Method and apparatus for measurement and reporting of antenna array adjustments in wireless communication systems

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the method may comprise the steps of: receiving, from a base station, resource configuration information including a plurality of reference signal resources and report configuration information including one or more sub-configurations connected to the plurality of resources, the plurality of reference signal resources are each associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among the predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations different from each other, and the one or more sub-configurations are each associated with one spatial domain antenna configuration among the at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations different from each other; receiving, from the base station, information for triggering all or some of the one or more sub-configurations; receiving a reference signal for channel measurement from the base station based on reference signal resources associated with all or some of the sub-configurations; and transmitting a channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal to the base station.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications and, more particularly, to network energy / power saving techniques. Background Art

[0002] Fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication technology defines a wide frequency band, enabling high transmission rates and new services, and can be implemented not only in "sub-6 GHz" frequency bands such as 3.5 GHz, but also in "above 6 GHz" frequency bands, known as millimeter waves (mmWave), including 28 GHz and 39 GHz. Furthermore, in order to achieve transmission rates 50 times faster than 5G mobile communication technology and ultra-low latency that is one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technology, the implementation of sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication technology (referred to as a "beyond 5G system") in the terahertz frequency band (e.g., the 95 GHz to 3 THz band) is being considered.

[0003] In the early stages of 5G mobile communications technology development, in order to support services and meet performance requirements related to enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), standardization is underway on the following: beamforming and massive MIMO to mitigate radio wave path loss and increase radio wave transmission distance in millimeter waves; support for basic parameter sets (e.g., operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficient utilization of millimeter wave resources and dynamic operation of time slot formats; initial access technology to support multi-beam transmission and broadband; definition and operation of BandWidth Part (BWP); new channel coding methods such as Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes for large-scale data transmission and polar codes for highly reliable transmission of control information; L2 preprocessing; and network slicing to provide dedicated networks dedicated to specific services.

[0004] Currently, discussions are underway on improvements and performance enhancements to initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of the services they will support, and there is already physical layer standardization on technologies such as: Vehicle-to-everything (V2X), for assisting driving determinations of autonomous vehicles based on information about the vehicle's location and status sent by the vehicle, and for enhancing user convenience; New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U), for system operation complying with various regulatory requirements in unlicensed frequency bands; NR UE energy saving; Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in areas where communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable; and positioning.

[0005] In addition, standardization is underway on technologies such as the following in terms of air interface architecture / protocols: the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which supports new services through interoperability and integration with other industries; Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), which provides a node for network service area expansion by supporting wireless backhaul links and access links in an integrated manner; enhanced mobility, including conditional handover and Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) handover; and two-step random access, which simplifies the random access procedure (2-step RACH for NR). Standardization is also underway on the system architecture / services side: 5G baseline architecture (e.g., service-based architecture or service-based interface), which combines Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies; and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), which enables the reception of services based on UE location.

[0006] With the commercialization of 5G mobile communication systems, the already exponentially growing number of connected devices will be connected to the communication network. Accordingly, it is expected that enhanced functionality and performance of 5G mobile communication systems and the integrated operation of connected devices will become necessary. To this end, new research is planned related to: extended reality (XR) for effectively supporting augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), etc.; improving 5G performance and reducing complexity by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML); AI service support; metaverse service support; and drone communications.

[0007] Furthermore, this development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve not only as a foundation for the development of new waveforms, multi-antenna transmission technologies (such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and massive antennas) for providing coverage of the terahertz band for 6G mobile communication technology, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technologies using orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), but also as a foundation for the development of full-duplex technologies for improving the frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technology and improving system networks, AI-based communication technologies for implementing system optimization by leveraging satellites and artificial intelligence (AI) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technologies for implementing services with a level of complexity that exceeds the operational capabilities of UEs by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] With the advancement of wireless communication systems as described above, various services can be provided, and accordingly, there is a need for a way to efficiently provide these services. Summary of the Invention

[0009] Technical issues

[0010] The embodiments set forth herein are intended to provide an apparatus and method capable of efficiently providing services in a wireless communication system.

