Power headroom reporting

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, at an apparatus, a request from a network, the request to provide power information for a target waveform, the apparatus being associated with a plurality of transmit receive points; means for determining power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is common to the plurality of transmission reception points; and means for providing power information to the network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to methods, apparatus, systems, and computer programs, and specifically, but not exclusively, to user equipment (UE) auxiliary information reporting for dynamic waveform switching in multiple transmit-receive-point (M-TRP) scenarios. Background Technology

[0002] A communication system can be viewed as a facility that enables a communication session between two or more entities, such as user terminals, base stations, and / or other nodes, by providing carrier waves between various entities involved in the communication path. The communication system can be provided, for example, through a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication session can include, for example, data communication for carrying communications such as voice, video, email, text messages, multimedia, and / or content data. Non-limiting examples of the services provided include two-way or multiplexed calls, data communication or multimedia services, and access to data network systems such as the Internet.

[0003] In wireless communication systems, at least a portion of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless systems include Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), satellite-based communication systems, and various wireless local area networks, such as Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Some wireless systems can be divided into cells and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] Users can access the communication system through appropriate communication equipment or terminals. A user's communication equipment may be referred to as user equipment (UE) or user gear. The communication equipment is equipped with appropriate signal receiving and transmission means to enable communication, such as enabling access to a communication network or direct communication with other users. The communication equipment can access carriers provided by stations (e.g., base stations in a cell) and transmit and / or receive communication on those carriers.

[0005] Communication systems and associated equipment typically operate according to a given standard or specification that outlines what the various entities associated with the system are allowed to do and how these should be implemented. The communication protocols and / or parameters used for connectivity are also usually defined. One example of a communication system is the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) (3G radio). Other examples of communication systems are the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of so-called 5G or New Radio (NR) networks. NR is standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Other examples of communication systems include Advanced 5G (NR Rel-18 and above) and 6G. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for receiving a request from a network at the apparatus for providing power information for a target waveform, the apparatus being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points; means for determining the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission receiving points; and means for providing the power information to the network.

[0007] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0008] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmission and reception points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmission power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmission power for a target waveform and the maximum transmission power for the current waveform.

[0009] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0010] In a second aspect, there are provided components for providing a request from the device to a user equipment for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points, components for receiving the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission receiving points, and components for determining, based on the power information, that the waveform used by the user equipment at at least one of the plurality of transmission receiving points will be changed from the current waveform to the target waveform.

[0011] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0012] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmit and receive points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmit power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmit power for a target waveform and the maximum transmit power for the current waveform.

[0013] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0014] In a third aspect, a method is provided comprising: receiving a request at a device from a network for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points; determining the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared across the plurality of transmission receiving points; and providing the power information to the network.

[0015] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0016] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmission receivers, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmission power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmission power for a target waveform and the maximum transmission power for the current waveform.

[0017] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided, comprising: providing a request from a device to a user equipment for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points; receiving the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared across the plurality of transmission receiving points; and, based on the power information, determining that a waveform used by the user equipment at at least one of the plurality of transmission receiving points will be changed from a current waveform to the target waveform.

[0019] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0020] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmission and reception points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmission power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmission power for a target waveform and the maximum transmission power for the current waveform.

[0021] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0022] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a request from a network at the apparatus for providing power information for a target waveform, the apparatus being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points; determine the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission receiving points; and provide the power information to the network.

[0023] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0024] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmission and reception points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmission power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmission power for a target waveform and the maximum transmission power for the current waveform.

[0025] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0026] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: provide a request to a user equipment for providing power information for a target waveform, the apparatus being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points; receive the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared across the plurality of transmission receiving points; and, based on the power information, determine that the waveform to be used by the user equipment at at least one of the plurality of transmission receiving points will be changed from a current waveform to the target waveform.

[0027] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0028] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmit and receive points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmit power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmit power for a target waveform and the maximum transmit power for the current waveform.

[0029] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium including instructions is provided, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: receiving a request from a network at the device for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points, determining the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission receiving points, and providing the power information to the network.

[0031] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0032] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmit and receive points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmit power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmit power for a target waveform and the maximum transmit power for the current waveform.

[0033] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium including instructions is provided, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: providing a request to a user equipment for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points, receiving the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared across the plurality of transmission receiving points, and, based on the power information, determining that the waveform to be changed from the current waveform to the target waveform by the user equipment at at least one of the plurality of transmission receiving points.

[0035] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0036] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmit and receive points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for a target waveform, maximum transmit power for a target waveform, the difference between the power margin for a target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmit power for a target waveform and the maximum transmit power for the current waveform.

[0037] Power information may include an indication of the power information format.

