Antenna reuse for carrier aggregation

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A user equipment (UE) may transmit an indication of a capability of the UE to receive downlink transmissions over a plurality of component carriers using a first number of antennas. The UE may receive the downlink transmission using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and over at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers in accordance with the indication of the capability of the UE.

Description

[0001] Cross-referencing

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 469,430, filed September 18, 2023, entitled “ANTENNARECYCLING FOR CARRIER AGGREGATION”, which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The following content relates to wireless communications, including antenna reuse for carrier aggregation. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, message sending and receiving, broadcasting, and so on. These systems can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth-generation (4G) systems (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems) and fifth-generation (5G) systems (which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems). These systems may employ technologies such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or Discrete Fourier Transform Extended Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include one or more base stations, each supporting wireless communication of communication devices, which may be referred to as User Equipment (UE).

[0005] In some wireless communication systems, wireless devices can use multiple antennas to receive communications. However, such methods can be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses for supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation. For example, a user equipment (UE) may transmit an indication of its capability to receive downlink transmissions via a plurality of component carriers using a first number of antennas. The UE may, based on this indication of its capability, use at least a subset of the first number of antennas and receive the downlink transmissions via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

[0007] A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) is described. The method may include: transmitting an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas through a set of multiple component carriers; and receiving the downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and through at least a subset of the multiple component carriers according to the indication of the UE's capability.

[0008] A UE for wireless communication is described. The UE may include one or more memories storing processor-executable code and one or more processors coupled to the memories. The one or more processors may be able to operate individually or jointly to execute the code so that the UE: transmits an indication of the UE's capability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas through a set of multiple component carriers; and receives the downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and through at least a subset of the multiple component carriers, according to the indication of the UE's capability.

[0009] Another UE for wireless communication is described. The UE may include: components for transmitting an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas via a set of multiple component carriers; and components for using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and receiving the downlink transmissions via at least a subset of the multiple component carriers according to the indication of the UE's capability.

[0010] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: send an indication of a UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas via a set of multiple component carriers; and, based on the indication of this capability to the UE, receive the downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and via at least a subset of the multiple component carriers.

[0011] Some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving control information scheduled for downlink transmission through a subset of the plurality of component carriers based on transmitting the instruction; and determining, based on the control information, an assignment of a first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers, wherein the downlink transmission can be received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods on the one or more component carriers.

[0012] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the control information specifies one or more durations for switching antennas after at least one downlink transmission in the downlink transmission, and the one or more durations can be defined as the time period for processing the downlink transmission.

[0013] Some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving control information based on transmitting the instruction to receive a set of multiple time slot formats indicating a set of multiple time slots associated with one or more of the multiple component carriers; and determining, based on the set of multiple time slot formats, the assignment of a first number of antennas across the set of multiple time slots for the one or more component carriers, wherein the downlink transmission can be received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods among the one or more component carriers.

[0014] Some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving control information based on sending the instruction to instruct the UE to receive one or more maximum numbers of antennas for receiving downlink transmissions via corresponding component carriers among the plurality of component carriers; and determining, based on the one or more maximum numbers, an assignment allocation of the first number of antennas across the corresponding component carriers, wherein the downlink transmissions can be received according to the assignment allocation of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment allocation includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods among the one or more component carriers.

[0015] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, this capability of the UE further indicates that the UE can be used to receive a second number of downlink transmissions via a single component carrier of the plurality of component carriers, and receiving the downlink transmissions includes receiving such downlink transmissions according to the two number of antennas.

[0016] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second number of antennas may be based on the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier.

[0017] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier may be the downlink component carrier bandwidth, a portion of the active downlink bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel.

[0018] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first number of antennas may be based on the bandwidth associated with the plurality of component carriers.

[0019] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the bandwidth associated with the plurality of component carriers may be the downlink component carrier bandwidth, a portion of the active downlink bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel.

[0020] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, this capability of the UE further indicates one or more assignments of the first number of antennas across the plurality of component carriers.

[0021] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, this capability of the UE further indicates that the first number of antennas may be permitted to receive only a subset of the downlink transmissions on a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

[0022] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, this capability of the UE further indicates that any antenna in the first number of antennas may be permitted to receive the downlink transmission on any component carrier of the plurality of component carriers.

[0023] Some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a first number of antennas across at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the requested assignment of the first number of antennas.

[0024] Some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving control information scheduled for transmission in the downlink transmission via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, based on the UE's capability.

[0025] Some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending an indication of a request slot format mode for communication, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request slot format mode.

[0026] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the UE's capability includes the ability to receive the downlink transmission through a number of communication layers that may be different from the first number of antennas.

[0027] In some examples of the methods, user equipment (UE), and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the capability of the UE may be enabled based on the following: the downlink transmission is scheduled in one or more frequency bands supporting the capability of the UE, a combination of one or more frequency bands supporting the capability of the UE, one or more frequency ranges supporting the capability of the UE, or any combination thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 Examples of wireless communication systems supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation are shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0029] Figure 2 Examples of carrier aggregation scenarios supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation are shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0030] Figure 3 Examples of wireless communication systems supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation are shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0031] Figure 4 Examples of assignment schemes supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation are shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0032] Figure 5 An example of a process flow supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation is shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0033] Figure 6 and Figure 7 A block diagram of an apparatus supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, based on one or more examples disclosed herein, is shown.

[0034] Figure 8 A block diagram is shown of a communication manager that supports antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0035] Figure 9 A diagram is shown of a system including a device that supports antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, according to one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0036] Figures 10 to 13A flowchart illustrating a method for antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, based on one or more examples disclosed herein, is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0037] In wireless communication, a User Equipment (UE) can communicate via multiple component carriers (CCs) in a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario. To facilitate such communication, the UE can report a number of antennas (e.g., receive antennas) that it can communicate on a per CC basis. However, in some methods, this number is fixed and cannot be modified. Therefore, this may result in some antennas being unusable. For example, in some methods, the UE can report a number of receive antennas (e.g., four) for each of a first CC and a second CC. In a time slot where one serving cell is communicating in the downlink direction and another serving cell is communicating in the uplink direction, the UE can only utilize four of its receive antennas, while the other four antennas will be unused, resulting in inefficient resource utilization and reduced communication quality and reliability.

[0038] Techniques for antenna reuse and associated reporting can be employed. For example, the UE can flexibly assign receive antennas across multiple CCs. The number of receive antennas may correspond to the number of MIMO layers the UE can communicate through. Additionally or alternatively, the number of receive antennas may differ from the number of MIMO layers (e.g., the number of receive antennas may be greater than or equal to the number of MIMO layers). In some examples, the number of receive antennas and the number of MIMO layers can be adjusted or selected independently of each other (e.g., while maintaining the number of receive antennas greater than or equal to the number of MIMO layers). The UE can report a number (e.g., a maximum number) of antennas that the UE can use to communicate through multiple CCs, and this number may be a set of antennas for some or all of the multiple CCs (rather than an individual number of antennas for individual CCs). The UE can also flexibly assign antennas across multiple CCs in different ways. For example, the UE may assign such assignments based on a set of possible allocations or a minimum number of antennas to be assigned to individual CCs. In some examples, for the same number of receive antennas to be assigned, the UE may support the same number of MIMO layers, a larger number of MIMO layers, or a reduced number of MIMO layers. In some examples, the number of supported MIMO layers may depend on one or more factors, and the network entity and the UE may communicate to determine or select the number of supported MIMO layers desired for communication between the UE and the network entity. The UE may support semi-static antenna assignment, where the UE determines antenna allocation across CCs based on time slot format or received signaling indicating the number of antennas for different CCs. The UE may support dynamic antenna switching, where the UE determines antenna allocation across CCs based on scheduling information (e.g., whether to schedule transmission on a CC). In this way, the UE can improve antenna utilization in various scenarios, thereby improving antenna utilization, communication quality, and communication reliability.

[0039] The various aspects of this disclosure are first described in the context of a wireless communication system. Then, the various aspects of this disclosure are described with reference to time slot format patterns, wireless communication systems, assignment schemes, and process flows. The various aspects of this disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts related to antenna reuse for carrier aggregation.

[0040] Figure 1An example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation is shown, according to one or more examples disclosed herein. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an Advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, a New Radio (NR) network, or a network operating under other systems and radio technologies, including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0041] Network entity 105 may be distributed across a geographical area to form wireless communication system 100, and may include devices employing different forms or having different capabilities. In various examples, network entity 105 may be referred to as a network element, mobility element, radio access network (RAN) node, or network equipment, etc. In some examples, network entity 105 and UE 115 may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., radio frequency (RF) access links). For example, network entity 105 may support coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographical coverage area) within which UE 115 and network entity 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. Coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographical area within which network entity 105 and UE 115 may support the transmission of signals according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs).

[0042] UE 115 can be distributed throughout the coverage area 110 of wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary or mobile, or stationary and mobile at different times. UE 115 can be devices in different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 Some example UE 115s are illustrated herein. The UE 115 described herein can be able to support various types of devices (such as, e.g., ...). Figure 1 It communicates with other UEs (115 or network entity 105) as shown.

[0043] As described herein, nodes of the wireless communication system 100 (which may be referred to as network nodes or wireless nodes) may be network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity described herein), UE 115 (e.g., any UE described herein), network controller, apparatus, device, computing system, one or more components, or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a node may be UE 115. Alternatively, a node may be network entity 105. Furthermore, a first node may be configured to communicate with a second or third node. In one aspect of this example, the first node may be UE 115, the second node may be network entity 105, and the third node may be UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first node may be UE 115, the second node may be network entity 105, and the third node may be network entity 105. In other aspects of this example, the first node, the second node, and the third node may be different from these examples. Similarly, references to UE 115, network entity 105, device, equipment, computing system, etc., may include disclosures of UE 115, network entity 105, device, equipment, computing system, etc., as nodes. For example, a disclosure that UE 115 is configured to receive information from network entity 105 also discloses that a first node is configured to receive information from a second node.

[0044] In some examples, network entity 105 may communicate with core network 130, communicate with each other, or both. For example, network entity 105 may communicate with core network 130 via one or more backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., according to S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocols). In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130) via backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., according to X2, Xn, or other interface protocols). In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with each other via midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., according to midhaul interface protocol) or fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., according to fronthaul interface protocol) or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication link 120, midhaul communication link 162, or fronthaul communication link 168 may be one or more wired links (e.g., electrical links, fiber optic links), one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links, wireless optical links), etc., or various combinations thereof, or may include one or more wired links (e.g., electrical links, fiber optic links), one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links, wireless optical links), etc., or various combinations thereof. UE 115 may communicate with the core network 130 via communication link 155.

