CN109417415B

CN109417415B - System and method for confirming beam switching

Info

Publication number: CN109417415B
Application number: CN201780041161.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 昌文婷; 牛华宁; 朱源; 张羽书; 唐扬; S·帕瓦尔; 苗洪雷; 熊岗
Original assignee: Apple Inc
Current assignee: Apple Inc
Priority date: 2016-07-11
Filing date: 2017-07-11
Publication date: 2022-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2037-07-11
Also published as: WO2018013596A1; CN109417415A; CN115225127A

Abstract

An apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) is described. The apparatus may include a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit may be operable to: processing Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam. The second circuit may be operable to: generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator. The apparatus may also include an interface to input DCI to one or more processors of the apparatus and to output an acknowledgement transmission to the transmit circuitry.

Description

System and method for confirming beam switching

Priority requirement

This application claims priority from patent Cooperation treaty International patent application No. PCT/CN2016/097600 filed on

day

31, 8, 2016, and from U.S. provisional patent application Serial No. 62/382,089 filed on

day

31, 8, 2016, and from patent Cooperation treaty International patent application No. PCT/CN2016/089666 filed on

day

11, 7, 2016, and from U.S. provisional patent application Serial No. 62/377,296 filed on

day

19, 8, 2016, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Background

A variety of wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented, including third generation partnership project (3GPP) universal mobile telecommunications systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, and 3GPP LTE-advanced (LTE-a) systems. Next generation wireless cellular communication systems (e.g., fifth generation (5G) wireless systems/5G mobile network systems) based on LTE and LTE-a are being developed. Next generation wireless cellular communication systems may provide support for higher data rates.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network, comprising one or more processors to: processing first downlink control information, DCI, received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and generating an acknowledgement signal for the second UE beam for transmission to the base station based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement signal is a sounding reference signal, SRS. The apparatus further comprises an interface for: inputting the first DCI and the second DCI to the one or more processors, and outputting the acknowledgement signal to transmit circuitry.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, an apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network is provided, comprising one or more processors to: processing first downlink control information, DCI, received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission. The apparatus further comprises an interface for: inputting the first DCI and the second DCI to the one or more processors and outputting the acknowledgement transmission to transmit circuitry.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a user equipment UE comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touch screen display, the UE comprising the apparatus described in the above embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for confirming beam switching, including: for a User Equipment (UE), processing first Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for confirming beam switching, including: for a User Equipment (UE), processing first Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; wherein the acknowledgement signal is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel State information reference Signal, CSI-RS, transmission.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network, the apparatus comprising: means for processing first downlink control information, DCI, received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; means for processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and means for generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network, the apparatus comprising: means for processing first downlink control information, DCI, received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; means for processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and means for generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus of a base station operable to communicate with a user equipment, UE, over a wireless network, comprising one or more processors to: generating first downlink control information, DCI, for a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission. The apparatus further comprises an interface for: outputting the first DCI and the second DCI from the one or more processors and inputting the acknowledgement transmission from a receive circuit.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus of a base station operable to communicate with a user equipment, UE, over a wireless network, comprising one or more processors to: generating first downlink control information, DCI, for a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission; and an interface for: outputting the first DCI and the second DCI from the one or more processors and inputting the acknowledgement transmission from a receive circuit.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and an interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, the base station comprising the apparatus of the base station operable to communicate with a UE over a wireless network as described in the previous embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for confirming beam switching, including: for a base station, generating first Downlink Control Information (DCI) for a first User Equipment (UE) beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for confirming beam switching, including: for a base station, generating first Downlink Control Information (DCI) for a first User Equipment (UE) beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; generating a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission for the first UE beam, generating a second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal of a beam switch to the second UE beam, processing an acknowledgement transmission, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus of a base station operable to communicate with a user equipment, UE, over a wireless network, comprising: means for generating first downlink control information, DCI, for a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; means for generating a second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and means for processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission or wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the disclosure. However, while the drawings are intended to aid in explanation and understanding, they are merely intended to aid in this disclosure and should not be construed as limiting the disclosure to the particular embodiments described herein.

Fig. 1 illustrates synchronized beam switching according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission for acknowledging beam switching, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for acknowledging beam switching, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmissions for acknowledging beam switching, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates User Equipment (UE) transmission of an SR signal in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates UE transmission of SRS together with 2 bits of assistance information according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates initial beam acquisition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates beam management based on omni-directional Beam Refinement Reference Signals (BRRS) and beamformed SRS, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates BRRS beam management based on omni-directional SRS and beamforming, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 illustrates a multiple narrow beam layout according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates beam numbering with respect to the zenith angle of departure (ZoD) and azimuth angle of departure (AoD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 illustrates beam mapping to Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) time and frequency resources according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 illustrates a beam mapping for implicitly indicating inter-subset beam correlation, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 illustrates relative performance of coherent combining of beams between correlated subsets according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 illustrates a beam mapping for implicitly indicating inter-subset beam correlation, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 illustrates a beam mapping for implicitly indicating beam correlation between subsets, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 illustrates correlation associations between intra-subset beams and inter-subset beams according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 18 illustrates an evolved node b (enb) and a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 19 illustrates hardware processing circuitry of a UE for acknowledgment beamforming in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 20 illustrates hardware processing circuitry of an eNB for acknowledgment beamforming in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 21 illustrates a method for acknowledgment beamforming by a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 22 illustrates a method for acknowledgment beamforming by an eNB in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 23 illustrates example components of a device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 24 illustrates an example interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Various wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented or are being proposed, including 3 rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, 3GPP LTE advanced (LTE-a) system, and 5 th generation wireless system/5 th generation mobile network (5G) system/5 th generation new air interface (NR) system.

With respect to various embodiments, in a forthcoming 5G system, high frequency bands may be employed to support higher user experience data rates. In the high frequency band, beamforming may include transmit side (Tx) beamforming and receive side (Rx) beamforming, and may be applied to increase beamforming gain. Furthermore, increased beamforming gain may advantageously compensate for severe path loss that may be associated with high frequency bands, and may also advantageously suppress mutual user interference.