[0038] In a ninth aspect, a non-transient computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing a device to execute at least the method according to a third or fourth aspect.

[0039] In the foregoing, many different embodiments have been described. It should be understood that further embodiments may be provided by any combination of two or more of the above embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0040] The embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an exemplary 5GS communication system is shown; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an example mobile communication device is shown; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an example control device is shown; Figure 4 An example of a single-entry power headroom report (PHR) is shown; Figure 5 An example of a multi-entry power headroom report (PHR) is shown; Figure 6 A flowchart of a method according to an example embodiment is shown; Figure 7 A flowchart of a method according to an example embodiment is shown; Figure 8The signaling flow between the UE and NW according to an example embodiment is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0041] Before explaining the examples in detail, some general principles of wireless communication systems and mobile communication devices are referenced. Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The underlying technology is briefly explained to help understand the example described.

[0042] Examples of suitable communication systems are the 5G or NR concepts. The network architecture in NR can be similar to that of advanced LTE. Base stations in an NR system can be referred to as next-generation NodeBs (gNBs). Changes to the network architecture can depend on the need to support various radio technologies and more granular Quality of Service (QoS) support, as well as some on-demand requirements for QoS levels, such as those for supporting user Quality of Experience (QoE). Network-aware services and applications, and service and application-aware networks, can also bring about changes to the architecture. These involve Information Center Network (ICN) and User Center Content Delivery Network (UC-CDN) approaches. NR can use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, significantly more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites cooperating with smaller stations, and may also employ various radio technologies to achieve better coverage and enhanced data rates.

[0043] Future networks can leverage Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions as "building blocks" or entities that can be operatively connected or linked together to provide services. Virtualized network functions (VNFs) can include one or more virtual machines running computer program code using standard or general-purpose servers instead of custom hardware. Cloud computing or data storage can also be utilized. In radio communications, this might mean that node operations are performed, at least partially, within servers, hosts, or nodes operatively coupled to a remote radio head. Node operations may also be distributed across multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. It should also be understood that the task distribution between core network operations and base station operations may differ from, or even not exist at all, the task distribution in LTE.

[0044] Figure 1 A schematic representation of a 5G system (5GS) 100 is shown. The 5GS may include a user equipment (UE) 102 (which may also be referred to as a communication device or terminal), a 5G radio access network (5GRAN) 104, a 5G core network (5GCN) 106, one or more internal or external application functions (AF) 108, and one or more data networks (DN) 110.

[0045] The example 5G core network (CN) includes multiple functional entities. 5GCN 106 may include one or more Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 112, one or more Session Management Functions (SMF) 114, Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 116, Unified Data Management (UDM) 118, one or more User Plane Functions (UPF) 120, Unified Data Repository (UDR) 122, and / or Network Openness Function (NEF) 124. The UPF is controlled by the SMF (Session Management Function) that receives policies from the PCF (Policy Control Function).

[0046] The CN is connected to the UE via the Radio Access Network (RAN). The 5G RAN may include one or more gNodeB (gNB) Distributed Unit (DU) functions connected to one or more gNodeB (gNB) Central Unit (CU) functions. The RAN may include one or more access nodes.

[0047] The User Plane Function (UPF), known as the PDU Session Anchor (PSA), is responsible for forwarding frames back and forth between the DN and the tunnel established through 5G to one or more UEs exchanging services with the DN.

[0048] Current mobile communication devices will refer to Figure 2 Described in more detail Figure 2 A schematic partial cross-sectional view of a communication device 200 is shown. Such a communication device is generally referred to as a user equipment (UE) or terminal. Suitable mobile communication devices can be provided by any device capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include mobile stations (MS) or mobile devices (such as mobile phones or so-called "smartphones"), computers provided with wireless interface cards or other wireless interface facilities (e.g., USB dongles), personal data assistants (PDAs) or tablet computers provided with wireless communication capabilities, VoIP phones, portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), or any combination thereof. Mobile communication devices can provide, for example, communication for carrying data such as voice, email, text messages, multimedia, etc. Therefore, users can be provided with and supplied with many services via their communication devices. Non-limiting examples of these services include two-way or multiplexed calling, data communications or multimedia services, or simply access to data communications network systems such as the Internet. Users may also be provided with broadcast or multicast data. Non-limiting examples of content include downloads, television and radio programs, videos, advertisements, various alarms and other information.