[0045] One or more network entities in network entity 105 described herein may include or be referred to as base station 140 (e.g., transceiver base station, radio base station, NR base station, access point, radio transceiver, node B, eNodeB (eNB), next-generation node B or gigabit node B (any of which may be referred to as gNB), 5G NB, next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), home node B, home evolution node B, or other suitable terms). In some examples, network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, standalone) base station architecture that may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single network entity 105 (e.g., a single RAN node, such as base station 140).

[0046] In some examples, network entity 105 may be implemented in a decomposed architecture (e.g., a decomposed base station architecture, a decomposed RAN architecture) that can be configured to utilize protocol stacks physically or logically distributed across two or more network entities 105, such as an Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) network, an Open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance), or a Virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a Cloud RAN (C-RAN)). For example, network entity 105 may include one or more of the following: a Central Unit (CU) 160, a Distributed Unit (DU) 165, a Radio Unit (RU) 170, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 175 (e.g., a near-real-time RIC, a non-real-time RIC), a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) 180 system, or any combination thereof. 170 may also be referred to as a radio headend, intelligent radio headend, remote radio headend (RRH), remote radio unit (RRU), or transmit / receive point (TRP). One or more components of network entity 105 in a decomposed RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of network entity 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some examples, one or more network entities 105 in a decomposed RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., virtual CU (VCU), virtual DU (VDU), virtual RU (VRU)).

[0047] The functional splitting among CU 160, DU 165, and RU 170 is flexible and can support different functionalities depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, and any combination thereof) are performed at CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170. For example, a protocol stack functional splitting can be used between CU 160 and DU 165, allowing CU 160 to support one or more layers of the protocol stack, and DU 165 to support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some examples, CU 160 can host higher protocol layer (e.g., Layer 3 (L3), Layer 2 (L2)) functionalities and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)). CU 160 can connect to one or more DU 165 or RU 170, and one or more DU 165 or RU 170 can host lower protocol layers, such as Layer 1 (L1) (e.g., Physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and each can be at least partially controlled by CU 160. Additionally or alternatively, a protocol stack functional split can be employed between DU 165 and RU 170, such that DU 165 can support one or more layers of the protocol stack, and RU 170 can support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. DU 165 can support one or more different cells (e.g., via one or more RU 170). In some cases, functional decomposition between CU 160 and DU 165, or between DU 165 and RU 170, can be performed within the protocol layer (e.g., some functions of the protocol layer can be performed by one of CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer can be performed by different of CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170). CU 160 can be further functionally decomposed into CU control plane (CU-CP) functions and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. CU 160 can be connected to one or more DU 165 via midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u), and DU 165 can be connected to one or more RU 170 via fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface). In some examples, the midhaul communication link 162 or the fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented based on the interfaces (e.g., channels) between the layers of the protocol stack, which are supported by the corresponding network entities 105 communicating via such communication links.

[0048] In a wireless communication system (e.g., wireless communication system 100), the infrastructure and spectrum resources for radio access can support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, thereby providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to core network 130). In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more network entities 105 (e.g., IAB node 104) may be partially controlled by each other. One or more IAB nodes 104 may be referred to as donor entities or IAB donors. One or more DU 165s or one or more RU 170s may be partially controlled by one or more CU 160s associated with donor network entity 105 (e.g., donor base station 140). One or more donor network entities 105 (e.g., IAB donors) may communicate with one or more additional network entities 105 (e.g., IAB node 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication link 120). IAB node 104 may include an IAB mobile terminal (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by a DU 165 of a coupled IAB donor. The IAB-MT may include a separate set of antennas for relaying communication with UE 115, or may share the same antennas (e.g., those of RU 170) for access to IAB node 104 via DU 165 of IAB node 104. (e.g., referred to as a virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT)). In some examples, IAB node 104 may include a DU 165 that supports communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB node 104, UE 115) within a relay chain or configuration (e.g., downstream) of the access network. In such cases, one or more components of the decomposed RAN architecture (e.g., one or more IAB nodes 104 or components of IAB node 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.

[0049] For example, the access network (AN) or RAN may include communication between an access node (e.g., an IAB donor), IAB node 104, and one or more UEs 115. The IAB donor may facilitate connectivity between the core network 130 and the AN (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130). That is, an IAB donor may refer to a RAN node having a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130. The IAB donor may include a CU 160 and at least one DU 165 (e.g., and RU 170), wherein the CU 160 may communicate with the core network 130 via an interface (e.g., a backhaul link). The IAB donor and IAB node 104 may communicate via an F1 interface according to a protocol defining the signaling messages (e.g., the F1 AP protocol). Additionally or alternatively, the CU 160 may communicate with the core network via an interface (which may be part of a backhaul link) and may communicate with other CU 160s (e.g., CU 160 associated with an alternative IAB donor) via an Xn-C interface (which may be part of a backhaul link).

[0050] IAB node 104 may refer to a RAN node that provides IAB functionality (e.g., access for UE 115, radio self-backhaul capability, etc.). DU 165 may act as a distributed scheduling node toward child nodes associated with IAB node 104, and IAB-MT may act as a scheduled node toward a parent node associated with IAB node 104. That is, an IAB donor may be referred to as a parent node communicating with one or more child nodes (e.g., an IAB donor may relay UE transmissions through one or more other IAB nodes 104). Additionally or alternatively, depending on the AN's relay chain or configuration, IAB node 104 may also be referred to as a parent node or child node of other IAB nodes 104. Therefore, the IAB-MT entity of IAB node 104 can provide a Uu interface for child IAB node 104 to receive signaling from parent IAB node 104, and the DU interface (e.g., DU 165) can provide a Uu interface for parent IAB node 104 to send signaling notifications to child IAB node 104 or UE 115.

[0051] For example, IAB node 104 may be referred to as a parent node supporting communication to child IAB nodes, or as a child IAB node associated with an IAB donor, or both. An IAB donor may include a CU 160 having a wired or wireless connection to core network 130 (e.g., backhaul communication link 120) and may act as a parent node of IAB node 104. For example, the IAB donor's DU 165 may relay transmissions to UE 115 via IAB node 104, or may signal transmissions directly to UE 115, or both. The IAB donor's CU 160 may signal the establishment of a communication link to IAB node 104 via an F1 interface, and IAB node 104 may schedule transmissions via DU 165 (e.g., transmissions relayed from the IAB donor to UE 115). That is, data may be relayed to and from IAB node 104 via signaling through the NR Uu interface of the MT to IAB node 104. Communication with IAB node 104 can be scheduled by DU 165 of the IAB donor, and communication with IAB node 104 can be scheduled by DU 165 of IAB node 104.

[0052] When the techniques described herein are applied in the context of a decomposed RAN architecture, one or more components of that decomposed RAN architecture can be configured to support antenna reuse for carrier aggregation as described herein. For example, some operations described as being performed by UE 115 or network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140) may additionally or alternatively be performed by one or more components of the decomposed RAN architecture (e.g., IAB node 104, DU 165, CU 160, RU 170, RIC 175, SMO 180).

[0053] UE 115 may include or be referred to as a mobile device, wireless device, remote device, handheld device, or subscriber device, or any other suitable term, wherein "device" may also be referred to as a cell, station, terminal, or client, etc. UE 115 may also include or be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computer, laptop computer, or personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, Internet of Things (IoT) device, Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

[0054] The UE 115 described herein can communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that sometimes act as relays, network entities 105, and network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, etc. Figure 1 As shown.

[0055] UE 115 and network entity 105 can wirelessly communicate with each other via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., access links) using resources associated with one or more carriers. The term "carrier" can refer to a set of RF spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communication link 125. For example, a carrier for communication link 125 may include a portion of the RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth portion (BWP)) operating according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling coordinating carrier operation, user data, or other signaling. Wireless communication system 100 may support communication with UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, UE 115 may be configured to utilize multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation can be used in conjunction with both frequency division duplex (FDD) component carriers and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers. Communication between network entity 105 and other devices can refer to communication between these devices and any part of network entity 105 (e.g., entity, sub-entity). For example, the terms “send,” “receive,” or “communicate” when referring to network entity 105 can refer to any part of the RAN’s network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, CU 160, DU 165, RU 170) communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities 105).

[0056] In some examples, such as in carrier aggregation configurations, a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling to coordinate the operation of other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute RF Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be identified according to a channel grating used for discovery by UE 115. A carrier may operate in standalone mode, in which case initial acquisition and connection can be performed by UE 115 via that carrier, or the carrier may operate in non-standalone mode, in which case different carriers (e.g., the same or different radio access technologies) are used to anchor the connection.

[0057] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include downlink transmission (e.g., forward link transmission) from network entity 105 to UE 115, uplink transmission (e.g., return link transmission) from UE 115 to network entity 105, or both, as well as other transmission configurations. A carrier may carry downlink communication or uplink communication (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communication (e.g., in TDD mode).

[0058] A carrier may be associated with a specific bandwidth of the RF spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the carrier or the “system bandwidth” of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one bandwidth in a set of bandwidths for a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz). Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., network entity 105, UE 115, or both) may have hardware configurations that support communication using a specific carrier bandwidth, or may be configured to support communication using one carrier bandwidth in a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include network entity 105 or UE 115 that supports concurrent communication using carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate using a portion (e.g., subband, BWP) or all of the carrier bandwidth.

[0059] The signal waveform transmitted via a carrier may include multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM, a resource element may refer to a resource of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, in which case the symbol period and subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the decoding rate of the modulation scheme, or both), such that a relatively high number of resource elements (e.g., in the transmission duration) and a relatively high modulation scheme order correspond to a relatively high communication rate. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of RF spectrum resources, temporal resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity used for communication with UE 115.

[0060] It can support one or more sets of parameters for a carrier, and the set of parameters may include subcarrier spacing ( The carrier can be divided into one or more BWPs with the same or different parameter sets. In some examples, UE 115 can be configured using multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP of a carrier can be active at a given time, and the communication of UE 115 can be constrained to one or more active BWPs.

[0061] The time interval for network entity 105 or UE 115 can be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit, such as the sampling period. seconds, of which It can represent the supported subcarrier spacing, and This can represent the supported Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) size. The time interval of the communication resources can be organized according to radio frames, each with a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame can be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0062] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may (e.g., in the time domain) be divided into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix appended to each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, time slots may be further divided into multiple micro-time slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., The duration of a symbol period is associated with a (number) sampling period. The duration of a symbol period can depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0063] A subframe, time slot, micro-time slot, or symbol can be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., in the time domain) and can be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the duration of the TTI (e.g., the number of symbol periods in the TTI) can be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 can be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

[0064] Depending on the technology, carriers can be used to multiplex physical channels for communication. One or more of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques can be used, for example, to multiplex physical control channels and physical data channels for signaling via a downlink carrier. The control region (e.g., control resource set (CORESET)) of the physical control channel can be defined by a set of symbol periods and can extend across the system bandwidth of the carrier or a subset of that bandwidth. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESET) can be configured for a set of UEs 115. For example, one or more UEs in UE 115 can monitor or search for control regions to obtain control information based on one or more search space sets, and each search space set can include one or more control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a concatenated manner. The aggregation level of control channel candidates can refer to the amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information for a control information format having a given payload size. The search space set may include: a common search space set configured to transmit control information to multiple UEs 115, and a UE-specific search space set used to transmit control information to a specific UE 115.

