Techniques for eight-port sounding reference signal (SRS) operation.

Abstract

Systems, devices, methods, and computer-readable media are provided for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission with eight antenna ports. For example, one SRS resource may be configured with multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. Alternatively, multiple SRS resources may be configured to enable eight-port operation. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to International Patent Application No. PCT / CN2022 / 111346, filed August 10, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 485,611, filed February 17, 2023.

[0002] Technical Field Various embodiments may relate generally to the field of wireless communications, for example, some embodiments may relate to 8-port sounding reference signal (SRS) operations. [Background technology]

[0003] Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) New Radio (NR) Releases 15, 16, and 17 support up to four ports for Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) operation. However, future specifications may support more than four ports, for example, eight ports. Existing technology is not suitable for more than four ports. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0004] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 illustrates a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for sounding reference signal (SRS) resources. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1 illustrates a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for sounding reference signal (SRS) resources. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of 8-port SRS operation with one SRS resource having two symbols, according to various embodiments. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of 8-port SRS operation with one SRS resource having four symbols, where each symbol is mapped to two ports, in accordance with various embodiments. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an example of SRS port mapping in a half-half manner for multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in accordance with various embodiments. [Figure 5] 10A-10C illustrate examples of SRS port mapping in an interlaced manner for multiple OFDM symbols in accordance with various embodiments. [Figure 6] 10A-10C illustrate examples of SRS port mapping in a sequential manner for multiple OFDM symbols according to various embodiments. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of 8-port SRS frequency hopping with one SRS resource having two symbols, according to various embodiments. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 illustrates another example of 8-port SRS frequency hopping with one SRS resource having two symbols, according to various embodiments. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of 8-port SRS operation with two 4-port SRS resources, according to various embodiments. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates a network in accordance with various embodiments. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of a wireless network according to various embodiments. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for implementing various embodiments discussed herein. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 illustrates another exemplary procedure for implementing various embodiments discussed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In some instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For purposes of this document, the phrases "A or B" and "A / B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0006] As mentioned above, in NR Release (Rel)-15, Rel-16, and Rel-17, up to four transmit (Tx) ports are supported for sounding reference signal (SRS) operation. The number of ports for SRS transmission is configured by the radio resource control (RRC) parameter nrofSRS-Ports, as shown in Figures 1A and 1B.

[0007] In future specifications, such as Rel-18, uplink transmission may support up to eight Tx ports. In various embodiments herein, SRS transmission may also support eight-port operation.

[0008] Various embodiments herein provide techniques to support SRS transmission using more than four Tx ports, e.g., eight-port operation. For example, to support eight-port SRS, one SRS resource may be configured using multiple OFDM symbols. Alternatively, multiple SRS resources may be configured to enable eight-port operation.

[0009] It should be noted that the embodiments described herein may be applied to any SRS usage, such as codebook, non-codebook, antenna switching and / or beam management.

[0010] 8-port SRS operation using a single SRS resource and multiple OFDM symbols In one embodiment, for an 8-port SRS, to support 8-port operation, multiple OFDM symbols can be used to configure one SRS resource, e.g., N∈{2, 4, 6, 8...}, where N is the number of OFDM symbols. The OFDM symbols of the SRS can be divided into multiple subsets, e.g., two subsets, both for 4-port operation, with each subset connected to a different UE antenna port / antenna.

[0011] The same set of cycle shifts or different sets of cycle shifts can be used for different subsets of OFDM symbols.

[0012] Additionally, the UE antenna ports / antennas can be divided into multiple antenna port groups / panels, for example, antenna ports #0-#3 are the first antenna port group and antenna ports #4-#7 are the second antenna port group, in which case a first subset of SRS OFDM symbols is for the first antenna port group (ports #0-#3) and a second subset of SRS OFDM symbols is for the second antenna port group (ports #4-#7).

[0013] Figure 2 shows an example of this operation.

[0014] In another example, an 8-port SRS resource can be configured using four OFDM symbols, with each OFDM symbol mapped to two ports. The two ports for different OFDM symbols are connected to different UE antenna ports. Figure 3 shows an example of this operation.

[0015] In another embodiment, for an 8-port SRS with multiple OFDM symbols, repetition of the SRS can be configured.

[0016] In one example, an SRS OFDM symbol (N symbols) can be divided into multiple subsets, e.g., two subsets, where each subset consists of N / 2 consecutive OFDM symbols, e.g., the SRS ports are mapped to the OFDM symbols in a half-half fashion. Figure 4 shows an example of this operation.

[0017] In another example, the OFDM symbols are mapped to different UE antenna ports in an interlaced (or cyclic) manner. Figure 5 shows an example of this operation.

[0018] In another example, the SRS ports are mapped to the OFDM symbols in a sequential manner, e.g., the first four ports (Ports #0-#3) are mapped to the first two symbols, the second four ports (Ports #4-#7) are mapped to the second two symbols, and the same mapping pattern continues for the remaining OFDM symbols. Figure 6 shows an example of this operation, where an 8-port SRS resource is configured using 8 OFDM symbols.

[0019] For multiple OFDM symbols, if the number of SRS ports mapped to one OFDM symbol is less than eight, for example, if four ports or two ports (or even one port) are mapped to one OFDM symbol, the linear value of transmit power determined by SRS power control should be divided evenly among the number of ports mapped to one OFDM symbol, rather than being divided evenly among the ports configured for the SRS resource, for example, eight ports. For example, if four ports are mapped to one OFDM symbol of an eight-port SRS resource, the transmit power should be divided evenly among four ports, rather than being divided evenly among eight ports. In another example, if two ports are mapped to one OFDM symbol of an eight-port SRS resource, the transmit power should be divided evenly among two ports, rather than being divided evenly among eight ports.

[0020] In another embodiment, frequency hopping can be applied for an 8-port SRS using multiple OFDM symbols.

[0021] When the OFDM symbols are divided into subsets of consecutive OFDM symbols, the frequency hopping operation is shown in FIG.

[0022] When OFDM symbols are mapped to different UE antenna ports in an interlaced manner, the frequency hopping operation is shown in FIG.

