Indication for uplink transmissions using multiple antenna arrangements simultaneously

Abstract

A method is disclosed, comprising receiving downlink control information from a network element for scheduling physical uplink shared channel transmissions (510), determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmissions (520), where if it is determined that the received downlink control information comprises the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the received downlink control information is transmitted to the first transport layer or the second transport layer, and if it is determined that the received downlink control information comprises the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information. The method further includes performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through the first antenna arrangement based on the first antenna port information and through the second antenna arrangement based on the second antenna port information (535).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following exemplary embodiments relate to wireless communication and the use of one or more transmit antenna arrangements for transmitting uplink transmissions. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication networks, such as cellular communication networks, are required to transmit high data rates, e.g., which occur during peak periods. Multiple-input multiple-output enhancements can be used to allow for the transmission of higher data rates. The reliability of both downlink and uplink transmissions is also of great interest and thus needs to be enhanced. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of the present invention is defined by the independent claims. Exemplary embodiments and features described in this specification that are not within the scope of the independent claims (if any) are to be construed as examples useful for understanding the various embodiments of the present invention.

[0004] According to a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element; means for determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission; means for performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the means is configured to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission via a first antenna arrangement based on the first antenna port information and to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission via a second antenna arrangement based on the second antenna port information.

[0005] In some exemplary embodiments according to the first aspect, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform.

[0006] According to a second aspect, there is provided an apparatus, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element, determine whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the apparatus is further caused to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information via a first antenna arrangement of the apparatus, and perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the second antenna port information via a second antenna arrangement of the device.

[0007] According to a third aspect, there is provided a method, comprising: receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element, determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the method further comprises performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information via a first antenna arrangement, and performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the second antenna port information via a second antenna arrangement.

[0008] In some example embodiments according to the third aspect, the method is a computer-implemented method.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions for causing a device to perform at least the following operations: receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element, determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the device is further caused to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the device based on the first antenna port information, and perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the device based on the second antenna port information.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element, determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the computer program further comprises instructions stored thereon for performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement based on the first antenna port information, and performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement based on the second antenna port information.

[0011] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing a device to perform at least the following: receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element, determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the device is further caused to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the device based on the first antenna port information, and perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the device based on the second antenna port information.

[0012] According to a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element, determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon for performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement based on the first antenna port information, and for performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement based on the second antenna port information.

[0013] According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element, determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the computer-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon for performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement based on the first antenna port information, and for performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement based on the second antenna port information.

[0014] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided an apparatus including means for: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, wherein the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and means for receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission, wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, then the means is configured to receive the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receive the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information.

[0015] In some example embodiments according to the ninth aspect, the means includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform.

[0016] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: transmit downlink control information for scheduling physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, wherein the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, then further cause the apparatus to receive the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receive the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information.

[0017] According to an eleventh aspect, a method is provided, including: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, where the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission. And wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the method further includes receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information.

[0018] In some example embodiments according to a third aspect, the method is a computer-implemented method.

[0019] According to a twelfth aspect, a computer program is provided, including instructions for causing a device to at least perform the following: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, where the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, further causing the device to receive the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receive the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information.

[0020] According to a thirteenth aspect, a computer program is provided, including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, wherein the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the computer program further includes instructions stored thereon for receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information.

[0021] According to a fourteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions for causing a device to perform at least the following: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, wherein the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the device is further caused to receive the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receive the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information.

[0022] According to a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, where the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and where if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon for receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information.

[0023] According to a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, where the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and where, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the computer-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon for receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the first antenna port information, and receiving the scheduled downlink physical shared channel transmission through a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device based on the second antenna port information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments and the drawings, where

[0025] Figure 1 an exemplary embodiment of a radio access network is shown.

[0026] Figure 2 an exemplary embodiment of receiving downlink control information is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 an exemplary embodiment of using codewords to indicate a combination of transport layers is shown.

[0028] Figure 4A and Figure 4B shows an exemplary embodiment of mapping a transport layer and an antenna port.

[0029] Figure 5 shows a flowchart according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0030] Figure 6 and Figure 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of a device. Detailed Description

[0031] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "one", "a", or "some" embodiments in several places in the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is to the same embodiment, or that a particular feature applies only to a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Further, as used herein, "at least one of the following: <list of two or more elements>" and similar phrases, where the list of two or more elements is joined by "and" or "or", means at least any element, or at least any two or more elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0032] The term "circuit" as used in this application refers to all of the following: (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation, such as an implementation only in analog and / or digital circuitry, and (b) a combination of circuitry and software (and / or firmware), such as, where applicable: (i) a combination of processors or (ii) portions of a processor / software, including a digital signal processor, software, and memory that work together to cause a device to perform various functions, and (c) circuitry, such as a microprocessor or portions of a microprocessor, that requires software or firmware to operate even if the software or firmware is not physically present. The definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term in this application. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit" will also cover an implementation that consists of only one processor (or multiple processors) or portions of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuit" will also cover, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or an application processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or another network device, if applicable to a particular element. The above embodiments of a circuit may also be regarded as providing embodiments of components for performing the methods or processes described in this document.

