Full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment

Abstract

To provide user equipment, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for implementing full power transmission for coherent user equipment in a wireless communication system.SOLUTION: A method causes user equipment (UE) having an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements to establish a communication connection with a network entity, to transmit to the network entity a coherency capability indicator and a power transmission mode capability indicator for the UE, to receive an instruction from the network entity to operate in a specified coherency mode and a specified power transmission mode, and to operate in the specified coherency mode and the specified power transmission mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Various embodiments may relate generally to the field of wireless communications, including techniques for implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment. [Background technology]

[0002] This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of technology that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and / or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. As such, it should be understood that these statements made in this section are not intended as admissions of prior art.

[0003] Various electrical devices use wireless communication systems to exchange data and / or form communication networks. For example, laptops, mobile phones, and other similar devices may have wireless network adapters that can connect to cellular networks, wireless Ethernet networks, Bluetooth networks, etc. In some devices, the wireless communication system may use a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna setup, which may include an array of individual antennas, to access radio frequency (RF) channels. Fine-grained management of the antennas may facilitate effective signal transmission and power utilization. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments described herein provide a user equipment (UE) comprising an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements; and a processor that causes the UE to establish a communication connection with a network entity, causes the UE to transmit a coherency capability indicator and a power transmission mode capability indicator for the UE to the network entity, causes the UE to receive instructions from the network entity to operate in a designated coherency mode and a designated power transmission mode, and configures the UE to operate in the designated coherency mode and the designated power transmission mode.

[0005] Other embodiments described herein provide a computer-implemented method that includes causing a UE to establish a communications connection with a network entity; causing the UE to transmit a coherency capability indicator and a power transmission mode capability indicator for the UE to the network entity; causing the UE to receive instructions from the network entity to operate in a designated coherency mode and a designated power transmission mode; and configuring the UE to operate in the designated coherency mode and the designated power transmission mode.

[0006] Other embodiments described herein provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure a processor to: cause the UE to establish a communications connection with a network entity; cause the UE to send a coherency capability indicator and a power transmission mode capability indicator for the UE to the network entity; cause the UE to receive instructions from the network entity to operate in a designated coherency mode and a designated power transmission mode; and configure the UE to operate in the designated coherency mode and the designated power transmission mode.

[0007] In some examples, the coherency capability indicator indicates that the UE may be configured to operate in at least a non-coherent mode, a partial coherent mode, or a full coherent mode. Further, in some examples, the power transmission mode capability indicator includes at least one of a first mode in which all transmit precoding matrix indicators (TPMIs) may be operated at a full power setting, a second mode indicating one or more coherent TPMIs to be added to a codebook subset supported by the UE, or a third mode including a list of TPMIs that may be operated at a full power setting, and the power transmission mode capability indicator includes an SRS extension indicator.

[0008] In some examples, the instruction that operates in the designated coherency mode includes at least one codebook subset identifier. Further, the instruction that operates in the designated coherency mode can identify a particular TPMI. In some examples, the processor selects the particular TPMI.

[0009] The detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a high-level schematic block diagram of various components in a 3GPP NR (e.g., 5G) network environment that may be used to implement full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment in a communication network, in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of an antenna array, according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram of an antenna array that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a schematic diagram of operations in a method of implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network system that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram of infrastructure equipment that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a platform that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a baseband circuit that may be used in implementing full power transmit signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] 1 is a schematic diagram of various protocol functions that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] 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 the 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 implemented in other examples that depart from these specific details. In some cases, 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 disclosure, "A or B" means (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0012] Additionally, various aspects of the embodiments may be implemented using various means, such as integrated semiconductor circuitry ("hardware"), one or more programs organized into computer readable instructions ("software"), or some combination of hardware and software. For purposes of this disclosure, references to "logic" shall mean either hardware, software, or some combination thereof.

[0013] Throughout this specification, a reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in one embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Moreover, particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In addition, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0014] Various operations may be described as multiple separate, sequential operations in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as implying that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order presented. The operations described may be performed in a different order than in the described embodiment. In additional embodiments, various additional operations may be performed and / or described operations may be omitted.

[0015] Further details and techniques are described with reference to the network architectures, devices, and methods described below with reference to Figures 1-10. Figure 1 is a high-level schematic block diagram of components in a 3GPP NR (or 5G) network environment 100 that may be used to implement cooperative IP packet filtering in a communications network, in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, in some examples, the network 100 includes one or more access and mobility management function / user plane function (AMF / UMF) devices 110A, 110B, one or more gNBs 120A, 120B, and one or more ng-eNBs 120C, 120D. The AMF / UFP devices 110A, 110B are communicatively coupled to the gNBs 120A, 120B, and the gn-eNBs 120C, 120D via an NG interface. The gNBs 120A, 120B, and the gn-eNBs 120C, 120D are communicatively coupled to each other via an Xn interface. One or more user equipments (UEs) 130A, 130B can establish a communication connection with one or more of the gNBs 120A, 120B, or the gn-eNBs 120C, 120D. A detailed description of the wireless network and the UEs is provided below.

[0017] In some examples, the wireless network 100 may include or be communicatively coupled to one or more cellular networks (e.g., 4G standards such as Long Term Evolution or LTE, 5G standards such as New Radio or 5G NR) and / or connectivity networks (e.g., IEEE 802.3 or WiFi, Bluetooth) may be implemented by establishing a radio frequency (RF) connection between electronic devices. To establish a wireless RF connection, the UE 130A, 130B may comprise an RF communication system that may include transmit and receive circuitry coupled to an antenna array including one or more antennas. The circuitry may include a transceiver module that may perform encoding / decoding and modulation / demodulation tasks, as well as digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversion. The transceiver module may be coupled to the antenna(s) by a front-end module (FEM) or RF head, and may provide filtering and / or power amplification capabilities to the RF communication system. The RF head circuitry may be coupled to the antenna array. The transceiver circuitry and / or the RF head circuitry may generate RF signals that drive the antenna array and / or decode signals received by the antenna array. Examples of UEs are discussed in more detail below.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an antenna array, according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, in some examples, an antenna array 210 may include non-coherent antennas 212, 214. In this example, a UE including the antenna array 210 cannot maintain phase coherence between a first antenna (antenna 212) and a second antenna (antenna 214). The antennas 212, 214 may have different precoder values, as shown in FIG. 2. For example, antenna 212 may be associated with a precoder value of 1 / √2, while antenna 214 may be associated with a precoder value of 0.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an antenna array 220 that may be used in implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, in some examples, the antenna array 220 may include a first set of antennas 230 including antennas 232 and 234 that are coherent. Thus, the antennas 232 and 234 can maintain a relative phase difference between each other over time. Similarly, the second set of antennas 240 may include a second set of antennas 240 including antennas 242 and 244 that are coherent. Thus, the antennas 242 and 244 can maintain a relative phase difference between each other over time. However, the first set of coherent antennas 230 is non-coherent with the second set of coherent antennas 240. Thus, an electronic device with the antenna array 220 cannot maintain phase coherence between the first set of antennas 230 and the second set of antennas 240. For example, the phase coherence cannot be maintained between the antennas 234 and the antennas 242 or 244. In other words, a wireless communication device with antenna array 220 can maintain phase coherence between antennas included in each of two antenna groups (e.g., first antenna set 230 and second antenna set 232), but cannot maintain phase coherence between the two antenna groups. Thus, the wireless communication device can achieve partial coherence between antenna ports in antenna array 220, or can be described as having partially coherent antennas. Non-coherent antenna sets can be associated with different precoder values, as shown in FIG. 3. For example, antennas 232 and 234 in first coherent set 230 can be associated with a precoder value of 1 / 2, while antennas 242 and 244 in second coherent set 240 can be associated with a precoder value of 0. The number of antennas shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 is an example. In practice, a wireless communication device can include any number of sets of coherent antennas that are non-coherent with each other.Furthermore, each coherent set may include any number of coherent antennas.

[0020] The subject matter described herein relates to power management for user equipment (UE), and in some examples, to techniques for implementing full uplink (UL) power transmission for UEs operating in a coherent state. In some examples of existing New Radio (NR) standards, e.g., Release 15, all TPMIs that do not use all ports cannot support full power transmission because the maximum transmit power is scaled by the non-zero port / maximum number of ports that the UE can support. In other examples, e.g., Release 16, full power transmission is conditionally supported for non-coherent / partially coherent UEs. The Release 16 solution includes two modes. In the first mode (referred to herein as Mode 1), a new TPMI is added to a new codebook subset with an existing sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration. In the second mode (referred to as Mode 2), the existing codebook subset is used, but the SRS resource set is allowed to have SRS resources with a different number of ports, and the UE is allowed to indicate a TPMI that supports full power UL Tx. Mode 1 is a simple solution, but only supports a limited number of TPMIs and limited UE antenna virtualization options. Mode 2 is a more complex solution that can support more TPMIs and antenna virtualization, but the indication of TPMIs that support full power is complicated. In some examples, the network can determine how to configure SRS resources.

[0021] In a first set of embodiments, the UE may report its uplink coherency related capabilities in the UE Capability Report message (e.g., pusch-TransCoherence={nonCoherent,partialCoherent,fullCoherent}). If the UE reports that it supports coherent uplink transmission (e.g., pusch-TransCoherence=fullCoherent), the NW may configure the UE to operate in coherent UL in PUSCH-Config (e.g., codebookSubset=fullyAndPartialAndNonCoherent).

[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of operations in a method of implementing full power transmission signaling for coherent user equipment, according to an embodiment. In some examples, the operations may be implemented between a UE (e.g., UE 130A, 130B) and a network element (e.g., gNB 120A, 120B, or ng-eNB 120C, 120D). The operations illustrated in FIG. 4 enable the UE to report its uplink (UL) coherency-related capabilities to the network element. The network element can then utilize the coherency-related capabilities for the UE to generate instructions to configure the UE to operate in a designated coherency mode and a designated power transmission mode. The network element can transmit these instructions to the UE, which can configure a transmitter component to operate in accordance with the instructions.

[0023] 4, in operations 410 and 415, the UE and the network element establish a communication connection, respectively. In operation 420, the UE transmits a coherence capability indicator and a power transmission mode indicator to the network element. In some examples, a UE including an antenna array that can operate in a coherent mode, such as a set of antennas 230 or a set of antennas 240 of the antenna array 220, can transmit a coherence capability indicator indicating that it can support full power transmission. As a result, the NW can configure the UE with a coherent codebook-based PUSCH operation.

[0024] In operation 425, the network element receives the coherence capability indicator and the power transmission mode indicator transmitted by the UE, and in operation 430, the network element transmits an instruction to the UE to operate in the designated coherency mode and the designated power transmission mode. In operation 435, the UE receives an instruction from the network element to operate in the designated coherency mode and the designated power transmission mode. In operation 440, the UE is configured to operate in the designated coherency mode and the designated power transmission mode in the instruction received from the network element.

[0025] In some examples, the indicator may include two parts. The first part indicates a maximum number of SRS resources that the UE can support in an SRS resource set when the UE is configured to operate in codebook-based PUSCH operation. In some examples, the maximum number may be selected from a set including {1, 2, 4}. The second part indicates whether the UE supports SRS resources with different numbers of ports in an SRS resource set when the UE is configured to operate in codebook-based PUSCH operation. For example, whether the UE may be configured with at least one SRS resource with four ports and at least one SRS resource with two ports in the same SRS resource set.

[0026] In a first set of embodiments, one or a subset of the following modes may be indicated as UE capabilities: In Mode 0, all TPMIs have a power scaling value of 1. In Mode 2, the UE indicates to the network element a list of TPMIs for which the UE supports full power transmission. For TPMIs in the list, the power scaling value is set to 1. In some examples, the UE may also indicate to the network element that the UE does not support SRS augmentation for Mode 2. In this case, the UE only supports SRS resources with the same amount of ports and up to 1 or 2 SRS resources per SRS resource set that correspond to the UE capabilities.

[0027] In Mode 1, the coherent TPMI may be added to the codebook subset already supported by the UE. In some examples, a coherent UE does not indicate support for UL full power transmission in Mode 1 when adapted with coherent codebook-based PUSCH operation.

[0028] For coherent UEs, the NW may configure the UE to operate in coherent codebook-based PUSCH operation. In some examples, the NW may configure the UE to operate in one of three distinct modes, depending on the UE capabilities. In the first mode (mode 0), the power scaling factor (S) is calculated as the ratio of the number of non-zero antenna ports divided by the maximum number of ports the UE can support. In the second mode, all TPMIs are assigned a power scaling factor (S) of 1. In the third mode (mode 2), the UE indicates a list of TPMIs for which the UE supports full power transmission, and the TPMIs in the list are assigned a power scaling factor of 1. In some examples, the network element may not configure the UE with more than two SRS resources, and all SRS resources in the same SRS resource set have the same number of ports.

[0029] In some examples, when a network element generates an instruction to operate a coherent UE in coherent codebook based PUSCH operation, the network element cannot configure the UE to operate in full power Mode 1, in which one or more coherent TPMI(s) may be added to the codebook subset that the UE already supports.