[0023] In another embodiment, for an 8-port SRS that uses multiple OFDM symbols, the OFDM symbols for the SRS can be in the same time slot or span different slots. If the OFDM symbols for the 8-port SRS span multiple slots, the slots can be contiguous or non-contiguous.

[0024] Eight-port SRS operation using multiple SRS resources In one embodiment, for an 8-port SRS, multiple SRS resources can be configured. For example, two SRS resources are configured, each with four ports. Each SRS resource is connected to a different UE antenna port / antenna port group. Figure 9 shows an example of this operation.

[0025] In one example, the same frequency resources are configured for the two 4-port SRS resources, while in another example, different frequency resources can be configured.

[0026] In one example, the two SRS resources occupy different time resources (e.g., different OFDM symbols). In another example, the two SRS resources occupy the same OFDM symbol with different frequency resources.

[0027] In another embodiment, the same time-domain behavior (non-periodic / periodic / semi-persistent) should be configured for the two 4-port SRS resources. The OFDM symbols of the two 4-port SRS resources can be adjacent or non-adjacent. The two 4-port SRS resources can be in the same time slot or in different time slots.

[0028] The two 4-port SRS resources should be configured with the same repetition factor, the same frequency hopping pattern, and the same partial sounding pattern. In another example, the two 4-port SRS resources can be configured with different repetition factors / different frequency hopping / different partial sounding patterns.

[0029] In another embodiment, for multiple SRS resources, for example, an 8-port SRS with two 4-port SRS resources, one SRI can indicate multiple SRS resources. In the SRI field in the DCI (e.g., 0_1 / 0_2), one codepoint in the SRI field can indicate two 4-port SRS resources. The mapping between the SRI codepoint and the SRS resource can be configured by the RRC / MAC-CE.

[0030] All code points in the SRI field may map to multiple SRS resources, or some code points in the SRI field may map to multiple SRS resources and some code points may map to a single SRS resource.

[0031] In another embodiment, in an 8-port SRS having multiple SRS resources, for example, two 4-port SRS resources, the linear value of the transmit power determined by the SRS power control should be divided equally among the number of ports configured for one SRS resource, for example, four ports.

[0032] Eight-port SRS operation using multiple SRS resource sets In one embodiment, for an eight-port SRS, multiple SRS resource sets, for example, two SRS resource sets, can be configured, where each SRS resource set consists of one four-port SRS resource, and each SRS resource set is for a different UE antenna port / antenna port group.

[0033] The same time behavior (aperiodic, periodic, semi-persistent) should be configured for the two SRS resource sets. The same power control parameters should be configured for the two SRS resource sets. For aperiodic SRS, the same trigger conditions should be configured for the two SRS resource sets.

[0034] The DCI may contain two SRI fields, one for each SRS resource set. Alternatively, one SRI field may be included in the DCI, and one codepoint in the SRI field may be mapped to SRS resources from two SRS resource sets. The mapping between SRI codepoints and SRS resources may be configured by the RRC / MAC-CE.

[0035] In another embodiment, in an 8-port SRS using multiple SRS resource sets, for example, two SRS resource sets, and each SRS resource set consists of one SRS resource for four ports, the linear value of the transmit power determined by the SRS power control should be divided evenly among the number of ports configured for one SRS resource, for example, four ports.

[0036] System and Implementation 10-12 illustrate various systems, devices and components in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0037] 10 illustrates a network 1000 according to various embodiments. Network 1000 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP® technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP® systems, etc.

[0038] The network 1000 may include a UE 1002, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with the RAN 1004 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 1002 may be communicatively coupled to the RAN 1004 by a Uu interface. The UE 1002 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment, an in-vehicle entertainment device, an instrument cluster, a head-up display device, an on-board diagnostic device, a dash-top mobile device, a mobile data terminal, an electronic engine management system, an electronic / engine control unit, an electronic / engine control module, an embedded system, a sensor, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system, a networked appliance, a machine-type communication device, an M2M or D2D device, an IoT device, etc.

[0039] In some embodiments, the network 1000 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.

[0040] In some embodiments, the UE 1002 may further communicate with the AP 1006 via a terrestrial connection. The AP 1006 may manage the WLAN connection, which may be responsible for offloading some / all network traffic from the RAN 1004. The connection between the UE 1002 and the AP 1006 may conform to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where the AP 1006 may be a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) router. In some embodiments, the UE 1002, the RAN 1004, and the AP 1006 may use cellular-WLAN aggregation (e.g., LWA / LWIP). Cellular-WLAN aggregation may include the UE 1002 being configured by the RAN 1004 to use both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0041] The RAN 1004 may include one or more access nodes, such as the AN 1008. The AN 1008 may terminate air interface protocols for the UE 1002 by providing access stratum protocols, including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 1008 may enable data / voice connectivity between the CN 1020 and the UE 1002. In some embodiments, the AN 1008 may be implemented in a separate device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may also be referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool. The AN 1008 may be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, Node B, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. The AN 1008 may be a macrocell base station or a low-power base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0042] In embodiments where the RAN 1004 includes multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (if the RAN 1004 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 1004 is a 5G RAN). The X2 / Xn interface may be separated into a control / user plane interface in some embodiments and may allow the ANs to communicate information regarding handover, data / context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

[0043] Each AN of the RAN 1004 may manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc. to provide the UE 1002 with an air interface for network access. The UE 1002 may be simultaneously connected to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 1004. For example, the UE 1002 and the RAN 1004 may use carrier aggregation to enable the UE 1002 to connect to multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or an Scell. In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a master node providing an MCG, and the second AN may be a secondary node providing an SCG. The first AN / second AN may be any combination of an eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.

[0044] The RAN 1004 may provide an air interface over a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, a node may use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA techniques with the PCell / Scell. Before accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the node may perform a medium / carrier sensing operation, for example, based on a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0045] In a V2X scenario, the UE 1002 or the AN 1008 may be or operate as an RSU, which may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by an appropriate AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU”; in the case of an eNB, it may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU”; in the case of a gNB, it may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU,” etc. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled with roadside-located radio frequency circuits that provides connectivity support to passing vehicular UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuits that store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications necessary for high-speed events such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. The RSU components may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a traffic signal controller or a network interface controller for providing a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a backhaul network.