[0033] The techniques and methods described herein can be implemented by various components. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the apparatus of an embodiment can be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, it can be implemented by modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) of at least one chipset that perform the functions described herein. The software code can be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit can be implemented inside or outside the processor. In the latter case, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor by any suitable component. Additionally, the components of the systems described herein can be rearranged and / or supplemented by additional components to facilitate the implementation of the various aspects described thereof, etc., and they are not limited to the exact configurations set forth in the given figures, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0034] The embodiments described herein can be implemented in a communication system, such as in at least one of the following: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or any other second-generation cellular communication system, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS, 3G) based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, systems based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, systems based on the IEEE 802.15 standard, and / or fifth-generation (5G), as well as 5G Advanced (i.e., 3GPP NR Rel-18 and later), mobile or cellular communication systems. Additionally, the embodiments described herein can also be implemented in a 6G communication system. However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, and those skilled in the art can apply this solution to other communication systems with the necessary attributes.

[0035] Figure 1 An example of a simplified system architecture showing some elements and functional entities is described. These elements and functional entities are all logical units, and their implementation can be different from that shown. Figure 1 The connections shown are logical connections; the actual physical connections can be different. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the system can also include other functions and structures in addition to Figure 1 those shown. Figure 1 The example of... shows a part of an exemplary radio access network.

[0036] Figure 1 Shown are terminal devices 100 and 102 configured to wirelessly connect to an access node (such as an (e / g)NodeB) 104 providing the cell on one or more communication channels in the cell. The access node 104 may also be referred to as a node. The wireless link from the terminal device to the (e / g)NodeB is referred to as the uplink or reverse link, while the wireless link from the (e / g)NodeB to the terminal device is referred to as the downlink or forward link. It should be understood that the (e / g)NodeB or their functions may be implemented by any entity such as a node, host, server, or access point suitable for such use. It should be noted that although one cell is discussed in this exemplary embodiment, for simplicity of illustration, multiple cells may be provided by one access node in some exemplary embodiments.

[0037] The communication system may include more than one (e / g)NodeB, in which case the (e / g)NodeB may also be configured to communicate with each other via a wired or wireless link designed for this purpose. These links may be used for signaling purposes. The (e / g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. The (e / g)NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, access point, or any other type of interface device including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. The (e / g)NodeB includes or is coupled to a transceiver. From the transceiver of the (e / g)NodeB, a connection to an antenna unit is provided, which establishes a two-way radio link to the user equipment. The antenna unit may include multiple antennas or antenna elements. The (e / g)NodeB is also connected to the core network 110 (CN or Next Generation Core NGC). Depending on the system, the corresponding party on the CN side may be a Serving Gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) for routing and forwarding user data packets and providing connectivity for the terminal device (UE) to an external packet data network, or a Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.

[0038] The terminal device (also referred to as UE, user equipment, user terminal, user device, etc.) shows a type of device to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned, so any feature of the terminal device described herein may be implemented with a corresponding device (such as a relay node). An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhaul relay) towards the base station. Another example of such a relay node is a layer 2 relay. Such a relay node may include a terminal device part and a Distributed Unit (DU) part. For example, the CU (Centralized Unit) may coordinate the DU operation via the F1AP interface.

[0039] A terminal device may refer to a portable computing device, which includes a wireless mobile communication device operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM) or an embedded SIM, eSIM, including but not limited to the following types of devices: a mobile station (mobile phone), a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a device using a wireless modem (such as an alarm or measurement device, etc.), a laptop and / or touch screen computer, a tablet computer, a game console, a notebook camera, and a multimedia device. It should be understood that the user equipment may also be an exclusive or almost exclusive uplink-only device, examples of which are a camera or a video camera that uploads images or video clips to the network. The terminal device may also be a device capable of operating in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, in which case, an object can transmit data through the network without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The terminal device may also utilize the cloud. In some applications, the terminal device may include a small portable device with radio components (such as a watch, headphones, or glasses), and the computing is performed in the cloud. The terminal device (or a layer 3 relay node in some embodiments) is configured to perform one or more user equipment functions.

[0040] The various technologies described herein may also be applied to cyber-physical systems (CPS) (systems of collaborative computing elements that control physical entities). CPS may implement and utilize a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors, microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. A mobile cyber-physical system is a subcategory of cyber-physical systems, where the physical systems under discussion have inherent mobility. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals.

[0041] In addition, although the apparatus is described as a single entity, different units, processors, and / or memory units may be implemented ( Figure 1 not all shown in

[0042] 5G enables the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, far more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in cooperation with smaller stations, and adopts various radio technologies according to service requirements, use cases, and / or available spectrum. 5G mobile communications support a wide range of use cases and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different data sharing methods, and various forms of machine-type applications, such as (massive) machine-type communication (mMTC), including vehicle safety, different sensors, and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely below 6 GHz, cmWave, and mmWave, and can also be integrated with existing legacy radio access technologies such as LTE. At least in the early stage, the integration with LTE can be implemented as a system where macro coverage is provided by LTE, and 5G radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregating to LTE. In other words, 5G is planned to support inter-RAT operability (e.g., LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, e.g., below 6 GHz-cmWave, below 6 GHz-cmWave-mmWave). One of the concepts considered for use in 5G networks is network slicing, where multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub-networks (network instances) can be created within the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput, and mobility.

[0043] The current architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in the radio and fully centralized in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G may require bringing content closer to the radio, which may lead to local breakouts and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analysis and knowledge generation to occur at the data source. This approach requires leveraging resources that may not be continuously connected to networks such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content near cellular users for faster response times. Edge computing encompasses a wide range of technologies, such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer ad hoc networking and processing, and can also be classified as local cloud / fog computing and grid / grid computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlets, distributed data storage and retrieval, self-healing autonomous networks, remote cloud services, augmented reality and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and / or latency-critical), mission-critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analytics, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0044] The communication system is also capable of communicating with other networks such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet 112, and / or utilizing the services provided by them. The communication network is also capable of supporting the use of cloud services, for example, at least part of the core network operations can be performed as cloud services (which is depicted by the "cloud" 114 in Figure 1 ). The communication system may also include a central control entity, etc., to provide facilities for cooperation in, for example, spectrum sharing for the networks of different operators.

