Enhanced group-based beam reporting for simultaneous uplink transmissions

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and devices for wireless communication that support improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs that may transmit and receive data. A user equipment (UE) may determine one or more beam pairs available for wireless communications, and may determine transmit and receive capabilities of the one or more beam pairs. The UE may determine control information identifying the one or more beam pairs based on the transmitting and receiving capabilities. The control information may identify at least one of the one or more beam pairs as being capable of transmitting and receiving data. The UE may send the control information to a base station. Other aspects and features are also claimed and described.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 472,882, filed on September 22, 2023, entitled "ENHANCED GROUP - BASED REPORT FOR STXMP", and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 381,277, filed on October 27, 2022, entitled "ENHANCED GROUP - BASED REPORT FOR STXMP", the entire contents of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to beam pair reporting and selection for wireless network communication. Some features may enable and provide improved communication, including improved beam pair reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs that can transmit and receive data. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These wireless networks can be multi - access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing available network resources. Such networks can be multi - access networks that support communication for multiple users by sharing available network resources.

[0005] A wireless communication network can include several components. These components can include wireless communication devices, such as a base station (or Node B) that can support the communication of several user equipments (UEs). The UE can communicate with the base station via a downlink and an uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.

[0006] The base station can send data and control information to the UE on the downlink, or receive data and control information from the UE on the uplink. On the downlink, the transmission from the base station may encounter interference caused by transmissions from neighboring base stations or other radio frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink, the transmission from the UE may encounter interference from other UEs communicating with neighboring base stations or from uplink transmissions of other radio RF transmitters. Such interference may degrade the performance on both the downlink and the uplink.

[0007] Due to the continuous growth in the demand for mobile broadband access, with more UEs accessing remote wireless communication networks and more short-range wireless systems deployed in the community, the likelihood of interference and congested networks is also increasing. Research and development continue to advance wireless technologies to not only meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access but also enhance and improve the user experience of mobile communication. For example, UEs and base stations may be able to communicate using multiple wireless connections (e.g., multiple beams). Such communication can increase the communication bandwidth between the UE and the base station and can reduce the latency in communication. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0008] Some aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below to provide a basic understanding of the technologies discussed. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all the expected features of the present disclosure and is neither intended to identify the key or important elements of all aspects of the present disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. The sole purpose of this summary is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in a general form as a prelude to the more detailed embodiments that are presented later.

[0009] Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for reporting beam pairs within a wireless network, such as between a user equipment (UE) and a base station (BS) or between UEs. The reporting can indicate beam pairs capable of sending and receiving data, which provides an efficient reporting of the capabilities of the beam pairs. The efficiency can be obtained by reducing the total communication overhead required for a UE and a BS with beam pair capabilities to coordinate the use of the beam pairs (e.g., for L1 beam reporting). Additionally, these techniques can be combined with a configurable signal information report that can be used to assist in selecting between beam pairs available for communication.

[0010] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) is provided, the method comprising: determining one or more beam pairs available for wireless communication; determining one or more transmission capabilities of the one or more beam pairs and one or more reception capabilities of the one or more beam pairs; determining control information identifying the one or more beam pairs based on the transmission capabilities and the reception capabilities, wherein the control information identifies at least one of the one or more beam pairs as capable of sending and receiving data; and sending the control information to a base station.

[0011] In another aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a base station is provided, the method comprising: receiving control information from a user equipment device (UE), the control information identifying one or more beam pairs for communicating with the UE; determining the one or more beam pairs identified by the control information; determining a first beam pair from among the one or more beam pairs, wherein the first beam pair is capable of sending and receiving data; and communicating with the UE using the first beam pair.

[0012] In another aspect, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory storing processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: determine one or more beam pairs available for wireless communication by the UE; determine one or more transmission capabilities of the one or more beam pairs and one or more reception capabilities of the one or more beam pairs; determine control information identifying the one or more beam pairs based on the transmission capabilities and the reception capabilities, wherein the control information identifies at least one of the one or more beam pairs as being capable of transmitting and receiving data; and transmit the control information to a base station.

[0013] In another aspect, a base station is provided, the base station comprising a memory storing processor-readable code and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive control information from a user equipment device (UE), the control information identifying one or more beam pairs for communication with the UE; determine the one or more beam pairs identified by the control information; determine a first beam pair from among the one or more beam pairs, wherein the first beam pair is capable of transmitting and receiving data; and communicate with the UE using the first beam pair.

[0014] The features and technical advantages of examples in accordance with the present disclosure have been outlined rather broadly above so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both as to their organization and method of operation, as well as associated advantages, will be better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each of the drawings provided is for the purpose of illustration and description and is not a definition of the limits of the claims.

[0015] While aspects and specific implementations are described herein by way of some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional specific implementations and use cases may arise in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovations described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, aspects and / or uses can be implemented via integrated chips and other non-module-component-based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / purchase devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled devices, etc.). Although some examples may or may not specifically be directed to a use case or application, a wide variety of applicability of the described innovations can occur. The scope of specific implementations can range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to the scope of aggregated, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical environments, devices incorporating the described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described aspects. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily includes multiple components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.). The innovations described herein are intended to be practiced in a variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc. having different sizes, shapes, and configurations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present disclosure can be realized by reference to the following drawings. In the drawings, like components or features may have the same reference numeral. Additionally, various components of the same type can be distinguished by adding a dash and a second numeral used to differentiate between like components after the reference numeral. If only the first reference numeral is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the like components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second reference numeral.

[0017] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of an example wireless communication system in accordance with one or more aspects.

[0018] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating examples of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in accordance with one or more aspects.

[0019] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example wireless communication system that supports efficient and combined reporting of beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data in accordance with one or more aspects.

[0020] Figures 4A to 4B depicts control information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process that supports improved beam reporting according to one or more aspects.

[0022] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example process that supports improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs for which data can be transmitted and received according to one or more aspects.

[0023] Figure 7 is a block diagram of an example base station that supports improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs for which data can be transmitted and received according to one or more aspects.

[0024] Figure 8 is a block diagram of an example UE that supports improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs for which data can be transmitted and received according to one or more aspects.

[0025] Like reference numerals and names in different figures represent like elements. Detailed Description

[0026] The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. On the contrary, the detailed description includes specific details for providing a thorough understanding of the subject matter of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every instance and that in some instances, for the sake of clarity, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form.

[0027] The present disclosure provides systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media that support improved beam pair reporting and coordination between UEs and base stations. Specifically, the present disclosure provides techniques that enable reduction of the communication overhead for reporting beam pairs (and specifically, beam pairs for which data can be transmitted and received).

[0028] Certain specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure can achieve one or more of the following potential advantages or benefits. In some aspects, this disclosure provides techniques for improved reporting of beam capabilities in wireless communication (and specifically in wireless communication according to 5G standards). In some aspects, this technology describes an improved way to report capability information for identified beam pairs such that the capability information can effectively indicate which beam pairs can send and receive data. The techniques described may not rely on separate reporting or separate indication to indicate transmit capabilities and receive capabilities. This reduces communication overhead and thus reduces the communication bandwidth used to coordinate beam-based communication between a UE and a base station. This can improve the configuration time, reliability, and total communication bandwidth within a network (e.g., a 5G wireless communication network). In some aspects, control information can meet the decoding requirements of, for example, a base station, enabling seamless integration with existing communication hardware having beam capabilities. In certain specific implementations, these techniques can also be dynamically configured to ensure that the beam reporting overhead remains at a desired predetermined size. Additionally, the techniques provided can be configured to include signal information, which can improve communication selection and reporting.

[0029] This disclosure generally relates to providing or participating in authorized shared access between two or more wireless devices in one or more wireless communication systems (also referred to as wireless communication networks). In various specific implementations, the techniques and apparatus can be used in wireless communication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks (sometimes referred to as “5G NR” networks, systems, or devices), and other communication networks. As used herein, the terms “network” and “system” can be used interchangeably.

[0030] CDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) and Low Chip Rate (LCR). CDMA2000 covers the IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards.

[0031] For example, a TDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines the standards for the GSM EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) Radio Access Network (RAN) (also known as GERAN). GERAN is the radio component of GSM / EDGE together with the network connecting base stations (such as the Ater and Abis interfaces) and base station controllers (the A interface, etc.). The radio access network represents the component of the GSM network through which telephone calls and packet data are routed from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Internet to the subscriber's mobile phone (also known as the user terminal or user equipment (UE)) and from the subscriber's mobile phone to the PSTN and the Internet. The network of a mobile phone operator can include one or more GERANs, which can be coupled to the UTRAN in the case of a UMTS / GSM network. Additionally, the operator network can also include one or more LTE networks, or one or more other networks. Various different network types can use different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) and RANs.

