Method and apparatus for communication based on antenna on / off in communication system

Abstract

This method of a base station comprises the steps of: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a UE capability query signal that requests first antenna configuration information of the UE in order to change antenna element spacing; and receiving, from the UE, a UE capability information signal including the first antenna configuration information, wherein the first antenna configuration information includes at least one from among information about the antenna element spacing of the UE, information indicating whether the UE supports an antenna element on / off function, and information about the number of antenna elements of the UE.

Description

Method and device for communication based on antenna on / off in a communication system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an improved communication technology, and more particularly, to a technology for performing communication using an antenna selected based on antenna on / off in a communication system supporting a high frequency band.

[0002] Communication networks (e.g., 5G communication networks, 6G communication networks, etc.) are being developed to provide improved communication services compared to existing communication networks (e.g., long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE-A (LTE-A), etc.). 5G communication networks (e.g., new radio (NR) communication networks) can support frequency bands above 6 GHz as well as frequency bands below 6 GHz. That is, 5G communication networks can support FR1 bands and / or FR2 bands. 5G communication networks can support various communication services and scenarios compared to LTE communication networks. For example, usage scenarios of 5G communication networks can include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

[0003] Compared to 5G, 6G communication networks can support a wider range of communication services and scenarios. 6G communication networks can meet requirements for ultra-high performance, ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-high space, ultra-high precision, ultra-intelligence, and / or ultra-reliability. 6G communication networks can support diverse and wide frequency bands and be applied to various usage scenarios (e.g., terrestrial communications, non-terrestrial communications, sidelink communications, etc.).

[0004] Meanwhile, high-frequency band communications may be considered in 6G communication networks to achieve higher data transmission rates compared to existing communication networks. Signals in high-frequency bands can exhibit strong directivity, making it difficult for signals to reach the receiver due to reflection, refraction, and / or diffraction. Due to the aforementioned issues, communication failures between base stations and terminals can occur frequently, and methods to address these issues may be necessary.

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure to solve the above problems is to provide a method and device for communication using an antenna selected based on antenna on / off in a communication system supporting a high frequency band.

[0006] According to embodiments of the present disclosure for achieving the above object, a method of a base station includes the steps of: transmitting a UE capability query signal requesting first antenna configuration information of a UE (user equipment) for changing an antenna element spacing to the UE; and receiving a UE capability information signal including the first antenna configuration information from the UE, wherein the first antenna configuration information includes at least one of information on the antenna element spacing of the UE, information indicating whether the UE supports an antenna element ON / OFF function, or information on the number of antenna elements of the UE.

[0007] The method of the base station may further include the step of measuring a change in distance between the base station and the UE; and the step of determining whether to perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing based on the change in distance.

[0008] Based on the communication performance between the base station and the UE being below a reference threshold, the base station can determine whether to perform the change procedure based on the distance change.

[0009] Based on receiving a BFR (beam failure recovery) request from the UE, the base station can determine whether to perform the change procedure based on the distance change.

[0010] The method of the base station may further include a step of determining a communication node among the base station and the UE that performs the change procedure based on the procedure of changing the antenna element spacing being performed.

[0011] Based on the above UE not supporting the antenna element on / off function, the communication node performing the change procedure may be determined to be the base station.

[0012] The communication node performing the change procedure may be determined to be the base station, based on the fact that the UE supports the antenna element on / off function and a communication performance higher than a reference threshold is obtained when the change procedure is performed only at the base station.

[0013] The communication node performing the change procedure may be determined to be the base station and the UE, based on the fact that the UE supports the antenna element on / off function and that communication performance exceeding a reference threshold is not obtained when the change procedure is performed only at the base station.

[0014] The method of the base station may further include a step of determining a communication node that preferentially performs the change procedure among the base station and the UE, based on whether the change procedure of the antenna element spacing is performed at the base station and the UE.

[0015] The method of the base station may further include a step of transmitting second antenna configuration information of the base station and distance information between the base station and the UE to the UE based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed in the UE; and a step of receiving information on the changed antenna element spacing based on the first antenna configuration information, the second antenna configuration information, and the distance information from the UE.

[0016] The method of the base station may further include a step of changing the antenna element spacing based on the first antenna setting information, the second antenna setting information of the base station, and the distance information between the base station and the UE, based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed at the base station.

[0017] According to embodiments of the present disclosure for achieving the above object, a method of a UE (user equipment) comprises the steps of: receiving, from a base station, a UE capability query signal requesting first antenna configuration information of the UE for changing an antenna element spacing; and transmitting, to the base station, a UE capability information signal including the first antenna configuration information, wherein the first antenna configuration information includes at least one of information on the antenna element spacing of the UE, information indicating whether the UE supports an antenna element ON / OFF function, or information on the number of antenna elements of the UE.

[0018] The method of the UE may further include a step of transmitting a beam failure recovery (BFR) request to the base station based on a detection of a beam failure for the base station, and the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing may be triggered by the BFR request.

[0019] The method of the UE may further include the steps of: receiving second antenna configuration information of the base station and distance information between the base station and the UE from the base station based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed in the UE; changing the antenna element spacing based on the first antenna configuration information, the second antenna configuration information, and the distance information; and transmitting information on the changed antenna element spacing to the base station.

[0020] According to embodiments of the present disclosure for achieving the above object, a base station includes at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor causes the base station to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a UE capability query signal requesting first antenna configuration information of the UE for changing an antenna element spacing; and to receive, from the UE, a UE capability information signal including the first antenna configuration information, wherein the first antenna configuration information includes at least one of information on the antenna element spacing of the UE, information indicating whether the UE supports an antenna element ON / OFF function, or information on the number of antenna elements of the UE.

[0021] The at least one processor may further cause the base station to measure a change in distance between the base station and the UE; and determine whether to perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing based on the change in distance.

[0022] The at least one processor may further cause the base station to determine, based on which antenna element spacing change procedure is performed, a communication node among the base station and the UE that performs the change procedure.

[0023] The at least one processor may further cause the base station to determine a communication node among the base station and the UE that preferentially performs the changing procedure based on which of the antenna element spacing changing procedures is performed at the base station and the UE.

[0024] The at least one processor may further cause the base station to transmit second antenna configuration information of the base station and distance information between the base station and the UE to the UE based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed in the UE; and to receive information on the changed antenna element spacing based on the first antenna configuration information, the second antenna configuration information, and the distance information from the UE.

[0025] The at least one processor may further cause the base station to change the antenna element spacing based on the first antenna configuration information, the second antenna configuration information of the base station, and the distance information between the base station and the UE, based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed at the base station.

[0026] According to the present disclosure, an antenna structure capable of reconfiguring the antenna element spacing based on the on / off of the antenna elements can be proposed. Based on the above-described antenna structure, flexible antenna operation capable of achieving optimal communication performance in a Line-of-Sight (LoS) Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) channel can be expected. The procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of a terminal can be selectively performed based on agreement between the terminal and a base station. Therefore, procedural errors and / or conflicts may not occur in legacy terminals due to the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal. In an environment where the distance between the base station and the terminal changes due to the mobility of the terminal, the antenna element spacing can be appropriately set to achieve optimal communication performance, thereby quickly compensating for reception performance degradation and maintaining stable communication performance. Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a movable antenna structure in which the antenna element spacing is physically adjustable. In this case, instead of turning specific antenna elements on / off, the communication node can physically change its antenna structure to accommodate the new antenna element spacing.

[0027] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of a communication system.

[0028] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of communication nodes constituting a communication system.

[0029] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of communication nodes that perform communication.

[0030] Figure 4a is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a transmission path.

[0031] Figure 4b is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a receiving path.

[0032] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of system frames in a communication system.

[0033] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of subframes in a communication system.

[0034] Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of slots in a communication system.

[0035] Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of time-frequency resources in a communication system.

[0036] Figure 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating antenna settings.

[0037] Figure 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a changed antenna setting.

[0038] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing.

[0039] This disclosure may be subject to various modifications and various embodiments. Specific embodiments are illustrated and described in detail in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the disclosure to specific embodiments, but rather to encompass all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and technical scope of the disclosure.

[0040] While terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, a first component could be referred to as a "second component," and similarly, a second component could also be referred to as a "first component." The term "and / or" may refer to a combination of multiple related items described herein or to any of multiple related items described herein.

[0041] In the present disclosure, “at least one of A and B” may mean “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of combinations of one or more of A and B.” Additionally, in the present disclosure, “at least one of A and B” may mean “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of combinations of one or more of A and B.”

[0042] In the present disclosure, (re)transmission may mean “transmission,” “retransmission,” or “transmission and retransmission,” (re)setting may mean “setting,” “resetting,” or “setting and resetting,” (re)connection may mean “connection,” “reconnection,” or “connection and reconnection,” and (re)connection may mean “connection,” “reconnection,” or “connection and reconnection.”

[0043] When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but that there may be other components intervening. Conversely, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components intervening.

[0044] The terminology used in this disclosure is only used to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this disclosure, it should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "has" indicate the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0045] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and shall not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

[0046] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. In order to facilitate an overall understanding in describing the present disclosure, the same reference numerals will be used for identical components in the drawings, and redundant descriptions of identical components will be omitted. In addition to the embodiments explicitly described in the present disclosure, operations may be performed according to combinations of embodiments, extensions of embodiments, and / or modifications of embodiments. The performance of some operations may be omitted, and the order of operation may be changed.

[0047] In an embodiment, even if a method (e.g., transmitting or receiving a signal) performed by a first communication node among communication nodes is described, a corresponding second communication node can perform a method (e.g., receiving or transmitting a signal) corresponding to the method performed by the first communication node. That is, if an operation of a UE (user equipment) is described, a corresponding base station can perform an operation corresponding to the operation of the UE. Conversely, if an operation of a base station is described, a corresponding UE can perform an operation corresponding to the operation of the base station.