In a beamforming system, Tx beams and Rx beams may be paired and aligned to the same channel cluster. For a wireless link between an eNB and a UE, there may be multiple clusters of channels, which may be due to reflection, diffraction, or both. On the evolved node b (enb) side of the link, the Tx beams may be aligned with the azimuth of departure (AoD) and/or the zenith angle of departure (ZoD) of the strongest channel cluster. Similarly, on the User Equipment (UE) side of the link, the Rx beam may be aligned with the azimuth of arrival (AoA) and/or zenith angle of arrival (ZoA) of the strongest channel cluster. Movement of the UE, or rotation of the UE, or changes in the surrounding environment may cause the strongest cluster of channels to change. The Tx beam and Rx beam pairs may then be set to switch, which may advantageously help enable transmission on the strongest cluster of channels.

A beamforming switch indicator or Beam Refinement Reference Signal (BRRS) may be configured by the eNB to enable synchronous switching of eNB and UE beams. However, such handover information may be lost due to, for example, a detection failure or indicator of Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a demodulation failure of BRRS. If smooth beam switching is performed, the eNB and the UE may still communicate with each other based on a slightly degraded channel. However, in cases involving sudden beam switching, the link quality may be severely degraded and (more seriously) the link may be interrupted.

Discussed herein are mechanisms and methods for acknowledging beam switches. In some embodiments, the Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) may be an acknowledgement signal. For some embodiments, the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) may be an acknowledgement signal. In some embodiments, the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) may be an acknowledgement signal.

With respect to various embodiments, in a cellular communication system, a UE may use a Scheduling Request (SR) to request Uplink (UL) shared channel (UL-SCH) resources for a new transmission. The SR channel may be designed for cellular systems operating in the mid to high frequency bands. In high frequency band communication systems (e.g., millimeter wave (mmWave) systems), designing the SR channel can be challenging because both UL transmission and UL reception can be set for beamforming, which can advantageously overcome the significant path loss that may typically be experienced at those higher frequencies. For example, with respect to SR transmission, while the UE may use an Rx beam from acquisition of a Downlink (DL) beam acquisition signal (e.g., a synchronization signal or a beam refinement signal) (assuming channel reciprocity), the eNB may not know the UL Rx beam to detect the SR channel.

Discussed herein are mechanisms and methods for efficiently and reliably detecting SRs from multiple UEs while simultaneously supporting low latency operation, even when the eNB does not know the UL Rx beam (or beams) for the SR channel.

In high-band communication systems, both Tx beamforming and Rx beamforming during UL channel transmission (e.g., SR channel) may facilitate successful communication. In various embodiments, the UE-specific subcarrier sub-samples may be carefully selected for the SR channel. The frequency domain sub-sampling may result in a repeated time domain signal for each transmitting UE. The multiple time domain copies may provide the eNB with the opportunity to perform beam scanning using multiple Rx beams and find the appropriate Rx beam. The sub-carrier sub-sampling may further provide additional UE multiplexing resources, thus supporting eNB Rx beam scanning without wasting UL resources.

The mechanisms and methods may be compatible with other forms of UE multiplexing (e.g., Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), using orthogonal sequences over time or cyclic shift-based multiplexing in the frequency domain, etc.). The mechanisms and methods may be applied to guard interval discrete fourier transform spread spectrum orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (GI-DFT-s-OFDM) based systems. For example, the mechanisms and methods may also be applied to other types of multicarrier waveform based systems (e.g., Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) based systems or zero-tail discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (ZT-DFT-s-OFDM) based systems). In some embodiments, the methods and mechanisms may also be applied to SR design for mid-to-high band mmWave systems with GI-DFT-s-OFDM waveforms and/or implicit beam training (e.g., eNB Rx beam training over UL Random Access Channel (RACH) and/or SRS signaling without explicit UE beamforming reference signal received power (BRS-RP) feedback).

With respect to various embodiments, mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to current integrated communication platforms. The 5G system can provide access to information and data sharing by various users and applications anytime and anywhere. 5G may provide a unified network and/or system for very different and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. This diverse multidimensional demand is driven by different services and applications.

In general, 5G systems may evolve from 3GPP LTE-a systems with additional potential new Radio Access Technologies (RATs) to facilitate simpler and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. 5G may enable many services over wireless technology connections and may deliver fast, rich content and services.

In a high-band wireless system, beamforming including an eNB side and a UE side may be performed to compensate for severe path loss. On the DL side, a beam may be associated with a Beamforming Reference Signal (BRS), and a beam related indicator may be referred to as a BRS index number. However, for some systems, a BRS may not exist.

Discussed herein are mechanisms and methods for beam acquisition and management without BRS. Some embodiments may include initial beam acquisition based on a synchronization signal and a PRACH. Some embodiments may include BRRS and SRS based beam management.

With respect to various embodiments, beamforming may be applied in order to compensate for severe path loss. Multiple beams with narrow beamwidths may cover an area. Between these beams, neighboring beams may have high correlation with each other, which may enable the UE to achieve fast beam acquisition based on better link reliability. This feature may be used to divide the beams into subsets, which may enable hierarchical beam searching and may reduce latency for beam acquisition. In addition to subset partitioning, the beam pattern of the NW beams may be further refined to support beam correlation that may be implicitly configured by the beam pattern. In this way, coherent beam combining may be supported and BRS-RP reporting based on instantaneous value changes between highly correlated beams may be advantageously avoided.

Discussed herein are mechanisms and methods for informing a UE of the correlation between different beams based on beam pattern design. In some embodiments, the beam pattern layout may indicate beam correlation between subsets. For some embodiments, the beam pattern layout may indicate beam correlation within a subset.

In the following description, numerous details are discussed to provide a more thorough explanation of embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, but not in detail, in order to avoid obscuring embodiments of the present disclosure.

Note that in the corresponding drawings of the embodiments, signals are represented by straight lines. Some straight lines may be thicker to indicate a greater number of constituent signal paths, and/or have arrows at one or more ends to indicate the direction of information flow. These indications are not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, straight lines are used in connection with one or more exemplary embodiments to facilitate easier understanding of a circuit or logic unit. Any represented signal specified by design requirements or preferences may include one or more signals that may travel in virtually any direction and may be implemented with any suitable type of signal scheme.

Throughout the specification, and in the claims, the term "connected" means a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection between the things that are connected, without any intermediate device. The term "coupled" means a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection between the various items connected, or an indirect connection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices. The term "circuit" or "module" may refer to one or more passive or active components arranged to cooperate with each other to provide a desired function. The term "signal" may refer to at least one current signal, voltage signal, magnetic signal, or data/clock signal. The meaning of "a", "an", and "the" includes plural references. The meaning of "in … …" includes "in … …" and "on … …".

