Extension of Aperiodic Sounding Reference Signal Configuration

Abstract

According to certain embodiments, a method (1100) is provided over the air (110) for receiving (1102) an indication of a particular one of a plurality of Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) configurations for an Antenna Switching Configuration (ASC) from a network node (160). At least one SRS is transmitted (1104) to the network node based on the particular one of the plurality of SRS configurations for the ASC.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, and more particularly, to systems and methods for extending sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration.

Background Art

[0002] A sounding reference signal (SRS) is used in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR) of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) system to estimate channels in the uplink (UL). The uses for SRS are mainly to derive appropriate transmit / receive beams or to perform link adaptation (i.e., settings of rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) precoder) for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission by providing a reference signal to evaluate channel quality. The signal is a functional unit similar to the downlink (DL) channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) that provides similar beam management and link adaptation functions in the DL. SRS can be used instead of (or in combination with) CSI-RS to obtain DL channel state information (CSI) (using the reciprocity of the uplink-downlink channels) to enable physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) link adaptation.

[0003] In LTE and NR, SRS is configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC), and some parts of the configuration can be updated (to reduce latency) by Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling. The configuration includes SRS resource allocation (physical mapping and order of use), as well as the time (aperiodic / semi-persistent / periodic) behavior. In the case of an aperiodic SRS transmission, the RRC configuration deactivates SRS transmission from the User Equipment (UE), but instead a dynamic activation trigger is sent from the gNodeB (gNB) via the Downlink Control Information (DCI) of the Downlink Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to instruct the UE to transmit SRS once at a given time.

[0004] SRS Configuration The SRS configuration enables the generation of an SRS transmission pattern based on SRS resource settings grouped into SRS resource sets. Each SRS resource is configured with the RRC Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN) code disclosed in 3GPP TS 38.331, version 16.1.0. To create SRS resources on the time-frequency grid with the current RRC configuration, each SRS resource can thus be configured with respect to the following. ● Transmission comb (i.e., mapping for every nth subcarrier (n = 2 or n = 4)), configured by the RRC parameter transmissionComb. ○ For each SRS resource, a comb offset is specified, configured by the RRC parameter combOffset (i.e., which of the n combs to use). ○ A cyclic shift is also specified, which maps the SRS sequence to the comb it is allocated to, configured by the RRC parameter cyclicShift. The cyclic shift increases the number of SRS resources that can be mapped to a comb, but there are limitations on the number of cyclic shifts available depending on the transmission comb used. ● The time domain position of the SRS resource within a given slot is configured by the RRC parameter resourceMapping. ○ The time domain start position of the SRS resource, which is restricted to be one of the last six symbols within a slot, is set by the RRC parameter startPosition. ○ The number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols for the SRS resource (which can be set to 1, 2, or 4) is set by the RRC parameter nrofSymbols. ○ The repetition factor (which can be set to 1, 2, or 4) is set by the RRC parameter repetitionFactor. When this parameter is greater than 1, the same frequency resource is used multiple times over multiple OFDM symbols and is used to improve coverage when more energy is collected by the receiver. It can also be used for the beam management function where the gNB can examine different receive beams for each repetition. ● The given frequency domain sounding bandwidth and the position of the SRS resource in a given OFDM symbol (i.e., which part of the system bandwidth is occupied by the SRS resource) are set by the RRC parameters freqDomainPosition, freqDomainShit, and the freqHopping parameters (c-SRS, b-SRS, and b-hop). The minimum possible sounding bandwidth in a given OFDM symbol is four resource blocks (RBs).

[0005] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram that provides how the time and frequency of the SRS resource are allocated in a given OFDM symbol within a slot. Note that c-SRS controls the maximum sounding bandwidth, which can be narrower than the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the UE. For example, the UE may have the ability to transmit over a 40 MHz bandwidth, but c-SRS is set to a smaller value corresponding to 5 MHz, thereby concentrating the available transmit power on narrowband transmission to improve SRS coverage.

[0006] In NR Release 16, an additional RRC parameter called resourceMapping-r16 was introduced. When resourceMapping-r16 is signaled, the UE shall ignore the RRC parameter resourceMapping. The difference between resourceMapping-r16 and resourceMapping is that the SRS resource (where the number of OFDM symbols and the repetition factor remain limited to 4) can start at any of the 14 OFDM symbols within a slot, as set by the RRC parameter startPosition-r16. Figure 2 shows a schematic of how the time and frequency of the SRS resource are allocated within a slot when resourceMapping-r16 is signaled.

[0007] The RRC parameter resourceType sets whether the resource is transmitted periodically, aperiodically (single transmission triggered by DCI), or semi-persistently (same as periodic, but the start and stop of the periodic transmission are controlled by MAC CE signaling instead of RRC signaling). The RRC parameter sequenceId specifies how the SRS sequence is initialized, and the RRC parameter spatialRelationInfo sets the spatial relation of the SRS beam to a reference signal (RS) which can be any of another SRS, a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), or a CSI-RS. Thus, if the SRS has a spatial relation to another SRS, this SRS should be transmitted using the same beam (i.e., spatial transmission filter) as the indicated SRS.

[0008] The SRS resource is configured as part of an SRS resource set. Within the set, the following parameters (common to all resources within the set) are configured in RRC. ● For each possible resource type (aperiodic, periodic, and semi-persistent), the associated CSI-RS resource (this setting is only applicable to UL transmissions other than codebook-based). For aperiodic SRS, the associated CSI-RS resource is set by the RRC parameter csi-RS. For periodic and semi-persistent SRS, the associated CSI-RS resource is set by the RRC parameter associatedCSI-RS. Note that all resources within a resource set must share the same resource type. ● For aperiodic resources, the slot offset is set by the RRC parameter slotOffset, which sets the delay from the reception of the PDCCH trigger measured within the slot to the transmission of the SRS resource. ● The resource handling set by the RRC parameter usage sets the constraints and assumptions for resource characteristics (see 3GPP TS 38.214). ● The power control RRC parameters alpha, p0, pathlossReferenceRS (indicating the downlink reference signal (RS) that can be used for path loss estimation), srs-PowerControlAdjustmentStates, and pathlossReferenceRSList-r16 (for NR Release 16) used to determine the SRS transmission power.

[0009] Therefore, with respect to resource allocation, it can be seen that the SRS resource set sets the handling, power control, aperiodic transmission timing, and DL resource association. The SRS resource configuration controls the time and frequency allocation, the periodicity and offset of each resource, the sequence ID of each resource, and the spatial relationship information.

[0010] Resource mapping for the antenna part The SRS resource can be configured with four different processes: "beamManagement", "codebook", "nonCodebook", or "antennaSwitching".

[0011] The SRS resources within the SRS resource set configured with the "beamManagement" process are mainly applicable to frequency bands above 6 GHz (i.e., frequency range 2 (FR2)), and the purpose is to enable the UE to evaluate different UE transmission beams for a wideband (e.g., analog) beamforming array. The UE then transmits one SRS resource for each wideband beam, and the gNB performs reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements for each of the transmitted SRS resources, thus determining a suitable UE transmission beam. The gNB can then notify the UE which transmission beam to use by updating the spatial relationship for different UL reference signals (RSs). It is expected that the gNB configures one SRS resource set for the UE using the "beamManagement" process for each analog array (panel) the UE has.

[0012] The SRS resources within the SRS resource set configured with the "codebook" process are used to sound different UE antennas and enable the gNB to determine a suitable precoder, rank, and MCS for PUSCH transmission. How each SRS port is mapped to each UE antenna depends on the UE implementation, but it is expected that one SRS port is transmitted for each UE antenna, i.e., the SRS port-to-antenna port mapping is the identity matrix.

[0013] The SRS resources within the SRS resource set for which the process "nonCodebook" is configured are used to sound different potential precoders that are autonomously determined by the UE. The UE determines a set of precoder candidates based on reciprocity, transmits one SRS resource for each candidate precoder, and the gNB can then select which precoder the UE should use for PUSCH transmission by indicating a subset of these SRS resources. For each indicated SRS, and thus for each candidate precoder, one UL layer is transmitted. How the UE maps the SRS resources to the antenna ports is determined by the UE implementation and also according to the channel realization.

[0014] The SRS resources within the SRS resource set for which the process "antennaSwitching" is configured are used to sound the UL channel so that the gNB can determine a suitable DL precoder using reciprocity. If the UE has the same number of transmit chains and receive chains, the UE is expected to transmit one SRS port for each UE antenna. However, the mapping from the SRS port to the antenna port is transparent to the gNB by the UE's decision.

[0015] SRS Coverage The UL coverage for SRS is identified as a bottleneck for NR and a limiting factor for DL reciprocity-based operation. Several metrics to improve the coverage of SRS, such as repetition of SRS resources and / or frequency hopping, have been adapted in NR. Figure 3 shows an example of SRS transmission using frequency hopping. Specifically, Figure 3 shows that different parts of the frequency band are sounded in different OFDM symbols, meaning that the power spectral density (PSD) of the SRS is improved. Here, the illustrated frequency hopping pattern is set according to Section 6.4 of 3GPP TS 38.211.

[0016] Figure 4 shows an example of SRS transmission using iteration, in which one SRS resource is transmitted in four consecutive OFDM symbols, thereby increasing the processing gain of SRS.

[0017] SRS Power Scaling SRS has its own UL power control (PC) scheme in NR, which can be found in Section 7.3 of 3GPP TS 38.213, and specifies how the UE should divide the output power among two or more SRS ports during an SRS transmission opportunity, which is a time window within the slot in which the SRS transmission is performed. Specifically, the UE evenly divides the transmission power across the antennas configured for SRS.

