eighth option 1022 of the table 1000, that the UE will use port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 8, and port 9 for PUSCH transmission.

[0120] The options shown in Table 1000 may be compatible with options in a legacy table. For example, an option in Table 1000 may indicate an antenna port for transmission that is different from a corresponding option in a corresponding legacy table. Thus, in MU-MIMO, a base station may use Table 1000 to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a first UE, and use a corresponding legacy table to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a second UE, wherein the antenna port to be utilized by the first UE is different from the antenna port to be utilized by the second UE. Based on these indications, the first UE and the second UE may use different antenna ports to send PUSCH transmissions. The second option 1010 of Table 1000 may be compatible with the legacy table 7.3.1.1.2-21 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling. The third option 1012, the fourth option 1014, the fifth option 1016, the sixth option 1018, the seventh option 1020, and the eighth option 1022 of the table 1000 may be compatible with the legacy table 7.3.1.1.2-22 / 23 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0121] Method 3.5: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type=2) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank=7, one or more of the rows in the following table may be considered. For example, method 3.5 may be applied to DMRS configuration type 2 and up to two symbols per DMRS position associated with PUSCH transmission. For method 3.5, a rank of seven may be associated with PUSCH transmission.

[0122] Fig.11 An exemplary table 1100 for method 3.5 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 1100 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 2 with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of six. Table 1100 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 1100 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 1100.

[0123] Table 1100 may include four options for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The options may be defined based on the number of DMR SCDM groups 1102 with no data, the antenna ports 1104 to be used for transmission, and the number of frontloading symbols 1106.

[0124] As can be seen from table 1100, the first option 1108 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 1102 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 1106 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1104 of the first option 1108 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, and port 8. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, and port 8 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the first option 1108 of table 1100.

[0125] The second option 1110 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1102 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1106 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1104 of the second option 1110 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, and port 8. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, and port 8 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the second option 1110 of the table 1100.

[0126] The third option 1112 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1102 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1106 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1104 of the third option 1112 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the third option 1112 of the table 1100.

[0127] The fourth option 1114 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1102 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1106 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1104 of the fourth option 1114 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, and port 10. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, and port 10 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fourth option 1114 of the table 1100.

[0128] The options shown in Table 1100 may be compatible with options in a legacy table. For example, an option in Table 1100 may indicate an antenna port for transmission that is different from a corresponding option in a corresponding legacy table. Thus, in MU-MIMO, a base station may use Table 1100 to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a first UE, and use a corresponding legacy table to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a second UE, wherein the antenna port to be utilized by the first UE is different from the antenna port to be utilized by the second UE. Based on these indications, the first UE and the second UE may use different antenna ports to send PUSCH transmissions. The second option 1110, the third option 1112, and the fourth option 1114 of Table 1100 may be compatible with the legacy table 7.3.1.1.2-22 / 23 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0129] Method 3.6: For legacy DMRS, DMRS configuration type 2 (dmrs-Type=2) and up to 2 symbols per DMRS position, for rank=8, one or more of the rows in the following table may be considered. For example, method 3.6 may be applied to DMRS configuration type 2 and up to two symbols per DMRS position associated with PUSCH transmission. For method 3.5, rank eight may be associated with PUSCH transmission.

[0130] Fig.12An exemplary table 1200 for method 3.6 according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, table 1200 may indicate antenna ports (which may be referred to as DMRS ports) that may be used for PUSCH transmissions of DMRS configuration type 2 with a maximum of two symbols per DMRS position and a rank of eight. Table 1200 may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmissions sent by a UE. Table 1200 may be stored by a base station and / or a UE, and indications may be exchanged between a base station and a UE that references table 1200.

[0131] Table 1200 may include four options for antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission. The options may be defined based on the number of DMR SCDM groups 1202 with no data, the antenna ports 1204 to be used for transmission, and the number of frontloading symbols 1206.

[0132] As can be seen from table 1200, the first option 1208 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number 1202 of DMRS CDM groups without data is equal to two and the number 1206 of front-end symbols is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1204 of the first option 1208 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 8, and port 9. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 8, and port 9 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the first option 1208 of table 1200.

[0133] The second option 1210 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1202 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1206 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1204 of the second option 1210 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 8, and port 9. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 8, and port 9 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the second option 1210 of the table 1200.

[0134] The third option 1212 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1202 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1206 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1204 of the third option 1212 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 4, port 5, port 6, and port 7 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the third option 1212 of the table 1200.

[0135] The fourth option 1214 may be for PUSCH transmission in which the number of DMRS CDM groups without data 1202 is equal to three and the number of front-end symbols 1206 is equal to two. The available antenna ports 1204 of the fourth option 1214 may be port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 10, and port 11. Therefore, the base station may indicate that the UE will use port 0, port 1, port 2, port 3, port 6, port 7, port 10, and port 11 for PUSCH transmission by indicating the fourth option 1214 of the table 1200.