The terms "substantially", "close", "approximately", "close" and "approximately" generally refer to being within +/-10% of a target value. Unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", and "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.

The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrases "a and/or B" and "a or B" mean (a), (B), or (a and B). For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "A, B and/or C" means (a), (B), (C), (a and B), (a and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

Furthermore, the various elements of combinational AND sequential logic discussed in this disclosure may belong to a physical structure (e.g., an AND gate, an OR gate, OR an XOR gate), OR to a set of synthesized OR optimized devices that implement a logical structure equivalent to the boolean algebra of the logic in question.

Further, for purposes of this disclosure, the term "eNB" may refer to a legacy LTE capable eNB, a next generation 5G capable eNB (which may be referred to as a gNB), a millimeter wave (mmWave) capable eNB or mmWave small cell, an Access Point (AP), and/or another Base Station (BS) for a wireless communication system. For purposes of this disclosure, the term "UE" may refer to a legacy LTE capable UE, a next generation or 5G capable UE, a mmWave capable UE, a Station (STA), and/or another mobile device for a wireless communication system.

Various embodiments of the eNB and/or UE discussed below may process one or more transmissions of various types. Some processing of the transmission may include demodulating, decoding, detecting, parsing, and/or handling the transmission that has been received. In some embodiments, the eNB or UE processing the transmission may determine or organize the type and/or conditions of the transmission associated with the transmission. For some embodiments, the eNB or UE handling the transmission may act according to the type of transmission and/or may act conditionally based on the type of transmission. The eNB or UE handling the transmission may also organize one or more values or fields of the data carried by the transmission. Processing the transmission may include: for example, transmissions that have been received by an eNB or UE are moved through one or more layers of a protocol stack by moving the transmissions through one or more layers of the protocol stack (which may be implemented in, for example, hardware and/or software configured elements).

Various embodiments of the eNB and/or UE discussed below may also generate one or more transmissions of various types. Some generation of the transmission includes: the transmission to be sent is modulated, encoded, formatted, assembled, and/or handled. In some embodiments, the eNB or UE generating the transmission may establish the type and/or conditions of the transmission associated with the transmission. For some embodiments, the eNB or UE generating the transmission may act according to the type of transmission and/or may act conditionally based on the type of transmission. The eNB or UE generating the transmission may also determine one or more values or fields of the data carried by the transmission. Generating the transmission may include: for example, transmissions to be sent by an eNB or UE are moved through one or more layers of a protocol stack (which may be implemented in, for example, hardware and/or software configured elements).

In various embodiments, the resources may span various Resource Blocks (RBs), Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), and/or time periods (e.g., frames, subframes, and/or slots) of the wireless communication system. In some contexts, allocated resources (e.g., channels, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFMD) symbols, subcarrier frequencies, Resource Elements (REs), and/or portions thereof) may be formatted for transmission (and then) over a wireless communication link. In other contexts, allocated resources (e.g., channels, OFDM symbols, subcarrier frequencies, REs, and/or portions thereof) may be detected from (and subsequently to) reception over a wireless communication link.

Fig. 1 illustrates synchronized beam switching according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Scenario 100 may include a set of traffic 110 on a wireless communication link between an eNB and a UE. The traffic 110 may include DCI 112. Based on the beam switching indicator carried by the DCI 112, the UE may be in a number of subframes N, which may be a predetermined number₁And then from the first UE beam 121 to the second UE beam 122. (the first UE beam 121 and/or the second UE beam 122 may be a UE Tx beam, a UE Rx beam, or both). The DCI 112 may be configured by the eNB.

Scenario 150 may include a set of traffic 160 on a wireless communication link between an eNB and a UE. The traffic 160 may include DCI 162 and/or BRRS 163. Based on BRRS 163, the UE may be in a number of subframes N, which may be a predetermined number₁And then from the first UE beam 171 to the second UE beam 172. (the first UE beam 121 and/or the second UE beam 122 may be a UE Tx beam, a UE Rx beam, or both). BRRS 163 may be configured by the eNB.

Accordingly, the beamforming switch indicator (e.g., via DCI) and/or BRRS may be configured by the eNB to implement beam switching synchronously. The DCI or BRRS may be configured by the eNB, and the UE may be at N₁Switching from a first beam to a new second beam after a subframe, wherein N is reserved₁The number of subframes may enable the UE to have sufficient processing time.

Fig. 2 illustrates SRS transmission for acknowledging beam switching according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Scenario 200 may include a set of traffic 210 on a wireless communication link between an eNB and a UE. Traffic 210 may include DCI 212, which may configure or indicate that SRS may be used as an acknowledgement signal and may also include triggers for SRS. The SRS 213, which may be a 5G SRS (xssrs), may follow the DCI 212.

Multiple subframes N after DCI 212₁The UE may transition from the first UE beam 221 to the second UE beam 222 and may transmit the SRS 213 after switching beams. (the first UE beam 221 and/or the second UE beam 222 may be a UE Tx beam, a UE Rx beam, or both). In this way, the SRS may be transmitted based on the new UE beam (which may be repeated), which may enable the eNB to optimize the receive beam when applying the new UE beam.

Scenario 250 may include a set of traffic 260 on a wireless communication link between an eNB and a UE. Traffic 260 may include a first DCI 262 that may configure or indicate that SRS may be used as an acknowledgement signal. Traffic 260 may also include a second DCI 264, which may include a trigger for SRS. SRS 265, which may be a 5G SRS (xssrs), may follow the second DCI 264.

May be at N of a subframe in which the first DCI 262 is transmitted₁The second DCI 264 is transmitted within the subframe. The UE may transition from the first UE beam 271 to the second UE beam 272 and may transmit the SRS 265 after switching beams. (the first UE beam 271 and/or the second UE beam 272 may be a UE Tx beam, a UE Rx beam, or both). In this way, the SRS may be transmitted based on the new UE beam (which may be repeated), which may enable the eNB to optimize the receive beam when applying the new UE beam.

For some embodiments of case 200 and/or case 250, N₁May be a predetermined number. In various embodiments of scenario 200 and/or scenario 250, the eNB may estimate Channel State Information (CSI), may derive Channel Quality Information (CQI) using channel reciprocity, and/or may assign an appropriate Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) for the UE, which may advantageously save CQI reporting overhead.

