Design details for CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) enhancement to support up to 128 ports
By adjusting CSI processing timeline and implementing CBSR and RI restrictions, the enhancement supports up to 128 CSI-RS ports, addressing the limitation of 32 ports in 5G NR, optimizing performance and resource utilization in wireless communication systems.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/US2025/039748
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-08-08
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-29
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-12
AI Technical Summary
Current 5G NR specifications support a maximum of 32 CSI-RS ports, limiting the utilization of more than 32 antenna elements deployed in wireless devices, particularly in mid and high frequency bands, necessitating an enhancement to support up to 128 ports for improved performance.
The proposed solution involves adjusting CSI processing timeline, CPU occupancy, and implementing Codebook Subset Restriction (CBSR) and Rank Indicator (RI) restrictions to accommodate up to 128 CSI-RS ports, ensuring minimal impact on existing network procedures and delay requirements.
This enhancement allows for the full utilization of 128 antenna elements, enhancing performance in wireless communication systems by optimizing CSI processing and resource allocation, thereby supporting hybrid beamforming effectively.
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Figure US2025039748_12022026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01')TITLE: Design Details for CSI-RS Resource Indicator (CRI) Enhancement to Support up to 128 PortsFIELD
[0001] The present application relates to wireless devices and wireless networks including devices, computer-readable media, and methods for Channel State Indicator (CSI)-Reference Signal (RS) Resource Indicator (CRI) enhancement for supporting up to 128 ports.BACKGROUND
[0002] Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system (GPS) and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functionalities. Additionally, there exist numerous different wireless communication technologies and standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g.. IxRTT, IxEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH™, 5G New Radio (NR), etc.
[0003] Current specification standards for 5G NR support a maximum of 32 CSI-RS ports. That is, the Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) codebooks currently employed for downlink (DL) CSI transmissions are limited to up to 32 ports. However, it is known that more than 32 antenna elements may be deployed on a base station, particularly for use in mid and high frequency band devices.SUMMARY
[0004] In general, embodiments disclosed herein are directed to methods and devices for CRI enhancement to support up to 128 ports. Embodiments may adjust the CSI processing timeline and / or the CPU occupancy in view of the additional ports. Embodiments may also provide Codebook Subset Restriction (CBSR) and Rank Indicator (RI) restriction configurations for the different CSI-RS resources.
[0005] In one aspect, embodiments are directed to a method performed by a User EquipmentAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOB(UE) that includes the UE receiving one or more reference signals (RSs) from a network. The one or more RSs are transmitted using one or more antenna elements and up to 128 CSI-RS ports. The UE measures the one or more RSs and transmits a CSI report to the network within a CSI processing timeline. The CSI processing timeline is based on: a minimum time duration specified in a number of symbols between an end of a last symbol of a CSI triggering PDCCH and a first uplink symbol carrying the CSI report (Z), a minimum time duration specified in a number of symbols between an end of a last symbol of a latest measurement resource and a first uplink symbol carrying the CSI report (Z’), and a subcarrier spacing. The CSI report includes measurements for a number of CSI-RS resources. A portion of the number of CSI-RS resources is indicated by the network, and the remaining CSI-RS resources are selected by the UE.
[0006] In some examples, the UE transmits a UE capability message that includes an indication of the value of Z and Z’ or an indication of adjustments made to the values Z and Z’ from an established table.
[0007] In some examples, the UE transmitting the CSI report to the network is based on a CSI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy. The CPU occupancy may be the total number of CSI-RS resources for measurement, the number of CSI-RS resources reported by the UE, the number of remaining CSI-RS resources selected by the UE, and / or the number of CSI-RS ports divided by 32.
[0008] In some examples, the CSI processing timeline and / or a CSI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy are selected based on different codebooks.
[0009] In some examples, the UE receives a CBSR configuration from the network. The CBSR may be configured for the total number of CSI-RS resources available or for each of a number of CSI-RS resources. In one example, the CBSR is the same for a total number of CSI- RS resources available minus the portion of the number of CSI-RS resources indicated by the network.
[0010] In some examples, a different orthogonal spatial basis restriction of the CBSR may be configured for the number of CSI-RS resources with a same oversampling factor, or a different oversampling factor may be configured for the number of CSI-RS resources with a same orthogonal spatial basis restriction. In one example, a different oversampling factor and a different orthogonal spatial basis restriction is configured for each of the number of CSI-RS resources.