[0011] Solution to the problem

[0012] According to the present disclosure, a method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system may include: receiving resource configuration information including multiple reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the multiple resources from a base station, each of the multiple reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations, and each sub-configuration in the at least one sub-configuration is associated with one spatial domain antenna configuration among different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; receiving information for triggering all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration from the base station; receiving a reference signal for channel measurement from the base station based on the reference signal resources associated with all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration; and sending a channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal to the base station.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system may include: sending resource configuration information including multiple reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the multiple resources to a terminal, each of the multiple reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations, and each sub-configuration in the at least one sub-configuration is associated with one spatial domain antenna configuration among different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; sending information for triggering all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration to the terminal; sending a reference signal for channel measurement to the terminal based on the reference signal resources associated with all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration; and receiving a channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal from the terminal.

[0014] According to the present disclosure, a terminal in a wireless communication system may include: a transceiver; and a controller connected to the transceiver, wherein the controller may be configured to: receive resource configuration information including multiple reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the multiple resources from a base station, each of the multiple reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations, and each sub-configuration in the at least one sub-configuration is associated with one spatial domain antenna configuration among different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; receive information for triggering all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration from the base station; receive a reference signal for channel measurement from the base station based on the reference signal resources associated with all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration; and send a channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal to the base station.

[0015] According to the present disclosure, a base station in a wireless communication system may include: a transceiver; and a controller connected to the transceiver, wherein the controller may be configured to: send resource configuration information including multiple reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the multiple resources to a terminal, each of the multiple reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations, and each sub-configuration in the at least one sub-configuration is associated with one spatial domain antenna configuration among different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; send information for triggering all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration to the terminal; send a reference signal for channel measurement to the terminal based on the reference signal resources associated with all or some sub-configurations in the at least one sub-configuration; and receive a channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal from the terminal.

[0016] Advantageous Effects of the Invention

[0017] The embodiments set forth herein provide apparatus and methods capable of efficiently providing services in a wireless communication system.

[0018] Advantageous effects obtainable from the present disclosure may not be limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned herein may be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 The figure shows a phased base station energy saving process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 2 Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0021] Figure 3 Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing frequency / spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0022] Figure 4 Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing frequency / spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0023] Figure 5 Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing frequency / spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0024] Figure 6 A spatial domain energy saving measurement configuration using a common reference signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 7 A measurement value reporting method based on a common reference signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 8 The structure of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 9 The structure of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Hereinafter, the operating principle of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. When describing the present disclosure below, detailed descriptions of known functions or configurations will be omitted when it is determined that the description may make the subject matter of the present disclosure unnecessarily unclear. The terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions in the present disclosure and may vary depending on the user, the user's intention, or custom. Therefore, the definition of terms should be based on the content throughout the specification.

[0029] In the following description, for the sake of convenience, terms used to identify access nodes, terms referring to network entities, terms referring to messages, terms referring to interfaces between network entities, terms referring to various identification information, etc. are illustratively used. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms referring to subjects with equivalent technical meanings may also be used.

[0030] In the following description, a base station is an entity that allocates resources to a terminal and can be at least one of a gNode B, eNode B, Node B, base station (BS), wireless access unit, base station controller, and a node on a network. A terminal can include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a computer, or a multimedia system capable of performing communication functions. In this disclosure, "downlink (DL)" refers to the radio link via which a base station transmits signals to a terminal, and "uplink (UL)" refers to the radio link via which a terminal transmits signals to a base station. Furthermore, in the following description, LTE or LTE-A systems may be described by way of example, but embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other communication systems with similar technical backgrounds or channel types. Examples of such communication systems include 5th generation mobile communication technologies (5G, New Radio, and NR), which are being developed beyond LTE-A. In the following description, "5G" may be a concept covering existing LTE, LTE-A, and other similar services. Furthermore, based on the determination of those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may also be applied to other communication systems with some modifications without significantly departing from the scope of this disclosure. Herein, it will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by computer program instructions.

[0031] These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart blocks. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory, which can instruct the computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a specific manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-usable or computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause a series of operating steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart blocks.

[0032] Furthermore, each block in the flowchart may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, comprising one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of sequence. For example, two blocks shown consecutively may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functionality involved. As used in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "unit" refers to a software element or a hardware element, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a "unit" may perform certain functions. However, "unit" is not always limited to software or hardware. A "unit" may be configured to be stored in an addressable storage medium or executed by one or more processors. Thus, a "unit" includes, for example, a software element, an object-oriented software element, a class element, or a task element, a process, a function, a property, a procedure, a subroutine, a program code segment, a driver, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, a database, a data structure, a table, an array, and parameters. The elements and functions provided by a "unit" may be combined into a smaller number of elements or "units" or divided into a larger number of elements or "units." Furthermore, the elements and "units" may be implemented as one or more CPUs within a reproduction device or a secure multimedia card. Furthermore, the "units" in the embodiments may include one or more processors.