[0030] In a second set of embodiments, a flexible Mode 1 capability report is provided. In some examples, a UE can independently report Mode 1 support for a downgrade configuration (e.g., for a maximum number of ports). For example, a 4-port capable UE can indicate Mode 1 support for 4-port and 2-port SRS configurations. Additionally, a UE can independently report Mode 1 support for any downgrade configuration for coherency. For example, a coherent UE can indicate Mode 1 support for either partially coherent or non-coherent UL operation. Similarly, a partially coherent UE can indicate Mode 1 support for partially coherent and non-coherent UL operation.

[0031] The Mode 1 capability report is flexible with bitmap design, e.g., {4-port partially coherent, 4-port noncoherent, 2-port noncoherent}. For example, a 1 in the corresponding bit in the bitmap indicates that the UE supports Mode 1 when the UE is configured for the corresponding UL operation.

[0032] In a third set of embodiments, a flexible mode 2 capability report is provided. In mode 2 operation, the UE can indicate a list of TPMIs for which the UE supports full power transmission. In addition, the network element can configure up to four SRS resources per SRS resource set, and different SRS resources in the same SRS resource set can be configured with different numbers of ports.

[0033] For Mode 2 operation, in some examples, the UE may independently report its capabilities to the network entity with respect to TPMI and SRS resource configuration. In some examples, a Mode 2 capable UE may only indicate a list of TPMIs that support full power transmission but no SRS resource augmentation. Similarly, a Mode 2 capable UE may report to the network entity that it only supports SRS extensions that support any additional TPMIs at full power transmission.

[0034] With regard to TPMI support, the UE may independently report to the network element its capabilities covering the following possibilities: (1) the UE is configured with 2-port non-coherent / coherent, 2-bit TPMI bitmap; (2) the UE is configured with 4-port non-coherent, 2-bit TPMI group index; and (3) the UE is configured with 4-port partially coherent / coherent, 4-bit TPMI group index.

[0035] Additionally, for each possible UL configuration, the UE may report to the network element: (1) if the UE is configured as 2-port non-coherent / coherent, (2) if the UE is configured as 4-port non-coherent, and (3) if the UE is configured as 4-port partially coherent / coherent.

[0036] The UE may independently indicate that it does not support any TPMI at full power transmission. In some examples, the UE may not report a corresponding capability. In a further example, for two-port non-coherent, the UE may report (0,0) as a two-bit bitmap. In some examples, the UE may report a list of TPMIs, e.g., special code points that are not associated with reserved bits.

[0037] As mentioned above, the Mode 1 capability report is flexible in its bitmap design, e.g., {4-port partially coherent, 4-port noncoherent, 2-port noncoherent}. For example, a 1 in the corresponding bit in the bitmap indicates that the UE supports Mode 1 when the UE is configured for the corresponding UL operation.

[0038] In another example, with respect to SRS configuration support, a UE in Mode 2 operation may independently report SRS-related capabilities for the following possible uplink configurations: (1) {4-port coherent, 4-port partially coherent, 4-port noncoherent, 2-port coherent, 2-port noncoherent}, and 2-port coherent and 4-port coherent. In some examples, the UE may not be allowed to report SRS-related capabilities for Mode 2 operation due to configuration.

[0039] For Mode 2 operation, the UE may independently indicate the following SRS-related capabilities for each UL configuration with respect to the SRS configuration: (1) the maximum number of SRS resources per SRS resource set, which is {1,2,4}; (2) whether the UE prefers to enable different numbers of SRS ports configured in the same SRS resource set; and (3) at least whether the UE prefers to be configured with 2-port SRS resources when 4-port SRS resources are configured in the same SRS resource set.

[0040] In another example, a UE may indicate its full power mode capability to the network when the UE is configured to operate in a coherent codebook subset in codebook-based PUSCH operation, the capability indication including at least one or both of a first mode indicating that all TPMIs may be operated at full power settings and a second mode including a list of TPMIs that may be operated at full power settings.

[0041] In another example, when the network configures the UE to operate in codebook-based PUSCH operation with a coherent codebook subset, the NW may configure the UE to operate in full power transmission mode in at least one of a first mode indicating that all TPMIs may be operated at full power settings or a second mode including a list of TPMIs that may be operated at full power settings.

[0042] System and Implementation 5 illustrates an example architecture of a system 500 of networks in accordance with various embodiments. The following description is provided for the example system 500 operating in conjunction with LTE and 5G or NR system standards as provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that would benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.).

[0043] As shown in FIG. 5, system 500 includes UE 501a and UE 501b (collectively referred to as "UEs 501" or "UE 501"). In this example, UE 501 is illustrated as a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touchscreen mobile computing device capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a consumer electronics device, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a feature phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a wireless handset, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), an in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) device, an instrument cluster (IC), a head-up display (HUD) device, an on-board diagnostics (OBD) device, a dash-top mobile equipment (DME), a mobile data terminal (MDT), an electronic engine management system (EEMS), an electronic / engine control unit (ECU), an electronic engine / engine control module (ECM), an embedded system, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system (EMS), a networked or "smart" appliance, an MTC device, an M2M, an IoT device, or the like.

[0044] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 501 may be an IoT UE, which may have a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with MTC servers or devices over PLMN, ProSe or D2D communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network refers to IoT UEs connecting with each other, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) over short-lived connections. The IoT UE may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity of the IoT network. In some of these embodiments, the UE 501 may be an NB-IoT UE 501. The NB-IoT provides access to network services using a physical layer optimized for very low power consumption (e.g., full carrier BW is 180 kHz and subcarrier spacing may be 3.75 kHz or 15 kHz). Some E-UTRA features are not used for NB-IoT and need not be supported by the RAN node 511 and the UE 501 using only NB-IoT. Examples of such E-UTRA features may include inter-RAT mobility, handover, measurement reporting, public alerting functionality, GBR, CSG, HeNB support, relay, carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, NAICS, MBMS, real-time services, interference avoidance for in-device coexistence, RAN assisted WLAN interworking, sidelink communication / discovery, MDT, emergency calls, CS fallback, self-configuration / self-optimization, among others. For NB-IoT operation, the UE 501 operates in DL using 12 subcarriers with a subcarrier BW of 15 kHz and in UL using a single subcarrier with a subcarrier BW of either 3.75 kHz or 15 kHz with a subcarrier BW of 15 kHz or alternatively 3, 6, or 12 subcarriers.

[0045] In various embodiments, the UE 501 may be an MF UE 501. The MF UE 501 is an LTE-based UE 501 that operates (exclusively) in an unlicensed spectrum. This unlicensed spectrum is defined in the MF specifications provided by the MulteFire Forum and may include, for example, 1.9 GHz (Japan), 3.5 GHz, and 5 GHz. MulteFire is closely aligned with 3GPP standards and builds on elements of the 3GPP specifications for LAA / eLAA to augment standard LTE to operate in the global unlicensed spectrum. In some embodiments, LBT may be implemented to coexist with other unlicensed spectrum networks, such as WiFi, other LAA networks, etc. In various embodiments, some or all of the UEs 501 may be NB-IoT UEs 501 that operate with MF. In such an embodiment, these UEs 501 may be referred to as "MF NB-IoT UEs 501," although the term "NB-IoT UEs 501" may refer to "MF UEs 501" or "MF and NB-IoT UEs 501" unless otherwise specified. Thus, the terms "NB-IoT UEs 501," "MF UEs 501," and "MF NB-IoT UEs 501" may be used interchangeably throughout this disclosure.

[0046] The UE 501 may be configured to be connected to the RAN 510 by, for example, a communicative connection. In an embodiment, the RAN 510 may be an NG RAN or a 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, an MF RAN, or a legacy RAN such as a UTRAN or a GERAN. As used herein, terms such as "NG RAN" may refer to a RAN 510 operating in an NR or 5G system 500, terms such as "E-UTRAN" may refer to a RAN 510 operating in an LTE or 4G system 500, and terms such as "MF RAN" may refer to a RAN 510 operating in an MF system 100. The UE 501 utilizes a connection (or channel) 503 and a connection 504, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communication interface or layer (described in more detail below). The connections 103 and 104 may include several different physical DL channels and several different physical UL channels. By way of example, the physical DL channels include the PDSCH, PMCH, PDCCH, EPDCCH, MPDCCH, R-PDCCH, SPDCCH, PBCH, PCFICH, PHICH, NPBCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, and / or any other physical DL channels mentioned herein. By way of example, the physical UL channels include the PRACH, PUSCH, PUCCH, SPUCCH, NPRACH, NPUSCH, and / or any other physical UL channels mentioned herein.

[0047] In this example, connections 503 and 504 are shown as air interfaces to enable a communicative coupling and may correspond to a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and / or any of the other communication protocols discussed herein. In an embodiment, the UE 501 may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 505. The ProSe interface 505 may alternatively be referred to as an SL interface 505 and may include one or more physical and / or logical channels, including, but not limited to, a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSDCH, and a PSBCH.

[0048] The UE 501b is shown configured to access the AP 506 (also referred to as "WLAN node 506", "WLAN 506", "WLAN terminal 506", "WT 506", etc.) via a connection 507. The connection 507 may comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where the AP 506 would comprise a Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) router. In this example, the AP 506 is shown connected to the Internet without connecting to a core network of a wireless system (described in more detail below). In various embodiments, the UE 501b, the RAN 510, and the AP 506 may be configured to utilize LWA and / or LWIP operations. LWA operations may require the UE 501b to be in RRC_CONNECTED, configured by the RAN nodes 511a-511b, to utilize LTE and WLAN radio resources. LWIP operations may involve UE 501b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 507) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over connection 507. IPsec tunneling may involve encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0049] The RAN 510 may include one or more AN or RAN nodes 511a and 511b (collectively referred to as "RAN nodes 511" or "RAN nodes 511") that enable the connections 503 and 504. As used herein, the terms "access node", "access point", etc. may refer to equipment that provides wireless baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BSs, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, MF-APs, TRxPs, TRPs, etc., and may include terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node" etc. may refer to a RAN node 511 operating in a NR or 5G system 500 (e.g., gNB), and the terms "E-UTRAN node" etc. may refer to a RAN node 511 operating in a LTE or 4G system 500 (e.g., eNB). According to various implementations, the RAN node 511 may be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices, such as a macrocell base station and / or a low power (LP) base station to provide a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher BW compared to a macrocell.

[0050] In some implementations, all or part of the RAN node 511 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In those implementations, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement a RAN functionality split, such as a PDCP split, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 511, a MAC / PHY split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and the PHY layer is operated by an individual RAN node 511, or a "lower PHY" split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and upper parts of the PHY layer are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and the lower part of the PHY layer is operated by an individual RAN node 511. This virtualized framework allows freed processor cores of the RAN node 511 to run other virtualized applications. In some implementations, each RAN node 511 may represent an individual gNB-DU connected to a gNB-CU via an individual F1 interface (not shown in FIG. 5). In these implementations, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs (see, e.g., FIG. 8), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server located in the RAN 510 (not shown) or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 511 may be a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), which is a RAN node that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminals towards the UE 501 and is connected to the 5GC (e.g., CN 720 in FIG. 7) via an NG interface. In a MF implementation, the MF-AP 511 is an entity that provides MulteFire wireless services and may be similar to the eNB 511 in the 3GPP architecture. Each MF-AP 511 includes or provides one or more MF cells.

[0051] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the RAN nodes 511 may be or play the role of an RSU. The term "Road Side Unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, and an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB type RSU", etc. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled to radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to a passing vehicle UE 501 (vUE 501). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for detecting and controlling ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate in the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide very low latency communications necessary for high speed events such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate in the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications as well as other cellular communication services. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device(s) and the radio frequency circuitry of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or a backhaul network.

[0052] Any of the RAN nodes 511 may terminate the air interface protocols and be the first point of contact for the UE 501. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 511 may perform various logical functions for the RAN 510, including, but not limited to, a Radio Network Controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0053] In an embodiment, the UEs 501 may be configured to communicate with either one another or the RAN nodes 511 using OFDM communication signals over multi-carrier communication channels according to various communication technologies, including but not limited to OFDMA communication technologies (e.g., for downlink communications) or SC-FDMA communication technologies (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0054] Downlink and uplink transmissions may be organized into frames with a duration of 10 ms, with each frame containing ten 1 ms subframes. The slot duration is 14 symbols with normal CP and 12 symbols with extended CP, scaled in time as a function of the subcarrier spacing used, so that there is always an integer number of slots in a subframe. In an LTE implementation, a DL resource grid may be used for DL ​​transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 511 to the UE 501, while UL transmissions from the UE 501 to the RAN node 511 may utilize an appropriate UL resource grid in a similar manner. These resource grids may refer to time-frequency grids and may indicate the physical resources in the DL or UL at each slot. Each column and row of the DL resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively, and each column and row of the UL resource grid corresponds to one SC-FDMA symbol and one SC-FDMA subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. A resource grid contains a number of RBs that describes the mapping of a particular physical channel to REs. In the frequency domain, this can represent the smallest amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Each RB contains a collection of REs. An RE is the smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid. Each RE is uniquely identified by an index pair (k, l) in a slot, where

number

number

number

[0055] In an NR / 5G implementation, DL and UL transmissions are organized into frames with a duration of 10 ms, each of which contains ten 1 ms subframes. The number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe is

number

number

number

number

number

number

number

number

number

[0056] For each value and carrier, a common RB is indicated by higher layer signaling.

number

number

number

[0057] RB is, in the frequency domain,

number

number

number

[0058] It is expressed in resource block units assuming a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz for FR1 and 60 kHz for FR2, and in all other cases absoluteFrequencyPointA represents the frequency position of point A, which is represented by ARFCN.

