Control resources-based channel state information adaptation

Abstract

In some examples, a method comprises receiving, by a communication apparatus, a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission, detecting, by the communication apparatus, a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, transmitted within the control resource set, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration, and performing, by the communication apparatus, physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal.

Description

[0001] CONTROL RESOURCES-BASED CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION ADAPTATION

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates, in general, to reducing power consumption associated with computing channel state information. Aspects of the disclosure relate to computing channel state information using control resources.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In 5G New Radio (NR) systems, channel state information (CSI) plays a crucial role in optimising radio link quality. CSI is essential for various network functions, such as link adaptation, beamforming, and resource allocation. Accurate and timely CSI measurements are necessary to manage the dynamic nature of radio channels, enabling effective interference management, uplink and downlink precoder selection, and power control.

[0006] In 5G NR, data and signaling messages are carried in downlink and uplink physical channels,

[0007] The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is responsible for conveying downlink control information (DCI), which triggers key operations, including CSI reporting, link adaptation, time and frequency resource allocation. The design of PDCCH prioritises reliability and coverage, requiring the communication apparatus to monitor and decode multiple PDCCH candidates across different search spaces, referred to as blind decoding. While the process is critical for ensuring stable communication within the network, it is also very resource-intensive.

[0008] One of the main issues associated with the current approach is the high power consumption at the communication apparatus side, particularly due to the continuous monitoring and decoding of the PDCCH. Given the complexity and importance of the PDCCH in 5G NR systems, it has become one of the most power-consuming elements in communication apparatus baseband processing. Existing power-saving techniques, such as PDCCH skipping and search space set switching, offer some relief but are limited in their effectiveness and further enhancements are possible. Reducing the power consumption associated with CSI measurements and PDCCH processing is therefore highly desirable, as it would extend communication apparatus battery life, improve sustainability and enhance overall system efficiency.

[0009] SUMMARY

[0010] An objective of the present disclosure is to reduce power consumption associated with computing channel state information.

[0011] The foregoing and other objectives are achieved by the features of the independent claims.

[0012] Further implementation forms are apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the Figures.

[0013] A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a method comprising receiving, by a communication apparatus, a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission, detecting, by the communication apparatus, a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, transmitted within the control resource set, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration, and performing, by the communication apparatus, physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal. Accordingly, by computing the CSI based on the control resource set or RS embedded within the control symbols, power consumption for CSI measurements can be reduced and the timeline can be improved. Additionally, the latency and complexity associated with PDCCH decoding can be minimized.

[0014] Detecting, by the communication apparatus, the reference signal may comprise detecting the at least one reference signal configuration. Performing, by the communication apparatus, the PDCCH decoding may comprise performing the PDCCH decoding in response to detecting the first reference signal configuration, and calculating the channel state information may comprise calculating the channel state information in response to detecting the second signal configuration.

[0015] The method may further comprise, in response to detecting both the first reference signal configuration and the second reference signal configuration, dividing reference signal ports associated with the control resource set between reference signal ports for PDCCH decoding, e.g. equalisation, and reference signal ports for channel state information computation.

[0016] The method may further comprise, in response to calculating the channel state information, performing, by the communication apparatus, channel state information reporting of the computed channel state information to a network, wherein the CSI reporting is configured as control-based, wherein the CSI reporting is performed periodically, aperiodically, semi-persistently or triggered in response to an event.

[0017] The event triggering the CSI reporting may comprise at least one of: configured CSI quantities or a variation in the configured CSI quantities exceeding a defined or communication apparatus-selected threshold, a first time gap condition based on a previous CSI report or last CSI report with the same configured CSI quantities, a second time gap condition based on an earliest next CSI report or earliest next CSI report with the same configured CSI quantities, and / or a pre-configured further channel state information calculation for a pre-configured time period after reception of the downlink transmission comprising the control resource set.