[0032] An OFDMA network can implement radio technologies such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Specifically, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a version of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS, and LTE are described in documents provided by an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). These radio technologies and standards are known or under development. For example, 3GPP is a cooperation among telecommunication association groups aimed at defining globally applicable third-generation (3G) mobile phone specifications. 3GPP LTE is a 3GPP plan aimed at improving the UMTS mobile phone standard. 3GPP can define the specifications for next-generation mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. Certain aspects of the present disclosure may be described with reference to LTE, 4G, or 5G NR technologies; however, the description is not intended to be limited to a specific technology or application, and one or more aspects described with reference to one technology can be understood to apply to another technology. Additionally, one or more aspects of the present disclosure may relate to shared access to the radio spectrum between networks using different radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.

[0033] The 5G network is expected to have diverse deployments, diverse spectrums, and diverse services and devices that can be realized using a unified air interface based on OFDM. To achieve these goals, in addition to developing new radio technologies for the 5G NR network, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are also considered. 5G NR will be able to scale to (1) provide coverage for massive Internet of Things (IoT) with ultra-high density (e.g., about 1M nodes / km 2 ), ultra-low complexity (e.g., about dozens of bits per second), ultra-low power consumption (e.g., about battery life over 10 years), and provide deep coverage with the ability to reach challenging locations; (2) include mission-critical control, which has strong security to protect sensitive personal, financial, or classified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., about 99.9999% reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., about 1 millisecond (ms)), and users with a wide range of mobility or lack of mobility; and (3) provide enhanced mobile broadband (including extremely high capacity (e.g., about 10 Tbps / km 2 ), extremely high data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rates, 100+ Mbps user experience rates), and coverage with advanced discovery and optimized deep awareness.

[0034] Devices, networks, and systems can be configured to communicate via one or more portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, frequency bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating frequency bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band. Similar naming issues sometimes occur for FR2, and in documents and articles, FR2 is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" (mmWave) band, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the "mmWave" band.

[0035] Taking the above aspects into account, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, terms such as "sub-6 GHz" can generally represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, terms such as "mmWave" can broadly represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, or can be within the EHF band.

[0036] 5G NR devices, networks, and systems can be implemented to use waveform features based on optimized OFDM. These features can include scalable parameter sets and transmission time intervals (TTIs); a common flexible framework that effectively multiplexes services and features using dynamic, low-latency time-division duplex (TDD) designs or frequency-division duplex (FDD) designs; and advanced radio technologies such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), robust mmWave transmission, advanced channel decoding, and device-centric mobility. The scalability of parameter sets in 5G NR and the scaling of subcarrier spacing can efficiently address the operation of various services across different spectrums and different deployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro-coverage deployments implemented with less than 3 GHz FDD or TDD, the subcarrier spacing may occur at 15 kHz, such as over bandwidths of 1 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz, etc. For other various outdoor and small cell coverage deployments with TDD greater than 3 GHz, the subcarrier spacing may occur at 30 kHz over an 80 MHz / 100 MHz bandwidth. For other various indoor broadband implementations, using TDD on the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, the subcarrier spacing may occur at 60 kHz over a 160 MHz bandwidth. Finally, for various deployments transmitting via mmWave components under TDD at 28 GHz, the subcarrier spacing can occur at 120 kHz over a 500 MHz bandwidth.

[0037] The scalable parameter sets of 5G NR contribute to scalable TTIs for diverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTIs can be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTIs can be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficient multiplexing of long and short TTIs allows transmissions to start at symbol boundaries. 5G NR also anticipates self-contained integrated subframe designs, where uplink or downlink scheduling information, data, and acknowledgments are in the same subframe. Self-contained integrated subframes support communication in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrums, and adaptive uplink or downlink can be flexibly configured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink and downlink to meet current traffic demands.

[0038] For clarity, certain aspects of the devices and technologies may be described below with reference to example 5G NR implementations or in a 5G-centric manner, and 5G terminology may be used as illustrative examples in parts of the description below; however, the description is not intended to be limited to 5G applications.

[0039] In addition, it should be understood that in operation, a wireless communication network adapted according to the concepts herein can operate using any combination of licensed spectrum or unlicensed spectrum depending on load and availability. Thus, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein can be applied to other communication systems and applications in addition to the specific examples provided.

[0040] While aspects and specific implementations are described in this application by way of illustration of some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional specific implementations and use cases may arise in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovations described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, packaging arrangements. For example, a specific implementation or use can be implemented via an integrated chip implementation or other non-module-component-based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail or point-of-purchase devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, etc.). Although some examples may or may not specifically be directed to a use case or application, a wide variety of applicability of the described innovations can occur. The scope of specific implementations can range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to aggregated, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems that incorporate one or more of the described aspects. In some practical environments, devices that incorporate the described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described aspects. It is intended that the innovations described herein can be implemented in a wide variety of specific implementations of different sizes, shapes, and configurations, including both large devices and small devices, chip-level components, multi-component systems (e.g., radio frequency (RF) chains, communication interfaces, processors), distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc.

[0041] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of an example wireless communication system according to one or more aspects. The wireless communication system can include a wireless network 100. The wireless network 100 can include, for example, a 5G wireless network. As those skilled in the art will recognize, Figure 1 the components that appear in are likely to have related corresponding components in other network arrangements, including, for example, cellular-style network arrangements as well as non-cellular-style network arrangements (e.g., device-to-device or peer-to-peer or ad-hoc network arrangements, etc.).

[0042] Figure 1The illustrated wireless network 100 includes a number of base stations 105 and other network entities. A base station can be a station that communicates with a UE and can also be referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation eNB (gNB), an access point, etc. Each base station 105 can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to the specific geographic coverage area of a base station or the base station subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In a particular implementation of the wireless network 100 herein, the base stations 105 can be associated with the same operator or different operators (e.g., the wireless network 100 can include multiple operator wireless networks). Additionally, in a particular implementation of the wireless network 100 herein, the base stations 105 can use one or more frequencies in the same frequency as an adjacent cell (e.g., one or more frequency bands in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination thereof) to provide wireless communication. In some examples, a separate base station 105 or UE 115 can be operated by more than one network operation entity. In some other examples, each base station 105 and UE 115 can be operated by a single network operation.

[0043] A base station can provide communication coverage for a macro cell or a small cell (e.g., a pico cell or a femto cell) or other types of cells. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs having a service subscription with the network provider. A small cell (such as a pico cell) generally covers a relatively small geographic area and can allow unrestricted access by UEs having a service subscription with the network provider. A small cell (such as a femto cell) generally also covers a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and can provide restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs of users in a home, etc.) in addition to unrestricted access. A base station for a macro cell can be referred to as a macro base station. A base station for a small cell can be referred to as a small cell base station, a pico base station, a femto base station, or a home base station. In Figure 1 the example shown, base stations 105d and 105e are conventional macro base stations, while base stations 105a - 105c are macro base stations implemented using one of 3-dimensional (3D), full-dimensional (FD), or massive MIMO. Base stations 105a - 105c utilize their higher-dimensional MIMO capabilities to employ 3D beamforming in elevation and azimuth beamforming to increase coverage and capacity. Base station 105f is a small cell base station, which can be a home node or a portable access point. A base station can support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells.

[0044] The wireless network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operations. For synchronous operations, the base stations may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operations, the base stations may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time. In some cases, the network may be enabled or configured to handle dynamic switching between synchronous and asynchronous operations.

[0045] UEs 115 are scattered throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. It should be understood that although in the standards and specifications promulgated by 3GPP, a mobile device is generally referred to as a UE, such a device may additionally or otherwise be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, radio unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal (AT), mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, cell phone, terminal, user agent, mobile client, client, gaming device, augmented reality device, vehicle component, vehicle device, or vehicle module, or some other suitable term. In this document, a "mobile" device or UE does not necessarily have the ability to move and may be stationary. Some non-limiting examples of mobile devices may include, for example, specific implementations of one or more UEs 115, including mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, laptop computers, personal computers (PCs), notebooks, netbooks, smartbooks, tablet computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Mobile devices may additionally be "Internet of Things" (IoT) or "Internet of Everything" (IoE) devices, such as cars or other transportation vehicles, satellite radios, global positioning system (GPS) devices, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) devices, logistics controllers, drones, multi-rotor helicopters, quad-rotor helicopters, smart energy or security devices, solar panels or solar cell arrays, city lighting, tap water, or other infrastructure; industrial automation and enterprise equipment; consumer and wearable devices, such as glasses, wearable cameras, smart watches, health or fitness trackers, mammalian implantable devices, gesture tracking devices, medical devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, gaming consoles, etc.; and digital home or smart home devices, such as home audio, video, and multimedia devices, appliances, sensors, vending machines, smart lighting, home security systems, smart meters, etc. In one aspect, a UE may be a device that includes a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). In another aspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. In some aspects, a UE that does not include a UICC may also be referred to as an IoE device. Figure 1The illustrated specific implementations of UEs 115a through 115d are examples of mobile smart phone type devices that access the wireless network 100. The UEs can also be machines specifically configured to enable connected communication, which includes machine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), and so on. Figure 1 The illustrated UEs 115e through 115k in are examples of various machines configured for communication that access the wireless network 100.