[0011] In some examples, the UE receives a RI restriction from the network. The RI restriction may be configured for a total number of CSI-RS resources available or for each of theAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01') number of CSI-RS resources. In one example, the RI restriction may be the same for a total number of CSI-RS resources available minus the portion of the number of CSI-RS resources indicated by the network.
[0012] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to cellular phones, wireless devices, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, baseband processors, non- transitory computer readable mediums, and any of various other computing devices.
[0013] This Summary7is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] A better understanding of the present subject matter can be obtained when the following detailed description of various aspects is considered in conjunction with the following drawings.
[0015] Figure 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system, according to some aspects.
[0016] Figure 2 illustrates an example block diagram of a UE, according to some aspects.
[0017] Figure 3 illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a UE device, according to some aspects.
[0018] Figure 4 illustrates hybrid beamforming considerations, according to some according to some aspects.
[0019] Figure 5 provides a table of computation delay requirements, according to some aspects.
[0020] Figure 6 illustrates a method, according to some aspects.
[0021] While the features described herein may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific aspects thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and areAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WO17) herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] As noted above, 5G NR currently only supports a maximum of 32 CSI-RS ports for DL CSI acquisition and Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) operations. However, it is already possible to deploy more than 32 antenna elements. A network can map antenna elements to CSI-RS ports as in hybrid beamforming. For example, if a base station has 128 antenna elements and a maximum of 32 CSI-RS ports. 4 antenna elements need to be mapped to one CSI- RS port to fully use the resources.
[0023] In order to take full advantage of the number of antenna elements and potentially increase performance, hybrid beamforming and CSI support for up to 128 CSI-RS ports is desired, particularly in the FR1 band. Ideally, the extension of CRI-based CSI reporting for hybrid beamforming to support up to 128 CSI-RS ports across all the resources will have a minimal impact on establish network procedures, such as the current codebooks and established delay requirements.
[0024] Embodiments disclosed herein provide design details for CRI enhancement to support up to 128 ports. Currently, there are three main mechanisms to account for UE CSI processing complexity7: CSI Processing Unit (CPU) counting, active CSI-RS resource / port counting, and CSI processing timeline considerations (as described in TS 38.214). As will be explained in detail below, the CSI processing timeline establishes a minimum amount of time for the UE to receive a CSI-RS and respond with a CSI report.
[0025] Given the increase in the number of CSI-RS ports, embodiments herein can adjust the CSI processing timeline to compensate for any additional measurements / reporting. In addition, embodiments also consider the CPU occupancy, i.e., a processing unit indicative of the UE processing CSI instructions, in view of the additional CSI-RS ports.
[0026] Embodiments further provide Codebook Subset Restriction (CBSR) and Rank Indicator (RI) restriction configurations for different CSI-RS resources. In general, CBSR restricts the set of available beamforming vectors (i.e., precoding matrices) from the full codebook for channel feedback. The RI defines anumber of possible layers for the downlink transmission underAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01') specific channel conditions. Given the increase in the number of CSI-RS ports, independent CBSRs and RI restrictions may be applied to different CSI-RS resources in accordance with embodiments herein.
[0027] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure:
[0028] Memory Medium - Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium, e.g., a CD- ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc. ; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash, magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may include other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system in which the programs are executed or may be located in a second different computer system which connects to the first computer system over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., in different computer systems that are connected over a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computer programs) that may be executed by one or more processors.
[0029] Carrier Medium - a memory medium as described above, as well as a physical transmission medium, such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.
[0030] Programmable Hardware Element - includes various hardware devices comprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via a programmable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmable function blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or look up tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as “reconfigurable logic.”
[0031] Computer System - any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computer system” canAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOD be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.
[0032] User Equipment (UE) (also “User Device” or “UE Device”) - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™. Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE) devices, an instrument cluster, head-up display (HUD) devices, onboard diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDTs), Electronic Engine Management System (EEMS), electron! c / engine control units (ECUs), electronic / engine control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or “smart” appliances, machine type communications (MTC) devices, machine-to-machine (M2M), internet of things (loT) devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device” can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.
[0033] Wireless Device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.
[0034] Communication Device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, where the communications can be wired or wireless. A communication device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.
[0035] Base Station - The term “base station” or “wireless station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and at least includes a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. For example, if the base station is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately be referred to as anLeNodeB' or “eNB.‘ If the base station is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referred to as a ‘gNodeB’ or gNB’. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5GNR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” “nodeB,” “base station,” “NB,” etc., mayAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-Q072WOT) refer to one or more wireless nodes that service a cell to provide a wireless connection between user devices and a wider network generally and that the concepts discussed are not limited to any particular wireless technology. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” ‘'nodeB,” ‘‘base station,” “NB,” etc., are not intended to limit the concepts discussed herein to any particular wireless technology and the concepts discussed may be applied in any wireless system.
