Method and system for reporting time domain channel characteristics (TDCP)

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) includes a transceiver and a processor configured to receive, from a radio access network (RAN) and via the transceiver, a configuration for transmitting a measured time domain channel characteristic (TDCP) based on a tracking reference signal (TRS) received at the UE, and to measure the TRS. The processor is configured to transmit, to the RAN and via the transceiver, at least one of a processing time or a number of channel state information (CSI) processing units (CPUs) required to report a TDCP based on the measurement of the TRS. The processor is configured to transmit a CSI report including the TDCP to the RAN and via the transceiver, the TDCP being based on the measurement of the TRS.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This Patent Cooperation Treaty patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 420,008, filed on October 27, 2022, and entitled “Methods and Systems for Reporting Time Domain Channel Properties (TDCP),” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems, including methods and systems for measuring and reporting time domain channel characteristics (TDCP) for 5G New Radio (5G NR). Background Art

[0004] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between network equipment (e.g., base stations) of a radio access network (RAN) and wireless communication devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include, for example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) (commonly referred to within industry organizations as WLANs). ).

[0005] As envisioned by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) to communicate between network equipment of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, base stations, or simply nodes) and wireless communication devices referred to as user equipment (UE). The 3GPP RAN may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0006] Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) for communication between network equipment and UEs. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RATs, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RATs or other 3GPP RATs, E-UTRAN implements LTE RATs (sometimes referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RATs (sometimes referred to herein as 5G RATs, 5G NR RATs, or simply NR). In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement NR RATs. In some deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RATs.

[0007] Network equipment (e.g., base stations) used by the RAN may correspond to the RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN network equipment is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also often denoted as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). An example of an NG-RAN network equipment is a Next Generation Node B (sometimes also referred to as a gNodeB or gNB).

[0008] The RAN provides communication services together with external entities through its connection with the Core Network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and NG-RAN may utilize the 5G Core Network (5GC). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0010] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system is shown in accordance with embodiments described herein.

[0011] Figure 2 An example diagram illustrating the minimum processing time in time units required for TDCP reporting by a user equipment (UE) based on a tracking reference signal (TRS) according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 3 An example diagram illustrating the minimum processing time in symbols required for TDCP reporting by a user equipment (UE) based on a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 4 Examples of activation channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) rules for activating various types of CSI-RS using different methods according to some embodiments are shown.

[0014] Figure 5An example method performed by a UE for reporting operations of TDCP for 5G NR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0015] Figure 6 An example method of operations performed by a network device (e.g., a base station) of a RAN for receiving a TDCP for 5G NR from a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0016] Figure 7 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to embodiments disclosed herein is shown.

[0017] Figure 8 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to embodiments disclosed herein is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Various embodiments related to measuring and reporting time domain channel characteristics (TDCP) using a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for tracking are described. The CSI-RS for tracking may be referred to as a tracking reference signal (TRS) in the present disclosure. Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Releases 15, 16, and 17 describe advanced channel state information (CSI) reporting for exploiting channel correlation. The channel correlation described in 3GPP Releases 15, 16, and 17 may correspond to channel spatial correlation or channel frequency correlation, which is used for high-resolution CSI feedback for Type 1 and Type 2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) codebooks, and which reduces CSI overhead in Type IICSI Release 16 enhancements. The channel correlation described in 3GPP versions 15, 16, and 17 may correspond to channel downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) correlation for utilizing reciprocity-based MIMO; for example, non-codebook-based physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) operation is supported, and reporting of CSI-RS resource indicators (CRI), rank indicators (RI), and channel quality indicators (CQI) for DL ​​operations and type II port selection codebooks for DL ​​operations are supported. However, in particular for 5G (or 5G NR), channel correlation in the time domain is not utilized. Therefore, because the wireless channel characteristics vary over time due to the movement of the UE and the speed of movement of the UE, and / or vary with changes in the UE environment, the various embodiments described herein support measurement and reporting of TDCP. In some embodiments, TDCP can be used for MIMO enhancement. TRS is used to measure TDCP characteristics, which is not currently supported by 5G (or 5G NR). Therefore, various embodiments described herein enable the use of TRS in 5G NR to report TDCP, and provide details on the following: UE processing time requirements, and the number of CSI processing units (CPUs) required to report TDCP based on TRS measurements according to the activation CSI-RS rules. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, other appropriate reference signals other than TRS may also be used to report TDCP.