Fig. 3 illustrates CSI-RS transmissions for acknowledging beam switching, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Scenario 300 may include a set of traffic 310 on a wireless communication link between an eNB and a UE. Traffic 310 may include DCI 312, which may configure or indicate that CQI reporting may be used as an acknowledgement and may also include triggers for CQI reporting. CSI-RS 313 may follow DCI 312 and CQI report 315 may follow CSI-RS 313.

Multiple subframes N after DCI 312₁The UE may transition from the first UE beam 321 to the second UE beam 322 and may send the CQI report 315 after switching beams. (the first UE beam 321 and/or the second UE beam 322 may be a UE Tx beam, a UE Rx beam, or both). In this way, CQI reports may be sent based on the new UE beam, which may enable the eNB to optimize the receive beam when the new UE beam is applied. The CSI-RS may be transmitted via a Tx beam corresponding to the current best Rx beam.

Scenario 350 may include a set of traffic 360 on a wireless communication link between the eNB and the UE. Traffic 360 may include a first DCI 362 that may configure or indicate that a CQI report may be used as an acknowledgement. The traffic 360 may also include a second DCI 364, which may include triggers for CQI reporting. The CSI-RS 365 may follow the second DCI 364 and the CQI report 367 may follow the CSI-RS 365.

May be in N of a subframe in which the first DCI 362 is transmitted₁The second DCI 364 is transmitted within a subframe. The UE may transition from the first UE beam 371 to the second UE beam 372 and may send a CQI report 367 after switching beams. (the first UE beam 371 and/or the second UE beam 372 may be a UE Tx beam, a UE Rx beam, or both). In this way, CQI reports 367 may be sent based on the new UE beam, which may enable the eNB to optimize the receive beam when the new UE beam is applied.

In case 300 and/or case 500, the UE may measure the CSI-RS using the new Rx beam direction and may feed back the CQI to the eNB. In this way, successful CQI feedback may serve as an acknowledgement for the beam-to-switch. The eNB may then schedule data transmission using the new beam direction.

Fig. 4 illustrates PRACH transmission for acknowledging beam switching, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Scenario 400 may include a set of traffic 410 on a wireless communication link between an eNB and a UE. Traffic 410 may include DCI 412, which may configure or indicate that PRACH transmission may be used as an acknowledgement. The PRACH 413, which may be a 5G PRACH (xPRACH), may follow the DCI 412.

The UE may then transition from the first UE beam 421 to the second UE beam 422. (the first UE beam 421 and/or the second UE beam 422 may be a UE Tx beam, a UE Rx beam, or both). The time and/or frequency location of the PRACH 413 may be associated with a preferred Tx beam. For example, if the current receive beam on the UE side matches a first Tx beam (e.g., an eNB Tx beam), the time and/or frequency location for PRACH 413 may be derived based on the time and/or frequency location associated with the first Tx beam. This identification may advantageously allow to avoid additional control signaling for triggering the acknowledgement and/or confirmation. The UE may then switch to a new receive beam after transmitting PRACH 413 (which may postpone beam switching).

With respect to various embodiments, in a cellular communication system, a UE may use SR for requesting UL Shared Channel (SCH) resources for a new transmission. In high-band communication systems, both Tx beamforming and Rx beamforming during UL channel transmission may facilitate successful communication. Thus, for transmission of scheduling requests, and assuming channel reciprocity, the UE may receive the beam thus obtained thus far with the latest best DL for Tx beamforming. Although this may address the processing for Tx beamforming, the eNB may not know the best Rx beam for SR reception and may be set to do Rx beam scanning. To facilitate Rx beam scanning at the eNB, multiple copies of the SR may be transmitted by the UE within an OFDM symbol. The eNB may then scan multiple Rx beams and may attempt to detect all transmitted SRs (since more than one UE may transmit an SR at a given time). The replication of the transmitted SR signal may be achieved by sub-sampling of the available sub-carriers. In some embodiments, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence may be used to transmit the SR.

Fig. 5 illustrates UE transmission of an SR signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In case 500 where the UE transmits the SR signal, N_ZCThe length ZC sequence may be used in transmitting SR signals. The total number of subcarriers used for transmission may be greater than or equal toN_ZCNumber N of_SC. The subcarrier mapping circuitry 512 may load ZC symbols (subsamples) on every fourth subcarrier 514 to achieve 4 repetitions of the SR signal in one symbol duration 516 (e.g., OFDM symbol duration).

No further modification may be employed for the GI-DFT-s-OFDM waveform and/or the ZT-DFT-OFDM waveform. For cyclic prefix based transmission, e.g., OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM, a cyclic prefix may be added to the symbol to obtain a final symbol with a CP. The eNB may then try four different Rx beams to detect the SR signal.

By using a modulated ZC sequence with constellation symbols (e.g., Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM), etc.), a Buffer Status Report (BSR) or other additional scheduling request related information may be transmitted along with the SR signal, which may advantageously reduce transmission delay. Note that when the additional information is transmitted together with the SR signal, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) may be transmitted for coherent demodulation of data. The subcarriers used by the data-modulated ZC sequence and the DMRS may be the same.

Fig. 6 illustrates UE transmission of SRS together with 2 bits of assistance information according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In case 600, the UE may transmit 2 bits of assistance information together with the SR signal. N is a radical of_ZCThe length ZC sequence may be used to transmit an SR signal. The total number of subcarriers used for transmission may be greater than or equal to N_ZCNumber N of_SC. The subcarrier mapping circuitry 612 may load ZC symbols (sub-samples) on every fourth subcarrier 614 to achieve 4 repetitions of the SR signal in one symbol duration (e.g., OFDM symbol duration) 616.

The DMRS signal may occupy the same set of subcarriers (e.g., every 4 th subcarrier) as the data. The subcarrier mapping circuitry 622 may load corresponding symbols (subsamples) on every fourth subcarrier 624 to achieve 4 repetitions of the DMRS signal in one symbol duration (e.g., OFDM symbol duration) 626. In some embodiments, symbol duration 626 may be the same OFDM symbol as symbol duration 616. The eNB may then attempt four different Rx beams to detect the SR signal and coherently decode the additional information.

In general, the subcarriers used for SR signal transmission may not be at the edge of the system bandwidth. The offset in occupied subcarriers for SR signal transmission may result in a known phase tilt in the time domain SR signal, which may be properly compensated for by the eNB. Similarly, the sub-sampling factor (e.g., 4 as in case 500 and case 600), the number of times the SR signal may repeat per OFDM symbol may be configured by the eNB using control messaging.