[0018] The control resource set may comprise multiple resource blocks. Performing the PDCCH decoding may comprise determining, based on the first reference signal configuration, a number of resource blocks of the multiple resource blocks used for PDCCH transmission and an aggregation level for the PDCCH, performing the PDCCH decoding based on the determined number of resource blocks and the aggregation level for the PDCCH.

[0019] The first reference signal configuration may comprise an indication that downlink control information (DCI) is present in the control resource set, and the second reference signal configuration may comprise an indication that DCI is not present in the control resource set.

[0020] The first reference signal configuration may comprise a first precoder, the second reference signal configuration may comprise a second precoder, wherein the first precoder is different from the second precoder.

[0021] For the reference signal associated with the first reference signal configuration, a subset of the reference signal ports may be precoded using the same precoder as the PDCCH itself.

[0022] The first reference signal configuration may differ from the second reference signal configuration based on at least one of a number of ports and a pattern of mapping to time-frequency resource grid.

[0023] The method may further comprise, in response to calculating the channel state information based on the detected reference signal, skipping, by the communication apparatus, performing further channel state information calculation for a pre-configured time period after reception of the downlink transmission comprising the control resource set.

[0024] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method comprising transmitting, by a base station, a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission, wherein the control resource set comprises a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal enables performing physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal.

[0025] The first reference signal configuration may comprise an indication that downlink control information, DCI, is present in the control resource set, and the second reference signal configuration may comprise an indication that DCI is not present in the control resource set.

[0026] The first reference signal configuration may comprise a first precoder, and the second reference signal configuration may comprise a second precoder, wherein the first precoder is different from the second precoder.

[0027] For the reference signal associated with the first reference signal configuration, a subset of the reference signal ports may be precoded using the same precoder as the PDCCH itself.

[0028] The first reference signal configuration may differ from the second reference signal configuration based on at least one of a number of ports and a pattern of mapping to time-frequency resource grid.

[0029] A third aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication apparatus comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the memory configured to store program code executable by the processor, the program code comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus to receive a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time- frequency grid of the downlink transmission, detect a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, transmitted within the control resource set, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal; configuration perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal.

[0030] To detect the reference signal, the program code may comprise one or more instructions, whereby to detect the at least one reference signal configuration. The program code comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus to perform the PDCCH decoding may comprise the program code comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus to perform the PDCCH decoding in response to detecting the first reference signal configuration. The program code comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus to calculate the channel state information may comprise the program code comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus to calculate the channel state information in response to detecting the second signal configuration.

[0031] The control resource set may comprise multiple resource blocks. To perform the PDCCH decoding, the program code may comprise one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus to determine, based on the first reference signal configuration, a number of resource blocks of the multiple resource blocks used for PDCCH transmission and an aggregation level for the PDCCH, and perform the PDCCH decoding based on the determined number of resource blocks and the aggregation level for the PDCCH.

[0032] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a base station comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the memory configured to store program code executable by the processor, the program code comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the base station to transmit a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission, wherein the control resource set comprises a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal enables performing physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal.

[0033] A fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer program stored on a non-transitory medium and including code instructions, which, when executed on more or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the method as described herein.

[0034] A sixth aspect of the present disclosure provides a wireless network comprising the communication apparatus as described herein.

[0035] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the embodiment(s) described below.

[0036] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0038] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a method according to an example;

[0039] Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a reference signal configuration within the control resource set according to an example;

[0040] Figure 3a is a graph showing power consumption over time at the communication apparatus for a process of PDCCH decoding and CSI computation according to the prior art;

[0041] Figure 3b is a graph showing power consumption over time at the communication apparatus for a process of PDCCH decoding and CSI computation according to an example;

[0042] Figure 4 is a schematic depiction of CSI timeline shifting with control resources-based CSI according to an example;

[0043] Figure 5 is a schematic depiction of CSI measurement skipping with control resources-based CSI according to an example; and

[0044] Figure 6 is a schematic depiction of a communication apparatus according to an example.

[0045] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] Example embodiments are described below in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to embody and implement the systems and processes herein described. It is important to understand that embodiments can be provided in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein.