[0018] SRS Antenna Switching It is desirable for the gNB to sound all UE antennas (in which case, sounding the antenna means transmitting SRS from that antenna, thereby enabling the gNB to estimate the channel between the UE antenna and the gNB antenna), but since it is costly for the UE to have many transmit ports, SRS antenna switching was introduced in NR Release 15 for several different UE architectures where the number of receive chains is greater than the number of transmit chains. If the UE supports antenna switching, it reports this using UE capability signaling.

[0019] Figure 5 shows a table disclosing the antenna switching capabilities supported by the UE as provided in Release 15 and Release 16. Specifically, the left column of the table is taken from 3GPP TS 38.306 and lists the SRS antenna switching capabilities that can be reported from the UE in NR Release 15. For example, if the UE reports t1r2 in the UE capability signaling, it means that the UE has two receive antennas (i.e., two receive chains), but due to the support of antenna switching, it only has the ability to transmit from one of those antennas at a time (i.e., one transmit chain). In this case, two single-port SRS resources can be configured for the UE so that both receive ports can be sounded by switching the antenna in between using a single transmit port.

[0020] Additional UE capabilities were further introduced in NR Release 16. The capabilities are outlined in the right column of Figure 5 and support the UE such that the SRS resource set is configured using the procedure "antennaSwitching", indicating that only a subset of all the UE antennas are sounded. For example, the UE capability t1r1-t1r2 means that the gNB can configure either one single-port SRS resource (the same as having no antenna switching capability) or two single-port SRS resources (the same as the above-mentioned capability "1t2r") for each SRS resource set using the procedure "antennaSwitching". In this case, if a single SRS resource (without antenna switching) is configured for the UE, only one of its two antennas is sounded, thereby reducing the UE's power consumption. Instead, the channel knowledge at the gNB is reduced (because the gNB can only estimate the channel between itself and the UE based on one of the two UE antennas).

[0021] Throughout this disclosure, each entry in the table of FIG. 5 is referred to as an Antenna Switching Configuration (ASC). Each ASC is associated with one or several possible SRS configurations (in this case, each SRS configuration generally includes the number of SRS resource sets, the number of SRS resources per SRS resource set, the number of SRS ports per SRS resource, etc.). Thus, when a UE signals UE capabilities t1r1 - t1r2, it means that the UE is supported to have both ASC t1r1 and ASC t1r2 configured.

[0022] In Time Division Duplex (TDD), dedicated slots are used for the switching between DL and UL. The dedicated slot has 14 symbols (12 in the extended cyclic prefix (CP) that can be configured with DL symbols, flexible symbols, and UL symbols). The switching is done in the flexible symbol. The size of each of these three regions varies among network operators, for example, according to the desired range of the TDD system and other external factors. One such TDD UL / DL scheme existing in the art includes 10 DL OFDM symbols, followed by 2 TDD switching protection symbols (this protection period is different from the antenna switching protection described above) OFDM symbols, and then followed by 2 UL OFDM symbols. Another TDD UL / DL scheme also existing in the art has only 3 UL OFDM symbols.

[0023] In NR Release 16, SRS transmission is restricted to the last 6 OFDM symbols of the slot, except when the capability srs-StartAnyOFDM-Symbol-r16 is signaled, whereby the SRS resource can be configured with resourceMapping-r16 (see above), meaning that SRS transmission is performed on all OFDM symbols within the slot.

[0024] In NR Releases 15 and 16, all four UE antennas cannot be sounded within one slot (i.e., within the last six OFDM symbols since 7 symbols (4 SRS symbols + 3 protection symbols) are required for 1T4R sounding, including the necessary protection period during antenna switching). Therefore, for non-periodic SRS transmission, two non-periodic SRS resource sets with different slot offsets must be configured for the UE configured by using the process "antennaSwitching" including 1T4R, (in accordance with the specification).

[0025] There are several problems. For example, generally, the problem is that SRS antenna switching for most common UE implementations cannot be used in dedicated slots as part of most common dedicated slot configurations in the art. Therefore, the operator has to use symbols from UL slots for SRS transmission, reducing the spectral efficiency of PUSCH.

[0026] When introduced in NR Release 17, assuming that SRS can be transmitted in all 14 OFDM symbols of a slot with the process "antennaSwitching" including 1T4R, the limitation by two non-periodic SRS resource sets with different slot offsets restricts the flexibility of SRS configuration, which becomes a problem.

[0027] In some cases, the dedicated slot has only two or three UL symbols and is not efficient for PUSCH transmission. Therefore, it may be advantageous to transmit only SRS in the dedicated slot. Thus, it may be preferable to use the dedicated slot for SRS transmission.

[0028] However, in a common dedicated slot configuration with a very small number of UL symbols, some UE antenna configurations become impossible due to specification limitations. For example, the aperiodic SRS resource set for the "antennaSwitching" process for 2T4R is a single SRS resource set that includes two 2-port SRS resources, and thus can only be configured with a single slot offset, meaning that both 2-port SRS resources need to be transmitted in the same slot. However, due to the guard period, at least three OFDM symbols are required for transmission, which is impossible in a dedicated slot where only two UL OFDM symbols are available.

[0029] In NR Release 17, the standard will include specifications for SRS antenna switching for UEs with up to six receivers (RX) and eight RX chains, and up to four transmitter (TX) chains. However, the question is which SRS settings the specification should support and whether they can be used in existing dedicated slot configurations in the art to maximize efficiency.

Summary of the Invention

[0030] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other problems. For example, according to certain embodiments, methods and systems are provided that improve the flexibility of SRS settings with respect to antenna switching for both conventional UE capabilities (UEs with up to four RXs) and new UE capabilities (UEs with up to eight RXs).

[0031] According to certain embodiments, a method by a wireless device includes receiving, from a network node, an indication of a particular one of a plurality of SRS settings for ASC. The wireless device transmits at least one SRS to the network node based on the particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0032] According to certain embodiments, the wireless device is adapted to receive an indication of a particular one of a plurality of SRS configurations for ASC from a network node. The wireless device transmits at least one SRS to the network node based on a particular one of the plurality of SRS configurations for ASC.

[0033] According to certain embodiments, the method by the network node includes transmitting an indication of a particular one of a plurality of SRS configurations for ASC to the wireless device. The network node receives at least one SRS from the wireless device based on a particular one of the plurality of SRS configurations for ASC.

[0034] According to certain embodiments, the network node is adapted to transmit an indication of a particular one of a plurality of SRS configurations for ASC to the wireless device. The network node is adapted to receive at least one SRS from the wireless device based on a particular one of the plurality of SRS configurations for ASC.

[0035] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, one technical advantage may be that certain embodiments enable the use of UL OFDM symbols in a dedicated slot for SRS antenna switching. This may be applicable to operators with very few configured UL symbols. Thus, another technical advantage may be that certain embodiments avoid using UL slots for SRS, and thus increase the spectral efficiency of PUSCH. As a further example, another technical advantage may be that certain embodiments can make the SRS configuration more flexible for antenna switching and enable more efficient utilization of all ODFM symbols within the slot that can be used for SRS.

[0036] Other advantages may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Certain embodiments may have none of the recited advantages, some, or all.

[0037] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein are described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0040] In general, all terms used in this specification should be interpreted according to their ordinary meanings in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or suggested by the context in which the term is used. All references to elements, devices, components, means, steps, etc. should be construed openly as referring to at least one instance of the respective element, device, component, means, step, etc., unless otherwise explicitly stated. The steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as being next or previous to another step and / or unless it is implied that a step must be next or previous to another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may, where appropriate, be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may apply to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the embodiments contained herein will become apparent from the following description.

[0041] In some embodiments, the more general term "network node" may be used to refer to any type of radio network node or any network node that communicates with a UE (directly or via another node) and / or with another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, master eNodeB (MeNB), network nodes belonging to a master cell group (MCG) or a secondary cell group (SCG), base station (BS), MSR radio nodes such as multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlled relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission point, transmission node, remote radio unit (RRU), remote radio head (RRH), nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS), core network nodes (e.g., mobile switching center (MSC), mobility management entity (MME), etc.), operations & maintenance (O&M), operations support system (OSS), self-optimizing network (SON), positioning nodes (e.g., evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), minimized drive test (MDT), test equipment (physical node or software), etc.

[0042] In some embodiments, the non-limiting term user equipment (UE) or wireless device may be used and may refer to any type of wireless device that communicates with a network node and / or another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UEs are target devices, device-to-device (D2D) UEs, machine type UEs or machine-to-machine (M2M) communication-capable UEs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, mobile terminals, smartphones, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), universal serial bus (USB) dongles, UE category M1, UE category M2, proximity service UEs (ProSe UEs), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) UEs, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) UEs, etc.

[0043] Furthermore, terms such as base station / gNB and UE should be regarded as non-limiting and do not particularly imply a specific hierarchical relationship between them. Generally, "gNB" can be regarded as device 1 and "UE" can be regarded as device 2, and these two devices communicate with each other through some wireless channel. Also, hereinafter, the transmitter or receiver can be either a gNB or a UE.

[0044] In the current release of NR, for a given ASC (e.g., 2T4R), there are corresponding SRS settings for the SRS sets and SRS resources within each of these sets. As disclosed herein, specific embodiments are disclosed that enable additional SRS settings for a given ASC (in addition to the single one in current NR).

[0045] With these additional settings, the use of the ASC can be extended in any dedicated slot setting (e.g., having only two UL symbols) or in a slot that uses more than six OFDM symbols for SRS transmission. Multiple SRS settings are supported for each ASC, but for a given SRS setting, only one ASC is associated with that SRS setting.

