Linear combination coefficient coding for channel state information reporting in multi-transmit-receive point coherent joint transmission

Abstract

An apparatus, a processor, and a method are provided for channel state information (CSI) reporting for coherent joint transmission using multiple transmit receive points (TRPs). In one example, a baseband processor of a user equipment (UE) is configured to determine a plurality of non-zero coefficients (NZCs) corresponding to linear combination coefficients based on channel state information (CSI) measurement resources transmitted by a plurality of transmit receive points (TRPs). The baseband processor selects reported NZCs from the plurality of NZCs, where a respective set of reported NZCs is associated with a respective transmit layer, where at least one of the sets of reported NZCs includes NZCs associated with at least two different TRPs. The baseband processor is configured to generate a CSI report and to transmit the CSI report, the CSI report encoding information about the reported NZC for each transmission layer.

Description

[0001] Cross - reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 422,737, filed on November 4, 2022, entitled "LINEAR COMBINATION COEFFICIENT ENCODING FOR CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION REPORTING IN MULTI-TRANSMISSION RECEPTION POINT COHERENT JOINT TRANSMISSION", the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Multi-transmission reception point (TRP) communication involves a user equipment (UE) exchanging signals with more than one TRP. Multiple TRPs can be integrated into the same base station or different base stations. The UE can communicate with different TRPs using different beams. Data transmitted and received between the UE and multiple TRPs can be jointly processed to improve reliability, coverage, and capacity performance through flexible deployment scenarios. In multi-TRP coherent joint transmission, a single transmission layer includes transmissions from multiple TRPs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Some examples of circuits, apparatuses, and / or methods will be described hereinafter only by way of example. In this context, reference will be made to the drawings.

[0005] Figure 1A Illustrated is a UE that receives channel state information (CSI) measurement resources from multiple TRPs and transmits a CSI report based on measurements of the CSI measurement resources according to the various aspects described.

[0006] Figure 1B Illustrated is a UE that receives coherent joint transmission of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from multiple TRPs according to the various aspects described.

[0007] Figure 2 Illustrated is an example codebook for a transmission layer according to the various aspects described.

[0008] Figure 3 Illustrated is an example linear combination coefficient matrix for a given TRP according to the various aspects described, which includes eight spatial bases, four frequency bases, and two polarities.

[0009] Figure 4 Illustrated is an example message sequence including the transmission of a CSI report and a PDSCH using multi-TRP coherent joint transmission according to the various aspects described.

[0010] Figure 5 is a diagram of an exemplary network according to one or more of the specific embodiments described herein.

[0011] Figure 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a user equipment wireless communication device according to the various aspects described. Detailed Description

[0012] This disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are not drawn to scale and are provided only to illustrate the disclosure. Several aspects of the disclosure are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. Numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide an understanding of the disclosure. The disclosure is not limited by the order of the actions or events illustrated, as some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions or events. In addition, not all of the actions or events illustrated are necessary to implement the method according to the selected disclosure.

[0013] Multi - TRP coherent joint transmission

[0014] A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system utilizes joint transmission, where the transmission signals from multiple antennas are jointly processed at the receiving device. A set of signals that are jointly processed at the receiving device is referred to as a transmission layer. Each signal in the transmission layer is referred to as a spatial stream. Each spatial stream corresponds to a set of precoder settings applied to a specific antenna / polarity combination or spatial basis.

[0015] There are two types of joint transmission, non-coherent joint transmission (NCJT) and coherent joint transmission (CJT). In CJT, the network performs beamforming using multiple transmission points and selects the beamforming coefficients (phase and amplitude) for the spatial streams to be transmitted by each antenna such that the spatial streams together focus the transmission energy at the UE. To support CJT, the network uses knowledge of the downlink channel for each antenna, or the same downlink channel information can be used when the antennas are co-located. In NCJT, the network does not coordinate the spatial streams from different antennas to focus the energy at the UE, and the spatial streams are received independently by the UE.

[0016] Previous versions of the 3GPP specifications supported NCJT for multi-TRP use cases, however the standard currently does not support non-transparent CJT for multi-TRP use cases. Due to the detailed channel information required to support CJT in multi-TRP use cases, existing channel state information (CSI) reports should be extended to allow reporting of CSI for several (e.g., up to four) different TRPs that may not be co-located.