Regarding multiplexing of UEs within an SR channel, scheduling requests from multiple UEs may be multiplexed together in one SR channel using various orthogonal resources. In a first set of embodiments, frequency division multiplexing may use cosets (cosset), which may be, for example, a set of subcarriers. SR information (with or without BSR) may occupy sub-sampled sub-carriers. The eNB may configure a plurality of cosets corresponding to a set of subcarriers. For example, in scenario 500 and/or scenario 600, there may be 4 potential cosets, where: coset Ci ═ subcarrier N_SC|i＝mod(N_SC4), for

i

0,1,2, 3. The UE may occupy coset-0.

In a second set of embodiments that include cyclic shifts of ZC sequences, ZC sequences may have ideal zero autocorrelation (e.g., have cyclically shifted versions thereof). In a given symbol, multiple UEs may be multiplexed by using the same ZC sequence, but with different cyclic shifts to modulate their SR data. The number of supported cyclic shifts may be configured by the eNB.

In a third set of embodiments involving code division multiplexing in time, the SR information may span multiple OFDM symbols (if advantageous and/or configured). In this case, additional orthogonal UE multiplexing may be achieved by modulating different OFDM symbols with orthogonal spreading codes. Frequency cosets that span the frequency hopping of the OFDM symbol may provide additional diversity gain.

In some embodiments, a method of wireless communication may include communication between a UE and a base station (e.g., a mmWave base station), including: an SR signal for requesting uplink resources when needed is generated by the UE. For some embodiments, the method may include: the UE identifies a transmission beam direction for the SR signal based on DL reference signals, e.g., a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), or DL beam refinement signals. In some embodiments, the generated SR signal may be repeated in the time domain to facilitate performing receive beam scanning at the BS to identify the best possible Rx beam for receiving the transmitted SR signal. For some embodiments, the UE may generate a repeated time domain SR signal using sub-sampled subcarriers configured by the BS.

In some embodiments, the UE may use the ZC sequence to generate the SR. For some embodiments, the SR may include additional related information (e.g., BSR) that may be transmitted by modulating the ZC sequence. In some embodiments, the DMRS may accompany the SR when sending a BSR for coherent demodulation of the BSR. For some embodiments, the DMRS signals may occupy the same subset of subcarriers as the modulated BSR. In some embodiments, the DMRS signal may be generated using a ZC sequence. For some embodiments, for the UL, different groups of sub-sampled subcarriers (e.g., cosets), cyclic-shifted and cyclic-spread versions of the same basic ZC sequence and/or orthogonal spreading codes may be assigned for different UEs across multiple OFDM symbols used for SR and BSR transmissions.

In some embodiments, the means for constructing and transmitting one or more signals (e.g., signals discussed herein) may be part of a UE implementation. The apparatus may include circuitry operable to identify an appropriate direction for transmitting the SR signal based on the channel reciprocity assumption and using the latest best available DL receive beam. The apparatus may also include circuitry operable to load an appropriately allocated ZC sequence or a modulated ZC sequence on a coset of allocated subcarriers. The apparatus may also include circuitry operable to accompany the SR signal transmission with a DMRS signal occupying the same subset of subcarriers for coherent demodulation of the SR and/or BSR. The apparatus may also include circuitry operable to perform coset hopping if configured by the base station.

For some embodiments, the means for receiving a signal (e.g., a signal discussed herein) may be part of a base station implementation. The apparatus may include circuitry operable to perform receive beam scanning to identify an optimal receive beam for the SR and/or BSR. The apparatus may additionally include circuitry operable to perform time and/or frequency filtering and correlation to distinguish SR signals from multiple UEs. The apparatus may also include circuitry operable to perform channel estimation based on the DMRS transmitted with the SR signal and use it for coherent demodulation and/or decoding of the BSR and other information transmitted by the UE as part of the SR signal.

With respect to various embodiments, fig. 7 illustrates initial beam acquisition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In act 710, the PSS and/or SSS may be repeatedly transmitted by multiple Transmission Points (TPs), which may provide additional SFN gain (e.g., single frequency network gain). The UE may then obtain timing information and may derive a UE beam based on the repeated synchronization signals. In act 720, based on the derived UE beam, the UE may repeatedly transmit a PRACH, which may be a 5G PRACH (xPRACH), which may enable the eNB to compute an eNB beam. In act 720, the eNB may then transmit a Random Access Response (RAR) based on the calculated eNB beam, and the UE may receive the RAR based on the derived UE beam.

In some embodiments, PSS transmitted by different TPs may be overlapping, which may improve the signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) of the synchronization signal. However, in case this operation is done with respect to UE beam scanning for a specific TP, PSS from different TPs may interfere with each other.

For some embodiments, omni-directional BRRS may be used for UE-side beam training, and BRRS may contain repeated signals with the same Tx beam. Since different TPs may transmit BRRS orthogonally in time and/or frequency and/or code domain, corresponding interference may be reduced or avoided, which may enable a UE to derive an accurate UE beam with respect to a particular TP.

Fig. 8 illustrates beam management for omni-directional BRRS and beamformed SRS based, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In a first act 810, the eNB may transmit an omni-directionally beamformed BRRS. The UE may perform beam scanning for omni-directionally beamformed BRRS. Then, in a second action 820, the UE may transmit SRS (which may be xssrs) based on the active UE beam and/or the candidate UE beam. Thus, the UE may derive the active UE beam and/or the candidate UE beam according to the channel conditions.

In some embodiments, the UE may report to the eNB that one UE beam (e.g., an active beam, or an active UE beam and a candidate UE beam) may be detected. For some embodiments, a simplified BRRS report may be introduced. For example, two bits may be reported, where a first value (e.g., "00") may indicate that one UE beam is detected, a second value (e.g., "01") may indicate two non-simultaneous UE beams, a third value (e.g., "10") may indicate two simultaneous UE beams, and/or a fourth value (e.g., "11") may be reserved. For some embodiments, the eNB may schedule one or two SRS resources to the UE depending on the reported number of detected candidate UE beams.

In some embodiments, the UE may transmit the SRS based on the active UE beam and/or the candidate UE beam, wherein the SRS may contain repeated signals with the same Tx beam. This may enable the eNB to compute a paired eNB beam.

For some embodiments, if two non-simultaneous UE beams are measured, two SRS resources may be configured in different time resources, where each SRS resource may correspond to an eNB measurement of one UE beam.