[0019] Reference will now be made specifically to the representative embodiments / aspects shown in the accompanying drawings. The following description is not intended to limit the embodiments to a preferred embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, combinations, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the embodiments defined by the appended claims.

[0020] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to the embodiments described herein is shown. Figure 1As shown, the wireless communication system 100 may include a network device 102, a network device 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. The UE 106 may be communicatively coupled to the network device 102 and / or the network device 104 to transmit data in an uplink (UL) direction and / or receive data in a downlink (DL) direction. In some embodiments, the network devices 102 and 104 may be eNb, eNodeB, gNodeB, or access point (AP) in a radio access network (RAN), and may support one or more radio access technologies, such as 4G, 5G, 5G New Radio (5G NR), 6G, etc. The UE 106 may be a phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a smart watch, an Internet of Things (IoT), a vehicle, etc.

[0021] The CSI report describes the state of the channel. The UE may transmit a CSI report as feedback to a network device. The CSI report may include several parameters, such as a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) with different codebook sets, and a rank indicator (RI). The CSI report may also include information about channel correlations supported by Releases 15, 16, and 17, and may also include a TDCP as described herein according to some embodiments. The UE may use a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to measure CSI feedback, and in particular use a TRS to measure TDCP, and generate a CSI report. Upon receiving the CSI report, the network device may schedule data transmission in the DL direction and / or UL direction.

[0022] The CSI report can be a periodic CSI (P-CSI) report, an aperiodic CSI (AP-CSI) report, and / or a semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI) report. The UE processing time (or minimum UE processing time) for CSI reporting can depend on the type of CSI report. For example, for a P-CSI report or an SP-CSI report, the CSI processing time required by the UE can be 4 milliseconds (ms) or 5 ms. Figure 2 The CSI report may be used to report the TDCP to a network device, which may be a network device of a RAN (eg, a base station).

[0023] Figure 2 An example diagram showing the minimum processing time in time units required for TDCP reporting based on a tracking reference signal (TRS) by a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments. Figure 2As shown in diagram 200 in FIG. 2 , reference signals (eg, CSI-RS) RS1 204 and RS2 206 are shown along a time axis 202. The minimum processing time required for a UE to measure a TDCP 210 may be the time between the last reference signal (such as RS2 206) and the transmission of a CSI report 208 in a PUSCH.

[0024] Alternatively or in addition, the minimum processing time required by the UE may be expressed in symbols or in number of symbols. If a single CSI-RS or synchronization signal block (SSB) is configured for channel measurement, then n CSI_ref is greater than or equal to 4*2 μ DL The minimum value of n such that it corresponds to a valid downlink time slot, and if multiple CSI-RS or SSB are configured for channel measurement, then n CSI_ref is greater than or equal to 5*2 μ DL The minimum value of so that it corresponds to a valid downlink time slot.

[0025] For AP-CSI reporting, the CSI processing time in terms of the number of symbols may be defined using Z and Z', where Z corresponds to the time between the end time of the AP-CSI that triggers the transmission of the physical download control channel (PDCCH) (such as downlink control information (DCI)) and the start time of the PUSCH that carries the AP-CSI report, and Z' corresponds to the time between the end time of the last measured resource (e.g., CSI-RS) and the start time of the PUSCH that carries the AP-CSI report. For example, for a subcarrier spacing (SCS) shown here as μ, the values ​​of Z and Z' for low-latency CSI calculation may be as shown in Table 1, and the values ​​of Z and Z' for regular CSI calculation may be as shown in Table 1.

[0026] As shown in Table 2.