[0017] Now referring to Figure 1A and Figure 1B , wireless communication network 100 including UE 101 and two TRPs 110, 120 is illustrated. Multi-TRP CJT is used to transmit physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in two transmission layers from TRPs 110, 120 to UE 101. The TRPs are illustrated as being located on different base stations. However, in other examples, the TRPs may be installed on the same base station or other structures. Each TRP is illustrated as having eight antenna elements, four antenna elements having horizontal polarity and four antenna elements having vertical polarity (each pair of elements with opposite polarity is illustrated by the bold Xs in Figure 1A and Figure 1B ). Thus, in the illustrated network, there are 2×8 or 16 spatial bases (8 spatial bases per TRP). In the illustrated example, the UE has two receive antennas, and thus two transmission layers can be used for CJT. The number of transmission layers can be signaled via a rank indicator (RI) value.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1A , UE 101 has been preconfigured with a codebook (e.g., a type II MIMO codebook), which defines the indices used by the UE to indicate in a CSI report which beamforming coefficients should be used by the TRP for each transmission layer. Each TRP 110, 120 transmits CSI measurement resources (e.g., CSI-RS), which are received and measured by the UE to determine the optimal beams and corresponding beamforming coefficients for downlink CJT. The indices of the coefficients are reported by the UE in a CSI report for each codebook. As illustrated in Figure 1B , the TRPs set their corresponding beamforming coefficients to transmit PDSCH to the UE in transmission layer 1 and transmission layer 2.

[0019] The CSI report includes a precoder matrix indicator (PMI) component, which encodes the spatial bases, frequency bases, and the corresponding coefficients selected by the UE. Figure 2 An example of a codebook (W l ) that encodes the precoding information for transmission layer l using three matrices is illustrated. The W 1 matrix indicates which spatial bases are selected according to the per-transmission-layer maximum value configured by the network (e.g., 8 in some examples). The matrix indicates which one of several configured frequency bases is selected for each spatial base. The matrix for each transmission layer is included in the codebook and corresponds to a compression matrix that specifies the linear combination coefficients that will be applied to the selected spatial bases indicated in the W 1 matrix and in The frequency bases indicated in the matrix. When using multi-TRP CJT, there may be two different type II codebook structures. The first codebook structure allows different linear combination coefficients to be specified for different TRPs, while in the other codebook structure, the same linear combination coefficients are assumed to be used for all TRPs. This disclosure presents techniques for encoding the W 2 matrix for different techniques to be sent in a CSI report.

[0020] Figure 3 An example of a single transmit layer for a single TRP is illustrated for the W 2 matrix. Each row in the matrix corresponds to one of the spatial bases in the spatial bases selected by the W 1 matrix, and each column corresponds to one of the frequency bases in the frequency bases selected by the matrix. Each element in the W 2 matrix represents a coefficient with amplitude quantization and phase quantization to be applied to the spatial and frequency bases. In some configurations, the spatial bases are selected such that half of the spatial bases have one polarity and half of the spatial bases have the other polarity. Additionally, the spatial bases can be selected such that the spatial base pairs correspond to the same antenna, where the first spatial base in the spatial base pair has the first polarity and the second spatial base in the spatial base pair has the second polarity. The general case where the spatial bases are not so constrained is illustrated in Figure 3 .

[0021] Each shaded cell indicates a non-zero linear combination coefficient (hereinafter, non-zero coefficient or NZC (non-zero coefficient)) of a downlink beam with sufficient intensity sensed by the UE, and the non-shaded cells correspond to the coefficients corresponding to the downlink beams that are not detected or do not meet the threshold intensity. The W 2 matrix is encoded in the CSI report by first identifying the positions of the NZCs in the matrix and then indicating the corresponding amplitude quantization and phase quantization for each NZC. The number of NZCs included in the CSI report may be restricted by the network. Thus, not all NZCs of the beams detected by the UE as shown in the W Figure 3 matrix may be reported. The UE will select certain NZCs to include in the CSI report, and these NZCs are referred to herein as the reported NZCs. 2 matrix.

[0022] In multi-TRP CJT, for each transmit layer, there is a W 2 matrix for each TRP. As the number of transmit layers and TRPs increases, the number of reported NZCs to be encoded in the CSI report increases. The construction of the CSI report should be characterized by efficient encoding of the positions, phase quantization, and amplitude quantization of the W 2 matrix to save signaling overhead.

[0023] Figure 4 is a message flow diagram outlining multi-TRP CJT. The UE is pre-configured with a type II MIMO codebook and a CSI reporting configuration that specifies parameters for the quantities to be reported, the format of the report, etc. At 410, the TRP sends CSI measurement resources. The UE measures the measurement resources, selects preferred beams and sorts the beams based on intensity, and generates a CSI report based on the codebook to report information about the preferred beams, including the W 1 matrix, the W 2 matrix (one matrix for each transmission layer and TRP), the W 3 matrix. At 420, the UE sends the CSI report to at least one of the TRPs or another node coordinating the multi-TRP CJT. At 430, multiple TRPs send PDSCHs in one or more transmission layers according to the codebook reported by the UE in the CSI.

[0024] Now, several techniques for encoding the reported NZC positions and the indication of the phase quantization information and amplitude quantization information for each reported NZC in the CSI report will be disclosed. Depending on the use case, different disclosed methods can be optionally configured or dynamically indicated.