In some embodiments, if two simultaneous UE beams are measured, two SRS resources may be configured in different time and/or frequency and/or code resources, where each SRS resource may correspond to an eNB measurement of one UE beam.

For some embodiments, the SRS may be designed as a repeated signal within one OFDM symbol, or to cover multiple OFDM symbols, with one signal per OFDM symbol.

In some embodiments, the number of repeated OFDM symbols for SRS may be configured by the eNB.

For some embodiments, instead of omni-directional BRRS, another cell-specific repeating omni-directional reference signal (e.g., SSS and/or DMRS and/or ESS of a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)) may be utilized.

In some embodiments, a cell-specific omni-directional CSI-RS may be transmitted for UE beam training. For some embodiments, CSI-RS measurements may not be reported.

Fig. 9 illustrates BRRS beam management based on omni-directional SRS and beamforming, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In a first act 910, the UE may transmit an omni-directional SRS (which may be an xSRS). The SRS may be a repeating signal that may enable the eNB to determine one active eNB beam and/or one candidate eNB beam based on the omni-directional SRS. Then, in a second action 920, the eNB may transmit BRRS for the active eNB beam and/or the candidate eNB beam for UE-side beam training. Since different UEs may orthogonally transmit SRS in the time and/or frequency domain and/or code domain, corresponding interference may advantageously be reduced or avoided, which may enable the eNB to derive a more accurate eNB beam.

In some embodiments, if the UE is equipped with two panels, the UE may be configured with two SRS resources (which may be orthogonal to each other in time and/or frequency and/or code domain). In some embodiments, the eNB may transmit BRRS with the active eNB beam and/or the candidate eNB beam, and may configure a BRRS format for the UE so that the UE may prepare to train one or both UE beams.

For some embodiments, a new BRRS format may be introduced, which may be indicated by the BRRS format. For example, a 2-bit indicator may be employed, where a first value (e.g., "00") may indicate one beam training, a second value (e.g., "01") may indicate non-simultaneous UE beam training, a third value (e.g., "10") may indicate simultaneous UE beam training, and a fourth value (e.g., "11") may be reserved.

In some embodiments, if BRRS is used for non-simultaneous UE beam training, different BRRS formats may be configured at different time resources; otherwise, for some embodiments, different BRRS formats may be configured at different time and/or frequency and/or code domain resources.

For some embodiments, the UE may report one or two BRRS reports to the eNB such that the eNB may maintain the paired active eNB/UE beam and/or candidate eNB/UE beam.

In some embodiments, the triggering for omni-directional SRS may be configured by the eNB. Alternatively, a trigger for omni-directional SRs may be requested by SR (via the UE), or by PRACH (which may be xPRACH) via the UE, or via the anchor network.

With respect to various embodiments, fig. 10 illustrates a multiple narrow beam layout according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The plurality of beams 1000 having narrow beamwidths may cover a region having a horizontal angular span from 0 degrees to 120 degrees and a vertical angular span from 45 degrees to 135 degrees, wherein each beam may have a relatively narrow beamwidth oriented toward a different azimuth and/or zenith angle. The eNB may apply these beams to specific reference signals (e.g., BRSs) so that the UE may acquire one or more preferred beam candidates.

Fig. 11 illustrates beam numbering for ZoD and AoD according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The plurality of beams 1110 may correspond to a plurality of beam subsets 1120. Beams 1110 may have different zods and/or aods.

In fig. 11, three beam subsets may be generated, for example, by an eNB. Any beam may be encompassed by one subset, and each subset may cover the entire space (e.g., the space around the eNB) with sparse spatial granularity. The UE may then employ one Rx beam to scan a subset, rather than all Narrow Width (NW) beams.

Fig. 12 illustrates beam mapping onto OFDM time and frequency resources according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The plurality of beams 1210 may correspond to a plurality of beam subsets 1220. Beams 1210 may correspond to various frequency domain resources (e.g., one or more subcarriers) and/or time domain resources (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols).

In mapping beams to frequency domain resources and/or time domain resources, each subset may cover four consecutive OFDM symbols, and four beams within the same subset may be configured (on a four-panel basis) on one OFDM symbol. As shown in the various figures herein, one BRS Antenna Port (AP) may occupy one frequency sub-band, and different BRS APs may be multiplexed in a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) manner; the proposed design can also be extended directly to the case where BRS APs are transmitted in a block interleaved manner.

Fig. 13 illustrates a beam mapping for implicitly indicating inter-subset beam correlation, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The plurality of beams 1310 may correspond to a plurality of beam subsets 1320. Beams 1310 may correspond to various frequency domain resources (e.g., one or more subcarriers) and/or time domain resources (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols).

In some embodiments, beams belonging to different subsets with high correlation may be associated with each other, which may advantageously facilitate the UE to perform coherent combining on those beams.

For some embodiments, the association may be indicated implicitly. For an inter-subset beam subset, beams on the same subcarriers but on different OFDM symbols with fixed OFDM offsets (e.g., beams in similar subcarriers and frequency positions within different subsets) may be highly correlated beams. As depicted in fig. 13, for example, beam number 1 in subset 1, beam #27 in subset 2, and beam #12 in subset 3 may be highly correlated with each other.

Fig. 14 illustrates relative performance of coherent combining of beams between correlated subsets according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The first performance 1410 may correspond to beamformed transmission and omni-directional reception, while the second performance 1420 may correspond to combined beamformed transmission and omni-directional reception.

The performance of coherent combining of beams between subsets can be simulated and evaluated. For example, as shown in fig. 14, coherent combining may provide a beam energy gain of approximately 2 decibels (dB).

Fig. 15 illustrates a beam mapping for implicitly indicating beam correlation between subsets, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The plurality of beams 1510 may correspond to a plurality of beam subsets 1520. Beams 1510 may correspond to various frequency domain resources (e.g., one or more subcarriers) and/or time domain resources (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols).

In some embodiments, related beams belonging to different subsets may be mapped to shifted Resource Blocks (RBs) and/or portions (e.g., subsets) of resource blocks to obtain potential frequency diversity.

For some embodiments, the OFDM offset and the frequency offset may be predefined or predetermined in the specification, or may be configured by higher layers via a Master Information Block (MIB), a 5G MIB (xMIB), a System Information Block (SIB), and/or a 5G SIB (xSIB). This may also be determined by a synchronization signal (e.g., PSS or SSS).