[0059] The PRBμ for the subcarrier configuration is defined within the BWP and ranges from 0 to

number

number

number

number

number

number

[0060] Each element of the resource grid for antenna port p and subcarrier spacing configuration μ is called RE, and (k, l) p,μ A resource element (k,l) is uniquely identified by: p,μ is a physical resource and a complex value

number

[0061] BWP is the BWP on a given carrier i For a given numerology μ i The start position of the BWP is a contiguous subset of common resource blocks defined in 3GPP TS38.211, section 4.4.4.3 for the BWP.

number

number

number

number

[0062] A NB is defined as six non-overlapping consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain. The total number of DL NBs in the configured DL transmission BW in a cell is

number

number

number

number

[0063]

number

number

number

number

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number

[0064] There are several different physical channels and physical signals that are carried using RBs and / or individual REs. A physical channel corresponds to a set of REs that carry information originating from higher layers. A physical UL channel may include PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH, and / or other physical UL channel(s) discussed herein, and a physical DL channel may include PDSCH, PBCH, PDCCH, and / or any other physical DL channel(s) discussed herein. A physical signal is used by the physical layer (e.g., PHY 1110 in FIG. 11) but does not carry information originating from higher layers. A physical UL signal may include DMRS, PTRS, SRS, and / or other physical UL signal(s) discussed herein, and a physical DL signal may include DMRS, PTRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, and / or any other physical DL signal(s) discussed herein.

[0065] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 501. Typically, DL scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to the UEs 501 in a cell) may be performed in any of the RAN nodes 511 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 501. Downlink resource allocation information may be transmitted in a PDCCH used (e.g., assigned) for each of the UEs 501. The PDCCH conveys control information (e.g., DCI) using CCEs, and a set of CCEs may be referred to as a "control region." A control channel is formed by aggregation of one or more CCEs, and different code rates for the control channel are achieved by aggregating different numbers of CCEs. The CCEs may range from 0 to N CCE,k Numbered up to -1, where N CCE,k−1 is the number of CCEs in the control region of subframe k. Before being mapped to the REs, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets and then shuffled using a subblock interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, and each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical REs known as REGs. Four QPSK symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more CCEs depending on the size of the DCI and the channel conditions. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, 8 in LTE and L=1, 2, 4, 8, 16 in NR). UE 501 monitors a set of PDCCH candidates for one or more activated serving cells configured by higher layer signaling for control information (e.g., DCI), where monitoring means attempting to decode each of the PDCCHs (or PDCCH candidates) in the set according to all monitored DCI formats (e.g., DCI formats 0 through 6-2 as discussed in section 5.3.3 of 3GPP TS 38.212, DCI formats 0_0 through 2_3 as discussed in section 7.3 of 3GPP TS 38.212, etc.). UE 501 monitors (or attempts to decode) each set of PDCCH candidates in one or more configured monitoring occasions according to a corresponding search space configuration. The DCI carrying DL, UL or SL scheduling information requires aperiodic CQI reporting, LAA common information, notification of MCCH changes, UL power control commands for one cell and / or one RNTI, notification of the UE group 501 of the slot format, notification of the UE group of PRB(s) and OFDM symbol(s) that the UE may assume are not intended to transmit to the UE, TPC commands for PUCCH and PUSCH, and / or TPC commands for PUCCH and PUSCH. DCI coding steps are discussed in 3GPP TS 38.212.

[0066] Some embodiments may use a concept for resource allocation for control channel information that is an extension of the concept above. For example, some embodiments may utilize an EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more ECCEs. As above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as EREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

[0067] As mentioned above, the PDCCH can be used to schedule DL transmissions on the PDSCH and UL transmissions on the PUSCH, where the DCI on the PDCCH includes, inter alia, a downlink assignment including at least a modulation and coding format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the DL-SCH, and / or an uplink scheduling grant including at least a modulation and coding format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the UL-SCH. In addition to scheduling, the PDCCH may be used to activate and deactivate configured PUSCH transmission(s) with configured grants, activate and deactivate PDSCH semi-persistent transmission, inform one or more UEs 501 of the slot format, inform one or more UEs 501 of the PRB(s) and OFDM symbol(s) for which the UE 501 may assume no transmission is intended for the UE, transmit TPC commands for PUCCH and PUSCH, transmit one or more TPC commands for SRS transmission by one or more UEs 501, switch to an active BWP for the UE 501, and initiate a random access procedure.

[0068] In an NR implementation, the UE 501 monitors (or attempts to decode) a respective set of PDCCH candidates at one or more configured monitoring occasions in one or more configured CORESETs according to a corresponding search space configuration. A CORESET may include a set of PRBs having a time duration of 1 to 3 OFDM symbols. A CORESET may additionally or alternatively be a set of PDCCH candidates in the frequency domain.

number

number

[0069] According to various embodiments, the UE 501 and the RAN node 511 communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data over licensed media (also referred to as "licensed spectrum" and / or "licensed bands") and unlicensed shared media (also referred to as "unlicensed spectrum" and / or "unlicensed bands"). The licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range from about 400 MHz to about 3.8 GHz, and the unlicensed spectrum may include the 5 GHz band.

[0070] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 501 and the RAN node 511 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the UE 501 and the RAN node 511 may perform one or more known medium sensing and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a Listen Before Talk (LBT) protocol.

[0071] LBT is a mechanism by which a device (e.g., UE 501, RAN node 511, etc.) senses the medium (e.g., channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when it senses the medium idle (or senses that a particular channel in the medium is not occupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine the presence or absence of other signals on the channel to determine whether the channel is occupied or free. This LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with current occupied systems and with other LAA networks in unlicensed spectrum. The ED may include sensing RF energy over the intended transmission band for a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0072] Typically, the current occupying system in the 5 GHz band is a WLAN based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLAN adopts a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 501, AP 506, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmitting. Furthermore, a back-off mechanism is used to avoid collisions in a situation where two or more WLAN nodes simultaneously sense the channel as idle and transmit. The back-off mechanism may be a randomly drawn counter in the CWS, which is exponentially increased upon occurrence of a collision and reset to a minimum value upon successful transmission. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to CSMA / CA in WLAN. In some implementations, the LBT procedure for DL ​​or UL transmission bursts including PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions, respectively, may have an LAA contention window with a variable length between X ECCA slots and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the CWS for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for an LAA transmission may be 9 microseconds (μs), although the size of the CWS and MCOT (e.g., transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0073] The LAA mechanism is built on the CA technology of the LTE-Advanced system. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a CC. A CC can have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz, and can aggregate up to 5 CCs, so the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In an FDD system, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL ​​and UL, and the number of UL CCs is equal to or less than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, each CC can have a different bandwidth from other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the BW of each CC are usually the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0074] CA also includes individual serving cells providing individual CCs. For example, the coverage of serving cells may differ because CCs in different frequency bands experience different path losses. A primary serving cell or PCell may provide PCCs for both UL and DL and handle RRC and NAS related activities. Other serving cells are called SCells, and each SCell may provide separate SCCs for both UL and DL. While SCCs may be added and removed as needed, changing the PCC requires the UE 501 to undergo handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in an unlicensed spectrum (called "LAA SCell"), and the LAA SCell is backed by a PCell operating in a licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positions within the same subframe.

[0075] The RAN nodes 511 may be configured to communicate with each other via the interface 512. In an embodiment where the system 500 is an LTE system (e.g., where the CN 520 is the EPC 620 of FIG. 6), the interface 512 may be an X2 interface 512. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 511 (e.g., two or more eNBs) that connect to the EPC 520 and / or between two eNBs that connect to the EPC 520. In some implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide a flow control mechanism for user data packets forwarded over the X2 interface and may be used to communicate information regarding the distribution of user data between the eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information of user data forwarded from the MeNB to the SeNB, information regarding successful in-order delivery of PDCP PDUs from the SeNB to the UE 501 for user data, information regarding PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to the UE 501, information regarding the current minimum desired buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE, etc. The X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functions, load management functions, including context transfer from source eNB to target eNB, user plane transport control, etc., as well as inter-cell interference coordination functions. In embodiments where the system 100 is an MF system (e.g., where the CN 520 is an NHCN 520), the interface 512 may be an X2 interface 512. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 511 (e.g., two or more MF-APs, etc.) that connect to the NHCN 520 and / or between two MF-APs that connect to the NHCN 520. In these embodiments, the X2 interface may operate in the same or similar manner as described above.

[0076] In an embodiment where the system 500 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., where the CN 520 is the 5GC 720 of FIG. 7), the interface 512 may be an Xn interface 512. An Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 511 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) that connect to the 5GC 520, between a RAN node 511 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB that connect to the 5GC 520, and / or between two eNBs that connect to the 5GC 520. In some implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data transfer and flow control functions. The Xn-C may provide mobility support for the UE 501 in connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED), including management and error handling functions, functions to manage the Xn-C interface, and functions to manage UE mobility in connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 511. Mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 511 to the new (target) serving RAN node 511 and control of user plane tunnels between the old (source) serving RAN node 511 and the new (target) serving RAN node 511. To carry user plane PDUs, the protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on an Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer and a GTP-U layer on top of a UDP and / or IP layer(s). The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (called Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on SCTP. SCTP may be on top of the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. At the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver signaling PDUs.In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same as or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stack(s) shown and described herein.

[0077] The RAN 510 is shown communicatively coupled to a core network, in this embodiment, the CN 520. The CN 520 may comprise a number of network elements 522 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 501) connected to the CN 520 via the RAN 510. The components of the CN 520 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the network node functions described above via executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media (described in more detail below). A logical instantiation of the CN 520 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 520 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. The NFV architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions on physical resources including a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches, or may be performed by dedicated hardware. In other words, an NFV system can be used to execute a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0078] In general, the application server 530 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 530 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UE 501 via the EPC 520.

[0079] In an embodiment, the CN 520 may be a 5GC (e.g., referred to as "5GC 520"), and the RAN 510 may be connected to the CN 520 via an NG interface 513. In an embodiment, the NG interface 513 may be divided into two parts: an NG User Plane (NG-U) interface 514 that carries traffic data between the RAN node 511 and the UPF, and an S1 Control Plane (NG-C) interface 515 that is a signaling interface between the RAN node 511 and the AMF. An embodiment in which the CN 520 is a 5GC 520 will be described in more detail with respect to FIG. 7.

[0080] In an embodiment, the CN 520 may be a 5GCN (e.g., referred to as "5GC 520"), and in other embodiments, the CN 520 may be an EPC. When the CN 520 is an EPC (e.g., referred to as "EPC 520"), the RAN 510 may be connected to the CN 520 via an S1 interface 513. In an embodiment, the S1 interface 513 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 514 that carries traffic data between the RAN node 511 and the S-GW, and an S1-MME interface 515 that is a signaling interface between the RAN node 511 and the MME.

[0081] In an embodiment where the CN 520 is an MF NHCN 520, the one or more network elements 522 may include or operate one or more NH-MMEs, local AAA proxies, NH-GWs, and / or other similar such as MF NHCN elements. The NH-MME provides similar functionality as the MME in the EPC 520. The local AAA proxy is an AAA proxy that is part of the NHN that provides the AAA functionality required for interaction with the PSP AAA and 3GPP AAA. The PSP AAA is an AAA server (or pool of servers) that uses non-USIM credentials associated with the PSP and can be either internal or external to the NHN; 3GPP AAA is discussed in more detail in 3GPP TS 23.402. The NH-GW provides functionality similar to a combined S-GW / P-GW for non-EPC routed PDN connections. For EPC-routed PDN connectivity, the NHN-GW provides functionality similar to the aforementioned S-GW in its interaction with the MF-AP via the S1 interface 513, and similar to the TWAG in its interaction with the PLMN PDN-GW on the S2a interface. In some embodiments, the MF AP 511 may connect with the aforementioned EPC 520. In addition, the RAN 510 (referred to as "MF RAN 510" or the like) may connect with the NHCN 520 via the S1 interface 513. In these embodiments, the S1 interface 513 may be split into two parts: an S1-U interface 514 that carries traffic data between the RAN node 511 (e.g., "MF-AP 511") and the NH-GW, and an S1-MME-N interface 515 that is a signaling interface between the RAN node 511 and the NH-MME. The S1-U interface 514 and the S1-MME-N interface 515 have the same or similar functionality as the S1-U interface 514 and the S1-MME interface 515 of the EPC 520 discussed herein.