[0045] The edge cloud can be brought into the radio access network (RAN) by leveraging network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN). Using the edge cloud can mean that at least part of the access node operations are performed in a server, node, or host that is operatively coupled to a remote radio head or base station including a radio part. The node operations can also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. The application of the cloud RAN architecture enables the execution of RAN real-time functions on the RAN side (in the distributed unit DU 104), and the execution of non-real-time functions in a centralized manner (in the centralized unit CU 108).

[0046] It should also be understood that the labor distribution between core network operations and base station operations can be different from that of LTE, or even a non-existent labor distribution. Some other technologies that can be used include, for example, big data and all-IP, which can change the way the network is constructed and managed. The 5G (or New Radio, NR) network is designed to support multiple hierarchical structures, where the MEC server can be placed between the core and the base station or nodeB (gNB). It should be understood that MEC can also be applied to 4G networks.

[0047] 5G can also utilize satellite communication to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services, for example, by providing backhaul or service availability in areas without ground coverage. Satellite communication can utilize a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite system, or can also utilize a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite system, such as a mega-constellation. The satellites 106 included in the constellation can carry at least part of the gNB or gNBs that create ground cells. Alternatively, the satellite 106 can be used to relay the signals of one or more cells to the earth. The ground cells can be created by ground relay nodes 104 or by gNBs located on the ground or in the satellite, or part of the gNB can be on the satellite, such as the DU, while part of the gNB can be on the ground, such as the CU. Additionally or alternatively, a high-altitude platform station (HAPS) system can be used.

[0048] It should be noted that the depicted system is an example of a part of a radio access system, and the system may include multiple (e / g) Node Bs. The terminal device may have access to multiple radio cells, and the system may also include other devices, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements, etc. At least one of the (e / g) Node Bs may be a Home (e / g) Node B. Additionally, in the geographical area of a radio communication system, multiple different types of radio cells and multiple radio cells may be provided. The radio cells may be macro cells (or umbrella cells), which are large cells, typically having a diameter of up to several tens of kilometers, or smaller cells, such as micro cells, femto cells, or pico cells. Figure 1 The (e / g) Node Bs can provide any type of these cells. The cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network including multiple types of cells. In some example embodiments, in a multi-layer network, one access node provides one or more types of cells, so multiple (e / g) Node Bs are required to provide such a network structure.

[0049] To meet the need to improve the deployment and performance of communication systems, the concept of "plug-and-play" (e / g) Node B has been introduced. In addition to the Home (e / g) Node B (H(e / g) Node B), a network capable of using the "plug-and-play" (e / g) Node B may include a Home Node B Gateway or HNB-GW ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure). The HNB Gateway (HNB-GW) that can be installed within the operator's network can aggregate traffic from a large number of HNBs back to the core network.

[0050] When multiple transmission-reception points (M-TRPs) are used for uplink transmission, e.g., in rel-17 of the 3GPP specifications, a network including a terminal device that performs uplink transmission using M-TRPs can provide the terminal device with downlink control information (DCI), which can be time-division multiplexing (TDM) for M-TRP physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition and a single DCI (S-DCI) for the selection of antenna arrangements. The antenna arrangements included in the terminal device can be understood as one of the following: an antenna panel, a spatial filter, a logical entity for transmitting signals, a set of antenna elements, a transmit beam, or any combination thereof. The terminal device can include one or more antenna arrangements, and the network can know these antenna arrangements, e.g., based on a capability set index report. The capability index set report can include, for example, information about the number of antenna ports associated with an uplink sounding reference signal (ULSRS), which is used for codebook-based transmission to a specific spatial UL direction associated with the reported DL reference signal / signal (i.e., NZP-CSI-RS or SSB). Based on the availability of such information, the network can thus utilize the use of a codebook to trigger the transmission of two different ULSRS resource sets to perform a TRP-specific transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) assumption for the antenna arrangement associated with PUSCH transmission. In other words, the network can determine the precoder index and rank selection for the antenna arrangement used for PUSCH transmission. It should be noted that the determination performed by the network can be understood as a determination made by a network entity such as a base station or any other suitable one or more network elements included in the network. In addition, the TRP included in the network can also be understood as a network element.

[0051] Figure 2An example rel-17 S-DCI for a terminal device 200 to receive S-DCI (e.g., rel-17 S-DCI) is shown, which is for TDM-based M-TRP PUSCH with and without repetition, and for selecting an antenna arrangement between two TRPs. In this example embodiment, the terminal device 200 includes a first antenna arrangement 202 and a second antenna arrangement 204. In this example embodiment, the network includes TRPs 210 and 220. TRP 210 provides a beam grid 215, and TRP 220 provides a beam grid 225. In this example embodiment, there are two different downlink (DL) or combined DL and UL / UL transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states configured as spatial source associations, and two different UL SRS resource sets. In addition, these two different UL SRS resource sets can also be configured with followUnifiedTCIStateSRS-R17 information, enabling dynamic spatial information updates based on the indicated TCI state. Thus, the network can trigger PUSCH transmission by using S-DCI 230 to indicate that TRP 220 can transmit to the terminal device 200 a code point for a single SRS resource set indicator, where 2 bits are reserved when two SRS resource sets are configured using a codebook or non-codebook, thus reserving 4 values, and 0 bits otherwise. In this example embodiment, the code point, which can be referred to as a DCI code point, is included in S-DCI 230. In this example embodiment, the first value of the four possible values of the DCI code point can be used to indicate which one of the two SRS resource indicators (SRI) (first or second) is used to enable dynamic switching between PUSCH transmissions on a single TRP (either TRP 210 or 220) in a time-division multiplexing (TDM) manner, and the other two remaining bits can be used to enable repeated multi-TRP PUSCH transmissions between TRP 210 and TRP 220 in a TDM manner. In addition, in this example embodiment, cyclic or sequential mapping can be configured via RRC to map the two SRIs to PUSCH repetition. In addition, for codebook-based transmission, in this example embodiment, the DCI includes two separate code point fields for the SRI, as well as two precoding information and transmission layer number fields. It is noted that the first field indicates the number of transmission layers, while the second field does not. For non-codebook-based transmission, the DCI can include two SRI code point fields, where the first field indicates the transmission layer and the second field does not indicate the transmission layer. Based on the received S-DCI 230, the terminal device can then transmit PUSCH transmission 232 using antenna arrangement 204 and transmit PUSCH transmission 234 using antenna arrangement 202. However, in this example embodiment, PUSCH transmissions 232 and 234 are not simultaneous transmissions via multiple antenna arrangements 202 and 204.