Fig. 16 illustrates a beam mapping for implicitly indicating inter-subset beam correlation, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The plurality of beams 1610 may correspond to a plurality of beam subsets 1620. Beams 1610 may correspond to various frequency domain resources (e.g., one or more subcarriers) and/or time domain resources (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols).

During BRS measurements, the BRS-RP of the instantaneous beam can be dynamically changed. This phenomenon may be more frequent for highly correlated beams. For example, in one sub-frame, the BRS-RP of the first beam (e.g., beam #20 in subset 1) may be better than the BRS-RP of the highly correlated second beam (e.g., beam #46 in subset 1), while in the next sub-frame, the instantaneous value of the second beam may be better than the first beam. As a result, beam correlation may be configured, which may advantageously reduce or eliminate frequent BRS-RP reporting due to changes in beam energy between highly correlated beams.

In some embodiments, beams within the same subset may be configured at adjacent frequencies or adjacent time resources. As depicted in fig. 16, beam #20 and beam #46, which may be related intra-subset beams, may be assigned to adjacent frequency resources. For purposes of this disclosure, intra-subset beam correlation may be between beams in the same subset.

For some embodiments, the correlation rules between beams within a subset may be predefined or predetermined in the specification, or may be configured by higher layers via MIB, xMIB, SIB and/or xSIB. This may also be determined by the synchronization signals (e.g., PSS and/or SSS).

Fig. 17 illustrates a correlation between intra-subset beams and inter-subset beams according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The plurality of beams 1710 may correspond to the plurality of beam subsets 1720. Beams 1710 may have different zods and/or aods.

In some embodiments, for adjacently configured intra-subset beams, it may be inferred that the highly correlated inter-subset beam of one beam is a highly correlated inter-subset beam of another beam. As depicted in fig. 17, beam #13 and beam #27, which may be highly correlated inter-subset beams of beam #1, may also be highly correlated inter-subset beams of beam #39 (which may be an intra-subset beam of an adjacent configuration of beam # 1). For purposes of this disclosure, inter-subset beam correlation may be between beams in different subsets.

For some embodiments, the indicator may be configured by the eNB to inform the UE about one particular beam of inter-subset beams that may be associated with intra-subset beams thereof, as well as to infer a highly correlated beam of its own.

Fig. 18 illustrates an eNB and a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 18 includes a block diagram of an eNB 1810 and a UE 1830 operable to co-exist with each other and with other elements of an LTE network. A high-level simplified architecture of the eNB 1810 and the UE 1830 is described to avoid obscuring embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, eNB 1810 may be a stationary, non-mobile device.

eNB 1810 is coupled to one or more antennas 1805, and UE 1830 is similarly coupled to one or more antennas 1825. However, in some embodiments, eNB 1810 may incorporate or include antenna 1805, and in various embodiments UE 1830 may incorporate or include antenna 1825.

In some embodiments, antennas 1805 and/or 1825 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including monopole antennas, dipole antennas, loop antennas, patch antennas, microstrip antennas, coplanar wave antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some MIMO (multiple input multiple output) embodiments, antennas 1805 are separated to exploit spatial diversity.

The eNB 1810 and the UE 1830 may be operable to communicate with each other over a network (e.g., a wireless network). The eNB 1810 and the UE 1830 may communicate with each other over a wireless communication channel 1850 having a downlink path from the eNB 1810 to the UE 1830 and an uplink path from the UE 1830 to the eNB 1810.

As shown in fig. 18, in some embodiments, the eNB 1810 may include physical layer circuitry 1812, MAC (medium access control) circuitry 1814, a processor 1816, memory 1818, and hardware processing circuitry 1820. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other components not shown may be used in addition to those shown to form a complete eNB.

In some embodiments, the physical layer circuitry 1812 includes a transceiver 1813 to provide signals to and from the UE 1830. The transceiver 1813 provides signals to and from the UE or other devices using the one or more antennas 1805. In some embodiments, MAC circuitry 1814 controls access to the wireless medium. The memory 1818 may be or include one or more storage media (e.g., magnetic storage media (e.g., tape or disk), optical storage media (e.g., optical disk), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drive, solid state drive, or flash memory-based storage media), or any tangible or non-transitory storage media). The hardware processing circuitry 1820 may include logic devices or circuitry for performing various operations. In some embodiments, the processor 1816 and the memory 1818 are arranged to perform operations of the hardware processing circuitry 1820 (e.g., operations described herein with reference to logic devices and circuitry within the eNB 1810 and/or the hardware processing circuitry 1820).

Accordingly, in some embodiments, the eNB 1810 may be a device that includes an application processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and an interface to allow the application processor to communicate with another device.

As also shown in fig. 18, in some embodiments, the UE 1830 may include physical layer circuitry 1832, MAC circuitry 1834, a processor 1836, memory 1838, hardware processing circuitry 1840, a wireless interface 1842, and a display 1844. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other components not shown may be used in addition to those shown to form a complete UE.

In some embodiments, the physical layer circuitry 1832 includes a transceiver 1833 to provide signals to and from the eNB 1810 (and other enbs). The transceiver 1833 provides signals to and from an eNB or other device using one or more antennas 1825. In some embodiments, MAC circuit 1834 controls access to the wireless medium. The memory 1838 may be or include one or more storage media (e.g., magnetic storage media (e.g., tape or disk), optical storage media (e.g., optical disk), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drive, solid state drive, or flash memory-based storage media), or any tangible or non-transitory storage media). The wireless interface 1842 may be arranged to allow the processor to communicate with another device. The display 1844 may provide a visual and/or tactile display (e.g., a touch screen display) for user interaction with the UE 1830. The hardware processing circuit 1840 may include logic devices or circuits for performing various operations. In some embodiments, the processor 1836 and memory 1838 may be arranged to perform the operations of the hardware processing circuitry 1840 (e.g., the operations described herein with reference to logic devices and circuitry within the UE 1830 and/or hardware processing circuitry 1840).

Accordingly, in some embodiments, the UE 1830 may be a device including an application processor, memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface to allow the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touchscreen display.

The elements of fig. 18, as well as elements of other figures having the same name or number, may operate or function in the manner described herein with respect to any of these figures (although the operation and function of these elements is not limited to these descriptions). For example, fig. 19-20 and 23-24 also describe embodiments of an eNB, hardware processing circuitry of an eNB, a UE and/or hardware processing circuitry of a UE, and the embodiments described with respect to fig. 18, 19-20, and 23-24 may operate or function in the manner described herein with respect to any of the figures.