[0136] The options shown in Table 1200 may be compatible with options in a legacy table. For example, an option in Table 1200 may indicate an antenna port for transmission that is different from a corresponding option in a corresponding legacy table. Thus, in MU-MIMO, a base station may use Table 1200 to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a first UE, and use a corresponding legacy table to indicate an antenna port to be utilized by a second UE, wherein the antenna port to be utilized by the first UE is different from the antenna port to be utilized by the second UE. Based on these indications, the first UE and the second UE may use different antenna ports to send PUSCH transmissions. The second option 1210, the third option 1212, and the fourth option 1214 of Table 1200 may be compatible with the legacy table 7.3.1.1.2-22 / 23 of TS 38.212 for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0137] Proposal 4: Universal Design

[0138] Method 4.1: Without introducing a new antenna port table, more than one "antenna port" field may be indicated by the next generation Node B (gNB) to support up to 8 layers of PUSCH operation. For example, one or more antenna port fields may be included in an information element for indicating available antenna ports for PUSCH transmission, where the antenna port field indicates available antenna ports of more than four antenna ports. In some embodiments, the information element may include a field indicating the availability of the first four antenna ports in a group of antenna ports. One or more additional antenna port fields may indicate the availability of the remaining antenna ports in the group of antenna ports, where the remaining antenna ports may be referred to as more than four antenna ports. By being able to indicate the availability of more than four antenna ports, the system may be able to support up to eight layers of PUSCH operation.

[0139] All simultaneously indicated "antenna port" fields have the following restrictions. They need to be mapped to the same "number of data-free DMRS code division multiplexing (CDM) groups". They need to be mapped to the same "number of front-end symbols". They need to be mapped to a unique DMRS port. For example, the antenna port field in an information element included in the transmission may be mapped to the same number of data-free DMRS CDM groups, may be mapped to the same number of front-end symbols, may be mapped to a unique DMRS port, or some combination thereof.

[0140] Different "antenna port" fields indicated simultaneously may correspond to different or the same antenna port tables. For example, the antenna port field may refer to a legacy antenna port table to indicate available antenna ports for PUSCH transmission. The antenna fields in the information elements included in the transmission may all refer to the same antenna port table, may all refer to different antenna port tables, or some combination thereof. All unique DMRS ports indicated simultaneously by multiple "antenna port" fields are used for DMRS.

[0141] Method 4.2: Without introducing a new antenna port table, the gNB may indicate a supplement to the "antenna port" field to support up to 8 layers of PUSCH operation. For example, one or more antenna port fields within the information element may indicate antenna ports that are not available and / or will not be used for PUSCH transmission. The NW indicates the "antenna port" field. For example, the NW may indicate one or more antenna port fields to the UE via the base station, wherein the antenna port field indicates antenna ports that are not available and / or will not be used for PUSCH transmission. DMRS ports not indicated by the "antenna port" field are used for actual DMRS transmission. For example, the UE may send PUSCH transmission using antenna ports that are not indicated as unavailable or will not be used by one or more antenna port fields.

[0142] A general process for determining antenna port indications for more than 4 layers of PUSCH. Given the number of DMRS symbols and the DMRS type, for antenna port indications for y layers (ports) greater than 4, we look at the traditional antenna port table to identify antenna ports that can be used for x layers (ports) less than 4, and then, in order to facilitate the coordinated scheduling of MU-MIMO, y ports greater than 4 can be selected to supplement x ports less than 4, that is, different ports are used. For example, the method described herein can supplement the traditional antenna port table. The traditional antenna port table can be used to indicate less than four ports to be used for communication. The traditional table can indicate antenna ports that can be used for instances in which the UE is utilizing less than four antenna ports. The method described herein can indicate antenna ports different from those indicated in the corresponding traditional table to be utilized by another UE having a PUSCH associated with more than four ports. For example, the traditional table can indicate three antenna ports available to the first UE for transmission of rank three. The method described herein can indicate the corresponding five available antenna ports of the second UE, wherein the five available antenna ports may be different from the three available antenna ports indicated in the corresponding traditional table.

[0143] The above method for indicating available antenna ports and / or unavailable / unused antenna ports may be implemented via one or more signaling procedures. Fig.13 An exemplary signaling diagram 1300 is illustrated that may implement at least a portion of one or more methods according to some embodiments.

[0144] The signaling diagram 1300 may indicate signals exchanged between a base station 1302 and a UE 1304. The base station 1302 may include a gNB 2000 ( Fig. 20 ) features. UE 1304 may include UE 1900 ( Fig.19 The signals exchanged between the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 may support indication of antenna ports used for PUSCH transmission by the UE 1304 for PUSCH transmission of more than four layers.

[0145] Signaling diagram 1300 may include a configuration transmission, which in the illustrated embodiment is illustrated as an RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306. RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 may include one or more of the fields described with respect to the method. Base station 1302 may send RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 to UE 1304.