[0036] Node - The term “node,” or “wireless node” as used herein, may refer to one more apparatus associated with a cell that provide a wireless connection between user devices and a wired network generally.
[0037] Processing Element (or Processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such as a user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example: processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations of the above.
[0038] Channel - a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term “channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term “channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a manner that is consistent with the standard of the type of device with reference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widths may be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22MHz wide while Bluetooth channels may be IMhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different uses such as data, control information, etc.
[0039] Band - The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.
[0040] Automatically - refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without user input directly specifying or performing the action orAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01) operation. Thus, the term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by the user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that are performed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed “manually,” where the user specifies each action to perform. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is filling out the form manually, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user actions. The form may be automatically filled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g., software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of the form but is not involved in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields but rather they are being automatically completed). The present specification provides various examples of operations being automatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.
[0041] Approximately - refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. For example, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10 percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however, that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be application dependent. For example, in some aspects, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other aspects, the threshold may be, for example. 2%, 3%, 5%, and so forth, as desired, or as required by the particular application.
[0042] Concurrent - refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks, processes, or programs are performed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using “weak parallelism,” where the tasks are performed in an interleaved manner, e.g.. by time multiplexing of execution threads.
[0043] Configured to - Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generally meaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structure generally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task orAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOU tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry’ that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits.
[0044] Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, for convenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component.
[0045] Example Wireless Communication System
[0046] Turning now to Figure 1. a simplified example of a wireless communication system is illustrated, according to some aspects. It is noted that the system of Figure 1 is a non-limiting example of a possible system, and that features of this disclosure may be implemented in various systems, as desired.
[0047] As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates over a transmission medium with one or more user devices 106A and 106B, through 106Z. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, the user devices 106 are referred to as UEs or UE devices.
[0048] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site (e.g, a “cellular base station”) and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs 106A through 106Z.
[0049] The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may be referred to as a “cell.” The base station 102A and the UEs 106 may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately be referred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR. it may alternately be referred to as a ‘gNodeB' orLgNB'.
[0050] In some aspects, the UEs 106 may be loT UEs, which may comprise a network access layer designed for low-power loT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. An loT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity’ service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or loT netw orks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may beAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOU a machine-initiated exchange of data. An loT network describes interconnecting loT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. As an example, vehicles to every thing (V2X) may utilize ProSe features using a PC5 interface for direct communications between devices. The loT UEs may also execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, and the like) to facilitate the connections of the loT network.
[0051] As shown in Figure 1, the UEs 106, such as UE 106A and UE 106B, may directly exchange communication data via a PC5 interface 108A. Also, the UEs 106C. 106N, and 106Z, may collectively exchange communication data via a PC5 interfaces 108B, 108C, and 108D. In general, such PC5 interfaces are referred to as SL connections.
[0052] The PC5 interface 108 may comprise one or more physical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH). and a Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH). The PC5 interface 108 may be responsible for direct communication between devices (unicast), group messaging among select devices (groupcast), and broadcast messaging in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein.
[0053] In V2X scenarios, one or more of the base stations 102 may be or act as Road Side Units (RSUs). The term RSU may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable wireless node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, where an RSU implemented in or by a UE. eNB. or by a gNB. For example, an RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on a roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs.
[0054] As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communication between the user devices and / or between the user devices and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A may provide UEs 106 with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.
[0055] Base station 102 A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B through 102N) operating according to the same or a different cellular communication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, which may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlappingAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOF) service to UEs 106A-106Z and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.
[0056] Thus, while base station 102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs 106A-106Z as illustrated in Figure 1, each UE 106 may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B- 102Z and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells . ” Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. Such cells may include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and / or cells which provide any of various other granularities of service area size. For example, base stations 102 A and 102B illustrated in Figure 1 may be macro cells, while base station 102Z may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.
[0057] In some aspects, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, (e.g, a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB’'). In some aspects, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to a NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, it may be possible that the base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 support joint transmission, such that UE 106 may be able to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as illustrated in Figure 1, both base station 102A and base station 102C are shown as serving UE 106 A.
[0058] Note that a UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g. Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, and the like) in addition to some of the cellular communication protocols discussed herein. The UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS) (e g, GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.
[0059] In one or more embodiments, the UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smartAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01) watch, or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device.