[0065] Network entity 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells (e.g., macro cells, small cells, hotspots, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof). The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used (e.g., using a carrier) to communicate with network entity 105 and may be associated with an identifier used to distinguish adjacent cells (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID), or other identifier). In some examples, a cell may also refer to a coverage area 110 or a portion of coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) in which a logical communication entity operates. Depending on various factors such as the capabilities of network entity 105, the range of such cells may be from smaller areas (e.g., structures, subsets of structures) to larger areas. For example, a cell may be a building, a subset of buildings, or external space between or overlapping coverage areas 110, etc., or may include buildings, subsets of buildings, or external space between or overlapping coverage areas, etc.

[0066] Macro cells typically cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and allow unrestricted access to UE 115 that has a service subscription with a network provider supporting the macro cell. In contrast, small cells may be associated with a lower-power network entity 105 (e.g., a lower-power base station 140) and may operate using the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may provide unrestricted access to UE 115 that has a service subscription with a network provider, or restricted access to UE 115 associated with a small cell (e.g., UE 115 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), or UE 115 associated with a user in a home or office). Network entity 105 may support one or more cells and may also use one or more component carriers to support communication via one or more cells.

[0067] In some examples, a carrier can support multiple cells and can be configured with different cells based on different protocol types that can provide access for different types of devices (e.g., MTC, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)).

[0068] In some examples, network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170) may be mobile, and thus provide communication coverage to mobile coverage areas 110. In some examples, different coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same network entity 105. In some other examples, overlapping coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of network entities 105 use the same or different radio access technologies to provide coverage for various coverage areas 110.

[0069] The wireless communication system 100 can support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, network entities 105 (e.g., base station 140) can have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different network entities 105 can be approximately time-aligned. For asynchronous operation, network entities 105 can have different frame timings, and in some examples, transmissions from different network entities 105 may not be time-aligned. The techniques described herein can be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operation.

[0070] Some UE 115 devices (such as MTC or IoT devices) can be low-cost or low-complexity devices and can provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC can refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with each other or with network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140) without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from devices with integrated sensors or meters to measure or acquire information and relay such information to a central server or application that uses the information or presents it to people interacting with the application. Some UE 115 devices may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include: smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geographic event monitoring, queue management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based commercial charging.

[0071] Some UE 115s can be configured to operate in a power-saving mode, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but does not involve concurrent transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication can be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power-saving techniques for UE 115s include entering a power-saving deep sleep mode when not engaged in active communication, operating with limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UE 115s can be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a carrier's guard band, or outside a carrier.

[0072] Wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication, or various combinations thereof. For example, wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). UE 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable or low-latency or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communication may include private or group communication and may be supported by one or more services, such as push-to-talk, video, or data. Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general business applications. The terms “ultra-reliable,” “low-latency,” and “ultra-reliable low-latency” are used interchangeably herein.

[0073] In some examples, UE 115 may be configured to support direct communication with other UE 115s via device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., according to peer-to-peer (P2P), D2D, or sidelink protocols). In some examples, one or more UE 115s performing D2D communication in a group may be within the coverage area 110 of network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170), which may support aspects of such D2D communication configured (e.g., scheduled by network entity 105). In some examples, one or more UE 115s in such a group may be outside the coverage area 110 of network entity 105, or may otherwise be unable or not configured to receive transmissions from network entity 105. In some examples, the group of UE 115s communicating via D2D communication may support a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE 115 transmits to each of the other UE 115s in the group. In some examples, network entity 105 may facilitate the scheduling of resources used for D2D communication. In other examples, D2D communication may be performed between UEs 115 without involving network entity 105.

[0074] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel (such as a sidelink communication channel) between vehicles (e.g., UE 115). In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or some combination of these. Vehicles may signal information related to traffic conditions, signaling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as roadside units), or communicate with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., network entity 105, base station 140, RU 170) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, or both.

[0075] Core network 130 provides user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), access and mobility management function (AMF)) for managing access and mobility, and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or user plane function (UPF)) for routing packets or interconnecting to external networks. The control plane entity manages non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management of UE 115 served by network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140) associated with core network 130. User IP packets can be delivered through the user plane entity, which provides IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity may connect to one or more network operator IP services 150. IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0076] Wireless communication system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. Generally, the area from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band or decimeter band because the wavelength range is approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features (which may be referred to as clusters), but these waves are sufficient to penetrate structures so that macrocells can provide service to UE 115 located indoors. Compared to communication using smaller frequencies and longer wavelengths in the lower frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz, communication using UHF waves can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 km).

[0077] The wireless communication system 100 can also operate in the ultra-high frequency (SHF) region (also known as the centimeter band) in the range of 3 GHz to 30 GHz or in the extremely high frequency (EHF) region (e.g., 30 GHz to 300 GHz) (also known as the millimeter band) using the spectrum. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 can support millimeter-wave (mmW) communication between the UE 115 and network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170), and the EHF antennas of the corresponding devices can be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, such techniques facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the device. However, compared to SHF or UHF transmission, EHF transmission may experience even greater attenuation and a shorter range. The techniques disclosed herein can be adopted for transmission across one or more different frequency regions, and the frequency band usage specified across these frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory authority.

[0078] Wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, wireless communication system 100 may use unlicensed bands (such as the 5 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band) to employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology. When operating with unlicensed RF spectrum, devices such as network entity 105 and UE 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operation using unlicensed bands may be combined with component carriers operating with licensed bands based on carrier aggregation configurations (e.g., LAA). Operation using unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmission, uplink transmission, P2P transmission, or D2D transmission, etc.

[0079] Network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170) or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that can be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. The antennas of network entity 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which can support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly (such as an antenna tower). In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with network entity 105 may be located at different geographical locations. Network entity 105 may include an antenna array having a collection of multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that network entity 105 can use to support beamforming for communication with UE 115. Similarly, UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that can support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support RF beamforming for signals transmitted via the antenna ports.

[0080] Network entity 105 or UE 115 can use MIMO communication to leverage multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. This technique is known as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals can be transmitted, for example, by a transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Similarly, the multiple signals can be received by a receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals can be referred to as a separate spatial stream and can carry information associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers can be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include: single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device; and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

[0081] Beamforming (also known as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that can be used at a transmitting or receiving device (e.g., network entity 105, UE 115) to shape or guide an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting and receiving devices. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating along a specific orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to the signals transmitted via the antenna elements may include applying amplitude shifts, phase shifts, or both to the signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of these antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a specific orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting or receiving device or relative to some other orientation).

[0082] Network entity 105 or UE 115 may use beam scanning technology as part of beamforming operations. For example, network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170) may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by network entity 105 in different directions. For example, network entity 105 may transmit signals according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different transmission directions. Beam directions may be identified (e.g., by a transmitting device (such as network entity 105) or by a receiving device (such as UE 115)) by transmission along different beam directions for later transmission or reception by network entity 105.

[0083] Some signals (such as data signals associated with a specific receiving device) may be transmitted by a transmitting device (e.g., transmitting network entity 105, transmitting UE 115) along a single beam direction (e.g., the direction associated with a receiving device (such as receiving network entity 105 or receiving UE 115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based on the signals transmitted along one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by network entity 105 in different directions and may report to network entity 105 an indication of signals received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

[0084] In some examples, transmissions performed by a device (e.g., network entity 105 or UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital pre-decoding or beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from network entity 105 to UE 115). UE 115 may report feedback indicating pre-decoding weights for one or more beam directions, and this feedback may correspond to a configured set of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. Network entity 105 may transmit reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) that may or may not be pre-decoded. UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a pre-decoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., multi-panel codebook, linear combination codebook, port selection codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170) along one or more directions, UE 115 may use similar techniques to transmit signals multiple times along different directions (e.g., to identify the beam direction used by UE 115 for subsequent transmission or reception), or to transmit signals along a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

[0085] A receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may perform reception operations according to multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from a transmitting device (e.g., network entity 105). For example, the receiving device may perform reception according to multiple reception directions by: receiving via different antenna subarrays; processing the received signal according to different antenna subarrays; receiving according to different sets of reception beamforming weights (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array; or processing the received signal according to different sets of reception beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array. Any of these operations may be referred to as “listening” according to different reception configurations or reception directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single reception configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when a data signal is received). A single receiver configuration can be aligned along a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receiver configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other acceptable signal quality that meets one or more thresholds based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0086] The wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communication at the bearer or PDCP layer can be IP-based. The RLC layer performs packet segmentation and reassembly for transmission via logical channels. The MAC layer performs priority processing and multiplexing of logical channels to transport channels. The MAC layer can also implement error detection, error correction, or both to support retransmission and improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the RRC layer can provide the establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections between the UE 115 and network entity 105 or core network 130 supporting user plane data radio bearers. The PHY layer maps transport channels to physical channels.

[0087] UE 115 and network entity 105 can support data retransmission to increase the likelihood of successful data reception. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback is a technique used to increase the likelihood of correctly receiving data via communication links (e.g., communication link 125, D2D communication link 135). HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve throughput at the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some examples, the device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, in which case the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific time slot for data received via a previous symbol in that time slot. In some other examples, the device may provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to a different time interval.

[0088] In some examples, UE 115 may employ antenna reuse or flexible assignment for wireless communication and may allocate antenna assignments across multiple CCs in a semi-static or dynamic manner. For example, UE 115 may (e.g., to network entity 105) report that UE 115 supports such flexible assignment or reuse of antennas across multiple CCs (e.g., indicating a number of antennas available for UE 115 to receive downlink transmissions across multiple CCs). UE 115 may determine such flexible antenna assignments for each CC and may use the determined antenna assignments to receive downlink transmissions through each CC, thereby improving wireless communication throughput, reliability, and communication quality.

[0089] Figure 2 Examples of various carrier aggregation scenarios supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation are shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0090] In wireless communication, a UE may receive communication via one or more antennas. Such communication may involve the use of one or more layers (e.g., a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layer). In some examples, a layer may correspond to an antenna, or an antenna may correspond to a layer. Thus, in some cases, a reference to one or more layers may also be interpreted as a reference to one or more corresponding antennas.