[0046] A mobile device (such as UE 115) may be capable of communicating with any type of base station, whether it is a macro base station, a pico base station, a femto base station, a relay station, etc. In Figure 1 , the communication link (represented as a lightning bolt) indicates a wireless transmission between the UE and the serving base station (which is the base station designated to serve the UE on the downlink or uplink), a desired transmission between base stations, and a backhaul transmission between base stations. The UE may operate as a base station or other network node in some scenarios. The backhaul communication between the base stations of the wireless network 100 may be performed using a wired or wireless communication link.

[0047] In operation, at the wireless network 100, base stations 105a - 105c use 3D beamforming and cooperative spatial techniques (such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity) to serve UEs 115a and 115b. Macro base station 105d performs backhaul communication with base stations 105a - 105c and the small cell (base station 105f). Macro base station 105d also transmits multicast services subscribed to and received by UEs 115c and 115d. Such multicast services may include mobile TV or streaming video, or may include other services for providing community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber alerts or Gray alerts.

[0048] The specifically implemented wireless network 100 supports mission-critical communications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for mission-critical devices such as this UE 115e acting as a drone. The redundant communication links with the UE 115e include links from macro base stations 105d and 105e and small cell base station 105f. Other machine type devices such as UE 115f (thermometer), UE 115g (smart meter), and UE 115h (wearable device) can communicate directly with base stations such as small cell base station 105f and macro base station 105e via the wireless network 100, or communicate in a multi-hop configuration by communicating with another user equipment that relays its information to the network. For example, UE 115f communicates temperature measurement information to the smart meter UE 115g, and then reports it to the network via small cell base station 105f. The wireless network 100 can also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD communication or low-latency FDD communication (e.g., in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) mesh network between UEs 115i - 115k communicating with macro base station 105e).

[0049] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating examples of base station 105 and UE 115 according to one or more aspects. Base station 105 and UE 115 can be Figure 1 any one of the base stations in and one of the UEs in. For the restricted association scenario (as described above), base station 105 can be Figure 1 the small cell base station 105f in, and UE 115 can be UE 115c or 115d operating in the service area of base station 105f. To access small cell base station 105f, this UE will be included in the list of accessible UEs of small cell base station 105f. Base station 105 can also be some other type of base station. As Figure 2 shown in, base station 105 can be equipped with antennas 234a to 234t, and UE 115 can be equipped with antennas 252a to 252r for facilitating wireless communication.

[0050] At base station 105, transmit processor 220 may receive data from data source 212 and receive control information from controller 240 (such as a processor). The control information may be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid ARQ (automatic repeat request) indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH), an MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH), etc. The data may be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. Additionally, transmit processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information respectively to obtain data symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may also generate, for example, reference symbols for a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), as well as cell-specific reference signals. Transmit (TX) MIMO processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, or reference symbols (if applicable), and may provide an output symbol stream to modulators (MOD) 232a to 232t. For example, the spatial processing performed on the data symbols, control symbols, or reference symbols may include precoding. Each modulator 232 may process the corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Additionally or alternatively, each modulator 232 may process the output sample stream (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion, amplification, filtering, and upconversion on it) to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from modulators 232a to 232t may be transmitted via antennas 234a to 234t respectively.

[0051] At UE 115, antennas 252a to 252r may receive the downlink signals from base station 105, and may provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMOD) 254a to 254r respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) the corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain the received symbols. MIMO detector 256 may obtain the received symbols from demodulators 254a to 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols when needed, and provide the detected symbols. Receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide the decoded data for UE 115 to data sink 260, and provide the decoded control information to controller 280 (such as a processor).

[0052] On the uplink, at the UE 115, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 (e.g., for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and control information from the controller 280 (e.g., for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). Additionally, the transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals. Symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be pre-coded by the TX MIMO processor 266 when needed, further processed by the modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 105. At the base station 105, the uplink signals from the UE 115 may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the demodulator 232, detected by the MIMO detector 236 when needed, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 115. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller 240.

[0053] The controllers 240 and 280 may direct the operations at the base station 105 and the UE 115, respectively. The controller 240 or other processors and modules at the base station 105, or the controller 280 or other processors and modules at the UE 115, may execute or direct the execution of various processes for the techniques described herein, such as executing or directing Figure 5 and Figure 6 the execution shown or other processes for the techniques described herein. The memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 105 and the UE 115, respectively. The scheduler 244 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink or uplink.

[0054] In some cases, the UE 115 and the base station 105 may operate in a shared radio spectrum band, which may include licensed or unlicensed (e.g., contention-based) spectrum. In the unlicensed frequency portion of the shared radio spectrum band, the UE 115 or the base station 105 may conventionally perform a medium sensing process to compete for access to the spectrum. For example, the UE 115 or the base station 105 may perform a listen-before-talk or listen-before-transmit (LBT) process (such as a clear channel assessment (CCA)) before communication to determine whether the shared channel is available. In some embodiments, the CCA may include an energy detection process to determine whether there is any other active transmission. For example, a device may infer that a change in the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of a power meter indicates that the channel is occupied. Specifically, signal power concentrated in a certain bandwidth and exceeding a predetermined noise floor may indicate another wireless transmitter. The CCA may also include the detection of a specific sequence indicating the use of the channel. For example, another device may transmit a specific preamble before transmitting a data sequence. In some cases, the LBT process may include a wireless node adjusting its own backoff window based on the amount of energy detected on the channel or the acknowledgment / negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback (as an indication of a collision) for its own transmitted packets.

[0055] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 300 that supports efficient and combined reporting of beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data according to one or more aspects. In some examples, the wireless communication system 300 may implement aspects of the wireless network 100. The wireless communication system 300 includes a UE 115 and a base station 105. Although one UE 115 and one base station 105 are illustrated, in some other embodiments, the wireless communication system 300 may generally include multiple UEs 115 and may include more than one base station 105.

[0056] The UE 115 may include various components (such as structures, hardware components) for performing one or more functions described herein. For example, these components may include one or more processors 302 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "processor 302"), one or more memory devices 304 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "memory 304"), one or more transmitters 316 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "transmitter 316"), and one or more receivers 318 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "receiver 318"). The processor 302 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 304 to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the processor 302 includes or corresponds to one or more of the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, and the controller 280, and the memory 304 includes or corresponds to the memory 282.

[0057] Memory 304 includes or is configured to store control information 362, which includes beam pairs 366, capability information 368, and signal information 372. Transmitter 316 is configured to send reference signals, control information, and data to one or more other devices, and receiver 318 is configured to receive reference signals, synchronization signals, control information, and data from one or more other devices. For example, transmitter 316 may send signaling, control information, and data to base station 105, and receiver 318 may receive signaling, control information, and data from the base station. In some embodiments, transmitter 316 and receiver 318 may be integrated in one or more transceivers. Additionally or alternatively, transmitter 316 or receiver 318 may include or correspond to one or more components of the reference Figure 2 UE 115 described.

[0058] Base station 105 may include various components (such as structural components, hardware components) for performing one or more functions described herein. For example, these components may include one or more processors 352 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "processor 352"), one or more memory devices 354 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "memory 354"), one or more transmitters 356 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "transmitter 356"), and one or more receivers 358 (collectively referred to hereinafter as "receiver 358"). Processor 352 may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory 354 to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, processor 352 includes or corresponds to one or more of receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and controller 240, and memory 354 includes or corresponds to memory 242.

[0059] Memory 354 includes or is configured to store control information 364 and one or more selected channels 374. Control information 364 may be a received copy of control information 362, and selected channels 374 may represent one or more channels selected for communication between UE 115 and base station 105. Transmitter 356 is configured to send reference signals, synchronization signals, control information, and data to one or more other devices, and receiver 358 is configured to receive reference signals, control information, and data from one or more other devices. For example, transmitter 356 may send signaling, control information, and data to UE 115, and receiver 358 may receive signaling, control information, and data from the UE. In some embodiments, transmitter 356 and receiver 358 may be integrated in one or more transceivers. Additionally or alternatively, transmitter 356 or receiver 358 may include or correspond to one or more components of the reference Figure 2 base station 105 described.