[0146] In some examples, RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 may include one or more of the tables described throughout this disclosure, such as table 300 ( Figure 3 )、Table 400( Figure 4 )、Table 500( Figure 5)、Table 600( Figure 6 )、Table 700( Figure 7 )、Table 800( Figure 8 )、Table 900( Fig. 9 )、Table 1000( Fig.10 )、Table 1100( Fig.11 ) and / or Table 1200( Fig.12 ). In other examples, the RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 may include an indication of more than four antenna ports that may be used by the UE 1304 to send a PUSCH transmission. The indication of the antenna ports may indicate an option from a table described throughout the present disclosure, such as an option from table 300, table 400, table 500, table 600, table 700, table 800, table 900, table 1000, table 1100, and / or table 1200. In other examples, the indication of the antenna ports may include one or more fields of an information element that includes an indication of available antenna ports or unavailable antenna ports.

[0147] Some embodiments may provide configuration information in the RRC configuration, similar to that described in TS 38.331 (3GPP Organization Partners, "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification (Release 17)", TS 38.331 V17.1.0, June 2022). The NW configures PUSCH in PUSCH-Config, including txConfig = "codebook" or "non-codebook". For example, the PUSCH-Config information element of the RRC configuration for the UE may be a txConfig element indicating whether the UE will be configured for PUSCH codebook operation or PUSCH non-codebook operation. maxRank INTEGER (1..4). For example, the maximum rank indicated by the RRC configuration for PUSCH transmission can be indicated by an integer between 1 and 4. The NW configures the PUSCH DMRS in DMRS-UplinkConfig including dmrs-Type = "Type 1" or "Type 2". For example, the DMRS-UplinkConfig information element within the RRC configuration may indicate a dmrs-Type of type 1 or a dmrs-Type of type 2 to be used by the UE for PUSCH transmission. maxLength=1 or 2. For example, the indication of dmrs-Type may have a maximum length of 1 or 2.

[0148] UE 1304 may identify an RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 received from base station 1302. In instances where the RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 includes one or more tables, UE 1304 may store the table for later reference, the table indicating antenna ports to be used by UE 1304 for one or more PUSCH transmissions to be sent to base station 1302. In instances where the RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 includes an indication of antenna ports, UE 1304 may determine the antenna ports to be used by UE 1304 for one or more PUSCH transmissions to be sent to base station 1302. UE 1304 may send an RRC complete transmission 1308 to base station 1302 to indicate that UE 1304 has successfully stored the table or determined the antenna ports to be utilized.

[0149] Fig.14 An exemplary signaling diagram 1400 is illustrated that may implement at least a portion of one or more methods according to some embodiments. The signaling diagram 1400 may indicate signals exchanged between a base station 1402 and a UE 1404. The base station 1402 may include a gNB 2000 ( Fig. 20 ) features. UE 1404 may include UE 1900 ( Fig.19 ) One or more features of the features of the UE 1404. Signals exchanged between the base station 1402 and the UE 1404 may support indication of antenna ports used for PUSCH transmission by the UE 1404 for PUSCH transmission of more than four layers.

[0150] UE 1404 may send a scheduling request transmission 1406 to base station 1402. Scheduling request transmission 1406 may indicate that UE 1404 has a PUSCH transmission to send and request an antenna port on which the PUSCH transmission is to be sent. Scheduling request transmission 1406 may include information that base station 1402 may use to determine the antenna port to be used by UE 1404 for PUSCH transmission. For example, scheduling request transmission 1406 may include an indication of the rank for PUSCH transmission, the number of DMRS CDM groups without data associated with UE 1404, the number of front-load symbols associated with UE 1404, the DMRS configuration type associated with UE 1404, the maximum length of a DMRS symbol per DMRS position associated with UE 1404, or some combination thereof.

[0151] Base station 1402 may receive a scheduling request transmission 1406 from UE 1404. Base station 1402 may determine an antenna port to be used by UE 1404 for PUSCH transmission. Base station 1402 may send a UL grant transmission 1408 to UE 1404 indicating the antenna port to be used by UE 1404 for PUSCH transmission. The indication of the antenna port may include an option of a table (such as table 300 ( Figure 3 )、Table 400( Figure 4 )、Table 500( Figure 5 )、Table 600( Figure 6 )、Table 700( Figure 7 )、Table 800( Figure 8 )、Table 900( Fig. 9 )、Table 1000( Fig.10 )、Table 1100( Fig.11 ) and / or Table 1200( Fig.12 ) option), one or more fields indicating available antenna ports for sending PUSCH transmissions performed by UE 1404, or one or more fields indicating unavailable antenna ports for sending PUSCH transmissions performed by UE 1404.