[0047] Accordingly, while embodiments can be modified in various ways and take on various alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and described in detail below as examples. There is no intent to limit to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims should be included. Elements of the example embodiments are consistently denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings and detailed description where appropriate. The terminology used herein to describe embodiments is not intended to limit the scope. The articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are singular in that they have a single referent, however the use of the singular form in the present document should not preclude the presence of more than one referent. In other words, elements referred to in the singular can number one or more, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, items, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, items, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0048] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein are to be interpreted as is customary in the art. It will be further understood that terms in common usage should also be interpreted as is customary in the relevant art and not in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0049] In order to maintain high radio link quality in NR, timely and accurate radio resource measurements are required. These measurements, often based on reference signals, are used for a variety of functions including cross-link interference management, uplink and downlink precoder selection, transmission reception point, phase tracking, and various others. Channel state information (CSI) includes various parameters that describe the current state of the radio channel, such as the channel's gain, phase, delay, and interference levels. The CSI reporting framework of NR accommodates a range of CSI quantities, formats, reporting resources, and temporal behaviours. This diversity enables the management of high volatility of radio channels and interference, which impose stringent requirements on CSI reporting in terms of accuracy, overhead, and latency. Depending on the use case, different requirements may be prioritised.

[0050] In 5G NR, data and signalling messages are transmitted through both downlink and uplink physical channels, including the PDCCH, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). Each one of these channels plays an essential role in enabling efficient communication. Among the channels, the PDCCH plays a particularly pivotal role, not only in 5G NR systems, but in wireless networks in general. The PDCCH is utilised for a variety of critical tasks, including downlink scheduling assignment, uplink scheduling grant, slot format indication, pre-emption indication, power control, CSI reporting triggering, and link adaptation.

[0051] Downlink control information (DCI) is transmitted via the PDCCH. Depending on its format, the DCI contains various fields, each with a specific purpose. The DCI undergoes multiple processing steps before it is finalised into a PDCCH payload. In NR, a PDCCH candidate comprises a set of NR Control Channel Elements corresponding to an aggregation level. The PDCCH is transmitted within a control resource set (CORESET), which is defined as a collection of resource element groups under a particular numerology. Upon receiving the PDCCH, the device performs blind decoding across a set of PDCCH candidates, which are determined by configurations such as search space sets. Various types of search space sets are supported, including common and communication apparatus-specific sets.

[0052] PDCCH monitoring and decoding have been identified as major contributors to power consumption on the communication apparatus side during communication over NR. The complexity of the PDCCH, combined with the stringent performance requirements and the pivotal role PDDCH plays in 5G systems, makes it one of the most power-intensive processes for the communication apparatus. During the development of the 5G NR standard, various PDCCH enhancements and communication apparatus- side improvements to reduce power consumption have been considered. This work led to the introduction of several power-saving features, including PDCCH skipping, dynamic search space set group switching, the wake-up signal and low- power receiver, and PDCCH blind decoding reduction. Unfortunately, some of the power-saving approaches are associated with an increase in latency. An example of such is enabling the communication apparatus to skip PDCCH monitoring using a signal. Despite these advancements, the power consumption strain on the communication apparatus due to PDCCH reception remains problematic, accounting for a significant portion of the power used in baseband processing. Although various solutions have been proposed to reduce power consumption at the client device, these approaches are generally based on adaptations across time, frequency, and space domains. As such, these schemes do not fully realise the potential for power savings, primarily due to the interdependence between PDCCH monitoring and the resulting performance, particularly in terms of latency and throughput. As a result, reducing PDCCH decoding is associated with drawbacks such as an increased likelihood of downlink control blocking.

[0053] According to an example, there is provided a mechanism to reduce power consumption at the communication apparatus by utilising existing control resources (e.g., control symbols) to convey reference signals for CSI computation and PDCCH decoding assistance. Advantageously, this approach enables CSI shifting in the time domain and / or subsequent CSI-RS measurement skipping, as well as a reduction in PDCCH blind decoding.