[0052] In short-range related use cases such as home entertainment and video monitoring, and in industrial or healthcare related use cases where the device and its power consumption, cost, and / or form factor may not be as strict as when the terminal device is handheld and mobile, a higher peak data rate may be desired to enable such use cases in a useful manner. In such use cases, it may be desirable to have, for example, UL transmissions with more than 4 transmit antenna arrangements to bridge the gap between DL and UL spectral efficiency in use cases related to frequency range (FR) 1 and FR2. Therefore, it can be beneficial to have, for example, two antenna arrangements that perform simultaneous UL transmissions to utilize M-TRP to obtain higher UL throughput and / or reliability.

[0053] When UL transmissions are performed using spatial division multiplexing (SDM), there can be multiple transmission layers for transmission. The multiple transmission layers can be combined in various ways. For example, there can be the following combinations of transmission layers: {1+1, 1+2, 2+1, 2+2}. To indicate the combination of transmission layers, a single codeword can be used as Figure 3 shown. In Figure 3 there is codeword 310. Codeword 310 provides a codeword-to-transmission layer mapping 320, which can then provide an indication 330 for the first antenna arrangement and an indication 335 for the second antenna arrangement. Indication 330 can provide a sounding reference signal indicator (SRI) and a transmission precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) to indicate the antenna ports of the first antenna arrangement to be used for transmission and the associated TPMI. Thus, indication 330 can provide SRI#j and TPMI#x. Correspondingly, indication 335 can provide SRI#m and TPMI#y to indicate the antenna ports of the second antenna arrangement to be used for transmission and the associated TPMI. Therefore, codeword 310 in this example embodiment is a single codeword for indicating the combination of transmission layers for SDM transmission.

[0054] To further enhance PUSCH transmission, it is beneficial to allow dynamic switching between transmissions performed by the terminal device using a single antenna arrangement and transmissions performed by the terminal device using multiple antenna arrangements, and vice versa. Such switching can be applied, for example, to SDM transmissions with at least one codeword (e.g., codeword 310). Additionally, in such switching, different combinations of transmission layers can be associated with different antenna arrangements in a dynamic manner. Moreover, one or more TRPs can be used to transmit PUSCH transmissions, and a single DCI can be used to indicate the switching.

[0055] In an example embodiment, DCI can be used to define an uplink demodulation reference signal (UL DMRS) indication scheme for indicating antenna ports of an SDM-based codebook and a non-codebook, while using PUSCH transmission with multiple antenna arrangements. In this example embodiment, the PUSCH transmission is an SDM-based codebook PUSCH transmission, and the DCI in this example embodiment enables dynamic switching from transmission by the terminal device using a single antenna arrangement to transmission by the terminal device using simultaneous multiple antenna arrangements with different transmission layer combinations, and vice versa. In this example embodiment, simultaneous PUSCH transmission via multiple antenna arrangements can be indicated by extending the value range of an existing DCI code point field for SRS resource set indication, for example, by one or two bits or introducing a new DCI code point field for indicating simultaneous PUSCH transmission via multiple antenna arrangements.

[0056] In this example embodiment, the DCI received by the terminal device from the network element indicates a one-to-one mapping between one or more UL DMRS antenna ports of the terminal device and precoder information indicated by the DCI. The DCI can indicate the mapping implicitly or explicitly. The mapping between one or more UL DMRS antenna ports and precoder information can be understood to include the mapping between the TPMI and the uplink transmission layer, subject to multiple SRS antenna ports (APs) and uplink full power transmission modes, such as full power mode 1 or full power mode 2. Therefore, the DCI can be a DCI for PUSCH transmission using simultaneous multiple antenna arrangements.

[0057] If the DCI includes first precoding information (PI-1) and second precoding information (PI-2), as well as first antenna port information (API-1) and second antenna port information (API-2), then PI-1 can be for defining one or more first transport layers associated with API-1. In other words, PI-1 can define one or more first transport layers associated with API-1, and the one or more first transport layers associated with API-1 can be understood as the first UL DMRS AP set. Accordingly, PI-2 can be used to define one or more second transport layers associated with API-2. In other words, one or more second UL DMRS APs. It should be noted that PI-1 and PI-2 independently represent the transport layers associated with the first and second antenna arrangements respectively. Therefore, the terminal device receives DCI from the network element for scheduling codebook-based PUSCH transmission, and determines whether the received DCI includes API-1 for one or more first transport layers associated with (in other words, related to) the PUSCH transmission, and API-2 for one or more second transport layers associated with (in other words, related to) the PUSCH transmission.