[0082] 6 illustrates an example architecture of a system 600 including a first CN 620 according to various embodiments. In this example, the system 600 may implement the LTE standard, where the CN 620 is an EPC 620 corresponding to the CN 520 of FIG. 5. Furthermore, the UE 601 may be the same as or similar to the UE 501 of FIG. 5, and the E-UTRAN 610 may be the same as or similar to the RAN 510 of FIG. 5 and may include the RAN node 511 described above. The CN 620 may comprise an MME 621, an S-GW 622, a P-GW 623, an HSS 624, and an SGSN 625.

[0083] The MME 621 may be similar in function to the control plane of a legacy SGSN and may implement MM functions to track the current location of the UE 601. The MME 621 may perform various MM procedures to manage mobility aspects of access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. MM (also referred to as "EPS MM" or "EMM" in E-UTRAN systems) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, data storage, etc. used to maintain knowledge of the current location of the UE 601, provide user identity confidentiality, and / or perform other similar services to the user / subscriber. Each UE 601 and the MME 621 may include an MM or EMM sub-layer, and an MM context may be established in the UE 601 and the MME 621 upon successful completion of the attach procedure. The MM context may be a data structure or database object that stores MM related information for the UE 601. The MME 621 may be coupled to the HSS 624 via the S6a reference point, to the SGSN 625 via the S3 reference point, and to the S-GW 622 via the S11 reference point.

[0084] The SGSN 625 may be a node serving the UE 601 by tracking the location of the individual UE 601 and performing security functions. Furthermore, the SGSN 625 may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between 2G / 3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks, PDN and S-GW selection specified by the MME 621, handling time zone functions for the UE 601 specified by the MME 621, and MME selection for handover to the E-UTRAN 3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between the MME 621 and the SGSN 625 enables user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle and / or active states.

[0085] The HSS 624 may comprise a database of network users, including subscription-related information that supports the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The EPC 620 may comprise one or more HSSs 624, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capabilities, network organization, etc. For example, the HSS 624 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. The S6a reference point between the HSS 624 and the MME 621 enables the transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the EPC 620 between the HSS 624 and the MME 621.

[0086] The S-GW 622 may terminate the S1 interface 513 ("S1-U" in FIG. 6) to the RAN 610 and route data packets between the RAN 610 and the EPC 620. In addition, the S-GW 622 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 interception, charging, and some policy enforcement. The S11 reference point between the S-GW 622 and the MME 621 may provide a control plane between the MME 621 and the S-GW 622. The S-GW 622 may be coupled with the P-GW 623 via an S5 reference point.

[0087] The P-GW 623 may terminate an SGi interface to the PDN 630. The P-GW 623 may route data packets between the EPC 620 and an external network, such as a network including an application server 530 (alternatively referred to as "AF"), via an IP interface 525 (see, e.g., FIG. 5). In an embodiment, the P-GW 623 may be communicatively coupled to an application server (application server 530 in FIG. 5 or PDN 630 in FIG. 6) via an IP communication interface 525 (see, e.g., FIG. 5). The S5 reference point between the P-GW 623 and the S-GW 622 may provide user plane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW 623 and the S-GW 622. The S5 reference point may also be used for relocation of the S-GW 622 when, due to mobility of the UE 601, the S-GW 622 needs to connect to a non-collocated P-GW 623 for the PDN connectivity it requires. The P-GW 623 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection, such as a PCEF (not shown). In addition, the SGi reference point between the P-GW 623 and a Packet Data Network (PDN) 630 may be an operator external public, a private PDN, or an operator intra-packet data network, for example to provide IMS services. The P-GW 623 may be coupled with the PCRF 626 via a Gx reference point.

[0088] The PCRF 626 is the policy and charging control element of the EPC 620. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF 626 in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the IP Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session of the UE 601. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the IP-CAN session of the UE 601: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 626 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 630 via the P-GW 623. The application server 630 may signal the PCRF 626 to indicate the new service flow and select the appropriate QoS and charging parameters. The PCRF 626 may provision this rule to a PCEF (not shown) with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which initiates the QoS and charging specified by the application server 630. The Gx reference point between the PCRF 626 and the P-GW 623 enables the transfer of QoS policies and charging rules from the PCRF 626 to the PCEF of the P-GW 623. The Rx reference point may be between the PDN 630 (or "AF 630") and the PCRF 626.

[0089] 7 illustrates an architecture of a system 700 including a second CN 720 according to various embodiments. The system 700 is shown to include a UE 701, which may be the same as or similar to the UE 501 and UE 601 discussed above, an (R)AN 710, which may be the same as or similar to the RAN 510 and RAN 610 discussed above and may include the RAN node 511 discussed above, a DN 703, which may be, for example, an operator service, internet access, or a third party service, and a 5GC 720. The 5GC 720 may include an AUSF 722, an AMF 721, an SMF 724, an NEF 723, a PCF 726, an NRF 725, an UDM 727, an AF 728, a UPF 702, and an NSSF 729.

[0090] The UPF 702 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnecting to the DN 703, and a branching point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 702 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce 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), enforce transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 702 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to the data network. The DN 703 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third party services. The DN 703 may include or be similar to the application server 530 described above. The UPF 702 may interact with the SMF 724 via the N4 reference point between the SMF 724 and the UPF 702.

[0091] The AUSF 722 may store data for authentication of the UE 701 and process authentication related functions. The AUSF 722 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 722 may communicate with the AMF 721 via the N12 reference point between the AMF 721 and the AUSF 722 and with the UDM 727 via the N13 reference point between the UDM 727 and the AUSF 722. In addition, the AUSF 722 may exhibit a Nausf service based interface.

[0092] The AMF 721 may be involved in registration management (e.g., registering UE 701, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, as well as access authentication and authorization. The AMF 721 may be the termination point of the N11 reference point between the AMF 721 and the SMF 724. The AMF 721 may provide transport for SM messages between the UE 701 and the SMF 724 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 721 may also provide transport for SMS messages between the UE 701 and the SMSF (not shown in FIG. 7). The AMF 721 may act as a SEAF, which may include interaction with the AUSF 722 and the UE 701, and receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 701 authentication process. If USIM-based authentication is used, the AMF 721 may obtain security material from the AUSF 722. The AMF 721 may also include an SCM function that receives keys from the SEA to use to derive access network specific keys. Furthermore, the AMF721 may be the termination point of the RAN CP interface and may include or be the N2 reference point between the (R)AN710 and the AMF721, and the AMF721 may be the termination point of the NAS (N1) signaling and may perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection.

[0093] The AMF 721 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 701 via the N3IWF interface. The N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3IWF may be the termination point of the N2 interface between the (R)AN 710 and the AMF 721 in the control plane, and may be the termination point of the N3 reference point between the (R)AN 710 and the UPF 702 in the user plane. Thus, the AMF 721 may process N2 signaling from the SMF 724 and the AMF 721 for PDU sessions and QoS, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for IPsec and N3 tunneling, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and enforce QoS corresponding to N3 packet markings taking into account QoS requirements associated with such markings received over the N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 701 and the AMF 721 via the N1 reference point between the UE 701 and the AMF 721, and may relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 701 and the UPF 702. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for IPsec tunnel establishment with the UE 701. The AMF 721 represents a Namf service-based interface and may be the termination point of the N14 reference point between two AMFs 721, and the N17 reference point between the AMF 721 and the 5G-EIR (not shown in FIG. 7).

[0094] The UE 701 may need to register with the AMF 721 to receive network services. The RM is used to register or deregister the UE 701 with a network (e.g., the AMF 721) and establish a UE context in the network (e.g., the AMF 721). The UE 701 may operate in an RM-REGISTERED state or an RM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, the UE 701 is not registered with the network and the UE context in the AMF 721 does not hold valid location or routing information for the UE 701 such that the UE 701 is not reachable by the AMF 721. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 701 is registered with the network and the UE context in the AMF 721 may hold valid location or routing information for the UE 701 such that the UE 701 is reachable by the AMF 721. In the RM-REGISTERED state, among other things, the UE 701 may perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by the expiration of a periodic update timer (e.g., to inform the network that the UE 701 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network.

[0095] The AMF 721 may store one or more RM contexts for the UE 701, each RM context associated with a particular access to the network. The RM context may be a data structure, database object, etc. indicating or storing, among other things, registration state and periodic update timers per access type. The AMF 721 may also store a 5GC MM context, which may be the same as or similar to the (E)MM context described above. In various embodiments, the AMF 721 may store CE Mode B restriction parameters of the UE 701 in the associated MM context or RM context. The AMF 721 may also derive values ​​from the UE's usage configuration parameters already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context), as appropriate.

[0096] The CM may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 701 and the AMF 721 over the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between the UE 701 and the CN 720 and comprises both a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., an RRC connection or a UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and an N2 connection for the UE 701 between the AN (e.g., the RAN 710) and the AMF 721. The UE 701 may operate in either of two CM states: CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode. When the UE 701 is operating in a CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 701 may not have an established NAS signaling connection with the AMF 721 over the N1 interface, and there may be an (R)AN 710 signaling connection (e.g., an N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 701. When the UE 701 is operating in a CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 701 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 721 via the N1 interface, and there may be an (R)AN 710 signaling connection (e.g., an N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 701. Upon establishment of the N2 connection between the (R)AN 710 and the AMF 721, the UE 701 may transition from a CM-IDLE mode to a CM-CONNECTED mode, and the UE 701 may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode when the N2 signaling between the (R)AN 710 and the AMF 721 is released.

[0097] The SMF 724 is responsible for and may perform SM (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between the UPF and AN nodes), UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization), selection and control of UP functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF to route traffic to the appropriate destination, termination of the interface to the policy control function, control of policy enforcement and part of QoS, lawful interception (for SM events and interface to the LI system), termination of the SM part of NAS messages, notification of downlink data, initiation of AN-specific SM information sent over N2 to the AN via the AMF, and determination of the SSC mode of the session. SM refers to management of PDU sessions, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables exchange of PDUs between the UE 701 and a data network (DN) 703 identified by a data network name (DNN). PDU sessions may be established at UE701 request, modified at UE701 and 5GC720 request, and released at UE701 and 5GC720 request using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1 reference point between UE701 and SMF724. 5GC720 may trigger a specific application in UE701 upon request from an application server. In response to receiving a trigger message, UE701 may pass the trigger message (or relevant parts / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE701. The identified application(s) in UE701 may establish a PDU session to a specific DNN. SMF724 may check whether UE701 request is compliant with user subscription information associated with UE701. In this regard, SMF724 may request to obtain and / or receive update notifications for SMF724 level subscription data from UDM727.

[0098] The SMF 724 may include the following roaming functions: handling of local enforcement for applying QoS SLA (VPLMN), collection of charging data and charging interface (VPLMN), lawful intercept (of SM events in the VPLMN and interface to the LI system), and support for interworking with an external DN for carrying signaling for authorization / authentication of PDU sessions by the external DN. An N16 reference point between two SMFs 724 may be included in the system 700, which may be between another SMF 724 in a visited network and an SMF 724 in a home network in a roaming scenario. Additionally, the SMF 724 may exhibit an Nsmf service-based interface.

[0099] The NEF 723 may provide a means for securely disclosing services and capabilities offered by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal disclosure / re-disclosure, application functions (e.g., AF 728), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such an embodiment, the NEF 723 may authenticate, authorize, and / or coordinate AFs. The NEF 723 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 728 and with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 723 may translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 723 may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on the other network functions' disclosed capabilities. This information may be stored in the NEF 723 as structured data or in a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-disclosed by the NEF 723 to other NFs and AFs and / or used for other purposes, such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 723 may exhibit Nnef service-based interfaces.

[0100] NRF 725 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 725 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instance," and the like, may refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object that may occur, for example, during the execution of program code. Additionally, NRF 725 may expose Nnrf service-based interfaces.

[0101] The PCF726 may provide policy rules to the control plane function(s) to enforce them and support a unified policy framework to govern network behavior. The PCF726 may also implement a FE to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM727. The PCF726 may communicate with the AMF721 via an N15 reference point between the PCF726 and the AMF721, and in the case of a roaming scenario, may include the PCF726 in the visited network and the AMF721. The PCF726 may communicate with the AF728 via an N5 reference point between the PCF726 and the AF728, and may communicate with the SMF724 via an N7 reference point between the PCF726 and the SMF724. The system 700 and / or the CN720 may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF726 (in the home network) and the PCF726 in the visited network. Additionally, the PCF726 may exhibit an Npcf service-based interface.

[0102] The UDM 727 may process subscription related information to support network entity processing of communication sessions and store subscription data of the UE 701. For example, the subscription data may be communicated between the UDM 727 and the AMF 721 via the N8 reference point between the UDM 727 and the AMF. The UDM 727 may include two parts, application FE and UDR (FE and UDR are not shown in FIG. 7). The UDR may store structured data for subscription data and policy data of the UDM 727 and the PCF 726, and / or discovery and application data of the NEF 723 (including PFD for application discovery, application request information for multiple UEs 701). A Nudr service-based interface may be exposed by the UDR 221 for the UDM 727, PCF 726, and NEF 723 to access a particular set of stored data and further to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of related data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different front-ends may provide services to 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. The UDR may interact with the SMF 724 via the N10 reference point between the UDM 727 and the SMF 724. The UDM 727 may also support SMS management, and the SMS-FE implements application logic similar to that described above. In addition, the UDM 727 may present a Nudm service-based interface.