[0046] Furthermore, certain embodiments may provide or utilize one or more rules that define a new SRS configuration. For example, one or more of the following rules may be utilized. ● Rule 1: For a given ASC and some of the UL symbols available for SRS within a slot (either 6 or all OFDM symbols within the slot depending on whether resourceMapping-r16 is configured), an SRS configuration is introduced that uses as few slots as possible, i.e., minimizes the number of SRS resource sets. ○ For example, when performing 1T4R antenna switching for a case where resourceMapping-r16 is configured, if the number of OFDM symbols per resource is at most 2, one set with 4 resources is used. (2×4 + 3 guard = 11 < 14). To utilize all OFDM symbols within the slot. ● Rule 2; For a given ASC, use as few symbols as possible per slot. The number of sets / slots is equal to the number of switches. To effectively use dedicated slots.

[0047] UE antenna switching in a case where all 14 OFDM symbols can be used According to certain embodiments, a UE having an ASC 1T4R can configure a single aperiodic SRS resource set that includes 4 single-port SRS resources, where the 4 SRS resources of the SRS resource slot are all within the same slot. An example of a specification language that supports such a function includes the following. For 1T4R, zero, one, or two SRS resource sets are configured as "aperiodic" with the higher-layer parameter resourceType within the SRS-ResourceSet set, 4 SRS resources are transmitted in different symbols, each SRS resource within a given set consists of a single SRS port, and the SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port.

[0048] UE Antenna Switching for Dedicated Slot Restrictions According to certain embodiments, a UE supporting ASC 1T4R can configure four SRS resource sets, each SRS resource set consisting of one single-port SRS resource. Different slot offsets are expected to be configured for the four different SRS resource sets, and all SRS resource sets are expected to be triggered by the same aperiodic trigger state. An example of the specification language supporting such a function includes the following. For 1T4R, the four SRS resource sets are each set to "aperiodic" with the upper layer parameter resourceType in the SRS-ResourceSet set, and a total of four SRS resources, one for each SRS resource set, are configured. Each SRS resource within a given set consists of a single SRS port, and the SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port. The UE is expected to configure the four sets with the same values of the upper layer parameters alpha, p0, pathlossReferenceRS, and srs-PowerControlAdjustmentStates in the SRS-ResourceSet. The UE is expected to have the same value for the upper layer parameter aperiodicSRS-ResourceTrigger or the value of the AperiodicSRS-ResourceTrigger entry in each SRS-ResourceSet, and different values for the upper layer parameter slotOffset of each SRS-ResourceSet.

[0049] In an alternative embodiment, a UE supporting ASC 2T4R can configure two SRS resource sets, each SRS resource set consisting of one two-port SRS resource. Different slot offsets are expected to be configured for the two different SRS resource sets, and all SRS resource sets are expected to be triggered by the same aperiodic trigger state. An example of the specification language supporting such a function includes the following. For 2T4R, two SRS resource sets are each set to "aperiodic" with the higher layer parameter resourceType within the SRS-ResourceSet set, and two SRS resources are set, one for each SRS resource set, for a total of two SRS resources. Each SRS resource within a given set consists of two SRS ports, and the SRS port pair of the second resource is associated with a different UE antenna port pair than the SRS port pair of the first resource. The UE is expected to have two sets configured with the same values of the higher layer parameters alpha, p0, pathlossReferenceRS, and srs-PowerControlAdjustmentStates in the SRS-ResourceSet. The UE is expected to have the same value of the higher layer parameter aperiodicSRS-ResourceTrigger, or the value of the entry of AperiodicSRS-ResourceTrigger in each SRS-ResourceSet, and different values of the higher layer parameter slotOffset for each SRS-ResourceSet.

[0050] This embodiment supports ASC 1T2R, but may also be applied to a UE with the difference that each SRS resource consists of one SRS port instead of two SRS ports.

[0051] New Resource Type for Aperiodic SRS According to a particular embodiment, for example, a new setting called resourceType-r17 is introduced into the SRS Config IE that includes the new parameter offset-ap. When resourceType-r17 is signaled, offset-ap measures the offset (within the slot) of the SRS resource measured from the trigger point of the SRS resource set. An example of the modified ASN code for RRC (where M is the maximum slot offset of the SRS resource (e.g., 31)) is provided below. TIFF0007701455000001.tif81170

[0052] In an alternative embodiment, the default value of offset-ap (unless otherwise specified) is zero.

[0053] In another alternative embodiment, offset-ap measures the offset within the slot available for SRS transmission.

[0054] 6RX and 8RX UEs FIG. 6 shows some possible settings 10 of aperiodic SRS for a UE supporting ASC 1T6R according to a particular embodiment. The middle column shows the number of SRS resources per SRS resource set. Note that although these settings can be replaced, they are not added to the table for simplicity and brevity of presentation. For example, [3,2,1] could be the same as [1,3,2].

[0055] FIG. 7 shows some possible settings 20 of aperiodic SRS for a UE supporting ASC 2T6R according to a particular embodiment. The middle column shows the number of SRS resources per SRS resource set. Note that although these settings can be replaced, they are not added to the table for simplicity and brevity of presentation.

[0056] FIG. 8 shows some possible settings 30 of aperiodic SRS for a UE supporting ASC 1T8R according to a particular embodiment. The middle column shows the number of SRS resources per SRS resource set. Note that although these settings can be replaced, they are not added to the table for simplicity and brevity of presentation.

[0057] FIG. 9 shows some possible settings 40 of aperiodic SRS for a UE supporting ASC 2T8R according to a particular embodiment. The middle column shows the number of SRS resources per SRS resource set. Note that although these settings can be replaced, they are not added to the table for simplicity and brevity of presentation.

[0058] Figure 10 shows some possible configurations 50 of aperiodic SRS for a UE supporting ASC 4T8R according to a particular embodiment. The central column shows the number of SRS resources per SRS resource set. Note that although replacement of these configurations is possible, it has not been added to the table for simplicity and conciseness of presentation.

[0059] UE with 6RX and 4TX Figure 11 shows some possible configurations 60 of aperiodic SRS for a UE supporting ASC 4T6R according to a particular embodiment. ASC 4T6R is different from the above-described ASC in that the number of RXs is not an integer multiple of the number of TXs. To handle this ASC, in one alternative of this embodiment, the number of SRS ports per SRS resource used in one or more SRS resource sets configured for antenna switching can be made to vary across SRS resources. In one alternative of this embodiment, the number of SRS ports per SRS resource is constant for all SRS resources used in one or more SRS resource sets configured for antenna switching, and the SRS ports of the SRS resources need not be associated with different UE ports. The central column shows the number of SRS resources per SRS resource set. Note that although replacement of these configurations is possible, it has not been added to the table for simplicity and conciseness of presentation.

[0060] For all embodiments described herein, for example, depending on the reported UE ASC, depending on the number of required guard periods between SRS resources within a set, or depending on whether resourceMapping-r16 is configured, only a subset of the above-described antenna switching settings may be valid for the UE. For example, in 1T6R, the number of OFDM symbols per slot that can be used for SRS is 6, and if there is a 1-symbol guard period required between SRS resources within an SRS resource set with the processing "antennaSwitching", the settings of FIG. 6 where the number of SRS resources is 6, [4,2], and [4,1,1] cannot be configured.

[0061] FIG. 12 shows a wireless network according to some embodiments. The subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, but the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to wireless networks such as the wireless network example shown in FIG. 12. For simplicity, the wireless network of FIG. 12 shows only network 106, network nodes 160 and 160b, and wireless device 110. In practice, the wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device such as a landline phone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Among the illustrated components, network node 160 and wireless device 110 will be described in more detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices accessing and / or using the services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0062] The wireless network may comprise any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, and / or wireless network, or other similar types of systems, and / or may interface with them. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to a particular standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards, wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as IEEE 802.11 standards, and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0063] Network 106 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WAN), local area networks (LAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks that enable communication between devices.

[0064] Network node 160 and wireless device 110 include various components, which will be described in more detail later. These components cooperate to provide the functions of the network node and / or wireless device, such as providing a wireless connection in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relays, and / or any other arbitrary components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, regardless of whether the connection is wired or wireless.

[0065] Figure 13 shows an example of a network node 160 according to a particular embodiment. As used herein, a network node is a device configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with wireless devices and / or other network nodes, or a device that enables and / or provides wireless access to a wireless device and / or performs other functions of a wireless network (e.g., management). Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., wireless access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., wireless base stations, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), and NR Node B (gNB)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage provided by the base station (or equivalently, the transmission power level of the base station) and may therefore also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may sometimes also be referred to as nodes of a distributed antenna system (DAS). Further additional examples of network nodes include MSR devices such as multi-standard radio (MSR) BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSC, MME), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLC), and / or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail later.However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable a wireless device to access a wireless network and / or to provide access to a wireless network to a wireless device, or to provide some service to a wireless device accessing the wireless network.

[0066] In FIG. 13, network node 160 includes a processing circuit 170, a device-readable medium 180, an interface 190, an auxiliary device 184, a power supply 186, a power circuit 187, and an antenna 162. The network node 160 shown in the exemplary wireless network of FIG. 13 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, although other embodiments may include network nodes having different combinations of components. It should be understood that a network node may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software necessary to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Further, the components of network node 160 are shown as a single box located within a larger box, or as a single box nested within multiple boxes, but in reality, a network node may comprise a plurality of different physical components that make up the single illustrated component (e.g., device-readable medium 180 may comprise a plurality of separate hard drives as well as a plurality of RAM modules).