[0025] Positions and quantities of reported NZCs

[0026] There are several ways to encode the NZC positions. The position of the reported NZC can be independently encoded based on per transmission layer (meaning the NZC position can be different for different transmission layers), based on per transmission layer and polarization and TRP (meaning the NZC position can be different for each unique combination of transmission layer / polarization / TRP), or based on per TRP (meaning the NZC position can be different for different TRPs), or based on per transmission layer and TRP (meaning the NZC position can be different for each unique combination of transmission layer / TRP). The position of the reported NZC can be jointly encoded based on per transmission layer (meaning the NZC position is the same for all transmission layers), based on per transmission layer and polarization and TRP (meaning the NZC position is the same for each unique combination of transmission layer / polarization / TRP), or based on per TRP (meaning the NZC position is the same for all TRPs).

[0027] There are several ways to configure the maximum number of reported NZCs. In one example, the network can configure the maximum number K NZC of reported NZCs per transmission layer, without an upper limit on the total number of unreported NZCs. In another example, the network can configure the maximum number (K NZC) and the transmit layer threshold. In this case, the maximum total number of reported NZCs is calculated as the transmit layer threshold multiplied by K NZC . For example, if the transmit layer threshold is 2, the number of reported NZCs in any transmit layer cannot exceed K NZC , and the total number of reported NZCs across all transmit layers cannot exceed 2·K NZC . In other examples, the network may configure the maximum number of reported NZCs per polarization per transmit layer or per TRP per transmit layer or any other combination of transmit layer, frequency, polarization, and / or TRP.

[0028] In one example, the UE may be configured to select the number of reported NZCs equal to the configured maximum number of reported NZCs. In another example, the UE may be enabled to select the number of reported NZCs less than or equal to the configured maximum number of reported NZCs and report the number of reported NZCs in the CSI report (e.g., in CSI Part 1 or CSI Part 2).

[0029] Report group

[0030] To efficiently encode the indication of phase quantization and amplitude quantization for each reported NZC, the reported NZCs can be grouped into one or more groups, each group including a reference NZC. Different reporting groups can be used for phase quantization reporting and amplitude quantization reporting. In the following description, multiple groups are denoted as {w 2} g , g = 1, 2, …, G. G is the number of groups, and {w 2} g represents all the NZCs in group g. Within each group, one NZC is selected as the reference NZC, denoted as The remaining NZCs in the group are denoted as where \ is the set subtraction operation indicating the exclusion of 2} g from all the NZCs in .

[0031] The reported NZCs can be partitioned into reporting groups based on different criteria. In one example, the reported NZCs are grouped into different reporting groups for each transmit layer, regardless of polarization. In another example, the reported NZCs can be grouped into a single reporting group including all the reported NZCs. In another example, the reported NZCs are grouped into different reporting groups for each polarization. In another example, the reported NZCs are grouped into different reporting groups based on per transmit layer and per polarization.

[0032] In another example, the NZCs to be reported are grouped into different groups based on per TRP per transmission layer or per TRP group per transmission layer. In this example, all the reported NZCs associated with the same TRP or TRP group in the same transmission layer are in the same reporting group, regardless of polarization. Each TRP or TRP group can be represented by a CSI-RS (e.g., channel measurement resource).

[0033] In another example, the NZCs to be reported are grouped into different groups based on per polarization per TRP per transmission layer or per polarization per TRP group per transmission layer. In this example, based on polarization, all the reported NZCs associated with the same TRP or TRP group in the same transmission layer are separated into reporting groups. Each TRP or TRP group can be represented by a CSI-RS (e.g., channel measurement resource).

[0034] Phase encoding

[0035] In one example, for phase encoding, among all the reference NZCs one reference NZC is identified as the primary reference assuming its phase is 0 and it is not reported. In one example, for other references phase quantization and reporting are performed based on the phase difference between the phase of the corresponding NZC and the phase of the reference NZC. In another example, assuming other references have a phase of 0 and are not reported (e.g., the phase quantization values are not included in the CSI report indicating a 0 value).

[0036] In one example, the phase quantization of the remaining NZCs (e.g., non-reference NZCs) is differentially encoded with respect to the reference NZC of their respective groups In one example, the phase quantization of the remaining NZCs (e.g., non-reference NZCs) is differentially encoded with respect to the primary reference

[0037] In one example, the phase quantization of each reference uses a larger number of bits (e.g., 4 bits) for encoding, while the phase quantization of the remaining uses a smaller number of bits (e.g., 3 bits) for encoding respectively.

[0038] Amplitude encoding

[0039] In one example, for amplitude encoding, among all the reference NZCs one reference NZC is identified as the primary reference assuming ​has an amplitude of 1 and does not perform non-reporting. In one example, other references perform amplitude quantization and reporting based on the ratio between the amplitude of the corresponding NZC and the amplitude of the reference NZC. In another example, assume other references has an amplitude of 1 and does not perform reporting (e.g., the amplitude quantization value is not included in the CSI report indicating value 1).

[0040] In one example, the amplitude quantization of the remaining NZCs (e.g., non-reference NZCs) is differentially encoded relative to the reference NZC of their respective groups In one example, the amplitude quantization of the remaining NZCs (e.g., non-reference NZCs) is differentially encoded relative to the primary reference is differentially encoded.

