UE Beam Selection for Multi-TRP Wireless Communication

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless communication systems, particularly in multi-transmit receive point (TRP) deployments, face challenges in efficiently selecting and configuring beams for communication, leading to suboptimal performance and increased interference due to the lack of explicit configuration information for uplink beams.

Innovation Solution

User equipment (UE) determines a set of beams for communication with multiple TRPs by analyzing downlink control information (DCI) configurations, transmission configuration indicator (TCI) codepoint mappings, and TRP indices, allowing it to select appropriate beams for SRS and PUCCH transmissions even when explicit uplink beam indications are not provided.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If explicit uplink beam indication configuration is provided for each TRP, then beam selection accuracy is improved, but device complexity and configuration overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebeam selection accuracyVSAvoidconfiguration overhead
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The UE autonomously determines uplink beams by self-service mechanisms: it identifies TRPs through downlink reference signals, selects corresponding beams based on stored associations, and performs transmissions without requiring explicit network configuration for each uplink beam. This reduces configuration overhead while maintaining beam selection accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

Downlink reference signals and TCI state configurations serve as intermediaries that indirectly indicate uplink beam selections. The network configures downlink beam associations, and the UE uses these as mediators to derive uplink beam choices, avoiding direct uplink beam configuration while ensuring accurate beam selection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Device complexity

If dynamic beam determination is implemented without explicit configuration, then configuration overhead is reduced, but reliability of beam selection may deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconfiguration overheadVSAvoidbeam selection reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The UE performs preliminary actions by pre-storing associations between downlink reference signals, TCI states, and uplink beams during configuration phases. When actual uplink transmission is needed, the UE reliably determines the appropriate beam by recalling these pre-established associations, ensuring consistent and reliable beam selection without real-time explicit configuration.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where the network configures downlink reference signals with specific TCI states that encode beam information. The UE receives these downlink signals, extracts beam indications through feedback processing, and reliably determines uplink beams based on the received configuration feedback, ensuring accurate and reliable beam selection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP4038746B1Beam selection for communication in a multi-transmit-receive point deployment
Publication Date: 2024.01.03 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP4038746B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4038746B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4038746B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may determine a set of beams, for which a corresponding uplink beam indication is not configured, associated with a set of transmit-receive points (TRPs) based at least in part on at least one of a downlink control information (DCI) configuration, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) codepoint mapping, a control resource set (CORESET) configuration, or a TRP index, wherein the set of beams includes a sounding reference signal (SRS) beam or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) beam. The UE may communicate with the set of TRPs using the set of beams based at least in part on determining the set of beams. Numerous other aspects are provided.