[0046] In some embodiments, the RAN 1004 may be an LTE RAN 1010 having an eNB, such as the eNB 1012. The LTE RAN 1010 may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: a 15 kHz SCS; a CP-OFDM waveform for DL and an SC-FDMA waveform for UL; turbo codes for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation; and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate in bands below 6 GHz.

[0047] In some embodiments, the RAN 1004 may be an NG-RAN 1014 having a gNB, e.g., a gNB 1016, or an ng-eNB, e.g., the ng-eNB 1018. The gNB 1016 may connect to a 5G-capable UE using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 1016 may connect to a 5G core via an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 1018 may also connect to a 5G core via an NG interface, but may connect to a UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB 1016 and the ng-eNB 1018 may connect to each other via an Xn interface.

[0048] In some embodiments, the NG interface may be divided into two parts: an NG User Plane (NG-U) interface (e.g., N3 interface), which carries traffic data between nodes in the NG-RAN 1014 and the UPF 648, and an NG Control Plane (NG-C) interface (e.g., N2 interface), which is the signaling interface between nodes in the NG-RAN 1014 and the AMF 1044.

[0049] The NG-RAN 1014 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polar, repetitive, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface, like the LTE air interface, may rely on CSI-RS and PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS. The 5G-NR air interface may not use CRS, but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation, PTRS for PDSCH phase tracking, and a tracking reference signal for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate in the FR1 band, which includes bands below 6 GHz, or the FR2 band, which includes bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include SSB, which is an area of the downlink resource grid that includes PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0050] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWPs for various purposes. For example, BWPs can be used for dynamic SCS adaptation. For example, a UE 1002 can be configured with multiple BWPs, where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 1002, the SCS of the transmission is changed as well. Another example use case of BWPs relates to power conservation. In particular, multiple BWPs can be configured for a UE 1002 with different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic load scenarios. A BWP with a smaller number of PRBs can be used for data transmission with a low traffic load, while enabling power conservation in the UE 1002 and possibly the gNB 1016. A BWP with a larger number of PRBs can be used for higher traffic load scenarios.

[0051] The RAN 1004 is communicatively coupled to the CN 1020, which includes network elements that provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 1002). The components of the CN 1020 may be implemented within a single physical node or separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize some or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN 1020 onto physical compute / storage resources within servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of the CN 1020 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 1020 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

[0052] In some embodiments, the CN 1020 may be an LTE CN 1022, which may also be referred to as an EPC. The LTE CN 1022 may include an MME 1024, an SGW 1026, an SGSN 1028, an HSS 1030, a PGW 1032, and a PCRF 1034 coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of the elements of the LTE CN 1022 may be briefly introduced as follows.

[0053] The MME 1024 may implement mobility management functions that track the current location of the UE 1002 to facilitate paging, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

[0054] The SGW 1026 terminates the S1 interface to the RAN and may route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 1022. The SGW 1026 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0055] The SGSN 1028 may track the location of the UE 1002 and perform security functions and access control. In addition, the SGSN 1028 may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection specified by the MME 1024; MME selection for handover, etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 1024 and the SGSN 1028 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle / active states.

[0056] The HSS 1030 may include a database for network users containing subscription-related information to support processing of communication sessions by network entities. The HSS 1030 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 1030 and the MME 1024 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the LTE CN 1020.

[0057] The PGW 1032 may terminate an SGI interface to a data network (DN) 1036, which may include an application / content server 1038. The PGW 1032 may route data packets between the LTE CN 1022 and the data network 1036. The PGW 1032 may be coupled to the SGW 1026 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 1032 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF). In addition, the SGi reference point between the PGW 1032 and the data network 1036 may be an operator-external public, private PDN, or intra-operator packet data network, for example, for the provision of IMS services. The PGW 1032 may be coupled to the PCRF 1034 via a Gx reference point.

[0058] The PCRF 1034 is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN 1022. The PCRF 1034 is communicatively coupled to the application / content server 1038 and may determine the appropriate QoS and charging parameters for a service flow. The PCRF 1032 may provision the relevant rules to the PCEF (via the Gx reference point) with the appropriate TFT and QCI.

[0059] In some embodiments, the CN 1020 may be a 5GC 1040. The 5GC 1040 may include an AUSF 1042, an AMF 1044, an SMF 1046, a UPF 1048, an NSSF 1050, an NEF 1052, an NRF 1054, a PCF 1056, a UDM 1058, and an AF 1060 coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of each component of the 5GC 1040 may be briefly introduced as follows.

[0060] The AUSF 1042 may store data for authentication of the UE 1002 and process authentication-related functionality. The AUSF 1042 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the GC 1040 via the reference points shown, the AUSF 1042 may present a Nausf service-based interface.

[0061] The AMF 1044 may enable other functions of the 5GC 1040 to communicate with the UE 1002 and the RAN 1004 and subscribe to notifications regarding mobility events related to the UE 1002. The AMF 1044 may be involved in registration management (e.g., to register the UE 1002), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 1044 may provide transport for SM messages between the UE 1002 and the SMF 1046 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 1044 may also provide transport for SMS messages between the UE 1002 and the SMSF. The AMF 1044 may interact with the AUSF 1042 and the UE 1002 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Furthermore, the AMF 1044 may be the termination point of the RAN CP interface, which may include or be the N2 reference point between the RAN 1004 and the AMF 1044, and the AMF 1044 may be the termination point of the NAS (N1) signaling and may perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. The AMF 1044 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 1002 via the N3 IWF interface.

[0062] The SMF 1046 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between the UPF 1048 and the AN 1008); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring traffic steering in the UPF 1048 to route traffic to the appropriate destination; termination of the interface towards the policy control function; control of policy enforcement, charging, and parts of QoS; lawful intercept (for SM events and the interface to the LI system); termination of the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to the AN 1008 via the AMF 1044 over N2; and determining the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 1002 and the data network 1036.

[0063] The UPF 1048 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network 1036, and a branch point for supporting multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 1048 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane portion of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic validation (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering, and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 1048 may include an uplink classifier that supports routing traffic flows to the data network.