[0027]

[0028] Table 1

[0029]

[0030] Table 2

[0031] In Table 2 above, (Z 1 , Z 1 ' ) may correspond to a low complexity link adaptation CSI (LA-CSI) or layer 1 signal to interference plus noise ratio (L1-SINR) measurement, (Z 2 , Z 2' ) may correspond to high complexity link adaptation CSI (LA-CSI), and (Z 3 , Z 3 ' ) may correspond to a layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement (e.g., beam management CSI (BM-CSI)).

[0032] Figure 3 An example diagram of the minimum processing time in symbols required for TDCP reporting based on a tracking reference signal (TRS) by a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments is shown. As shown in the diagram 300, reference signals (e.g., CSI-RS) RS1 306 and RS2 308 are shown along a time axis 302. As described above, Z 314 corresponds to the time between the end time of a physical download control channel (PDCCH) transmission (such as downlink control information (DCI) 304 that triggers CSI) and the start time of a PUSCH carrying a CSI report 316, and Z' 312 corresponds to the time between the end time of the last measured resource (e.g., RS2 308) and the start time of the PUSCH carrying the CSI report 316.

[0033] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to report the TDCP in a P-CSI report or an SP-CSI report based on measurements performed on the TRS, and the processing time (or minimum processing time) required by the UE may be in units of time, such as 4ms or 5ms. The processing time (or minimum processing time) required by the UE may be reported by the UE as a UE capability, or may be specified as a fixed value in the specification (or in other words, a predetermined fixed value). The processing time (or minimum processing time) required by the UE may depend on the subcarrier spacing (SCS), but no matter how the SCS changes, only one value of the processing time (or minimum processing time) required by the UE may be reported as the UE capability. In some embodiments, the processing time (or minimum processing time) required by the UE for each SCS may be reported as the UE capability. The SCS may be an SCS for a DL channel or DL ​​signal, an SCS for a UL channel, or a minimum value of an SCS for a DL channel and / or signal and an SCS for a UL channel and / or signal. UE capabilities may be reported in a UE capability information element via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or as a MAC control element (MAC CE).

[0034] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to report TDCP based on TRS measurements using AP-CSI reporting, and for low latency CSI reporting, the processing time (or minimum processing time) may be according to Table 1 shown herein. If the UE supports low latency CSI reporting, the UE may report to the network device if the UE supports low latency CSI reporting for TDCP, for example as a UE capability. Low latency CSI reporting for TDCP may be triggered by the network device (or network) under various conditions, including but not limited to, where the SCS corresponding to the CSI report is not greater than, for example, 120 kHz, or the PUSCH carrying the CSI report (or AP-CSI report) is not scheduled to carry a UL shared control channel (UL-SCH) or a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK). Various conditions for triggering low latency CSI reporting for TDCP may also include the following: it is not expected that the UE multiplexes uplink control information (UCI) on the PUSCH carrying the AP-CSI report, or a CPU other than the CPU required to report TDCP based on TRS measurements is not occupied simultaneously.

[0035] In some embodiments, the UE may not support low-delay CSI reporting (or support regular or normal-delay CSI reporting), and the processing time (or minimum processing time) may be according to Table 2 shown herein. 1 and Z 1 ' symbols (or the number of symbols). For frequency domain range-2 (FR2), it is possible to select a processing time (or minimum processing time) in symbol units (or in the number of symbols). 3 and Z 3 ' The processing time (or the minimum processing time) in symbol units (or in number of symbols) is selected from the symbols. As shown in Table 2, the processing time (or the minimum processing time) in symbol units (or in number of symbols) varies with the SCS. The SCS can be the minimum of the SCS for scheduling the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the SCS for the PUSCH carrying the AP-CSI report, and the SCS for the reference signal used for AP-CSI measurement. The AP-CSI report can be used to report the TDCP to the network device (or network).