[0054] Examples in the present disclosure can be provided as methods, systems or machine-readable instructions, such as any combination of software, hardware, firmware or the like. Such machine-readable instructions may be included on a computer readable storage medium (including but not limited to disc storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) having computer readable program codes therein or thereon.

[0055] The present disclosure is described with reference to flow charts and / or block diagrams of the method, devices and systems according to examples of the present disclosure. Although the flow diagrams described above show a specific order of execution, the order of execution may differ from that which is depicted. Blocks described in relation to one flow chart may be combined with those of another flow chart. In some examples, some blocks of the flow diagrams may not be necessary and / or additional blocks may be added. It shall be understood that each flow and / or block in the flow charts and / or block diagrams, as well as combinations of the flows and / or diagrams in the flow charts and / or block diagrams can be realized by machine readable instructions.

[0056] The machine-readable instructions may, for example, be executed by a machine such as a general-purpose computer, communication apparatus such as a smart device, e.g., a smart phone, a special purpose computer, an embedded processor or processors of other programmable data processing devices to realize the functions described in the description and diagrams. In particular, a processor or processing apparatus may execute the machine-readable instructions. Thus, modules of apparatus (for example, a module implementing a comparator unit, or a firewall structure and so on) may be implemented by a processor executing machine readable instructions stored in a memory, or a processor operating in accordance with instructions embedded in logic circuitry. The term 'processor' is to be interpreted broadly to include a CPU, processing unit, ASIC, logic unit, or programmable gate set etc. The methods and modules may all be performed by a single processor or divided amongst several processors.

[0057] Such machine-readable instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage that can guide the computer or other programmable data processing devices to operate in a specific mode. For example, the instructions may be provided on a non- transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions, executable by a processor.

[0058] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a method according to an example. The method comprises, in step 101, receiving, by a communication apparatus, a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set. The communication apparatus may refer to a variety of devices and components that facilitate wireless communication within a 5G New Radio (NR) network or a communication network in the future. For example, it can include user equipment (UE) such as smartphones, tablets, or laptops, as well as network terminals like base stations or routers, or it can also include any modules or chips that support relative functions. Additionally, the term encompasses communication chips or modules integrated into devices for enabling connectivity, such as modem chips or transceivers, and other hardware components designed for transmitting and receiving signals.

[0059] The downlink transmission may refer to the transmission of data from a network base station to the communication apparatus.

[0060] The control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission. The term “control resource set” may generally refer to a predefined set of resources within the wireless communication system, specifically allocated for transmitting control signals. The control signals may comprise, for example, downlink control information (DCI), scheduling assignments, and other control signals required for network operation. In the context of 5G NR, the control resource set may also be referred to as CORESET. The configuration of a CORESET may include such as its size, position within the time-frequency grid, and the specific control functions it supports.

[0061] The term “time-frequency grid” relates to a structured framework used in wireless communication systems to organise and allocate resources for the transmission of data and control signals. The time-frequency grid may be divided into resource element groups or resource blocks. The control resource set may specify the exact resource element groups or resource blocks that are dedicated to transmitting control signals.

[0062] The control resource set may be transmitted using a specific physical channel. For example, the control resource set may be transmitted using the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The control resource set may be associated with a particular control resource block configuration, determining the exact allocation and structure of the resources.

[0063] In block 102, the method comprises detecting, by the communication apparatus, a downlink reference signal (DL-RS) transmitted within the control resource set. The DL-RS may comprise a reference signal sent to the communication apparatus from the base station, allowing the communication apparatus to assess the quality of the downlink channel and adjust its reception parameters accordingly. The DL-RS is associated with at least one signal configuration (i.e., pattern). In particular, the DL-RS is associated with a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration.

[0064] The method comprises, in block 103, performing, by the communication apparatus, PDCCH decoding and / or calculating channel state information (CSI) based on the detected reference signal. The CSI may comprise data detailing the current characteristics of the communication channel, for example, parameters such as signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, and channel impulse response. The CSI may be used for optimisation of transmission and reception and adapting resource allocation based on the real-time channel conditions.