[0103] The AF728 may influence traffic routing for applications, provide access to the NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. The NCE may be a mechanism by which the 5GC720 and the AF728 may provide information to each other via the NEF723, which may be used for edge computing implementations. In such implementations, network operators and third party services may be hosted close to the UE701's point of attachment to achieve efficient service delivery through reduced end-to-end latency and load on the transport network. In edge computing implementations, the 5GC may select a UPF702 in close proximity to the UE701 and perform traffic steering from the UPF702 to the DN703 over the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF728. In this way, the AF728 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on the operator's deployment, when the AF728 is deemed to be a trusted entity, the network operator may allow the AF728 to interact directly with the associated NFs. Additionally, the AF 728 may expose a Naf service-based interface.

[0104] The NSSF729 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE701. The NSSF729 may also determine the allowed NSSAIs and their mapping to subscribed S-NSSAIs, if necessary. The NSSF729 may also determine the AMF set to be used to serve the UE701, or a list of candidate AMF(s) 721, based on a preferred configuration and possibly by querying the NRF725. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE701 may be triggered by the AMF721 to which the UE701 is registered by interacting with the NSSF729, which may lead to changes in the AMF721. The NSSF729 may interact with the AMF721 via the N22 reference point between the AMF721 and the NSSF729, and communicate with another NSSF729 in the visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown in FIG. 7). Furthermore, the NSSF729 may indicate an Nnssf service-based interface.

[0105] As mentioned above, the CN 720 may include an SMSF that is involved in SMS subscription checks and validation and may relay SM messages to and from the UE 701 and other entities such as SMS-GMSC / IWMSC / SMS Router. The SMS may also interact with the AMF 721 and UDM 727 for procedures to notify that the UE 701 is available for SMS transfer (e.g., set the UE unreachable flag and notify the UDM 727 when the UE 701 is available for SMS).

[0106] The CN 520 may also include other elements not shown in FIG. 7, such as a data storage system / architecture, a 5G-EIR, a SEPP, etc. The data storage system may include an SDSF, a UDSF, etc. Any NF may store and retrieve unstructured data in and from a UDSF (e.g., UE context) via an N18 reference point (not shown in FIG. 7) between any NF and the UDSF. Individual NFs may share a UDSF to store their respective unstructured data, or each individual NF may have its own UDSF at or near each individual NF. Furthermore, the UDSF may exhibit a Nudsf service-based interface (not shown in FIG. 7). The 5G-EIR may be an NF that checks the status of the PEI to determine if a particular device / entity is blacklisted in the network, and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0107] In addition, there may be many further reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in the NF, but these interfaces and reference points are omitted in Figure 7 for clarity. In one embodiment, the CN 720 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., MME 621) and an AMF 721 to enable interworking between the CN 720 and the CN 620. Other example interfaces / reference points may include the N5g-EIR service-based interface presented by the 5G-EIR, the N27 reference point between the NRF in the visited network and the NRF in the home network, and the N31 reference point between the NSSF in the visited network and the NSSF in the home network.

[0108] 8 illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment 800, in accordance with various embodiments. Infrastructure equipment 800 (or "system 800") may be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node, such as the aforementioned RAN node 511 and / or AP 506, application server(s) 530, and / or any other element / device described herein. In other examples, system 800 may be implemented in or by a UE.

[0109] System 800 includes application circuitry 805, baseband circuitry 810, one or more radio front-end modules (RFEMs) 815, memory circuitry 820, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 825, power tee circuitry 830, network controller circuitry 835, network interface connector 840, satellite positioning circuitry 845, and user interface 850. In some embodiments, device 800 may include additional elements, such as, for example, memory / storage, a display, a camera, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in two or more devices. For example, the circuits may be included separately in two or more devices for CRAN, vBBU, or other similar implementations.

[0110] The application circuitry 805 may include, but is not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, as well as low dropout regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers, SPI, I 2The application circuitry 805 may include one or more of the following circuits: a serial interface such as a universal programmable serial interface module (UPLC), a real-time clock (RTC), timer counters including interval and watchdog timers, a general purpose input / output (I / O or IO), a memory card controller such as a Secure Digital (SD) Multimedia Card (MMC), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface, and a Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access port. A processor (or core) of the application circuitry 805 may be coupled to or may include memory / storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage elements to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 800. In some implementations, the memory / storage elements may be on-chip memory circuits, which may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology as described herein.

[0111] The processor(s) of application circuitry 805 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, application circuitry 805 may include or be a special purpose processor / controller that operates in accordance with various embodiments herein. By way of example, the processor(s) of application circuit 805 may include one or more Intel Pentium®, Core®, or Xeon® processor(s), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s), Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), or Epyc® processor, ARM-based processor(s) licensed from ARM Holdings Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A family processors, and processors of MIPS-based designs offered by MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as ThunderX2® offered by Cavium™, Inc., MIPS Warrior P-class processors, etc. In some embodiments, system 800 may not utilize application circuit 805 and may instead include a dedicated processor / controller for processing IP data received from, for example, an EPC or 5GC.

[0112] In some implementations, the application circuitry 805 can include one or more hardware accelerators, which can be a microprocessor, a programmable processing device, or the like. The one or more hardware accelerators can include, for example, a computer vision (CV) and / or a deep learning (DL) accelerator. By way of example, the programmable processing device can be one or more of a field programmable device (FPD), such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), an ASIC, such as a structured ASIC, a programmable SoC (PSoC), or the like. In such implementations, the circuitry of the application circuitry 805 can include logic blocks or logic fabrics and other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions of various implementations described herein. In such an embodiment, the circuitry of the application circuit 805 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), antifuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc., in look-up tables (LUTs), etc.

[0113] The baseband circuitry 810 may be implemented, for example, as a soldered board containing one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. The various hardware electronic elements of the baseband circuitry 810 are described below with respect to FIG.

[0114] User interface circuitry 850 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with system 800 or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with system 800. User interfaces may include, but are not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio emitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or device, etc. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0115] The radio front-end module (RFEM) 815 may include a millimeter-wave (mm-wave) RFEM and one or more sub-mm-wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mm-wave RFICs may be physically separate from the mm-wave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, for example, antenna array 10111 in FIG. 10 below), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mm-wave and sub-mm-wave radio functions may be implemented within the same physical RFEM 815 that incorporates both mm-wave and sub-mm-wave antennas.

[0116] The memory circuitry 820 may include one or more of volatile memory including dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and non-volatile memory (NVM) including high speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), and the like, and may incorporate Intel® and Micron® three-dimensional (3D) cross point (XPOINT) memory. The memory circuitry 820 may be implemented as one or more of a solder packaged integrated circuit, a socketed memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0117] The PMIC 825 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as a battery or a capacitor. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of brownout (under-voltage) and surge (over-voltage) conditions. The power T-circuit 830 may supply power drawn from a network cable providing both power and data connectivity to the infrastructure equipment 800 using a single cable.

[0118] The network controller circuitry 835 may provide connectivity to a network using a standard network interface protocol, such as Ethernet, Ethernet over a GRE tunnel, Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the infrastructure equipment 800 via the network interface connectors 840 using a physical connection that may be electrical (commonly referred to as "copper wiring"), optical, or wireless. The network controller circuitry 835 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuitry 835 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0119] The positioning circuitry 845 includes circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcast by a positioning network of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the United States Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, the Chinese Beidou navigation satellite system, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., Navigation by Indian Constellation (NAVIC), the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), the French Doppler Orbitography and Radio positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS), etc.). The positioning circuitry 845 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. to facilitate OTA communication) for communicating with components of the positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuitry 845 may include a Micro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (Micro-PNT) IC for performing position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance using a master timing clock. The positioning circuitry 845 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuitry 810 and / or the RFEM 815 to communicate with nodes and components of a positioning network. The positioning circuitry 845 may also provide position and / or time data to the application circuitry 805, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructures (e.g., RAN nodes 511, etc.), etc.

[0120] The components shown in FIG. 8 may communicate with each other using interface circuitry, which may include a number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Extended ISA (EISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Enhanced Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCIx), PCI Express (PCIe), or a number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be, for example, a proprietary bus used in an SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems, such as the I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface, and power bus, etc. may be included.

[0121] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a platform 900 (or "device 900"), according to various embodiments. In an embodiment, the computer platform 900 may be suitable for use as a UE 501, 601, 701, an application server 530, and / or any other element / device described herein. The platform 900 may include any combination of components illustrated in the examples. The components of the platform 900 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a portion thereof, a separate electronic device, or other module, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted to the computer platform 900, or as components otherwise incorporated within the chassis of a larger system. The block diagram of FIG. 9 is intended to illustrate a high-level view of the components of the computer platform 900. However, some of the components illustrated may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the illustrated components may occur in other implementations.

[0122] The application circuit 905 may include, but is not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more LDOs, interrupt controllers, SPIs, I 2The application circuitry 905 may include circuits such as a serial interface such as a SPI, SPI-C, or universal programmable serial interface module, timer counters including RTC, interval and watchdog timers, general purpose I / O, memory card controllers such as SD MMC, USB interface, MIPI interface, and JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuitry 905 may be coupled to or may include memory / storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage elements to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 900. In some implementations, the memory / storage elements may be on-chip memory circuits, which may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology as described herein.

[0123] The processor(s) of application circuitry 805 may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, multi-threaded processors, very low voltage processors, embedded processors, some other known processing elements, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, application circuitry 805 may include or be a special purpose processor / controller that operates in accordance with various embodiments herein.

[0124] By way of example, the processor(s) of application circuit 905 may include a processor based on the Intel® Architecture Core®, such as a Quark®, Atom®, i3, i5, i7, or MCU class processor, or another such processor available from Intel® Corporation of Santa Clara, California. The processor of the application circuit 905 may also include one or more of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s) or Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), A5-A9 processor(s) from Apple® Inc., Snapdragon™ processor(s) from Qualcomm® Technologies, Inc., Texas Instruments, Inc.® Open Multimedia Applications Platform (OMAP)™ processor(s), MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors, ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd, such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M families of processors, and the like. In some implementations, the application circuit 905 may be part of a system-on-chip (SoC) in which the application circuit 905 and other components are formed on a single integrated circuit or in a single package, such as the Edison™ or Galileo™ SoC boards manufactured by Intel® Corporation.

[0125] Additionally or alternatively, the application circuitry 905 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more field programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs, programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as composite PLDs (CPLDs) and high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), ASICs such as structured ASICs, programmable SoCs (PSoCs), etc. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuitry 905 may include logic blocks or logic fabrics and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, and functions of various embodiments described herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuitry 905 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc., in look-up tables (LUTs), etc.

[0126] The baseband circuitry 910 may be implemented, for example, as a soldered board containing one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. The various hardware electronic elements of the baseband circuitry 910 are discussed below with respect to FIG.

[0127] The RFEM 915 may include a millimeter-wave (mm-wave) RFEM and one or more sub-mm-wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mm-wave RFICs may be physically separate from the mm-wave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, for example, antenna array 1011 in FIG. 10 below), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mm-wave and sub-mm-wave wireless functionality may be implemented within the same physical RFEM 915 that incorporates both mm-wave antennas and sub-mm-wave.

[0128] The memory circuitry 920 may include any number and type of memory devices used to provide a given amount of system memory. By way of example, the memory circuitry 920 may include one or more of volatile memory including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and non-volatile memory (NVM) including high speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuitry 920 may be developed according to the Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC) low power double data rate (LPDDR) based designs, such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuitry 920 may be implemented as one or more of a solder package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP) or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered onto a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low power implementation, the memory circuitry 920 may be an on-die memory or register associated with the application circuitry 905. To provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuitry 920 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include a solid state disk drive (SSDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, a resistive memory, a phase change memory, a holographic memory, or a chemical memory, among others. For example, the computer platform 900 may incorporate three-dimensional (3D) cross point (XPOINT) memory from Intel® and Micron®.

[0129] Removable memory circuitry 923 may include devices, circuits, enclosures, ports or receptacles, etc. used to couple portable data storage devices with platform 900. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage purposes and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, microSD cards, xD image cards, etc.), USB flash drives, optical disks, external HDDs, etc.

[0130] Platform 900 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) used to connect external devices with platform 900. External devices connected to platform 900 via the interface circuitry include sensor circuitry 921 and electromechanical components (EMC) 922, as well as a removable memory device coupled to removable memory circuitry 923.

[0131] The sensor circuitry 921 may include devices, modules, or subsystems intended to detect events or changes in the environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others, inertial measurement units (IMUs) including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and / or magnetometers, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) including 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, and / or magnetometers, level sensors, flow sensors, temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors), pressure sensors, barometric pressure sensors, gravimeters, altimeters, image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures), light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., infrared detectors, etc.), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonic transceivers, microphones or other similar audio capture devices, etc.

[0132] EMC 922 includes devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to enable platform 900 to change its state, position, and / or orientation, or to move or control a mechanism or (sub)system. Additionally, EMC 922 may be configured to generate and send messages / signals to other components of platform 900 to indicate a current state of EMC 922. Examples of EMC 922 include one or more power switches, relays including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and / or solid-state relays (SSRs), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible sound generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks, and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, platform 900 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 922 based on one or more captured events and / or commands or control signals received from service providers and / or various clients.