[0091] However, in other examples, the number of layers may not directly correspond to the number of antennas (e.g., the number of layers and the number of antennas may differ). For example, the number of receive antennas and the number of MIMO layers may be adjusted or selected independently of each other (e.g., while maintaining the number of receive antennas greater than or equal to the number of MIMO layers). In some examples, for the same number of receive antennas to be assigned, the UE may support the same number of MIMO layers, a larger number of MIMO layers, or a reduced number of MIMO layers (e.g., relative to a previous number of MIMO layers). In some examples, the number of supported MIMO layers may depend on one or more factors, and the network entity and the UE may communicate to determine or select the number of MIMO layers that are expected to be supported for communication between the UE and the network entity.

[0092] In wireless communication, a UE can report a number (e.g., a maximum number or other number) of antennas available for receiving and transmitting on each CC based on a given frequency band in a frequency band combination (e.g., based on a per-carrier feature set (FSPC)). In other words, in a given scenario, the UE can indicate how many different antennas or layers it can use for communication on one or more CCs. However, in some approaches, this number of antennas per CC is fixed and cannot be modified. For example, consider a UE with eight receive (RX) antennas configured across two different TDD frequency bands in two CCs, and the UE has reported a number of four antennas for each of the two CCs. In a time slot where both serving cells are in the downlink direction (e.g., regardless of the available bandwidth in each CC), the UE can operate using four layers in each CC. Based on the reported numbers, in a time slot where one serving cell is in the downlink direction and another is in the uplink direction, assuming uplink communication does not substantially affect downlink antenna usage, a UE may only utilize its four antennas on the downlink CC, and the other four cannot be used for downlink, even though in this case the UE could freely use all eight antennas in the downlink CC. In some cases, a fixed combination of time-division duplex (TDD) time slots may result in suboptimal throughput. For example, throughput is limited when downlink and uplink time slots are assigned to the same time slot across CCs (e.g., when a downlink time slot appears in the first CC, it also appears in the second CC, and vice versa for the uplink time slot). Therefore, improvements in downlink communication are desirable, including flexible antenna assignment / reuse between different carriers, associated reporting of antenna assignment capabilities across multiple CCs, or any combination thereof. By reusing the additional four unused antennas, a UE can support a larger number of layers, or its performance can be enhanced by utilizing a larger number of antennas to receive the same number of layers.

[0093] Carrier aggregation scenario 201 describes a UE using two RF chains, capable of full-duplex operation involving CC1 and CC2, and using mode 220-a across CC1 and CC2. This mode may include downlink (D) slots, uplink (U) slots, sidelink (S) slots, one or more other slots, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the slot modes may be complementary. For example, the first CC may include the slot mode, and the second CC may include a shifted version of the same mode, such that in some or all slots, when the first CC is in the U direction, the second CC may be in the D direction (as an example). Other permutations or combinations are possible and are considered in this disclosure.

[0094] In the first scenario, the UE can report the number of antennas to be used on each CC (e.g., via FSPC signaling). Flexible antenna assignment may not be supported in this scenario. However, in the second scenario, flexible antenna assignment (e.g., antenna reuse) can be employed, and throughput can be improved.

[0095] In some examples, throughput in the second scenario can increase compared to the first scenario, which can be related to the number of antennas used, the number of layers used, or both, and one or more associated bandwidths. For example, in the first scenario (e.g., where the number of antennas used per CC is 4 and the UE reports such a number per CC), throughput could be 5.4 Gbps, while in the second scenario, throughput could be 6.92 Gbps, an increase of 28% due to flexible antenna assignment. In some cases, the bandwidth envelope may not scale linearly with the number of antennas used, the number of layers used, or both. For example, when the number of antennas used increases from two to four, the envelope bandwidth that the UE can support with a given number of layers may decrease by more than half.

[0096] Carrier aggregation scenario 202 depicts a comparison between scenario 225-a and scenario 230-a, demonstrating that throughput can be improved by using time slot offsets and flexible antenna assignment. The throughput for different scenarios can be calculated by determining a number of time slots using a number of CCs and a number of antennas. For a given combination of CCs and antennas, a peak throughput can be established. For example, in a scenario including two CCs, using four antennas, and ten out of ten time slots being downlink time slots, the peak throughput (assuming a peak bandwidth envelope) could be a first value (e.g., 4 Gbps). For a single CC and six antennas (assuming a peak bandwidth envelope), the peak throughput could be a second value (e.g., 3 Gbps). For 0.7 CCs and eight antennas (assuming a peak bandwidth envelope), the peak throughput could be a third value (e.g., 2.8 Gbps).

[0097] In case 225-a, there is no slot offset. For example, mode 220-b is the same for each CC. The throughput of 2.4Gbps can be calculated based on six out of ten slots using downlink slots of both CC1 and CC2 (thus having a peak throughput of 4Gbps). This can be calculated from the equation Tput_case1 = 6 / 10. Tput_4ant is used to represent this, where Tput_4ant = 4Gbps.

[0098] However, in the second case 230-a, an offset is used, and the slot format mode 220-b can differ for different CCs (e.g., the mode can be shifted for one CC). For the second case 230-a, the throughput of 3.2Gbps can be calculated based on two out of ten slots being downlink slots using both CC1 and CC2 (thus having a peak throughput of 4Gbps, minus the number of such slots relative to the total number of slots used for peak throughput calculation) and four out of five slots (since using a single CC) being downlink slots using either CC1 or CC2 (thus having a peak throughput of 3Gbps, minus the number of such slots relative to the total number of slots used for peak throughput calculation). This can be represented by the equation Tput_case2 = 2 / 10Tput_4ant + 8 / 10 Tput_6ant, where Tput_4ant = 4Gbps and Tput_6ant = 3Gbps, thus giving Tput_case2 = 3.2Gbps. Therefore, throughput can be increased by including time slot offsets (e.g., offsets for mode 220-b), flexible antenna assignments, or both.

[0099] Carrier aggregation scenario 203 depicts a comparison between scenario 225-b and scenario 230-b, demonstrating that throughput can be improved by using supplementary downlink (SDL) modes (e.g., where DU time slots can operate in different modes than DD time slots, thus allowing for different maximum numbers of available antennas) and flexible antenna assignment, even if mode 220-c (e.g., across scenario 225-b and scenario 230-b) is the same. Similar to carrier aggregation scenario 202, the throughput for different scenarios can be calculated by determining a number of time slots using a number of CCs and a number of antennas. For a given combination of CCs and antennas, a peak throughput can be established. For example, in a scenario including two CCs, using four antennas, and ten out of ten time slots being downlink time slots, the peak throughput (assuming a peak bandwidth envelope) could be a first value (e.g., 4 Gbps). For a single CC and six antennas (assuming a peak bandwidth envelope), the peak throughput could be a second value (e.g., 3 Gbps). For 0.7 CCs and 8 antennas (assuming peak bandwidth envelope), peak throughput can be a third value (e.g., 2.8 Gbps).

[0100] In some examples, for a given time slot following a time slot using only four antennas, the UE may not be able to use six or eight antennas. For example, in Case 225-b, there is no time slot offset or SDL mode. The throughput of 3.2Gbps can be calculated based on eight out of ten time slots being downlink time slots (therefore having a peak throughput of 4Gbps, minus the number of such time slots relative to the total number of time slots used for peak throughput). This can be derived from the equation Tput_case1 = 8 / 10. Tput_4ant is used to represent this, where Tput_4ant = 4Gbps. In some examples where static capability reporting is used (e.g., antennas are not flexibly reused or reassigned) and the UE cannot use six or eight antennas for a given time slot after using only four antennas, throughput may be limited for D+U time slots (e.g., time slots 3 and 4) in case 225-a.

[0101] However, in Case 230-b, the SDL mode can be used. For Case 230-b, the throughput of 3.6Gbps can be calculated based on six out of ten time slots being downlink time slots using both CC1 and CC2 (thus having a peak throughput of 4Gbps, minus the number of such time slots relative to the total number of time slots used for peak throughput calculation) and two out of five possible time slots (since using a single CC) being downlink time slots using either CC1 or CC2 (thus having a peak throughput of 3Gbps, also minus the number of such time slots relative to the total number of time slots used for peak throughput calculation). This can be expressed by the equation Tput_case2 = 6 / 10 Tput_4ant + 2 / 5 Tput_6ant, where Tput_4ant = 4Gbps and Tput_6ant = 3Gbps, thus giving Tput_case2 = 3.6Gbps. Therefore, throughput can be increased by including the use of SDL mode, flexible antenna assignment, or both.

[0102] Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication system 300 supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, according to one or more examples disclosed herein, is shown. The wireless communication system 300 may include network entity 105-a, which may be related to... Figure 1 Examples of one or more network entities 105 discussed. Wireless communication system 300 may include UE 115-a, which may be related to... Figure 1 An example of UE 115 under discussion. In some examples, UE 115-a may be located in a geographic coverage area 110-a that may be associated with network entity 105-a. Network entity 105-a and UE 115-a may communicate via one or more downlink communication links 305-a and one or more uplink communication links 305-b.

[0103] As described herein, flexibly allocating antennas 345 across different CCs can improve downlink transmit 325 or multiple downlink transmit 325 throughput. Therefore, the UE can flexibly allocate antenna assignments 345 across different CCs (such as CC1 and CC2), which may correspond to the number of MIMO layers or may be different from (e.g., greater than) the number of MIMO layers. Such operation can be supported as a UE capability. For example, 115-a can report (e.g., via UE capability indication 330, which may include one or more information elements or be associated with one or more information elements, such as...) UECapabilityInformationThe UE 115-a may report the total number 350 (e.g., the maximum number) of antennas 345 supported for a given frequency band combination, the number of MIMO layers, or both. For example, and similar to other examples described herein, the UE 115-a may report the number of antennas 345 as eight (e.g., for T+T carrier aggregation (CA), such as inter-band carrier aggregation in the B1-B2 frequency band combination). In some examples, the UE 115-a may report additional information about the UE's capabilities, including one or more frequency band combinations (e.g., via one or more information elements, such as...). supportedBandCombinationList (or other elements), one or more frequency band parameters (e.g., via one or more information elements, such as) BandParameters (or other elements), or combinations of one or more feature sets (e.g., via one or more information elements, such as featureSetCombinations (or other elements), one or more feature sets (e.g., via one or more information elements, such as featureSets (or other elements). In some examples, UE 115-a may send one or more indications of features supported by the UE via one or more information elements, such as FeatureSetDownlinkPerCC , FeatureSetUplinkPerCC This may include one or more other information elements that may indicate the characteristics of multiple CCs (e.g., the number of antennas that the UE may be able to use, as described herein). Such information may be included in the UE capability indication 330 or transmitted in association with the UE capability indication or may be transmitted separately.