[0060] The UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the method aspects described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components that are configured to perform (e.g, individually or in combination) any of the method aspects described herein, or any portion of any of the method aspects described herein.
[0061] The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As additional possibilities, the UE 106 could be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (IxRTT / IxEV-DO / HRPD I eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and / or GSM or LTE using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g. , for a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration) for performing wireless communications. In general, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g, including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, and the like), or digital processing circuitry (e.g, for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above.
[0062] In some aspects, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE 106 may include one or more radios which are shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE or 5G NR (or either of LTE or IxRTT. or either of LTE or GSM. among various possibilities), and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.
[0063] In some aspects, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissionsAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01') from any of the base stations 102 to the UEs 106, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid may comprise a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a set of resource elements. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.
[0064] One such channel is the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) that may carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 106. The PDCCH may carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 106 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 102 within a cell) may be performed at any of the base stations 102 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 106. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g. assigned to) each of the UEs.
[0065] The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) and the channel condition. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g. , aggregation level, L=l, 2, 4, or 8).
[0066] Example Communication Device
[0067] Figure 2 illustrates user equipment 106 (e.g., one of the devices 106A through 106N)Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WO17) in communication with abase station 102 or other user equipment 106, according to some aspects. The UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smart watch, or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device.
[0068] The UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory'. The UE 106 may perform any of the method aspects described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components that are configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method aspects described herein, or any portion of any of the method aspects described herein.
[0069] The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As additional possibilities, the UE 106 could be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (IxRTT / IxEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and / or GSM or LTE using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. In general, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc ), or digital processing circuitry' (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above.
[0070] In some aspects, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As a further possibility7, the UE 106 may include one or more radios which are shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE or 5GNR (or either of LTE or IxRTT, or either of LTE or GSM, among various possibilities), and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01')
[0071] In some aspects, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the base stations 102 to the UEs 106. while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid may comprise a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.
[0072] The PDSCH may carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 106. The PDCCH may carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 106 about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 102 within a cell) may be performed at any of the base stations 102 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 106. The dow nlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e g., assigned to) each of the UEs.
[0073] The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=l, 2, 4, or 8).
[0074] Figure 2 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a communication device 106, according to some aspects. It is noted that the block diagram of the communication device of Figure 2 is only one example of a possible communication device. According to aspects,Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOU communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 200 configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components 200 may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components 200 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device 106.
[0075] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash 210), an input / output interface such as connector I / F 220 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock; charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display 260, which may be integrated with or external to the communication device 106, and wireless communication circuitry 230 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some aspects, communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a netw ork interface card, e.g., for Ethernet.
[0076] The wireless communication circuitry 230 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antenna(s) 335 as shown. The wireless communication circuitry 230 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or short to medium range wireless communication circuitry and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.
[0077] In some aspects, as further described below cellular communication circuitry 230 may include one or more receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5GNR). In addition, in some aspects, cellular communication circuitry 230 may include a single transmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g., LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio. The second radio may be dedicated to a second RAT. e.g., 5G NR, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain. In some aspects, theAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01') second RAT may operate at mmWave frequencies. As mmWave systems operate in higher frequencies than typically found in LTE systems, signals in the mmWave frequency range are heavily attenuated by environmental factors. To help address this attenuating, mmWave systems often utilize beamforming and include more antennas as compared to LTE systems. These antennas may be organized into antenna arrays or panels made up of individual antenna elements. These antenna arrays may be coupled to the radio chains.
[0078] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include any of various elements, such as display 260 (which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of various other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.
[0079] The communication device 106 may further include one or more smart cards 245 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards 245.
[0080] As shown, the SOC 200 may include processors) 202. which may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and display circuitry 204, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display 260. The processor(s) 202 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 240, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 202 and translate those addresses to locations in memory’ (e.g., memory 206, read only memory (ROM) 250, NAND flash memory 210) and / or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry 204, wireless communication circuitry 230, connector I / F 220, and / or display 260. The MMU 240 may be configured to perform memory' protection and page table translation or set up. In some aspects, the MMU 240 may be included as a portion of the processor(s) 202.
[0081] As noted above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processor 202 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g.. a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor 202 may be configured as aAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOF) programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 202 of the communication device 106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 200, 204, 206, 210, 220, 230, 240, 245, 250, 260 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.
[0082] In addition, as described herein, processor 202 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 202 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor 202. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 202.
[0083] Further, as described herein, wireless communication circuitry 230 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in wireless communication circuitry 230. Thus, wireless communication circuitry 230 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry 230. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry7230.