[0133] In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect the platform 900 with a positioning circuitry 945. The positioning circuitry 945 includes circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcast by a GNSS positioning network. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China's Beidou navigation satellite system, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.), etc. The positioning circuitry 945 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. to facilitate OTA communications) for communicating with components of the positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuitry 945 may include a Micro-PNT IC for performing position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance using a master timing clock. The positioning circuitry 945 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuitry 810 and / or the RFEM 915 to communicate with nodes and components of a positioning network. The positioning circuitry 945 may also provide position and / or time data to the application circuitry 905, which may use the data to synchronize operation with various infrastructures (e.g., wireless base stations), such as for turn-by-turn navigation applications.

[0134] In some implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 900 with a near field communication (NFC) circuit 940. The NFC circuit 940 is configured to provide contactless short-range communication based on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) standard, and magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between the NFC circuit 940 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touch point") external to the platform 900. The NFC circuit 940 comprises an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip / IC that provides the NFC circuit 940 with NFC functionality by executing the NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to radiate a near-field RF signal. The RF signal can power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmit stored data to the NFC circuitry 940, or can initiate data transmission between the NFC circuitry 940 in proximity to the platform 900 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or NFC-enabled POS terminal).

[0135] The driver circuitry 946 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the platform 900. The driver circuitry 946 may include individual drivers that enable other components of the platform 900 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the platform 900. For example, the driver circuitry 946 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface of the platform 900, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuitry 921 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuitry 921, an EMC driver for obtaining actuator positions of the EMC 922 and / or controlling and allowing access to the EMC 922, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0136] A power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 925 (also referred to as "power management circuit 925") may manage the power supplied to various components of the platform 900. In particular, with respect to the baseband circuit 910, the PMIC 925 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. If the platform 900 can be powered by a battery 930, for example, if the device is included in a UE 501, 601, 701, then the PMIC 925 is often included.

[0137] In some embodiments, the PMIC 925 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the platform 900. For example, if the platform 900 is in an RRC connected state and is still connected to a RAN node because it expects to receive traffic shortly, after some period of inactivity the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state the platform 900 may power down for short intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 900 may transition to an RRC_Idle state, where the platform disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handovers, etc. The platform 900 goes into a very low power state, performs paging, where it periodically wakes up again, listens to the network, and powers down again. The platform 900 cannot receive data in this state, and must transition to the RRC connected state to receive data. In further power saving modes, the device may be allowed to be unavailable from the network for longer than the paging interval (which can range from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time the device may not be able to reach the network at all and may be powered down completely. Any data sent during this time will be significantly delayed, but the delay is deemed acceptable.

[0138] The battery 930 may power the platform 900, although in some examples the platform 900 may be deployed and mounted at a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 930 may be a lithium ion battery, a metal air battery such as an air zinc battery, an aluminum air battery, a lithium air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as for V2X applications, the battery 930 may be a typical lead acid automobile battery.

[0139] In some implementations, the battery 930 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in the platform 900 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 930. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 930 to provide fault predictions, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 930. The BMS may communicate information about the battery 930 to the application circuit 905 or other components of the platform 900. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 905 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 930 or the current from the battery 930. The battery parameters may be used to determine operations that the platform 900 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0140] A power block, or other power source coupled to the electric grid, may be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 930. In some examples, the power block XS30 may be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain power wirelessly, for example, via a loop antenna in the computer platform 900. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit may be included in the BMS. The particular charging circuit selected may depend on the size of the battery 930 and thus the current required. Charging may be performed using the Airfuel standard promulgated by the Airfuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard promulgated by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence charging standard promulgated by the Alliance for Wireless Power, among others.

[0141] User interface circuitry 950 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present in or connected to platform 900, including one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with platform 900 and / or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with platform 900. User interface circuitry 950 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, among others, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying or otherwise communicating information, such as a sensor reading, an actuator position(s), or other similar information. The output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, among others, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators, such as binary status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), and multi-character visual outputs or more complex outputs, such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., liquid crystal display (LCD), LED display, quantum dot display, projector, etc.), which may output characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., generated or created from operation of the platform 900. The output device circuitry may also include a speaker or other audio emitting device, printer(s), and / or the like. In some embodiments, the sensor circuitry 921 may be used as an input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.), and one or more EMCs may be used as output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator for providing tactile feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuitry comprising an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processing device may be included for reading an electronic tag and / or connecting with another NFC-enabled device.Peripheral component interfaces include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power interface, and the like.

[0142] Although not shown, the components of platform 900 can communicate with each other using any suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, a Time Triggered Protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be, for example, a proprietary bus / IX used in an SoC-based system. In particular, the I 2 Other bus / IX systems may be included such as a C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus.

[0143] Figure 10 illustrates components of a baseband circuit 100 and a radio front-end module (RFEM) 1015, according to various embodiments. The baseband circuit 1010 corresponds to the baseband circuit 810 and 910 of Figures 8 and 9, respectively. The RFEM 1015 corresponds to the RFEM 815 and 915 of Figures 8 and 9, respectively. As shown, the RFEM 1015 may include a radio frequency (RF) circuit 1006, a front-end module (FEM) circuit 1008, and an antenna array 1011 coupled together, at least as shown.

[0144] The baseband circuitry 1010 includes circuitry and / or control logic configured to perform various wireless / network protocol and wireless control functions that enable communication with one or more wireless networks via the RF circuitry 1006. The wireless control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1010 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1010 may include convolutional, tail-biting convolutional, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functionality. The embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. The baseband circuitry 1010 is configured to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1006 and generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1006. The baseband circuitry 1010 is configured to interface with the application circuitry 805 / 905 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) for generating and processing baseband signals and for controlling the operation of the RF circuitry 1006. The baseband circuitry 1010 can handle a variety of radio control functions.

[0145] The aforementioned circuitry and / or control logic of the baseband circuit 1010 may include one or more single or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor 1004A, a 4G / LTE baseband processor 1004B, a 5G / NR baseband processor 1004C, or some other baseband processor(s) 1004D of other existing, developing, or future generations (e.g., sixth generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of the baseband processors 1004A-1004D may be included in modules stored in the memory 1004G and executed via a central processing unit (CPU) 1004E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of the baseband processors 1004A-1004D may be provided as hardware accelerators (e.g., FPGAs, ASICs, etc.) with appropriate bitstreams or logic blocks stored in respective memory cells. In various embodiments, the memory 1004G can store program code of a real-time operating system (RTOS) that, when executed by the CPU 1004E (or other baseband processor), causes the CPU 1004E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources, schedule tasks, etc. of the baseband circuitry 1010. Examples of RTOS can include Operating System Embedded (OSE)™ provided by Enea™, Nucleus RTOS™ provided by Mentor Graphics™, Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Mentor Graphics™, ThreadX™ provided by Express Logic™, FreeRTOS, REX OS provided by Qualcomm™, OKL4 provided by Open Kernel (OK) Labs™, or any other suitable RTOS as described herein. Additionally, the baseband circuitry 1010 includes one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1004F.The audio DSP(s) 1004F include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements.

[0146] In some embodiments, each of the processors 1004A-1004E includes a respective memory interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from the memory 1004G. The baseband circuit 1010 may further include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as an interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from a memory external to the baseband circuit 1010, an application circuit interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from the application circuits 805 / 905 of FIGS. 8-10, an RF circuit interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from the RF circuit 1006 of FIG. 10, a wireless hardware connection interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from one or more wireless hardware elements (e.g., a Near Field Communication (NFC) component, a Bluetooth® / Bluetooth® Low Energy component, a WiFi® component, etc.), and a power management interface for transmitting power or control signals to and from the PMIC 925.

[0147] In an alternative embodiment (which may be combined with the above-mentioned embodiments), the baseband circuitry 1010 comprises one or more digital baseband systems coupled to each other and to a CPU subsystem, an audio subsystem, and an interface subsystem via an interconnection subsystem. The digital baseband subsystem may also be coupled to a digital baseband interface and a mixed-signal baseband subsystem via another interconnection subsystem. Each of the interconnection subsystems may include a bus system, a point-to-point connection, a network-on-chip (NOC) structure, and / or some other suitable bus or interconnection technology such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include DSP circuitry, buffer memory, program memory, audio processing accelerator circuitry, data conversion circuitry such as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion circuitry, analog circuitry including one or more of amplifiers and filters, and / or other similar components. In one aspect of the disclosure, the baseband circuitry 1010 may include a protocol processing circuitry having one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuitry and / or the radio frequency circuitry (e.g., the radio front-end module 1015).

[0148] Although not shown in FIG. 10, in some implementations, the baseband circuitry 1010 includes individual processing device(s) for executing one or more wireless communication protocols (e.g., a “multi-protocol baseband processor” or “protocol processing circuit”) and individual processing device(s) for implementing PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the radio control functions described above. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry operates or implements various protocol layers / entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, the protocol processing circuitry may operate LTE protocol entities and / or 5G / NR protocol entities when the baseband circuitry 1010 and / or the RF circuitry 1006 are part of a mmWave communication circuit or some other suitable cellular communication circuit. In a first example, the protocol processing circuitry operates MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, the protocol processing circuitry may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols when the baseband circuitry 1010 and / or the RF circuitry 1006 are part of a Wi-Fi communication system. In a second embodiment, the protocol processing circuitry operates WiFi MAC and Logical Link Control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuitry may include one or more memory structures (e.g., 1004G) for storing program code and data for operating the protocol functions, and one or more processing cores for executing the program code and performing various operations using the data. The baseband circuitry 1010 may also support wireless communication for two or more wireless protocols.

[0149] The various hardware elements of the baseband circuitry 1010 discussed herein may be implemented, for example, as a soldered board containing one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged IC soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuitry 1010 may be suitably combined in a single chip, or chipset, or may be located on the same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the components constituting the baseband circuitry 1010 and the RF circuitry 1006 may be implemented together, for example, as a system-on-chip SoC or a system-in-package (SiP). In another example, some or all of the components constituting the baseband circuitry 1010 may be implemented as a separate SoC communicatively coupled to the RF circuitry 1006 (or multiple instances of the RF circuitry 1006). In yet another example, some or all of the components constituting the baseband circuitry 1010 and the application circuitry 805 / 905 may be implemented together as individual SoCs attached to the same circuit board (e.g., a "multi-chip package").

[0150] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1010 may provide communications compatible with one or more wireless technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1010 may support communications with E-UTRAN or other WMANs, WLANs, WPANs. An embodiment in which the baseband circuitry 1010 is configured to support wireless communications of two or more wireless protocols may be referred to as a multi-mode baseband circuit.

[0151] The RF circuitry 1006 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 1006 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for downconverting RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1008 and providing a baseband signal to the baseband circuitry 1010. The RF circuitry 1006 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for upconverting baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1010 and providing an RF output signal to the FEM circuitry 1008 for transmission.

[0152] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 1006 may include a mixer circuit 1006a, an amplifier circuit 1006b, and a filter circuit 1006c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 1006 may include a filter circuit 1006c, and a mixer circuit 1006a. The RF circuit 1006 may also include a combiner circuit 1006d for combining frequencies used by the mixer circuit 1006a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006a of the receive signal path may be configured to downconvert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 1008 based on a combined frequency provided by the combiner circuit 1006d. The amplifier circuit 1006b may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and the filter circuit 1006c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 1010 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0153] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006a in the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 1006d to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 1008. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 1010 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 1006c.

[0154] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006a in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1006a in the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006a in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1006a in the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006a in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1006a in the transmit signal path may be configured for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006a in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1006a in the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0155] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuitry 1010 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuitry 1006.

[0156] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals in each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0157] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1006d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the present embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 1006d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer that includes a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0158] The combiner circuit 1006d may be configured to combine, based on a frequency input and a divider control input, an output frequency used by the mixer circuit 1006a of the RF circuit 1006. In some embodiments, the combiner circuit 1006d may be a fractional N / N+1 combiner.

[0159] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1010 or the application circuitry 805 / 905, depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application circuitry 805 / 905.

[0160] The synthesizer circuit 1006d of the RF circuit 1006 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on the implementation) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some exemplary embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal-phase packets, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0161] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1006d may be configured to generate the carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1006 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0162] The FEM circuitry 1008 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the antenna array 1011, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1006 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 1008 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 1006 for transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 1011. In various embodiments, amplification throughout the transmit or receive signal path may occur solely in the RF circuitry 1006, solely in the FEM circuitry 1008, or both in the RF circuitry 1006 and the FEM circuitry 1008.

[0163] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1008 may include a TX / RX switch for switching between transmit and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 1008 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 1008 may include an LNA for amplifying a received RF signal and providing the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1006). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1008 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 1006) and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 1011.