[0064] The NSSF 1050 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 1002. The NSSF 1050 may also determine the allowed NSSAIs and their mapping to subscribed S-NSSAIs, if necessary. The NSSF 1050 may also determine the AMF set to be used to serve the UE 1002 or may determine a list of candidate AMFs based on an appropriate configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 1054. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 1002 may be triggered by the AMF 1044 to which the UE 1002 is registered by interacting with the NSSF 1050, which may result in an AMF change. The NSSF 1050 may interact with the AMF 1044 via the N22 reference point and may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). Additionally, the NSSF 1050 may present an Nnssf service-based interface.

[0065] The NEF 1052 may securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP® network functions for third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, AFs (e.g., AF 1060), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF 1052 may authenticate, authorize, or throttle AFs. The NEF 1052 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 1060 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 1052 may translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 1052 may also receive information from other NFs based on the other NFs' exposed capabilities. This information may be stored in the NEF 1052 as structured data or in a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed by the NEF 1052 to other NFs and AFs or used for other purposes, such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 1052 may present an NEF service-based interface.

[0066] The NRF 1054 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information about discovered NF instances to the NF instances. The NRF 1054 also maintains information about available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, terms such as "instantiate," "instantiation," and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" may refer to a specific occurrence of an object that may occur, for example, during the execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 1054 may present an Nnrf service-based interface.

[0067] The PCF 1056 may provide policy rules to control plane functions for their enforcement and may also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. The PCF 1056 may also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDRs of the UDM 1058. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points as shown, the PCF 1056 presents an Npcf service-based interface.

[0068] The UDM 1058 may process subscription-related information to support processing of communication sessions by network entities and may store subscription data for the UE 1002. For example, the subscription data may be communicated via the N8 reference point between the UDM 1058 and the AMF 1044. The UDM 1058 may include two parts: an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store structured data for subscription and policy data for the UDM 1058 and the PCF 1056, and / or public and application data for the NEF 1052 (including PFDs for application discovery, application requirement information for multiple UEs 1002). A Nudr service-based interface may be exposed by the UDR 221 to enable the UDM 1058, PCF 1056, and NEF 1052 to access specific sets of stored data and to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of associated data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE, which is responsible for credential processing, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs via reference points as shown, the UDM 1058 may present a Nudm service-based interface.

[0069] The AF 1060 may provide application influence on traffic routing, provide access to the NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0070] In some embodiments, the 5GC 1040 may enable edge computing by selecting an operator / third-party service to be geographically close to the point where the UE 1002 attaches to the network. This may reduce network latency and load. To provide an edge computing implementation, the 5GC 1040 may select a UPF 1048 close to the UE 1002 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 1048 to the data network 1036 via the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 1060. In this way, the AF 1060 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, if the AF 1060 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator may allow the AF 1060 to interact directly with the associated NF. Additionally, the AF 1060 may present a NAF service-based interface.

[0071] Data network 1036 may represent various network operator services, internet access, or third party services, which may be provided by one or more servers, including, for example, application / content server 1038 .

[0072] 11 schematically illustrates a wireless network 1100 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 1100 may include a UE 1102 in wireless communication with an AN 1104. The UE 1102 and the AN 1104 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

[0073] The UE 1102 may be communicatively coupled to the AN 1104 via a connection 1106. The connection 1106 is shown as an air interface for enabling the communicative coupling and may correspond to a cellular communication protocol such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

[0074] The UE 1102 may include a host platform 1108 coupled to a modem platform 1110. The host platform 1108 may include an application processing circuit 1112, which may be coupled to a protocol processing circuit 1114 of the modem platform 1110. The application processing circuit 1112 may execute various applications for the UE 1102 that source / sink application data. The application processing circuit 1112 may further implement one or more layer operations to transmit / receive application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and Internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0075] The protocol processing circuit 1114 may implement one or more layer operations to facilitate transmission or reception of data over the connection 1106. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuit 1114 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0076] The modem platform 1110 may further include digital baseband circuitry 1116 that may implement one or more layer operations that are "below" layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry 1114 in a network protocol stack. These operations may include PHY operations, including, for example, one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation signal mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding / decoding (which may include one or more of space-time coding, space-frequency coding, or spatial coding), reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0077] The modem platform 1110 may further include transmit circuitry 1118, receive circuitry 1120, RF circuitry 1122, and an RF front end (RFFE) 1124, which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels 1126. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 1118 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 1120 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 1122 may include low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, power tracking components, etc.; the RFFE 1124 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of components of the transmit circuitry 1118, receive circuitry 1120, RF circuitry 1122, RFFE 1124, and antenna panel 1126 (collectively referred to as "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, such as whether the communication is TDM or FDM, mmWave or frequencies below 6 GHz, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit / receive chains, may be located on the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0078] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuit 1114 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) for providing control functions to the transmit / receive components.

[0079] UE reception may be established by and through the antenna panel 1126, RFFE 1124, RF circuitry 1122, receive circuitry 1120, digital baseband circuitry 1116, and protocol processing circuitry 1114. In some embodiments, the antenna panel 1126 may receive transmissions from the AN 1104 by receive beamforming signals received by multiple antennas / antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 1126.

[0080] UE transmissions may be established by and through protocol processing circuitry 1114, digital baseband circuitry 1116, transmit circuitry 1118, RF circuitry 1122, RFFE 1124, and antenna panel 1126. In some embodiments, the transmitting components of the UE 1104 may apply spatial filters to the data to be transmitted to form transmit beams that are radiated by antenna elements of the antenna panel 1126.

[0081] Similar to the UE 1102, the AN 1104 may include a host platform 1128 coupled to a modem platform 1130. The host platform 1128 may include an application processing circuit 1132 coupled to the protocol processing circuit 1134 of the modem platform 1130. The modem platform may further include a digital baseband circuit 1136, a transmit circuit 1138, a receive circuit 1140, an RF circuit 1142, an RFFE circuit 1144, and an antenna panel 1146. The components of the AN 1104 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, the like-named components of the UE 1102. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, the components of the AN 1104 may perform various logical functions, including RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

[0082] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating components that can read instructions from a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. Specifically, FIG. 12 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1200 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1210, one or more memory / storage devices 1220, and one or more communication resources 1230, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1240 or other interface circuitry. In embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1202 may execute to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1200.