[0104] In some examples, the ability of a UE to assign antenna 345 across multiple CCs (e.g., CC1 and CC2) may depend on whether one or more frequency bands, one or more combinations of frequency bands, one or more frequency ranges, or any combination thereof support this capability for the UE. For example, UE 115-a may be permitted to enable the ability to assign antenna 345 across multiple CCs in some frequency bands, combinations of frequency bands, or frequency ranges, or across some frequency bands, combinations of frequency bands, or frequency ranges, and may not be permitted to enable this capability in some frequency bands, combinations of frequency bands, or frequency ranges, or across some frequency bands, combinations of frequency bands, or frequency ranges. As another example, a UE may be permitted to use this capability within some frequency ranges (such as FR1 or FR2), but may be permitted to use this capability across different frequency ranges. For example, UE 115-a may not be permitted to assign antenna assignments in both FR1 and FR2 (e.g., due to architectural differences between FR1 and FR2). In some examples, one or more rules or operations may be employed to assign antenna 345 across CCs (e.g., CC1 and CC2) in a number of time slots. For example, UE 115-a may (e.g., in UE capability indication 330) report that the number of antennas 345 to be assigned across CC1 and CC2 for downlink communication may be less than or equal to a number X (such as a total number of 350). This number may be adhered to in some or all time slots, regardless of the time slot direction on different CCs. Additionally or alternatively, in addition to the total value, UE 115-a may also set a number or limit on the number of antennas 345 for one or more individual CCs (e.g., by indicating a number of 355 per CC). For example, UE 115-a may indicate a total number of 350 (e.g., eight antennas 345) and a number of 355 per CC (e.g., four antennas 345) as a number or limit per CC in UE capability indication 330.

[0105] In some examples, the total number 350, the number per CC 355, or both may also depend on the set bandwidth 340 (e.g., downlink bandwidth across CCs such as CC1 and CC2), bandwidth 335-a (e.g., a separate bandwidth associated with CC1), bandwidth 335-b (e.g., a separate bandwidth associated with CC2), or any combination thereof. Using the bandwidth per CC (such as bandwidth 335-a or bandwidth 335-b) can be used to explain the superlinear reduction in the envelope bandwidth transmitted depending on the number of antennas 345, the number of MIMO layers, or both.

[0106] In some examples, the bandwidth (e.g., the set bandwidth 340, bandwidth 335-a, bandwidth 335-b, or any combination thereof) can be the bandwidth of the CC, the active downlink bandwidth portion, the bandwidth of the actual (e.g., scheduled) data channel, or any combination thereof. For example, UE 115-a may report that if the scheduled bandwidth is less than, equal to, or less than or equal to the indicated amount, the UE can support up to eight antennas 345 on the CC; while if the bandwidth is greater than, equal to, or greater than or equal to the indicated amount, UE 115-a can support only six antennas 345.

[0107] Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, support for the use of a total quantity of 350, a quantity of 355 per CC, a bandwidth-based determination, or any combination thereof may depend on or be based on one or more frequency bands, one or more frequency band combinations, one or more duplex operations or configurations, one or more frequency ranges, or any combination thereof.

[0108] In some examples, UE 115-a may support semi-static antenna assignment or mapping, dynamic antenna assignment or mapping, or any combination thereof. UE 115-a's support for such schemes can be described as a capability, either individually or in combination. However, in some examples, if UE 115-a supports dynamic handover, it can be assumed that UE 115-a also supports semi-static handover.

[0109] In semi-static antenna handover scenarios, UE 115-a can be configured to support 345 antennas per CC, 355 layers per CC, or both (e.g., while still considering the limitations or numbers mentioned herein, including a total of 350, 355 per CC, one or more layers (which may be the same as or different from the number of antennas), bandwidth-based determination, one or more other operations or elements, or any combination thereof). For example, in the case of D+U time slots across CC1 and CC2, antenna assignment can be 6+0 (e.g., it may involve six layers or fewer), while in U+D time slots, antenna assignment can be 0+8 (e.g., it may involve eight layers or fewer). Further, in D+D or D+S time slots, antenna assignment can be 4+4 (e.g., it may involve eight layers or fewer). In some examples, N symbols or flexible symbols can be configured as assumed to be U or D for antenna assignment purposes. In some examples, the configuration can take different forms across time (e.g., depending on the time slot / symbol orientation on each CC).

[0110] Additionally or alternatively, slow modifications to the allocation of antennas 345 across CCs (e.g., independent of actual scheduling channels) may include control signaling 320 (e.g., MAC-CE or DCI signaling) using non-scheduled data (e.g., MAC-CE or DCI transmissions or messages dedicated to such indications) to indicate the total number 350, the number of antennas 345 per CC 355, or both (optionally expressed per time unit, such as via different time slots / symbols). In some examples, the allocation may be assumed as indicated until modified again (e.g., via subsequent control signaling).

[0111] In some examples, network entity 105-a may (e.g., via control signaling 320 or other signaling) request UE capability information (e.g., by sending a message such as...). UECapabilityEnquiry Information elements such as UE capability indication 330 (which may include information elements such as UE capability indication 330) based on a request received from network entity 105-a. UECapabilityInformation ) to respond.

[0112] In some examples, UE 115-a may employ dynamic antenna 345 switching, where UE 115-a determines the actual channels authorized or configured for transmission across CCs (e.g., CC1 and CC2) on DL and UL, based on the capabilities and quantities described herein. For example, in a D+D slot across two CCs (CC1 and CC2), UE 115-a may employ an 8+0, 4+4, or 0+8 antenna assignment (e.g., involving eight layers or fewer). In some examples, the determination of which antenna assignment mode or configuration to use may depend on whether downlink transmission 325 is scheduled on both CCs or only on one CC. For example, in a D+S slot (assuming S contains only flexible symbols), if no transmission is scheduled on the second carrier or if uplink transmission is scheduled, the UE may employ an 8+0 antenna assignment. Additionally or alternatively, if downlink transmission 325 is scheduled in both, UE 115-a may employ a 4+4 antenna assignment (e.g., involving eight layers or fewer).

[0113] In some examples, handover time may not be used to support dynamic handover. However, for ease of implementation in some cases, handover time may be specified (e.g., in control information such as DCI signaling). Such handover time may be defined as the gap between downlink control channel transmission (e.g., PDCCH transmission) and downlink shared channel transmission (e.g., PDSCH transmission), or it may be defined as additional time (such as for HARQ feedback transmission) for downlink shared channel transmission (e.g., PDCCH transmission) processing (e.g., the gap between downlink shared channel transmission and uplink control channel transmission (e.g., PUCCH transmission)).

[0114] In scheduling scenarios where inconsistencies or handover gaps may not be supported, handover gaps may be treated as error events, or, where permissible, may be permitted to comply with a limit of 355 per CC. For example, in T+T CA scenarios and in D+D slots, if a handover gap is violated (e.g., between PDCCH and PDSCH), a 4+4 antenna assignment may be permitted (e.g., as the maximum per CC or across all CCs), and UE 115-a may not support other antenna assignment allocations (e.g., such as 8+0).

[0115] In some examples (e.g., in addition to reporting UE capabilities, such as UE capability indication 330), UE 115-a may also report one or more preferences associated with an antenna assignment scheme. For example, UE 115-a may report a selected antenna assignment allocation across CC, frequency band, or both as UE assistance information to the network (e.g., in UE preference information 360). In some examples, instead of sending UE assistance information (e.g., a request), UE 115-a may select an antenna assignment scheme or allocation, and network entity 105-a may operate according to that antenna assignment scheme or allocation.

[0116] In some examples, the operations and features described herein can be applied to scenarios where UE 115-a is configured with a larger number of CCs than UE 115-a can use. For example, suppose UE 115-a can support DL CA through two CCs, but is configured with four CCs. Therefore, at a given time, UE 115-a may not schedule downlink communication through more than two CCs, and in such cases, antenna assignment allocation can follow the same operations or principles as described herein for any or all CCs that can be scheduled simultaneously.

[0117] Such as about Figure 2As described, modifying the scheduling via one or more CCs or adopting a time slot format mode complementary to other cells for downlink-only communication can improve communication throughput. In some examples, UE 115-a may (e.g., in UE preference information 360) request one or more such time slot format modes (e.g., downlink-only mode or supplementary time slot format mode), which can improve the throughput of communication with UE 115-a.

[0118] Figure 4 Examples of assignment schemes supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation are shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein.

[0119] Assignment scheme 401 can depict a situation where the assignment of antenna 345 can be fully flexible across CC1 and CC2. For example, any or all of antennas 345 can be assigned to CC1 or CC2, and any combination of assignments of antenna 345 across CC1 and CC2 can be adopted.

[0120] However, assignment scheme 402 may depict situations where the assignment of antenna 345 may be restricted. For example, the assignment may be flexible only from CC1 to CC2, resulting in possible assignments of 8+0 or 4+4 (e.g., which may involve eight layers or fewer). Additionally or alternatively, the assignment of antenna 345 may include groups of antenna 345 that may be restricted to one or more CCs (e.g., a subset of CCs in the total number of available CCs) (e.g., group 420-a, group 420-b, or both). For example, antenna 345 in group 420-a may be freely assigned to CC1 or CC2, but antenna 345 in group 420-b may only be assigned to CC2. In another example, if UE 115-a is configured with three downlink CCs and has eight available antennas, there may be a restriction that two antennas in CC1 may not be reassigned to another CC. In such cases, the remaining six antennas may be shared across the other two CCs (e.g., they may be freely assignable). In some examples, the total number of CCs that the UE 115-a can operate (regardless of whether the allocation of the antenna 345 utilizes some CCs) can be CCs in one or more given frequency bands, one or more combinations of given frequency bands, or any combination thereof.

[0121] Assignment scheme 403 describes other possible antenna assignments or allocations, where some configurations or allocations 425 are allowed and all others are not. In such cases, UE 115-a, network entity 105-a, or both can select from available allocations 425 for communication. For example, allocation 425-a may include eight antennas assigned to CC1 and zero antennas assigned to CC2. Allocation 425-b may include six antennas assigned to CC1 and two antennas assigned to CC2. Allocation 425-c may include four antennas assigned to CC1 and four antennas assigned to CC2. Given these options, UE 115-a, network entity 105-a, or both can choose one of allocations 425-a, 425-b, or 425-c for downlink communication, and other allocations may not be allowed. Although these example assignments have been shown, other assignments are also possible, and any number of antennas can be assigned across any number of CCs (for both assignment scheme 403 and other cases or operations described herein). Furthermore, any or all of the antenna assignments or configurations described herein may be associated with a number of layers (e.g., the maximum number of layers) or with a plurality of layers (e.g., some or all of which may be the maximum number of layers).

[0122] Figure 5 An example of a process flow 500 supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation is shown, based on one or more examples disclosed herein. Process flow 500 may implement various aspects of this disclosure as described herein. Elements described in process flow 500 (e.g., UE 115-b and network entity 105-b) may be examples of similarly named elements described herein.