[0033] In the following description of this disclosure, for convenience, terms and names defined in the 5GS and NR standards will be used. The 5GS and NR standards are existing communication standards specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) group. However, this disclosure is not limited by these terms and names and can be applied in the same manner to systems conforming to other standards. For example, this disclosure can be applied to 3GPP 5GS / NR (fifth-generation mobile communication standards).

[0034] To meet the increased demand for wireless data services since the deployment of the fourth generation (4G) communication system, efforts have been made to develop improved fifth generation (5G) or pre-5G communication systems. Therefore, 5G or pre-5G communication systems are also referred to as "beyond 4G network" communication systems or "post-Long Term Evolution (post-LTE)" systems.

[0035] 5G communication systems are considered to be implemented in ultra-high frequency (mmWave) frequency bands (e.g., the 60 GHz band) to achieve higher data rates. To reduce radio wave propagation loss and increase the transmission distance of radio waves in the mmWave band, beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (massive MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and massive antenna technologies are being discussed in 5G communication systems.

[0036] In addition, in 5G communication systems, technology development for system network improvements is underway based on evolved small cells, advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (cloud RAN), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, mobile networks, collaborative communications, coordinated multi-point (CoMP), and receiver-side interference cancellation.

[0037] In 5G systems, hybrid FSK and QAM modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) have also been developed as advanced coding modulation (ACM) schemes, as well as filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as advanced access technologies.

[0038] Compared to traditional 4G systems, 5G systems are considering supporting a wider range of services. For example, representative services may include ultra-broadband mobile communication services (enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)), ultra-reliable / low-latency communication services (ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC)), massive device-to-device communication services (massive machine-type communication (mMTC)), and next-generation broadcast services (evolved multimedia broadcast / multicast service (eMBMS)). A system that provides URLLC services may be referred to as a URLLC system, and a system that provides eMBB services may be referred to as an eMBB system. The terms "service" and "system" are used interchangeably.

[0039] Among these services, URLLC is a new service being considered in 5G systems compared to existing 4G systems. Compared to other services, it must meet ultra-high reliability (e.g., a packet error rate of approximately 10-5) and low latency (e.g., approximately 0.5 milliseconds). To meet these stringent requirements, URLLC may require shorter transmission time intervals (TTIs) than eMBB services, and various operational schemes for adopting this are currently under consideration.

[0040] The Internet, a human-centric network of connected devices where humans generate and consume information, is now evolving into the Internet of Things (IoT), in which distributed entities such as things exchange and process information without human intervention. The Internet of Everything (IoE) has emerged, combining IoT technology with big data processing technologies through connections to cloud servers and other platforms. As technological elements such as sensing technology, wired / wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology are required for IoT implementation, recent research has focused on sensor networks, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and machine-type communication (MTC).

[0041] Such an IoT environment can provide intelligent Internet technology (IT) services that create new value for human life by collecting and analyzing data generated between connected things. Through the integration and combination of existing information technology (IT) with various industrial applications, IoT can be applied to a variety of fields including smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected vehicles, smart grids, healthcare, smart appliances, and advanced medical services.

[0042] In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such as sensor networks, machine-type communications (MTC), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications are being implemented using beamforming, MIMO, and array antenna technologies, which are 5G communication technologies. Cloud radio access networks (Cloud RAN), as an application of the aforementioned big data processing technologies, can also be considered an example of the convergence of 5G and IoT technologies.

[0043] The present disclosure relates to a network energy / power saving technology that performs power on / off by a unit of an antenna element or a unit of a combination of antenna elements.

[0044] The present disclosure proposes a technology for determining whether to activate each antenna element according to required throughput, link quality, etc. of a UE connected through the base station when operating an antenna array installed in the base station.

[0045] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station can power off the entire or a portion of the antenna array according to the channel status and communication status of the connected UE, and can also quickly switch the antenna array to be powered on when necessary.