[0049] Mobile devices are typically provided with at least one data processing entity 201, at least one memory 202, and other possible components 203 for software and hardware assistance in performing the tasks they are designed to perform, including control of access to and communication with access systems and other communication devices. Data processing, storage, and other related control devices may be provided on a suitable circuit board and / or in a chipset. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 204. Users can control the operation of the mobile device using a suitable user interface, such as a keyboard 205, voice commands, a touch-sensitive screen or touchpad, or combinations thereof. A display 208, a speaker, and a microphone may also be provided. Furthermore, mobile communication devices may include suitable connectors (wired or wireless) to other devices and / or for connecting external accessories (e.g., hands-free devices) to other devices.

[0050] Mobile device 200 can receive signals over the air or on radio interface 207 via appropriate means for receiving, and can transmit signals via appropriate means for transmitting radio signals. Figure 2 In this diagram, the transceiver device is schematically designated by block 206. The transceiver device 206 may be provided, for example, via a radio section and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be located inside or outside the mobile device.

[0051] Figure 3 An example of a control device 300 for a communication system is shown, which may be coupled to and / or used to control access to the system, such as a base station, an eNB or gNB RAN node, a relay node, or a core network node such as an MME or Serving Gateway (S-GW) or Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), or a core network function such as an AMF / SMF, or a server or host. The method can be implemented in a single control device or across more than one control device. The control device may be integrated with or external to a node or module of the core network or RAN. In some embodiments, the base station includes a separate control device unit or module. In other embodiments, the control device may be another network element such as a radio network controller or a spectrum controller. In some embodiments, each base station may have such a control device as well as control devices provided in a radio network controller. The control device 300 may be arranged to provide control over communications within the service area of ​​the system. The control device 300 includes at least one memory 301, at least one data processing unit 302, 303, and an input / output interface 304. The control device may be coupled to the receiver and transmitter of the base station via the interface. The receiver and / or transmitter can be implemented as a radio front end or a remote radio head.

[0052] The Power Headroom Report (PHR) is a MAC CE (MAC Control Element) that reports the difference between the current UE Tx power (estimated power) and the maximum UE transmit power (used to provide support for power-aware packet scheduling (TS 38.300)). For example, the gNB can use this report value to estimate how much uplink bandwidth the UE can use for a specific subframe or to adjust the modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

[0053] The simplified formula for power margin (PH) is as follows: Power margin = UE maximum transmission power - PUSCH power If the pH value is positive, it indicates that the UE can transmit more data because it has some headroom at maximum power. Conversely, if the pH value is negative, it indicates that the UE has already transmitted at a power greater than the allowed transmission power.

[0054] There are two triggers for PHR. The first trigger is whether the change in path loss exceeds a certain threshold. The UE calculates the path loss based on the reference signal (RS) power notified through the network and the RS power measured at the UE's antenna port. If this value changes beyond a certain threshold, the UE transmits PHR. The second trigger can be a timer.

[0055] These triggers can be specified in RRC messages (e.g., RRCConnection Setup, RRCConnection Reconfiguration).

[0056] The field can include `periodicPHR-Timer`, which is a timer used for PHR reporting. Possible values ​​can be {sf10, sf20, sf50, sf100, sf200, sf500, sf1000, infinity}, where sf10 represents 10 subframes and sf20 represents 20 subframes. `prohibitPHR-Timer` is another timer used for PHR reporting. This means the duration for which the UE should not send PHR transmissions. Possible values ​​can be {sf10, sf20, sf0, sf10, sf20, sf50, sf100, sf200, sf500, sf1000}, where sf10 represents 10 subframes and sf20 represents 20 subframes.

[0057] dl-PathlossChange(phr-TX-PowerFactorChange). Path loss is the reduction in power density as an electromagnetic wave travels through space. This value will be expressed in dB. Possible values ​​can be {dB1, dB3, dB6, infinity}.

[0058] The `multiplePHR` indicates whether power margin should be reported using either the single-entry PHR MAC control element or the multi-entry PHR MAC control element as defined in TS 38.321. `True` means using the multi-entry PHR MAC control element, and `False` means using the single-entry PHR MAC control element as defined in TS 38.321. The network configures this field to `True` for NR's MR-DC and UL CA, and to `False` in all other cases.

[0059] In the case of multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) (M-TRPs), the PHR report requires some additional information to indicate the PHR of each TRP (TRP1, TRP2, ..., TRPn).

[0060] In the M-TRP scenario, the PHR can use two different versions.

[0061] like Figure 4 The example shown is a single-entry PHR for an M-TRP. A MAC-CE is used for the M-TRP PHRs, where all PHRs are reported within a single M-TRP MAC-CE instance. In other words, the same MAC-CE reports PHRs for all TRPs.