[0083] Processor 1210 may include, for example, processor 1212 and processor 1214. Processor 1210 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those described herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0084] The memory / storage device 1220 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1220 may include any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0085] Communications resources 1230 may include interconnect or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1204 or one or more databases 1206 or other network elements over network 1208. For example, communications resources 1230 may include wired communications components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communications components, NFC components, Bluetooth (or Bluetooth Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi (or other communications components), and other communications components.

[0086] The instructions 1250 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code for causing at least one of the processors 1210 to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. The instructions 1250 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 1210 (e.g., in a processor's cache memory), the memory / storage devices 1220, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 1250 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1200 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1204 or the database 1206. Accordingly, the memory of the processor 1210, the memory / storage devices 1220, the peripheral devices 1204, and the database 1206 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0087] Exemplary Procedure In some embodiments, an electronic device, network, system, chip, or component of FIGS. 10-12 or any other figures herein, or portions or implementations thereof, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods described herein. One such process 1300 is shown in FIG. 13. Process 1300 may be performed by a UE or portion thereof. For example, process 1300 may include, at 1302, receiving configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation, the SRS resource allocation including a plurality of symbols, and resource elements of the SRS resource allocation being assigned to a plurality of subsets. For example, each subset may include one or more symbols. Symbols of different subsets may be interlaced with each other within a slot (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5 or 6) or may be grouped together (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4).

[0088] At 1304, process 1300 further includes encoding the SRS for transmission in the SRS resource allocation, where the SRS is transmitted on different subsets using different antenna port groups. In some embodiments, the total transmit power of the SRS in each symbol may be divided evenly among the antenna ports on which the SRS is transmitted in each symbol. For example, the SRS may be transmitted using a total of eight antenna ports divided into a first antenna port group and a second antenna port group, each containing four antenna ports. If the SRS is transmitted in the first symbol using the first antenna port group (but not the second antenna port group), the total transmit power in that symbol is divided evenly among the four antenna ports of the first antenna port group.

[0089] FIG. 14 shows another process 1400 according to various embodiments. Process 1400 may be performed by a gNB or a portion thereof. For example, at 1402, process 1400 may include encoding configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation for transmission to a user equipment (UE), where the SRS resource allocation includes a plurality of symbols, resource elements of the SRS resource allocation are assigned to a plurality of subsets, and the UE transmits the SRS on different subsets using different antenna port groups. For example, the subsets may each include one or more symbols. Symbols of different subsets may be interlaced with each other within a slot (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5 or 6) or may be grouped together (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4). At 1404, process 1400 may further include receiving the SRS on the SRS resource allocation.

[0090] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components depicted in one or more of the preceding drawings may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the preceding drawings may be configured to operate according to one or more of the example embodiments described below. In another example, circuitry associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc. described above in connection with one or more of the preceding drawings may be configured to operate according to one or more of the example embodiments described below in the example embodiments section.

[0091] Example Some non-limiting examples of various embodiments are provided below.

[0092] Example A1 may include an apparatus implemented in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a memory that stores configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation, the SRS resource allocation including a plurality of symbols, resource elements of the SRS resource allocation being assigned to a plurality of subsets; and a processor circuit coupled to the memory, the processor circuit encoding an SRS for transmission in the SRS resource allocation, the SRS being transmitted on different subsets using different antenna port groups.

[0093] Example A2 may include the apparatus of example A1, wherein the subsets each include one or more symbols of the plurality of symbols.

[0094] Example A3 may include the apparatus of example A2, wherein the subsets each include two or more of the symbols, and the symbols of the subsets are interlaced with each other.

[0095] Example A4 may include the apparatus of example A2, wherein the processor circuitry further divides the total transmit power evenly among the antenna port groups used to transmit the SRS in each symbol of the subset.

[0096] Example A5 may include the apparatus of example A1, wherein the SRS is transmitted on different subsets using the same set of cyclic shifts or different sets of cyclic shifts.

[0097] Example A6 may include the apparatus of example A1, wherein the SRS is transmitted using frequency hopping on the individual subsets.

[0098] Example A7 may include the apparatus of any one of examples A1-A6, wherein the SRS is transmitted using a total of eight antenna ports.

[0099] Example A8 may include the apparatus of example A7, wherein the plurality of subsets is two subsets, and the SRS is transmitted on each of the two subsets using four antenna ports.

[0100] Example A9 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (NTCRM) storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a next generation node B (gNB), configure the gNB to encode configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the SRS resource allocation including a plurality of symbols, resource elements of the SRS resource allocation being assigned to a plurality of subsets, the UE transmitting the SRS on different subsets using different antenna port groups; and receiving the SRS on the SRS resource allocation.

[0101] Example A10 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A9, with the subsets each including one or more symbols of the plurality of symbols.

[0102] Example A11 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A10, where the subsets each include two or more of the symbols, and the symbols of the subsets are interlaced with each other.

[0103] Example A12 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A9, where the total transmit power is divided evenly among the antenna port groups used to transmit the SRS in each symbol of the subset.

[0104] Example A13 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A9, where the SRSs in different subsets use the same set of cyclic shifts or different sets of cyclic shifts.

[0105] Example A14 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A9, where the SRS is received using frequency hopping on the respective subsets.

[0106] Example A15 may include one or more NTCRMs of any one of Examples A9 to A14, and the SRS is transmitted using a total of eight antenna ports.

[0107] Example A16 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A15, where the plurality of subsets is two subsets and the SRS is transmitted on each of the two subsets using four antenna ports.

[0108] Example A17 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (NTCRM) having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), configure the UE to: receive configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation, the SRS resource allocation including a first subset of symbols assigned to a first antenna port group and a second subset of symbols assigned to a second antenna port group, the first and second subsets of symbols being non-overlapping; and transmit the SRS on the first subset of symbols using the first antenna port group and on the second subset of symbols using the second antenna port group, wherein a total transmit power of the SRS on each symbol of the first or second subset of symbols is divided evenly among the antenna ports used to transmit the SRS on each symbol.