[0067] Similarly, network node 160 may be assembled from a plurality of physically distinct components (e.g., NodeB components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components, etc.), and each of those components may have its own respective components. In a particular scenario where network node 160 comprises a plurality of distinct components (e.g., BTS components and BSC components), one or more of the distinct components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control a plurality of NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique pair of NodeB and RNC may, in some cases, be regarded as a single distinct network node. In some embodiments, network node 160 may be configured to support a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be replicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by RATs). Network node 160 may also include a plurality of sets of various illustrated components related to different radio technologies, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth radio technologies, integrated into network node 160. These radio technologies may be integrated with the same or different chips or chip sets, and other components within network node 160.

[0068] The processing circuit 170 is configured to perform any decision-making operation, computational operation, or similar operation (e.g., a specific acquisition operation) described herein as provided by a network node. These operations performed by the processing circuit 170 may include processing the information obtained by the processing circuit 170, for example, by converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with the information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making a decision as a result of the above processing.

[0069] The processing circuit 170 may comprise a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, one or more combinations of resources, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, operable alone or in combination with other network node 160 components such as the device-readable medium 180 to provide the functionality of the network node 160. For example, the processing circuit 170 may execute instructions stored in the device-readable medium 180 or in the memory within the processing circuit 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits contemplated herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 170 may include a system on chip (SOC).

[0070] In some embodiments, processing circuit 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 172 and baseband processing circuit 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 172 and baseband processing circuit 174 may be on separate chips (or chip sets), boards, or units such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuit 172 and baseband processing circuit 174 may be on the same chip or chip set, board, or unit.

[0071] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuit 170 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or in memory within processing circuit 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by processing circuit 170 in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium. In any of those embodiments, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium, processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform the described functions. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to processing circuit 170 alone or other components of network node 160, but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole and / or generally by end users and the wireless network.

[0072] The device-readable medium 180 may include, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely-mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disc (CD), or digital video disc (DVD)), any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, and / or any other volatile or non-volatile non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuit 170. The device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 170 and utilized by the network node 160. The device-readable medium 180 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 170 and / or any data received via the interface 190. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 170 and the device-readable medium 180 may be considered integrated.

[0073] Interface 190 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data among network node 160, network 106, and / or wireless device 110. As shown, interface 190 includes port / terminal 194 that transmits and receives data to and from network 106, for example, through a wired connection. Interface 190 also includes a radio front-end circuit 192 that may be coupled to antenna 162 or, in certain embodiments, may be part of antenna 162. The radio front-end circuit 192 includes a filter 198 and an amplifier 196. The radio front-end circuit 192 may be connected to antenna 162 and processing circuit 170. The radio front-end circuit may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 162 and processing circuit 170. The radio front-end circuit 192 may receive digital data that is to be transmitted to other network nodes or wireless devices via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 192 may convert the digital data into a wireless signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filter 198 and / or amplifier 196. The wireless signal may then be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 162 may collect a wireless signal, which is then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuit 192. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 170. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0074] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 192. Instead, processing circuit 170 may comprise a radio front-end circuit and may be connected to antenna 162 without a separate radio front-end circuit 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of RF transceiver circuit 172 may be regarded as part of interface 190. In still other embodiments, interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radio front-end circuit 192, and RF transceiver circuit 172 as part of a wireless unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuit 174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0075] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuit 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may include one or more omnidirectional antennas, sector antennas, or panel antennas operable to transmit / receive wireless signals, for example, in the range of 2 GHz to 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas may be used to transmit / receive wireless signals in any direction, sector antennas may be used to transmit / receive wireless signals from devices within a particular area, and panel antennas may be line-of-sight antennas used to transmit / receive wireless signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, the use of two or more antennas may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and may be connectable to network node 160 through an interface or port.

[0076] Antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform any reception operation and / or specific acquisition operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform any transmission operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0077] Power circuit 187 may comprise a power management circuit or be coupled to a power management circuit, and is configured to supply power for implementing the functions described herein to the components of network node 160. Power circuit 187 may receive power from power source 186. Power source 186 and / or power circuit 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 160 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required for each respective component). Power source 186 may be either included in power circuit 187 and / or network node 160 or external thereto. For example, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuit 187. As a further example, power source 186 may comprise a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated with power circuit 187. The battery may provide backup power in the event of a failure of the external power source. Other types of power sources, such as solar cell devices, may also be used.

[0078] An alternative embodiment of network node 160 may be responsible for providing a particular aspect of the functionality of a network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein, and may include additional components other than those shown in the configuration of FIG. 13. For example, network node 160 may include a user interface device that enables the input of information to network node 160 and also enables the output of information from network node 160. This may enable a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions of network node 160.

[0079] Figure 14 shows an example of a wireless device 110. According to a specific embodiment. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device that is configured, constructed, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise specified, the term wireless device may be used interchangeably with user equipment (UE) in this specification. Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information in the air. In some embodiments, the wireless device may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the wireless device may be designed to transmit information to the network at a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the network. Examples of wireless devices include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming machines or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. The wireless device may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), in which case it may be called a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in the scenario of the Internet of Things (IoT), the wireless device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another wireless device and / or network node.The wireless device may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the context of 3GPP in this case. As one specific example, the wireless device may be a UE that implements the 3GPP narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices include sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or household or personal electrical appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, the wireless device may represent a vehicle or other equipment that can monitor and / or report its own operating status or other functions associated with its operation. The wireless device as described above may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may sometimes be referred to as a wireless terminal. Further, the wireless device as described above may be a mobile device, in which case it may also sometimes be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

[0080] As shown, the wireless device 110 includes an antenna 111, an interface 114, a processing circuit 120, a device-readable medium 130, a user interface device 132, an auxiliary device 134, a power source 136, and a power circuit 137. The wireless device 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by the wireless device 110, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chip sets as other components within the wireless device 110.

[0081] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and is connected to interface 114. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separate from wireless device 110 and may be connectable to wireless device 110 through an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and / or processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any of the receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a wireless device. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a network node and / or another wireless device. In some embodiments, the wireless front-end circuit and / or antenna 111 may be regarded as an interface.

[0082] As shown, interface 114 includes a radio front-end circuit 112 and an antenna 111. The radio front-end circuit 112 includes one or more filters 118 and an amplifier 116. The radio front-end circuit 112 is connected to the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120 and is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120. The radio front-end circuit 112 may be coupled to the antenna 111 or may be part of the antenna 111. In some embodiments, the wireless device 110 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 112. Instead, the processing circuit 120 may include a radio front-end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122 may be considered part of the interface 114. The radio front-end circuit 112 may receive digital data that is to be transmitted to other network nodes or wireless devices via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 112 may convert the digital data into a wireless signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 118 and / or the amplifier 116. The wireless signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 111 may collect the wireless signal, which may then be converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 112. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuit 120. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0083] Processing circuit 120 may include a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resources, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide the functionality of wireless device 110, either alone or in conjunction with other wireless device 110 components such as device-readable medium 130. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuit 120 may execute instructions stored on device-readable medium 130 or in memory within processing circuit 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0084] As illustrated, processing circuit 120 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments, processing circuit 120 of wireless device 110 may comprise a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126 may be on separate chips or chip sets. In an alternative embodiment, some or all of baseband processing circuit 124 and application processing circuit 126 may be combined into one chip or chip set, and RF transceiver circuit 122 may be on a separate chip or chip set. In a further alternative embodiment, some or all of RF transceiver circuit 122 and baseband processing circuit 124 may be on the same chip or chip set, and application processing circuit 126 may be on a separate chip or chip set. In yet further alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126 may be combined within the same chip or chip set. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuit 122 may be part of interface 114. RF transceiver circuit 122 may condition RF signals for processing circuit 120.

[0085] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device may be provided by processing circuitry 120 that executes instructions stored on a device-readable medium 130, which may be a computer-readable storage medium in certain embodiments. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of these particular embodiments, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable medium, processing circuitry 120 can be configured to perform the described functions. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to processing circuitry 120 alone or other components of wireless device 110, but are enjoyed by wireless device 110 as a whole and / or generally by an end user and a wireless network.

[0086] Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any decision-making operation, computational operation, or similar operation (e.g., a particular acquisition operation) described herein as being performed by a wireless device. Such operations as performed by processing circuitry 120 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 120, e.g., by converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information to information stored by wireless device 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making a decision as a result of the above processing.

[0087] The device-readable medium 130 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions that may be executed by the processing circuit 120. The device-readable medium 130 may include a computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), a mass storage medium (e.g., a hard disk), a removable storage medium (e.g., a compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that may store information, data, and / or instructions used by the processing circuit 120. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 and the device-readable medium 130 may be considered integrated.

[0088] The user interface device 132 may provide components that enable a human user to interact with the wireless device 110. Such interaction may be in many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 132 may be operable to produce output to the user and to enable the user to provide input to the wireless device 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 132 installed on the wireless device 110. For example, if the wireless device 110 is a smartphone, the interaction may be via a touch screen, and if the wireless device 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be via a screen that provides usage (e.g., number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an alarm sound (e.g., when smoke is detected). The user interface device 132 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuits, as well as output interfaces, devices, and circuits. The user interface device 132 is configured to enable input of information to the wireless device 110 and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to enable the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuits. The user interface device 132 is also configured to enable output of information from the wireless device 110 and to enable the processing circuit 120 to output information from the wireless device 110. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuits. Using one or more input / output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface device 132, the wireless device 110 may communicate with an end user and / or a wireless network and may enable them to benefit from the functions described herein.