[0046] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology realizes flexible power saving and energy saving of a base station compared to the existing technology, and thus the technology is expected to support high energy efficiency compared to the existing technology.

[0047] The technology proposed in this disclosure mainly includes the following operations.

[0048] Operation 1. Time Domain Energy Saving Determination Operation to Determine Whether a Base Station or Node Can Be Switched into Energy Saving Mode or Powered Off

[0049] -In operation 1, the base station may determine (or identify) whether any circuit responsible for transmission and reception of the node, any circuit responsible for transmission, any circuit responsible for data transmission and reception and RS transmission and reception, or any circuit responsible for data transmission and RS transmission can be switched to a power saving mode or powered off.

[0050] - The power saving mode refers to a mode in which the base station is configured to use lower power than the power used to support the best performance that the base station can support, and can be achieved by stopping supporting some functions of the base station or node.

[0051] Operation 2. A frequency domain energy saving determination operation of determining whether circuitry responsible for a portion of a frequency band handled by a base station or node may be switched to a power saving mode or powered off,

[0052] When it is determined in operation 1 that time domain energy saving is not performed, the base station or node may determine whether to perform frequency domain energy saving.

[0053] - When determining frequency domain energy saving, the base station may support all functions supported in normal mode, but may reduce the maximum bandwidth supportable by each UE.

[0054] Operation 3. Determine whether circuits responsible for some antenna elements in an array antenna installed in a base station or node can be switched to an energy saving mode or powered off.

[0055] -When the base station does not perform time domain energy saving and requires additional energy saving or power saving even when performing frequency domain energy saving, that is, when additional power or energy saving is required without using the maximum bandwidth, the base station can check and determine whether to perform space domain energy saving.

[0056] Figure 1 The figure shows a phased base station energy saving process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] Figure 1 An example of a network energy saving process for performing the aforementioned three operations is shown. In the example, the base station may perform space domain energy saving only when performing frequency domain energy saving.

[0058] In operation 101, a base station or node may determine whether a UE or traffic is detected. For example, the base station may determine whether the UE is camped on the base station, or whether traffic is being transmitted to or received from the UE or another node.

[0059] When no UE or traffic is detected, the base station or node may be powered off in operation 103. As described above, the base station or node may perform time-domain energy saving that determines whether the base station or node may be switched to a power saving mode or powered off.

[0060] For example, the base station may switch any circuitry responsible for transmission and reception of a node, any circuitry responsible for transmission, any circuitry responsible for data transmission and reception and RS transmission and reception, or any circuitry responsible for data transmission and RS transmission into power saving mode or be powered off.

[0061] When detecting a UE or traffic, the base station or node may determine whether maximum bandwidth is required in operation 105. That is, when time domain energy saving is not performed to provide services to the UE or transmit and receive traffic, the base station or node may determine whether to operate with maximum bandwidth.

[0062] That is, the base station or node may determine whether to perform a frequency domain energy saving operation.

[0063] When operation with the maximum bandwidth is not required, the base station or node may stop the operation of the secondary node (scell) in operation 107. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this example, and the activated bandwidth may be changed or reduced.

[0064] In operation 109, the base station or node may determine whether to reduce signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) / coverage. In other words, the base station or node may determine whether to perform a spatial domain energy saving operation.

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the spatial domain energy saving operation may include switching circuits responsible for some antenna elements among array antennas installed in a base station or node to a power saving mode or being powered off. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this example.

[0066] When additional power or energy savings are needed without using the maximum bandwidth, the base station or node can review and determine whether to perform spatial domain energy savings.

[0067] Figure 2 Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0068] Figure 2 An example of reference signal transmission, measurement, and reporting for determining whether to perform spatial domain energy saving in the aforementioned operation is shown. The base station can transmit a first reference signal, RS#1, for measuring link quality when all antenna elements included in the antenna array are in use, using all antenna elements; transmit a second reference signal, RS#2, for measuring link quality when the first spatial domain energy saving option is implemented, using only some antenna elements; and transmit a third reference signal, RS#3, for measuring link quality when the second spatial domain energy saving option is implemented, using only some other antenna elements. The UE can measure and report link quality for each of RS#1, RS#2, and RS#3, and the base station can determine the antenna element combination required for communication with the UE based on the link quality.