[0062] The enhanced single-entry PHR for multi-TRP (M-TRP) MAC-CE is identified by a MAC subheader with an eLCID as specified in Table 1. The power headroom I (PH(i)) indicates the PHR level, where i is the index of the TRP. This field is 6 bits long. The reported PH and the corresponding power headroom level in dB are shown in Table 1. It can be seen that the power headroom reporting range is from -32 to +38 dB, with a granularity of 1 dB.

[0063]

[0064] Table 1 For M-TRP multi-item PHR Figure 5 The diagram shows a new MAC-CE for M-TRP PHRs, where one PHR is reported within a single M-TRP MAC-CE instance, meaning the TRP identifier is included in the MAC-CE. In other words, a MAC-CE (with the TRP ID included) reports the PHR for a single TRP.

[0065] To further enhance NR coverage, dynamic waveform switching (DWS) between CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM has been specified as a target for Rel-18.

[0066] Reporting power margin information based on PCMAX,f,c (i.e., the configured maximum transmission power of the UE) applicable to the target waveform is one possible enhancement. The target waveform may be the same as or different from the waveform of the actual PUSCH transmission.

[0067] To specify enhancements to support Dynamic Waveform Handover (DWS), different waveforms (WF) (Discrete Fourier Transform Extended Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) or Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM)) can be applied to different Transmission Platforms (TRPs). A UE may be in poor coverage relative to some TRPs, while in good coverage relative to others. TRPs may be located in different places, facing different channel conditions, radio frequency (RF) impairments, and / or path losses.

[0068] In the current specification, the same uplink (UL) waveform is configured for each TRP. For DWS, there may be cases where different TRPs are configured to use different waveforms. UE links to TRPs suffering from low signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio (SINR) can take advantage of switching to DFT-s-OFDM while using CP-OFDM to connect to different TRPs. Whether the UL transmissions used for different TRPs are shared or not depends on the UE implementation and hardware power amplifier (PA) architecture. Therefore, UE auxiliary information is needed to address this issue and assist the gNB in ​​determining the validity of DWS with mTRP.

[0069] When the DWS is indicated by downlink control information (DCI), the DCI can be used to indicate multiple PUSCH transmissions to different TRPs or different cells. In this case, whether the same pattern for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions to different TRPs or cells needs to be supported should be discussed, or whether different waveforms for different PUSCH transmissions can be independently signaled. It may not be necessary to restrict the same waveform for multiple PUSCH transmissions to different TRPs or cells, because a UE may only have coverage issues in some TRPs / cells, and DFT-s-OFDM may only be preferred for transmissions in cells where the UE has coverage issues.

[0070] Figure 6 A flowchart of a method according to an example embodiment is shown. This method can be performed on a device such as a user equipment.

[0071] In 601, the method includes receiving a request from a network at the device for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points.

[0072] In 602, the method includes determining power information for a target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by multiple transmission receiving points.

[0073] In 603, the method includes providing power information to the network.

[0074] Figure 7 A flowchart of a method according to an example embodiment is shown. This method can be performed at a node in the network, such as a base station, for example, a gNB. The base station can be a TRP.

[0075] In 701, the method includes providing a request from the device to a user equipment for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points.

[0076] In 702, the method includes receiving power information for a target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by multiple transmission receiving points.

[0077] In 703, the method includes determining, based on power information, a waveform to be changed from a current waveform to a target waveform for at least one of a plurality of transmit / receive points by the user equipment.

[0078] Power information may include power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

[0079] The power information may include a value shared by multiple transmit and receive points, which indicates at least one of the following: power margin for the target waveform (e.g., common PH), maximum transmit power for the target waveform (e.g., common Pcmax), the difference between the power margin for the target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform (e.g., common joint delta_PH), or the difference between the maximum transmit power for the target waveform and the maximum transmit power for the current waveform (e.g., common joint delta_Pcmax).

[0080] This value can be the boundary of PH, Pcmax, or the difference between them (min / max, etc.), or it can be proportional to PH, Pcmax, or the difference between them.

[0081] This method can provide indications of UE auxiliary information reports (e.g., power margins associated with both the current and target waveforms of the TRP) to help the gNB determine dynamic waveform switching. The following focuses on supporting DWS with different waveforms having different TRPs with minimal effort.

[0082] In the example embodiment, the NW (e.g., via RRC configuration) configures / indicates mTRP PHR configuration, multiple PHRs, trigger events / timers, etc., and the field "phr-modeOtherWaveform". This is an example of providing a request to the user equipment to provide power information for a target waveform.

[0083] In this example embodiment, the UE receives the PHR configuration and generates a new mTRP PHR MAC-CE in response to a triggering event, where the configuration field "phr-modeOtherWaveform" = true results in the following.