[0036] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to report TDCP based on measurements performed on a TRS using a CSI report (e.g., a P-CSI report or an SP-CSI report), and the TRS may be a periodic tracking reference signal (P-TRS) configured as a non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resource set (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet). The NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet may have a trs-info field set to true. When the trs-info field is set to true, it may indicate that the antenna ports of all NZP-CSI-RS resources in the CSI-RS resource set are the same. If the trs-info field does not exist, the UE may assume that the trs-info field is set to false.

[0037] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet for the P-TRS may be configured to have two NZP-CSI-RS-resources in one time slot, or four NZP-CSI-RS-resources in two adjacent time slots (each time slot includes two NZP-CSI-RS-resources). In some embodiments, the number of occupied CPUs may correspond to the number of configured NZP-CSI-RS resources or the number of time slots. When the number of occupied CPUs corresponds to the number of time slots, the number of occupied CPUs may correspond to the number of time slots used for the TRS. In other words, the number of occupied CPUs that a 1-slot TRS has may be 1, and the number of occupied CPUs that a 2-slot TRS has may be 2. In some embodiments, the number of occupied CPUs may be a fixed value, such as 0, 1, 2, 3, and / or 4. The UE may be configured to report the number of occupied CPUs. For a 1-slot TRS and a 2-slot TRS, the UE may report a different number of CPUs.

[0038] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to report TDCP based on measurements performed on the TRS using a CSI report (e.g., an AP-CSI report), and the TRS may be configured as an aperiodic TRS that is configured to be measured by the UE. The aperiodic TRS may be configured as an aperiodic set of non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resources (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet). The NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet may have a trs-info field set to true. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the aperiodic NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet may include two NZP-CSI-RS resources in a time slot. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the aperiodic TRS may be quasi-collocated (QCL) or associated with a P-TRS, as described herein. The number of occupied CPUs for AP-CSI reporting may correspond to the number of configured NZP-CSI-RS resources (e.g., four), the number of configured NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSets (e.g., two), or according to the number of occupied CPUs reported by the UE. If the network triggers low-latency CSI reporting, all CPUs may be occupied.

[0039] Figure 4 An example of activation channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) rules for activating various types of CSI-RS using different methods according to some embodiments is shown. As shown in diagram 400, the CSI report used to report TDCP to a network device (or network) can be a CSI report based on a periodic CSI-RS (such as 406a, 406b, 406c, and 406d shown along time axis 402). Figure 4 As shown, two CSI-RS 406a and 406b may be during time slot 410a, and two CSI-RS 406c and 406d may be during time slot 410b. As described above, two CSI-RS resources (e.g., two NZP-CSI-RS resources) may be present in one time slot for measuring and reporting TDCP. RRC signaling may be used to configure and / or release periodic CSI-RS, and thus, when a configuration corresponding to a CSI-RS resource is received from a network device (or network) using RRC signaling, the activation CSI-RS period may begin, shown as 404, and end when the configuration corresponding to the CSI-RS resource is released, shown as 408.

[0040] In some embodiments, as shown in diagram 400, the CSI report for reporting TDCP to a network device (or network) may be a CSI report based on aperiodic CSI-RS (such as 416a, 416b, 416c, and 416d) shown along time axis 412. Figure 4 As shown, two CSI-RS 416a and 416b may be during time slot 420a, and two CSI-RS 416c and 416d may be during time slot 420b, which may be as described above, there may be two CSI-RS resources (e.g., two NZP-CSI-RS resources) for measuring and reporting TDCP in one time slot. Downlink control information (DCI) may be used to configure CSI reporting based on non-periodic CSI-RS, and therefore, the activation CSI-RS period may start at the end time of a PDCCH (e.g., DCI shown as 414) from a network device (or network) (including a request to measure and report TDCP), and end when a PUSCH carrying a CSI report for reporting TDCP is transmitted, shown as 418.