[0048] A base station may be referred to as a NodeB, an evolved NodeB, a gNodeB (next generation node B), a gNB, a device, an apparatus, a node, a communication node, a BTS (base transceiver station), a RRH (radio remote head), a TRP (transmission reception point), a RU (radio unit), an RSU (road side unit), a radio transceiver, an access point, an access node, etc. A UE may be referred to as a terminal, a device, an apparatus, a node, a communication node, an end node, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a station, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a portable subscriber station, an OBU (on-broad unit), etc.

[0049] In the present disclosure, signaling may be at least one of upper layer signaling, MAC signaling, or PHY (physical) signaling. A message used for upper layer signaling may be referred to as an "upper layer message" or an "upper layer signaling message." A message used for MAC signaling may be referred to as a "MAC message" or a "MAC signaling message." A message used for PHY signaling may be referred to as a "PHY message" or a "PHY signaling message." Upper layer signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of system information (e.g., a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB)) and / or a radio resource control (RRC) message. MAC signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of a MAC control element (CE). PHY signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of control information (e.g., downlink control information (DCI), uplink control information (UCI), sidelink control information (SCI)).

[0050] In the present disclosure, “an operation (e.g., a transmission operation) is set” may mean that “setting information for the operation (e.g., an information element, a parameter)” and / or “information instructing the performance of the operation” is signaled. “An information element (e.g., a parameter) is set” may mean that the information element is signaled. In the present disclosure, “signal and / or channel” may mean a signal, a channel, or “signal and channel,” and “signal” may be used to mean “signal and / or channel.” In the present disclosure, time and time point may be used interchangeably. Time may be interpreted as either time or time point depending on the context, and time point may be interpreted as either time or time point depending on the context.

[0051] In the present disclosure, a phrase including “if (e.g., when ~)” can be expressed as a phrase including “based on (e.g., based on ~)” or a phrase including “in response to (e.g., in response to ~)”. In other words, a phrase including “if ~)” can be interpreted as being identical or similar to a phrase including “based on” or a phrase including “in response to”.

[0052] The communication networks to which the embodiments are applied are not limited to those described below, and the embodiments may be applied to various communication networks (e.g., 4G communication networks, 5G communication networks, and / or 6G communication networks). Here, the term "communication network" may be used interchangeably with the term "communication system."

[0053] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of a communication system.

[0054] Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system (100) may include a plurality of communication nodes (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2, 130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6). In addition, the communication system (100) may further include a core network (e.g., a serving-gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN)-gateway (P-GW), a mobility management entity (MME)). If the communication system (100) is a 5G communication system (e.g., a new radio (NR) system), the core network may include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), etc.

[0055] A plurality of communication nodes (110 to 130) can support a communication protocol specified in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standard (e.g., LTE communication protocol, LTE-A communication protocol, NR communication protocol, etc.). The plurality of communication nodes (110 to 130) may support CDMA (code division multiple access) technology, WCDMA (wideband CDMA) technology, TDMA (time division multiple access) technology, FDMA (frequency division multiple access) technology, OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) technology, Filtered OFDM technology, CP (cyclic prefix)-OFDM technology, DFT-s-OFDM (discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM) technology, OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) technology, SC (single carrier)-FDMA technology, NOMA (non-orthogonal multiple access) technology, GFDM (generalized frequency division multiplexing) technology, FBMC (filter bank multi-carrier) technology, UFMC (universal filtered multi-carrier) technology, SDMA (space division multiple access) technology, etc. Each of the plurality of communication nodes may have the following structure.

[0056] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of communication nodes constituting a communication system.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 2, a communication node (200) may include at least one processor (210), a memory (220), and a transmission / reception device (230) that is connected to a network and performs communication. In addition, the communication node (200) may further include an input interface device (240), an output interface device (250), a storage device (260), etc. Each component included in the communication node (200) may be connected by a bus (270) and communicate with each other.

[0058] The processor (210) can execute program commands stored in at least one of the memory (220) and the storage device (260). The processor (210) may refer to a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor in which the methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure are performed. Each of the memory (220) and the storage device (260) may be configured with at least one of a volatile storage medium and a non-volatile storage medium. For example, the memory (220) may be configured with at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0059] Referring again to FIG. 1, the communication system (100) may include a plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) and a plurality of terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6). Each of the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) may form a macro cell. Each of the fourth base station (120-1) and the fifth base station (120-2) may form a small cell. The fourth base station (120-1), the third terminal (130-3), and the fourth terminal (130-4) may be within the cell coverage of the first base station (110-1). The second terminal (130-2), the fourth terminal (130-4), and the fifth terminal (130-5) may be within the cell coverage of the second base station (110-2). The fifth base station (120-2), the fourth terminal (130-4), the fifth terminal (130-5), and the sixth terminal (130-6) may be within the cell coverage of the third base station (110-3). The first terminal (130-1) may be within the cell coverage of the fourth base station (120-1). The sixth terminal (130-6) may be within the cell coverage of the fifth base station (120-2).

[0060] Here, each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may be referred to as a NodeB (NB), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a gNB, an advanced base station (ABS), a high reliability-base station (HR-BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, an access point, an access node, a radio access station (RAS), a mobile multihop relay-base station (MMR-BS), a relay station (RS), an advanced relay station (ARS), a high reliability-relay station (HR-RS), a home NodeB (HNB), a home eNodeB (HeNB), a road side unit (RSU), a radio remote head (RRH), a transmission point (TP), a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc.

[0061] Each of the plurality of terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) may be referred to as a user equipment (UE), terminal equipment (TE), advanced mobile station (AMS), high reliability-mobile station (HR-MS), terminal, access terminal, mobile terminal, station, subscriber station, mobile station, portable subscriber station, node, device, on board unit (OBU), etc.

[0062] Meanwhile, each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may operate in a different frequency band or may operate in the same frequency band. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may be connected to each other via an ideal backhaul link or a non-ideal backhaul link, and may exchange information with each other via the ideal backhaul link or the non-ideal backhaul link. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may be connected to the core network via the ideal backhaul link or the non-ideal backhaul link. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) can transmit a signal received from the core network to the corresponding terminal (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6), and can transmit a signal received from the corresponding terminal (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) to the core network.

[0063] Additionally, each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may support MIMO transmission (e.g., single user (SU)-MIMO, multi user (MU)-MIMO, massive MIMO, etc.), coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission, carrier aggregation (CA) transmission, transmission in an unlicensed band, sidelink communication (e.g., device to device communication (D2D), proximity services (ProSe)), Internet of Things (IoT) communication, dual connectivity (DC), etc. Here, each of the plurality of terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) can perform an operation corresponding to the base station (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) and an operation supported by the base station (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2). For example, the second base station (110-2) can transmit a signal to the fourth terminal (130-4) based on the SU-MIMO scheme, and the fourth terminal (130-4) can receive a signal from the second base station (110-2) by the SU-MIMO scheme. Alternatively, the second base station (110-2) can transmit signals to the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5) based on the MU-MIMO method, and each of the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5) can receive signals from the second base station (110-2) based on the MU-MIMO method.

[0064] Each of the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) can transmit a signal to the fourth terminal (130-4) based on the CoMP scheme, and the fourth terminal (130-4) can receive a signal from the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) based on the CoMP scheme. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) can transmit and receive a signal with terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) within its cell coverage based on the CA scheme. Each of the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) can control sidelink communication between the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5), and each of the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5) can perform sidelink communication under the control of the second base station (110-2) and the third base station (110-3), respectively.

[0065] Meanwhile, communication nodes performing communication in a communication network may be configured as follows. The communication node illustrated in Fig. 3 may be a specific embodiment of the communication node illustrated in Fig. 2.

[0066] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of communication nodes that perform communication.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 3, each of the first communication node (300a) and the second communication node (300b) may be a base station or a UE. The first communication node (300a) may transmit a signal to the second communication node (300b). The transmission processor (311) included in the first communication node (300a) may receive data (e.g., a data unit) from a data source (310). The transmission processor (311) may receive control information from the controller (316). The control information may include at least one of system information, RRC configuration information (e.g., information configured by RRC signaling), MAC control information (e.g., MAC CE), or PHY control information (e.g., DCI, SCI).

[0068] The transmitting processor (311) may perform a processing operation on data (e.g., an encoding operation, a symbol mapping operation, etc.) to generate data symbol(s). The transmitting processor (311) may perform a processing operation on control information (e.g., an encoding operation, a symbol mapping operation, etc.) to generate control symbol(s). In addition, the transmitting processor (311) may generate synchronization / reference symbol(s) for a synchronization signal and / or a reference signal.

[0069] The Tx MIMO processor (312) may perform a spatial processing operation (e.g., a precoding operation) on data symbol(s), control symbol(s), and / or synchronization / reference symbol(s). The output (e.g., a symbol stream) of the Tx MIMO processor (312) may be provided to modulators (MODs) included in the transceivers (313a to 313t). The modulators (MODs) may perform a processing operation on the symbol stream to generate modulation symbols, and may perform an additional processing operation (e.g., an analog conversion operation, an amplification operation, a filtering operation, an upconversion operation) on the modulation symbols to generate signals. The signals generated by the modulators (MODs) of the transceivers (313a to 313t) may be transmitted via the antennas (314a to 314t).

[0070] Signals transmitted by the first communication node (300a) may be received by antennas (364a to 364r) of the second communication node (300b). Signals received by the antennas (364a to 364r) may be provided to demodulators (DEMODs) included in transceivers (363a to 363r). The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a filtering operation, an amplification operation, a downconversion operation, a digital conversion operation) on the signal to obtain samples. The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform an additional processing operation on the samples to obtain symbols. The MIMO detector (362) may perform a MIMO detection operation on the symbols. The receiving processor (361) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a deinterleaving operation, a decoding operation) on the symbols. The output of the receiving processor (361) may be provided to a data sink (360) and a controller (366). For example, data may be provided to the data sink (360), and control information may be provided to the controller (366).