[0084] Example Base Station
[0085] Figure 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station 102, according to some aspects. It is noted that the base station of Figure 3 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include processor(s) 304 which may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 304 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 304 and translate those addresses to locations in memory' (e.g., memory 360 and read only memory (ROM) 350) or to other circuits or devices.
[0086] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 370. The network port 370 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to the telephone network as described above in Figures 1 and 2.
[0087] The network port 370 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 370 may couple to a telephone networkAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOT) via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced by the cellular service provider).
[0088] In some aspects, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5GNew Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB.” In such aspects, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to a NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. In addition, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.
[0089] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 334, and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 334 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE devices 106 via radio 330. The antenna 334 communicates with the radio 330 via communication chain 332. Communication chain 332 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain or both. The radio 330 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.
[0090] The base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the base station 102 may include multiple radios, which may enable the base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 may include an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE as well as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR. In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5GNR base station. When the base station 102 supports mmWave, the 5GNR radio may be coupled to one or more mmWave antenna arrays or panels. As another possibility, the base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio, which is capable of performing communications according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).
[0091] As described further subsequently herein, the BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor 304 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g.. by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable memoryAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOD medium). Alternatively, the processor 304 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 304 of the BS 102, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 330, 332, 334, 340, 350, 360, 370 may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the features described herein.
[0092] In addition, as described herein, processor(s) 304 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor(s) 304 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 304. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 304.
[0093] Further, as described herein, radio 330 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of radio 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 330.
[0094] Hybrid Beamforming
[0095] Beamforming is used with array antennae systems to focus wireless signals into chosen directions, such as towards a specific UE. This can provide improved signals at the UE and less interference between transmitted signals. In general, hybrid beamforming combines analog and digital techniques to manipulate the transmitted beams. In hybrid beamforming, input data streams are analog precoded and sent to digital beamformers, or sub-arrays that contain the antennae. Each sub-array produces beams only from that sub-array to achieve the desired beamforming.
[0096] Figure 4 illustrates hybrid beamforming, according to some aspects. Hybrid beamforming involves the network transmitting DL signals, or sounding the DL, and a UE feeding back the results of measuring the DL signals. In hybrid beamforming, with reference to Figure 4, embodiments include a network device 400 may include antenna elements 420i to 420A mapped to B digital ports 41 Or to 410B. For example, for 128 antenna elements and 32 digital ports, A=128 and B=32. With these values of A and B, four antenna elements may be mapped to one digital port, as illustrated in the example of Figure 4. Embodiments herein are not limited to a specific number of antenna elements or a specific number of antenna elements mapped to one digital port. Rather, embodiments are directed configurations and timing considerations for increasing theAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOD number of digital ports from 32 to up to 128.
[0097] Network DL sounding includes semi-static beamforming at the antenna elements mapped to the individual digital ports. The network can use the semi-static beamforming to sweep multiple directions and improve the coverage. In Figure 4. the multiple directions are illustrated by the lobes 430i to 4304 for the antenna elements 420i to 4204 that are mapped to the digital port 410i. Similarly, for A=128 antenna elements and B=32 digital ports, the lobes 432i to 4324 provide semi-static beamforming for the antenna elements 420125 to 420128 that are mapped to the digital port 41032.
[0098] In the dynamic beamforming across the digital ports 4101 to 410B, the network can dynamically change the precoder in MIMO operations to improve the coverage and throughput of the system.
[0099] UE CSI Feedback
[0100] In accordance with embodiments, in response to the network transmitting DL signals, the UE may perform measurements to select the best semi-static beamforming and to feedback the best precoder for transmissions. The UE may feedback RIs, PMIs, Channel Quality Indexes (CQIs). Layer Indicators (Lis), or other information related to the beamforming.
[0101] Currently, there are three main mechanisms used to account for the UE CSI processing complexity: CSI processing unit (CPU) counting, active CSI-RS resource / port counting, and the CSI processing timeline. Information regarding these mechanisms can be found in TS 38.214.
[0102] The CSI processing timeline defines variables Z and Z’ related to the time duration between receiving a signal, e.g., CSI-RS, and transmitting a CSI report. Specifically, Z is the minimum time duration specified in number of symbols between the end of the last symbol of CSI triggering PDCCH and the first uplink symbol carry ing the CSI. Z’ is the minimum time duration specified in number of symbols between the end of the last symbol of the latest measurement resource and the first uplink symbol carrying the CSI.