[0084] The UE uses the current waveform and the target waveform of at least one TRP to calculate the indication of common power information and determine the PH associated with one or more TRPs.

[0085] The UE can determine at least one Pcmax, at least one PH (e.g., 6 bits), the number of bits indicating the PH for the target waveform corresponding to each TRP or for each PH of all TRPs, the bit position of the new field, the number of bits N, and the value of an additional power information indication field, where the field can be an additional common PH or common Pcmax of the target waveform, or a joint delta_PH or delta_Pcmax for all TRPs of a DWS with mTRP, used as part of an auxiliary information report to help the gNB consider the DWS with mTRP. This is an example of determining power information for the target waveform, where the power information is shared across multiple transmit receivers.

[0086] In a first example embodiment, the power information includes incremental values ​​shared across multiple transmit and receive points. These incremental values ​​may indicate the difference between the power margin for the target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmit power for the target waveform and the maximum transmit power for the current waveform. The proposed PHR may include conventional PH and Pcmax (PH and Pcmax) for the current WF maintained for backward compatibility, as well as additionally proposed common deltaPH or deltaPcmax (relative to the target WF).

[0087] In the second example embodiment, the power information includes a power value shared across multiple transmit-receive points. The power value may indicate a power margin for the target waveform or the maximum output power for the target waveform. The proposed PHR may include a common PHR (i.e., target Pcmax) for all TRPs, taking into account whether or not it has a conventional PHR for the current WF. That is, the PHR for the target WF may be combined with the conventional portion or reported separately.

[0088] Power information may include an indication of the format of the power information (e.g., using eLCID).

[0089] If more than one version of the PHR is specified to account for different possible power amplifier (PA) architectures with TRP (common / shared or separate PAs used for UL transmissions to the TRP), the common joint increment_PHR can be identified by a MAC subheader with eLCID. The common joint increment can assume that all TRPs will switch to the same target waveform (e.g., DFT-S-OFDM). For example, if the UL transmission carries the same data for better UL robustness with mTRP diversity. The joint increment_PH or increment_Pcmax or common PH or common Pcmax can allow for the decision to use different WFs in the mTRP when they are useful (e.g., when the PUSCH used for the mTRP carries different data or TBs).

[0090] In this example embodiment, the UE reports the code points with additional indication values, along with the enhanced single / multiple entry PHR, as part of the DWS's auxiliary information to all TRPs.

[0091] Then, the UE sends the newly generated PHR MAC-CE to the TRP. This is an example of providing power information to the network.

[0092] In an example embodiment, the gNB directly considers the currently configured waveform for each TRP, or determines the effective PHR by using PH as a baseline waveform for all TRPs with an additional indication value (e.g., using an incremental PHR method as an example to add, subtract from, or ignore the baseline PH(i) and use the baseline PH). Furthermore, the gNB determines the PHR for the target waveform by similarly using an additional indication value. This is an example of determining whether to change the waveform for at least one transmission receiving point from the current waveform to the target waveform based on power information.

[0093] For example, the equation for this common field for all TRPs could be delta_PH value = min(delta_PH vector). This delta_PH value also equals the minimum delta_Pcmax when the same configuration (e.g., RB allocation / MCS, etc.) is maintained for the target WF. This minimum increment for all TRPs corresponds to the minimum DWS gain in mTRPs. In this case, the NW can decide to perform DWS for a subset of TRPs or for all TRPs to at least obtain this minimum gain. The NW has a legacy PHR for each TRP using the current WF or path loss, so it knows which TRP(s) have poor coverage issues.

[0094] The UE can consider the worst-case scenario with different waveforms in mTRP and adjust the shared value according to its hardware / PA capabilities and the scheduled PUSCH in mTRP.

[0095] An enhanced PHR can be defined with twice the size of a single / multi-entry PHR for M-TRP MAC-CE, dedicating two PH fields to each TRP or two Pcmax fields, where the first PH or Pcmax corresponds to the current waveform (e.g., CP-OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM), and the remainder corresponds to the target waveform (e.g., another CP-OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM). As an example, if a Coverage Enhanced (CE) UE is simultaneously connected to four TRPs, the PHR would consume eight PH fields to account for the waveforms of two potential configurations (e.g., CP-OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM). However, such a solution may increase the overhead of the MAC subheader and can be used when this overhead is acceptable.

[0096] In this example embodiment, a single joint / shared PHR for the target waveform can be provided for all TRPs. In addition to the traditional single / multi-entry PHR for the current waveform for the mTRP in 5G NR, this joint PHR for the target waveform can be transmitted (i.e., an additional PHR for the target waveform jointly covers all TRPs to assist the gNB in ​​determining the DWS).