[0058] Optionally, the terminal device can assume that one or more first transport layers have priority over one or more second transport layers. For example, PI-1 can include information about two transport layers, such as TPMI-x, x = 0, ……, K; for v 1 0 , v 1 1 , where v 1 0 , v 1 1 is the precoding vector for rank-2 transmission associated with TPMI-x. PI-2 can then include information about one transport layer, such as TPMI-y with v 2 0 , where v 2 0 is the precoding vector for rank-1 transmission associated with TPMI-y. Then, the first transport layers v 1 0 and v 1 1 are associated with the corresponding UL DMRS antenna ports p x and p y , in other words, v 1 0 →p x and v 1 1 →p y , where the antenna port p of UL DMRSx With p y Indicated by API-1, and the second transport layer is associated with UL DMRS-antenna port p z associated (i.e., v 2 0 →p z ), where the UL DMRS antenna port, p z is indicated via API-2. Thus, in this example embodiment, the API can be understood as an index for indicating different numbers of DMRS code division multiple access (CDM) groups, different combinations of DMRS antenna ports, and different numbers of pre-loaded DMRS symbols. In this example embodiment, the PI can be understood as an index for indicating different numbers of transport layers and different TPMIs.

[0059] In this example embodiment, API-1 and API-2, which are applied to both type 1 and type 2 DMRS, are associated with first UL SRS resource information and a second UL SRS resource. The first UL SRS resource information indicates a first SRI set (i.e., one or more SRIs where the SRI is associated with the SRS resource), and the second UL SRS resource indicates a second SRI set (i.e., one or more SRIs where the SRI is associated with the SRS resource). The indicated (multiple) DMRS antenna port values define a one-to-one mapping between the indicated UL DMRS antenna ports and the PUSCH transport layers associated with the indicated first and second SRI sets and the first and second transmit antenna arrangement sets included in the terminal device. In addition, the terminal device can determine the number of pre-loaded DMRS symbols by adding the number of pre-loaded DMRS symbols associated with API-1 and API-2, while considering the indicated number of CDM groups associated with AP-1 and API-2 respectively.

[0060] In this example embodiment, if the DCI defines a single pair among the (PI-1, API-1) pair and the (PI-2, API-2) pair, the terminal device determines that it will switch from transmitting SDM PUSCH transmissions using two antenna arrangements simultaneously to transmitting using a single antenna arrangement for the transmission with the transport layer information indicated by a single (PI, API) pair. For example, if PI-1 and AP-1 are determined to be equal to a predetermined value such as zero or a null field, and if it is determined that PI-2 indicates two layers, such as having v 2 0 , v 2 1For the TPMI, and if API-2 indicates antenna ports, such as antenna ports 2 and 3, the terminal device can accordingly switch to transmit the PUSCH transmission from using two antenna arrangements simultaneously to using a single antenna arrangement with PI-2 transmission layer information via the UL DMRS antenna ports 2 and 3 associated with the antenna associated with the second SRI. It should be noted that if two antenna arrangements are used for PUSCH transmission, the single (PI, API) pair is not equal to the predetermined value, and two pairs are also defined.

[0061] In another exemplary embodiment, the PUSCH transmission is a non-codebook PUSCH transmission based on SDM. Also in this exemplary embodiment, the DCI enables dynamic switching from transmission by the terminal device using a single antenna arrangement to simultaneous transmission by the terminal device using multiple antenna arrangements with different transmission layer combinations, and vice versa. In this exemplary embodiment, the DCI (which can be a single DCI) received by the terminal device from the network element indicates a one-to-one mapping between one or more UL DMRS antenna ports of the terminal device and UL SRS resource information. In this exemplary embodiment, the DCI can define SRI-1 and SRI-2 code points. The DCI can also define API-1 and API-2 code point fields, as in the previous exemplary embodiment. In this exemplary embodiment, SRI-1 indicates one or more SRIs and defines one or more first transmission layers associated with API-1, in other words, the first DMRS AP set, and SRI-2 indicates one or more SRIs and defines one or more second transmission layers associated with the second antenna port information, in other words, the second DMRS AP set. In this exemplary embodiment, the terminal device can optionally assume that, considering one or more second transmission layers, one or more first transmission layers will be prioritized.

[0062] In this exemplary embodiment, API-1 and API-2, which can be applied to both type 1 and type 2 DMRS, are associated with the first UL SRS resource information including the first SRI set and the second UL SRS resource information including the second SRI set, and the indicated DMRS antenna port values respectively define a one-to-one mapping between the indicated UL DMRS antenna ports and the (multiple) PUSCH transmission layers associated with the indicated first and second SRI sets and the first and second antenna arrangement sets included in the terminal device.

[0063] As in the previous example embodiment, if the terminal device subsequently determines that a pair in the (SRI-1, API-1) or (SRI-2, API-2) pair is not defined in the received DCI, the terminal device can then switch, based on or in response to this, from transmitting a PUSCH transmission using two antenna arrangements for simultaneous transmission to transmitting a PUSCH transmission using a single antenna arrangement with transport layer information and DMRS port information indicated by the SRI and API. It should be noted that in this example embodiment, the API can be understood as an indicator, such as an index, to indicate information about different numbers of DMRS CDM groups, different DMRS antenna port combinations, and different numbers of pre-loaded symbols. In this example embodiment, the SRI indicates information about different numbers of SRIs that match the number of transport layers transmitted through each antenna arrangement.