[0152] UE 1404 may identify a UL grant transmission 1408 received from base station 1402. UE 1404 may determine an antenna port to be used for PUSCH transmission based on the indication of the antenna port from UL grant transmission 1408. UE 1404 may send a UL transmission 1410 to base station 1402 using the antenna port indicated by UL grant transmission 1408. UL transmission 1410 may be a PUSCH transmission.

[0153] Some embodiments may provide uplink grant information in the scheduling downlink control information (DCI), which is similar to that described in TS 38.212. In the scheduling DCI, the NW uses the "SRS resource indicator" field in the non-codebook DCI and the "precoding information and number of layers" field in the codebook DCI to indicate the number of precoding matrices and layers. For example, the NW may send an indication in the non-codebook SRS resource indicator field or in the precoding information and number of layers field of the DCI codebook via the base station to indicate the number of precoding matrices and layers used for the UE. In the scheduling DCI, the NW uses the "antenna port" field to indicate the DMRS port used for DMRS transmission. For example, the NW may send an indication in the antenna port field of the DMRS port to be used for DMRS transmission via the base station.

[0154] The methods described throughout this disclosure may be used for a MU-MIMO arrangement. For example, the methods may be used to indicate antenna ports to be used by a UE for one or more PUSCH transmissions within a MU-MIMO arrangement. Fig.15 A MU-MIMO arrangement 1500 according to some embodiments is illustrated. The MU-MIMO arrangement 1500 may implement one or more of the methods described throughout this disclosure.

[0155] MU-MIMO arrangement 1500 may include base station 1502. Base station 1502 may include gNB 2000 ( Fig. 20 ) The MU-MIMO arrangement 1500 may also include one or more UEs connected to the base station 1502. In the illustrated embodiment, the MU-MIMO arrangement 1500 includes a first UE 1504 and a second UE 1506 connected to the base station 1502.

[0156] The first UE 1504 may send a PUSCH transmission having a rank greater than four. The second UE 1506 may send a PUSCH transmission having a rank less than four. The base station 1502 may indicate antenna ports to be used by the first UE 1504 and the second UE 1506 for transmission of the PUSCH transmission. The base station 1502 may indicate different antenna ports to be used by the first UE 1504 and the second UE 1506 for PUSCH transmission. For example, the base station 1502 may utilize the methods described herein to indicate antenna ports to be used by the first UE 1504 for PUSCH transmission, which antenna ports include more than four antenna ports. The base station 1502 may utilize one of the conventional tables to indicate antenna ports to be used by the second UE 1506 for PUSCH transmission, which antenna ports include less than four antenna ports. The antenna ports indicated to the first UE 1504 may be different from the antenna ports indicated to the second UE 1506 such that none of the antenna ports indicated to the first UE 1504 are included in the antenna ports indicated to the second UE 1506. This may allow the first UE 1504 to send a PUSCH transmission to the base station 1502 using a first portion of the antenna ports of the base station 1502, while the second UE 1506 sends a PUSCH transmission to the base station 1502 using a second portion of the antenna ports. In these examples, the first UE 1504 and the second UE 1506 may be able to send a PUSCH transmission to the base station 1502 at the same time.

[0157] Fig.16An exemplary process 1600 for operating a UE according to some embodiments is illustrated. The process 1600 may implement one or more of the methods described throughout the present disclosure, such as a method for indicating an antenna port to be used by a UE for PUSCH transmission. The UE may include a UE 1900 ( Fig.19 )'s features.

[0158] Process 1600 may include receiving an RRC configuration transmission at 1602. For example, the UE may receive an RRC configuration transmission indicating a table indicating one or more antenna ports for transmission of a PUSCH transmission. The table may include table 300 ( Figure 3 )、Table 400( Figure 4 )、Table 500( Figure 5 )、Table 600( Figure 6 )、Table 700( Figure 7 )、Table 800( Figure 8 )、Table 900( Fig. 9 )、Table 1000( Fig.10 )、Table 1100( Fig.11 ) and / or Table 1200( Fig.12 In some embodiments, the RRC configuration transmission may include an RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 ( Fig.13 ) in one or more of the features. In some embodiments, 1602 can be omitted.

[0159] Process 1600 may include receiving a transmission from a base station at 1604. For example, the UE may receive a transmission from a base station indicating one or more antenna ports available for transmission of PUSCH transmissions of more than four layers. In some embodiments, the transmission indicates that the number of available antenna ports is equal to the number of layers used for PUSCH transmissions. In some embodiments, the transmission may include an RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 or an UL grant transmission 1408 ( Fig.14 )'s features.

[0160] In some embodiments, the one or more antenna ports may be based on the DMRS configuration type and the number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE. In some of these embodiments, the one or more antenna ports may be further based on the number of front-loaded symbols associated with the UE. In some of these embodiments, the one or more antenna ports may be further based on the number of DMRS CDM groups without data associated with the UE.

[0161] In some embodiments, the transmission may include a first field indicating availability of a first set of antenna ports and a second field indicating availability of a second set of antenna ports.In some embodiments, the transmission from the base station includes a DCI transmission.