[0089] Auxiliary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functions that may not generally be performed by a wireless device. This may include dedicated sensors for performing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communication, and the like. The components included in and the type of auxiliary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0090] Power source 136 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. Wireless device 110 may further include a power circuit 137 for delivering power from power source 136 to various parts of wireless device 110 that require power to perform any of the functions described or shown herein. Power circuit 137 may, in certain embodiments, include a power management circuit. Power circuit 137 may, in addition or alternatively, be operable to receive power from an external power source, in which case wireless device 110 may be connectable to an external power source (such as an electrical outlet) via an interface such as an input circuit or a power cable. Power circuit 137 may also, in certain embodiments, be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 136. This may be, for example, for charging power source 136. Power circuit 137 can perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification to the power from power source 136 to make the power suitable for each component of wireless device 110 to which the power is supplied.

[0091] Figure 15 shows an embodiment of a UE according to various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, a UE may be a device (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user, but that may not be associated with a particular human user, or may not initially be associated with a particular human user. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user, but that may be associated with a user, or may be operated for the benefit of a user. UE 200 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including an NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an extended MTC (eMTC) UE. UE 200 is an example of a wireless device configured for communication according to one or more communication standards published by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as the 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards, as shown in FIG. 13. As described above, the terms wireless device and UE may be used interchangeably. Thus, while FIG. 15 shows a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a wireless device, and vice versa.

[0092] In FIG. 15, the UE 200 includes a processing circuit 201 operably coupled to an input / output interface 205, a radio frequency (RF) interface 209, a network connection interface 211, a memory 215 (including a random access memory (RAM) 217, a read-only memory (ROM) 219, a storage medium 221, etc.), a communication subsystem 231, a power supply 233, and / or any other optional components, or any combination of the above. The storage medium 221 includes an operating system 223, an application program 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, the storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. A particular UE may utilize all or only a subset of the components shown in FIG. 15. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Further, a particular UE may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0093] In FIG. 15, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. The processing circuit 201 may be configured to implement one or more hardware-implemented state machines, such as one or more sequential state machines that operate to execute machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program (such as in the form of discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, one or more program-embedded general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) with appropriate software, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). The data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0094] In the illustrated embodiment, the input / output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or an input / output device. The UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from the UE 200. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination of the above. The UE 200 may be configured to enable a user to capture information to the UE 200 using an input device via the input / output interface 205. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a direction pad, a track pad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor that senses input from a user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination of the above. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and a light sensor.

[0095] In FIG. 15, the RF interface 209 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. The network connection interface 211 may be configured to provide the communication interface to a network 243a. The network 243a may include wired and / or wireless networks such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a communication network, another similar network, or any combination of the above. For example, the network 243a may include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 211 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices through a communication network according to one or more communication protocols such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc. The network connection interface 211 may implement receiver and transmitter functions suitable for a communication network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or may be implemented separately.

[0096] The RAM 217 may be configured to interface with the processing circuit 201 via the bus 202 to store or cache data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers. The ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to the processing circuit 201. For example, the ROM 219 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data related to basic system functions, such as basic input / output (I / O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard, stored in non-volatile memory. The storage medium 221 may be configured to include memory, such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, or flash drive. In one example, the storage medium 221 may be configured to include an operating system 223, an application program 225 such as a web browser application, widget, or gadget engine, or another application, and a data file 227. The storage medium 221 may store any of a variety of different operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 200.

[0097] The memory medium 221 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-Ray optical disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a subscriber identity module or removable user identity information (SIM / RUIM) module such as a smart card memory, other memories, or any combination thereof. The memory medium 221 may enable the UE 200 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs, etc., stored in a temporary or non-temporary memory medium, offload data, or upload data. A manufactured article, such as a manufactured article that utilizes a communication system, may be tangibly embodied in a memory medium 221 that may include a device-readable medium.

[0098] In FIG. 15, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with the network 243b using the communication subsystem 231. The network 243a and the network 243b may be the same one or more networks, or different one or more networks. The communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with the network 243b. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another WD, UE, or base station, etc., of a radio access network (RAN) capable of wireless communication, according to one or more communication protocols such as IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc. Each transceiver may include a transmitter 233 and / or a receiver 235 to respectively implement a transmitter function or a receiver function (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.) suitable for the RAN link. Further, the transmitter 233 and the receiver 235 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or may be separately implemented.

[0099] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, other similar communication functions, or any combination of the above. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 243b may include wired and / or wireless networks such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a communication network, other similar networks, or any combination of the above. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0100] The features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of the UE 200 or divided across multiple components of the UE 200. Further, the features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components through the bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in a memory that, when executed by the processing circuit 201, implement the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the function of any of such components may be divided between the processing circuit 201 and the communication subsystem 231. In another example, the non-computation-intensive function of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computation-intensive function may be implemented in hardware.

[0101] FIG. 16 is a schematic block diagram showing a virtualized environment 300 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualizing a hardware platform, memory device, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization is applicable to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node), or a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or its components, and is related to embodiments in which at least a portion of the functions are realized as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers running on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0102] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be realized as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines hosted in one or more virtualized environments 300 by one or more of the hardware nodes 330. Further, in embodiments where the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require wireless connectivity (e.g., a core network node), the network node may be fully virtualized.

[0103] The functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (alternatively, sometimes referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) that operate to realize some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. The application 320 is operated in a virtualized environment 300 that provides hardware 330 including a processing circuit 360 and a memory 390. The memory 390 includes instructions 395 executable by the processing circuit 360, whereby the application 320 operates to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0104] The virtualized environment 300 comprises a set of one or more processors or a processing circuit 360, which may be a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processor, a dedicated application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other type of processing circuit including digital or analog hardware components or dedicated processors. The virtualized environment 300 comprises a general-purpose or dedicated network hardware device 330. Each hardware device may comprise a memory 390-1, which may be a non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuit 360. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370, also known as network interface cards, including a physical network interface 380. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage medium 390-2 storing software 395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuit 360. The software 395 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also referred to as hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines 340, and software that enables the software to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some of the embodiments described herein.

[0105] The virtual machine 340 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be operated by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual appliance 320 may be implemented in one or more of the virtual machines 340, and the implementation may be performed in different ways.

[0106] During operation, the processing circuit 360 executes software 395 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). The virtualization layer 350 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to the virtual machine 340 as networking hardware.

[0107] As shown in FIG. 16, the hardware 330 may be a stand-alone network node having general or specific components. The hardware 330 may include an antenna 3225 and may implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 330 may be part of a larger class of hardware (such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) that is managed through a management and orchestration (MANO) 3100 where many hardware nodes cooperate, particularly to oversee the lifecycle management of the application 320.

[0108] The virtualization of hardware is sometimes referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) depending on the context. NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage areas located in data centers, as well as on customer premise equipment.

[0109] In the context of NFV, the virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs a program as if it were running on a non-physically virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 340, and the portion of the hardware 330 that executes the virtual machine, forms a separate virtual network element (VNE) when it is dedicated hardware for the virtual machine and / or hardware shared by the virtual machine with other virtual machines 340.

[0110] Furthermore, in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions running on one or more virtual machines 340 over the hardware networking infrastructure 330, corresponding to the application 320 in FIG. 16.

[0111] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200, each including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio unit 3200 may communicate directly with the hardware node 330 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to a virtual node, such as a radio access node or a base station.

[0112] In some embodiments, some signaling may be affected by the use of a control system 3230 that may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node 330 and the radio unit 3200.

[0113] FIG. 17 shows a communication network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to some embodiments.

[0114] Referring to FIG. 17, according to one embodiment, a communication system includes a communication network 410, such as a 3GPP type cellular network, comprising an access network 411, such as a radio access network, and a core network 414. The access network 411 includes a plurality of base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, such as NB, eNB, gNB, or other types of radio access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 413a, 413b, 413c. Each base station 412a, 412b, 412c is connectable to the core network 414 through a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located within the coverage area 413c is wirelessly connected to or configured to be paged by the corresponding base station 412c. A second UE 492 within the coverage area 413a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 412a. In this example, a plurality of UEs 491, 492 are shown, but the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a single UE is present within a coverage area or where a single UE is connected to the corresponding base station 412.

[0115] The communication network 410 itself is connected to a host computer 430, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a stand-alone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 430 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. The connections 421 and 422 between the communication network 410 and the host computer 430 may extend directly from the core network 414 to the host computer 430, or may extend via an optional intermediate network 420. The intermediate network 420 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a host network, or a combination of two or more thereof, and if the intermediate network 420 exists, it may be a backbone network or the Internet. In particular, the intermediate network 420 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0116] The communication system of FIG. 17 enables connectivity between the connected UEs 491, 492 and the host computer 430. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. The host computer 430 and the connected UEs 491, 492 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling over the OTT connection 450 using the access network 411, the core network 414, any intermediate network 420, and any additional infrastructure (not shown) acting as an intermediary. The OTT connection 450 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 450 passes do not recognize the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 412 may not be informed or need not be informed about the past routing of incoming downlink communications in which data originating from the host computer 430 is transferred (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 491. Similarly, the base station 412 need not recognize the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE 491 and directed towards the host computer 430.

[0117] FIG. 18 shows a host computer that communicates with a user equipment via a base station through a partial wireless connection, according to some embodiments.