[0041] In one example, the amplitude quantization of each reference is encoded using a larger number of bits (e.g., 4 bits), while the amplitude quantization of the remaining is each encoded using a smaller number of bits (e.g., 3 bits).

[0042] Figure 5 is an example network 500 according to one or more specific implementations described herein. Example network 500 may include UEs 101-1, UEs 101-2, etc. (collectively referred to as "UEs 101" and individually referred to as "UE 101"), a radio access network (RAN) 520, a core network (CN) 530, an application server 540, and an external network 550.

[0043] The systems and devices of example network 500 may operate according to one or more communication standards, such as the 2nd generation (2G) communication standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the 3rd generation (3G) communication standards, the 4th generation (4G) (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) communication standards, and / or the 5th generation (5G) (e.g., New Radio (NR)) communication standards. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the systems and devices of example network 500 may operate according to other communication standards and protocols discussed herein, including future versions or generations of 3GPP standards (e.g., 6th generation (6G) standards, 7th generation (7G) standards, etc.), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards (e.g., Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), etc.), and more.

[0044] As shown in the figure, UE 101 may include a smart phone (e.g., a handheld touch screen mobile computing device capable of connecting to one or more wireless communication networks). Additionally or alternatively, UE 101 may include other types of mobile or non-mobile computing devices capable of wireless communication, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handheld terminal, etc. In some specific embodiments, UE 101 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device (or IoT UE), and the IoT device may include a network access layer for low-power IoT applications designed to utilize short-term UE connections.

[0045] UE 101 may communicate with and establish a connection (e.g., communicatively couple) with RAN 520, which may involve one or more wireless channels 514-1 and 514-2, and each of these wireless channels may include a physical communication interface / layer.

[0046] As described herein, UE 101-2 may operate in a multi-TRP mode, in which the UE communicates simultaneously with multiple transmit receive points (TRPs) (e.g., the TRP associated with network node 522-1 and the TRP associated with network node 522-2) in a multi-TRP CJT. UE 101-2 is configured to receive, store, and process multi-TRP CJT CSI report information, which enables UE 101-2 to perform the functions described above regarding encoding the CSI report for multi-TRP JCT. The multi-TRP CJT CSI report information may include instructions or algorithms used by the UE to determine how to encode the determined linear combination coefficients according to the MIMO type II codebook within the CSI report.

[0047] As shown in the figure, UE 101 may also or alternatively be connected to an access point (AP) 516 via a connection interface 518, and the connection interface may include an air interface that enables UE 101 to be communicatively coupled to AP 516. AP 516 may include a wireless local area network (WLAN), a WLAN node, a WLAN endpoint, etc. The connection to AP 516 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE702.11 protocol, and AP 516 may include a Wi-Fi router or other AP. Although not explicitly depicted in Figure 5 , AP 516 may be connected to another network (e.g., the Internet) without being connected to RAN 520 or CN530.

[0048] The RAN 520 may include one or more RAN nodes 522-1 and 522-2 (collectively referred to as RAN nodes 522 and individually referred to as RAN node 522) that enable the establishment of channels 514-1 and 514-2 between the UE 101 and the RAN 520. The RAN nodes 522 may include network access points configured to provide radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between users and the network based on one or more of the communication technologies described herein (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi, etc.). Thus, by way of example, the RAN node may be an E-UTRAN Node B (e.g., enhanced Node B, eNodeB, eNB, 4G base station, etc.), a next-generation base station (e.g., 5G base station, NR base station, next-generation eNB (gNB), etc.). The RAN nodes 522 may include roadside units (RSUs), transmit-receive points (TRxP or TRP), and one or more other types of ground stations. In some scenarios, the RAN nodes 522 may be dedicated physical devices such as macrocell base stations and / or low-power (LP) base stations for providing femtocells, picocells, etc. with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells.

[0049] The PDSCH may carry user data and higher-layer signaling to the UE 101. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) may carry information such as information on the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. The PDCCH may also notify the UE 101 of information on the transmission format, resource allocation, and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) related to the uplink shared channel. Generally, downlink scheduling (e.g., allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 101-2 within the cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 522 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs in the UE 101 based on multi-TRP CJT CSI reporting information. Downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH for each UE in the UE 101 (e.g., assigned to).

[0050] The RAN nodes 522 may be configured to communicate with each other via the interface 523. In a specific implementation where the system is an LTE system, the interface 523 may be an X2 interface. In an NR system, the interface 523 may be an Xn interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 522 (e.g., two or more eNB / gNBs or a combination thereof) connected to the evolved packet core (EPC) or CN 530, or between two eNBs connected to the EPC.

[0051] As shown, the RAN 520 can be connected (e.g., communicatively coupled) to the CN 530. The CN 530 can include a plurality of network elements 532 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., the user of UE 101) connected to the CN 530 via the RAN 520. In some specific implementations, the CN 530 can include an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G CN, and / or one or more additional or alternative types of CNs.