[0123] In the following description of process flow 500, operations between various entities or elements may be performed in different order or at different times. Some operations may also be excluded from process flow 500, or other operations may be added. Although various entities or elements are shown as performing operations of process flow 500, some aspects of some operations may also be performed by other entities or elements of process flow 500, or by entities or elements not depicted in the process flow, or any combination thereof.

[0124] At 520, UE 115-b may transmit an indication of its ability to receive downlink transmissions via multiple component carriers using a first number of antennas. In some examples, this capability of UE 115-b may further indicate that UE 115-b can use a second number of antennas to receive downlink transmissions via a single component carrier among the multiple component carriers. In some examples, the second number of antennas is based on the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier. In some examples, the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, a portion of the active downlink bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel. In some examples, the second number of antennas is based on the bandwidth associated with the multiple component carriers. In some examples, the bandwidth associated with the multiple component carriers is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, a portion of the active downlink bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel. In some examples, this capability of UE 115-b may further indicate one or more assignments of the first number of antennas across the multiple component carriers. In some examples, this capability of UE 115-b may further indicate that one or more antennas of a first number of antennas are permitted to receive downlink transmissions only on a subset of the plurality of component carriers. In some examples, this capability of UE 115-b may further indicate that any antenna of the first number of antennas is permitted to receive downlink transmissions on any component carrier of the plurality of component carriers. As described herein, UE 115-b may use multiple MIMO layers for communication, and the number of MIMO layers used or configured may differ from the number of antennas associated with antenna assignment allocation.

[0125] At 525, UE 115-b may transmit a request assignment allocation of a first number of antennas across at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, and receiving downlink transmissions may include receiving the downlink transmissions according to the request assignment allocation of the first number of antennas.

[0126] At 530, UE 115-b can send an indication of the requested time slot format mode for communication.

[0127] At 535, UE 115-b may receive control information scheduling downlink transmissions via the subset of the plurality of component carriers based on transmitting this indication. In some examples, the control information specifies one or more durations for switching antennas after at least one downlink transmission in the downlink transmission. In some examples, the one or more durations are defined as time periods used to process downlink transmissions. Additionally or alternatively, UE 115-b may receive control information indicating multiple timeslot formats associated with one or more component carriers of the plurality of component carriers based on transmitting this indication. Such timeslot formats may include specifying uplink timeslots, downlink timeslots, sidelink timeslots, flexible timeslots, or any combination thereof for the one or more component carriers of the plurality of component carriers. Additionally or alternatively, UE 115-b may receive control information instructing UE 115-b to use one or more maximum numbers of antennas to receive downlink transmissions via corresponding component carriers of the plurality of component carriers based on transmitting this indication. Additionally or alternatively, UE115-b may, based on this capability of UE115-b, receive control information scheduled for downlink transmissions through at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

[0128] At 540, UE 115-b may determine, based on the control information, the assignment of a first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers, and receive downlink transmissions according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods within the one or more component carriers. Alternatively or additionally, UE 115-b may determine, based on the multiple time slot formats, the assignment of a first number of antennas across the multiple time slots of the one or more component carriers, and receive downlink transmissions according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods within the one or more component carriers. Alternatively or additionally, UE 115-b may determine, based on the one or more maximum numbers, the assignment of a first number of antennas across the corresponding component carriers, and receive downlink transmissions according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods within the one or more component carriers.

[0129] At 545, UE 115-b may, according to the indication of this capability of UE 115-b, use at least a subset of a first number of antennas and receive downlink transmissions via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers. In some examples, receiving downlink transmissions may include receiving downlink transmissions using a second number of antennas. In some examples, receiving downlink transmissions may include receiving downlink transmissions according to a requested timeslot format mode.

[0130] Figure 6 A block diagram 600 illustrates an apparatus 605 supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation according to one or more examples disclosed herein. Apparatus 605 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. Apparatus 605 may include a receiver 610, a transmitter 615, and a communication manager 620. Apparatus 605, or one or more components of apparatus 605 (e.g., receiver 610, transmitter 615, and communication manager 620), may include at least one processor that may be coupled to at least one memory to individually or jointly support or implement the described techniques. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0131] Receiver 610 may provide components for receiving information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to antenna reuse for carrier aggregation). The information may be delivered to other components of device 605. Receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0132] Transmitter 615 may provide components for transmitting signals generated by other components of device 605. For example, transmitter 615 may transmit information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to antenna reuse for carrier aggregation). In some examples, transmitter 615 may be co-located with receiver 610 in a transceiver module. Transmitter 615 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0133] The communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations thereof, or various components thereof, may be examples of components used to perform various aspects of antenna reuse for carrier aggregation as described herein. For example, the communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations thereof, or components thereof, may be able to perform one or more of the functions described herein.

[0134] In some examples, the communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communication management circuitry). The hardware may include at least one of the following: a processor, digital signal processor (DSP), central processing unit (CPU), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof, configured as or otherwise individually or collectively to support components for performing the functions described herein. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled to said at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., instructions stored in at least one memory are executed individually or collectively by one or more processors).

[0135] Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code executed by at least one processor (e.g., implemented as communication management software or firmware). If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functionality of the communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by any combination of a general-purpose processor, DSP, CPU, ASIC, FPGA, microcontroller, or these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise individually or collectively to support components for performing the functions described in this disclosure).

[0136] In some examples, the communication manager 620 may be configured to use or otherwise cooperate with the receiver 610, transmitter 615, or both to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, acquiring, monitoring, outputting, transmitting). For example, the communication manager 620 may receive information from the receiver 610, transmit information to the transmitter 615, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 610, transmitter 615, or both to acquire information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0137] Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 620 may support wireless communication according to examples disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 620 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for transmitting an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas via a set of multiple component carriers. The communication manager 620 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and via at least a subset of the multiple component carriers based on the indication of such capability to the UE.

[0138] By including or configuring a communication manager 620 according to an example as described herein, device 605 (e.g., at least one processor that controls or otherwise couples to receiver 610, transmitter 615, communication manager 620, or a combination thereof) can support techniques for allocating receive antennas across different CCs and thus help the UE achieve higher data throughput.

[0139] Figure 7 A block diagram 700 illustrates an apparatus 705 supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation according to one or more examples disclosed herein. Apparatus 705 may be an example of aspects of apparatus 605 or UE 115 as described herein. Apparatus 705 may include a receiver 710, a transmitter 715, and a communication manager 720. Apparatus 705, or one or more components of apparatus 705 (e.g., receiver 710, transmitter 715, and communication manager 720), may include at least one processor that may be coupled to at least one memory to support the described techniques. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0140] Receiver 710 may provide components for receiving information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to antenna reuse for carrier aggregation). The information may be transmitted to other components of device 705. Receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0141] Transmitter 715 may provide components for transmitting signals generated by other components of device 705. For example, transmitter 715 may transmit information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to antenna reuse for carrier aggregation). In some examples, transmitter 715 may be co-located with receiver 710 in a transceiver module. Transmitter 715 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0142] Device 705 or its various components may be examples of parts used to perform various aspects of antenna reuse for carrier aggregation as described herein. For example, communication manager 720 may include UE capability component 725, downlink transmit / receive component 730, or any combination thereof. Communication manager 720 may be examples of aspects of communication manager 620 as described herein. In some examples, communication manager 720 or its various components may be configured to use or otherwise cooperate with receiver 710, transmitter 715, or both to perform various operations (e.g., receive, acquire, monitor, output, transmit). For example, communication manager 720 may receive information from receiver 710, transmit information to transmitter 715, or be integrated in combination with receiver 710, transmitter 715, or both to acquire information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0143] The communication manager 720 may support wireless communication according to examples disclosed herein. The UE capability component 725 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for transmitting an indication of the UE's capability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas via a set of multiple component carriers. The downlink transmit / receive component 730 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and via at least a subset of the multiple component carriers, based on the indication of the UE's capability.

[0144] Figure 8 A block diagram 800 is shown of a communication manager 820 supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation according to one or more aspects of this disclosure. The communication manager 820 may be an example of a communication manager 620, a communication manager 720, or aspects thereof as described herein. The communication manager 820 or its various components may be examples of parts for performing various aspects of antenna reuse for carrier aggregation as described herein. For example, the communication manager 820 may include a UE capability component 825, a downlink transmit / receive component 830, a control signaling component 835, an antenna assignment component 840, a timeslot format component 845, a UE request component 850, a handover time component 855, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or its components or sub-components (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories), may communicate directly or indirectly with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0145] Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 820 may support wireless communication according to examples disclosed herein. The UE capability component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for transmitting an indication of the UE's capability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas via a set of multiple component carriers. The downlink transmit / receive component 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and via at least a subset of the multiple component carriers, based on the indication of the UE's capability.

[0146] In some examples, control signaling component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving control information scheduled for downlink transmissions through the subset of the plurality of component carriers based on the transmission of the instruction. In some examples, antenna assignment component 840 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for determining the assignment of the first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers based on the control information, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods on the one or more component carriers.

[0147] In some examples, the control information specifies one or more durations for switching antennas after at least one downlink transmission in a downlink transmission. In some examples, the one or more durations are defined as the time period used to process the downlink transmission.

[0148] In some examples, the slot format component 845 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving control information, based on the transmission of the indication, a set of multiple slot formats indicating a set of multiple slots associated with one or more of the multiple component carriers. In some examples, the antenna assignment component 840 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for determining, based on the set of multiple slot formats, an assignment of the first number of antennas across the set of multiple slots for the one or more component carriers, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods among the one or more component carriers.

[0149] In some examples, control signaling component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving control information instructing the UE to receive one or more maximum numbers of antennas for receiving downlink transmissions via corresponding component carriers among the plurality of component carriers, based on the transmission of the instruction. In some examples, antenna assignment component 840 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for determining the assignment of a first number of antennas across the corresponding component carriers based on the one or more maximum numbers, wherein receiving downlink transmissions is based on the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods among the one or more component carriers.

[0150] In some examples, this capability of the UE further indicates that the UE can be used to receive a second number of downlink transmissions via a single component carrier among the plurality of component carriers. In some examples, receiving downlink transmissions includes receiving downlink transmissions based on the second number of antennas.

[0151] In some examples, the second number of antennas is based on the bandwidth associated with a single component carrier.

[0152] In some examples, the bandwidth associated with a single component carrier is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, the active downlink bandwidth portion bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel.

[0153] In some examples, the first number of antennas is based on the bandwidth associated with the multiple component carriers.

[0154] In some examples, the bandwidth associated with the multiple component carriers is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, the active downlink bandwidth portion bandwidth, or the downlink data channel bandwidth.

[0155] In some examples, this capability of the UE further indicates the assignment of a first number of antennas across one or more component carriers.

[0156] In some examples, this capability of the UE further indicates that one or more antennas of a first number of antennas are permitted to receive downlink transmissions only on a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

[0157] In some examples, this capability of the UE further indicates that any antenna of the first number of antennas is permitted to receive downlink transmissions on any of the multiple component carriers.