[0097] For example, the common PHR for all TRPs can be calculated as follows: "Pcmax" is the PUSCH power for a TRP, where "Pcmax" for the target waveform can be a measured / calculated / known value transmitted by the UE based on its hardware PA architecture and scheduled PUSCH transmission (e.g., as the minimum / maximum / (weighted) average of a single Pcmax for each TRP, or other ways considering mixed signals with mTRPs sharing / different PAs, etc.), and the PUSCH power for the TRP will be aligned with the calculation of "Pcmax", for example, it is the PUSCH power corresponding to the TRP with the minimum / maximum Pcmax or the average of their powers.

[0098] Alternatively, a joint delta_PH for more than one TRP is introduced into the traditional PHR. This reduces the number of PH sets while providing a target waveform PH indication for each TRP. The essence of this method is to support DWS in M-TRP scenarios, and the determination of the relevant PHR for the current waveform at each TRP will be emphasized in the next section.

[0099] The joint increment _PH can be determined as follows: Delta_PH = |PH target - PH current WF| The joint delta_Pcmax can be determined as follows: Combined - Incremental = |P'cmax for the target WF - P'cmax for the current WF| The P'cmax for the current waveform of the target can be the (weighted) average / maximum / minimum of a single Pcmax for all TRPs.

[0100] Since the sign can be derived (Pcmax for DFTsO > Pcmax for CP-OFDM), it can have / not have an absolute value.

[0101] or Joint-Increment = Function (Pcmax vector for target waveform for all TRPs, Pcmax vector for current waveform for all TRPs, relative power tolerance). The relative power tolerance can be considered for the mTRP, PA architecture, and capacity of the scheduled PUSCH transmission.

[0102] Figure 8 The diagram illustrates a signaling flow between the UE and NW according to an example embodiment, which is used to provide PH for the current and target waveforms in an M-TRP PHR within a MAC-CE having a single / multiple entry PHR. Figure 8 In the example shown, the combined delta_PH is provided to the NW via the UE. Alternatively, delta_Pcmax for the target waveform or the common PH or common Pcmax can be provided.

[0103] In step 1, the NW is configured / indicated, and the UE receives (e.g., via RRC configuration and / or DCI) a PHR configuration including a new field (e.g., "phr-modeOtherWaveform" = true) to indicate a request for explicit or implicit UE indication of the PH for the target waveform.

[0104] In step 2, the UE triggers a PHR. One of the following methods can be used to trigger a PHR: NW schedules the PUSCH and instructs the waveform switching of the scheduled PUSCH.

[0105] The PHR condition is triggered periodically when the path loss changes beyond the configured value, or when the UE changes the applied MPR value beyond the configured value. It can be... The PHR condition is triggered when the power difference between waveforms exceeds the configured value.

[0106] Other triggering events cannot be ruled out.

[0107] In step 3, the UE determines the pH of the current waveform and the common indication value to infer the pH of the target waveform.

[0108] The UE determines and indicates the format of the power information in the MAC sub-header of the UL-SCH.

[0109] If a joint delta_PH or delta_Pcmax exists for all TRPs (e.g., for a shared PA that could be the UE capability signaling in step 0 (optional)), then (e)LCID indicates “joint delta for all TRPs”. Power information may include several bits indicating the location of the joint increment for all M-TRPS (multiple serving cells), the PH of the current waveform for each TRP, and the maximum PC value of the current waveform for each M-TRP.

[0110] Alternatively, if an additional shared PH or shared Pcmax indication value exists for the target waveform, then "additional independent PH (or Pcmax) for the target waveform" is indicated, or "joint increment for all TRPs" is not indicated. Where "phr-modeOtherWaveform" = True. Power information may include several bits indicating the location of the new PH field and / or Pcmax for the target waveform, the PH of the current waveform and the target waveform for each TRP, and the PCmax of the current waveform and the target waveform for each M-TRP.

[0111] In step 4, the UE reports enhanced auxiliary information to all TRPs via one or more PHR entries.

[0112] In step 5, the NW receives the PHR for mTRP with an indication value for the target waveform and determines the DWS. The NW reads the (e)LCID indication to know the format selected by the UE and finds out the necessary information for the DWS.

[0113] (e)LCID refers to "joint increment for all TRPs". NW locates the joint increment field by indicating the bit position. NW can read the joint increment field (delta_PH or delta_Pcmax) and decide whether to switch all TRP waveforms (e.g., CP-OFDM to DFT-S-OFDM), retain the original waveform for all TRPs, or switch some specific TRPs and retain the rest.