[0162] In some embodiments, the transmission from the base station may indicate a number of antenna ports equal to the number of layers used for PUSCH transmission.

[0163] In embodiments where an RRC configuration transmission is received, the transmission from the base station may indicate a table to indicate one or more antenna ports that may be used for transmission of a PUSCH transmission.

[0164] In some embodiments, the UE may be a first UE and the group of antenna ports may be a first group of antenna ports. The second UE may be configured to transmit using a second group of antenna ports. The first group of antenna ports and the second group of antenna ports include different antenna ports.

[0165] In some embodiments, a PUSCH transmission may be sent with multiple layers. A UE may be configured to send a PUSCH transmission with the multiple layers. A transmission from a base station may indicate a number of antenna ports equal to the number of layers.

[0166] Process 1600 may include determining a set of antenna ports to utilize at 1606. For example, the UE may determine a set of antenna ports to be used for PUSCH transmission based on one or more antenna ports indicated in the transmission. The set of antenna ports may include more than four antenna ports.

[0167] Process 1600 may include sending a PUSCH transmission at 1608. For example, the UE may send a PUSCH transmission to the base station using the set of antenna ports.

[0168] Although Fig.16 The order of the operations of process 1600 may be indicated arguably, but it should be understood that the operations may be performed in a different order in different embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that in some embodiments, one or more of the operations of process 1600 may be performed simultaneously. In some embodiments, process 1600 may omit one or more of the operations and / or add one or more additional operations.

[0169] Fig.17 An exemplary process 1700 for operating a UE according to some embodiments is illustrated. The process 1700 may implement one or more of the methods described throughout the present disclosure, such as a method for indicating an antenna port to be used by a UE for PUSCH transmission. The UE may include a UE 1900 ( Fig.19 )'s features.

[0170] Process 1700 may include receiving an RRC configuration message at 1702. For example, the UE may receive an RRC configuration message from a base station that includes a table indicating a plurality of antenna ports. In some embodiments, the RRC configuration message may include an RRC reconfiguration transmission 1306 ( Fig.13 ) in one or more of the features. In some embodiments, 1702 can be omitted.

[0171] Process 1700 may include sending a PUSCH transmission request at 1704. For example, the UE may send a PUSCH transmission request to a base station. In some embodiments, the PUSCH transmission request may include a scheduling request transmission 1406 ( Fig.14 ) In some embodiments, the number of layers of the PUSCH transmission corresponding to the PUSCH request may be greater than four.

[0172] Process 1700 may include receiving a transmission from a base station at 1706. For example, the UE may receive a transmission from a base station indicating a plurality of antenna ports available for PUSCH transmission. The plurality of antenna ports may include antenna ports equal to or greater than the number of layers.

[0173] In some embodiments, the plurality of antenna ports may be selected based on the DMRS configuration type and the number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE. In some of these embodiments, the plurality of antenna ports may be further selected based on the number of front-loaded symbols associated with the UE. In some of these embodiments, the plurality of antenna ports may be further selected based on the number of DMRS CDM groups without data associated with the UE.

[0174] In some implementations, the transmission may include a first field indicating the availability of a first set of antenna ports and a second field indicating the availability of a second set of antenna ports.The available plurality of antenna ports may be indicated based on the first field and the second field.

[0175] In embodiments where an RRC configuration message is received, the transmission from the base station may indicate a table.

[0176] Process 1700 may include sending a PUSCH transmission to a base station at 1708. For example, a UE may send a PUSCH transmission to a base station via multiple antenna ports.

[0177] Although Fig.17The order of the operations of process 1700 may be indicated arguably, but it should be understood that the operations may be performed in a different order in different embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that in some embodiments, one or more of the operations of process 1700 may be performed simultaneously. In some embodiments, process 1700 may omit one or more of the operations and / or add one or more additional operations.

[0178] Fig.18 An exemplary process 1800 for operating a base station according to some embodiments is illustrated. Process 1800 may implement one or more of the methods described throughout this disclosure, such as a method for indicating, by a base station, antenna ports to be used by a UE for PUSCH transmission. The base station may include gNB 2000 ( Fig. 20 )'s features.

[0179] Process 1800 may include determining, at 1802, one or more antenna ports to be utilized by a second UE. For example, a base station may determine one or more antenna ports to be utilized by a second UE. Process 1800 may be performed to indicate antenna ports to be utilized by a UE, where the UE is a first UE. The second UE may be different from the first UE. In some embodiments, 1802 may be omitted.

[0180] Process 1800 may include determining a DMRS configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position at 1804. For example, a base station may determine a DMRS configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position associated with a UE. In some embodiments, 1804 may be omitted.

[0181] Process 1800 may include determining the number of front-loaded symbols or the number of DMRS CDM groups without data at 1806. For example, the base station may determine the number of front-loaded symbols associated with the UE or the number of DMRS CDM groups without data associated with the UE. In some embodiments, 1806 may be omitted.