[0069] - In the aforementioned operation, the reference signals RS#1, RS#2 and RS#3 transmitted by the base station may be single-port or dual-port RSs for RSRP measurement, for example, single / dual-port CSI-RSs.

[0070] Alternatively, some or all of the reference signals may be multi-port RSs, such as multi-port CSI-RSs. In this case, the UE may omit measuring and reporting some of the PMI or CQI for the reference signals, or may measure and report multi-port RSRP instead of the existing PMI and CQI reporting. Multi-port RSRP is a value representing the link quality of a channel as a quantity after the UE measures the multi-port RS to obtain channel information, such as L1-RSRP or L3-RSRP.

[0071] When reporting link quality, the UE may report link quality for all configured and received reference signals (i.e., RS#1, RS#2, and RS#3), or may report link quality only for RSs that meet specific conditions (e.g., n RSs with the best link quality or m RSs with link quality greater than a preset threshold). When reporting link quality only for some reference signals as described above, the UE may also report information indicating which reference signal's link quality is being reported, such as a reference signal reference index.

[0072] refer to Figure 2 In operation 201a, the base station may determine a reference signal (RS) configuration for spatial domain energy saving (spatial domain power saving), and in operation 201b, the base station may provide the determined RS configuration to the UE through a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0073] In operation 203a, the base station may determine a band-specific RS and / or a spatially specific RS, and in operation 203b, the base station may transmit multiple RSs (e.g., RS#1, RS#2, and RS#3) to the UE. Alternatively, the base station may transmit RSs (e.g., RS#1, RS#2, and RS#3) to the UE over multiple RS resources. In operation 205a, the base station may determine whether to request a report for power saving, and in operation 205b, the base station may request the report via a media access control element (MAC CE) or downlink control information (DCI).

[0074] In operation 207a, the UE may transmit a plurality of reference signal received powers (RSRPs) 207b regarding a plurality of RSs through a link quality report.

[0075] When reporting link quality, the UE may report link quality regarding all configured and received reference signals (i.e., RS#1, RS#2, and RS#3), or may report link quality only regarding RSs that meet specific conditions (e.g., 'n' RSs with the best link quality or 'm' RSs with link quality greater than a preset threshold).

[0076] In operation 209, the base station may perform spatial adaptation to save power. For example, as described above, the base station may determine the antenna element combination necessary to communicate with the UE.

[0077] In operation 211a, the base station may update an RRC configuration for spatial adaptation, and in operation 211b, the base station may provide the updated RRC configuration to the UE via an RRC message.

[0078] Figure 3 Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing frequency / spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0079] According to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Different from the method described above, the base station can simultaneously determine whether to perform frequency domain energy saving and space domain energy saving. Figure 3 An example of a reference signal configured and transmitted for a base station for simultaneously determining whether to perform frequency domain energy saving and space domain energy saving is shown.

[0080] According to an embodiment, some of the reference signals for measuring the link quality when the base station uses the entire antenna array (e.g., RS#4) may be sent to measure the link quality when the entire frequency band is used, and another reference signal (e.g., RS#1) may be sent to measure the link quality when only a portion of the frequency band is used.

[0081] The base station can determine whether to perform frequency domain energy conservation by comparing the link qualities of RS#1 and RS#4. In addition, the base station can simultaneously determine whether to apply frequency domain energy conservation and whether to apply spatial domain energy conservation by comparing the link qualities of RS#2, RS#3, RS#5, and RS#6, which are transmitted using only some antenna elements of the antenna array, with the link qualities of RS#1 and RS#4.

[0082] In addition, since RS#1 and RS#4, RS#2 and RS#5, and RS#3 and RS#6 (each pair of which uses the same antenna element combination) are transmitted with different bandwidths, the base station can compare the link qualities with respect to the corresponding reference signals to determine the appropriate bandwidth for each antenna element combination used by the base station.

[0083] Figure 4Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing frequency / spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0084] According to an embodiment, a base station may transmit reference signals using the same antenna element in different frequency bands, thereby providing a frequency selection or band selection function when determining whether to perform frequency domain energy saving. Figure 4 , RS#1 and RS#4 both use all antenna elements but transmit in different frequency bands, RS#2 and RS#5 both use some antenna elements but transmit in different frequency bands, and RS#3 and RS#6 both use some antenna elements but transmit in different frequency bands.