[0158] In some examples, the UE request component 850 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a request assignment allocation for transmitting the first number of antennas across at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request assignment allocation of the first number of antennas.

[0159] In some examples, the control signaling component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving control information scheduled for transmission in the downlink transmission via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, based on the UE's capability.

[0160] In some examples, the UE request component 850 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for sending an indication of a request slot format mode for communication, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request slot format mode.

[0161] In some examples, this capability of the UE includes the ability to receive downlink transmissions through a number of communication layers different from the first number of antennas.

[0162] In some examples, the UE’s capability is enabled based on the following: the downlink transmission is scheduled in one or more frequency bands that support the UE’s capability, a combination of one or more frequency bands that support the UE’s capability, one or more frequency ranges that support the UE’s capability, or any combination thereof.

[0163] Figure 9 A diagram of a system 900 including an antenna 905 supporting carrier aggregation, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. The device 905 may be an example of a device 605, device 705, or UE 115 as described herein, or may include components thereof. The device 905 may communicate with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof (e.g., wirelessly). The device 905 may include components for bidirectional voice and data communication, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communication manager 920, an input / output (I / O) controller 910, a transceiver 915, an antenna 925, at least one memory 930, code 935, and at least one processor 940. These components may communicate electronically or be coupled in other ways (e.g., operational ground, communication ground, functional ground, electronic ground, electrical ground) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 945).

[0164] I / O controller 910 manages the input and output signals of device 905. I / O controller 910 can also manage peripheral devices not integrated into device 905. In some cases, I / O controller 910 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 910 may utilize an operating system such as iOS. ® ANDROID ® MS-DOS ® MS-WINDOWS ® OS / 2 ® UNIX ® LINUX ® Or another known operating system. Additionally or alternatively, the I / O controller 910 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, or similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 910 may be implemented as part of one or more processors, such as at least one processor 940. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 905 via the I / O controller 910 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 910.

[0165] In some cases, device 905 may include a single antenna 925. However, in other cases, device 905 may have more than one antenna 925, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. Transceiver 915 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas 925 as described herein, or via a wired or wireless link. For example, transceiver 915 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. Transceiver 915 may also include a modem for: modulating packets; providing the modulated packets to one or more antennas 925 for transmission; and demodulating packets received from one or more antennas 925. Transceiver 915, or transceiver 915 and one or more antennas 925, may be an example of transmitter 615, transmitter 715, receiver 610, receiver 710, or any combination thereof or components thereof as described herein.

[0166] At least one memory 930 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). At least one memory 930 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 935, including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor 940, cause device 905 to perform the various functions described herein. Code 935 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, code 935 may not be directly executable by at least one processor 940, but may enable a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, among other things, at least one memory 930 may also include a basic I / O system (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0167] At least one processor 940 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, at least one processor 940 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into at least one processor 940. At least one processor 940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., at least one memory 930) to cause device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation). For example, device 905 or components of device 905 may include at least one processor 940 and at least one memory 930 coupled to or coupled to at least one processor 940, wherein at least one processor 940 and at least one memory 930 are configured to perform the various functions described herein. In some examples, at least one processor 940 may include multiple processors, and at least one memory 930 may include multiple memories. One or more of a plurality of processors may be coupled to one or more of a plurality of memories, which may be configured individually or collectively to perform the various functions described herein. In some examples, at least one processor 940 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system of machines (such as a series of machines), circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include at least one processor 940) and memory circuitry (which may include at least one memory 930)) or components that receive or obtain input and process the input to produce, generate or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Thus, at least one processor 940 or a processing system including at least one processor 940 may be configured, configurable, or operable to cause device 905 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Furthermore, as described herein, “configured to,” “configurable to,” and “operable to” are used interchangeably and may be associated with the ability to perform one or more of the functions described herein when executing code stored in at least one memory 930 or otherwise.

[0168] Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 920 may support wireless communication according to examples disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 920 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for transmitting an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas via a set of multiple component carriers. The communication manager 920 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to support components for receiving downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and via at least a subset of the multiple component carriers based on the indication of such capability to the UE.

[0169] By including or configuring a communication manager 920 according to the example described herein, device 905 can support techniques for allocating receive antennas across different CCs, thereby helping device 905 achieve higher throughput.

[0170] In some examples, the communication manager 920 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using a transceiver 915, one or more antennas 925, or any combination thereof, or otherwise cooperating with them. Although the communication manager 920 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 920 may be supported or performed by at least one processor 940, at least one memory 930, code 935, or any combination thereof. For example, code 935 may include instructions that can be executed by at least one processor 940 to cause device 905 to perform various aspects of antenna reuse for carrier aggregation as described herein, or at least one processor 940 and at least one memory 930 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations individually or jointly.

[0171] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating a method 1000 for supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, according to an example disclosed herein, is shown. Operation of method 1000 can be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 1000 can be achieved by, as referenced... Figures 1 to 9 The UE 115 described herein is used to perform this function. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described function. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described function.

[0172] At 1005, the method may include: sending an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas through a set of multiple component carriers. The operation of block 1005 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1005 may be provided by reference to [reference needed]. Figure 8 The UE capability component 825 described herein is used to perform this.

[0173] At 1010, the method may include: receiving the downlink transmission using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and through at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, according to the indication of the capability of the UE. The operation of block 1010 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1010 may be as described in references... Figure 8 The downlink transmit / receive component 830 described herein performs this function.

[0174] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating a method 1100 for supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, according to an example disclosed herein, is shown. Operation of method 1100 can be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 1100 can be performed as described in reference... Figures 1 to 9 The UE 115 described herein is used to perform this function. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described function. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described function.

[0175] At 1105, the method may include: sending an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions via a set of multiple component carriers using a first number of antennas. The operation of block 1105 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1105 may be provided by reference to... Figure 8 The UE capability component 825 described herein is used to perform this.

[0176] At 1110, the method may include: receiving control information scheduled for transmission via a subset of the plurality of component carriers based on sending the indication. The operation of block 1110 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1110 may be provided by reference to [reference needed]. Figure 8 The control signaling component 835 described herein is used to execute this.

[0177] At 1115, the method may include: determining, based on the control information, the assignment of the first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods among the one or more component carriers. The operation of block 1115 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1115 may be as described in references... Figure 8 The antenna assignment allocation component 840 described herein performs this task.

[0178] At 1120, the method may include: receiving the downlink transmission using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and through at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, based on the indication of the capability of the UE. The operation of block 1120 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1120 may be as described in references... Figure 8 The downlink transmit / receive component 830 described herein performs this function.

[0179] Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating a method 1200 for supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, according to an example disclosed herein, is shown. Operation of method 1200 can be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 1200 can be performed as described in reference... Figures 1 to 9 The UE 115 described herein is used to perform this function. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described function. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described function.

[0180] At 1205, the method may include: sending an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas through a set of multiple component carriers. The operation of block 1205 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1205 may be provided by reference to... Figure 8 The UE capability component 825 described herein is used to perform this.

[0181] At 1210, the method may include: receiving control information based on transmitting the indication to receive a set of multiple time slot formats indicating a set of multiple time slots associated with one or more of the plurality of component carriers. The operation of block 1210 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1210 may be provided by reference to... Figure 8 The described time slot format component 845 is used to execute this.

[0182] At 1215, the method may include: determining an assignment allocation of the first number of antennas across the set of multiple time slot formats for the set of multiple time slots, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment allocation of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment allocation includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods among the one or more component carriers. The operation of block 1215 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1215 may be as described in references... Figure 8 The antenna assignment allocation component 840 described herein performs this task.

[0183] At 1220, the method may include: receiving the downlink transmission using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and through at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, based on the indication of the capability of the UE. Operation of block 1220 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of operation of 1220 may be as described in references... Figure 8 The downlink transmit / receive component 830 described herein performs this function.

[0184] Figure 13 A flowchart illustrating a method 1300 for supporting antenna reuse for carrier aggregation, according to an example disclosed herein, is shown. Operation of method 1300 can be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 1300 can be achieved by, as referenced... Figures 1 to 9 The UE 115 described herein is used to perform this function. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described function. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described function.

[0185] At 1305, the method may include: transmitting an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions using a first number of antennas through a set of multiple component carriers. Operation of block 1305 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of operation of 1305 may be provided by reference to... Figure 8 The UE capability component 825 described herein is used to perform this.

[0186] At 1310, the method may include: receiving control information based on sending the indication, instructing the UE to receive one or more maximum numbers of antennas transmitted via the downlink through corresponding component carriers of the plurality of component carriers. Operation of block 1310 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of operation of 1310 may be provided by reference to [reference needed]. Figure 8 The control signaling component 835 described herein is used to execute this.

[0187] At 1315, the method may include: determining an assignment of the first number of antennas across the respective component carriers based on the one or more maximum numbers, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods on the one or more component carriers. Operation of block 1315 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of operation of 1315 may be as described in references... Figure 8 The antenna assignment allocation component 840 described herein performs this task.

[0188] At 1320, the method may include: receiving the downlink transmission using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and through at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, based on the indication of the capability of the UE. Operation of block 1320 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of operation of 1320 may be as described in references... Figure 8 The downlink transmit / receive component 830 described herein performs this function.

[0189] The following provides an overview of the various aspects of this disclosure: Aspect 1: A method for performing wireless communication at a UE, the method comprising: transmitting an indication of the UE's capability to receive downlink transmissions via a plurality of component carriers using a first number of antennas; and receiving the downlink transmissions via a first number of antennas and a plurality of component carriers using at least a subset of the first number of antennas in accordance with the indication of the UE's capability.

[0190] Aspect 2: According to the method of aspect 1, the method further includes: receiving control information for scheduling downlink transmissions through a subset of the plurality of component carriers based at least in part on transmitting the instruction; and determining an assignment allocation of a first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers based at least in part on the control information, wherein the downlink transmissions are received according to the assignment allocation of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment allocation includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods among the one or more component carriers.

[0191] Aspect 3: According to the method of aspect 2, wherein the control information specifies one or more durations for switching the antenna after at least one downlink transmission in the downlink transmission; and the one or more durations are defined as a time period for processing the downlink transmission.

[0192] Aspect 4: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, the method further comprising: receiving control information indicating a plurality of time slot formats associated with one or more component carriers of the plurality of component carriers, at least in part based on transmitting the instruction; and determining, at least in part based on the plurality of time slot formats, an assignment allocation of a first number of antennas across the plurality of time slots for the one or more component carriers, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment allocation of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment allocation includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods of the one or more component carriers.