[0182] Process 1800 may include determining a plurality of antenna ports at 1808. For example, the base station may determine a plurality of antenna ports available for PUSCH transmission based on the number of layers. In some embodiments, the base station may determine the plurality of antenna ports in preparation for receiving a PUSCH transmission having a plurality of layers from a UE, the number of layers being greater than four.

[0183] In embodiments where a DMRS configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position are determined, the plurality of antenna ports may be further determined based on the DMRS configuration type and the number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE.

[0184] In an embodiment where the number of frontloading symbols or the number of DMRS CDM groups is determined, the plurality of antenna ports may be further determined based on the number of frontloading symbols associated with the UE or the number of DMRS CDM groups having no data associated with the UE.

[0185] In an embodiment of determining one or more antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE, the plurality of antenna ports may be further determined based on the one or more antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE.

[0186] Process 1800 may include generating a transmission indicating a plurality of antenna ports at 1810. For example, a base station may generate a transmission indicating a plurality of antenna ports.

[0187] Process 1800 may include sending the transmission at 1812. For example, a base station may send the transmission to a UE.

[0188] Although Fig.18 The order of the operations of process 1800 may be indicated arguably, but it should be understood that the operations may be performed in different orders in different embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that in some embodiments, one or more of the operations of process 1800 may be performed simultaneously. In some embodiments, process 1800 may omit one or more of the operations and / or add one or more additional operations.

[0189] Fig.19 An exemplary UE 1900 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 1900 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, an actuator, etc.), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera, a camcorder, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a loose IoT device. In some embodiments, UE 1900 may be a RedCap UE or an NR-Light UE.

[0190] UE 1900 may include a processor 1904, RF interface circuitry 1908, memory / storage 1912, a user interface 1916, a sensor 1920, a driver circuit 1922, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1924, antenna structures 1926, and a battery 1928. The components of UE 1900 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a portion of an integrated circuit, a discrete electronic device or other module, logic component, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Fig.19The block diagram of UE 1900 is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of UE 1900. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0191] Components of UE 1900 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1932, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., which allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0192] The processor 1904 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 1904A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 1904B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 1904C. The processor 1904 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program codes, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 1912) to cause the UE 1900 to perform operations as described herein.

[0193] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 1904A can access the communication protocol stack 1936 in the memory / storage device 1912 to communicate through a 3GPP compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 1904A can access the communication protocol stack to: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some embodiments, the PHY layer operations can be additionally / alternatively performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1908.

[0194] The baseband processor circuit 1904A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compatible network. In some embodiments, the waveforms used for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0195] The memory / storage 1912 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 1936) that may be executed by one or more processors in the processor 1904 to cause the UE 1900 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 1912 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 1900. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 1912 may be located on the processor 1904 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 1912 is located external to the processor 1904 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 1912 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0196] The RF interface circuit 1908 may include a transceiver circuit and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 1900 to communicate with other devices through a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 1908 may include various elements arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0197] In the receive path, the RFEM may receive the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 1926 and proceed to filter and amplify the signal (using a low noise amplifier). The signal may be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 1904.

[0198] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 1926.

[0199] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 1908 may be configured to send / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0200] Antenna 1926 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1926 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 1926 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, a phased array antenna, etc. Antenna 1926 may have one or more panels that are designed for a specific frequency band including a band in FR1 or FR2.

[0201] The user interface circuit 1916 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 1900. The user interface circuit 1916 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual components for accepting input, and in particular includes one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, or a headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual components for displaying information or otherwise delivering information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuit may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, in particular including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light emitting diodes "LEDs") and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 1900.

[0202] Sensors 1920 may include devices, modules, or subsystems that are designed to detect events or changes in their environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope, or magnetometer; a level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; and the like.

[0203] The driver circuit 1922 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1900. The driver circuit 1922 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 1900. For example, the driver circuit 1922 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 1920 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 1920, a driver for obtaining an actuator position of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0204] The PMIC 1924 may manage power provided to various components of the UE 1900. Specifically, with respect to the processor 1904, the PMIC 1924 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0205] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1924 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 1900. For example, if the platform UE is in the RRC_Connected state, in which the platform is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the UE 1900 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the UE 1900 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and no operations such as channel quality feedback, handovers, etc. are performed. The UE 1900 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device wakes up again periodically to listen to the network and then powers off again. The UE 1900 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power saving modes may prevent the device from using the network for a time exceeding the paging interval (from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data transmitted during this time will be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0206] The battery 1928 can power the UE 1900, but in some examples, the UE 1900 can be installed to be deployed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 1928 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 1928 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0207] Fig. 20 An exemplary gNB 2000 is shown according to some embodiments. The gNB 2000 may include a processor 2004, an RF interface circuit 2008, a core network (CN) interface circuit 2012, a memory / storage device circuit 2016, and an antenna structure 2026.