[0060] In some specific implementations, the wireless communication system 300 implements a 5G NR network. For example, the wireless communication system 300 may include multiple 5G-capable UEs 115 and multiple 5G-capable base stations 105, such as UEs and base stations configured to operate according to 5G NR network protocols defined by, for example, 3GPP.

[0061] During operation of the wireless communication system 300, the UE 115 may be configured to determine one or more beam pairs 366 available for wireless communication with the UE 115. In certain specific implementations, a beam pair may include a set of two or more beams (e.g., beams from the base station 105 or other base stations) that the UE 115 can access for communication. A beam may include a directional transmission from one or more base stations and may have directional and / or frequency components. For example, a beam may be identified as a beam for communication according to the 5G-NR Rel-15 / 16 standard from 3GPP. Some beams may be capable of communicating in one direction (e.g., transmitting data from the UE 115, receiving data at the UE 115), while other beams may be capable of communicating in multiple directions (e.g., transmitting and receiving data). The UE 115 may additionally identify available beams from one or more base stations 105 within the communication range of the UE 115 (e.g., by scanning or otherwise sensing the beams, by querying the base station 105). Then, the UE 115 may determine the beam pair 366 based on the identified beams. For example, the beam pair 366 may be selected such that each beam may be from a different transmit and receive point (TRP) (e.g., different TRPs on the same base station 105, different TRPs on different base stations 105). In certain specific implementations, when identified, the beams may be clustered into a channel management resource (CMR) of a set of CMRs corresponding to each available TRP, and the UE 115 may select one beam or one CMR from each set of CMRs. In certain specific implementations, the clustering of the beams may be configured by the UE 115 and / or the base station 105, such as by configuring two or more sets of CMRs. Additionally, the UE 115 may be configured with multiple beam pairs for reporting (such as according to the nrofReportedGroups setting). In such instances, each reported beam pair may correspond to one CMR in a first set of CMRs and another CMR in a second set of CMRs.

[0062] UE 115 may be configured to determine the transmission capability of beam pair 366 and the reception capability of beam pair 366. In some specific implementations, the transmission capability may include enabling UE 115 to transmit data via one or more beams within beam pair 366. In some specific implementations, the reception capability may include enabling UE 115 to receive data via beam pair 366. Separate transmission capabilities and reception capabilities may be determined for each of at least a subset of beam pairs 366 (e.g., for each individual beam pair). Some beam pairs 366 may include only transmission capabilities, some beam pairs 366 may include only reception capabilities, and some beam pairs 366 may include both transmission and reception capabilities.

[0063] UE 115 may be configured to determine control information 362 identifying the plurality of beam pairs 366 based on the transmission capability and the reception capability. Specifically, control information 362 may indicate that at least one of the beam pairs 366 is capable of transmitting and receiving data. In some specific implementations, control information 362 identifies one or more resource sets for communicating with UE 115. Specifically, control information 362 may identify a plurality of CMRs for the communication link between UE 115 and base station 105 (and / or other base stations). In some specific implementations, for example, control information 362, 364, 400, 430 may identify channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) and / or synchronization signal blocks (SSB) resources for communicating with UE 115. In some specific implementations, each of the beam pairs 366 is identified within control information 362 by two or more CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) and / or SSB resource indicators (SSBRIs) corresponding to two or more beams included within that beam pair. For example, the corresponding CRI and / or SSBRI may be indicated by an index within each set of CMRs included in control information 362, 400, 430. That is, UE 115 may indicate the beams of beam pair 366 by the CRI and / or SSBRI of the beam, and the CRI and / or SSBRI may be used as an index within the corresponding set of CMRs for beam pair 366, such as where the first beam of beam pair 366 comes from the first set of CMRs and the second beam of beam pair 366 comes from the second set of CMRs.

[0064] Specifically, the control information 362 can be implemented as channel state information (CSI), uplink control information (UCI), and / or L1 beam report (for L1 group-based beam reporting). In such specific implementations where some beam pairs 366 have both transmission and reception capabilities, the transmission and reception capabilities may typically need to be reported separately (e.g., according to the 5G-NR Rel-15 / 16 / 18 standards from 3GPP). This may require a large amount of unnecessary overhead in the communication between the UE 115 and the base station 105. Therefore, an efficient technique for reporting beam pairs that can transmit and receive data is needed.

[0065] To indicate the transmission and reception capabilities of the beam pairs, the control information 362 includes capability information 368. In some specific implementations, the control information 362 (e.g., the capability information 368) can include corresponding direction indicators indicating the transmission and / or reception capabilities of the corresponding beam pairs 366 for at least one subset of the multiple beam pairs 366. For example, Figure 4A Control information 400 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted. The control information 400 can be an exemplary specific implementation of the control information 362. The control information 400 includes beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 and corresponding direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424. In some specific implementations, the direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 can indicate whether the corresponding beam pairs 366 can transmit data, receive data, and / or both. In some specific implementations, the direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 can include a one-bit indicator that identifies between two potential transmission and reception capabilities. For example, the value "1" can indicate that the corresponding beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 can only transmit data, and the value "0" can indicate that the corresponding beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 can transmit and receive data. In some specific implementations, the direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 can include a two-bit indicator that identifies three or more potential transmission and reception capabilities. For example, the value "00" can indicate that the corresponding beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 can only transmit data, the value "01" can indicate that the corresponding beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 can only receive data, and the value "10" can indicate that the corresponding beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 can transmit and receive data.

[0066] In some specific implementations, each of at least one subset of the plurality of direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 may correspond to a separate beam pair 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, each beam pair 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 may be sequentially followed by the corresponding direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 within the control information 362. For example, the control information 400 may include the CRI / SSBRI of each beam in the beam pair 402, followed by the direction indicator 414 of the beam pair 402, then the CRI / SSBRI of the beam pair 404, the direction indicator 416, etc., as shown in Table 1 below. Although different orderings of the data are possible in different aspects of the information.

[0067] <![CDATA Control Information 400 > CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 402 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 402 Direction Indicator 414 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 404 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 404 Direction Indicator 416 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 406 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 406 Direction Indicator 418 …

[0068] Table 1. Exemplary Control Information 400

[0069] In further specific implementations ( Figure 4A not depicted), certain direction indicators correspond to multiple beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, a single direction indicator corresponding to all beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 may be included. For example, the single direction indicator may appear at a predetermined position within the control information 400 (e.g., before the identification information of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, after the identification information of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, between the identification information of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412), and this predetermined position indicates the capabilities of all beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412.

[0070] In a further specific implementation, the individual direction indicators may correspond to a subset of beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, individual direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 may be included in control information 362, 364, 400, 430 (e.g., after the information identifying the corresponding beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412), which indicate the capabilities of all previous beam pairs. For example, control information 400 may include consecutive CRI / SSBRI for beam pairs 402, 404, 406, and direction indicators 414, 416 may be omitted. After the CRI / SSBRI for beam pair 406, the control information may include direction indicator 418, which may indicate the transmission and / or reception capabilities of previous beam pairs 402, 404, 406. In such specific implementations, direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 may be reported in separate categories. For example, beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can transmit and receive data may initially be included at the beginning of control information 400, followed by beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can only transmit data, followed by beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can only receive data. After each category of beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, the corresponding direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 may be included, which separate the consecutive categories and indicate the capabilities of beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 in the previous category.

[0071] In some specific implementations, different types of direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 may be combined within the same control information 400. For example, some specific implementations of the control information may include one or more direction indicators corresponding to multiple beam pairs and one or more direction indicators corresponding to a single beam pair.

[0072] In some specific implementations, the control information 400 may further include one or more capability indices of beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. The capability index may indicate the number of ports available for the corresponding beam in the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, the capability index may indicate the number of sounding reference signal (SRS) ports that the beam can or will be used for communication. As another example, the capability index may indicate the number of physical layers (such as the PUSCH layer) that the beam can or will be used for communication. In some specific implementations, the capability index may be included for all beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 (such as for each beam in the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412).

[0073] In additional or alternative specific implementations, the capability index may be included only for a subset of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, the capability index may be included only for a predetermined number of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, a predetermined (e.g., configurable) number (M) may be specified to indicate how many beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 will include the corresponding capability index. The predetermined number M may be configured for the UE based on the configuration received from the BS (such as in a radio resource control (RRC) message).