[0052] As shown, the CN 530, the application server 540, and the external network 550 can be connected to each other via interfaces 534, 536, and 538, which can include IP network interfaces. The application server 540 can include one or more server devices or network elements (e.g., virtual network functions (VNFs)) that provide applications using IP bearer resources through the CN 530 (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Packet Service (UMTS PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). The application server 540 can also or alternatively be configured to support one or more communication services for the UE 101 via the CN 530 (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP) sessions, Push-to-Talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.). Similarly, the external network 550 can include one or more networks in various networks, including the Internet, thereby providing network access to various additional services, information, interconnectivity, and other network features to the mobile communication network and the UE 101.

[0053] Figure 6 is a diagram of an example of components of a device or apparatus of a UE according to one or more specific implementations described herein. In some specific implementations, the apparatus 600 can include at least an application circuit 602, a baseband circuit 604, an RF circuit 606, a front-end module (FEM) circuit 608, one or more antennas 610, and a power management circuit (PMC) 612 coupled together as shown. The illustrated components of the apparatus 600 can be included in a UE (101 of FIG. 1) or a RAN node (e.g., the TRP 110, 120 of FIG. 1). In some specific implementations, the apparatus 600 can include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize the application circuit 602 but includes a processor / controller to process IP data received from the CN or the evolved packet core (EPC)).

[0054] The application circuit 602 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 602 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of a general-purpose processor and a dedicated processor (e.g., a graphics processor, an application processor, etc.). The processor may be coupled to the memory / storage or may include the memory / storage, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the UE. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuit 602 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0055] The baseband circuit 604 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 604 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 606 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 606. The baseband circuit 604 may interact with the application circuit 602 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 606. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 604 may include a 3G baseband processor 604A, a 4G baseband processor 604B, a 5G baseband processor 604C, or other baseband processors 604D of other existing generations, generations under development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., 5G, 6G, etc.). The baseband circuit 604 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 604A - 604D) may process various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 606. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 604A - 604D may be included in modules stored in the memory 604G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 604E.

[0056] In some embodiments, the memory 604G may store and process multi-TRP CJT CSI report information that enables the UE to perform the functions described above regarding common beam management for multi-TRP operation. The multi-TRP CJT CSI report information may enable the UE 101 to perform the functions described above regarding encoding the CSI report for multi-TRP CJT. The multi-TRP CJT CSI report information may include instructions that, when executed by the BB processor 604C or the CPU 604E, cause the UE to encode the determined linear combination coefficients according to the MIMO type II codebook within the CSI report.

[0057] In some specific implementations, the baseband circuit 604 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 604F. The audio DSP 604F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other specific implementations may include other suitable processing elements. In some specific implementations, the components of the baseband circuit may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some specific implementations, some or all of the component parts of the baseband circuit 604 and the application circuit 602 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0058] In some specific implementations, the baseband circuit 604 may provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some specific implementations, the baseband circuit 604 may support communication with NG-RAN, evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN), or other wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN), etc. Specific implementations in which the baseband circuit 604 is configured to support radio communication of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0059] The RF circuit 606 may use modulated electromagnetic radiation to communicate with a wireless network through a non-solid medium. In various specific implementations, the RF circuit 606 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuit 606 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting an RF signal received from the FEM circuit 608 and providing a baseband signal to the baseband circuit 604. The RF circuit 606 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting a baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 604 and providing an RF output signal to the FEM circuit 608 for transmission.

[0060] In some specific implementations, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 606 may include a mixer circuit 606A, an amplifier circuit 606B, and a filter circuit 606C. In some specific implementations, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 606 may include a filter circuit 606C and a mixer circuit 606A. The RF circuit 606 may also include a synthesizer circuit 606D for synthesizing the frequencies used by the mixer circuit 606A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path.

[0061] Although Figure 6 only the PMC 612 coupled to the baseband circuit 604 is shown. However, in other specific implementations, the PMC 612 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components such as, but not limited to, the application circuit 602, the RF circuit 606, or the FEM 608, and perform similar power management operations.

[0062] The processors of the application circuit 602 and the baseband circuit 604 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processors of the baseband circuit 604 can be used alone or in combination to execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functions, and the processors of the baseband circuit 604 can utilize the data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute Layer 4 functions (e.g., the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers of the communication protocol). As mentioned herein, Layer 3 can include the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, Layer 2 can include the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, Layer 1 can include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0063] The following are several flowcharts outlining example methods and message exchanges. In this specification and the appended claims, the term "determine" is broadly interpreted when referring to some entity (e.g., a parameter, variable, etc.) in describing a method step or function. For example, "determine" is interpreted to cover, for example, receiving and parsing communications of an encoded entity or the value of an entity. "Determine" should be interpreted to cover accessing and reading a memory storing an entity or the value for an entity (e.g., a lookup table, register, device memory, remote memory, etc.). "Determine" should be interpreted to cover calculating or deriving an entity or the value of an entity based on other quantities or entities. "Determine" should be interpreted to cover any way of inferring or identifying an entity or the value of an entity.