[0208] The components of gNB 2000 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 2028.

[0209] The processor 2004, RF interface circuit 2008, memory / storage circuit 2016 (including communication protocol stack 2010), antenna structure 2026 and interconnect 2028 may be similar to those described in reference Fig.19 Like named elements are shown and described.

[0210] The CN interface circuit 2012 may provide connectivity for a core network, e.g., a 5th Generation Core Network (5GC) using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol, such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol, or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the gNB 2000 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 2012 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN controller circuit 2012 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0211] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0212] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the following example section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. For another example, the circuits associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the example section.

[0213] Example

[0214] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0215] Embodiment 1 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to: receive a transmission from a base station indicating one or more antenna ports that may be used for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission of more than four layers; determine a set of antenna ports to be used for the PUSCH transmission based on the one or more antenna ports indicated in the transmission, the set of antenna ports including more than four antenna ports; and use the set of antenna ports to send the PUSCH transmission to the base station.

[0216] Embodiment 2 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as described in Embodiment 1, wherein the transmission indicates that a number of available antenna ports is equal to a number of layers used for the PUSCH transmission.

[0217] Embodiment 3 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to embodiment 1, wherein the PUSCH transmission is sent using multiple layers, and wherein the transmission from the base station indicates a number of antenna ports equal to the number of layers.

[0218] Embodiment 4 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to embodiment 1, wherein the one or more antenna ports are based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE.

[0219] Embodiment 5 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as described in Embodiment 4, wherein the one or more antenna ports are further based on a number of front-loaded symbols associated with the UE.

[0220] Embodiment 6 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as described in Embodiment 4, wherein the one or more antenna ports are further based on a number of DMRS code division multiplexing (CDM) groups without data associated with the UE.

[0221] Embodiment 7 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as described in Embodiment 1, wherein the transmission includes a first field indicating availability of a first set of antenna ports and a second field indicating availability of a second set of antenna ports.

[0222] Embodiment 8 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to embodiment 1, wherein the UE is a first UE, wherein the set of antenna ports is a first set of antenna ports, wherein the second UE is configured to transmit using a second set of antenna ports, and wherein the first set of antenna ports and the second set of antenna ports include different antenna ports.

[0223] Embodiment 9 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as described in Embodiment 1, wherein the transmission from the base station comprises a downlink control information (DCI) transmission.

[0224] Embodiment 10 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to embodiment 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the UE to receive a radio resource control (RRC) configuration transmission indicating a table, wherein the table indicates the one or more antenna ports used for transmission of a PUSCH transmission, and wherein the transmission from the base station indicates the table to indicate the one or more antenna ports that can be used for transmission of the PUSCH transmission.

[0225] Embodiment 11 may include a user equipment (UE), wherein the user equipment (UE) includes: one or more antennas for providing transmission; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more antennas, wherein the one or more processors are used to: send a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission request to a base station, the PUSCH transmission corresponding to the PUSCH transmission request having a number of layers greater than four; receive a transmission from the base station indicating multiple antenna ports that can be used for the PUSCH transmission, the multiple antenna ports including antenna ports equal to or greater than the number of layers; and send the PUSCH transmission to the base station via the multiple antenna ports.

[0226] Embodiment 12 may include the UE of embodiment 11, wherein the plurality of antenna ports are selected based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE.

[0227] Embodiment 13 may include the UE of embodiment 12, wherein the plurality of antenna ports are selected further based on a number of front-loaded symbols associated with the UE.

[0228] Embodiment 14 may include the UE of embodiment 12, wherein the plurality of antenna ports are selected further based on a number of DMRS code division multiplexing (CDM) groups without data associated with the UE.

[0229] Embodiment 15 may include a UE according to embodiment 11, wherein the transmission includes a first field indicating the availability of a first group of antenna ports and a second field indicating the availability of a second group of the antenna ports, wherein multiple available antenna ports are indicated based on the first field and the second field.

[0230] Embodiment 16 may include a UE according to embodiment 11, wherein the one or more processors are further used to receive a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message from the base station, the configuration message including a table indicating the multiple antenna ports, wherein the transmission from the base station indicates the table.

[0231] Embodiment 17 may include a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: in preparation for receiving a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission having multiple layers from a UE, the number of layers being greater than four: determining a plurality of antenna ports available for the PUSCH transmission based on the number of layers; generating a transmission indicating the plurality of antenna ports; and sending the transmission to the UE.

[0232] Embodiment 18 may include a method according to embodiment 17, the method further comprising determining a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE, wherein the multiple antenna ports are further determined based on the DMRS configuration type and the number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE.

[0233] Embodiment 19 may include a method according to embodiment 18, the method further comprising determining a number of front-load symbols associated with the UE or a number of DMRS code division multiplexing (CDM) groups without data associated with the UE, wherein the multiple antenna ports are further determined based on the number of front-load symbols associated with the UE or the number of DMRS CDM groups without data associated with the UE.