[0109] Example A18 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A17, wherein the first and second subsets of symbols are interlaced with each other within a slot.

[0110] Example A19 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A17, wherein the SRS is transmitted on a second subset of symbols using the same set of cyclic shifts as the first subset of symbols or a different set of cyclic shifts.

[0111] Example A20 may include one or more NTCRMs of any one of examples A17-A19, wherein the first and second antenna port groups each include four antenna ports.

[0112] Example B1 may include a method in a gNB or a UE, where the gNB configures the UE to use SRS transmission as described herein.

[0113] Example B2 may include the method of Example B1 or any other example herein, where for an 8-port SRS, to support 8-port operation, multiple OFDM symbols may be used to configure one SRS resource, e.g., N∈{2, 4, 6, 8...}, where N is the number of OFDM symbols. The OFDM symbols of the SRS may be divided into multiple subsets, e.g., two subsets, both for 4-port operation, with each subset connected to a different UE antenna port / antenna.

[0114] Example B3 may include the method of Example B2 or any other example herein, and may use the same set of cycle shifts or different sets of cycle shifts for different subsets of OFDM symbols. The UE antenna ports / antennas may be divided into multiple antenna port groups / antenna groups / panels. A first subset of SRS OFDM symbols is for a first antenna port group, and a second subset of SRS OFDM symbols is for a second antenna port group.

[0115] Example B4 may include the method of Example B2 or any other example herein, where for an 8-port SRS with multiple OFDM symbols, repetition of the SRS can be configured. The SRS OFDM symbols (N symbols) can be divided into multiple subsets, for example, two subsets, with each subset consisting of N / 2 consecutive OFDM symbols. Alternatively, the OFDM symbols are mapped to different UE antenna ports in an interlaced manner.

[0116] Example B5 may include the method of Example B2 or any other example herein, where frequency hopping can be applied for an 8-port SRS using multiple OFDM symbols. The operation can be as shown in Figures 5 and 6.

[0117] Example B6 may include the method of Example B2 or any other example herein, where for an 8-port SRS using multiple OFDM symbols, the OFDM symbols of the SRS can be within the same time slot or span different slots. If the OFDM symbols of the 8-port SRS span multiple slots, the slots can be contiguous or non-contiguous.

[0118] Example B7 may include the method of Example B1 or any other example herein, where for an 8-port SRS, multiple SRS resources may be configured. For example, two SRS resources are configured, and each SRS resource is 4-port. Each SRS resource is connected to a different UE antenna port / antenna port group. The same / different time / frequency resources may be configured for the two 4-port SRS resources.

[0119] Example B8 may include the method of Example B7 or any other example herein, and should configure the same time-domain behavior (aperiodic / periodic / semi-persistent) for the two 4-port SRS resources. The OFDM symbols of the two 4-port SRS resources can be adjacent or non-adjacent. The two 4-port SRS resources can be in the same time slot or in different time slots. The same / different repetition factors and the same / different frequency hopping patterns and partial sounding patterns should be configured for the two 4-port SRS resources.

[0120] Example B9 may include the method of Example B7 or any other example herein, where in a case where multiple SRS resources are present, for example, an 8-port SRS with two 4-port SRS resources, one SRI may indicate multiple SRS resources. In an SRI field within a DCI (e.g., 0_1 / 0_2), one codepoint in the SRI field may indicate two 4-port SRS resources. The mapping between the SRI codepoints and the SRS resources may be configured by the RRC / MAC-CE. All codepoints in the SRI field may be mapped to multiple SRS resources. Alternatively, some codepoints in the SRI field may be mapped to multiple SRS resources, and some codepoints may be mapped to a single SRS resource.

[0121] Example B10 may include the method of Example B1 or any other example herein, where for an 8-port SRS, multiple SRS resource sets, for example, two SRS resource sets, may be configured. Each SRS resource set consists of one SRS resource for four ports. Each SRS resource set is for a different UE antenna port / antenna port group. The same time behavior (aperiodic, periodic, semi-persistent) should be configured for the two SRS resource sets. The same power control parameters should be configured for the two SRS resource sets. For aperiodic SRS, the same trigger state should be configured for the two SRS resource sets. The DCI may include two SRI fields, one for each SRS resource set. Alternatively, one SRI field may be included in the DCI, and one code point in the SRI field may be mapped to SRS resources from two SRS resource sets. The mapping between the SRI code points and the SRS resources may be configured by the RRC / MAC-CE.

[0122] Example B11 may include a method for a UE, the method including: receiving configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation, where the SRS resource allocation includes a plurality of symbols, and resource elements of the SRS resource allocation are assigned to a plurality of subsets; and encoding an SRS for transmission in the SRS resource allocation, where the SRS is transmitted on different subsets using different antenna port groups.

[0123] Example B12 may include the method of Example B11 or any other example herein, where the SRS is transmitted using a total of eight antenna ports.

[0124] Example B13 may include the method of Example B12 or any other example herein, wherein the plurality of subsets is two subsets, and the SRS is transmitted on each of the two subsets using four antenna ports.

[0125] Example B14 may include the method of Examples B11-B13 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is transmitted on different subsets using the same set of cyclic shifts.

[0126] Example B15 may include the method of Examples B11-B13 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is transmitted on different subsets using different sets of cyclic shifts.

[0127] Example B16 may include the method of Examples B11-B15 or any other example herein, wherein the subsets each include one or more whole symbols of the plurality of symbols.

[0128] Example B17 may include the method of Examples B11-B15 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is transmitted using frequency hopping on the respective subsets.

[0129] Example B18 may include the method of Examples B11-B17 or any other example herein, where the subsets are interlaced with each other.

[0130] Example B19 may include the method of Examples B11-B18 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is transmitted repetitively.

[0131] Example B20 may include the method of Examples B11-B19 or any other example herein, where the symbols are in the same slot or in different slots (eg, consecutive or non-consecutive slots).

[0132] Example B21 may include the method of Examples B11-B20 or any other example herein, where the symbols are contiguous or non-contiguous.