[0064] As used herein, when referring to a particular entity or value of an entity, the term "identify" is broadly interpreted to cover any way of determining the entity or the value of the entity. For example, the term "identify" is interpreted to cover, for example, receiving and parsing communications of an encoded entity or the value of an entity. The term "identify" should be interpreted to cover accessing and reading a memory storing an entity or the value for an entity (e.g., a device queue, lookup table, register, device memory, remote memory, etc.).

[0065] As used herein, when referring to a particular entity or value of an entity, the term "encode" is broadly interpreted to cover any way or technique for generating a data sequence or signal for transmitting an entity to another component.

[0066] As used herein, when referring to an entity or value of a reference entity, the term "select" is to be construed broadly to cover any way of determining an entity or the value of an entity from among a plurality or series of possible choices. For example, the term "select" is construed to cover accessing and reading a memory storing an entity or a value for an entity (e.g., a lookup table, a register, a device memory, a remote memory, etc.) and returning one of the entities or entity values stored therein. The term "select" is construed to apply one or more constraints or rules to a set of input parameters to determine an appropriate entity or entity value. The term "select" is construed broadly to cover any way of selecting an entity based on one or more parameters or conditions.

[0067] As used herein, when referring to an entity or the value of an entity, the term "derive" is to be construed broadly. "Derive" shall be construed to cover accessing and reading a memory storing some initial or underlying values, and performing processing and / or logical / mathematical operations on one or more of the values to generate a derived entity or a value for an entity. The term "derive" shall be construed to cover calculating or measuring an entity or the value of an entity based on other quantities or entities. The term "derive" shall be construed to cover any way of inferring or identifying an entity or the value of an entity.

[0068] As used herein, when referring to an entity (e.g., a parameter or setting) or the value of an entity, the term "indicate" is to be construed broadly to cover any way of explicitly or implicitly conveying an entity or the value of an entity. For example, bits within a transmitted message can be used to explicitly encode the indicated value, or an index or other indicator that is mapped to the indicated value through a prior configuration can be encoded. The absence of a field in a message may implicitly indicate the value of an entity based on a prior configuration.

[0069] Examples herein may include a subject matter such as a method, components for performing actions or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by a machine or a circuit (e.g., a processor having a memory, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform actions of a method or an apparatus or a system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to the described embodiments and examples.

[0070] Embodiment 1 is a baseband processor of a user equipment (UE), and the baseband processor is configured to: determine a plurality of non-zero coefficients (NZC) corresponding to linear combination coefficients based on channel state information (CSI) measurement resources sent by a plurality of transmit receive points (TRP); select the reported NZC from the plurality of NZC, wherein the corresponding sets of the reported NZC are associated with corresponding transmit layers, and at least one of the sets of the reported NZC includes NZC associated with at least two different TRP; generate a CSI report, the CSI report encoding information about the reported NZC for each transmit layer; and transmit the CSI report.

[0071] Embodiment 2 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 1, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the CSI report encodes the positions of NZP within a preconfigured matrix based on per transmit layer, based on per transmit layer and polarization and TRP, or based on per TRP independently.

[0072] Embodiment 3 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 1, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the CSI report encodes the positions of NZP within a preconfigured matrix based on per transmit layer, based on per transmit layer and polarization and TRP, or based on per TRP jointly.

[0073] Embodiment 4 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 1, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to determine the reported NZC based on the maximum number of NZC per transmit layer configured by the network.

[0074] Embodiment 5 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 4, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the maximum number of NZC per layer configured by the network is independent of the number of transmit layers.

[0075] Embodiment 6 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 4, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to determine the reported NZC based on the maximum total number of NZC across all transmit layers configured by the network.

[0076] Embodiment 7 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 6, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the maximum total number of NZC is based on a preconfigured threshold number of selected transmit layers, such that the maximum total number of NZC is based on the product of the maximum number of NZC per transmit layer and the threshold number.

[0077] Embodiment 8 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 1, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to determine the reported NZC based on the maximum number of NZC configured by the network based on per transmit layer and polarization or per transmit layer and TRP.

[0078] Embodiment 9 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 1, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to select a number of reported NZPs that is less than or equal to the maximum number of NZCs of the network configuration; and indicate the selected number of reported NZCs in the CSI report.

[0079] Embodiment 10 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 1, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to select a number of reported NZPs that is equal to the maximum number of NZCs of the network configuration.

[0080] Embodiment 11 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 1, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to group the reported NZCs into a plurality of reporting groups, where each reporting group includes a reference NZC and zero or more remaining NZCs; and encode an indication of phase quantization or an indication of amplitude quantization of the reported NZCs based on the reporting groups.

[0081] Embodiment 12 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to group the reported NZCs into reporting groups based on each transmission layer.

[0082] Embodiment 13 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to group the reported NZCs into a single reporting group.

[0083] Embodiment 14 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to group the reported NZCs into reporting groups based on each transmission layer and TRP or based on each transmission layer and TRP group.