[0193] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, the method further comprising: receiving control information indicating one or more maximum numbers of antennas for the UE to receive downlink transmissions via corresponding component carriers of the plurality of component carriers, at least in part based on transmitting the indication; and determining an assignment allocation of the first number of antennas across the corresponding component carriers, at least in part based on the one or more maximum numbers, wherein receiving the downlink transmissions is based on the assignment allocation of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment allocation includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods of the one or more component carriers.

[0194] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates that the UE is capable of receiving a second number of antennas for downlink transmission via a single component carrier among the plurality of component carriers; and receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the second number of antennas.

[0195] Aspect 7: According to the method of aspect 6, wherein the second number of antennas is at least partially based on the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier.

[0196] Aspect 8: According to the method of aspect 7, the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, the active downlink bandwidth portion bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel.

[0197] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein the first number of antennas is at least partially based on the bandwidth associated with the plurality of component carriers.

[0198] Aspect 10: According to the method of aspect 9, the bandwidth associated with the plurality of component carriers is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, the active downlink bandwidth portion bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel.

[0199] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates one or more assignments of the first number of antennas across the plurality of component carriers.

[0200] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 11, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates one or more antennas of the first number of antennas that are permitted to receive the downlink transmission only on a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

[0201] Aspect 13: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates that any antenna of the first number of antennas is permitted to receive the downlink transmission on any component carrier of the plurality of component carriers.

[0202] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 13, the method further comprising: transmitting a request assignment allocation of the first number of antennas across at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request assignment allocation of the first number of antennas.

[0203] Aspect 15: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 14, the method further comprising: receiving control information for scheduling transmissions in the downlink transmissions via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, based on the capability of the UE.

[0204] Aspect 16: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15, the method further comprising: sending an indication of a request slot format mode for communication, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request slot format mode.

[0205] Aspect 17: The method according to any one of Aspects 3 to 16, wherein the capability of the UE includes the ability to receive the downlink transmission through a number of communication layers different from the first number of antennas.

[0206] Aspect 18: The method according to any one of Aspects 3 to 17, wherein the capability of the UE is enabled at least in part based on the following: the downlink transmission is scheduled in one or more frequency bands supporting the capability of the UE, a combination of one or more frequency bands supporting the capability of the UE, one or more frequency ranges supporting the capability of the UE, or any combination thereof.

[0207] Aspect 19: A UE for wireless communication, the UE comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories and capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code, so that the UE performs a method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 16.

[0208] Aspect 20: A UE for wireless communication, the UE including at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 16.

[0209] Aspect 21: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 1 to 16.

[0210] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible specific implementations, and the operations and steps can be rearranged or otherwise modified, and other specific implementations are also possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more of these methods can be combined.

[0211] While aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for illustrative purposes, and the terms LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR may be used in most of the description, the techniques described herein are also applicable to networks outside of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the techniques described are applicable to a variety of other wireless communication systems, such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0212] The information and signals described herein can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0213] The various exemplary blocks and components described herein can be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, CPU, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic unit, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, a processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). Any function or operation described herein that can be performed by a processor may be performed by multiple processors capable of performing the described functions or operations individually or jointly.

[0214] The functions described herein can be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium or transmitted using one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and specific implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination of these. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including various portions distributed such that the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0215] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, encompassing any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. Non-transitory storage media can be any available medium accessible by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compressed optical disc (CD) ROM or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code components in the form of instructions or data structures, and accessible by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of computer-readable media. As used herein, disks and optical discs include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital multifunction discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks can magnetically reproduce data, and optical discs can optically reproduce data using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. Any function or operation described herein that can be performed by memory can be performed by multiple memories capable of performing the described function or operation individually or jointly.

[0216] As used herein, the word "or" in a list of items (e.g., a list of items accompanied by phrases such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") in the claims indicates an inclusive list, such that a list of at least one of, for example, A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" could be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "at least partially based on".

[0217] As used herein, including in claims, the article “a” preceding a noun is open-ended and is understood to refer to “at least one” or “one or more” of those nouns. Therefore, the terms “a,” “at least one,” “one or more,” and “at least one of one or more” are interchangeable. For example, where a claim enumerates “components” performing one or more functions, each of the individual functions may be performed by a single component or by any combination of multiple components. Thus, the term “component” having a characteristic or performing a function may refer to “at least one of one or more components” having a particular characteristic or performing a particular function. Subsequent references to a component introduced with the article “a” using the terms “the” or “the” can refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, a component introduced with the article “a” can be understood to mean “one or more components,” and subsequent reference to “the component” in a claim can be understood as equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components.” Similarly, subsequent references to a component introduced with the terms “the” or “the” as “one or more components” can refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, reference to "the one or more components" in the subsequent claims can be understood as equivalent to reference to "at least one of the one or more components".

[0218] The term "determine" encompasses a variety of actions, and therefore, "determine" can include calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, lookup (such as by searching in a table, database, or other data structure), identification, and similar actions. Furthermore, "determine" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in memory), etc. Moreover, "determine" can include parsing, obtaining, selecting, choosing, building, and other similar actions.

[0219] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Furthermore, various components of the same type can be distinguished by adding a dash after the reference numeral and a second reference numeral to differentiate them. If only the first reference numeral is used in the description, the description can be applied to any of the similar components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second or other subsequent reference numerals.

[0220] The description herein, illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, describes an example configuration and does not represent all achievable examples or those within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," not "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples." The detailed description includes specific details used to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concept of the described examples.

[0221] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to implement or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: One or more memories, wherein the one or more memories store processor-executable code; and One or more processors, coupled to one or more memories and capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code to enable the UE: Send an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions via multiple component carriers using a first number of antennas; as well as The UE uses at least a subset of the first number of antennas and receives the downlink transmission via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, according to the indication of the UE's capabilities.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code to cause the UE to: At least in part, based on sending the indicated control information, the control information scheduled for downlink transmission via the subset of the plurality of component carriers is received; and The assignment of the first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers is determined at least in part based on the control information, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods of the one or more component carriers.

3. The UE according to claim 2, wherein: The control information specifies one or more durations for switching the antenna after at least one downlink transmission in the downlink transmission; and The one or more durations are defined as time periods used to process the downlink transmissions.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code to cause the UE to: At least in part, based on transmitting the instruction, receiving control information indicating a plurality of time slot formats associated with one or more of the plurality of component carriers; and The assignment of the first number of antennas across one or more component carriers for the multiple time slots is determined at least in part based on the multiple time slot formats, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas.

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code to cause the UE to: At least in part, based on sending the instruction, receiving control information instructing the UE to receive one or more maximum numbers of antennas transmitted via the downlink through corresponding component carriers of the plurality of component carriers; and The assignment of the first number of antennas across the corresponding component carriers is determined at least in part based on the one or more maximum numbers, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas.

6. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: The capability of the UE further indicates that the UE is capable of receiving a second number of antennas transmitted via the downlink through a single component carrier among the plurality of component carriers; and Receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the second number of antennas.

7. The UE of claim 6, wherein the second number of antennas is at least partially based on the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier.

8. The UE of claim 7, wherein the bandwidth associated with the single component carrier is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, the active downlink bandwidth portion bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel.

9. The UE of claim 1, wherein the first number of antennas is at least partially based on the bandwidth associated with the plurality of component carriers.

10. The UE of claim 9, wherein the bandwidth associated with the plurality of component carriers is the downlink component carrier bandwidth, the active downlink bandwidth portion bandwidth, or the bandwidth of the downlink data channel.

11. The UE of claim 1, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates one or more assignments of the first number of antennas across the plurality of component carriers.

12. The UE of claim 1, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates that one or more antennas of the first number of antennas are permitted to receive the downlink transmission only on a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

13. The UE of claim 1, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates that any antenna of the first number of antennas is permitted to receive the downlink transmission on any component carrier of the plurality of component carriers.

14. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code to cause the UE to: Sending a request for assignment of the first number of antennas across at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request for assignment of the first number of antennas.

15. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code to cause the UE to: According to the UE's capability, control information is received to schedule transmissions in the downlink transmissions via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

16. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code to cause the UE to: Sending an indication of a request slot format mode for communication, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request slot format mode.

17. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: The UE's capability includes the ability to receive downlink transmissions through a number of communication layers different from the first number of antennas.

18. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: The UE’s capability is enabled at least in part based on the following: the downlink transmission is scheduled in one or more frequency bands that support the UE’s capability, a combination of one or more frequency bands that support the UE’s capability, one or more frequency ranges that support the UE’s capability, or any combination thereof.

19. A method for conducting wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Send an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions via multiple component carriers using a first number of antennas; as well as The UE uses at least a subset of the first number of antennas and receives the downlink transmission via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, according to the indication of the UE's capabilities.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: Control information scheduled to be transmitted via the downlink through the subset of the plurality of component carriers is received at least in part based on the transmission of the instruction; as well as The assignment of the first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers is determined at least in part based on the control information, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods of the one or more component carriers.

21. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: Control information indicating a multiple time slot format associated with one or more of the multiple component carriers is received, at least in part, based on sending the instruction; as well as The assignment of the first number of antennas across the one or more component carriers is determined at least in part based on the plurality of time slot formats, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods of the one or more component carriers.

22. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: At least in part, based on sending the instruction, receiving control information instructing the UE to receive one or more maximum numbers of antennas transmitted via the downlink through the corresponding component carriers of the plurality of component carriers; as well as The assignment of the first number of antennas across the corresponding component carriers is determined at least in part based on the one or more maximum numbers, wherein the downlink transmission is received according to the assignment of the first number of antennas, wherein the assignment includes assigning different numbers of antennas to different downlink time periods of the one or more component carriers.

23. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The capability of the UE further indicates that the UE is capable of receiving a second number of antennas transmitted via the downlink through a single component carrier among the plurality of component carriers; and Receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the second number of antennas.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the first number of antennas is at least partially based on the bandwidth associated with the plurality of component carriers.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates one or more assignments of the first number of antennas across the plurality of component carriers.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates that one or more antennas of the first number of antennas are permitted to receive downlink transmissions only on a subset of the plurality of component carriers.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the capability of the UE further indicates that any antenna of the first number of antennas is permitted to receive the downlink transmission on any component carrier of the plurality of component carriers.

28. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: Sending a request for assignment of the first number of antennas across at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, wherein receiving the downlink transmission includes receiving the downlink transmission according to the request for assignment of the first number of antennas.

29. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, the user equipment (UE) comprising: A component for transmitting an indication of the UE's ability to receive downlink transmissions via multiple component carriers using a first number of antennas; and A component for receiving downlink transmissions using at least a subset of the first number of antennas and through at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, based on the indication of the capabilities of the UE.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to: Sending an indication of the user equipment's (UE's) ability to receive downlink transmissions via multiple component carriers using a first number of antennas; and The UE uses at least a subset of the first number of antennas and receives the downlink transmission via at least a subset of the plurality of component carriers, according to the indication of the UE's capabilities.

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