[0133] Example B22 may include a method for a gNB, the method including: encoding configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation for transmission to a user equipment (UE), where the SRS resource allocation includes a plurality of symbols, resource elements of the SRS resource allocation are assigned to a plurality of subsets, and the UE transmits the SRS on different subsets using different antenna port groups; and receiving the SRS on the SRS resource allocation.

[0134] Example B23 may include the method of Example B22 or any other example herein, where the SRS is transmitted using a total of eight antenna ports.

[0135] Example B24 may include the method of Example B23 or any other example herein, wherein the plurality of subsets is two subsets, and the SRS is transmitted on each of the two subsets using four antenna ports.

[0136] Example B25 may include the method of Examples B22-B24 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is received on different subsets using the same set of cyclic shifts.

[0137] Example B26 may include the method of Examples B22-B24 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is received on different subsets using different sets of cyclic shifts.

[0138] Example B27 may include the method of examples B22-B26 or any other example herein, wherein the subsets each include one or more whole symbols of the plurality of symbols.

[0139] Example B28 may include the method of Examples B22-B26 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is transmitted using frequency hopping on the respective subsets.

[0140] Example B29 may include the method of Examples B22-B28 or any other example herein, where the subsets are interlaced with each other.

[0141] Example B30 may include the method of Examples B22-B29 or any other example herein, wherein the SRS is received repeatedly.

[0142] Example B31 may include the method of Examples B22-B30 or any other example herein, where the symbols are in the same slot or in different slots (eg, consecutive or non-consecutive slots).

[0143] Example B32 may include the method of Examples B22-B31 or any other example herein, where the symbols are contiguous or non-contiguous.

[0144] Example Z01 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32, or any other method or process described herein.

[0145] Example Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a method described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32, or any other method or process described herein.

[0146] Example Z03 may include a device having logic, modules, or circuitry that performs one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32, or any other method or process described herein.

[0147] Example Z04 may include any method, technique, or process described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32, or any part or portion thereof.

[0148] Example Z05 may include an apparatus that includes one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media that include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32, or any portion or parts thereof.

[0149] Example Z06 may include signals described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32 or any part or portion thereof.

[0150] Example Z07 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32, or any portion or parts thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0151] Example Z08 may include a signal encoded with data described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32 or any portion thereof or parts thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0152] Example Z09 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32, or any portion or parts thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0153] Example Z10 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, where execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any or portions of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32.

[0154] Example Z11 may include a computer program including instructions, where execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any or portions of Examples A1-A20, B1-B32.

[0155] Example Z12 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0156] Example Z13 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0157] Example Z14 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0158] Example Z15 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0159] Any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples) unless otherwise stated. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0160] Abbreviation Unless used differently herein, the terms, definitions, and abbreviations may be consistent with those defined in 3GPP® TR 21.905 v16.0.0(2019-06). For purposes of this document, the following abbreviations may apply to the examples and embodiments discussed herein: [Table 1] TIFF2025526551000003.tif204170TIFF2025526551000004.tif210170TIFF202 5526551000005.tif213170TIFF2025526551000006.tif210170TIFF20255265510 00007.tif210170TIFF2025526551000008.tif210170TIFF2025526551000009.t if210170TIFF2025526551000010.tif213170TIFF2025526551000011.tif245170

[0161] term For purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.

[0162] The term "application" may refer to a complete, deployable package or environment for achieving a specific function in an operating environment. A term such as "AI / ML application" may refer to an application that includes several AI / ML models and application-level descriptions.

[0163] As used herein, the term “circuitry” refers to, is a part of, or includes hardware components such as electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or memories (shared, dedicated, or group), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-volume PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable SoCs), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., configured to provide a described functionality. In some embodiments, a circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least a portion of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or combinations of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) and program code used to perform the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0164] As used herein, the term “processor circuitry” refers to, is a part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically performing a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, and / or transferring digital data. A processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores for executing instructions and one or more memory structures for storing program and data information. The term “processor circuitry” may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, physical central processing units (CPUs), single-core processors, dual-core processors, triple-core processors, quad-core processors, and / or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes. A processing circuitry may include more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, etc. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. The terms “application circuitry” and / or “baseband circuitry” may be considered synonymous with “processor circuitry” and may be referred to as “processor circuitry.”

[0165] As used herein, the term "interface circuitry" refers to, is a part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, etc.

[0166] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device having wireless communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. The term "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous with, and may be referred to as, client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0167] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment and / or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with and / or may be referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, etc.

[0168] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic device, computing device, or component thereof. Additionally, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" may refer to multiple computing devices and / or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing and / or networking resources.

[0169] As used herein, the terms "appliance," "computer appliance," and the like refer to a computing device or system having program code (e.g., software or firmware) specifically designed to provide specific computing resources. A "virtual appliance" is a virtual machine image implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizes or emulates a computing appliance or is otherwise dedicated to providing specific computing resources.

[0170] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component in a computing environment, and / or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, database and application, workload unit, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computational, storage, and / or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computational, storage, and / or network resources provided by a virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The terms "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources accessible by a computer device / system via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any kind of shared entity for providing services and may include computational and / or network resources. A system resource may be thought of as a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services accessible through a clearly identifiable server, where such system resource resides on a single host or multiple hosts.

[0171] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, used to communicate data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous with and / or equivalent to "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," and / or any other similar term indicating a path or medium over which data is communicated. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices via a RAT for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information.

[0172] As used herein, terms such as "instantiation" and "instance" refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" refers to a specific occurrence of an object that may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0173] The terms "coupled" and "communicatively coupled," along with their derivatives, are used herein. The term "coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, or that two or more elements are in indirect contact with each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and / or that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements that are said to be coupled with each other. The term "directly coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with each other. The term "communicatively coupled" may mean that two or more elements may be in contact with each other by communication means, including via a wire or other interconnection, via a wireless communication channel or link, and / or the like.

[0174] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element or the data element that contains the contents.

[0175] The term "SMTC" refers to the SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration.

[0176] The term "SSB" refers to an SS / PBCH block.

[0177] The term "Primary Cell" refers to an MCG cell operating on a primary frequency on which a UE performs an initial connection establishment procedure or initiates a connection re-establishment procedure.