[0164] The antenna array 1011 comprises one or more antenna elements, each configured to convert electrical signals into radio waves as they travel through the air and to convert received radio waves into electrical signals. For example, a digital baseband signal provided by the baseband circuitry 1010 is converted into an analog RF signal (e.g., a modulated waveform) that is amplified and transmitted via antenna elements of the antenna array 1011, which includes one or more antenna elements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formed in multiple arrangements as known and / or as described herein. The antenna array 1011 may include microstrip antennas or printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. The antenna array 1011 may be formed as patches of metal foil (e.g., patch antennas) of various shapes and may be coupled to the RF circuit 1006 and / or the FEM circuit 1008 using metal transmission lines or the like.

[0165] The processors of the application circuits 805 / 905 and the processors of the baseband circuitry 1010 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processors of the baseband circuitry 1010 may be used alone or in combination to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processors of the application circuits 805 / 905 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and may also execute layer 4 functions (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As referred to herein, layer 3 may include the RRC layer, which is described in more detail below. As referred to herein, layer 2 may include the MAC layer, the RLC layer, and the PDCP layer, which are described in more detail below. As referred to herein, layer 1 may include the PHY layer of the UE / RAN node, which is described in more detail below.

[0166] Figure 11 illustrates various protocol functions that may be implemented in a wireless communication device according to various embodiments. In particular, Figure 11 includes an arrangement 1100 illustrating interconnections between various protocol layers / entities. The following description of Figure 11 is provided for various protocol layers / entities operating in conjunction with a 5G / NR system standard and an LTE system standard, although some or all of the aspects of Figure 11 may be applicable to other wireless communication network systems, and the like.

[0167] The protocol layers of arrangement 1100 may include one or more of PHY 1110, MAC 1120, RLC 1130, PDCP 1140, SDAP 1147, RRC 1155, and NAS layer 1157, in addition to other higher layer functions not shown. The protocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g., items 1159, 1156, 1150, 1149, 1145, 1135, 1125, and 1115 of FIG. 11 ) that may provide communication between two or more protocol layers.

[0168] The PHY 1110 can transmit and receive physical layer signals 1105 that can be received or transmitted to and from one or more other communication devices. The physical layer signals 1105 can include one or more physical channels, as described herein. The PHY 1110 can further perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers, such as the RRC 1155. The PHY 1110 can also perform error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transport channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. In an embodiment, an instance of the PHY 1110 can process requests and provide indications from an instance of the MAC 1120 via one or more PHY-SAPs 1115. According to some embodiments, the requests and indications communicated via the PHY-SAP 1115 may include one or more transport channels.

[0169] An instance or instances of the MAC 1120 can process requests from and provide indications to instances of the RLC 1130 via one or more MAC-SAPs 1125. These requests and indications communicated via the MAC-SAPs 1125 can include one or more logical channels. The MAC 1120 can perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels onto TBs delivered to the PHY 1110 via transport channels, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs to one or more logical channels delivered to the PHY 1110 via transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, and logical channel prioritization.

[0170] An instance or instances of the RLC 1130 may process requests from and provide indications to instances of the PDCP 1140 via one or more Radio Link Control Service Access Points (RLC-SAPs) 1135. These requests and indications communicated via the RLC-SAPs 1135 may include one or more RLC channels. The RLC 1130 may operate in multiple modes of operation, including Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC 1130 may perform transfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction with Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) for AM data transfer, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfer. RLC 1130 may also perform resegmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transfer, reordering of RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transfer, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transfer, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfer, detect protocol errors for AM data transfer, and perform RLC re-establishment.

[0171] An instance or instances of PDCP 1140 may process requests and provide indications to an instance or instances of RRC 1155 and / or an instance or instances of SDAP 1147 via one or more Packet Data Integration Protocol Service Access Points (PDCP-SAP) 1145. These requests and indications communicated via PDCP-SAP 1145 may comprise one or more radio bearers. PDCP 1140 may perform header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SN), perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs upon lower layer re-establishment, remove duplicates of lower layer SDUs upon lower layer re-establishment for radio bearers mapped onto RLC AM, perform ciphering and decryption of control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data, control timer-based discard of data, and perform security operations (e.g., ciphering, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0172] An instance or instances of the SDAP 1147 may process requests and provide indications from one or more higher layer protocol entities via one or more SDAP-SAPs 1149. These requests and indications communicated via the SDAP-SAPs 1149 may include one or more QoS flows. The SDAP 1147 may map QoS flows to DRBs and vice versa, and may also mark QFIs in DL and UL packets. A single SDAP entity 1147 may be configured for each PDU session. In the UL direction, the NG-RAN 510 may control the mapping of QoS flows to DRB(s) in two different ways: reflective mapping or explicit mapping. For reflective mapping, the SDAP 1147 of the UE 501 may monitor the QFI of DL packets for each DRB and apply the same mapping for packets flowing in the UL direction. For a DRB, the SDAP 1147 of the UE 501 may map the QoS flow(s) corresponding to the QoS flow ID(s) and the UL packets belonging to the observed PDU session in the DL packets for that DRB. To enable reflective mapping, the NG-RAN 710 may mark DL packets on the Uu interface with the QoS flow ID. Explicit mapping may include the RRC 1155 configuring the SDAP 1147 with explicit QoS flow to DRB mapping rules, which the SDAP 1147 may store and follow. In an embodiment, the SDAP 1147 may be used only in NR implementations and may not be used in LTE implementations.

[0173] The RRC 1155 may configure aspects of one or more protocol layers, which may include one or more instances of the PHY 1110, the MAC 1120, the RLC 1130, the PDCP 1140, and the SDAP 1147, via one or more Management Service Access Points (M-SAPs). In an embodiment, an instance of the RRC 1155 may process requests and provide indications from one or more NAS entities 1157, via one or more RRC-SAPs 1156. The main services and functions of the RRC 1155 may include broadcasting of system information (e.g., contained in MIBs or SIBs related to the NAS), broadcasting of system information related to the Access Stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of RRC connections between the UE 501 and the RAN 510 (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. The MIB and SIB may each contain one or more IEs, which may contain individual data fields or data structures.

[0174] The NAS 1157 may form the highest layer of the control plane between the UE 501 and the AMF 721. The NAS 1157 may support mobility and session management procedures of the UE 501 to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE 501 and the P-GW of the LTE system.

[0175] According to various embodiments, one or more protocol entities of 1100 may be implemented in the UE 501, the RAN node 511, the AMF 721 of an NR implementation or the MME 621 of an LTE implementation, the UPF 702 of an NR implementation or the S-GW 622 and P-GW 623 of an LTE implementation, etc., used for a control plane or user plane communication protocol stack between the above-mentioned devices. In such an embodiment, one or more protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of the UE 501, the gNB 511, the AMF 721, etc., may communicate with a respective peer protocol entity that may be implemented in or on another device using the services of the respective lower layer protocol entity to perform such communication. In some embodiments, the gNB-CU of the gNB 511 may host the RRC 1155, SDAP 1147, and PDCP 1140 of the gNB that control the operation of one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DU of the gNB 511 may host the RLC 1130, MAC 1120, and PHY 1110 of the gNB 511, respectively.

[0176] In a first example, the control plane protocol stack may comprise, from top to bottom, NAS 1157, RRC 1155, PDCP 1140, RLC 1130, MAC 1120, and PHY 1110. In this embodiment, upper layers 1160 may be built on top of NAS 1157, including an IP layer 1161, an SCTP 1162, and an application layer signaling protocol (AP) 1163.

[0177] In an NR implementation, the AP 1163 may be an NG application protocol layer (NGAP or NG-AP) 1163 for an NG interface 513 defined between an NG-RAN node 511 and an AMF 721, or the AP 1163 may be an Xn application protocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) 1163 for an Xn interface 512 defined between two or more RAN nodes 511.

[0178] The NG-AP 1163 supports the functionality of the NG interface 513 and may comprise elementary procedures (EPs). The NG-AP EP may be the unit of interaction between the NG-RAN node 511 and the AMF 721. The NG-AP 1163 services may comprise two groups: UE-related services (e.g., services associated with the UE 501) and non-UE-related services (e.g., services related to the entire NG interface instance between the NG-RAN node 511 and the AMF 721). These services include a paging function for sending paging requests to NG-RAN nodes 511 involved in a particular paging area; a UE context management function for enabling the AMF 721 to establish, modify, and / or release UE context in the AMF 721 and the NG-RAN node 511; a mobility function for the UE 501 in ECM-CONNECTED mode for intra-system HO to support mobility within the NG-RAN and inter-system HO to support mobility to / from the EPS system; and a NAS signaling function for forwarding or rerouting NAS messages between the UE 501 and the AMF 721. These may include, but are not limited to, a nulling forwarding function, a NAS node selection function for determining association between the AMF721 and the UE501, an NG interface management function(s) for configuring the NG interface and monitoring errors on the NG interface, an alert message sending function for forwarding alert messages over the NG interface or providing a means to cancel the broadcast of alert messages, a configuration forwarding function for requesting and transmitting RAN configuration information (e.g., SON information, performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between the two RAN nodes 511 via the CN520, and / or other similar functions.

[0179] The XnAP 1163 supports the functionality of the Xn interface 512 and may comprise XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. The XnAP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UE mobility within the NG RAN 511 (or E-UTRAN 610), such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN status transfer procedures, UE context lookup and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, dual connectivity related procedures, etc. The XnAP global procedures may comprise procedures that are not related to a specific UE 501, such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RAN update procedures, cell activation procedures, etc.

[0180] In an LTE implementation, the AP 1163 may be an S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 1163 for an S1 interface 513 defined between an E-UTRAN node 511 and an MME, or the AP 1163 may be an X2 application protocol layer (X2AP or X2-AP) 1163 for an X2 interface 512 defined between two or more E-UTRAN nodes 511.

[0181] The S1 Application Protocol Layer (S1-AP) 1163 may support the functionality of the S1 interface, and similar to the NG-AP described above, the S1-AP may include an S1-AP EP. The S1-AP EP may be the unit of interaction between the E-UTRAN node 511 and the MME 621 in the LTE CN 520. The S1-AP 1163 services may comprise two groups: UE-related services and non-UE-related services. These services perform functions including, but not limited to, E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transmission, RAN Information Management (RIM), and configuration transfer.

[0182] The X2AP 1163 supports the functionality of the X2 interface 512 and may comprise X2AP basic mobility procedures and X2AP global procedures. The X2AP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UE mobility within the E-UTRAN 520, such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN status transfer procedures, UE context lookup and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, dual connectivity related procedures, etc. The X2AP global procedures may comprise procedures that are not related to a specific UE 501, such as X2 interface setup and reset procedures, load indication procedures, error indication procedures, cell activation procedures, etc.

[0183] The SCTP layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP / IP layer) 1162 may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP or XnAP messages in a NR implementation, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in a LTE implementation). The SCTP 1162 may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 511 and the AMF 721 / MME 621 based in part on the IP protocol supported by the IP 1161. The Internet Protocol layer (IP) 1161 may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. In some implementations, the IP layer 1161 may use point-to-point transmission to deliver and convey PDUs. In this regard, the RAN node 511 may include L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) with the MME / AMF to exchange information.

[0184] In a second embodiment, the user plane protocol stack may comprise, from highest layer to lowest layer, an SDAP 1147, a PDCP 1140, an RLC 1130, a MAC 1120, and a PHY 1110. The user plane protocol stack may be used for communication between the UE 501, the RAN node 511, and the UPF 702 in an NR implementation, or between the S-GW 622 and the P-GW 623 in an LTE implementation. In this embodiment, the upper layers 1151 may be built on top of the SDAP 1147 and may include a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and IP Security Layer (UDP / IP) 1152, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol for the User Plane Layer (GTP-U) 1153, and a User Plane PDU Layer (UP PDU) 1163.

[0185] The transport network layer 1154 (also called the "transport layer") may be built on top of IP transport, and the GTP-U 1153 may be used to transport user plane PDUs (UP-PDUs) on top of the UDP / IP layer 1152 (which includes a UDP layer and an IP layer). The IP layer (also called the "Internet layer") may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. The IP layer may assign IP addresses to user data packets, for example, in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats.

[0186] The GTP-U 1153 may be used to carry user data within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network and the core network. The transmitted user data may be packets in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats, for example. The UDP / IP 1152 may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers to accommodate different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication on selected data flows. The RAN node 511 and the S-GW 622 may utilize the S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack comprising the L1 layer (e.g., PHY 1110), the L2 layer (e.g., MAC 1120, RLC 1130, PDCP 1140, and / or SDAP 1147), the UDP / IP layer 1152, and the GTP-U 1153. The S-GW 622 and the P-GW 623 may utilize an S5 / S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack comprising an L1 layer, an L2 layer, a UDP / IP layer 1152, and a GTP-U 1153. As previously discussed, the NAS protocol may support mobility and session management procedures of the UE 501 to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE 501 and the P-GW 623.

[0187] Additionally, although not shown in FIG. 11, there may be an application layer above the AP 1163 and / or the transport network layer 1154. The application layer may be a layer where a user of the UE 501, RAN node 511, or other network element interacts with software applications executed, for example, by application circuitry 805 or application circuitry 905, respectively. The application layer may also provide one or more interfaces through which the software applications interact with a communication system of the UE 501 or RAN node 511, such as the baseband circuitry 1010. In some implementations, the IP layer and / or application layer may provide functionality that is the same as or similar to layers 5-7 or portions thereof of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (e.g., OSI layer 7-application layer, OSI layer 6-presentation layer, and OSI layer 5-session layer).