[0041] In some embodiments, as shown in diagram 400, the CSI report used to report the TDCP to the network device (or network) can be a CSI report based on a semi-persistent CSI-RS (such as 426a, 426b, 426c, and 426d shown along time axis 422). Figure 4 As shown, two CSI-RS 426a and 426b may be during time slot 430a, and two CSI-RS 426c and 426d may be during time slot 430b, which may be as described above, there may be two CSI-RS resources (e.g., two NZP-CSI-RS resources) for measuring and reporting TDCP in one time slot. Semi-persistent CSI-RS may be activated and / or deactivated using MAC CE, and therefore, the activation CSI-RS period may start at the end time when a MAC CE (shown as 424) received from a network device (or network) is applied, and end when a deactivation command (shown as 428) using another MAC CE is received from the network device (or network).

[0042] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, CSI-RS resources (e.g., NZP-CSI-RS-resources) configured for performing measurements for TDCP can be based on an activated CSI-RS rule, where the activated CSI-RS rule period corresponds only to time slots in which NZP-CSI-RS-resources are transmitted, or to one or more time slots in which an NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet including corresponding NZP-CSI-RS-resources is configured.

[0043] Figure 5 An example method for reporting operations of TDCP for 5G NR performed by a UE according to some embodiments is shown. As shown in flowchart 500, at 502, the UE may receive a configuration from a network device (or network) to report TDCP based on measurements of TRS received at the UE. As described herein, the configuration may be received using RRC signaling, DCI, and / or MAC CE. The configuration may provide details or information on the type of CSI-RS for measurement of TDCP. The type of CSI-RS for measurement of TDCP may be periodic CSI-RS, aperiodic CSI-RS, or semi-persistent CSI-RS. The configuration received at the UE may also suggest an activation CSI-RS rule or period for measurement of TDCP.

[0044] At 504, the UE may perform measurements on the TRS for reporting the TDCP in the CSI report. At 506, the UE may transmit (e.g., report) a processing time to a network device (or network), which, as a non-limiting example, may be the minimum processing time required for the UE to measure the TDCP. The processing time (or minimum processing time) may be reported as a number of time units or symbols, as described herein. As described herein, at 506, the UE may also or alternatively report the number of CPUs required to report the TDCP based on the measurements performed on the TRS, and therefore these details are not repeated for the sake of brevity. At 508, the UE may transmit a CSI report including a TDCP to a network device (or network), the TDCP being based on the measurements performed on the TRS, shown here as 504. The TRS may be received from a network device according to the configuration received at 502.

[0045] Figure 6 An example method of operations for receiving TDCP for 5G NR from a UE performed by a network device (e.g., a base station) of a RAN according to some embodiments is shown. As shown in flowchart 600, at 602, the network device may transmit a configuration to the UE for reporting TDCP based on measurements of TRS received at the UE. As described herein, the configuration may be transmitted using RRC signaling, DCI, and / or MAC CE. The configuration may provide details or information on the type of CSI-RS for measurement of TDCP. The type of CSI-RS for measurement of TDCP may be periodic CSI-RS, aperiodic CSI-RS, or semi-persistent CSI-RS. The configuration received at the UE may also suggest an activation CSI-RS rule or period for measurement of TDCP.

[0046] At 604, the network device may receive from the UE the minimum processing time required for the UE to measure the TDCP. The minimum processing time may be reported as a number of time units or symbols, as described herein. The minimum processing time may be reported to the network device as a UE capability. At 504, the network device may also receive the number of CPUs required to report the TDCP based on measurements performed on the TRS, as described herein, and therefore these details are not repeated for the sake of brevity. At 606, the network device may receive from the network device (or network) a CSI report including a TDCP, the TDCP being based on measurements performed at the UE on the received TRS according to the configuration transmitted to the UE at 602.

[0047] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus having means for performing one or more elements of method 500 or 600. In the context of method 500, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 802 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 600, the apparatus may be, for example, a network device 820 (such as a base station as described herein).

[0048] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of method 500 or 600. In the context of method 500, the non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as memory 806 of wireless device 802 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 600, the non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a network device (such as memory 824 of network device 820, as described herein).

[0049] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus having logical components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of method 500 or 600. In the context of method 500, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 802 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 600, the apparatus may be, for example, a network device 820 (such as a base station as described herein).