[0084] Embodiment 15 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to group the reported NZCs into reporting groups based on each transmission layer, TRP, and polarization.

[0085] Embodiment 16 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to group the reported NZCs into reporting groups based on each polarization.

[0086] Embodiment 17 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to group the reported NZCs into reporting groups based on each transmission layer and each polarization.

[0087] Example 18 includes the subject matter according to Example 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to: encode the indication of the phase quantization based on the phase difference between the remaining NZCs in the reporting group and the reference NZC.

[0088] Example 19 includes the subject matter according to Example 11, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the indication of the phase quantization for the reference NZC does not encode the phase quantization information of the indication value 0.

[0089] Example 20 includes the subject matter according to Example 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to select one of the reference NZCs as the primary reference NZC; and for each of the remaining NZCs in all the reporting groups, encode the indication of the phase quantization based on the phase difference between the NZC and the primary reference NZC.

[0090] Example 21 includes the subject matter according to Example 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to encode the indication of the phase quantization based on the phase difference between the reference NZC and the primary reference NZC for other reference NZCs.

[0091] Example 22 includes the subject matter according to Example 20, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the indication of the phase quantization indicates the phase quantization value 0 of the primary reference NZC by not encoding the phase quantization information of the primary reference NZC.

[0092] Example 23 includes the subject matter according to Example 22, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the indication of the phase quantization indicates the phase quantization value 0 of the reference NZC by not encoding the phase quantization information of the reference NZC.

[0093] Example 24 includes the subject matter according to Example 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to use more bits to quantify the phase of the reference NZC than the number of bits used to quantify the remaining NZCs.

[0094] Example 25 includes the subject matter according to Example 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to: encode the indication of the amplitude quantization based on the amplitude difference between the remaining NZCs in the reporting group and the reference NZC.

[0095] Embodiment 26 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the indication for amplitude quantization of the reference NZC does not encode the amplitude quantization information of indication value 1.

[0096] Embodiment 27 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to select one of the reference NZCs in the reference NZCs as the primary reference NZC; and for each of the remaining NZCs in all the reporting groups, encode the indication of amplitude quantization based on the amplitude difference between the NZC and the primary reference NZC.

[0097] Embodiment 28 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 27, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to, for other reference NZCs, encode the indication of amplitude quantization based on the amplitude difference between the reference NZC and the primary reference NZC.

[0098] Embodiment 29 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 27, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the indication of amplitude quantization indicates the amplitude quantization value 1 of the primary reference NZC by not encoding the amplitude quantization information of the primary reference NZC.

[0099] Embodiment 30 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 29, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the indication of amplitude quantization indicates the amplitude quantization value 1 of the reference NZC by not encoding the amplitude quantization information of the reference NZC.

[0100] Embodiment 31 includes the subject matter according to Embodiment 11, including or omitting optional elements, and the subject matter is further configured to use more bits to quantify the amplitude of the reference NZC than the number of bits used to quantify the remaining NZCs.

[0101] Embodiment 32 is a method that includes any action or combination of actions substantially described herein in the detailed description.

[0102] Embodiment 33 is a method that is substantially described herein with reference to each of the figures included herein or any combination thereof or with reference to each of the paragraphs in the detailed description or any combination thereof.

[0103] Embodiment 45 is a user equipment configured to perform any action or combination of actions substantially described herein in the detailed description included in the user equipment.

[0104] Example 35 is a network node configured to perform any action or combination of actions substantially as described herein in the specific embodiments included in the network node.

[0105] Example 36 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause performance of any action or combination of actions substantially as described herein in the specific embodiments.

[0106] Example 37 is an apparatus for a user equipment, the apparatus including a memory and one or more processors that execute instructions stored in the memory to cause the UE to perform any action or combination of actions substantially as described herein in the specific embodiments.

[0107] Example 38 is an apparatus for a network node, the apparatus including one or more processors that execute instructions stored in a memory to cause the network node to perform any action or combination of actions substantially as described herein in the specific embodiments.

[0108] The above description of illustrative examples, specific implementations, aspects, etc. of the subject matter of the present disclosure, including what is described in the abstract of the specification, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed aspects to the precise forms disclosed. While specific examples, specific implementations, aspects, etc. are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications can be contemplated within the scope of such examples, specific implementations, aspects, etc., as will be recognized by those skilled in the relevant art.

[0109] Although the methods are illustrated and described above as a series of actions or events, it should be understood that the order of such illustrated actions or events should not be construed in a limiting sense. For example, some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions or events other than those illustrated and / or described herein. Additionally, not all of the illustrated actions may be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments disclosed herein. Further, one or more of the actions illustrated herein may be performed in one or more separate actions and / or phases. In some embodiments, the methods illustrated above may be implemented in a computer-readable medium using instructions stored in a memory. Many other embodiments and variations are possible within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims.