[0074] In some instances, M may be less than the total number (N) of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 included in the control information 400 (e.g., M < N). As a specific example, in Figure 4AAmong them, the control information 400 includes N = 6 beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. If M = 2, the control information 400 will only include the ability indexes of the first 2 beam pairs 402, 404. In some specific implementations, in the case of only including a predetermined number of ability indexes, the ability indexes may be included only for the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can be simultaneously transmitted within the beam pair (for example, for these beam pairs, the direction indicator indicates that the beam pair can be simultaneously transmitted, or can be simultaneously transmitted and simultaneously received). In such instances, if the number of beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can be simultaneously transmitted within the beam pair is greater than M, the control information may only include the ability indexes of the first M beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can be simultaneously transmitted within the beam pair. As a specific example, if M = 2, but 3 beam pairs 402, 406, 408 are simultaneously transmitted within the beam pair, the ability information may only include the ability indexes of the first two beam pairs 402, 406 that can transmit and receive data, and the ability indexes of the remaining beam pairs 404, 408, 410, 412 may be omitted.

[0075] In some instances, the ability index may be appended after the identification information of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, as shown in Table 2 below. If the number of beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can be simultaneously transmitted is less than M, the control information 400 may include the ability indexes of all beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 that can be simultaneously transmitted, and the remaining ability indexes may be set to 0 or NULL, or may not be included in the control information.

[0076] <![CDATA Control Information 400 > CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 402 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 402 Direction Indicator 414 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 404 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 404 Direction Indicator 416 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 406 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 406 Direction Indicator 418 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 408 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 408 Direction Indicator 420 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 410 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 410 Direction Indicator 422 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 412 CRI / SSBRI of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 412 Direction Indicator 424 Capability Index of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 402 Capability Index of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 402 Capability Index of Beam 1 of Beam Pair 404 Capability Index of Beam 2 of Beam Pair 404

[0077] Table 2. Exemplary control information 400

[0078] In some specific implementations, restricting the number of ability indexes in this way can reduce the bandwidth requirement by restricting the number of included ability indexes. Therefore, it is possible to configure the desired amount or size of the overhead information required to identify the ability information of the beam pairs, which can achieve the desired amount of overhead savings and thus achieve communication bandwidth savings. However, such specific implementations may also limit the number of beam pairs that can have the corresponding reported ability indexes. In some instances, the base station 105 may also require the received ability information to be of a fixed size for proper decoding. Therefore, by configuring the value of M on both the UE 115 and the base station 105, the fixed size of the control information 400 can be ensured, so that the base station 105 can correctly receive and decode the control information 400.

[0079] In a further specific implementation, the control information 362 (e.g., the capability information 368) may include the number of beam pairs 366 having a predetermined transmission capability and a predetermined reception capability, rather than including individual direction indicators. For example, Figure 4B Control information 430 according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure is depicted. The control information 430 may be an exemplary specific implementation of the control information 362. The control information 430 includes beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 having corresponding numbers 432, 434, 436. Each of the numbers 432, 434, 436 has a corresponding capability 438, 439, 440 (e.g., a transmission capability, a reception capability, both a transmission capability and a reception capability).

[0080] In certain specific implementations, the control information 430 may be determined based on a first number 432 corresponding to a first capability 438 (e.g., both transmitting and receiving data), a second number 434 corresponding to a second capability 439 (e.g., transmitting data), a third number 436 corresponding to a third capability 440 (e.g., receiving data), or a combination thereof. These numbers 432, 434, 436 may correspond to a subset of the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, the first number 432 corresponds to the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, the second number 434 corresponds to the beam pairs 408, 410, and the third number corresponds to the beam pair 412. The beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 may be identified as having one of the capabilities 438, 439, 440 based on which number 432, 434, 436 the beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 correspond to. Thus, the beam pairs 402, 404, 406 are identified as having the first capability 438 (e.g., capable of both transmitting and receiving data), the beam pairs 408, 410 are identified as having the second capability 439 (e.g., capable of transmitting data), and the beam pair 412 is identified as having the third capability 440 (e.g., capable of receiving data).

[0081] Based on the order in which beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 are identified within control information 430, numbers 432, 434, 436 can be identified as corresponding to specific beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. For example, a first subset 402, 404, 406 of beam pairs corresponding to a first number 432 can be first identified in control information 430. Then a second subset 408, 410 of beam pairs corresponding to a second number 434 can be identified, followed by a third subset 412 of beam pairs, as depicted. In various embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the order in which subsets are identified in control information 430 can vary according to the various embodiments. For example, numbers 432, 434, 436 can be specified by a configuration (such as an RRC configuration), and UE 115 can determine control information 430 to include a corresponding number of beam pairs. For example, number 432 can be specified as 3, number 434 can be specified as 2, and number 436 can be specified as 1. UE 115 can accordingly determine control information 430 to include 3 beam pairs 402, 404, 406 that can send and receive data, 2 beam pairs 408, 410 that can only send data, and 1 beam pair 412 that can only receive data.

[0082] In some embodiments, UE 115 can be configured to follow one or more constraints when determining control information 362, 400, 430 (e.g., when selecting which beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 to include in control information 362, 400, 430). The constraints can identify one or more requirements (e.g., capability requirements) that the beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 identified by control information 362, 400, 430 need to satisfy. For example, UE 115 can ensure that (i) at least one beam pair that can send data is included within the plurality of beam pairs 366 identified by control information 362, 400, 430, and (ii) at least one beam pair that can receive data is included within the plurality of beam pairs 366 identified by control information 362, 400, 430. In such instances, the constraint can be implemented by including a single beam pair that can send and receive data. These limitations can be predefined (e.g., by a communication standard) and / or configurable by the network (e.g., received by UE 115 from base station 105).

[0083] Return to Figure 3, in certain specific implementations, the control information 362 may include signal information 372 of at least one subset of a plurality of beam pairs 366. The signal information 372 may include at least one of the following: (i) a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement (e.g., measured or determined by the UE 115) and / or (ii) a signal-to-interference / noice ratio (SINR) measurement (e.g., measured or determined by the UE 115). In certain specific implementations, the signal information 372 may be reported separately for each individual beam pair 366. In certain specific implementations, the number of beam pairs 366 that include the signal information 372 may be less than the total number of beam pairs 366 within the control information 362. Specifically, which beam pairs 366 include the corresponding signal information 372 (and which measurements are included in the signal information 372) may be specified by a radio resource control (RRC) configuration, and the radio resource control (RRC) configuration may be configured by the base station or the UE 115. For example, the RRC configuration may specify that the signal information 372 is included only for the beam pairs 366 that receive data (e.g., the beam pairs 366 that can only receive data and / or the beam pairs 366 that can receive and transmit data both). As another example, the RRC configuration may specify that the signal information 372 is included only for the beam pairs 366 that do not have the corresponding capability index.

[0084] In certain specific implementations, the control information 362 may be determined based on one or more settings of the UE 115 and / or the base station 105. For example, the control information 362 may be determined as described above to generate an improved beam report based on the groupBasedBeamReporting setting (e.g., of the 5G standard). Specifically, if the groupBasedBeamReporting setting is set to "enabled", "true", or a similar value, the method may be executed.

[0085] The UE 115 may also be configured to send the control information 362 to the base station 105. For example, the control information 362 may be sent to the base station 105 in a message 380 (e.g., via the transmitter 316).

[0086] The base station 105 may also be configured to receive control information 364 from the UE 115. Specifically, the base station 105 may receive the message 380 and may extract the control information 364 (which may be a copy of the control information 362) from the message 380. Based on the control information 364 (e.g., based on the CRI / SSBRI included in the control information), the base station 105 may identify beam pairs 366 available for the UE 115 to communicate with the base station 105. The base station 105 may determine a first beam pair from among the beam pairs 366. Specifically, if available, the base station 105 may select, from the beam pairs 366, a first beam pair capable of transmitting and receiving data. In other instances, the base station 105 may select a beam pair that can only transmit data or can only receive data. In certain instances, the base station 105 may select the first beam pair based on the signal information 372 from the control information 364. For example, the base station 105 may select the first beam pair as the beam pair that can transmit and receive data and has the lowest SINR. The base station 105 may be configured to communicate with the UE 115 via the first beam pair via the base station 105. Specifically, the base station may establish the selected channel 374, which the base station 105 uses to communicate with the UE 115 via the first beam pair (e.g., for future communications). In certain instances, the first beam pair may be reserved for communication with the UE 115. For example, the base station may include multiple TRPs each capable of having multiple communication beams. The corresponding beams included within the selected first beam pair may be reserved or partially reserved for communication with the UE 115.