[0114] Where (e)LCID refers to “Additional Common PH of the Target Waveform”, the NW locates the new PH field and / or PCmax position of the target waveform. The NW reads the common PH or common PCmax for each M-TRP and decides to switch all TRP waveforms (e.g., CP-OFDM to DFT-S-OFDM), retain the original waveform for all TRPs or switch some specific TRPs and retain the rest.

[0115] For example, for 4-TRP, TRP indices 1 and 4 are switched (TRP_1: CP-OFDM to DFT-S-OFDM, TRP_4: DFT-S-OFDM to CP-OFDM). TRP indices 2 and 3 are retained.

[0116] When we consider shared values, NW can switch for all TRPs (or not switch), or switch only for a subset of TRPs.

[0117] By considering the PHR of the current WF (traditional) as an example, the NW will know which TRP(s) are in poor coverage. Then, typically based on power information for the target waveform, a picture of the minimum / maximum / average PH can be given using the target WF, and the NW considers deciding on the DWS for a subset or all TRPs to use at least that minimum PH (the possible gain may not be accurate for all TRPs, but it can be sufficient to minimize overhead while deciding in the DWS).

[0118] For example, using the shared PH = min (the Pcmax vector for all TRP-PUSCH power vectors), if the minimum PH for the target is greater than the minimum PH for the current WF in the traditional PHR, then NW can perform DWS for a subset or all of the TRPs to at least obtain the difference between these two minimum PHs. (Functions other than min can be used).

[0119] In step 6, NW schedules the PUSCH and jointly indicates waveform switching for the scheduled PUSCH corresponding to TRP(i) or for all TRPs.

[0120] A method to enhance PHR is proposed, which supports WF with different configurations of PHR MAC-CE for mTRP. In some example embodiments, less PHR overhead is considered for all TRPs using common joint increment PH, joint increment_Pcmax, common PH, or common Pcmax. Common joint increment could be, for example, if we have 4 TRPs and we need to indicate that the DWS is configured for 4 TRPs with 2 possible waveforms, then 4 TRPs would require 8 PH fields. Compared to the transmission of 8 PHs with mTRPPHR, 4 main PHs can be preserved and PH information on another waveform can be provided in the joint delta_PH (the fifth PH field). In this way, each TRP can consider one of the 4 PHs, and the additional increment instead of 8 PH-related information to determine the PHR.

[0121] A method for supporting different RFs with different TRPs with minimal overhead has been proposed.

[0122] The determination at TRP or NW will be based on the configured WF increment or using the configured waveform.

[0123] This method can benefit from implicit indications of a shared / shared PA architecture for TRP in such a way that if the increment is close to zero or lower than the expected difference between (one or more) WFs due to the mixed signal, the NW recognizes that there will be no gain from the DWS with mTRP.

[0124] The determination of PHR can be related to the WF configured at TRP (by subtracting or adding incremental values).

[0125] The determination of a valid PHR can be made based on the configured waveform (main ± incremental or main 1).

[0126] An apparatus may include: a component for receiving a request from a network at the apparatus for providing power information for a target waveform, the apparatus being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points; a component for determining the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared across the plurality of transmission receiving points; and a component for providing the power information to the network.

[0127] The device may include user equipment such as a mobile phone, which may be a user device or included in a user device or a chipset for performing at least some actions of the user device / user device.

[0128] An apparatus may include: a component for providing a request to a user equipment via the apparatus for providing power information for a target waveform, the apparatus being associated with a plurality of transmission receiving points; a component for receiving the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared across the plurality of transmission receiving points; and a component for determining, based on the power information, a waveform to be changed from a current waveform to the target waveform by the user equipment at at least one of the plurality of transmission receiving points.

[0129] The device may include, is a network node, or is included in a network node or chipset for performing at least some actions of the network node. The network node may implement TRP.

[0130] It should be understood that the device may include or be coupled to other units or modules, such as radio components or radio heads, for use in transmitting and / or receiving. Although the device has been described as a single entity, different modules and memories may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

[0131] Note that while some embodiments have been described with respect to 6G networks, similar principles can be applied to other networks and communication systems such as 5G networks or 5G-Advanced networks. Therefore, although some embodiments are described above with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies, and standards in an illustrative manner, these embodiments can be applied to any other suitable form of communication system besides the communication systems illustrated and described herein.

[0132] It should also be noted that although exemplary embodiments have been described above, several changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed solutions without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0133] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where a list of two or more elements is combined with “and” or “or”, means at least one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0134] Generally, various embodiments can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software executable by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it is well understood that such blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein are to be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or any combination thereof.