[0064] Figure 4A An example embodiment is shown of a codebook-based one-to-one mapping of a DCI for PUSCH transmission between the PUSCH transport layer and the DMRS antenna port, where the PUSCH transmission is transmitted by the terminal device using multiple antenna arrangements. In this example embodiment, the DCI defines a first API 400, which indicates a first DMRS port, a first number of pre-loaded symbols, and a first number of CDM groups. Since more than one API can be defined in the DCI, the API 405 represents the nth API. Corresponding to the API 400, the API 405 indicates the nth DMRS port, the nth pre-loaded symbol, and the nth CDM group. Then, the API 400 is associated with a first PRI 410, and the first PRI 410 indicates a first transport layer number and a first TPMI. It should be noted that the number of layers can be understood as layer information, or it can be included in the layer information. Correspondingly, the API 405 is associated with an nth PRI 415 that indicates the nth transport layer and the nth TPMI. It should be noted that a consecutive set of PRIs and APIs, such as PRI-1, PRI-2, PRI-3 and API-1, API-2, API-3, can define the mapping order between the PUSCH transport layer and the DMRS antenna port. The total number of transport layers can be equal to the sum of the transport layers indicated by the PRIs, which is also equal to the sum of the DMRS ports indicated by the APIs. The total number of pre-loaded symbols can be the sum of the pre-loaded symbols indicated by the APIs, taking into account the indicated number of CDM groups associated with the APIs.

[0065] Next, in Figure 4A SRI 420 and SRI 425 are shown. SRI 420 is the first SRI and SRI 425 is the nth SRI. Then, the SRIs are mapped to the transmit antenna arrangements of the terminal device. That is, the first antenna arrangement 430 and the nth antenna arrangement 435.

[0066] Figure 4B An example embodiment is shown of a non-codebook based one-to-one mapping using DCI for PUSCH transmission between the PUSCH transport layer and the DMRS antenna port, where the PUSCH transmission is made by the terminal device using multiple antenna arrangements. In this example embodiment, the DCI defines API 450, which indicates the first DMRS port, the first number of pre-loaded symbols, and the first number of CDM groups. Since more than one API can be defined in the DCI, API 455 indicates the nth API. Corresponding to API 450, API 455 indicates the nth DMRS port, the nth pre-loaded symbol, and the nth CDM group. API 450 is then associated with SRI460, and SRI 460 indicates the first number of transport layers. Correspondingly, API 455 is associated with the nth SRI 465 indicating the nth transport layer. It should be noted that the total number of transport layers can be equal to the sum of the transport layers indicated by the SRI, which is also equal to the sum of the DMRS ports indicated by the API. The total number of pre-loaded symbols can be the sum of the pre-loaded symbols indicated by the API, taking into account the indicated number of CDM groups associated with the API. Then, the SRI is mapped to the transmit antenna arrangements of the terminal device respectively. That is, to the first antenna arrangement 470 and to the nth antenna arrangement 475.

[0067] In another example embodiment of one-to-one antenna port indication, there can be two SRS resource sets configured for use with higher layer parameters in the SRS-ResourceSet set to the codebook. Then, for one-to-one antenna port indication, two SRIs, two TPMIs, and two DMRS antenna ports can be defined as DCI fields for two SRS resource indicators and two precoding information, and the number of transport layers and one or two APIs for DCI format 0_1 or format 0_2. For these two TPMIs, the transmission precoder can be selected from the uplink codebook, which has the number of antenna ports equal to the higher layer parameter nrofSRS ports of the indicated SRI. For the two DMRS antenna ports, the terminal device can determine the first set of K1-DMRS antenna ports by sorting the DMRS antenna ports given by the antenna port table associated with AP-1, and determine the second set of K2-DMRS antenna ports by sorting the DMRS antenna ports given by the antenna port table subject to the DMRS type, maximum length, and rank associated with AP-2, where the maximum length is determined by summing the maximum lengths given by AP-1+AP-2, taking into account the indicated number of CDM groups associated with AP1.

[0068] Generally, a terminal device may receive downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element. Based on the received downlink control information, the terminal device may then determine whether to use the received downlink control information to define first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission. If the terminal device determines that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the terminal device may perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information through the first antenna arrangement of the terminal device and based on the second antenna port information through the second antenna arrangement of the terminal device. On the other hand, if the terminal device determines that the received DCI includes only a single piece of information from the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, or if it is determined that one of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information in the received downlink control information is equal to a predetermined value, the terminal device may perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a single antenna arrangement of the terminal device. It should be noted that the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information may be independent of each other. In other words, they may be encoded separately and have independent values. It should also be noted that the transmission layer associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission may also be understood as the layer related to the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission. Moreover, transmitting the physical uplink shared channel transmission may be understood as transmitting the transmission layer.

[0069] Therefore, the terminal device may receive DCI for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission and perform the physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the DCI. In some examples, the DCI includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission. Thus, based on the DCI including the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the terminal device performs the physical uplink shared channel transmission through the first antenna arrangement of the device based on the first antenna port information and through the second antenna arrangement of the device based on the second antenna port information.

[0070] In some examples, the DCI includes a single piece of information from the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information (i.e., one of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, rather than the other). Thus, based on the DCI that includes a single piece of information from the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the terminal device performs scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a single antenna arrangement of the terminal device. In one example, the terminal device determines that the DCI includes the first antenna port information and does not include the second antenna port information. Based on this determination, the terminal device can perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through the first antenna arrangement rather than through the second antenna arrangement. In one example, the terminal device determines that the DCI includes the second antenna port information and does not include the first antenna port information. Based on this determination, the terminal device can perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through the second antenna arrangement rather than through the first antenna arrangement.