[0071] Meanwhile, the second communication node (300b) can transmit a signal to the first communication node (300a). The transmitting processor (368) included in the second communication node (300b) can receive data (e.g., data units) from a data source (367) and perform a processing operation on the data to generate data symbol(s). The transmitting processor (368) can receive control information from the controller (366) and perform a processing operation on the control information to generate control symbol(s). In addition, the transmitting processor (368) can perform a processing operation on a reference signal to generate reference symbol(s).

[0072] The Tx MIMO processor (369) may perform spatial processing operations (e.g., precoding operations) on data symbol(s), control symbol(s), and / or reference symbol(s). The output (e.g., symbol stream) of the Tx MIMO processor (369) may be provided to modulators (MODs) included in the transceivers (363a to 363t). The modulators (MODs) may perform processing operations on the symbol streams to generate modulation symbols, and may perform additional processing operations (e.g., analog conversion operations, amplification operations, filtering operations, upconversion operations) on the modulation symbols to generate signals. The signals generated by the modulators (MODs) of the transceivers (363a to 363t) may be transmitted via the antennas (364a to 364t).

[0073] Signals transmitted by the second communication node (300b) may be received by the antennas (314a to 314r) of the first communication node (300a). The signals received by the antennas (314a to 314r) may be provided to demodulators (DEMODs) included in the transceivers (313a to 313r). The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a filtering operation, an amplification operation, a downconversion operation, a digital conversion operation) on the signal to obtain samples. The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform an additional processing operation on the samples to obtain symbols. The MIMO detector (320) may perform a MIMO detection operation on the symbols. The receiving processor (319) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a deinterleaving operation, a decoding operation) on the symbols. The output of the receiving processor (319) may be provided to a data sink (318) and a controller (316). For example, data may be provided to the data sink (318) and control information may be provided to the controller (316).

[0074] Memories (315 and 365) can store data, control information, and / or program code. Scheduler (317) can perform scheduling operations for communication. The processors (311, 312, 319, 361, 368, 369) and controllers (316, 366) illustrated in FIG. 3 may be the processor (210) illustrated in FIG. 2 and may be used to perform the methods described in the present disclosure.

[0075] FIG. 4a is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a transmission path, and FIG. 4b is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a reception path.

[0076] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a transmission path (410) may be implemented in a communication node that transmits a signal, and a reception path (420) may be implemented in a communication node that receives a signal. The transmission path (410) may include a channel coding and modulation block (411), an S-to-P (serial-to-parallel) block (512), an N IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) block (413), a P-to-S (parallel-to-serial) block (414), a CP (cyclic prefix) addition block (415), and an UC (up-converter) (UC) (416). The receiving path (420) may include a DC (down-converter) (421), a CP removal block (422), an S-to-P block (423), an N FFT block (424), a P-to-S block (425), and a channel decoding and demodulation block (426). Here, N may be a natural number.

[0077] In the transmission path (410), information bits may be input to a channel coding and modulation block (411). The channel coding and modulation block (411) may perform a coding operation (e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding operation, a polar coding operation, etc.) and a modulation operation (e.g., a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.) on the information bits. The output of the channel coding and modulation block (411) may be a sequence of modulation symbols.

[0078] The S-to-P block (412) can convert modulation symbols in the frequency domain into parallel symbol streams to generate N parallel symbol streams. N can be an IFFT size or an FFT size. The N IFFT block (413) can perform an IFFT operation on the N parallel symbol streams to generate signals in the time domain. The P-to-S block (414) can convert the output (e.g., parallel signals) of the N IFFT block (413) into a serial signal to generate a serial signal.

[0079] The CP addition block (415) can insert a CP into a signal. The UC (416) can up-convert the frequency of the output of the CP addition block (415) to an RF (radio frequency) frequency. Additionally, the output of the CP addition block (415) can be filtered at the baseband before up-conversion.

[0080] A signal transmitted from a transmission path (410) may be input to a reception path (420). An operation in the reception path (420) may be the reverse operation of the operation in the transmission path (410). A DC (421) may down-convert the frequency of the received signal to a baseband frequency. A CP removal block (422) may remove a CP from a signal. The output of the CP removal block (422) may be a serial signal. An S-to-P block (423) may convert the serial signal into parallel signals. An N FFT block (424) may perform an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel signals. A P-to-S block (425) may convert the parallel signals into a sequence of modulation symbols. A channel decoding and demodulation block (426) may perform a demodulation operation on the modulation symbols and perform a decoding operation on the result of the demodulation operation to restore data.

[0081] In FIGS. 4A and 4B , Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Inverse DFT (IDFT) may be used instead of FFT and IFFT. Each of the blocks (e.g., components) in FIGS. 4A and 4B may be implemented by at least one of hardware, software, or firmware. For example, some of the blocks in FIGS. 4A and 4B may be implemented by software, and the remaining blocks may be implemented by hardware or a “combination of hardware and software.” In FIGS. 4A and 4B , a block may be subdivided into multiple blocks, multiple blocks may be integrated into a single block, some blocks may be omitted, and blocks supporting other functions may be added.

[0082] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of a system frame in a communication system.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 5, time resources in a communication system can be divided into frame units. For example, system frames can be set consecutively in the time domain of the communication system. The length of a system frame can be 10 ms (milliseconds). The system frame number (SFN) can be set from #0 to #1023. In this case, 1024 system frames can be repeated in the time domain of the communication system. For example, the SFN of the system frame after system frame #1023 can be #0.

[0084] A system frame may include two half frames. A half frame may be 5 ms long. A half frame located at the beginning of the system frame may be referred to as "half frame #0," and a half frame located at the end of the system frame may be referred to as "half frame #1." A system frame may include 10 subframes. A subframe may be 1 ms long. The 10 subframes within a system frame may be referred to as "subframes #0-9."

[0085] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of subframes in a communication system.

[0086] Referring to FIG. 6, one subframe may include n slots, where n may be a natural number. Accordingly, one subframe may be composed of one or more slots.

[0087] Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of slots in a communication system.

[0088] Referring to Figure 7, a single slot may include one or more symbols. A single slot illustrated in Figure 7 may include 14 symbols. The length of a slot may vary depending on the number and length of symbols contained in the slot. Alternatively, the length of a slot may vary depending on the numerology.

[0089] In a communication system, the numerology applied to physical signals and channels may be variable. The numerology may be variable to meet various technical requirements of the communication system. In a communication system applying CP (cyclic prefix)-based OFDM waveform technology, the numerology may include subcarrier spacing and CP length (or CP type). Table 1 may be a first embodiment of a method for configuring a numerology for a CP-OFDM-based communication system. At least some of the numerologies in Table 1 may be supported depending on the frequency band in which the communication system operates. In addition, the communication system may additionally support numerologies not listed in Table 1.

[0090]

[0091] When the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz (e.g., μ=0), the slot length can be 1 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 10 slots. When the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz (e.g., μ=1), the slot length can be 0.5 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 20 slots.

[0092] When the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz (e.g., μ=2), the slot length can be 0.25 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 40 slots. When the subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz (e.g., μ=3), the slot length can be 0.125 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 80 slots. When the subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz (e.g., μ=4), the slot length can be 0.0625 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 160 slots.

[0093] A symbol may be configured as a downlink (DL) symbol, a flexible (FL) symbol, or an uplink (UL) symbol. A slot consisting solely of DL symbols may be referred to as a "DL slot," a slot consisting solely of FL symbols may be referred to as an "FL slot," and a slot consisting solely of UL symbols may be referred to as a "UL slot."

[0094] The slot format can be semi-statically configured by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). Information indicating the semi-static slot format can be included in the system information, and the semi-static slot format can be configured cell-specifically. In addition, the semi-static slot format can be additionally configured for each terminal through terminal-specific higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). The flexible symbol of the cell-specifically configured slot format can be overridden to a downlink symbol or an uplink symbol by terminal-specific higher layer signaling. In addition, the slot format can be dynamically indicated by physical layer signaling (e.g., a slot format indicator (SFI) included in DCI). The semi-statically configured slot format can be overridden by a dynamically indicated slot format. For example, the semi-statically configured flexible symbol can be overridden to a downlink symbol or an uplink symbol by the SFI.

[0095] The reference signal may be a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation-reference signal (DM-RS), a phase tracking-reference signal (PT-RS), etc. The channel may be a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), etc. In the present disclosure, a control channel may mean a PDCCH, a PUCCH, or a PSCCH, and a data channel may mean a PDSCH, a PUSCH, or a PSSCH.

[0096] Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating embodiments of time-frequency resources in a communication system.

[0097] Referring to FIG. 8, a resource consisting of one symbol (e.g., an OFDM symbol) in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain may be defined as a "RE (resource element)". Resources consisting of one OFDM symbol in the time domain and K subcarriers in the frequency domain may be defined as a "REG (resource element group)". A REG may include K REs. A REG may be used as a basic unit for resource allocation in the frequency domain. K may be a natural number. For example, K may be 12. N may be a natural number. In the slot illustrated in FIG. 7, N may be 14. N OFDM symbols may be used as a basic unit for resource allocation in the time domain.

[0098] In the present disclosure, RB may mean CRB (common RB). Alternatively, RB may mean PRB or VRB (virtual RB). In a communication system, CRB may mean RB that constitutes a set of consecutive RBs (e.g., a common RB grid) based on a reference frequency (e.g., point A). Carriers and / or bandwidth portions may be arranged on the common RB grid. That is, the carrier and / or bandwidth portions may be composed of CRB(s). RBs or CRBs that constitute the bandwidth portions may be referred to as PRBs, and within the bandwidth portions, the CRB index may be appropriately converted to the PRB index.