[0135] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one or more of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as analog implementation only and / or digital circuit implementation) and (b) Combinations of hardware circuitry and software, for example (if applicable): (i) Analog and analog combination / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware (ii) Any part of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor), software, and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions and (c) Hardware circuitry and / or processors such as one or more microprocessors or a portion thereof that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but which may not exist when not required for operation.

[0136] This definition of "circuit" can be applied to all uses of the term in this application (including any claim). As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit" also covers only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of hardware circuitry or a processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term "circuit" also covers, for example and if applicable to elements of a particular claim, baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices or other computing or network devices.

[0137] Embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented using computer software executable by a data processor of a mobile device, such as in a processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or programs, also known as program products, include software routines, applets, and / or macros, and can be stored in any device-readable data storage medium, and they include program instructions to perform a specific task. A computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components configured to perform the embodiments when the program is run. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one piece of software code or a portion thereof.

[0138] Furthermore, it should be noted in this regard that any block in the logical flow shown in the accompanying drawings may represent a program step, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. Software may be stored on physical media such as memory chips, or blocks of memory implemented within a processor, magnetic media such as hard disks or floppy disks, and optical media such as DVDs and their data variants, CDs. Physical media are non-transitory media. The term "non-transitory" as used herein refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile), not on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0139] The memory can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. As a non-limiting example, the data processor can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can include one or more of general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), FPGAs, gate-level circuits, and processors based on multi-core processor architectures.

[0140] The embodiments of this disclosure can be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. Integrated circuit design is a highly automated process. Sophisticated and powerful software tools can be used to transform logic-level designs into semiconductor circuit designs ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

[0141] The scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of this disclosure is set forth in the independent claims. Embodiments and features (if any) described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims should be interpreted as examples that aid in understanding the various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0142] The foregoing description has provided a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure by way of non-limiting examples. However, various modifications and alterations may become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims, given the foregoing description. Nevertheless, all such and similar modifications to the teachings of this disclosure will still fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Indeed, there are other embodiments that include combinations of one or more embodiments with any other embodiments discussed above.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: Components for receiving requests from the network at the device, the requests being for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with multiple transmission and reception points; Components for determining power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared across the plurality of transmission and reception points; and Components used to provide the power information to the network.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power information includes power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the power information includes a value shared by the plurality of transmission receiving points, the value indicating at least one of the following: power margin for the target waveform, maximum transmission power for the target waveform, the difference between the power margin for the target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmission power for the target waveform and the maximum transmission power for the current waveform.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the power information includes an indication of the format of the power information.

5. An apparatus comprising: A component for providing a request from the device to a user equipment, the request being for providing power information for a target waveform, the device being associated with multiple transmission and reception points; A component for receiving power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission receiving points; as well as A component for determining, based on the power information, how to change the waveform of at least one of the plurality of transmission and reception points used by the user equipment from the current waveform to the target waveform.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the power information includes power margin information or maximum transmission power information.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the power information includes a value shared by the plurality of transmission receiving points, the value indicating at least one of the following: power margin for the target waveform, maximum transmission power for the target waveform, the difference between the power margin for the target waveform and the power margin for the current waveform, or the difference between the maximum transmission power for the target waveform and the maximum transmission power for the current waveform.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the power information includes an indication of the format of the power information.

9. A method comprising: The device receives a request from the network to provide power information for a target waveform, and the device is associated with multiple transmit-receive points. Determine the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission and receiving points; as well as The power information is provided to the network.

10. A method comprising: A request is provided to a user equipment to provide power information for a target waveform, and the device is associated with multiple transmit and receive points; Receive power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission and receiving points; as well as Based on the power information, it is determined that the waveform used by the user equipment for at least one of the plurality of transmission and reception points will be changed from the current waveform to the target waveform.

11. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: The device receives a request from the network to provide power information for a target waveform, and the device is associated with multiple transmission and reception points. Determine the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission and receiving points; as well as The power information is provided to the network.

12. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: The device provides a request to the user equipment to provide power information for a target waveform, and the device is associated with multiple transmission and reception points; Receive power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission and receiving points; as well as Based on the power information, it is determined that the waveform used by the user equipment for at least one of the plurality of transmission and reception points will be changed from the current waveform to the target waveform.

13. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: The device receives a request from the network to provide power information for a target waveform, and the device is associated with multiple transmission and reception points. Determine the power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission and receiving points; as well as The power information is provided to the network.

14. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: The device provides a request to the user equipment to provide power information for a target waveform, and the device is associated with multiple transmission and reception points; Receive power information for the target waveform, wherein the power information is shared by the plurality of transmission and receiving points; as well as Based on the power information, it is determined that the waveform used by the user equipment for at least one of the plurality of transmission and reception points will be changed from the current waveform to the target waveform.

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