[0118] An exemplary embodiment according to an implementation of the UE, base station, and host computer considered in the paragraphs so far will be described with reference to FIG. 18. In communication system 500, host computer 510 includes hardware 515 including a communication interface 516 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with interfaces of different communication devices of communication system 500. Host computer 510 further includes a processing circuit 518 that may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuit 518 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 510 further includes software 511 stored in host computer 510 or accessible by host computer 510 and executable by processing circuit 518. Software 511 includes host application 512. Host application 512 may be operable to provide services to remote users such as UE 530 that connect via an OTT connection 550 that terminates at UE 530 and host computer 510. When providing services to remote users, host application 512 may provide user data transmitted using OTT connection 550.

[0119] The communication system 500 further includes a base station 520, which is provided within the communication system and includes hardware 525 that enables communication with the host computer 510 and the UE 530. The hardware 525 may include a communication interface 526 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of different communication devices of the communication system 500, and a wireless interface 527 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 570 with the UE 530 located within a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 18) served by the base station 520. The communication interface 526 may be configured to facilitate a connection 560 to the host computer 510. The connection 560 may be direct, or may be through a core network (not shown in FIG. 18) of the communication system, and / or through one or more intermediate networks outside the communication system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 525 of the base station 520 further includes a processing circuit 528, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 520 further includes software 521 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0120] The communication system 500 further includes the UE 530 already mentioned. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 may include a radio interface 537 configured to set up and maintain a radio connection 570 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 530 is currently located. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 further includes a processing circuit 538, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 530 further comprises software 531 stored in or accessible by the UE 530 and executable by the processing circuit 538. The software 531 includes a client application 532. The client application 532 may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 530 with the support of the host computer 510. In the host computer 510, the running host application 512 may communicate with the running client application 532 via an OTT connection 550 terminating at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. When providing services to the user, the client application 532 may receive request data from the host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 550 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 532 may interact with the user to generate the user data to be provided.

[0121] Note that the host computer 510, base station 520, and UE 530 shown in FIG. 18 may each be similar or identical to one of the host computer 430, base stations 412a, 412b, 412c in FIG. 17, and one of the UEs 491, 492. That is, the internal operations of these entities may be as shown in FIG. 18, and alternatively, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 17.

[0122] In FIG. 18, the OTT connection 550 is abstractly depicted without explicitly referring to any intermediary device or the exact routing of messages through the intermediary device to illustrate the communication between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 via the base station 520. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, or the network infrastructure may be configured to hide the routing from the UE 530, or from the service provider operating the host computer 510, or both. While the OTT connection 550 is active, the network infrastructure may further make a determination, and based on the determination, the network infrastructure may dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or network reconfiguration).

[0123] The wireless connection 570 between the UE 530 and the base station 520 follows the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT services provided to the UE 530 using the OTT connection 550 in which the wireless connection 570 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and / or power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user wait time, relaxed restrictions on file size, improved responsiveness, and / or extended battery life.

[0124] Measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data transfer speed, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. Additionally, there may be an optional network function that reconfigures the OTT connection 550 between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 may be implemented in the software 511 and hardware 515 of the host computer 510, or in the software 531 and hardware 535 of the UE 530, or in both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed on or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 550 passes, and the sensor may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values of the monitored quantities illustrated above, or by providing values of other physical quantities that may be used as a basis for the software 511, 531 to calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 550 may include a message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not affect the base station 520 and may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 520. Such procedures and functions are known in the art and may also be practiced. In certain embodiments, the measurement may involve unique UE signaling that facilitates measurement at the host computer 510, such as throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurement may be implemented in the software 511 and 531 in that the software 511 and 531 cause messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, to be transmitted using the OTT connection 550 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0125] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the ones described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to FIG. 19 is included in this section. At step 610, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step 611 of step 610 (which may be optional), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. At step 620, the host computer starts a transmission to transmit the user data to the UE. At an optional step 630 (which may also be optional), the base station transmits the user data transmitted in the transmission started by the host computer to the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. At an optional step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0126] FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the ones described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to FIG. 20 is included in this section. At step 710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. At step 720, the host computer starts a transmission to transmit the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass through the base station according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. At an optional step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data transmitted in the transmission.

[0127] FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the ones described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only the drawing references to FIG. 21 are included in this section. In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 820, the UE supplies user data. In sub-step 821 (which may be optional) of step 820, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 811 (which may be optional) of step 810, the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE starts transmitting the user data to the host computer in sub-step 830 (which may be optional). In step 840 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure.

[0128] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be the ones described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only the drawing references to FIG. 22 are included in this section. In step 910 (which may be optional) according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station starts transmitting the received user data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data transmitted in the transmission started by the base station.

[0129] Figure 23 shows a method 1000 by the wireless device 110 according to a particular embodiment. At step 1002, the wireless device receives, from a network node, a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC). At step 1004, the wireless device transmits an SRS to the network node based on one of the SRS settings for ASC.

[0130] Figure 24 shows another method 1100 by the wireless device 110 according to a particular embodiment. The method starts at step 1102, where the wireless device 110 receives an indication of a particular one of a plurality of SRS settings for ASC from the network node 160. At step 1104, the wireless device 110 transmits at least one SRS to the network node 160 based on a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0131] In a particular embodiment, the wireless device 110 is adapted to implement a plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0132] In a particular embodiment, the plurality of SRS settings each have a different number of SRS sets.

[0133] In a further particular embodiment, each SRS set includes at least one SRS resource.

[0134] In a particular embodiment, for a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC, the number of SRS sets is equal to the number of ASC switches.

[0135] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T4R, and one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device. Each of the one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets is transmitted in a different slot. Each SRS resource of the one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a single SRS port, and the single SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port.

[0136] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises an ASC 2T4R, and two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device. One of each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 2-port SRS resource. Each SRS resource comprises a unique pair of SRS ports, and each unique pair of SRS ports is associated with a different UE antenna port pair.

[0137] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T2R, and two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device. One of each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 1-port SRS resource. Each SRS resource comprises a single SRS port, and each SRS port is associated with a different UE antenna port.

[0138] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T6R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between one and six are configured for the wireless device. Six SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the six SRS resources is associated with a single SRS port.

[0139] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises an ASC 2T6R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between one and three are configured for the wireless device. Three SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the three SRS resources is associated with two SRS ports.

[0140] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises ASC 1T8R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between two and eight are configured for the wireless device. The eight SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the eight SRS resources is associated with a single SRS port.

[0141] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises ASC 2T8R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between one and four are configured for the wireless device. The four SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the four SRS resources is associated with a pair of SRS ports.

[0142] In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises ASC 4T8R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets that are aperiodic SRS resource sets between one and two are configured for the wireless device. The two SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the two SRS resources is associated with four SRS ports.

[0143] In various specific embodiments, the methods of FIGS. 23 and 24 may additionally or alternatively include one or more of the steps or features of the exemplary embodiments of Group A and Group C described below, and / or any other embodiments described herein.

[0144] FIG. 25 shows a schematic block diagram of a virtual device 1200 in a wireless network (e.g., the wireless network shown in FIG. 12). The device may be implemented in a wireless device or a network node (e.g., the wireless device 110 or network node 160 shown in FIG. 12). The device 1200 is operable to implement the exemplary methods described with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24, and optionally, any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It should be understood that the methods of FIGS. 23 and 24 are not necessarily implemented solely by the device 1200. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.

[0145] The virtual device 1200 may include a processing circuit that may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and may also include other digital hardware that may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory that may include one or several types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes, in some embodiments, program instructions for executing one or more communication and / or data communication protocols, and instructions for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit may be used to cause the receiving module 1210, the transmitting module 1220, and any other suitable units of the device 1200 to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0146] According to certain embodiments, the receiving module 1210 may implement certain ones of the receiving functions of the apparatus 1200. For example, the receiving module 1210 may receive, from a network node, a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC). As another example, the receiving module 1210 may receive, from the network node 160, an indication of a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0147] According to certain embodiments, the transmitting module 1220 may implement certain ones of the transmitting functions of the apparatus 1200. For example, the transmitting module 1220 may transmit, to a network node, an SRS based on one of the SRS settings for ASC. As another example, the transmitting module 1220 may transmit, to the network node 160, at least one SRS based on a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0148] Optionally, in certain embodiments, the virtual apparatus may additionally include one or more modules that perform any of the steps or provide any of the features of the exemplary embodiments of Group A and Group C described hereinafter, and / or any other arbitrary embodiments described herein.

[0149] As used herein, the term module or unit may have its ordinary meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices, and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solids and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions, etc., for performing respective tasks, procedures, calculations, outputs, and / or display functions such as those described herein.

[0150] Figure 26 shows a method 1300 by a network node 160 according to a particular embodiment. At step 1302, the network node transmits to the wireless device a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC). At step 1304, the network node receives from the wireless device an SRS based on the SRS settings for ASC.

[0151] Figure 27 shows another example of a method 1400 by a network node 160 according to a particular embodiment. The method starts at step 1402, where the network node 160 transmits to the wireless device 110 an indication of a particular one of a plurality of SRS settings for ASC. At step 1404, the network node 160 receives from the wireless device 110 at least one SRS based on a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0152] In a particular embodiment, the network node 160 selects a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC based on at least one of information indicating the antenna switching capability of the wireless device, information indicating at least one dedicated slot, and parameters associated with minimizing the number of slots, symbols, and / or SRS resource sets for ASC.

[0153] In a particular embodiment, the network node 160 configures the wireless device 110 to implement a plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0154] In a particular embodiment, the plurality of SRS settings each have a different number of SRS sets.

[0155] In a further particular embodiment, each SRS set includes at least one SRS resource.

[0156] In a particular embodiment, for a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC, the number of SRS sets is equal to the number of ASC switches.