[0099] Downlink data can be transmitted via the PDSCH. The base station can transmit PDSCH configuration information (e.g., scheduling information) to the terminal via the PDCCH. The terminal can obtain the PDSCH configuration information by receiving the PDCCH (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)). For example, the PDSCH configuration information can include the MCS (modulation coding scheme) used for transmitting and receiving the PDSCH, time resource information of the PDSCH, frequency resource information of the PDSCH, feedback resource information for the PDSCH, etc. The PDSCH can refer to a radio resource through which downlink data is transmitted and received. Alternatively, the PDSCH can refer to the downlink data itself. The PDCCH can refer to a radio resource through which downlink control information (e.g., DCI) is transmitted and received. Alternatively, the PDCCH can refer to the downlink control information itself.

[0100] A terminal can perform a monitoring operation on the PDCCH to receive a PDSCH transmitted from a base station. The base station can inform the terminal of the configuration information for the PDCCH monitoring operation using a higher layer message (e.g., an RRC (radio resource control) message). The configuration information for the PDCCH monitoring operation can include CORESET (control resource set) information and search space information.

[0101] CORESET information may include PDCCH DMRS (demodulation reference signal) information, PDCCH precoding information, PDCCH occasion information, etc. The PDCCH DMRS may be a DMRS used to demodulate the PDCCH. The PDCCH occasion may be a region where the PDCCH can exist. That is, the PDCCH occasion may be a region where DCI can be transmitted. The PDCCH occasion may be referred to as a PDCCH candidate. The PDCCH occasion information may include time resource information and frequency resource information of the PDCCH occasion. In the time domain, the length of the PDCCH occasion may be indicated in symbol units. In the frequency domain, the size of the PDCCH occasion may be indicated in RB units (e.g., in PRB (physical resource block) units or CRB (common resource block) units).

[0102] The search space information may include a coreset identifier (ID) associated with the search space, a period of PDCCH monitoring, and / or an offset. Each of the PDCCH monitoring period and offset may be indicated on a slot-by-slot basis. In addition, the search space information may further include an index of the symbol at which the PDCCH monitoring operation begins.

[0103] A base station can configure a bandwidth part (BWP) for downlink communication. The BWP can be configured differently for each terminal. The base station can inform the terminal of the BWP configuration information using higher layer signaling. The higher layer signaling can mean "transmission operation of system information" and / or "transmission operation of RRC (radio resource control) message." The number of BWPs configured for one terminal can be one or more. The terminal can receive BWP configuration information from the base station and check the BWP(s) configured by the base station based on the BWP configuration information. When multiple BWPs are configured for downlink communication, the base station can activate one or more BWPs among the multiple BWPs. The base station can transmit the configuration information of the activated BWP(s) to the terminal using at least one of higher layer signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or DCI. The base station can perform downlink communication using the activated BWP(s). The terminal can identify the activated BWP(s) by receiving configuration information of the activated BWP(s) from the base station, and perform a downlink reception operation in the activated BWP(s).

[0104] In a communication system (e.g., a 5G communication system), a rich-scattering channel environment may be considered, in which a signal transmitted by a transmitter passes through multiple communication paths to reach a receiver. In a rich-scattering channel environment, in addition to line-of-sight (LoS) components, in which a signal reaches a receiver through a straight path between the transmitter and receiver, non-line-of-sight (NLoS) components, in which the signal is reflected, refracted, and / or diffracted by surrounding objects or entities, may exist.

[0105] Because multiple communication paths exist between a transmitter and a receiver in a rich scattering environment, the desired multiplexing gain can be achieved. High-frequency band communication may be considered in future communication systems (e.g., 6G communication systems) to achieve higher data transmission rates compared to existing communication systems. In high-frequency bands, the directivity of signals can be strong, making it difficult for the signals to reach the receiver due to reflection, refraction, and / or diffraction.

[0106] Due to the characteristics of the high-frequency band described above, a phenomenon can occur where a signal transmitted by a transmitter only reaches the receiver via a single communication path, the line-of-sight path. Channels where this phenomenon occurs can be defined as LoS MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) channels.

[0107] In a rich scattering channel environment, when the spacing between antenna elements (e.g., MIMO antenna elements) is spaced at a half-wavelength interval, which is half the communication frequency, optimal communication performance along with the desired multiplexing gain can be obtained. In a LoS MIMO channel, when the spacing between antenna elements is fixed at a half-wavelength, not only the desired multiplexing gain cannot be obtained, but also the communication performance may vary significantly depending on the distance and / or angle between the antennas of the transmitter and the antenna of the receiver.

[0108] In LoS MIMO channels, variations in communication performance due to distance between the transmitter and receiver can be compensated for by appropriately adjusting the spacing between the transmitting and receiving antenna elements. In communication systems utilizing ultra-high frequency bands (e.g., 6G communication systems), the optimal antenna element spacing can vary not only depending on the communication frequency but also on the distance between the base station and the terminal.

[0109] Changing the physical spacing between transmitting and receiving antenna elements whenever the distance between the base station and the terminal changes can be burdensome in terms of cost and / or time. In the present disclosure, when the antenna elements of the base station and / or the terminal are densely spaced at intervals of less than half a wavelength, certain antenna elements may be used, while the remaining antenna elements may not be used. In other words, certain antenna elements may be turned on, while the remaining antenna elements may be turned off. Based on the above-described method, an antenna structure and / or procedure that achieves a desired antenna element spacing will be proposed.

[0110] To support the above-described method, the base station and the terminal may exchange configuration information (e.g., antenna configuration information) such as the number of antenna elements and the antenna element spacing. The base station and the terminal may check whether the antenna element spacing can be changed, and based on the checked result, may change the antenna element spacing by turning the antenna elements on / off. Detailed procedures and / or parameters for the above-described method will be proposed.

[0111] A beam management procedure may include an initial beam establishment procedure, a beam adjustment procedure, and a beam failure recovery procedure. In the initial beam establishment procedure and / or the beam adjustment procedure, a communication node (e.g., a base station and / or a terminal) may use beam sweeping to select a beam combination with the largest Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) among possible transmit-receive beam combinations. If an existing beam cannot be used due to a change in the surrounding environment or the like (e.g., if a communication failure occurs using the existing beam), the communication node may select a new beam in the beam failure recovery procedure. In the present disclosure, a communication node may mean a base station and / or a terminal. The communication node may be interpreted as a base station or a terminal depending on the context.

[0112] A beam failure recovery procedure can be performed as follows. The terminal can periodically measure the performance of the beam (e.g., RSRP). The terminal can compare the measured beam performance (e.g., measured RSRP) with a reference performance (e.g., an RSRP threshold). If the measured beam performance is lower than or equal to the reference performance, the terminal can determine that a beam failure instance has occurred. A beam failure instance may be a temporary phenomenon. Alternatively, a beam failure instance may actually be a phenomenon caused by a poor channel environment. The terminal may not determine that a beam failure has occurred immediately when a beam failure instance occurs once. If a preset threshold (e.g., beamFailureInstanceMaxCount) or more beam failure instances occur within a preset period of time, the terminal can determine that a beam failure has occurred. In other words, the terminal can detect a beam failure and declare a beam failure. The above-described procedure may be a beam failure detection procedure. If a beam failure is detected, the terminal can perform a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure.

[0113] A base station can preset random access channel (RACH) resources to be used for beam failure recovery for a terminal. In other words, the base station can transmit RACH configuration information to the terminal through signaling. The terminal can receive the RACH configuration information through signaling from the base station. In the present disclosure, the signaling can be at least one of SI signaling, RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, or DCI signaling. The terminal can measure a channel / signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS)) transmitted from a base station (e.g., a cell), and transmit a random access (RA) preamble to the base station in a RO (RACH occasion) corresponding to a channel / signal (e.g., a beam associated with the channel / signal) having an RSRP greater than or equal to an RSRP threshold. The base station can receive the RA preamble from the terminal, and transmit a random access response (RAR) to the terminal in response to the RA preamble. The terminal can receive an RAR from the base station. Once the above-described RA procedure is completed, the terminal can perform communication using the corresponding beam.

[0114] A base station can perform UE capability signaling to determine the capabilities of a terminal. The UE capability signaling may be RRC signaling. The base station can request the provision of capability information from the terminal by transmitting a UE capability inquiry (e.g., a UE capability inquiry signal) to the terminal. The terminal can receive the UE capability inquiry from the base station and transmit UE capability information (e.g., a UE capability information signal) containing information about the capabilities supported by the terminal to the base station. The base station can receive the UE capability information from the terminal and determine the capabilities supported by the terminal based on the information included in the UE capability information. Each of the UE capability inquiry and the UE capability information may be an RRC message.

[0115] UE capability information may include radio frequency (RF) layer information and / or physical layer information. The physical layer information may include bandwidth information, bandwidth combination information for carrier aggregation (CA), subcarrier spacing information, etc. In order for a terminal to transmit all capability information of the terminal (e.g., information on all capabilities supported by the terminal) through the UE capability information, the size of the UE capability information may increase, and the signaling overhead of the UE capability information may increase. The base station may limit the type of capability information transmitted through the UE capability information by transmitting a UE capability query to the terminal that indicates specific requirements (e.g., capability information of the terminal required by the base station). In other words, the size of the UE capability information may be limited based on the UE capability query.

[0116] Based on the operations defined in existing technical specifications, the base station may not request functional information related to the antenna configuration of the terminal (hereinafter referred to as "antenna configuration information") through the UE capability query. Parameters related to antenna configuration information may not be defined in the existing technical specifications. In a communication system using a LoS MIMO channel, the optimal antenna element spacing at the base station may be determined based on the number of antenna elements and / or the antenna element spacing of the terminal.