[0178] The "primary SCG cell" refers to the SCG cell to which the UE performs random access when performing a reconfiguration with synchronization procedure for DC operation.

[0179] The term "Secondary Cell" refers to a cell that provides additional radio resources on top of a special cell for UEs configured with CA.

[0180] The term "secondary cell group" refers to a subset of serving cells that includes a PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with a DC.

[0181] The term "serving cell" refers to the primary cell for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED that is not configured with CA / DC, and there is only one serving cell that constitutes the primary cell.

[0182] The term "serving cell" or "serving cells" refers to the set of cells including the special cell for the UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA / and all secondary cells.

[0183] "Special Cell" refers to a PCell for an MCG or a PSCell for an SCG for DC operation; otherwise, "special cell" refers to a Pcell.

[0184] "Machine learning" or "ML" refers to the use of computer systems that implement algorithms and / or statistical models to perform specific tasks, relying on patterns and inference without explicit instructions. ML algorithms build or infer mathematical models (e.g., referred to as "ML models") based on sample data (e.g., referred to as "training data," "model training information," etc.) to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. Generally, an ML algorithm is a computer program that learns from experience regarding some task and some performance measure, and an ML model may be any object or data structure created after an ML algorithm is trained on one or more training datasets. After training, the ML model can be used to make predictions on new datasets. The term "ML algorithm" refers to a different concept from the term "ML model," but as discussed herein, these terms may be used interchangeably for purposes of this disclosure.

[0185] Terms such as "machine learning model," "ML model," and the like can refer to ML methods and concepts used by an ML-assisted solution. An "ML-assisted solution" is a solution that uses ML algorithms to address a specific use case during operation. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), decision tree algorithms, support machine vectors, Bayesian algorithms, ensemble algorithms, etc.), unsupervised learning (e.g., K-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA)), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-armed bandit learning, deep RL, etc.), neural networks, etc. Depending on the implementation, a particular ML model may have many submodels as components, and the ML model may train all the submodels together. Individually trained ML models can also be chained together during inference to form an ML pipeline. An "ML pipeline" is a set of functionality, functions, or functional entities specific to an ML-assisted solution. An ML pipeline may include one or several data sources within a data pipeline, a model training pipeline, a model evaluation pipeline, and actors. An "actor" is an entity that hosts an ML-assisted solution using the output of ML model inference. The term "ML training host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts the training of a model. The term "ML inference host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts a model during inference mode (including both model execution and online learning, if applicable). The ML host notifies actors about the output of the ML algorithm, and the actors make decisions about actions ("actions" are performed by actors as a result of the output of an ML-assisted solution). The term "model inference information" refers to information used as input to an ML model to determine inferences; while data used to train an ML model and data used to determine inferences may overlap, "training data" and "inference data" refer to different concepts.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus implemented in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a memory that stores configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation, the SRS resource allocation including a plurality of symbols, and resource elements of the SRS resource allocation being assigned to a plurality of subsets; and a processor circuit coupled to the memory, the processor circuit encoding an SRS for transmission in the SRS resource allocation, the SRS being transmitted on different subsets using different antenna port groups; and An apparatus comprising:

2. each of the subsets includes one or more symbols of the plurality of symbols; 10. The apparatus of claim 1.

3. each of the subsets includes two or more of the symbols, and the symbols of the subsets are interlaced with each other.

3. The apparatus of claim 2.

4. The processor circuitry further divides a total transmit power equally among the antenna port groups used to transmit the SRS in a symbol of the plurality of symbols.

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the SRS is transmitted in the different subsets using the same set of cyclic shifts or different sets of cyclic shifts.

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The SRS is transmitted using frequency hopping within each subset.

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. The SRS is transmitted using a total of eight antenna ports.

4. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. the plurality of subsets are two subsets, and the SRS is transmitted in each of the two subsets using four antenna ports.

8. The apparatus of claim 7.

9. When executed by one or more processors in a next generation Node B (gNB), encoding configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the SRS resource allocation including a plurality of symbols, resource elements of the SRS resource allocation being assigned to a plurality of subsets, the UE transmitting the SRS on different subsets using different antenna port groups; receiving the SRS with the SRS resource allocation; One or more non-transitory computer-readable media (NTCRMs) storing instructions for configuring the gNB to perform the above.

10. each of the subsets includes one or more symbols of the plurality of symbols; 10. One or more NTCRMs according to claim 9.

11. each of the subsets includes two or more of the symbols, and the symbols of the subsets are interlaced with each other.

11. One or more NTCRMs according to claim 10.

12. a total transmit power is equally divided among the antenna port groups used to transmit the SRS in a symbol among the plurality of symbols; One or more NTCRMs according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

13. the SRSs in the different subsets use the same set of cyclic shifts or different sets of cyclic shifts. One or more NTCRMs according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

14. The SRS is received using frequency hopping on each subset. One or more NTCRMs according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

15. The SRS is transmitted using a total of eight antenna ports. One or more NTCRMs according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

16. the plurality of subsets are two subsets, and the SRS is transmitted in each of the two subsets using four antenna ports.

16. One or more NTCRMs according to claim 15.

17. When executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), receiving configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource allocation, the SRS resource allocation including a first subset of symbols assigned to a first antenna port group and a second subset of symbols assigned to a second antenna port group, the first and second subsets of symbols being non-overlapping; transmitting an SRS on a first subset of symbols using the first antenna port group and on a second subset of symbols using the second antenna port group, wherein a total transmit power of the SRS on each symbol of the first or second subset of symbols is divided equally between antenna ports used to transmit the SRS on each symbol; one or more non-transitory computer readable media (NTCRMs) storing instructions for configuring the UE to:

18. the first and second subsets of symbols are interlaced with each other within a slot.

18. One or more NTCRMs according to claim 17.

19. the SRS is transmitted on the second subset of symbols using the same set of cyclic shifts as the first subset of symbols or a different set of cyclic shifts.

19. One or more NTCRMs according to claim 17 or 18.

20. the first and second antenna port groups each include four antenna ports; 19. One or more NTCRMs according to any one of claims 17 or 18.

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