[0071] In some examples, one of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information in the received DCI is equal to a predetermined value. Based on one of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information in the received DCI being equal to the predetermined value, the terminal device performs scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a single antenna arrangement of the terminal device. For example, based on the first antenna port information being equal to the predetermined value, the terminal device can perform physical uplink shared channel transmission through the second antenna arrangement rather than through the first antenna arrangement. For example, based on the second antenna port information being equal to the predetermined value, the terminal device can perform physical uplink shared channel transmission through the first antenna arrangement rather than through the second antenna arrangement.

[0072] In addition, generally, a network element such as a base station transmits downlink control information for scheduling physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, and the transmitted downlink control information may include at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission. If the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the base station may receive the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information through the first antenna arrangement of the terminal device and based on the second antenna port information through the second antenna arrangement of the terminal device. It should be noted that the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission may be received through at least one TRP, and additionally or alternatively, the antenna arrangement of the terminal device may include a spatial filter. If the transmitted downlink control information includes a single piece of information among the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, or if one of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information in the transmitted downlink control information is equal to a predetermined value, the device is also caused to receive the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a single antenna arrangement of the terminal device.

[0073] In the above example embodiment, a dynamic UL DMRS antenna port indication scheme applicable to codebook-based and non-codebook-based SDM simultaneous multi-panel PUSCH transmission may be enabled. Thus, the above example embodiment may allow for dynamic switching from single-antenna-panel PUSCH transmission to simultaneous multi-panel transmission, and vice versa for m-TRP. Thus, the above example embodiment may have the following benefits, such as using the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information to enable the network to dynamically switch from single-antenna arrangement transmission to simultaneous multi-antenna arrangement PUSCH transmission via S-DCI, and vice versa. Another benefit may be to enable the use of TRP-specific DMRS configuration indication to ensure sufficient DMRS channel estimation quality at each TRP. It should be noted that the propagation conditions between different terminal devices and TRP pairs may vary, resulting in the need to modify the DMRS parameters according to each terminal device and TRP link pair. Another additional benefit may be, for example, to achieve enhanced scheduling flexibility to indicate different / additional DMRS antenna port combinations in the case of multi-user MIMO transmission when compared with current DMRS antenna port combinations such as those defined in the rel-17 specification.

[0074] Figure 5A flowchart according to an example embodiment is shown. Note that in this example, one or two APIs are defined. However, the solution here is not limited to using two APIs, and thus it is possible for the DCI to indicate more than two APIs. According to the example embodiment, in step 510, the DCI is used to schedule PUSCH transmission. The DCI is transmitted by a network element such as a TRP or a base station and received by the terminal device. The terminal device then determines in step 520 whether the DCI includes a first API and a second API. In other words, the terminal device determines whether the DCI defines a first API and a second API. The first API is for one or more first transport layers associated with the scheduled PUSCH transmission, and the second API is for one or more second transport layers associated with the scheduled PUSCH transmission.

[0075] If the terminal device determines that one of the first API or the second API is not defined and the other API is defined, then in step 530, the terminal device uses a single-antenna arrangement to transmit the scheduled PUSCH transmission. The single-antenna arrangement included in the terminal device corresponds to the defined first API or second API.

[0076] However, if the terminal device determines both the first API and the second API, then in step 525, the terminal device determines whether one of the first or second APIs is equal to a predetermined value, which may also be considered a pseudo value. If one of the first or second APIs includes the predetermined value, then in step 530, the terminal device uses the single-antenna arrangement included in the terminal device to transmit the scheduled PUSCH transmission, and the single-antenna arrangement corresponds to the API that is not equal to the predetermined value.

[0077] If the terminal device determines in step 525 that neither the first API nor the second API is equal to the predetermined value, then in step 535, the terminal device transmits the scheduled PUSCH transmission through a two-antenna arrangement included in the terminal device. The transmission through the first antenna arrangement is based on the first API, and the transmission through the second antenna arrangement is based on the second API. It should also be noted that at block 520, the actions of the terminal device in 530 may occur simultaneously or may not occur simultaneously, and they should be understood to be determined by the terminal device according to one or more rules (i.e., as defined at block 520, 530).

[0078] In this example embodiment, when the scheduled PUSCH transmission is transmitted by the terminal device, one or more antenna arrangements can be used for transmission.

[0079] Figure 6FIG. 600 shows a device according to an example embodiment, which may be a terminal device or a device included in a terminal device. The device 600 includes a processor 610. The processor 610 interprets computer program instructions and processes data. The processor 610 may include one or more programmable processors. The processor 610 may include programmable hardware with embedded firmware and, additionally or alternatively, may include one or more application specific integrated circuits ASICs.

[0080] The processor 610 is coupled to a memory 620. The processor is configured to read data from and write data to the memory 620. The memory 620 may include one or more memory units. The memory units may be volatile or non-volatile. Note that in some example embodiments, there may be one or more non-volatile memory units and one or more volatile memory units, or alternatively one or more non-volatile memory units, or alternatively one or more volatile memory units. Volatile memory may be, for example, RAM, DRAM, or SDRAM. Non-volatile memory may be, for example, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, flash memory, optical storage, or magnetic storage. Generally, the memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 620 stores computer-readable instructions executed by the processor 610. For example, the non-volatile memory stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor 610 uses volatile memory for temporarily storing data and / or instructions to execute the instructions.

[0081] The computer-readable instructions may be pre-stored in the memory 620, or additionally or alternatively, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer-readable instructions causes the device 600 to perform the above functions.

[0082] In the context of this document, a "memory" or "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory medium or device component that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device such as a computer.

[0083] The device 600 also includes or is connected to an input unit 630. The input unit 630 includes one or more interfaces for receiving user input. The one or more interfaces may include, for example, one or more motion and / or orientation sensors, one or more cameras, one or more accelerometers, one or more microphones, one or more buttons, and one or more touch detection units. Additionally, the input unit 630 may include an interface to which an external device may be connected.