[0117] To support the above-described operation, antenna configuration information included in UE capability information may be defined. Not only the base station but also the terminal may change its antenna element spacing. The terminal may transmit information indicating that the terminal supports the antenna element spacing change function to the base station. Information indicating that the terminal supports the antenna element spacing change function may be included in the UE capability information. The base station may receive the UE capability information from the terminal and, based on the information included in the UE capability information, determine that the terminal supports the antenna element spacing change function. If the terminal supports the antenna element spacing change function, the antenna element spacing change procedure may be performed in at least one of the base station or the terminal.

[0118] In the present disclosure, a base station may include an antenna (e.g., an antenna element) that can be turned on / off, and a terminal may include an antenna (e.g., an antenna element) that can be turned on / off. An antenna that is turned on (e.g., an on antenna) may be used for communication, and an antenna that is turned off (e.g., an off antenna) may not be used for communication. Antenna and antenna element may have the same meaning depending on the context. Antenna may be used to mean an antenna element, and antenna element may be used to mean an antenna. A communication node (e.g., a base station and / or a terminal) may perform communication in a high frequency band. The communication node may perform communication in a LoS MIMO channel.

[0119] When the reception performance of a terminal is reduced and / or the reception performance of a base station is reduced, the base station can determine whether the cause of the reception performance reduction is a change in the distance between the base station and the terminal due to the mobility of the base station and / or the terminal. The base station can periodically measure the distance between the base station and the terminal and store the measurement result. When a beam failure occurs at the terminal, the base station can compare a previously measured distance (e.g., an initial distance, a most recently measured distance) with the distance at the time of the beam failure (e.g., a current distance). In the present disclosure, the distance may refer to the distance between the base station and the terminal. When the change between the previously measured distance and the current distance is greater than a preset threshold, the base station can determine that the reception performance (e.g., communication performance) is reduced due to the distance change. In this case, the base station can decide to change at least one of the antenna configuration of the base station or the antenna configuration of the terminal. The antenna configuration may refer to an antenna element spacing.

[0120] A terminal may transmit UE capability information including antenna configuration information of the terminal to a base station during an initial access procedure or a beam allocation procedure. The antenna configuration information may include at least one of information indicating the number of antennas, antenna element spacing, or whether an antenna on / off function is supported. Information indicating whether an antenna on / off function is supported may be referred to as an antenna on / off function indicator. The base station may receive UE capability information from the terminal and confirm antenna configuration information included in the UE capability information. Based on the antenna configuration information, the base station may perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station and / or a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal.

[0121] If the terminal does not support the antenna on / off function, the base station may reset (e.g., change) the antenna element spacing of the base station based on the number of antenna elements of the terminal, the antenna element spacing of the terminal, and / or the distance between the base station and the terminal. In the reset (e.g., change) of the antenna element spacing, some antenna element(s) may be set to an on state, and other antenna element(s) may be set to an off state. If the terminal supports the antenna on / off function, the base station may reset (e.g., change) at least one of the antenna element spacing of the base station or the antenna element spacing of the terminal.

[0122] If the terminal supports the antenna on / off function, the base station can determine which communication node's antenna element spacing is to be changed among the base station's antenna element spacing or the terminal's antenna element spacing. If it is determined to change both the base station's antenna element spacing and the terminal's antenna element spacing, the base station can determine which communication node's antenna element spacing is to be changed first among the base station's antenna element spacing or the terminal's antenna element spacing, and can perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing (e.g., a reset procedure) based on the determination result.

[0123] In the antenna element spacing change procedure, the communication node may turn on some antenna elements and turn off others. During the antenna element spacing change procedure, data transmission and reception between the base station and the terminal may not be performed. In other words, data transmission and reception between the base station and the terminal may not be permitted during the antenna element spacing change procedure.

[0124] In a procedure for determining which communication node's antenna element spacing will be changed among the antenna element spacing of the base station or the antenna element spacing of the terminal, and / or in a procedure for determining which communication node's antenna element spacing will be changed first among the antenna element spacing of the base station or the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station may utilize timing-related information such as latency requirements of the terminal.

[0125] At least one of RSRP, RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), or CQI (Channel Quality Indicator) may be utilized as a communication performance indicator for detecting beam failure of a terminal. In the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing, the physical positions of the antenna elements may not be changed. In the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing, the spacing between effective antenna elements may be adjusted by selectively using some of the antenna elements (e.g., densely packed antenna elements). In an antenna that supports antenna on / off operation, the antenna element spacing may be changed to various values.

[0126] As the channel condition between the base station and the terminal approaches the LoS MIMO channel condition, the communication performance gains due to the antenna element spacing change procedure (e.g., antenna on / off procedure) can increase. If the base station can determine that the channel condition between the base station and the terminal is LoS or NLoS, the base station can selectively perform the antenna element spacing change procedure.

[0127] When a terminal can determine that the channel state between a base station and the terminal is LoS or NLoS, the terminal can transmit information indicating the channel state to the base station through signaling. The base station can receive the information indicating the channel state through signaling from the terminal, and can determine the channel state (e.g., LoS or NLoS) based on the information. The information indicating the channel state between the base station and the terminal can indicate LoS or NLoS. Alternatively, the information indicating the channel state between the base station and the terminal can indicate LoS probability or NLoS probability. In this case, the information indicating the channel state can be set in the form of a binary variable.

[0128] If the information received from the terminal indicates LoS, if the information received from the terminal indicates a high LoS probability, if the LoS probability indicated by the information received from the terminal is greater than or equal to a threshold, or if the NLoS probability indicated by the information received from the terminal is less than a threshold, the base station may perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing. If the base station cannot determine the channel status between the base station and the terminal, the base station may perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing based on other criteria.

[0129] In high-frequency bands, the linearity of electromagnetic waves can be strong, and when LoS communication is guaranteed between a base station and a terminal in a next-generation communication system using a high-frequency band, an optimal information transmission rate can be achieved by adjusting the antenna element spacing of the base station and / or the terminal. In a LoS MIMO channel in a high-frequency band, a desired multiplexing gain can be obtained by appropriately adjusting the antenna configuration according to a given communication environment. The base station and / or the terminal may include many densely packed antenna elements. The communication node can change the antenna element spacing by turning specific antenna elements on or off.

[0130] A procedure for selecting an optimal antenna element spacing that can achieve optimal communication performance based on the distance between a base station and a terminal will be proposed. The procedure for selecting an optimal antenna element spacing may include (1) a procedure for the base station and / or the terminal to check whether the antenna setting and / or the antenna element spacing can be changed, (2) a procedure for the base station to determine whether to perform an operation to change the antenna element spacing and a procedure for determining which communication node among the base station and the terminal to change the antenna element spacing, and (3) a procedure for the base station and / or the terminal to sequentially change the antenna element spacing and report the change result.

[0131] According to existing technical specifications, the antenna element spacing in a base station and / or a terminal may be fixed. The base station and the terminal may not share information on the antenna element spacing with each other. If the base station and / or the terminal can change the antenna element spacing, the base station and / or the terminal may share distance information and / or antenna configuration information (e.g., antenna element spacing, etc.) between the base station and the terminal, and set an optimal antenna (e.g., an optimal antenna element spacing) based on the shared information. In order to set (e.g., reset, change, adjust) the antenna element spacing, a new agreement procedure and / or signaling procedure (e.g., an RRC signaling procedure) between the base station and the terminal may be defined.

[0132] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, it can be assumed that LoS communication is guaranteed between a base station and a terminal. If the base station can determine the channel state between the base station and the terminal as a LoS MIMO channel state or an NLoS MIMO channel state, the base station can periodically determine (e.g., confirm) the channel state. If the channel (e.g., channel state) is a LoS MIMO channel (e.g., LoS MIMO channel state), the base station can perform the following procedure (e.g., procedure for changing the antenna element spacing). If the LoS MIMO channel state is maintained for a preset time or the number of times the channel state is determined to be a LoS MIMO channel state is greater than or equal to a preset number, the base station can perform the following procedure. Alternatively, if the probability that the current channel is a LoS MIMO channel is greater than or equal to a threshold, the base station can perform the following procedure. Alternatively, the base station can perform the following procedure regardless of the current channel state.

[0133] To determine whether the channel between the base station and the terminal is a LoS MIMO channel, the base station can use AI / ML (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning). The base station can determine whether the channel between the base station and the terminal is a LoS MIMO channel based on the Doppler shift or delay shift of the received signal reflected from the terminal.

[0134] - Method for selecting antenna elements based on antenna on / off in high-frequency communication systems

[0135] Based on conventional communication systems, the antenna element spacing at the base station and / or terminal may be fixed. In conventional communication systems, the operation of selectively using specific antenna elements may not be considered, and antenna element configuration information may not be exchanged between the base station and the terminal. In other words, the base station may not request antenna element configuration information from the terminal, and the terminal may not transmit antenna element configuration information to the base station.

[0136] In high-frequency communication systems, antenna element spacing can significantly impact communication performance. A high-frequency communication system can refer to a communication system that supports high-frequency bands. In a high-frequency communication system, a LoS MIMO channel can be established between a base station and a terminal. When a base station and / or a terminal that support changing the antenna element spacing function are communicating, a procedure for sharing antenna configuration information (e.g., information about the antenna element spacing) between the base station and the terminal may be necessary.

[0137] A base station may request provision of antenna configuration information from a terminal. To request provision of antenna configuration information, a UE capability query signal (e.g., a UE capability query message) may be used. For example, the base station may transmit a UE capability query signal to the terminal via signaling. The UE capability query signal may include the type of antenna configuration information requested by the base station. For example, the UE capability query signal may request provision of one or more parameters specified in Table 2 below.