[0103] Specific values of Z and Z’ may be specified in established tables known to the network and the UE. For example, TS 38.214 provides Table 5.4-1 and Table 5.4-2 that include values of Z and Z’ based on different delay7requirements. Table 5.4-1 is associated with low7latency transmissions (delay requirement 1), while Table 5.4-2 is associated with regular latency transmissions (delay requirement 2).
[0104] Figure 5 provides Table 5.4-2 as an example of an established table that can be usedAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOT) in accordance with embodiments herein. Currently, it is not expected for the UE to support the low latency timeline values like those in Table 5.4-1 with the additional ports. Further, it is noted that the values given in the Table of Figure 5 are based on the use of 32 CSI-RS ports.
[0105] Although embodiments do support the use of preexisting tables, as shown in the example of Figure 5, the use of Table 5.4-2 of TS 38.214 is not strictly required. However, expanding the number of CSI-RS ports to 128 with minimal disruption to current operations is beneficial. Embodiments herein do support the use of both the Rel-15 Type-I Single Panel (SP) codebook and the Rel-16 eType-II codebook.
[0106] In Figure 5. the index / is a value associated with the subcarrier spacing (SCS). More specifically, / z corresponds to a minimum of different SCSs associated with the PDCCH, PUSCH, and aperiodic measurement resources.
[0107] CRI Enhancement
[0108] Figure 6 illustrates a method, according to some aspects. The general method 600 of Figure 6 includes the UE receiving one or more RSs from a network in Step 610. For example, the RSs may be associated with DL sounding for hybrid beamforming and / or other transmissions. The one or more RSs are transmitted using one more antenna elements and up to 128 CSI-RS ports.
[0109] The UE measures the one or more RSs transmitted by the netw ork in Step 620. For example, the UE measures the channel quality to determine the CQI. The UE transmits a CSI report to the network within a CSI processing timeline in Step 630. The processing timeline is based on values of Z and Z’ determined from an established table.
[0110] The network can configure Ks> 1 CSI-RS resources for the Channel Measurement Resource (CMR). The network can further configure the UE to report CSIs for M < 4 CSI-RS resources. Among the reported resources, the network can configure MRCSI-RS resources to be included in the report. These are resources that the UE does not need to select, as those resources have been selected by the network. The UE can select and report (M —CSI-RS resources among the remaining (Ks— MR) CSI-RS resources that are available. Accordingly, the CSI report includes a portion of resources indicated by the network (MR). and the remaining reported resources (M — MR) are selected by the UE. For each CSI-RS resource, the UE reports a set of measurements, such as the RI / CQI / PMI and LI (if applicable).[OHl] As noted previously, for CRI enhancement to support up to 128 ports, when theAtty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOT) network configures the UE to report M sets of RI / CQI / PMI and LI measurements, the UE is not expected to support a low latency timeline, e.g., Z and Z' as specified in Table 5.4. 1 in TS38.214.
[0112] In some embodiments, the UE may use the values 502 highlighted in Figure 5 for the values Z and Z’. The values 502 given by Z2 and Z2?in Table 5.4-2 of Technical Specification (TS) 38.214 are applicable for a CSI-ReportConfig that contains a list of sub-configurations provided by csi-ReportSubConfigToAddModList.
[0113] In some embodiments, to support up to 128 CSI-RS ports, the values Z and Z’ may be determined by adjusting values provided in the established table. For example, a fixed value may be added to the established table value. If the values in the established table are given by (Z2, Z2'). the determined values (Z, Z') may include (2Z2, 2Z2), (Z2+ Z2, 2Z2) or other adjustments. In some embodiments, the fixed value used to determine the values of (Z, Z') may be reported by the UE in symbols, and a different value may be reported for different SCSs.
[0114] In some embodiments, to support up to 128 ports, the values Z and Z’ may be adjusted through a scaling factor applied to either Z, Z‘, or both, e.g., (Z, Z') = (aZ2, aZ2). In one example, the scaling factor a may be the total number of sets of measurements (M), such as the RI / CQI / PMI and LI (if applicable), that the UE needs to compute, i.e., a = M. In another example, the scaling factor a may be the total number of CSI-RS resources that UE needs to select and report the corresponding sets of measurements, i.e.. a = (M — MR).
[0115] In another example, the scaling factor a may be the total number of CSI-RS ports configured in the KsCSI-RS resources divided by 32 ports, i.e., a = ceil KsP / 32). where Ksis the number of resources and P is the number of ports per resource. In another example, the scaling factor a may be the total number of CSI-RS resources that are not selected by the network from which UE needs to select (M — MRCSI-RS resources, i.e.. a = (Ks— MR).