[0050] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus having one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media that use or store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of method 500 or 600. In the context of method 500, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 802 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 600, the apparatus may be, for example, a network device 820 (such as a base station as described herein).

[0051] Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or associated with one or more elements of method 500 or 600 .

[0052] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product having instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of the method 500 or 600. In the context of the method 500, the processor may be a processor of a UE (such as the processor 804 of the wireless device 802 as a UE, as described herein), and the instructions may be located, for example, in the processor and / or on a memory of the UE (such as the memory 806 of the wireless device 802 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of the method 600, the processor may be a processor of a network device (such as the processor 822 of the network device 820, as described herein), and the instructions may be located, for example, in the processor and / or on a memory of the network device (such as the memory 824 of the network device 820, as described herein).

[0053] Figure 7 An example architecture of a wireless communication system 700 according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. The following description is provided for an example wireless communication system 700 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and / or the 5G or NR system standard provided in the 3GPP technical specifications.

[0054] like Figure 7 As shown, wireless communication system 700 includes UE 702 and UE 704 (although any number of UEs may be used). In this example, UE 702 and UE 704 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0055] UE 702 and UE 704 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to RAN 706. In an embodiment, RAN 706 may be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. UE 702 and UE 704 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 708 and connection 710, respectively) with RAN 706, where each connection (or channel) includes a physical communication interface. RAN 706 may include one or more network devices (e.g., base stations) capable of implementing connection 708 and connection 710, such as network device 712 and network device 714.

[0056] In this example, connection 708 and connection 710 are air interfaces that enable such communicative coupling and may conform to the RAT used by the RAN 706 , such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0057] In some embodiments, UE 702 and UE 704 may also directly exchange communication data via side link interface 716. UE 704 is shown as being configured to access an access point (shown as AP 718) via connection 720. As an example, connection 720 may include a local wireless connection, such as any connection that complies with the IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 718 may include In this example, AP 718 may not be connected to another network (eg, the Internet) through CN 724.

[0058] In an embodiment, UE 702 and UE 704 may be configured to communicate with each other or with network device 712 and / or network device 714 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0059] In some embodiments, all or part of the network device 712 or the network device 714 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network. In addition, or in other embodiments, the network device 712 or the network device 714 may be configured to communicate with each other via the interface 722. In an embodiment where the wireless communication system 700 is an LTE system (e.g., when the CN 724 is an EPC), the interface 722 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more network devices (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC. In an embodiment where the wireless communication system 700 is an NR system (e.g., when the CN 724 is a 5GC), the interface 722 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more network devices (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC, between the network device 712 (e.g., gNB) and the eNB connected to the 5GC, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC (e.g., CN 724).

[0060] RAN 706 is shown as being communicatively coupled to CN 724. CN 724 may include one or more network elements 726 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., UE 702 and users of UE 704) connected to CN 724 via RAN 706. The components of CN 724 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0061] In an embodiment, CN 724 may be an EPC, and RAN 706 may be connected to CN 724 via an S1 interface 728. In an embodiment, S1 interface 728 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface, which carries traffic data between network device 712 or network device 714 and a serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface, which is a signaling interface between network device 712 or network device 714 and a mobility management entity (MME).

[0062] In an embodiment, CN 724 may be a 5GC, and RAN 706 may be connected to CN 724 via an NG interface 728. In an embodiment, NG interface 728 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between network device 712 or network device 714 and a user plane function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between network device 712 or network device 714 and an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0063] In general, the application server 730 may be an element that provides applications (e.g., packet-switched data services) that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources with the CN 724. The application server 730 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for the UE 702 and the UE 704 via the CN 724. The application server 730 may communicate with the CN 724 via an IP communication interface 732.

[0064] Figure 8 A system 800 for performing signaling 838 between a wireless device 802 and a network device 820 according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. The system 800 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. For example, the wireless device 802 may be a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 820 may be, for example, a network device (e.g., a base station, eNB, or gNB) of the wireless communication system.