[0087] As referenced Figure 3 As described, the present disclosure provides techniques for improved reporting of beam capabilities in wireless communications (and specifically in wireless communications according to the 5G standard). First, the capability information 368 can effectively indicate which beam pairs are capable of transmitting and receiving data, without having to separately include an indication for each of the transmit capability and the receive capability. This reduces communication overhead, thereby reducing the communication bandwidth necessary to coordinate beam-based communication between the UE and the base station, which can improve the configuration time and total communication bandwidth within the network (e.g., a 5G wireless communication network). Second, the various embodiments of the provided control information can meet the decoding requirements of, for example, the base station 105, thereby enabling seamless integration with existing communication hardware having beam capabilities. In certain embodiments, these techniques may also be dynamically configured to ensure that the beam reporting overhead remains at a desired predetermined size. Additionally, the provided techniques can be configured to include signal information, which can improve communication selection and reporting.

[0088] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 500 supporting improved beam reporting in accordance with one or more aspects. The operations of process 500 may be performed by a UE (such as the one referenced above Figure 1 、 Figure 2, Figure 3 by the UE 115 or reference Figure 8 the UE). For example, the exemplary operations (also referred to as "boxes") of process 500 may enable the UE 115 to support improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs for which data can be sent and received.

[0089] Process 500 includes determining one or more beam pairs available for wireless communication with a UE (block 502). For example, the UE 115 may determine one or more beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 available for wireless communication with the UE 115 (e.g., between the UE and the base station 105). The beams may be identified based on information received from one or more base stations 105. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may measure or otherwise sense one or more beams available for communication. A beam may be associated with more than one TRP and may be received as multiple CMRs associated with different TRPs.

[0090] Process 500 includes determining the transmit capabilities and the receive capabilities of the beam pairs (block 504). For example, the UE 115 may determine the transmit capabilities of beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 and the receive capabilities of beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. The transmit capabilities 438, 439, 440 may include enabling the UE 115 to send data via beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. The receive capabilities 438, 439, 440 may include enabling the UE 115 to receive data via beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. Different beam pairs may include only receive capabilities, only transmit capabilities, or both transmit and receive capabilities.

[0091] Procedure 500 includes determining control information that identifies multiple beam pairs (block 506). For example, UE 115 may determine control information 362, 400, 430 that identifies multiple beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 based on transmit capabilities 438, 439, 440 and receive capabilities 438, 439, 440. The control information 362, 400, 430 may indicate at least one of the beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 as being capable of transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, the control information 362, 400, 430 identifies one or more resource sets for communicating with UE 115. Specifically, the control information 362, 400, 430 may include capability information 368 and / or signal information 372 for the identified beam pair 366. As further explained above, in some implementations, the capability information 368 may be implemented as direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 corresponding to one or more of the beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410. In additional or alternative implementations, the capability information 368 may be implemented as one or more numbers 432, 434, 436 corresponding to a particular type of capability 438, 439, 440.

[0092] Procedure 500 includes sending the control information to a base station (block 508). For example, UE 115 may send the control information 362, 400, 430 to base station 105. For example, UE 115 may send the control information 362, 400, 430 as a message 380 from UE 115 to base station 105. The control information 362, 400, 430 may then be used to coordinate communication between UE 115 and base station 105 (e.g., to determine one or more selected channels 374).

[0093] In some implementations, procedure 500 may be performed based on one or more settings of UE 115. For example, if the groupBasedBeamReporting setting of the 5G standard is set to "enabled", then procedure 500 may be performed.

[0094] Figure 8 is a block diagram of an example UE 800 supporting improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data according to one or more aspects. UE 800 may be configured to perform operations including the blocks of the procedures described with reference to Figure 5 and Figure 6 In some implementations, UE 800 includes with reference to Figures 1 to 3as shown in UE 115 and the structures, hardware, and components described above. For example, UE 800 includes a controller 280 that operates to execute logic or computer instructions stored in a memory 282 and controls components of UE 800 that provide the features and functionality of UE 800. UE 800 transmits and receives signals under the control of controller 280 via radio devices 701a-r and antennas 252a-r. Radio devices 801a-r include various components and hardware, such as Figure 2 illustrated for UE 115, including modulators and demodulators 254a-r, MIMO detectors 256, receive processors 258, transmit processors 264, and TX MIMO processors 266.

[0095] As shown, memory 282 may include information 802, beam pair determination logic 803, capability determination logic 804, and control information determination logic 805. Information 802 may correspond to control information 362, 400, 430. Beam pair determination logic 803 may be configured to determine one or more beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 (e.g., to perform block 502 of process 500). Capability determination logic 804 may be configured to determine the transmission capability and / or reception capability of beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 (e.g., to perform block 504 of process 500). Control information determination logic 805 may be configured to determine information 802 (e.g., control information 362) for beam pairs 366, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 (e.g., to perform block 506 of process 500). UE 800 may receive signals from or send signals to one or more network entities, such as Figures 1 to 3 base station 105 as described above or as Figure 7 shown by the base station. For example, UE 800 may send information 702 to the base station.

[0096] Figure 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process 600 that supports improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs that can transmit data and receive data according to one or more aspects. Operations of process 600 may be performed by a base station, such as the base station 105 described above with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or the base station described below with reference to Figure 7 For example, the example operations of process 600 may enable base station 105 to support improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs that can transmit data and receive data.

[0097] Procedure 600 includes receiving control information from a UE (block 602). For example, base station 105 may receive control information 364 from UE 115. The control information may identify one or more beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 for communicating with UE 115. In some embodiments, control information 364 may be generated to identify beam pairs that can be used to send and receive data with reduced overhead.

[0098] Procedure 600 includes determining one or more beam pairs identified by the control information (block 604). For example, base station 105 may determine one or more beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 identified by control information 364. In some embodiments, beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 may be identified by a CRI / SSBRI pair, and identifying beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 includes extracting the CRI / SSBRI from control information 364. Capability information 368 and / or signal information 372 corresponding to one or more of the identified beam pairs 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412 may also be extracted. For example, capability information 368 may be extracted as direction indicators 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424 and / or as numbers 432, 434, 436 included within control information 364.

[0099] Procedure 600 includes determining a first beam pair from among the plurality of beam pairs (block 606). For example, base station 105 may determine a first beam pair from among the plurality of beam pairs 366. The first beam pair may be capable of sending and receiving data. For example, base station 105 may select the first beam pair based on capability information 368 to identify a beam pair capable of sending and receiving data. In other embodiments, the selected first beam pair may be capable of only sending data and / or may be capable of only receiving data. In some embodiments, base station 105 may select more than one beam pair for communicating with UE 115.

[0100] Procedure 600 includes communicating with the UE using the first beam pair (block 608). For example, base station 105 may communicate with UE 115 using the first beam pair (e.g., using one or more selected channels 374 established based on the first beam pair). Specifically, UE 115 and base station 105 may exchange messages 370, 380 via the first beam pair.

[0101] Figure 7 is a block diagram of an example base station 700 that supports an improved beam report with reduced overhead for beam pairs that can send and receive data according to one or more aspects. Base station 700 may be configured to perform operations including reference Figures 5 to 6Blocks of the process 600 described. In some specific implementations, the base station 700 includes the structures, hardware, and components shown and described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 base station 105. For example, the base station 700 may include a controller 240 that operates to execute logic or computer instructions stored in a memory 242 and controls the components of the base station 700 that provide the features and functionality of the base station 700. The base station 700 transmits and receives signals under the control of the controller 240 via radio devices 701a-t and antennas 734a-t. The radio devices 701a-t include various components and hardware, as illustrated for base station 105 in Figure 2 , including modulators and demodulators 232a-t, a transmit processor 220, a TX MIMO processor 230, a MIMO detector 236, and a receive processor 238.

[0102] As shown, the memory 242 may include information 702, control information reception logic 703, beam pair determination logic 704, and beam pair communication logic 705. The information 702 may correspond to control information 364. The control information reception logic 703 may be configured to receive the information 702 (e.g., control information 364) from the UEs 115, 800 (e.g., to perform block 602 of the process 600). The beam pair determination logic 704 may be configured to determine the beam pairs identified by the control information 364 and determine a first beam pair for communicating with the UEs 115, 800 (e.g., to perform blocks 604, 606 of the process 600). The beam pair communication logic 705 may be configured to communicate with the UEs 115, 800 using the selected beam pair (e.g., to perform block 608 of the process 600). The base station 700 may receive signals from or transmit signals to one or more UEs, such as Figures 1 to 3 UE 115 of Figure 5 or

[0103] Note that one or more blocks (or operations) described with reference to Figures 5 to 6 may be combined with one or more blocks (or operations) described with reference to another figure. For example, Figure 5 one or more blocks (or operations) of Figure 6 may be combined with Figure 6 one or more blocks (or operations) of Figure 5 . As another example, one or more blocks associated with Figures 5 to 6 may be combined with one or more blocks associated with Figures 1 to 4B . As yet another example, one or more blocks associated with Figures 1 to 4B described above may be combined with one or more operations described with reference to Figures 7 to 8Combine one or more of the described operations.