[0065] Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a reference signal configuration within the control resource set according to an example. In particular, Figure 2 shows the first reference signal configuration 201 and the second reference signal configuration 202. The first reference signal configuration 201 may indicate the presence of the DCI in a control channel element (or resource block) in which the reference signal configuration has been received. In other words, the DL-RS configuration provides information on the location of the DCI by pointing to the resource block where the DCI is located, allowing the communication apparatus to focus on that specific resource block for decoding the DCI. The second reference signal configuration 202 may indicate the absence of the DCI in the control channel element (or resource block) in which the reference signal configuration has been received.

[0066] The first reference signal configuration 201 and the second reference signal configuration 202 may use different precoders. The RS in the resource block containing a PDCCH may be precoded using the same precoder as the PDCCH itself. The first reference signal configuration 201 and the second reference signal configuration 202 may differ from each other in terms of a number of ports and a type of a pattern used (e.g., time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing). Additionally, the system may employ different configurations (patterns) based on the power-saving mode of the communication apparatus, specifically whether the CDRX mechanism is engaged or not, which influences how often the communication apparatus is actively receiving signals.

[0067] A channel monitoring occasion refers to a specific time interval during which the communication apparatus actively checks the control resource set for control information (e.g., DCI), transmitted over the PDCCH specified by the control resource set. During this occasion, the communication apparatus may decode the control resource set to determine if there are any relevant instructions. In particular, at each channel monitoring occasion, the communication apparatus attempts to detect the received RS configuration.

[0068] If the first reference signal configuration 201 is detected, the communication apparatus may attempt PDCCH decoding . PDCCH decoding refers to the process by which the communication apparatus interprets and extracts control information (i.e., the DCI) from the PDCCH. In order to perform the PDCCH decoding, the communication apparatus may first detect a number of resource blocks used for PDCCH transmission and an aggregation level for the PDCCH. The resource blocks refer to the smallest units of the frequency-time grid used for transmission in 5G NR. Identifying the resource blocks used for PDCCH transmission tells the communication apparatus where to look for the control information that is to be extracted. Advantageously, this reduces the number of blind decodes.

[0069] The resource blocks not used for the PDCCH transmission may further contain the reference signal having the second reference signal configuration. The aggregation level for the PDCCH tells the communication apparatus determine how many control channel elements have been combined to transmit the PDCCH. For the reference signal pattern in the control channel elements comprising the DCI, reference signal ports can be divided between reference signal ports for PDCCH decoding and reference signal ports for the CSI computation.

[0070] Finally, the communication apparatus can decode the PDCCH and, in some embodiments, compute the CSI quantities based on a first CSI reporting configuration (e.g., parameters that dictate how the CSI should be reported) or the RS measurement configuration (e.g., parameters / instructions for measuring reference signals).

[0071] In contrast, if only the second reference signal configuration 202 is detected, the communication apparatus may perform processing according to the associated CSI or RS measurement configuration. In other words, if the RS configuration suggests that there is no DCI in the resource blocks or CCEs (which would otherwise contain important instructions for the communication apparatus), the communication apparatus can recognise that it does not need to decode control instructions from those blocks. Instead, in response to determining that there is no DCI to process, the communication apparatus may follow instructions based on pre-configured settings. These settings may tell the communication apparatus how to handle CSI reporting, or how to measure and interpret the RS for understanding the channel's quality. The predefined configurations for CSI or RS measurement may be acquired from higher layer signalling, such as radio resource control messages, or may be preconfigured by the network and stored within the communication apparatus.

[0072] Both the first reference signal configuration 201 and the second reference signal configuration 202 may be present in the reference signal transmitted within the control resource set. In such case, the communication apparatus may perform both the PDCCH decoding and the CSI computation.