[0084] The apparatus 600 further includes an output unit 640. The output unit includes or is connected to one or more displays capable of presenting visual content, such as light-emitting diodes, LED displays, liquid crystal displays, LCDs, and liquid crystal on silicon displays. The output unit 640 also includes one or more audio outputs. The one or more audio outputs can be, for example, speakers or a headset set.

[0085] The apparatus 600 may also include a connection unit 650. The connection unit 650 enables wired and / or wireless connectivity to an external network. The connection unit 650 may include one or more antennas and one or more receivers, which may be integrated into the apparatus 600 or may be connected to the apparatus 600. The connection unit 650 may include an integrated circuit or a set of integrated circuits that provides wireless communication capabilities for the apparatus 600. Alternatively, the wireless connection may be a hardwired application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0086] It should be noted that the apparatus 600 may also include Figure 6 various components not shown in

[0087] Figure 7 An apparatus 700 of

[0088] shows an example embodiment of an apparatus that may be a base station or included in a base station and may implement an activator or a reader as described above. The apparatus may be, for example, a circuit or a chipset that can be applied to an access node to implement the embodiment. The apparatus 700 may be an electronic device including one or more electronic circuits. The apparatus 700 may include a communication control circuit 700 such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 720 including computer program code (software) 722, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) 722 are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 700 to perform any of the example embodiments of the access node described above.

[0089] Apparatus 700 may further include a communication interface 730, which includes hardware and / or software for implementing communication connectivity according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface 730 may provide the apparatus with wireless communication capabilities to communicate in a cellular communication system. The communication interface may, for example, provide a radio interface to a terminal device. Apparatus 700 may further include another interface to a core network such as a network coordinator device and / or to an access node of a cellular communication system. Apparatus 700 may further include a scheduler 740 configured to allocate resources.

[0090] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to exemplary embodiments according to the drawings, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited thereto, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly, and they are intended to illustrate rather than limit the embodiments. It is clear to those skilled in the art that with the progress of technology, the concept of the present invention can be implemented in various ways. In addition, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments may, but do not require to, be combined with other embodiments in various ways.

Claims

1. A device, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to: Receive downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element; Determine whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the device is further caused to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information through a first antenna arrangement of the device and to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the second antenna port information through a second antenna arrangement of the device.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes a single piece of information of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, or if it is determined that one piece of information of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information in the received downlink control information is equal to a predetermined value, the device is further caused to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission through a single antenna arrangement of the device.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the received downlink control information further includes first precoding information for precoding the one or more first transmission layers and second precoding information for precoding the one or more second transmission layers, and wherein the device is further caused to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the first precoding information through the first antenna arrangement and to perform the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the second precoding information through the second antenna arrangement.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, using spatial division multiplexing, the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission is performed simultaneously through the first antenna arrangement and the second antenna arrangement.

5. The device according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information are separately encoded in the downlink control information.

6. The device according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the first antenna port information indicates at least one of the following: the number of demodulation reference signal code division multiplexing groups without data, one or more first demodulation reference signal antenna ports, and the number of preamble symbols. and the second antenna port information therein indicates at least one of the following: the number of demodulation reference signal code division multiplexing groups without data, one or more second demodulation reference signal antenna ports, and the number of preamble symbols.

7. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, the first precoding information indicates one or more first sounding reference signal resource indicators, and the second precoding information indicates one or more second sounding reference signal resource indicators.

8. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, the first precoding information indicates: a first sounding reference signal resource indicator, a first transmission precoding matrix indicator, and first layer information, and the second precoding information indicates: a second sounding reference signal resource indicator, a second transmission precoding matrix indicator, and second layer information.

9. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit downlink control information for scheduling physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, wherein, the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transmission layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the apparatus is further caused to receive the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information, via a first antenna arrangement of the terminal device, and to receive the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the second antenna port information, via a second antenna arrangement of the terminal device.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein if the transmitted downlink control information includes a single one of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, or if one of the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information in the transmitted downlink control information is equal to a predetermined value, the apparatus is further caused to receive the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission via a single antenna arrangement of the terminal device.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein, using spatial division multiplexing, the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission is received simultaneously via the first antenna arrangement and the second antenna arrangement of the terminal device.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 - 11, wherein, the apparatus is further caused to separately encode the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information in the downlink control information.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 - 12, wherein the first antenna port information indicates at least one of the following: the number of demodulation reference signal code - division multiplexing groups without data, one or more first demodulation reference signal antenna ports, and the number of preamble symbols; and wherein the second antenna port information indicates at least one of the following: the number of demodulation reference signal code - division multiplexing groups without data, one or more second demodulation reference signal antenna ports, and the number of preamble symbols.

14. A method, comprising: receiving downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission from a network element; determining whether the received downlink control information includes first antenna port information for one or more first transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission and second antenna port information for one or more second transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, wherein, if it is determined that the received downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the method further comprises: performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information via a first antenna arrangement, and performing the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the second antenna port information via a second antenna arrangement.

15. A method, comprising: transmitting downlink control information for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel transmission to a terminal device, wherein the transmitted downlink control information includes at least one of the following: first antenna port information for one or more first transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and second antenna port information for one or more second transport layers associated with the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission, and wherein, if the transmitted downlink control information includes the first antenna port information and the second antenna port information, the method further comprises: receiving the scheduled uplink physical shared channel transmission based on the first antenna port information via the first antenna arrangement of the terminal device, and receiving the scheduled physical uplink shared channel transmission based on the second antenna port information via the second antenna arrangement of the terminal device.

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