[0104] In one or more aspects, techniques for improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs used for transmitting and receiving data may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below or in connection with one or more other processes or devices described elsewhere herein. In a first aspect, techniques for improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs used for transmitting and receiving data may include an apparatus configured to: determine one or more beam pairs available for wireless communication by the UE; determine one or more transmission capabilities of the one or more beam pairs and one or more reception capabilities of the one or more beam pairs; determine control information identifying the one or more beam pairs based on the transmission capabilities and the reception capabilities, wherein the control information identifies at least one of the one or more beam pairs as being capable of transmitting and receiving data; and transmit the control information to a base station. Additionally, the apparatus may perform or operate according to one or more aspects described below. In some specific implementations, the apparatus includes a wireless device, such as a UE. In some specific implementations, the apparatus may include at least one processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to perform the operations described herein with respect to the apparatus. In some other specific implementations, the apparatus may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, and the program code may be executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform the operations described herein with reference to the apparatus. In some specific implementations, the apparatus may include one or more components configured to perform the operations described herein. In some specific implementations, a method of wireless communication may include one or more of the operations described herein with reference to the apparatus.

[0105] In a second aspect, in combination with the first aspect, for at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, the control information includes a direction indicator indicating the transmission capability and / or the reception capability of the corresponding beam pair.

[0106] In a third aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to second aspects, the direction indicator may include a one-bit indicator identifying between two predetermined transmission capabilities and predetermined reception capabilities.

[0107] In a fourth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the direction indicator includes a two-bit indicator identifying between three predetermined transmission capabilities and predetermined reception capabilities.

[0108] In a fifth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, each of at least one subset of the direction indicators corresponds to a separate beam pair from the one or more beam pairs.

[0109] In a sixth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, each of at least one subset of the direction indicators corresponds to a plurality of beam pairs from the one or more beam pairs.

[0110] In a seventh aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, the control information includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports of each beam of a predetermined number of beams available for the one or more beam pairs.

[0111] In an eighth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the control information includes the number of beam pairs having a predetermined transmission capability and a predetermined reception capability, and the beam pairs are identified within the control information in a sequence determined based on the transmission capability and the reception capability.

[0112] In a ninth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, the control information is determined based on a first number of a first subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data.

[0113] In a tenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, the control information is determined based on at least one of the following: (i) a second number of a second subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of only transmitting data, and / or (ii) a third number of a third subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of only receiving data.

[0114] In an eleventh aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to tenth aspects, the first subset of the one or more beam pairs is identified within the control information before either or both of the second subset of the one or more beam pairs and the third subset of the one or more beam pairs.

[0115] In a twelfth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to eleventh aspects, the control information is determined based on the first number and the second number, and the control information further includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports of each beam of the first subset and the second subset of the one or more beam pairs.

[0116] In a thirteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to twelfth aspects, the control information includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports of each beam of the one or more beam pairs.

[0117] In a fourteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to thirteenth aspects, the control information includes signal information of at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, and the signal information includes at least one of (i) reference signal received power (RSRP) and (ii) signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR).

[0118] In a fifteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to fourteenth aspects, the subset of the one or more beam pairs is selected based on a radio resource control (RRC) configuration.

[0119] In a sixteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to fifteenth aspects, the RRC configuration indicates that signal information is included for beam pairs, and each beam in the beam pairs capable of receiving data.

[0120] In a seventeenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to sixteenth aspects, the RRC configuration indicates that signal information is included for beam pairs without a corresponding capability index, where the capability index identifies the number of ports available for each beam in the corresponding beam pair.

[0121] In an eighteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first to seventeenth aspects, the control information identifies the one or more beam pairs having two or more resource identifiers, where the resource identifiers include a communication resource indicator (CRI) and / or a synchronization signal block resource indicator (SSBRI).

[0122] In a nineteenth aspect, techniques for improved beam reporting with reduced overhead for beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data may include an apparatus configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor: receive control information from a user equipment device (UE), the control information identifying one or more beam pairs for communicating with the UE; determine the one or more beam pairs identified by the control information; determine a first beam pair from among the one or more beam pairs, wherein the first beam pair is capable of transmitting and receiving data; and communicate with the UE using the first beam pair. Additionally, the apparatus may perform or operate according to one or more aspects as described hereinbelow. In some particular implementations, the apparatus includes a wireless device, such as a base station. In some particular implementations, the apparatus may include at least one processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to perform the operations described herein with respect to the apparatus. In some other particular implementations, the apparatus may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, and the program code may be executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform the operations described herein with reference to the apparatus. In some particular implementations, the apparatus may include one or more components configured to perform the operations described herein. In some particular implementations, a method of wireless communication may include one or more of the operations described herein with reference to the apparatus.

[0123] In a twentieth aspect, in combination with the nineteenth aspect, for at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, the control information includes a direction indicator indicating the transmission capability and / or the reception capability of the corresponding beam pair.

[0124] In a twenty-first aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twentieth aspect, the direction indicator may include a one-bit indicator identifying between two predetermined transmission capabilities and predetermined reception capabilities.

[0125] In a twenty-second aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-first aspect, the direction indicator includes a two-bit indicator identifying between three predetermined transmission capabilities and predetermined reception capabilities.

[0126] In a twenty-third aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-second aspect, each of at least one subset of the direction indicators corresponds to a separate beam pair from the one or more beam pairs.

[0127] In a twenty-fourth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-third aspect, each of at least one subset of the direction indicators corresponds to a plurality of beam pairs from the one or more beam pairs.

[0128] In a twenty-fifth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-fourth aspect, the control information includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports for each beam of a predetermined number of beams available for the one or more beam pairs.

[0129] In a twenty-sixth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-fifth aspect, the control information includes the number of beam pairs having a predetermined transmission capability and a predetermined reception capability, and the beam pairs are identified within the control information in a sequence determined based on the transmission capability and the reception capability.

[0130] In a twenty-seventh aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-sixth aspect, the control information is determined based on a first number of a first subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data.

[0131] In a twenty-eighth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-seventh aspect, the control information is determined based on at least one of the following: (i) a second number of a second subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of transmitting only data, and / or (ii) a third number of a third subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of receiving only data.

[0132] In a twenty-ninth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-eighth aspect, the first subset of the one or more beam pairs is identified within the control information before either or both of the second subset of the one or more beam pairs and the third subset of the one or more beam pairs.

[0133] In a thirtieth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the twenty-ninth aspect, the control information is determined based on the first number and the second number, and the control information further includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports for each beam of the first subset and the second subset of the one or more beam pairs.

[0134] In a thirty-first aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the thirtieth aspect, the control information includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports for each beam of the one or more beam pairs.

[0135] In a thirty-second aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the thirty-first aspect, the control information includes signal information of at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, and the signal information includes at least one of (i) reference signal received power (RSRP) and (ii) signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR).

[0136] In a thirty-third aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the thirty-second aspect, the subset of the one or more beam pairs is selected based on a Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration.

[0137] In a thirty-fourth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the thirty-third aspect, the RRC configuration indicates signal information for the beam pair, and each beam in the beam pair capable of receiving data has the beam pair.

[0138] In a thirty-fifth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the thirty-fourth aspect, the RRC configuration indicates signal information for the beam pair without a corresponding capability index, where the capability index identifies the number of ports available for each beam in the corresponding beam pair.

[0139] In a thirty-sixth aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect to the thirty-fifth aspect, the control information identifies the one or more beam pairs having two or more resource identifiers, where the resource identifier includes a Communication Resource Indicator (CRI) and / or a Synchronization Signal Block Resource Indicator (SSBRI).

[0140] Those skilled in the art should understand that: Any one of a variety of different technologies and techniques can be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0141] As described herein with respect to Figures 1 to 3 and Figures 7 to 8 The components, functional blocks, and modules described include processors, electronic devices, hardware devices, electronic components, logic circuits, memories, software code, firmware code, etc., or any combination thereof. Software should be interpreted broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, execution threads, procedures, and / or functions, etc., regardless of whether it is referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terms. Additionally, the features discussed herein can be implemented via dedicated processor circuitry, via executable instructions, or a combination thereof.

[0142] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in connection with the disclosure herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will also readily recognize that the order or combination of the components, methods, or interactions described herein is merely exemplary, and that the components, methods, or interactions of the various aspects of the present disclosure may be combined or performed in ways other than those illustrated and described herein.