[0110] The term "coupled" is used throughout the specification. This term can cover connections, communications, or signal paths that can achieve a functional relationship consistent with the description of the present disclosure. For example, if device A generates a signal to control device B to perform an action, then in a first example, device A is coupled to device B, or in a second example, if an intermediate component C does not substantially change the functional relationship between device A and device B such that device B is controlled by device A via the control signal generated by the device, then device A is coupled to device B through the intermediate component C.

[0111] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising a memory and a baseband processor, the baseband processor being configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory: Determine a plurality of non-zero coefficients (NZCs) corresponding to linear combination coefficients based on channel state information (CSI) signals transmitted by a plurality of transmit receive points (TRPs); Select the reported NZCs from the plurality of NZCs, wherein the corresponding sets of the reported NZCs are associated with corresponding transmit layers, and wherein at least one of the sets of the reported NZCs includes NZCs associated with at least two different TRPs; And Transmit a CSI report that encodes information about the reported NZCs for each transmit layer.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the CSI report encodes the positions of the NZPs within a preconfigured matrix based on per transmit layer, based on per transmit layer and polarization and TRP, or independently based on per TRP.

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to determine the reported NZCs based on a per transmit layer maximum number of NZCs configured by the network.

4. The UE according to claim 3, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to determine the reported NZCs based on a maximum total number of NZCs across all transmit layers configured by the network.

5. The UE according to claim 4, wherein the maximum total number of NZCs is based on a preconfigured threshold number of selected transmit layers, such that the maximum total number of NZCs is based on the product of the per transmit layer maximum number of NZCs and the threshold number.

6. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to: Select a number of the reported NZPs that is less than or equal to the maximum number of NZCs configured by the network; and Indicate the selected number of the reported NZCs in the CSI report.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to: Group the reported NZCs into a report group, wherein the report group includes a reference NZC and zero or more remaining NZCs; and Encode an indication of phase quantization or an indication of amplitude quantization of the reported NZCs based on the report group.

8. A method for a user equipment (UE), the method Comprising: Determining a plurality of non-zero coefficients (NZCs) corresponding to linear combination coefficients based on channel state information (CSI) signals transmitted by a plurality of transmit receive points (TRPs); Selecting the reported NZCs from the plurality of NZCs, wherein the corresponding sets of the reported NZCs are associated with corresponding transmit layers, and wherein at least one of the sets of the reported NZCs includes NZCs associated with at least two different TRPs; And Transmitting a CSI report that encodes information about the reported NZCs for each transmit layer.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the CSI report encodes the position of the NZP within a preconfigured matrix independently for each transmission layer, for each transmission layer and polarization and TRP, or for each TRP.

10. The method according to claim 8, the method further comprising selecting the NZCs to be reported based on the maximum number of NZCs per transmission layer configured by the network.

11. The method according to claim 10, the method further comprising selecting the NZCs to be reported based on the maximum total number of NZCs across all transmission layers configured by the network.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the maximum total number of NZCs is based on a preconfigured threshold number of selected transmission layers, such that the maximum total number of NZCs is based on the product of the maximum number of NZCs per transmission layer and the threshold number.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, the method further comprising: selecting the number of reported NZPs that is less than or equal to the maximum number of NZCs configured by the network; and indicating in the CSI report the selected number of reported NZCs.

14. The method according to claim 13, the method further comprising: grouping the reported NZCs into a reporting group, where the reporting group includes a reference NZC and zero or more remaining NZCs; and encoding an indication of phase quantization or amplitude quantization of the reported NZCs based on the reporting group.

15. A processor for a network node, the processor being configured to cause the network node to: receive a CSI report that encodes information about reported non-zero coefficients (NZCs) corresponding to linear combination coefficients, where the corresponding NZCs are based on corresponding CSI signals transmitted by a plurality of transmit receive points (TRPs), where the CSI signals include CSI signals transmitted by the network node; and wherein, in the CSI report, the corresponding sets of reported NZCs are associated with corresponding transmission layers, where at least one of the sets of reported NZCs includes NZCs associated with at least two different TRPs.

16. The processor according to claim 15, wherein the CSI report encodes the position of the NZP within a preconfigured matrix independently for each transmission layer, for each transmission layer and polarization and TRP, or for each TRP.

17. The processor according to claim 15, wherein the number of reported NZCs is based on the maximum number of NZCs per transmission layer configured by the network.

18. The processor according to claim 16, wherein the number of reported NZCs is based on the maximum total number of NZCs across all transmission layers configured by the network.

19. The processor according to claim 18, wherein the maximum total number of NZCs is based on a preconfigured threshold number of selected transmission layers, such that the maximum total number of NZCs is based on the product of the maximum number of NZCs per transmission layer and the threshold number.

20. The processor according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein: The number of reported NZPs is less than or equal to the maximum number of NZCs configured by the network.

21. The processor according to claim 15, wherein: the CSI report groups the NZCs to be reported into a report group, where the report group includes a reference NZC and zero or more remaining NZCs; and the CSI report encodes an indication of phase quantization or an indication of amplitude quantization of the NZCs to be reported based on the report group.

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