[0065] The wireless device 802 may include one or more processors 804. The processor 804 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the wireless device 802, as described herein. The processor 804 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0066] The wireless device 802 may include a memory 806. The memory 806 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 808 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 804). The instructions 808 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 806 may also store data used by the processor 804 and results computed by the processor.

[0067] The wireless device 802 may include one or more transceivers 810, which may include radio frequency (RF) transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 812 of the wireless device 802 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 838) transmitted and / or received by the wireless device 802 with other devices (e.g., network device 820) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0068] The wireless device 802 may include one or more antennas 812 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). For implementations with multiple antennas 812, the wireless device 802 may take full advantage of the spatial diversity of these multiple antennas 812 to send and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resources. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting device and the receiving device to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 802 may be implemented based on precoding (or digital beamforming) applied to the wireless device 802, which multiplexes data streams between the antennas 812 based on known or assumed channel characteristics, so that each data stream is received at an appropriate signal strength relative to the other streams and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with the data stream). Certain implementations may use a single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) approach (in which all data streams are directed to a single receiver) and / or a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) approach (in which separate data streams may be directed to separate (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain).

[0069] In certain embodiments with multiple antennas, the wireless device 802 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of signals transmitted by the antennas 812 are relatively adjusted such that the (joint) transmissions of the antennas 812 are directional (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering).

[0070] The wireless device 802 may include one or more interfaces 814. The interfaces 814 may be used to provide input to or output from the wireless device 802. For example, a wireless device 802 that is a UE may include an interface 814, such as a microphone, a speaker, a touch screen, buttons, etc., to allow a user of the UE to provide input and / or output to the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may be composed of transmitters, receivers, and other circuits (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 810 / antenna 812 described above), which allow the UE to communicate with other devices and may communicate according to known protocols (e.g., etc.) work.

[0071] The wireless device 802 may include Figure 8804 and / or the transceiver 810. For example, the CSI measurement and reporting module 816 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the CSI measurement and reporting module 816 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 808 stored in the memory 806 and executed by the processor 804. In some examples, the CSI measurement and reporting module 816 may be integrated within the processor 804 and / or the transceiver 810. For example, the CSI measurement and reporting module 816 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuit systems) within the processor 804 or the transceiver 810.

[0072] The CSI measurement and reporting module 816 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, such as Figures 1 to 6 The CSI measurement and reporting module 816 may be configured, for example, to configure CSI measurements and reports and transmit one or more CSI reports to another device (eg, to the network device 820).

[0073] The network device 820 may include one or more processors 822. The processor 822 may execute instructions to perform various operations as described herein for the network device 820. The processor 804 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0074] The network device 820 may include a memory 824. The memory 824 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 826 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 822). The instructions 826 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 824 may also store data used by the processor 822 and results calculated by the processor.

[0075] The network device 820 may include one or more transceivers 828, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 830 of the network device 820 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 838) transmitted or received by the network device 820 with other devices (e.g., wireless device 802) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0076] The network device 820 may include one or more antennas 830 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antennas 830, the network device 820 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beam steering, etc. as described above.

[0077] The network device 820 may include one or more interfaces 832. The interface 832 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 820. For example, the network device 820, which may be a network device (e.g., a base station), may include an interface 832 consisting of a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 828 / antenna 830 described above) that enables the network device to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enables the network device to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for the purpose of performing operations, management, and maintenance of the network device or other equipment operably connected to the network device.

[0078] The network device 820 may include Figure 8 822 and / or the transceiver 828. For example, the CSI report configuration module 834 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the CSI report configuration module 834 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 826 stored in the memory 824 and executed by the processor 822. In some examples, the CSI report configuration module 834 may be integrated within the processor 822 and / or the transceiver 828. For example, the CSI report configuration module 834 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuit systems) within the processor 822 or the transceiver 828.

[0079] The CSI report configuration module 834 can be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, from the perspective of a network device (e.g., wireless device 820). Figures 1 to 6 all aspects.

[0080] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, circuits associated with a UE, a network device (e.g., a base station), a network element, etc. as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein.