[0085] The base station can perform frequency selection or frequency band selection by comparing the link quality of the reference signal. That is, the base station can compare the link quality of the reference signal to determine the frequency band to use when performing frequency domain energy conservation, and thus can select the most appropriate frequency band when performing frequency domain energy conservation.

[0086] Figure 5 Reference signal transmission and reception, measurement, and reporting for performing frequency / spatial domain energy saving according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0087] According to an embodiment, the base station can transmit each reference signal through multiple frequency bands. Through this transmission method, the base station can perform frequency selection or frequency band selection. Figure 5 , RS#1 can be transmitted in three frequency bands, and RS#2 and RS#3 can be transmitted in two frequency bands. The frequency bands in which RS#2 and RS#3 are transmitted can be the same or different.

[0088] exist Figures 3 to 5 In the aforementioned examples, collectively, the reference signal for spatial domain energy saving can be transmitted in a narrow radio frequency band compared to the reference signal not used for spatial domain energy saving because the spatial domain energy saving has a coverage reduction effect.

[0089] Figure 6 A spatial domain energy saving measurement configuration using a common reference signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0090] According to an embodiment, as another method of configuring and transmitting a reference signal and instructing the UE to perform measurement and reporting to determine whether to perform space domain energy saving, as Figure 6 A method utilizing a common reference signal is also possible.

[0091] refer to Figure 6 As a method of configuring and transmitting a common reference signal, the base station can utilize a multi-port RS. Figure 6In the configuration and transmission of the UE, the base station may configure, set, and send a reference signal so that the measurement of the UE for each port or each port set is a link quality measurement for an antenna element or a combination of antenna elements. In addition, in the present disclosure, each port or each port set may be each reference signal resource (which may be at least one resource) (e.g., a CSI-RS resource) or each reference signal resource set. Each reference signal resource set may include one or more reference signal resources. Figure 6 In the configuration and transmission of , the base station can configure, set, and transmit reference signals so that the UE's measurement for each reference signal resource or each reference signal resource set is a link quality measurement for an antenna element or antenna element combination. The UE's measurement for each reference signal resource or each reference signal resource set can be a measurement of the reference signal transmitted on each reference signal resource or each reference signal resource set. Here, the antenna element or antenna element combination can be an antenna array configuration (or antenna subarray configuration) in the spatial domain that the base station can configure for signal transmission.

[0092] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a common reference signal is configured so that the UE's measurement for each port or each port set is a link quality measurement for an antenna element or a combination of antenna elements, the base station can configure the reference signal or reference signal combination that the UE needs to consider when measuring the link quality for each antenna element or each combination of antenna elements, and can send corresponding information to the UE.

[0093] According to an embodiment, the configuration information sent by the base station to the UE regarding the reference signal or reference signal combination that the UE needs to consider when measuring the link quality for each antenna element or each antenna element combination can be sent in the form of a measurement configuration or a reporting configuration, and can be sent to the UE via RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, etc.

[0094] like Figure 6 As shown, multiple methods for measuring the link quality of a common reference signal can be configured. In this case, the configuration of each measurement method can include information about the reference signal that the UE needs to use when measuring the link quality. The configuration information about the reference signal can be a portion of the common reference signal received by the UE, for example, a portion of a common reference signal port or a portion of a common reference signal resource element.

[0095] When measuring link quality according to the aforementioned configuration, the UE may measure the link quality in the form of CQI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, L3-RSRP, L3-SINR, etc., and may be configured by the base station (e.g., RRC) or instructed (e.g., through DCI or MACCE) to use one or more of the aforementioned forms.

[0096] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the UE measures link quality in a form other than CQI, the UE may define and measure the link quality as a combination of multi-port RS signal received powers. The combination of multi-port RS signal received powers may be in the following forms: for example, the average of the received powers of the signals corresponding to the respective ports, the maximum value of the received powers of the signals corresponding to the respective ports, or the weighted sum of the received powers of the signals corresponding to the respective ports. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

[0097] Figure 7 A measurement value reporting method based on a common reference signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0098] When reporting measurement results, the UE may report the results of each measurement configuration at once or sequentially, and may also report all measurement values ​​or may select and report some measurement values.