[0138]

[0139] The antenna element spacing may refer to the spacing between antenna elements used by the terminal. The antenna elements used by the terminal may refer to antenna elements that are turned on. The antenna elements that are turned on may refer to effective antenna elements. The terminal may receive a UE capability query signal from a base station. The terminal may determine the type of antenna configuration information requested by the base station based on information included in the UE capability query signal. The terminal may generate a UE capability information signal (e.g., a UE capability information message) including the antenna configuration information requested by the base station. The terminal may transmit the UE capability information signal to the base station through signaling. The base station may receive the UE capability information signal from the terminal. The base station may determine the antenna configuration information included in the UE capability information signal. Based on the above-described operation, the base station may initially obtain the antenna configuration information of the terminal. The base station may perform an antenna element spacing configuration procedure (e.g., an initial configuration procedure), a channel estimation procedure, and / or a beam selection procedure based on the antenna configuration information received from the terminal. The UE capability information signal may include one or more parameters defined in Table 3 below.

[0140]

[0141] Antenna element spacing ( ) may indicate the spacing between neighboring antenna elements (e.g., neighboring effective antenna elements). In Table 3, true may indicate that the terminal supports the on / off function of the antenna element, and false may indicate that the terminal does not support the on / off function of the antenna element. The information indicating whether the antenna element can be turned on / off may be an antenna on / off function indicator. The value of the antenna on / off function indicator may be set to true or false. The number of horizontal antenna elements ( ) may indicate the number of antenna elements (e.g., effective antenna elements) arranged in the horizontal direction. The number of vertical antenna elements ( ) may indicate the number of antenna elements (e.g., effective antenna elements) arranged in a vertical direction. For another example, may indicate the number of antenna elements (e.g., effective antenna elements) arranged in the first direction, may indicate the number of antenna elements (e.g., effective antenna elements) arranged in the second direction. The first direction and the second direction may be different. When the number of horizontal antenna elements (or the number of first direction antenna elements) and the number of vertical antenna elements (or the number of second direction antenna elements) are the same, the terminal may inform the base station of the value of either the number of horizontal antenna elements or the number of vertical antenna elements.

[0142] Alternatively, the terminal may transmit the UE capability information signal to the base station regardless of whether the base station receives the UE capability query signal. In other words, even if the UE capability query signal is not received, the terminal may transmit the UE capability information signal to the base station. The terminal may transmit the UE capability information signal to the base station through the uplink channel during the initial access procedure. The UE capability information signal may include one or more parameters defined in Table 2. When the antenna configuration information in the terminal is updated, the terminal may transmit the UE capability information signal including the updated antenna configuration information to the base station. For example, when the antenna element spacing is changed and / or the number of antenna elements is changed, the terminal may transmit the updated UE capability information signal to the base station.

[0143] Figure 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating antenna settings.

[0144] The embodiment of Fig. 9 shows the distance between the base station and the terminal. In this case, the antenna settings can be shown at each of the base station and the terminal. Referring to FIG. 9, the antenna (e.g., panel) of the base station can include 144 antenna elements, the base station can use 16 antenna elements, and the antenna element spacing at the base station is can be. For example, the number of effective antenna elements at a base station can be 16, and the number of horizontal antenna elements ( ) can be 4, and the number of vertical antenna elements ( ) can be 4. The number of effective antenna elements per Tx antenna of the base station is 16( ) may be. The antenna of the terminal (e.g., panel) may include 16 antenna elements, the terminal may use 4 antenna elements, and the antenna element spacing in the terminal may be can be. For example, the number of effective antenna elements in the terminal can be 4, and the number of horizontal antenna elements ( ) can be two, and the number of vertical antenna elements ( ) can be 2. The number of effective antenna elements per Rx antenna of the terminal is 4( ) can be a dog.

[0145] When the antenna configuration information sharing procedure between the base station and the terminal is completed, the distance measurement procedure between the base station and the terminal may be performed. Alternatively, the distance measurement procedure may begin before the antenna configuration information sharing procedure. Alternatively, the distance measurement procedure may be performed simultaneously with the antenna configuration information sharing procedure. The distance measurement procedure may be performed periodically or aperiodically.

[0146] The base station operates at a preset measurement cycle ( ) can measure the distance between the base station and the terminal and store the measured distance. The initial distance between the base station and the terminal It could be. For example, may be the distance between the base station and the terminal when the initial beam setup (e.g., initial beam allocation) between the base station and the terminal is completed. It may be the distance between the base station and the terminal when the initial connection procedure between the base station and the terminal is completed. may be the distance between the base station and the terminal measured in the previous measurement cycle. For example, may be the most recent distance between the base station and the terminal. The base station is can be stored. The base station can measure the distance between the base station and the terminal at each measurement cycle, can be updated (e.g., updated). The parameter(s) required for the distance measurement procedure can be defined as shown in Table 4 below. Although the distance measurement procedure in the above-described embodiment is described as being performed (e.g., initiated) by the base station, the terminal can measure the distance between the terminal and the base station in the same or similar manner as described above. The terminal can transmit the measured distance information to the base station through signaling. The base station can receive the measured distance information from the terminal.

[0147]

[0148] A base station can measure (e.g., estimate) the position of a terminal based on the timing of a reference signal (e.g., a positioning reference signal (PRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), etc.). The base station can calculate a time difference of arrival (TDOA) for the reference signal, and measure the distance between the base station and the terminal based on the TDOA. If the base station knows antenna direction information (e.g., antenna angle information) of the terminal, the base station can adjust the antenna element spacing by further considering the antenna direction information. If the distance information between the base station and the terminal and the antenna direction information of the terminal are considered together, the antenna element spacing that maximizes communication performance can be determined more precisely.

[0149] Meanwhile, the terminal can communicate with the base station using the beam established with the base station. If the reception performance (e.g., RSRP) of the terminal decreases, the terminal can perform a beam failure recovery procedure. If a beam failure is detected (e.g., declared), the terminal can transmit a BFR (beam failure recovery) request message (e.g., BFR MAC CE) to the base station. If a BFR request message is received from the terminal, the base station can determine that a beam failure has occurred in the terminal. In this case, the base station can recover the beam failure by resetting the beam to the terminal.

[0150] Even when the optimal beam direction between the base station and the terminal is maintained in a LoS MIMO channel, communication performance (e.g., reception performance) may deteriorate due to a change in the distance between the base station and the terminal. In a high-frequency communication system, the base station may not accurately know the cause of the communication performance deterioration. For example, the base station may not accurately determine whether the cause of the communication performance deterioration is beam misalignment or a change in distance. Therefore, the base station may selectively or sequentially perform the existing BFR procedure and the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing (e.g., the BFR procedure based on the change in the antenna element spacing). The base station may first reallocate the optimal beam using the existing BFR procedure. The base station may not perform the subsequent procedure if the reception performance of the terminal is sufficiently improved by the existing BFR procedure.

[0151] If a BFR request for a beam allocated by the existing BFR procedure is continuously received from a terminal, the base station can determine whether to perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing. If it is determined that it is necessary to perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing, the base station can perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing. Alternatively, if a BFR request message is received from a terminal (e.g., when the reception performance of the terminal is degraded), the base station can first determine whether to perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing without performing the existing BFR procedure. If it is determined that it is necessary to perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing, the base station can perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing. In other words, the base station can perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing without performing the existing BFR procedure.

[0152] When the reception performance of a terminal deteriorates, the base station can check the change in distance between the base station and the terminal based on the information defined in Table 5 below.

[0153]

[0154] One or more distance thresholds (e.g., , ) can be predefined in the technical specifications. can be the current distance between the base station and the terminal. The base station determines that the difference between the current distance and the most recent distance is a distance threshold 1 ( based on the mathematical expression 1 below). ) in excess (or more), it may be determined that a change in the antenna element spacing of the base station and / or terminal is necessary.

[0155]

[0156] The base station determines that the difference between the current distance and the initial distance is the distance threshold 2 ( based on the mathematical expression 2 below). ) in excess (or more), it may be determined that a change in the antenna element spacing of the base station and / or terminal is necessary.

[0157]

[0158] If at least one of Equation 1 or Equation 2 is satisfied, the base station can determine that a change in the antenna element spacing is required. In other words, if at least one of Equation 1 or Equation 2 is satisfied, the base station can determine that the cause of the deterioration of communication performance is a change in the distance between the base station and the terminal. If neither Equation 1 nor Equation 2 is satisfied, the base station can determine that the cause of the deterioration of communication performance is not a change in the distance between the base station and the terminal. In this case, the terminal can perform a BFR procedure, a handover procedure, and / or a cell (re)selection procedure.

[0159] When the base station determines to change the antenna element spacing, the base station can determine which communication node among the base station or the terminal to change the antenna element spacing. For example, the base station can determine whether the terminal supports the antenna element on / off function based on information included in the UE capability information signal received from the terminal. If the terminal does not support the antenna element on / off function, the base station can decide to change the antenna element spacing of the base station. In other words, the antenna element spacing of the base station can be changed without changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal.

[0160] When a terminal supports an antenna element on / off function, the base station can determine whether a communication performance higher than a threshold (e.g., optimal communication performance, sufficient communication performance) can be achieved even when only the antenna element spacing of the base station is changed without changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal. If a communication performance higher than a threshold can be achieved even when only the antenna element spacing of the base station is changed without changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station can decide to change only the antenna element spacing of the base station. If a communication performance higher than a threshold cannot be achieved when only the antenna element spacing of the base station is changed without changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station can decide to change both the antenna element spacing of the base station and the antenna element spacing of the terminal. If the number of antenna elements of the base station is insufficient and / or the antenna element spacing of the base station is limited, a communication performance higher than a threshold may not be achieved when only the antenna element spacing of the base station is changed without changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal.