[0116] In accordance with some embodiments, to support up to 128 CSI-RS ports, a CSI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy may be established. The baseline CPU occupancy OCPUmaybe established by the total number of resources Ks, i.e., OCPU= Ks.
[0117] In some embodiments, to support up to 128 CSI-RS ports, the CPU occupancy may be reduced from the above baseline. In one example, the CPU occupancy OCPUmay be set to the number of measurement sets, e.g., RI / CQI / PMI and LI (if applicable), that UE needs to compute M, i.e.. OCPU= M. In another example, the CPU occupancy OCPUmay be set to the number of CSI-RS resources that the UE needs to select and report the corresponding measurement sets (M —Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOF)MR), i.e., 0CPU— (M M .
[0118] In another example, the CPU occupancy OCPUmay be set to the number of CSI-RS ports configured in the KsCSI-RS resources divided by 32 ports, i.e., OCPU= cell(KsP / 32), where P is the number of ports per resource.
[0119] In embodiments, the CPU occupancy reductions may be conditioned on the relaxations of CSI processing timeline previously described. In some embodiments, in the CSI processing timeline relaxation, different selections may be made in the Rel-15 Type-I SP codebook and the Rel-16 eType-II codebook. Similarly, in the CPU occupancy reduction, different selections may also be made in the Rel-15 Type-I SP codebook and Rel-16 eType-II codebook. For example, the Rel-15 Type-I SP codebook has no timeline relaxation but does have CPU occupancy reduction. The Rel-16 eType-II codebook has timeline relaxation but does not have CPU occupancy reduction. Accordingly, different selections in PMI codebooks may be made in view of the timeline relaxations and CPU occupancy reductions described herein.
[0120] CBSR and RI Restriction
[0121] In some embodiments, for CRI enhancement to support up to 128 ports, with respect to the CBSR configuration, a common CBSR may be configured for the Ks> 1 CSI-RS resources. Recall, the CBSR restricts the set of available beamforming vectors (i.e.. precoding matrices) from the full codebook for the channel feedback. In some embodiments, the CBSR may be configured independently for one or more CSI-RS resources.
[0122] In some embodiments, when configuring the CBSR independently to enhance the support for the additional ports, each CSI-RS resource in the MRnetwork selected CSI-RS resources may be configured with an independent CBSR. The remaining (Ks— MR) CSI-RS resources may share the same CBSR. Alternatively, each of the KsCSI-RS resources may be configured with an independent CBSR.
[0123] CBSR configuration involves selecting an oversampling factor from (O1;O2), which is essentially selecting a group of N N2orthogonal spatial bases, followed by the selection / restriction to an orthogonal spatial basis from the N N2selected orthogonal spatial bases.
[0124] In some embodiments, for CRI enhancement to support up to 128 ports, when different CBSR are configured for different CSI-RS resources, the CSI-RS resources may share the same oversampling factor. In those embodiments, different orthogonal spatial basis restrictions may be configured for the different CSI-RS resources.Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01')
[0125] In other embodiments, for CRI enhancement to support up to 128 ports, when different CBSR are configured for different CSI-RS resources, the CSI-RS resources may share the same orthogonal spatial basis restriction, but different oversampling factors may be selected for the different CSI-RS resources.
[0126] In some embodiments, when different CBSR are configured for different CSI-RS resources, both the oversampling factor selection and the orthogonal spatial basis restriction may be different for different CSI-RS resources.
[0127] In embodiments, the RI restrictions may be treated similarly to those presented for the CBSR restrictions above. Recall, the RI defines a number of possible layers for the downlink transmission under specific channel conditions. For example, for CRI enhancement to support up to 128 ports, a common RI restriction may be configured for all the Ks> 1 CSI-RS resources. In some embodiments, the RI restriction may be configured independently for one or more CSI-RS resources.
[0128] When configuring the RI restriction independently to enhance the support of additional CSI-RS ports, each CSI-RS resource in the MRnetwork selected CSI-RS resources may be configured with an independent RI restriction. The remaining ( 2 —CSI-RS resources may share the same RI restriction. Alternatively, each of the KsCSI-RS resources may be configured with an independent RI restriction.
[0129] Embodiments advantageously provide configuration support for enhancing the number of CSI-RS ports to as many as 128 ports. Embodiments adjust the CSI processing timeline and / or the CPU occupancy, provide CBSR and RI restriction configurations for different CSI-RS resources in view of the increased number of ports. Accordingly, embodiments can advantageously improve the coverage of the antennae and the throughput of the system.