[0157] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 1T4R and is configured with one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets. Each of the one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets is transmitted in a different slot. Each SRS resource of the one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a single SRS port, and the single SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port.

[0158] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 2T4R and is configured with two aperiodic SRS resource sets. One of each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 2-port SRS resource. Each SRS resource comprises a unique pair of SRS ports, and each unique pair of SRS ports is associated with a different UE antenna port pair.

[0159] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 1T2R and is configured with two aperiodic SRS resource sets. One of each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 1-port SRS resource. Each SRS resource comprises a single SRS port, and each SRS port is associated with a different UE antenna port.

[0160] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 1T6R and is configured with a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between one and six. The six SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the six SRS resources is associated with a single SRS port.

[0161] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 2T6R and is configured with a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between one and three. The three SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the three SRS resources is associated with two SRS ports.

[0162] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 1T8R and is configured with a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between two and eight. The eight SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS sets, and each of the eight resources is associated with a single SRS port.

[0163] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 2T8R and is configured with a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between one and four. The four SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, and each of the four aperiodic SRS resources is associated with a pair of SRS ports.

[0164] In certain embodiments, the wireless device 110 comprises an ASC 4T8R and is configured with a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between one. The two SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic resource sets, and each of the two SRS resources is associated with four SRS ports.

[0165] In certain embodiments, the network node 160 configures the wireless device 110 to select one of a plurality of SRS configurations based on the guard period required between SRS resources of an SRS resource set.

[0166] In various specific embodiments, the methods of FIGS. 26 and 27 may include one or more of any of the steps or features of the exemplary embodiments of Group B and Group C described below, and / or any other embodiments described herein.

[0167] FIG. 28 shows a schematic block diagram of a virtual device 1500 in a wireless network (e.g., the wireless network shown in FIG. 12). The device may be implemented in a wireless device or a network node (e.g., the wireless device 110 or network node 160 shown in FIG. 2). The device 1500 is operable to implement the exemplary methods described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28, and optionally any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It should be understood that the methods of FIGS. 27 and 28 are not necessarily implemented only by the device 1500. At least some of the operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.

[0168] The virtual device 1500 may include a processing circuit that may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and may also include other digital hardware that may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory that may include one or several types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes, in some embodiments, program instructions for executing one or more communication and / or data communication protocols, and instructions for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit may be used to cause the transmission module 1510, the reception module 1520, and any other suitable units of the device 1500 to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0169] According to certain embodiments, the transmission module 1510 may implement certain of the transmission functions of the apparatus 1500. For example, the transmission module 1510 may transmit to a wireless device a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC). As another example, the transmission module 1510 may transmit to the wireless device 110 an indication of a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0170] According to certain embodiments, the reception module 1520 may implement certain of the reception functions of the apparatus 1500. For example, the reception module 1520 may receive from a wireless device an SRS based on the SRS settings for ASC. As another example, the reception module 1520 may receive from the wireless device 110 at least one SRS based on a particular one of the plurality of SRS settings for ASC.

[0171] Optionally, in certain embodiments, the virtual apparatus may additionally include one or more modules that perform any of the steps or provide any of the features of the exemplary embodiments of Group B and Group C described below, and / or any other optional embodiments described herein.

[0172] Exemplary embodiments Exemplary embodiments of Group A Exemplary embodiment A1. A method by a wireless device, comprising receiving from a network node a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC), and transmitting to the network node an SRS based on one of the SRS settings for ASC. Exemplary embodiment A2. The method according to exemplary embodiment A1, wherein the plurality of SRS settings each include an SRS set. Exemplary embodiment A3. The method according to exemplary embodiment A2, wherein each SRS set includes at least one SRS resource. Exemplary Embodiment A4. The method according to Exemplary Embodiment A1 or A2, wherein the number of SRS sets is equal to the number of ASC switches. Exemplary Embodiment A5. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A4, wherein only one ASC is associated with each of a plurality of SRS settings. Exemplary Embodiment A6. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A5, wherein the SRS is transmitted in any dedicated slot having only two uplink symbols. Exemplary Embodiment A7. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A5, wherein the SRS is transmitted in any dedicated slot having more than six symbols. Exemplary Embodiment A8. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A7, wherein a plurality of SRS settings minimize the number of SRS resource sets. Exemplary Embodiment A9. The wireless device comprises ASC 1T4R, and zero, one, or two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, the zero, one, or two aperiodic SRS resource sets are transmitted in different symbols respectively, each SRS resource of the zero, one, or two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a single SRS port, and the single SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8. Exemplary Embodiment A10. The wireless device comprises ASC 1T4R, and four aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, the four aperiodic SRS resource sets each comprise one SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a single SRS port, and the single SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8. Exemplary Embodiment A11. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 2T4R, two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 2-port SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a unique pair of SRS ports, and each unique pair of SRS ports is associated with a different UE antenna port pair. Exemplary Embodiment A12. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T4R, two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, one of each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 2-port SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a single SRS port, and each SRS port is associated with a different UE antenna port pair. Exemplary Embodiment A13. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, further comprising transmitting a resource configuration in an SRS configuration element, the resource configuration including an offset, and the wireless device being configured to measure an offset from a trigger point associated with an SRS resource set. Exemplary Embodiment A14. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A11, wherein the offset comprises a plurality of slots. Exemplary Embodiment A15. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A13 to A14, wherein the offset is selected from a range between zero and a maximum slot offset. Exemplary Embodiment A16. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T6R, six aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the six aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises six SRS resources, and each of the six aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a single SRS port. Exemplary Embodiment A17. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 2T6R, three aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the three aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises three SRS resources, and each of the three aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a single SRS port. Exemplary Embodiment A18. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T8R, eight aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the eight aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises eight SRS resources, and each of the eight aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a single SRS port. Exemplary Embodiment A19. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 2T8R, four aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the four aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises four SRS resources, and each of the four aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a pair of SRS ports. Exemplary Embodiment A20. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 4T8R, two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises two SRS resources, and each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with four SRS ports. Exemplary Embodiment A21. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A20, further comprising selecting one of a plurality of SRS configurations based on a protection period required between SRS resources of an SRS resource set. Exemplary Embodiment A22. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A21, wherein the wireless device comprises a user equipment (UE). Exemplary Embodiment A23. A wireless device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform any of the methods according to Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A22. Exemplary Embodiment A24. A computer program including instructions that, when executed on a computer, implement any of the methods described in Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A22. Exemplary Embodiment A25. A computer program product including a computer program, wherein the computer program includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, implement any of the methods described in Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A22. Exemplary Embodiment A26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement any of the methods described in Exemplary Embodiments A1 to A22.

[0173] Embodiments of Group B Exemplary Embodiment B1. A method by a network node including transmitting, to a wireless device, a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC), and receiving, from the wireless device, an SRS based on one of the SRS settings for ASC. Exemplary Embodiment B2. The method according to Exemplary Embodiment B1, wherein the plurality of SRS settings each include an SRS set. Exemplary Embodiment B3. The method according to Exemplary Embodiment B2, wherein each SRS set includes at least one SRS resource. Exemplary Embodiment B4. The method according to Exemplary Embodiment B1 or B2, wherein the number of SRS sets is equal to the number of ASC switches. Exemplary Embodiment B5. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B4, wherein only one ASC is associated with each of the plurality of SRS settings. Exemplary Embodiment B6. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B5, wherein the SRS is received in any dedicated slot having only two uplink symbols. Exemplary Embodiment B7. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B5, wherein the SRS is received in any dedicated slot having more than six symbols. Exemplary Embodiment B8. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B7, further comprising minimizing the number of SRS resource sets with a plurality of SRS settings. Exemplary Embodiment B9. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises ASC 1T4R, zero, one, or two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, zero, one, or two aperiodic SRS resource sets are transmitted with different symbols respectively, each SRS resource of the zero, one, or two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a single SRS port, and the single SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port. Exemplary Embodiment B10. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises ASC 1T4R, four aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the four aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises one SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a single SRS port, and the single SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port. Exemplary Embodiment B11. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises ASC 2T4R, two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 2-port SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a unique pair of SRS ports, and each unique pair of SRS ports is associated with a different UE antenna port pair. Exemplary Embodiment B12. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises ASC 1T4R, two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, one of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 2-port SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a single SRS port, and each SRS port is associated with a different UE antenna port pair. Exemplary Embodiment B13. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, further comprising transmitting, by the wireless device, resource configuration in the SRS configuration element, the resource configuration including an offset, and the wireless device being configured to measure an offset from a trigger point associated with the SRS resource set. Exemplary Embodiment B14. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B11, wherein the offset includes a plurality of slots. Exemplary Embodiment B15. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B13 to B14, wherein the offset is selected from a range between zero and a maximum slot offset. Exemplary Embodiment B16. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T6R, six aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the six aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises six SRS resources, and each of the six aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a single SRS port. Exemplary Embodiment B17. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 2T6R, three aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the three aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises three SRS resources, and each of the three aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a single SRS port. Exemplary Embodiment B18. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 1T8R, eight aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the eight aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises eight SRS resources, and each of the eight aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a single SRS port. Exemplary Embodiment B19. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 2T8R, four aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the four aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises four SRS resources, and each of the four aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with a pair of SRS ports. Exemplary Embodiment B20. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the wireless device comprises an ASC 4T8R, two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises two SRS resources, and each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets is associated with four SRS ports. Exemplary Embodiment B21. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B20, further comprising configuring the wireless device to select one of a plurality of SRS configurations based on a required guard period between SRS resources of an SRS resource set. Exemplary Embodiment B22. The method according to any one of Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B21, wherein the network node comprises a gNodeB (gNB). Exemplary Embodiment B23. A network node comprising a processing circuit configured to perform any of the methods according to Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B22. Exemplary Embodiment B24. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, perform any of the methods according to Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B22. Exemplary Embodiment B25. A computer program product comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, perform any of the methods according to Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B22. Exemplary Embodiment B26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, perform any of the methods according to Exemplary Embodiments B1 to B22.