[0073] If additional CSI measurements are scheduled for the communication apparatus within a specific time period, the communication apparatus may opt to skip these measurements and instead report the CSI based on the measurements taken within the control resource set symbols, i.e., measurements that the communication apparatus performs specifically during the time-frequency resources that are allocated as part of the control resource set. The communication apparatus may skip performing the CSI measurements in response to receiving the control resource set. Advantageously, power consumption associated with performing CSI measurements by the communication apparatus can be further reduced. The power savings are depicted in Figures 3a and 3b.

[0074] Figure 3a is a graph showing power consumption over time at the communication apparatus for a process of PDCCH decoding and CSI computation according to the prior art, while Figure 3b is a graph showing power consumption over time at the communication apparatus for a process of PDCCH decoding and CSI computation according to an example. In Figures 3a and 3b, the y axis shows a power consumption, while the x axis shows time.

[0075] The first section of the graph of Figure 3a shows the power consumption during deep sleep 301. Following deep sleep 301, wakeup processing 302 may be performed, associated with an increase in power consumption. This may be followed by PDCCH reception 303, and PDCCH processing (e.g., decoding) and DCI parsing 304. After this, the communication apparatus may enter a period of light sleep 305. After the light sleep 305, the communication apparatus may perform a CSI-RS measurement 306 (i.e., a measurement of reference signal(s) transmitted by the network, whereby to determine the CSI). Based on the measurement, the communication apparatus may perform CSI computation and PUCCH / PUSCH transmission preparation 307. The communication apparatus may then perform an uplink transmission 308, followed by the sleep processing 309.

[0076] Referring now to Figure 3b, the power consumption for the processes starting from deep sleep 301 to PDCCH processing and DCI parsing 304 is the same as in Figure 3a. However, following the PDCCH processing and DCI parsing 304, instead of entering light sleep, the communication apparatus may immediately perform CSI computation and PUCCH / PUSCH transmission preparation 307. Following this, CSI report buffering 310 may be performed. After this, the communication apparatus may enter light sleep 305, followed by UL transmission 308 and sleep processing 309. Advantageously, the process shown in Figure 3b reduces power consumption associated with state transitions at the communication apparatus and lowers the utilisation of processing resources.

[0077] As mentioned above, in response to calculating the CSI, the communication apparatus may perform CSI reporting to the network. The CSI reporting may be referred to as control-based, i.e., computed based on RS received within a control resource set. CSI reporting may be conducted based on the control resource set, specifically utilizing the reference signals within the symbols of the control resource set. This reporting can occur periodically, aperiodically, semi-persistently, or in response to specific triggering events. Such events may include variations in configured CSI quantities that exceed a predefined or selected by the communication apparatus, conditions related to time gaps based on previous or most recent CSI reports with the same configured CSI quantities, and pre-configured requirements for further CSI calculations within a designated time period following the reception of a downlink transmission that includes the control resource set.

[0078] Figure 4 is a schematic depiction of CSI timeline shifting with control resources-based CSI according to an example. In particular, Figure 4 shows two cases 400 and 450. In the first case 400, the control resources 401, i.e. CORESET, contains a reference signal with two different reference signal configurations - a first RS configuration 411 and a second RS configuration 412, denoted in the figure using different patterns. The communication apparatus detects the RS configurations and determines, accordingly, the PRBs that are empty and the PRBs that contain PDCCH 402. Consequently, the communication apparatus can derive the aggregation level of the received PDCCH and decode it accordingly, reducing the number of blind decoding iterations and achieving power savings. In the second case 450, RS with only one RS configuration 411 is received in the CORESET 401. The configuration of the received RS indicates that no PDCCH is present in the resources. Hence, the device can skip PDCCH decoding. In both cases, the communication apparatus performs CSI computation based on the received RS in the CORESET and then reports the computed CSI in UL. For example, PUSCH 403 (or PUCCH) may be used to transmit a control- based CSI report 404. The resources used for CSI reporting may be configured as part of a CSI reporting configuration or selected by the communication apparatus in case multiplexing with other UL transmissions is possible or spare UL resources are available.