[0143] The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic processes described in connection with the specific implementations disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. The interchangeability of hardware and software has been generally described in terms of functionality and illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0144] The hardware and data processing apparatus for implementing or performing the hardware and for implementing the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be utilized with a general purpose single-chip or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some specific implementations, the processor may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some specific implementations, particular processes and methods may be performed by circuitry specific to a given function.

[0145] In one or more aspects, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and structural equivalents thereof, or any combination thereof. The specific implementations of the subject matter described in this specification may also be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer storage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, a data processing apparatus.

[0146] If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. The processes of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein may be implemented in a processor-executable software module that may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can be implemented to transfer a computer program from one place to another. The storage media can be any available media accessible by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Additionally, any connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination of code and instruction sets on a machine-readable medium and a computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0147] Various modifications to the specific implementations described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to some other specific implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific implementations shown herein but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0148] Additionally, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the terms “upper” and “lower” are sometimes used for ease of description of the figures and indicate relative positions corresponding to the orientation of the figures on a correctly oriented page and may not reflect the correct orientation of any device as implemented.

[0149] Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments in this specification can also be implemented in a single embodiment in combination. Conversely, the various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments. Additionally, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combination can in some cases be removed from the combination, and the claimed combination can be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

[0150] Similarly, although operations are depicted in the figures in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. Additionally, the figures may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flowchart. However, other operations that are not depicted can be incorporated in the example processes that are schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the illustrated operations. In certain environments, multitasking and parallel processing are advantageous. Additionally, the separation of the various system components in the specific embodiments described above should not be construed as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. Additionally, some other specific embodiments also fall within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the acts recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve the desired result.

[0151] As used herein (including in the claims), the term "or" as used in a list of two or more items means that any one of the listed items can be employed individually, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; a combination of A and B; a combination of A and C; a combination of B and C; or a combination of A, B, and C. Additionally, as used herein (including in the claims), "or" as used in a list of items beginning with "at least one" indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or any combination of any of these items. The term "substantially" is defined as largely but not necessarily wholly that which is specified (and includes that which is specified; for example, substantially 90 degrees includes 90 degrees, and substantially parallel includes parallel), as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In any particular implementation disclosed, the term "substantially" can be replaced by "[percentage] within" that which is specified, where the percentage includes 0.1%, 1%, 5%, or 10%.

[0152] The foregoing description of the disclosure has been provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprises: determining one or more beam pairs that can be used for wireless communication, wherein each of the one or more beam pairs comprises at least two beams capable of transmitting data, receiving data, or both; determining one or more transmission capabilities of the one or more beam pairs and one or more reception capabilities of the one or more beam pairs; determining control information identifying the one or more beam pairs based on the transmission capabilities and the reception capabilities, wherein the control information identifies at least one of the one or more beam pairs as capable of transmitting and receiving data; and sending the control information to a base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein for at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, the control information comprises a direction indicator indicating the transmission capability of the corresponding beam pair and / or the reception capability of the corresponding beam pair, wherein the direction indicator indicates at least one of the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting data, the corresponding beam pair capable of receiving data, and the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting and receiving data.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the direction indicator comprises a one-bit indicator, wherein a first value of the one-bit indicator identifies a first combination of transmission capability and reception capability, and a second value of the one-bit indicator identifies a second combination of transmission capability and reception capability.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the direction indicator comprises a two-bit indicator, wherein a first value of the two-bit indicator identifies a first combination of transmission capability and reception capability, a second value of the two-bit indicator identifies a second combination of transmission capability and reception capability, and a third value of the two-bit indicator identifies a third combination of transmission capability and reception capability.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the one or more beam pairs comprise two or more beam pairs, and wherein each of at least one subset of the direction indicators corresponds to a plurality of beam pairs from the two or more beam pairs.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the control information comprises a capability index identifying the number of ports of each beam of a predetermined number that can be used for the one or more beam pairs.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control information comprises the number of beam pairs having a predetermined transmission capability and a predetermined reception capability, and wherein the beam pairs are identified in a sequence determined based on the transmission capabilities and the reception capabilities within the control information.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the control information is determined based on a first number of a first subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the control information is determined based on at least one of the following: (i) a second number of a second subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of only transmitting data, and / or (ii) a third number of a third subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of only receiving data.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first subset of the one or more beam pairs is identified within the control information before either or both of the second subset of the one or more beam pairs and the third subset of the one or more beam pairs.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the control information is determined based on the first number and the second number, and wherein the control information further includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports of each beam that can be used for the first subset and the second subset of the one or more beam pairs.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control information includes signal information of at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, and the signal information includes at least one of (i) reference signal received power (RSRP) and (ii) signal-to-interference / noises ratio (SINR).

13. A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, the method comprising: receiving control information from a user equipment (UE), the control information identifying one or more beam pairs for communicating with the UE; determining the one or more beam pairs identified by the control information; determining a first beam pair from among the one or more beam pairs, wherein the first beam pair is capable of transmitting and receiving data; and communicating with the UE using the first beam pair.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein for at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, the control information includes a direction indicator indicating the transmission capability and / or the reception capability of the corresponding beam pair, and the direction indicator indicates at least one of the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting data, the corresponding beam pair capable of receiving data, and the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting and receiving data.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the direction indicator can include a one-bit indicator, and a first value of the one-bit indicator identifies a first combination of transmission capability and reception capability, and a second value of the one-bit indicator identifies a second combination of transmission capability and reception capability.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the direction indicator includes a two-bit indicator, a first value of the two-bit indicator identifies a first combination of transmission capability and reception capability, a second value of the two-bit indicator identifies a second combination of transmission capability and reception capability, and a third value of the two-bit indicator identifies a third combination of transmission capability and reception capability.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the one or more beam pairs include two or more beam pairs, and each of at least one subset of the direction indicators corresponds to a plurality of beam pairs from the two or more beam pairs.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the control information includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports of each beam of a predetermined number that can be used for the one or more beam pairs.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein the control information includes the number of beam pairs having a predetermined transmission capability and a predetermined reception capability, and wherein the beam pairs are identified in the control information in a sequence determined based on the predetermined transmission capability and the predetermined reception capability.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the control information is determined based on a first number of a first subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of transmitting and receiving data.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the control information is determined based on at least one of the following: (i) a second number of a second subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of only transmitting data, and / or (ii) a third number of a third subset of the one or more beam pairs capable of only receiving data.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the first subset of the one or more beam pairs is identified in the control information before either or both of the second subset of the one or more beam pairs and the third subset of the one or more beam pairs.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the control information is determined based on the first number and the second number, and wherein the control information further includes a capability index that identifies the number of ports of each beam that can be used for the first subset and the second subset of the one or more beam pairs.

24. The method according to claim 13, wherein the control information includes signal information of at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, and the signal information includes at least one of (i) reference signal received power (RSRP) and (ii) signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR).

25. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprises: a memory that stores processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: determine one or more beam pairs that can be used for wireless communication by the UE; determine one or more transmission capabilities of the one or more beam pairs and one or more reception capabilities of the one or more beam pairs; determine control information that identifies the one or more beam pairs based on the transmission capability and the reception capability, wherein the control information identifies at least one of the one or more beam pairs as being capable of transmitting and receiving data; and send the control information to a base station.

26. The UE according to claim 25, wherein for at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, the control information includes a direction indicator indicating the transmission capability of the corresponding beam pair and / or the reception capability of the corresponding beam pair, and the direction indicator indicates at least one of the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting data, the corresponding beam pair capable of receiving data, and the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting and receiving data.

27. The UE according to claim 25, wherein the control information includes the number of beam pairs having a predetermined transmission capability and a predetermined reception capability, and wherein the beam pairs are identified within the control information in a sequence determined based on the transmission capability and the reception capability.

28. A base station, the base station comprising: a memory that stores processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive control information from a user equipment device (UE), the control information identifying one or more beam pairs for communicating with the UE; determine the one or more beam pairs identified by the control information; determine a first beam pair from among the one or more beam pairs, wherein the first beam pair is capable of transmitting and receiving data; and communicate with the UE using the first beam pair.

29. The base station according to claim 28, wherein for at least one subset of the one or more beam pairs, the control information includes a direction indicator indicating the transmission capability of the corresponding beam pair and / or the reception capability of the corresponding beam pair, wherein the direction indicator indicates at least one of the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting data, the corresponding beam pair capable of receiving data, and the corresponding beam pair capable of transmitting and receiving data.

30. The base station according to claim 28, wherein the control information includes the number of beam pairs having a predetermined transmission capability and a predetermined reception capability, and wherein the beam pairs are identified within the control information in a sequence determined based on the predetermined transmission capability and the predetermined reception capability.

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