[0081] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In view of the above teachings, modifications and variations are possible or can be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0082] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0083] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment may be used in one embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be appreciated that these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment unless expressly stated herein.

[0084] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0085] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), include: Transceiver; and A processor, the processor being configured to: receiving, from a radio access network (RAN) and via the transceiver, a configuration for reporting measured time domain channel characteristics (TDCP) based on a tracking reference signal (TRS) received at the UE; measuring the TRS; a number of channel state information (CSI) processing units (CPUs) required for the TDCP to report the measurements based on the TRS to the RAN and to transmit via the transceiver; as well as A CSI report including the TDCP is transmitted to the RAN and via the transceiver, the TDCP being based on the measurement of the TRS.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the CSI report is an aperiodic CSI report.

3. The UE of claim 1, wherein the CSI report is not a low-latency CSI report. 4 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein a processing time for aperiodic CSI reporting including the TDCP is substantially similar to a processing time for periodic CSI reporting or semi-persistent CSI reporting not including the TDCP. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the CSI report is a periodic CSI report. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CSI reporting is a semi-persistent CSI reporting. 7 . The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the number of CPUs required for reporting the TDCP is reported as UE capability in UE capability information.

8. The UE of claim 1, wherein a processing time required to report the TDCP corresponds to one or more subcarrier spacing (SCS) values.

9. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the processing time includes a first processing time for reporting the TDCP for a first subcarrier spacing (SCS) and a second processing time for reporting the TDCP for a second subcarrier spacing (SCS), and the second processing time is different from the first processing time.

10. The UE according to claim 9, wherein the first SCS or the second SCS corresponds to the SCS of a downlink (DL) channel, a DL signal, or the minimum SCS of a DL channel / signal and an uplink (UL) channel.

11. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the TRS is a periodic tracking reference signal (P-TRS) configured as a set of periodic non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resources (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet).

12. The UE of claim 11, wherein the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet has trs-info set to true.

13. A UE according to claim 1, wherein the measurement of the TRS is performed according to an activation channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) rule, and the activation CSI-RS rule corresponds to an activation CSI-RS in a time slot in which a non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resource (NZP-CSI-RS-Resource) is transmitted, or corresponds to the activation CSI-RS in a time slot in which a non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resource set (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet) including an NZP-CSI-RS resource is configured.

14. The UE according to claim 13, in: The activation of the CSI-RS starts according to a periodic CSI-RS configuration configured using radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and ends according to a release of the periodic CSI-RS configuration.

15. The UE according to claim 13, in: The activation of CSI-RS starts from the end of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) including a request for the CSI report using the TRS and ends when a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is scheduled for transmission of the CSI report.

16. The UE according to claim 13, in: The activating CSI-RS starts with receiving an activation command via a medium access control (MAC) control element and ends when a deactivation command is received via another MAC control element.

17. A network device, include: Transceiver; and A processor, the processor being configured to: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) and via the transceiver, a configuration for reporting time domain channel characteristics (TDCP) based on measurements of a tracking reference signal (TRS); receiving, from the UE and via the transceiver, a number of channel state information (CSI) processing units (CPUs) required for the TDCP to report the measurement based on the TRS; as well as A CSI report including the TDCP is received from the UE via the transceiver, the TDCP being based on the measurement of the TRS.

18. A method, include: Receiving, at a user equipment (UE) from a network device, a configuration for reporting time domain channel characteristics (TDCP) based on measurements of a tracking reference signal (TRS); measuring the TRS; at least one of a processing time or a number of channel state information (CSI) processing units (CPUs) required to transmit, from the UE to the network device, the TDCP reporting the measurement based on the TRS; as well as A CSI report including the TDCP is transmitted from the UE, the TDCP being based on the measurement of the TRS according to an activated channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) rule. The UE according to claim 18 , wherein the CSI report is an aperiodic CSI report. 20 . The UE of claim 18 , wherein a processing time for aperiodic CSI reporting including the TDCP is substantially similar to a processing time for periodic CSI reporting not including the TDCP or semi-persistent CSI reporting not including the TDCP.

Images