[0161] If it is determined to change the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station may transmit antenna configuration information of the base station (e.g., antenna element spacing, number of antenna elements) and / or distance information between the base station and the terminal to the terminal via signaling. The terminal may receive antenna configuration information and / or distance information from the base station. If it is determined to change the antenna element spacing of the base station and the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station may preferentially perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal, and thereafter determine whether to perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station. If communication performance (e.g., optimal communication performance) is achieved due to the change in the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station may decide not to perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station. If communication performance (e.g., optimal communication performance) is not achieved due to the change in the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station may decide to additionally perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station.

[0162] The base station may consider timing information (e.g., latency requirement) of the terminal to determine a communication node that preferentially performs a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing among the base station or the terminal. The timing information of the terminal may be used to determine a time required for performing a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the base station and / or the terminal. The terminal may transmit timing information (e.g., latency requirement) to the base station through signaling. The base station may receive timing information (e.g., latency requirement) from the terminal. The base station may consider the latency requirement (e.g., ) and reference thresholds (e.g., ) can be compared. The delay requirements of the terminal (e.g., ) is the reference threshold (e.g., ) or more (or exceeds), the base station may decide to change the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal first. The delay requirement of the terminal (e.g., ) is the reference threshold (e.g., ) is less than (or equal to or less than), the base station may decide to first change the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station. If it is decided to perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing, the base station may not transmit data to the terminal until the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing is completed. In other words, while the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing is performed, data transmission between the base station and the terminal may be stopped.

[0163] When it is determined to change the antenna element spacing of the terminal, the base station may transmit one or more parameters defined in Table 6 below to the terminal via signaling (e.g., RRC message, PBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, etc.). One or more parameters defined in Table 6 below may be antenna configuration information and distance information of the base station. The terminal may receive one or more parameters defined in Table 6 below from the base station. When one or more parameters defined in Table 6 below are received, the terminal may determine that a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal is performed.

[0164]

[0165] In 6, can indicate the current antenna element spacing of the base station. In Table 6, and Each can indicate the number of antenna elements being used by the base station. In other words, and Each can indicate the number of antenna elements (e.g., effective antenna elements) that are on. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the base station can use 16 antenna elements out of a total of 144 antenna elements. In this case, can be 4 days, can be 4, and the number of effective antenna elements per transmitting antenna of the base station ( ) can be 16. In Table 6, can be the current distance between the base station and the terminal. For example, It can indicate the measured distance between the terminal and the base station when the terminal requests BFR from the base station.

[0166] The terminal may change (e.g., reset) the antenna element spacing of the terminal based on the antenna setting information of the terminal, the antenna setting information of the base station, and / or the distance information between the terminal and the base station. The terminal may change the new antenna element spacing of the terminal based on the following mathematical expression 3: ) can be determined.

[0167]

[0168] may be the antenna element spacing of the base station, may be a communication wavelength, can be the distance between the base station and the terminal (e.g., current distance), silver or It can be one of (e.g., a large value or a small value). Or silver class It may be the average value. silver or It can be one of (e.g., a large value or a small value). Or silver class may be the average value. Alternatively, the terminal may use a mathematical expression other than Equation 3 to determine the new antenna element spacing ( ) can be determined. The new antenna element spacing ( ) may be an implementation issue of the terminal.

[0169] The terminal sets the antenna element spacing of the terminal to a new antenna element spacing ( ) can be changed. The terminal can change the antenna element spacing of the terminal (e.g., the current antenna element spacing) to a new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can be changed to a similar antenna element spacing. The terminal can change the new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can transmit information about the antenna element spacing similar to that of the terminal to the base station through signaling (e.g., RRC message, UCI, etc.). The base station can transmit the new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can receive information on the antenna element spacing similar to that of the terminal, and can confirm the changed antenna element spacing in the terminal based on the information received from the terminal.

[0170] Figure 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a changed antenna setting.

[0171] The embodiment of Fig. 10 is the distance between the base station and the terminal. In this case, the changed antenna settings of each of the base station and the terminal can be illustrated. Referring to FIG. 10, the antenna (e.g., panel) of the base station can include 144 antenna elements, and the effective number of antenna elements of the base station can be 16. The antenna (e.g., panel) of the terminal can include 16 antenna elements, and the effective number of antenna elements of the terminal can be 4.

[0172] In the embodiments of FIGS. 9 and 10, the distance between the base station and the terminal is at can be changed to Is It can be a larger value. The antenna element spacing of the terminal is at can be changed. The terminal can turn off existing effective antenna elements and turn on new antenna elements to change the antenna element spacing.

[0173] The base station may change (e.g., reset) the antenna element spacing of the base station based on the antenna configuration information of the terminal, the antenna configuration information of the base station, and / or the distance information between the terminal and the base station. The base station may change the new antenna element spacing of the base station based on the following mathematical expression 4: ) can be determined.

[0174]

[0175] may be the antenna element spacing of the terminal (current antenna element spacing). If the antenna element spacing in the terminal is changed, in mathematical expression 4 can be used. If the antenna element spacing at the terminal is not changed, in mathematical expression 4 Instead can be used. may be a communication wavelength, may be the distance between the base station and the terminal (e.g., current distance). silver or It can be one of (e.g., a large value or a small value). Or silver class It may be the average value. silver or It can be one of (e.g., a large value or a small value). Or silver class can be the average value of . Alternatively, the base station can use a mathematical formula other than Equation 4 to determine the new antenna element spacing ( ) can be determined. The new antenna element spacing ( ) may be an implementation issue for the base station.

[0176] The base station sets the antenna element spacing of the base station to a new antenna element spacing ( ) can be changed. The base station can change the antenna element spacing of the base station (e.g., the current antenna element spacing) to a new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can be changed to a similar antenna element spacing. The base station can change the new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can transmit information about the antenna element spacing similar to that of the base station to the terminal through signaling (e.g., RRC message, DCI, etc.). The terminal can receive new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can receive information on the antenna element spacing similar to that of the base station, and can confirm the changed antenna element spacing at the base station based on the information received from the base station.

[0177] Referring again to FIG. 10, if sufficient communication performance is not obtained even when the antenna element spacing of the terminal is changed, the base station may change the antenna element spacing of the base station. The antenna element spacing of the base station at can be changed. The base station can turn off some of the existing effective antenna elements and turn on new antenna elements to change the antenna element spacing. Sufficient communication performance can mean communication performance above a reference threshold (e.g., a reference RSRP threshold).

[0178] The base station can resume communication using the changed antenna configuration (e.g., new antenna element spacing). The base station can allocate antenna ports based on the changed antenna configuration. The base station can transmit a CSI-RS to a terminal based on the changed antenna configuration, receive measurement information of the CSI-RS from the terminal, and estimate a channel based on the measurement information. The base station can determine (e.g., set) an optimal transmit beam by performing a beam sweeping procedure based on the changed antenna configuration. The terminal can determine (e.g., set) an optimal receive beam by performing a beam sweeping procedure based on the changed antenna configuration. After the base station allocates a new beam, The value can be updated (e.g., updated) and the distance between the base station and the terminal can be measured periodically or aperiodically. The procedure for changing the antenna element spacing described above can be performed repeatedly.

[0179] The procedure for changing the antenna element spacing according to the above-described embodiments can be performed as follows.

[0180] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing.

[0181] Referring to FIG. 11, a base station may transmit a UE capability query signal requesting provision of antenna configuration information necessary for changing an antenna element spacing to a terminal through signaling (S1101). The terminal may receive the UE capability query signal from the base station (S1101). The UE capability query signal may request provision of one or more parameters defined in Table 2 described above. The terminal may confirm the requested parameter(s) based on the information included in the UE capability query signal. The terminal may transmit a UE capability information signal including the parameter(s) requested by the base station (e.g., antenna configuration information of the terminal) to the base station through signaling (S1102). The base station may receive the UE capability information signal from the terminal (S1102). The UE capability information signal may include one or more parameters defined in Table 3 described above. Alternatively, the terminal may transmit the UE capability information signal including the antenna configuration information of the terminal to the base station without receiving the UE capability query signal.

[0182] The base station can check information (e.g., parameter(s)) included in the UE capability information signal. The base station can check whether the terminal supports the on / off function of the antenna element based on the information included in the UE capability information signal. If the terminal does not support the on / off function of the antenna element, the base station may not perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing for the terminal. If the terminal does not support the on / off function of the antenna element, the base station may not perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing for the terminal, and may only perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing for the base station. If the terminal supports the on / off function of the antenna element, the base station may perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing for the terminal. For example, if the terminal supports the on / off function of the antenna element, at least one of the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing for the base station or the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing for the terminal may be performed.

[0183] The base station can measure the distance between the base station and the terminal (S1103). S1103 can be performed when it is determined that a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing is to be performed. The base station can estimate the location of the terminal based on the channel / signal received from the terminal, and can measure the distance between the base station and the terminal based on the estimated terminal location. The distance measurement operation can be performed based on the above-described embodiment. The distance measurement procedure between the base station and the terminal can be performed periodically or aperiodically. For example, when the communication performance between the base station and the terminal is degraded and / or the base station receives a BFR request from the terminal, the base station can perform the distance measurement procedure. Degraded communication performance can mean that the communication performance is below a reference threshold (e.g., a reference RSRP threshold).

[0184] Meanwhile, while communication is being performed between the base station and the terminal, the terminal may detect (e.g., declare) a beam failure for the base station. In this case, the terminal may transmit a BFR request to the base station (S1104). The base station may receive the BFR request from the terminal (S1104). If the communication performance between the base station and the terminal is degraded (e.g., if the base station receives a BFR request from the terminal), the base station may determine whether to perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing (S1105). The base station may compare the initial distance (or the most recently measured distance) between the base station and the terminal with the current distance between the base station and the terminal, and if the distance change exceeds (or is greater than) a threshold, it may determine that the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing needs to be performed. For example, the base station may determine whether to perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing based on the results of the above-described mathematical expressions 1 and / or 2. The procedure for changing the antenna element spacing may be triggered based on a BFR request from the terminal.