[0079] Figure 5 is a schematic depiction of CSI measurement skipping with control resources-based CSI according to an example. In particular, Figure 5 depicts that when CSI is computed based on RS 511 in the control resources 501, subsequent CSI measurements and reporting can be skipped. As shown in Figure 5, the subsequent CSI measurements 505 are skipped for the PDSCH 505, resulting in a CSI skipping time gap 515, and the control-based CSI report 504 is transmitted in the PUSCH or PUCCH 503 only once. A Indeed, in the proposed solution, the communication apparatus can compute CSI based on RS within the control resources and report the computed quantities. When the earliest next CSI report or earliest next CSI report with the same configured CSI quantities, is within a preconfigured time gap, communication apparatus may skip subsequent CSI measurement and computation, resulting in power savings.

[0080] Figure 6 is a schematic representation of an apparatus according to an example. The apparatus 600 comprises a processor 601, and a memory 602 coupled to the processor 601 and configured to store instructions or program code 603, executable by the processor 601. The apparatus 600 comprises the program code 603 arranged to cause the apparatus to perform the method described herein.

[0081] According to an example, machine-readable instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing devices, so that the computer or other programmable data processing devices perform a series of operations to produce computer-implemented processing, thus the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable devices provide an operation for realizing functions specified by flow(s) in the flow charts and / or block(s) in the block diagrams.

[0082] Further, the teachings herein may be implemented in the form of a computer or software product, such as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, the computer software or product being stored in a storage medium and comprising a plurality of instructions, e.g., machine readable instructions, for making a computer device implement the methods recited in the examples of the present disclosure.

[0083] In some examples, some methods can be performed in a cloud-computing or network-based environment. Cloud-computing environments may provide various services and applications via the Internet. These cloud-based services (e.g., software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as a service, etc.) may be accessible through a web browser or other remote interface of the communication apparatus for example. Various functions described herein may be provided through a remote desktop environment or any other cloud-based computing environment.

[0084] While various embodiments have been described and / or illustrated herein in the context of fully functional computing systems, one or more of these exemplary embodiments may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, regardless of the particular type of computer-readable-storage media used to actually carry out the distribution. The embodiments disclosed herein may also be implemented using software modules that perform certain tasks. These software modules may include script, batch, or other executable files that may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium or in a computing system. In some embodiments, these software modules may configure a computing system to perform one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. In addition, one or more of the modules described herein may transform data, physical devices, and / or representations of physical devices from one form to another.

[0085] The preceding description has been provided to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize various aspects of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. This exemplary description is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant disclosure. The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. Reference should be made to the appended claims and their equivalents in determining the scope of the instant disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a communication apparatus, a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a timefrequency grid of the downlink transmission (101); detecting, by the communication apparatus, a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, transmitted within the control resource set, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration (102); and performing, by the communication apparatus, physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal (103).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting, by the communication apparatus, the reference signal comprises detecting the at least one reference signal configuration; wherein performing, by the communication apparatus, the PDCCH decoding comprises performing the PDCCH decoding in response to detecting the first reference signal configuration, wherein calculating the channel state information comprises calculating the channel state information in response to detecting the second signal configuration.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to detecting both the first reference signal configuration and the second reference signal configuration, dividing reference signal ports associated with the control resource set between reference signal ports for PDCCH decoding and reference signal ports for channel state information computation.

4. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising, in response to calculating the channel state information, performing, by the communication apparatus, channel state information reporting of the computed channel state information to a network, wherein the CSI reporting is configured as control-based, wherein the CSI reporting is performed periodically, aperiodically, semi-persistently or triggered in response to an event.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the event triggering the CSI reporting comprises at least one of: configured CSI quantities or a variation in the configured CSI quantities exceeding a defined or communication apparatus-selected threshold, a first time gap condition based on a previous CSI report or last CSI report with the same configured CSI quantities, a second time gap condition based on an earliest next CSI report or earliest next CSI report with the same configured CSI quantities, and / or a pre-configured further channel state information calculation for a pre-configured time period after reception of the downlink transmission comprising the control resource set.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control resource set comprises multiple resource blocks, wherein performing the PDCCH decoding comprises: determining, based on the first reference signal configuration, a number of resource blocks of the multiple resource blocks used for PDCCH transmission and an aggregation level for the PDCCH; and performing the PDCCH decoding based on the determined number of resource blocks and the aggregation level for the PDCCH.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first reference signal configuration comprises an indication that downlink control information, DCI, is present in the control resource set, wherein the second reference signal configuration comprises an indication that DCI is not present in the control resource set.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first reference signal configuration comprises a first precoder, wherein the second reference signal configuration comprises a second precoder, wherein the first precoder is different from the second precoder.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, for the reference signal associated with the first reference signal configuration, a subset of the reference signal ports are precoded using the same precoder as the PDCCH itself.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first reference signal configuration differs from the second reference signal configuration based on at least one of a number of ports and a pattern of mapping to timefrequency resource grid.

11. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising: in response to calculating the channel state information based on the detected reference signal, skipping, by the communication apparatus, performing further channel state information calculation for a pre-configured time period after reception of the downlink transmission comprising the control resource set.

12. A method, comprising: transmitting, by a base station, a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission, wherein the control resource set comprises a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration,wherein the reference signal enables performing physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first reference signal configuration comprises an indication that downlink control information, DCI, is present in the control resource set, wherein the second reference signal configuration comprises an indication that DCI is not present in the control resource set.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the first reference signal configuration comprises a first precoder, wherein the second reference signal configuration comprises a second precoder, wherein the first precoder is different from the second precoder.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, for the reference signal associated with the first reference signal configuration, a subset of the reference signal ports are precoded using the same precoder as the PDCCH itself.

16. The method of any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the first reference signal configuration differs from the second reference signal configuration based on at least one of a number of ports and a pattern of mapping to timefrequency resource grid.

17. A communication apparatus (600) comprising: a processor (601); a memory (602) coupled to the processor (601), the memory (602) configured to store program code (603) executable by the processor (601), the program code (603) comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus (600) to: receive a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission; detect a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, transmitted within the control resource set, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal; configuration perform physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal.

18. The communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein, to detect the reference signal, the program code (603 ) comprises one or more instructions, whereby to detect the at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the program code (603) comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus (600) to perform the PDCCH decoding comprises the program code (603) comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus (600) to perform the PDCCH decoding in response to detecting the first reference signal configuration,14wherein the program code (603) comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus (600) to calculate the channel state information comprises the program code (603) comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus (600) to calculate the channel state information in response to detecting the second signal configuration.

19. The communication apparatus of claim 17 or 18, wherein the control resource set comprises multiple resource blocks, wherein to perform the PDCCH decoding, the program code (603) comprises one or more instructions, whereby to cause the communication apparatus (600) to: determine, based on the first reference signal configuration, a number of resource blocks of the multiple resource blocks used for PDCCH transmission and an aggregation level for the PDCCH; and perform the PDCCH decoding based on the determined number of resource blocks and the aggregation level for the PDCCH.

20. A base station comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory configured to store program code executable by the processor, the program code comprising one or more instructions, whereby to cause the base station to: transmit a downlink transmission comprising a control resource set, wherein the control resource set comprises a set of resources designated for control signaling purposes within a time-frequency grid of the downlink transmission, wherein the control resource set comprises a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, wherein the reference signal is associated with at least one reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal configuration comprises a first reference signal configuration and / or a second reference signal configuration, wherein the reference signal enables performing physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, decoding and / or calculating channel state information based on the detected reference signal.

21. A computer program stored on a non-transitory medium and including code instructions, which, when executed on more or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the method of any of claims 1 to 11, or 12 to 16.

22. A wireless network comprising the communication apparatus according to any one of claims 13to 15, and a base station according to claim 20.15

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