[0099] In addition, when reporting a measurement value, the UE may also report information indicating the measurement configuration through which the reported link quality value was measured. Alternatively, the UE may report whether the measured link quality meets a preset condition without reporting the measurement value, or may report information about a measurement configuration in which a result showing that the preset condition is met. Figure 7 Examples of various reporting methods are shown above, where the link quality of {-60dBm, -70dBm, -55dBm, -65dBm, -60dBm, -50dBm} is calculated based on Figure 6 The six measurement configurations shown are measured in order, and the setting condition is assumed to be link quality <-60dBm.

[0100] In the present disclosure, a common reference signal may refer to a combination of reference signals configured to be commonly used by a UE for two or more link quality measurements. A common reference signal may be configured in the form of one reference signal resource, multiple reference signal resources, one reference signal resource set, or multiple reference signal resource sets. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

[0101] When a common reference signal is configured in the form of multiple reference signal resource sets, the UE can be configured to measure the link quality by combining the reference signals belonging to each reference signal resource set. When a common reference signal is configured and transmitted through multiple reference signal resource sets, the UE does not use the method of calculating the link quality by combining the measurement results between resources belonging to different reference signal resource sets, but calculates an independent result for each set and reports it using the result. For example, the UE can select Figure 7 The various reporting methods are shown, and reports can be performed on each collection.

[0102] Based on the UE's measurement result report, the base station can configure a combination of antenna elements for communication with each UE, configure a combination of transmitting antenna elements for DL ​​communication with each UE, or configure a combination of antenna elements to be used for each channel and RS transmission or reception for each UE, which the base station can set.

[0103] Figure 8 The structure of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0104] like Figure 8 As shown, the base station of the present disclosure may include a processor 820, a transceiver 800, and a memory 810. However, the components of the base station are not limited to the above examples. For example, the base station may include a greater or lesser number of components than the above components. In addition, the processor 820, the transceiver 800, and the memory 810 may be implemented in the form of a single chip.

[0105] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 820 may control a series of processes so that the base station can operate according to the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the processor 820 may control components of the base station to execute the antenna array control method according to the above-described embodiments. The processor 820 may control the components of the base station to execute the embodiments of the present disclosure by executing programs stored in the memory 810. Furthermore, the processor 820 may be an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP), a circuit, a dedicated circuit, or at least one processor.

[0106] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 800 can transmit / receive signals with a network entity, other base stations, or UE. The signals transmitted / received with the network entity, other base stations, or UE may include control information and data. The transceiver 800 may include an RF transmitter configured to up-convert and amplify the frequency of the transmitted signal, an RF receiver configured to low-noise amplify the received signal and down-convert its frequency, etc. However, this is merely an embodiment of the transceiver 800, and the components of the transceiver 800 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver. In addition, the transceiver 800 can receive signals via a radio channel, output them to the processor 820, and transmit signals output from the processor 820 via the radio channel.

[0107] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 810 may store programs and data required for base station operation. Furthermore, the memory 810 may store control information or data included in signals transmitted / received by the base station. The memory 810 may include a storage medium such as ROM, RAM, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD, or a combination of these storage media. Furthermore, the memory 810 may include multiple memories. Furthermore, according to an embodiment, the memory 810 may store a program for executing the above-described antenna array control method.

[0108] Figure 9 The structure of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0109] like Figure 9 As shown, the UE of the present disclosure may include a processor 920, a transceiver 900, and a memory 910. However, the components of the UE are not limited to the above examples. For example, the UE may include more or fewer components than the above components. In addition, the processor 920, the transceiver 900, and the memory 910 may be implemented in the form of a single chip.

[0110] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 920 can control a series of processes so that the UE can operate according to the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the processor 920 can control the components of the UE to execute the method for providing the antenna array control method according to the above-mentioned embodiment. The processor 920 can control the components of the UE to execute the embodiments of the present disclosure by executing the program stored in the memory 910. In addition, the processor 920 can be an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP), a circuit, a dedicated circuit, or at least one processor.

[0111] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 900 can transmit / receive signals with a network entity, other UEs, or a base station. The signals transmitted / received with the network entity, other UEs, or a base station may include control information and data. The transceiver 900 may include an RF transmitter configured to up-convert and amplify the frequency of the transmitted signal, an RF receiver configured to low-noise amplify the received signal and down-convert its frequency, etc. However, this is merely an embodiment of the transceiver 900, and the components of the transceiver 900 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver. In addition, the transceiver 900 can receive signals via a radio channel, output them to the processor 920, and transmit signals output from the processor 920 via the radio channel.