[0185] Degradation of communication performance between a base station and a terminal can be caused by factors other than changes in the distance between the base station and the terminal. If a beam failure occurs at the terminal, the base station may prioritize performing a BFR procedure for the terminal, and if sufficient communication performance is not achieved even after the BFR procedure is completed, the base station may decide to perform a procedure to change the antenna element spacing. If a beam failure occurs at the terminal, the base station may prioritize performing a BFR procedure for the terminal, and if sufficient communication performance is achieved after the BFR procedure is completed, the base station may not perform the procedure to change the antenna element spacing. Alternatively, if a beam failure occurs at the terminal, the base station may decide to prioritize performing a procedure to change the antenna element spacing instead of a BFR procedure for the terminal.

[0186] If it is determined that the antenna element spacing change procedure is to be performed, the base station may determine a communication node (e.g., a base station and / or a terminal) that performs the antenna element spacing change procedure (S1106). If the terminal does not support the antenna element on / off function, the base station may determine the base station as the communication node that performs the antenna element spacing change procedure. In this case, steps S1107 to S1109 may not be performed, and the base station may perform step S1110 after step S1106.

[0187] If the terminal supports the on / off function of the antenna element, the base station can determine (e.g., estimate) whether sufficient communication performance is achieved by only changing the antenna element spacing of the base station. If sufficient communication performance is achieved by only changing the antenna element spacing of the base station, the base station can determine that the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal is not performed, and only the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station is performed. In this case, S1107 to S1109 may not be performed, and the base station can perform S1110 after S1106. If sufficient communication performance is not achieved by only changing the antenna element spacing of the base station, the base station can determine that both the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal and the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station are performed.

[0188] If both the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the terminal and the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the base station are performed, the base station may determine that the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the terminal is performed first. In this case, subsequent procedures may be performed in the order of S1107 → S1108 → S1109 → S1110. Alternatively, if both the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the terminal and the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the base station are performed, the base station may determine that the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the base station is performed first. In this case, subsequent procedures may be performed in the order of S1110 → S1107 → S1108 → S1109.

[0189] When both the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the terminal and the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the base station are performed, the base station determines the communication node that performs the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing with priority based on the delay requirements of the terminal (e.g., ) can be considered. The base station can consider the delay requirements of the terminal and the reference threshold (e.g., ) can be compared. If the delay requirement of the terminal is equal to or greater than the reference threshold (or exceeds it), the base station may decide to first perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the terminal. If the delay requirement of the terminal is less than (or below) the reference threshold, the base station may decide to first perform the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing of the base station.

[0190] When a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing is performed at a terminal, the base station may transmit information necessary for the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing to the terminal through signaling (S1107). The terminal may receive information necessary for the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing from the base station (S1107). The information necessary for the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing may include one or more parameters defined in Table 6 described above (e.g., antenna configuration information and / or distance information of the base station). The terminal may change the antenna element spacing based on the information received from the base station and / or the antenna configuration information of the terminal (S1108). The terminal may determine a new antenna element spacing ( ) can be determined, and the current antenna element spacing ( ) is the new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can be changed at similar intervals.

[0191] The terminal can transmit information on the changed antenna element spacing to the base station through signaling (S1108). The base station can receive information on the changed antenna element spacing from the terminal (S1108). When information on the changed antenna element spacing is received from the terminal, the base station can determine that the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing in the terminal is completed. The base station can change the antenna element spacing based on the antenna setting information of the base station, the antenna setting information of the terminal, and / or the distance information between the base station and the terminal (S1109). The base station can determine the new antenna element spacing ( ) can be determined, and the current antenna element spacing ( ) is the new antenna element spacing ( ) or new antenna element spacing ( ) can be changed at a similar interval. When the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the terminal and / or the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing at the base station are completed, the base station can perform communication with the terminal based on the changed antenna element spacing.

[0192] Simple combinations, partial combinations, and / or extended combinations of two or more of the above-described embodiments (e.g., methods, approaches) may be possible. Some of the above-described embodiments may be omitted. In other words, some embodiments may be selectively performed.

[0193] The operations of the method according to the present disclosure can be implemented as a computer-readable program or code on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium includes any type of recording device that stores information readable by a computer system. Furthermore, a computer-readable recording medium can be distributed across network-connected computer systems, allowing the computer-readable program or code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

[0194] Additionally, the computer-readable recording medium may include hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The program instructions may include not only machine language codes produced by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc.

[0195] While some aspects of the present disclosure have been described in the context of a device, they may also represent a description of a corresponding method, wherein a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, aspects described in the context of a method may also be described as a corresponding block or item or a feature of a corresponding device. Some or all of the method steps may be performed by (or using) a hardware device, such as, for example, a microprocessor, a programmable computer, or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, at least one or more of the most significant method steps may be performed by such a device.

[0196] A programmable logic device (e.g., a field-programmable gate array) may be used to perform some or all of the functions of the methods described in the present disclosure. The field-programmable gate array may operate in conjunction with a microprocessor to perform one of the methods described in the present disclosure. In general, the methods are preferably performed by some hardware device.

[0197] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims below.

Claims

As a method of base station, A step of transmitting a UE capability query signal to the UE (user equipment) requesting first antenna configuration information of the UE for changing the antenna element spacing; and A step of receiving a UE capability information signal including the first antenna setting information from the UE, The first antenna configuration information includes at least one of information on the antenna element spacing of the UE, information indicating whether the UE supports an antenna element ON / OFF function, or information on the number of antenna elements of the UE. Base station method. In claim 1, A step of measuring a change in distance between the base station and the UE; and Further comprising a step of determining whether to perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing based on the change in the distance. Base station method. In claim 2, Based on the communication performance between the base station and the UE being below a reference threshold, the base station determines whether to perform the change procedure based on the distance change. Base station method. In claim 2, Based on the reception of a BFR (beam failure recovery) request from the UE, the base station determines whether to perform the change procedure based on the distance change. Base station method. In claim 1, Further comprising a step of determining a communication node among the base station and the UE that performs the change procedure based on the procedure of changing the antenna element spacing being performed. Base station method. In claim 5, Based on the above UE not supporting the antenna element on / off function, the communication node performing the change procedure is determined to be the base station. Base station method. In claim 5, The UE supports the antenna element on / off function, and based on the fact that a communication performance higher than a reference threshold is obtained when the change procedure is performed only at the base station, the communication node performing the change procedure is determined to be the base station. Base station method. In claim 5, The communication node performing the change procedure is determined to be the base station and the UE, based on the fact that the UE supports the antenna element on / off function and that communication performance exceeding a reference threshold is not obtained when the change procedure is performed only at the base station. Base station method. In claim 1, Further comprising a step of determining a communication node that preferentially performs the change procedure among the base station and the UE based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed at the base station and the UE. Base station method. In claim 1, A step of transmitting second antenna setting information of the base station and distance information between the base station and the UE to the UE based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed in the UE; and Further comprising a step of receiving information on the changed antenna element spacing based on the first antenna setting information, the second antenna setting information, and the distance information from the UE. Base station method. In claim 1, Further comprising a step of changing the antenna element spacing based on the first antenna setting information, the second antenna setting information of the base station, and the distance information between the base station and the UE, based on the procedure of changing the antenna element spacing being performed at the base station. Base station method. As a method of UE (user equipment), A step of receiving a UE capability query signal from a base station requesting first antenna configuration information of the UE for changing the antenna element spacing; and A step of transmitting a UE capability information signal including the first antenna setting information to the base station, The first antenna configuration information includes at least one of information on the antenna element spacing of the UE, information indicating whether the UE supports an antenna element ON / OFF function, or information on the number of antenna elements of the UE. UE's method. In claim 12, Further comprising the step of transmitting a beam failure recovery (BFR) request to the base station based on the detection of a beam failure for the base station, The procedure for changing the antenna element spacing is triggered by the BFR request. UE's method. In claim 12, A step of receiving second antenna setting information of the base station and distance information between the base station and the UE from the base station based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed in the UE; A step of changing the antenna element spacing based on the first antenna setting information, the second antenna setting information, and the distance information; and Further comprising the step of transmitting information on the changed antenna element spacing to the base station, UE's method. As a base station, Contains at least one processor, At least one processor of the base station, Transmitting a UE capability query signal to the UE (user equipment) requesting first antenna configuration information of the UE to change the antenna element spacing; and Causes the UE to receive a UE capability information signal including the first antenna configuration information from the UE, The first antenna configuration information includes at least one of information on the antenna element spacing of the UE, information indicating whether the UE supports an antenna element ON / OFF function, or information on the number of antenna elements of the UE. Base station. In claim 15, At least one processor of the base station, Measure the change in distance between the base station and the UE; and Further causing a determination to be made as to whether to perform a procedure for changing the antenna element spacing based on the change in the distance. Base station. In claim 15, At least one processor of the base station, Further causing a communication node among the base station and the UE to perform the change procedure based on the change procedure of the antenna element spacing being performed. Base station. In claim 15, At least one processor of the base station, Further causing a communication node to be determined to preferentially perform the change procedure among the base station and the UE based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed at the base station and the UE. Base station. In claim 15, At least one processor of the base station, Based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed in the UE, transmitting the second antenna setting information of the base station and the distance information between the base station and the UE to the UE; and Further causing the UE to receive information on the changed antenna element spacing based on the first antenna setting information, the second antenna setting information, and the distance information. Base station. In claim 15, At least one processor of the base station, Further causing the antenna element spacing to be changed based on the first antenna setting information, the second antenna setting information of the base station, and the distance information between the base station and the UE, based on the procedure for changing the antenna element spacing being performed at the base station. Base station.

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