[0174] Exemplary Embodiments of Group C Exemplary Embodiment C1. A wireless device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group A, and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the wireless device. Exemplary Embodiment C2. A network node comprising a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group B, and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the network node. Exemplary Embodiment C3. A wireless device comprising an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals, a radio frequency front-end circuit connected to the antenna and the processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit, a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group A, an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to enable input of information to the wireless device to be processed by the processing circuit, an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information from the wireless device processed by the processing circuit, and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to supply power to the wireless device. Exemplary Embodiment C4. A communication system including a host computer, the host computer comprising a processing circuit configured to provide user data, and a communication interface configured to transfer the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a wireless device, the cellular network comprising a network node having a wireless interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group B. Exemplary Embodiment C5. The communication system according to the above embodiment, further including a network node. Exemplary Embodiment C6. The communication system according to the above two embodiments, further including a wireless device, the wireless device being configured to communicate with the network node. Exemplary Embodiment C7. The communication system according to any of the above three embodiments, wherein a processing circuit of a host computer is configured to execute a host application and thereby provide user data, and a wireless device includes a processing circuit configured to execute a client application associated with the host application. Exemplary Embodiment C8. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device, the method including providing user data at the host computer and initiating a transmission to convey the user data to the wireless device via a cellular network including the network node at the host computer, wherein the network node performs any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group B. Exemplary Embodiment C9. The method according to the above embodiment, further including transmitting user data at the network node. Exemplary Embodiment C10. The method according to any of the above two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided by executing a host application at the host computer, and the method further includes executing a client application associated with the host application at the wireless device. Exemplary Embodiment C11. A wireless device configured to communicate with a network node, the wireless device including a wireless interface and a processing circuit configured to perform any one of the above three embodiments. Exemplary Embodiment C12. A communication system including a host computer, wherein the host computer includes a processing circuit configured to provide user data and a communication interface configured to transfer the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a wireless device, and the wireless device includes a wireless interface and a processing circuit, and components of the wireless device are configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group A. Exemplary Embodiment C13. The communication system according to the above embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the wireless device. Exemplary Embodiment C14. The communication system according to the above two embodiments, wherein the processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host application and thereby provide user data, and the processing circuit of the wireless device is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application. Exemplary Embodiment C15. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device, the method including providing user data at the host computer and initiating a transmission to convey the user data to the wireless device via a cellular network including the network node at the host computer, wherein the wireless device performs any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group A. Exemplary Embodiment C16. The method according to the above embodiment, further including receiving user data at the wireless device from the network node. Exemplary Embodiment C17. A communication system including a host computer, wherein the host computer includes a communication interface configured to receive user data generated from a transmission from the wireless device to the network node, the wireless device includes a wireless interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the wireless device is configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group A. Exemplary Embodiment C18. The communication system according to the above embodiment, further including a wireless device. Exemplary Embodiment C19. The communication system according to the above two embodiments, further including a network node, wherein the network node includes a wireless interface configured to communicate with the wireless device and a communication interface configured to forward user data conveyed by a transmission from the wireless device to the network node to the host computer. Exemplary Embodiment C20. The communication system according to the above three embodiments, wherein the processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, and the processing circuit of the wireless device is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data. Exemplary Embodiment C21. The communication system according to the above four embodiments, wherein the processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data, and the processing circuit of the wireless device is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data in response to the request data. Exemplary Embodiment C22. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device, the method including receiving, at the host computer, user data transmitted from the wireless device to the network node, wherein the wireless device performs any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group A. Exemplary Embodiment C23. The method according to the above embodiment, further including providing, at the wireless device, user data to the network node. Exemplary Embodiment C24. The method according to the above two embodiments, further including executing, at the wireless device, a client application, thereby providing user data to be transmitted, and executing, at the host computer, a host application associated with the client application. Exemplary Embodiment C25. In a wireless device, executing a client application, and in the wireless device, receiving input data for the client application, the input data being provided in a host computer by executing a host application related to the client application, and further including receiving the input data, wherein user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data, the method according to the above three embodiments. Exemplary Embodiment C26. A communication system including a host computer, the host computer having a communication interface configured to receive user data generated from a transmission from a wireless device to a network node, the network node having a wireless interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group B. Exemplary Embodiment C27. The communication system according to the above embodiment, further including a network node. Exemplary Embodiment C28. The communication system according to the above two embodiments, further including a wireless device, the wireless device being configured to communicate with the network node. Exemplary Embodiment C29. The processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, and the wireless device is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data received by the host computer, the communication system according to the above three embodiments. Exemplary Embodiment C30. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device, the method including, in the host computer, receiving from a base station user data generated from a transmission received by the network node from the wireless device, and the wireless device performing any of the steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments of Group A. Exemplary embodiment C31. The method according to the above embodiment, further comprising receiving user data from a wireless device at a network node. Exemplary embodiment C32. The method according to the above two embodiments, further comprising starting to transmit received user data to a host computer at a wireless network node. Exemplary embodiment C33. The method according to any of the above embodiments, wherein the network node comprises a base station. Exemplary embodiment C34. The method according to any one of the above embodiments, wherein the wireless device comprises a user equipment (UE).

[0175] Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and devices described herein. The components of the systems and devices may be integrated or separated. Further, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed using any suitable logic, including software, hardware, and / or other logic. As used herein, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

[0176] Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods described herein. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, the steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0177] Although the present disclosure has been described with respect to specific embodiments, modifications and substitutions will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of the embodiments does not limit the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. Receiving (1102) an indication of a specific one of a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC) from a network node (160), wherein the plurality of SRS settings each have a different number of SRS sets; Transmitting (1104) at least one SRS to the network node based on the specific one of the plurality of SRS settings for the ASC; and A method (1100) by a wireless device (110) comprising the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless device is adapted to implement the plurality of SRS settings for the ASC.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each SRS set comprises at least one SRS resource.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the number of SRS sets is equal to the number of ASC switches with respect to the specific one of the plurality of SRS settings for the ASC.

5. The wireless device comprises ASC 1T4R, and one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, the one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets are transmitted in different slots respectively, each SRS resource of the one or four aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a single SRS port, the single SRS port of each resource is associated with a different UE antenna port; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The wireless device comprises ASC 2T4R, and two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, one of each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 2-port SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a unique pair of SRS ports, each unique pair of SRS ports is associated with a different UE antenna port pair; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. The wireless device comprises ASC 1T2R, and two aperiodic SRS resource sets are configured for the wireless device, one of each of the two aperiodic SRS resource sets comprises a 1-port SRS resource, each SRS resource comprises a single SRS port, each SRS port is associated with a different UE antenna port; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. The wireless device includes an ASC 1T6R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between 1 and 6 are configured in the wireless device, 6 SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, The 6 SRS resources are each associated with a single SRS port, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

9. The wireless device includes an ASC 2T6R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between 1 and 3 are configured in the wireless device, 3 SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, The 3 SRS resources are each associated with 2 SRS ports, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

10. The wireless device includes an ASC 1T8R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between 2 and 8 are configured in the wireless device, 8 SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, The 8 SRS resources are each associated with a single SRS port, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

11. The wireless device includes an ASC 2T8R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets between 1 and 4 are configured in the wireless device, 4 SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, The 4 SRS resources are each associated with a pair of SRS ports, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

12. The wireless device includes an ASC 4T8R, and a plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets that are aperiodic SRS resource sets between 1 and 2 are configured in the wireless device, 2 SRS resources are divided among the plurality of aperiodic SRS resource sets, The 2 SRS resources are each associated with 4 SRS ports, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

13. Transmitting (1402) an indication of a specific one of a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) settings for antenna switching configuration (ASC) to a wireless device (110), wherein the plurality of SRS settings each have a different number of SRS sets, Receiving, from the wireless device, at least one sounding reference signal (SRS) based on the specific one of the plurality of SRS configurations for the ASC (1404); A method (1400) by a network node (160), comprising: **Claim 14** Information indicating the antenna switching capability of the wireless device, information indicating at least one dedicated slot, and parameters associated with minimizing the number of slots, symbols, and / or SRS resource sets for the ASC The method according to claim 13, further comprising selecting the specific one of the plurality of SRS configurations for the ASC based on at least one of: **Claim 15** The method according to claim 13 or 14, further comprising configuring the wireless device to implement the plurality of SRS configurations for the ASC. **Claim 16** The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein each SRS set includes at least one SRS resource. **Claim 17** The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein, with respect to the specific one of the plurality of SRS configurations for the ASC, the number of SRS sets is equal to the number of ASC switches. **Claim 18** A wireless device (110) adapted to receive, from a network node (160), an indication of a specific one of a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) configurations for an antenna switching configuration (ASC), the plurality of SRS configurations each having a different number of SRS sets, and transmit at least one SRS to the network node based on the specific one of the plurality of SRS configurations for the ASC. **Claim 19** A network node (160) adapted to transmit, to a wireless device (110), an indication of a specific one of a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) configurations for an antenna switching configuration (ASC), the plurality of SRS configurations each having a different number of SRS sets, and receive at least one SRS from the wireless device based on the specific one of the plurality of SRS configurations for the ASC. ​ ​

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