[0188] 12 is a block diagram illustrating components that can read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 12 illustrates 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. In embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1202 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices utilizing the hardware resources 1200.

[0189] Processors 1210 may include, for example, processor 1212 and processor 1214. Processor 1210(s) 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 discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0190] Memory / storage 1220 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. Memory / storage 1220 may include any type of volatile or non-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.

[0191] Communications resources 1230 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripherals 1204 or one or more databases 1206 over network 1208. For example, communications resources 1230 may include a wired communications component (e.g., for coupling via USB), a cellular communications component, an NFC component, a Bluetooth® or Bluetooth® Low Energy component, a WiFi® component, and other communications components.

[0192] The instructions 1250 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code to cause at least one of the processors 1210 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 1250 may reside, completely or partially, in at least one of the processors 1210 (e.g., in a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage 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 peripherals 1204 or the database 1206. Thus, the memory of the processor 1210, the memory / storage 1220, the peripherals 1204, and the database 1206 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0193] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more of the 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 figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the Example section.

[0194] Terminology For purposes of this specification, the following terms and definitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.

[0195] The term "circuit" refers to a circuit or a system of circuits configured to perform a particular function within an electronic device. A circuit or a system of circuits may be part of or may include one or more hardware components, such as logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or groups), and / or memories (shared, dedicated, or groups), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), composite PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), systems on chips (SoCs), systems in packages (SiPs), system chip packages (MCPs), digital signal processors (SDPs), etc., configured to provide the described functionality. In addition, the term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code used to perform the function of that program code. Some types of circuits may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functions. Such a combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0196] As used herein, the term "processor circuitry" refers to, is a part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations, or the recording, storage, and / or transfer of digital data. The term "processor circuitry" may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and / or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes. The terms "application circuitry" and / or "baseband circuitry" are considered synonymous with "processor circuitry" and may be referred to as "processor circuitry."

[0197] As used herein, the terms "memory" and / or "memory circuitry" refer to one or more hardware devices for storing data, including random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), phase change random access memory (PRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and / or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), core memory, read only memory (ROM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, or other machine-readable media for data storage. The term "computer-readable medium" can include, but is not limited to, memory, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other media capable of storing, containing, or carrying instructions or data.

[0198] 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, and / or the like.

[0199] The term "user equipment" or "UE" as used herein refers to a device having wireless communication capabilities and may represent 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, wireless equipment, reconfigurable wireless equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Additionally, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0200] 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, networked hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, etc.

[0201] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic device, computing device, or components thereof. Additionally, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" can refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Additionally, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" can 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.

[0202] As used herein, the terms "machine," "computer machine," 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 machine" is a virtual machine image implemented by a device with a hypervisor that virtualizes or emulates a computing machine or is dedicated to providing specific computing resources.

[0203] The term "element" refers to a unit that is indivisible at a given level of abstraction and has clearly defined boundaries, and an element can be any type of entity including, for example, one or more devices, systems, controllers, network elements, modules, etc., or a combination thereof.

[0204] The term "device" refers to a physical entity embedded within or attached to another physical entity in its vicinity, and capable of transmitting digital information to and from that physical entity.

[0205] The term "entity" refers to a distinct component of an architecture or device, or information transferred as a payload.

[0206] The term "controller" refers to an element or entity that has the ability to affect a physical entity, such as by changing its state or causing the physical entity to move.

[0207] 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 in a particular device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU usage, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or usage, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, database and application, workload units, etc. "Hardware resources" can refer to computational, storage, and / or network resources provided by a physical hardware element(s). "Virtualization resources" can refer to computational, storage, and / or network resources provided by a virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The term "network resources" or "communication resources" can refer to resources accessible by a computer device / system via a communication network. The term "system resources" can refer to any kind of shared entity for providing services and can include computing resources and / or network resources. A system resource may be thought of as a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services that reside on a single host or on multiple hosts and are accessible through a clearly identifiable server.

[0208] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium used to communicate data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous 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 terminology indicating a path or medium over which data is communicated. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices over a RAT for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information.

[0209] As used herein, the term "communications protocol" refers to a standardized set of rules or instructions implemented by a communications device and / or system to communicate with other devices and / or systems, including instructions for packetizing / non-packetizing data, modulating / demodulating signals, implementing a protocol stack, and the like.

[0210] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiation," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. An "instance" also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, such as may occur during the execution of program code.

[0211] The terms "coupled" and "communicatively coupled," along with their derivatives, are used herein. The term "coupled" can mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, can mean that two or more elements are in indirect contact with each other and still cooperate or interact with each other, and / or can mean 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" can mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with each other. The term "communicatively coupled" can mean that two or more elements can be in contact with each other by communication means, including via wires or other interconnections, via wireless communication channels or inks, and the like.

[0212] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to an individual piece of content in an information element or data element that contains the content.

[0213] The term "admission control" refers to a verification process in a communication system in which a check is performed before a connection is established to see if the current resources are sufficient for the proposed connection.

[0214] The term "SMTC" refers to the SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration.

[0215] The term "SSB" refers to SS / PBCH block.

[0216] The term "primary cell" refers to an MCG cell operating on a primary frequency, on which the UE performs an initial connection establishment procedure or initiates a connection re-establishment procedure.

[0217] "Primary SCG cell" refers to the SCG cell to which the UE makes random access when performing reconfiguration using the synchronization procedure for DC operation.

[0218] The term "secondary cell" refers to a cell that provides additional radio resources above the special cell for a UE configured with CA.

[0219] The term "secondary cell group" refers to a subset of serving cells including a PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with a DC.

[0220] The term "serving cell" refers to a primary cell for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED that is not configured with CA / DC, and there is only one serving cell that consists of the primary cell.

[0221] The term "serving cell" refers to the set of cells including the special cell(s) and all secondary cells for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA / .

[0222] The term "special cell" refers to a PCell of an MCG or a PSCell of an SCG for DC operation. Otherwise, the term "special cell" refers to a PCell.

[0223] In the above specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. However, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes can be made to those embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the specification and drawings should be considered in an illustrative sense, not a restrictive one. Details in the description and examples provided may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments. Various features of different embodiments or examples may be combined in various ways with some features included, and other features may be omitted to suit various different applications. Examples may include subject matter such as a method, a means for performing the operations of the method, and at least one machine-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the operations of the method, or the operations of the apparatus or system according to the embodiments and examples described herein. In addition, various components described herein may be means for performing the operations or functions described according to an embodiment.

[0224] Embodiments described herein provide a user equipment (UE), comprising a processor that configures the UE to receive one or more repetitions of a transport block (TB) using a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) beam and obtain downlink control information (DCI) including one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, and configures the UE to switch from the first PDSCH beam to a second PDSCH beam different from the first PDSCH beam based at least in part on the one or more TCI states.

[0225] Other embodiments described herein provide a computer-implemented method that includes configuring a UE to receive one or more repetitions of a transport block (TB) using a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) beam, obtaining downlink control information (DCI) including one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, and configuring the UE to switch from the first PDSCH beam to a second PDSCH beam different from the first PDSCH beam based at least in part on the one or more TCI states.

[0226] Other embodiments described herein provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure a UE to receive one or more repetitions of a transport block (TB) using a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) beam and obtain downlink control information (DCI) including one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, and configure the UE to switch from the first PDSCH beam to a second PDSCH beam, the second PDSCH beam being different from the first PDSCH beam, based at least in part on the one or more TCI states.

[0227] In some examples, the UE may be configured to receive one or more repetitions of a transport block (TB) using a second physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) beam. In some examples, the processor may determine a first PDSCH target code rate and a first PDSCH duration for a first set of repetitions of the transport block (TB) and a second PDSCH target code rate and a second PDSCH duration for a second set of repetitions of the transport block (TB). In some examples, the process may process or determine a sequence of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states representing downlink (DL) beam repetitions based on the received downlink control information (DCI), where one or more distinct TCI states of the sequence of TCI states represent corresponding downlink (DL) beams, and configure the UE to receive one or more DL transmissions (Tx) via one or more DL channels according to the sequence of TCI states.

[0228] In some examples, the processor may configure the UE to receive a first set of downlink transmissions (DL Tx) according to a default repetition and to receive a second set of DL Tx according to one or more repetitions of a sequence of TCI states. In some examples, the processor may configure the UE to receive a first set of downlink transmissions (DL Tx) with a first modulation order, a first target code rate, a first transport block (TB) size, and a first DL channel duration, and to receive a second set of downlink transmissions (DL Tx) with a second modulation order, a second target code rate, a second transport block (TB) size, and a second DL channel duration DL. Tx has a modulation order of n times the target code rate, a TB size, and 1 / n times the DL channel duration. In some examples, the second target code rate is a multiple of the first target code rate, and the second DL channel duration is a fraction of the first DL channel duration.

[0229] Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the above Detailed Description of the Invention. Thus, the true scope of the present embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon study of the drawings, specification, and claims that follow.

Claims

1. A method comprising: generating a first capability indicator for uplink full power mode 2 operation, the first capability indicator indicating one or more transmit precoding matrix indicators (TPMIs) that support full power transmission; generating a second capability indicator for uplink full power mode 2 operation, the second capability indicator indicating that a user equipment (UE) supports a sounding resource signal (SRS) resource configuration; generating one or more signals comprising the first capability indicator and the second capability indicator, the one or more signals being transmitted to a base station.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first capability indicator comprises a 2-bit TPMI bitmap to indicate that the one or more TPMIs support full power transmission when the UE is configured for dual-port operation.

3. generating a third capability indicator to indicate an index of a TPMI group having at least one TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port partially coherent operation or non-coherent operation; The method of claim 2 further comprising:

4. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first capability indicator indicates an index of a TPMI group including the one or more TPMIs that support full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port non-coherent operation or partially coherent operation.

5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first capability indicator comprises: a TPMI bitmap for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for two-port operation; a first TPMI group index for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port non-coherent operation; and a second TPMI group index for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port, partially coherent operation.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second capability indicator indicates a maximum number of SRS resources that the UE supports for an SRS resource set.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the maximum number is 1, 2, or 4.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SRS resource configuration includes at least two SRS resources having different numbers of SRS ports.

9. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a processor circuit to: generating a first capability indicator for uplink full power mode 2 operation, the first capability indicator indicating one or more transmit precoding matrix indicators (TMPIs) that support full power transmission; generating a second capability indicator for uplink full power mode 2 operation, the second capability indicator indicating that a user equipment (UE) supports a sounding resource signal (SRS) resource configuration; One or more computer-readable media for generating one or more signals to include the first capability indicator and the second capability indicator, the one or more signals being transmitted to a base station.

10. 10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the first capability indicator comprises a 2-bit TPMI bitmap to indicate that the one or more TPMIs support full power transmission when the UE is configured for dual-port operation.

11. The instructions, when executed, further cause the processor circuitry to:

10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, further comprising: generating a third capability indicator to indicate an index of a TPMI group having at least one TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port partially coherent operation or non-coherent operation.

12. 10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the first capability indicator indicates an index of a TPMI group including the one or more TPMIs that support full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port non-coherent operation or partially coherent operation.

13. 10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the first capability indicator includes: a TPMI bitmap for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for two-port operation; a first TPMI group index for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port non-coherent operation; and a second TPMI group index for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port, partially coherent operation.

14. 10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the second capability indicator indicates a maximum number of SRS resources that the UE supports for an SRS resource set.

15. 15. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 14, wherein the maximum number is one, two, or four.

16. 10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the SRS resource configuration includes at least two SRS resources having different numbers of SRS ports.

17. An apparatus comprising: receiving one or more signals from a user equipment (UE), the one or more signals including: a first capability indicator for indicating one or more transmit precoding matrix indicators (TMPIs) supporting full power transmission for uplink full power mode 2 operation; and a second capability indicator indicating support for the UE for sounding resource signal (SRS) resource configuration; determining UE capabilities based on the first capability indicator and the second capability indicator; An apparatus comprising: a processing circuit that generates configuration instructions to be transmitted to the UE.

18. 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first capability indicator comprises a 2-bit TPMI bitmap to indicate that the one or more TPMIs support full power transmission when the UE is configured for dual-port operation.

19. The processing circuitry further comprises:

20. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising: receiving a third capability indicator to indicate an index of a TPMI group having at least one TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port partially coherent operation or non-coherent operation.

20. 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first capability indicator indicates an index of a TPMI group including the one or more TPMIs that support full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port non-coherent operation or partially coherent operation.

21. 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first capability indicator indicates: a TPMI bitmap for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for two-port operation; a first TPMI group index for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port non-coherent operation or partially coherent operation; and a second TPMI group index for indicating a TPMI supporting full power transmission when the UE is configured for four-port, partially coherent operation.

22. 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the second capability indicator indicates a maximum number of SRS resources that the UE supports for an SRS resource set, the maximum number being one, two, or four.

23. 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the SRS resource configuration includes at least two SRS resources having different numbers of SRS ports.

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