[0130] Aspects of the present disclosure may be realized in any of various forms. For example, some aspects may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other aspects may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other aspects may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.
[0131] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured so that it stores program instructions and / or data, where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of a method aspects described herein, or, any combination of the method aspects described herein, or,Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOT) any subset of any of the method aspects described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.
[0132] In some aspects, a device (e.g., a UE 106, a BS 102) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method aspects described herein (or, any combination of the method aspects described herein, or, any subset of any of the method aspects described herein, or, any combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any of the various forms.
[0133] Although the aspects above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
Claims
Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01')CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:
1. A method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving one or more reference signals (RSs) from a network, wherein the one or more RSs are transmitted using one or more antenna elements and up to 128 CSI-RS ports; measuring the one or more RSs; transmitting a CSI report to the network within a CSI processing timeline, wherein the CSI processing timeline is based on: a minimum time duration specified in a number of symbols between an end of a last symbol of a CSI triggering PDCCH and a first uplink symbol carrying the CSI report (Z), a minimum time duration specified in a number of symbols between an end of a last symbol of a latest measurement resource and a first uplink symbol carrying the CSI report (Z’), and a subcarrier spacing; wherein the CSI report comprises: measurements for a number of CSI-RS resources, wherein a portion of the number of CSI-RS resources is indicated by the network, and the remaining CSI-RS resources are selected by the UE.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein values of Z and Z' are determined based columns of an established table.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein values of Z and Z’ are given by Z2 and Z2’, respectively, in Table 5.4-2 of Technical Specification (TS) 38.214.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein a value of Z and / or Z’ is a value from the established table plus an additional fixed value.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the additional fixed value is a value from the established table.Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01)6. The method of claim 2, further comprising: transmitting a UE capability message, the UE capability message comprising an indication of the values of Z and Z’ or an indication of an adjustment made to values Z and Z’ from the established table.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein a value of Z and / or Z’ is a value from the established table multiplied by a scaling factor.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the scaling factor is based on the number of CSI-RS resources.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the scaling factor is based on the number of remaining CSI- RS resources selected by the UE.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the scaling factor is based on the number of CSI-RS ports divided by 32.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the scaling factor is based on a total number of CSI-RS resources available minus the portion of the number of CSI-RS resources indicated by the network.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the CSI report to the network is further based on a C SI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy, and wherein the CPU occupancy is a total number of CSI-RS resources for measurement.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the CSI report to the network is further based on a CSI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy, and wherein the CPU occupancy is the number of CSI-RS resources reported by the UE.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the CSI report to the network is further based on a CSI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy, and wherein the CPU occupancy is the number of remaining CSI-RS resources selected by the UE.Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072WOD15. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the CSI report to the network is further based on a CSI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy, and wherein the CPU occupancy is the number of CSI-RS ports divided by 32.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the CSI processing timeline and / or a CSI Processing Unit (CPU) occupancy are selected based on different codebooks.
17. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a Codebook Subset Restriction (CBSR) from the network, wherein the CBSR is configured for a total number of CSI-RS resources available.
18. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a Codebook Subset Restriction (CBSR) from the network, wherein the CBSR is configured for each of the number of CSI-RS resources.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the CBSR is the same for a total number of CSI-RS resources available minus the portion of the number of CSI-RS resources indicated by the network.
20. The method of claim 18. wherein a different orthogonal spatial basis restriction of the CBSR is configured for the number of CSI-RS resources with a same oversampling factor.
21. The method of claim 18, wherein a different oversampling factor is configured for the number of CSI-RS resources with a same orthogonal spatial basis restriction.
22. The method of claim 18, wherein a different oversampling factor and a different orthogonal spatial basis restriction is configured for each of the number of CSI-RS resources.
23. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a Rank Indicator (RI) restriction from the network, wherein the RI restriction is configured for a total number of CSI-RS resources available.
24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:Atty Dkt. P68920WO1 (1784-0072W01') receiving a Rank Indicator (RI) restriction from the network, wherein the RI restriction is configured for each of the number of CSI-RS resources.
25. The method of claim 18, wherein the RI restriction is the same for a total number of CSI-RS resources available minus the portion of the number of CSI-RS resources indicated by the network.
26. A wireless device configured to perform the methods of any of claims 1-25.
27. A non-transitory computer readable medium configured to store and execute instructions to perform the methods of any of claims 1-25.
28. A baseband processor configured to execute instructions to cause a wireless device to perform the methods of any of claims 1-25.