[0234] Embodiment 20 may include a method according to embodiment 17, wherein the UE is a first UE, wherein the method further includes determining one or more antenna ports to be utilized by a second UE, wherein the multiple antenna ports are further determined based on the one or more antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE.

[0235] Embodiment 21 may include an apparatus comprising: components for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 20, or any other method or process described herein.

[0236] Embodiment 22 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include: instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20 or any other method or process described herein.

[0237] Embodiment 23 may include a device comprising: a logic component, module or circuit for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20 or any other method or process described herein.

[0238] Embodiment 24 may include methods, techniques or processes described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or parts or components thereof.

[0239] Embodiment 25 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20.

[0240] Embodiment 26 may include a signal as described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion or component thereof.

[0241] Embodiment 27 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0242] Embodiment 28 may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion or component thereof, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0243] Embodiment 29 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0244] Embodiment 30 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20.

[0245] Embodiment 31 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 20.

[0246] Embodiment 32 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0247] Embodiment 33 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0248] Embodiment 34 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0249] Embodiment 35 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0250] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0251] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE): Identifying more than four layers of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmissions to be sent; determining a set of antenna ports to be used for transmission of the PUSCH transmission, the set of antenna ports comprising more than four antenna ports; as well as The PUSCH transmission is sent utilizing the set of antenna ports.

2. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the set of antenna ports is determined based at least in part on a number of front-loaded symbols associated with the UE.

3. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the set of antenna ports is determined based at least in part on a number of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) code division multiplexing (CDM) groups without data associated with the UE.

4. One or more computer-readable media according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the UE is a first UE, wherein the set of antenna ports is a first set of antenna ports, wherein the second UE is configured to transmit using a second set of antenna ports, and wherein the first set of antenna ports and the second set of antenna ports include different antenna ports.

5. One or more computer-readable media according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to: A transmission is received from a base station indicating one or more antenna ports that may be used for sending the PUSCH transmission, wherein determining the set of antenna ports comprises determining the set of antenna ports based at least in part on the one or more antenna ports indicated in the transmission.

6. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the transmission indicates that a number of available antenna ports is equal to a number of layers used for the PUSCH transmission.

7. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the PUSCH transmission is sent using multiple layers, and wherein the transmission from the base station indicates a number of antenna ports equal to the number of layers.

8. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the one or more antenna ports are based at least in part on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE.

9. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the transmission includes a first field indicating availability of a first set of antenna ports and a second field indicating availability of a second set of antenna ports.

10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the transmission from the base station comprises a downlink control information (DCI) transmission.

11. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more antennas for providing transmission; as well as One or more processors coupled to the one or more antennas, the one or more processors configured to: sending a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission request to a base station, a PUSCH transmission corresponding to the PUSCH transmission request having a number of layers greater than four; receiving, from the base station, a transmission indicating a plurality of antenna ports available for transmission of the PUSCH, the plurality of antenna ports comprising a plurality of antenna ports equal to or greater than a number of the layers; as well as The PUSCH transmission is sent to the base station via the multiple antenna ports.

12. The UE of claim 11, wherein the plurality of antenna ports is selected based at least in part on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE.

13. The UE of claim 12, wherein the plurality of antenna ports is selected based at least in part on a number of front-loaded symbols associated with the UE.

14. The UE of claim 12, wherein the plurality of antenna ports is selected based at least in part on a number of DMRS code division multiplexing (CDM) groups without data associated with the UE.

15. The UE of any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the transmission comprises a first field indicating the availability of a first group of antenna ports and a second field indicating the availability of a second group of the antenna ports, wherein a plurality of available antenna ports are indicated at least in part based on the first field and the second field.

16. The UE according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: A radio resource control (RRC) configuration message is received from the base station, the configuration message including a table indicating the plurality of antenna ports, wherein the transmission from the base station indicates the table.

17. A method of operating a base station, the method comprising: In preparation for receiving a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission having a plurality of layers from a UE, the number of layers being greater than four: determining a plurality of antenna ports available for transmission of the PUSCH based at least in part on the number of layers; generating a transmission indicative of the plurality of antenna ports; as well as The transmission is sent to the UE.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: Determine a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration type and a number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE, wherein the plurality of antenna ports is determined based at least in part on the DMRS configuration type and the number of symbols per DMRS position associated with the UE.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: Determine a number of front-load symbols associated with the UE or a number of DMRS code division multiplexing (CDM) groups without data associated with the UE, wherein the multiple antenna ports are determined at least in part based on the number of front-load symbols associated with the UE or the number of DMRS CDM groups without data associated with the UE.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the UE is a first UE, and wherein the method further comprises: One or more antenna ports to be utilized by a second UE are determined, wherein the plurality of antenna ports is determined based at least in part on the one or more antenna ports to be utilized by the second UE.

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