[0112] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 910 may store programs and data required for the operation of the UE. Furthermore, the memory 910 may store control information or data included in signals transmitted / received by the UE. The memory 910 may include a storage medium such as ROM, RAM, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD, or a combination of storage media. Furthermore, the memory 910 may include multiple memories. Furthermore, according to an embodiment, the memory 910 may store a program for executing the above-described antenna array control method.

[0113] The methods disclosed in the claims and / or the methods according to the embodiments described in the specification of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0114] When the method is implemented via software, a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium may be configured to be executed by one or more processors within an electronic device. At least one program includes instructions that cause the electronic device to perform the method according to the various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims and / or disclosed herein.

[0115] These programs (software modules or software) can be stored in non-volatile memory, including random access memory and flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk storage devices, compact disk-ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other types of optical storage devices or magnetic tape cassettes. Alternatively, any combination of some or all of them can form the memory in which the program is stored. In addition, multiple such memories may be included in the electronic device.

[0116] In addition, the program can be stored in an attachable storage device that can be accessed by the electronic device via a communication network such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area LAN (WLAN), and a storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device can access the electronic device via an external port. In addition, a separate storage device on a communication network can access the portable electronic device.

[0117] In the above detailed embodiments of the present disclosure, the elements included in the present disclosure are expressed in the singular or plural, depending on the detailed embodiment presented. However, for ease of description, the singular form or plural form is appropriately selected for the situation presented, and the present disclosure is not limited to elements expressed in the singular or plural. Therefore, an element expressed in the plural may also include a single element, or an element expressed in the singular may also include multiple elements.

[0118] Although specific embodiments have been described in the detailed description of the present disclosure, it is apparent that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but should be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, resource configuration information including a plurality of reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the plurality of resources, Each reference signal resource of the plurality of reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; and Each subconfiguration of the at least one subconfiguration is associated with one of the different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; receiving, from the base station, information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration; receiving, from the base station, a reference signal for channel measurement based on reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration; and A channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal is sent to the base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The result of the channel measurement includes a measurement result corresponding to each subset of the reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration is configured based on downlink control information DCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The multiple reference signal resources are included in a reference signal resource set.

5. A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: sending resource configuration information including a plurality of reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the plurality of resources to a user equipment UE, Each reference signal resource of the plurality of reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; and Each subconfiguration of the at least one subconfiguration is associated with one of the different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; Sending information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration to the UE; sending, to the UE, a reference signal for channel measurement based on reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration; A channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal is received from the UE.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The result of the channel measurement includes a measurement result corresponding to each subset of the reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration is configured based on downlink control information DCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein The multiple reference signal resources are included in a reference signal resource set.

9. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: transceiver; and A controller, connected to the transceiver, Wherein, the controller is configured as follows: receiving, from a base station, resource configuration information including a plurality of reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the plurality of resources, Each reference signal resource of the plurality of reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; and Each subconfiguration of the at least one subconfiguration is associated with one of the different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; receiving, from the base station, information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration; receiving, from the base station, a reference signal for channel measurement based on reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration; and A channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal is sent to the base station.

10. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The result of the channel measurement includes a measurement result corresponding to each subset of the reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration.

11. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration is configured based on downlink control information DCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.

12. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The multiple reference signal resources are included in a reference signal resource set.

13. A base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: transceiver; and A controller, connected to the transceiver, Wherein, the controller is configured as follows: sending resource configuration information including a plurality of reference signal resources and report configuration information including at least one sub-configuration connected to the plurality of resources to a user equipment UE, Each reference signal resource of the plurality of reference signal resources is associated with at least one spatial domain antenna configuration among different predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; and Each subconfiguration of the at least one subconfiguration is associated with one of the different at least predetermined spatial domain antenna configurations; Sending information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration to the UE; sending a reference signal for channel measurement to the UE based on reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration; and A channel state information (CSI) report including a result of the channel measurement based on the reference signal is received from the UE.

14. The base station according to claim 13, wherein: The result of the channel measurement includes a measurement result corresponding to each subset of the reference signal resources associated with all or some of the at least one subconfiguration.

15. The base station according to claim 13, wherein: The information for triggering all or some of the at least one sub-configuration is configured based on downlink control information DCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.

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