Further, while both the eNB 1810 and the UE 1830 are described as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a functional element may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements. Examples of software and/or hardware configured elements include a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), one or more microprocessors, a DSP, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), and so forth.

Figure 19 illustrates hardware processing circuitry of a UE for acknowledgment beamforming in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 18, the UE may include various hardware processing circuitry discussed herein (e.g., hardware processing circuitry 1900 of fig. 19), which may in turn include logic devices and/or circuitry operable to perform various operations. For example, in fig. 18, the UE 1830 (or individual elements or components thereof (e.g., the hardware processing circuitry 1840) or a combination of elements or components thereof) may include some or all of these hardware processing circuitry.

In some embodiments, one or more devices or circuits within these hardware processing circuits may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. For example, the processor 1836 (and/or one or more other processors that the UE 1830 may include), the memory 1838, and/or other elements or components of the UE 1830 (which may include the hardware processing circuitry 1840) may be arranged to perform operations of these hardware processing circuitry (e.g., operations described herein with reference to devices and circuitry within these hardware processing circuitry). In some embodiments, the processor 1836 (and/or one or more other processors that the UE 1830 may include) may be a baseband processor.

Returning to fig. 19, an apparatus of a UE 1830 (or another UE or mobile handset) that may be operable to communicate with one or more enbs over a wireless network may include hardware processing circuitry 1900. In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1900 may include one or more antenna ports 1905 operable to provide respective transmissions over a wireless communication channel (e.g., wireless communication channel 1850). The antenna port 1905 may be coupled to one or more antennas 1907 (which may be antennas 1825). In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1900 may incorporate antenna 1907, while in other embodiments hardware processing circuitry 1900 may be coupled only to antenna 1907.

The antenna ports 1905 and antennas 1907 may be operable to provide signals from a UE to a wireless communication channel and/or eNB, and may be operable to provide signals from an eNB and/or wireless communication channel to a UE. For example, the antenna port 1905 and the antenna 1907 may be operable to provide transmissions from the UE 1830 to the wireless communication channel 1850 (and from the wireless communication channel 1850 to the eNB 1810 or to another eNB). Similarly, the antenna 1907 and antenna port 1905 may be operable to provide transmissions from the wireless communication channel 1850 (and, in addition, from the eNB 1810 or another eNB) to the UE 1830.

Hardware processing circuit 1900 may include various circuitry operable in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. Referring to fig. 19, hardware processing circuitry 1900 may include first circuitry 1910 and/or second circuitry 1920. The first circuitry 1910 may be operable to process DCI received via a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam. The second circuitry 1920 may be operable to generate an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator. The first circuitry 1910 may be operable to send an indicator or other information regarding the second UE beam to the second circuitry 1920 via the interface 1915. Hardware processing circuitry 1900 may also include an interface to input DCI to one or more processors of hardware processing circuitry 1900 and to output an acknowledgement transmission to the transmit circuitry. The acknowledgement transmission may be one of: SRS transmission, CQI report transmission, or PRACH transmission.

For some embodiments, the DCI may carry a trigger indicator. In some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and the first circuitry 1910 may be operable to process a second DCI received via a first UE beam. For some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator.

In some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be an SRS transmission. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be generated at a subframe offset by a number of subframes N from the subframe in which the DCI is received.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and the first circuitry 1910 may be operable to process a second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. In some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be an SRS transmission.

In some embodiments, the first circuitry 1910 may be operable to process CSI-RS transmissions received via a first UE beam. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS transmission may be received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from the subframe in which the DCI is received.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and the first circuit 1910 may be operable to process a second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. The first circuitry 1910 may also be operable to process CSI-RS transmissions received via the first UE beam. In some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report of a CSI-RS transmission.

In some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a PRACH transmission. For some embodiments, the first UE beam may include multiple eNB beams that partially overlap each other. In some embodiments, the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of AODs. For some embodiments, the plurality of eNB beams may have a respectively corresponding plurality ZOD.

In some embodiments, the first circuitry 1910 and/or the second circuitry 1920 may be implemented as separate circuits. In other embodiments, one or more of the first circuitry 1910 and/or the second circuitry 1920 can be combined together and implemented in circuitry without altering the nature of the embodiments.

Fig. 20 illustrates hardware processing circuitry of an eNB for acknowledgment beamforming in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 18, the eNB may include various hardware processing circuitry discussed herein (e.g., hardware processing circuitry 2000 of fig. 20), which may in turn include logic devices and/or circuitry operable to perform various operations. For example, in fig. 18, the eNB 1810 (or individual elements or components thereof (e.g., the hardware processing circuitry 1820) or a combination of elements or components thereof) may include some or all of these hardware processing circuitry.

In some embodiments, one or more devices or circuits within these hardware processing circuits may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. For example, the processor 1816 (and/or one or more other processors that the eNB 1810 may include), the memory 1818, and/or other elements or components of the eNB 1810 (which may include the hardware processing circuitry 1820) may be arranged to perform operations of these hardware processing circuitry (e.g., operations described herein with reference to devices and circuitry within these hardware processing circuitry). In some embodiments, processor 1816 (and/or one or more other processors that eNB 1810 may include) may be a baseband processor.

Returning to fig. 20, an apparatus that may be operable as an eNB 1810 (or another eNB or base station) to communicate with one or more UEs over a wireless network may include hardware processing circuitry 2000. In some embodiments, hardware processing circuit 2000 may include one or more antenna ports 2005 operable to provide respective transmissions over a wireless communication channel (e.g., wireless communication channel 1850). The antenna port 2005 may be coupled to one or more antennas 2007 (which may be antennas 1805). In some embodiments, the hardware processing circuitry 2000 may incorporate the antenna 2007, while in other embodiments, the hardware processing circuitry 2000 may be coupled only to the antenna 2007.

Antenna port 2005 and antenna 2007 may be operable to provide signals from the eNB to the wireless communication channel and/or the UE, and may be operable to provide signals from the UE and/or the wireless communication channel to the eNB. For example, the antenna port 2005 and antenna 2007 may be operable to provide transmissions from the eNB 1810 to the wireless communication channel 1850 (and from the wireless communication channel 1850 to the UE 1830 or to another UE). Similarly, the antenna 2007 and antenna port 2005 may be operable to provide transmissions from the wireless communication channel 1850 (and, in addition, from the UE 1830 or another UE) to the eNB 1810.

The hardware processing circuit 2000 may include various circuits operable according to various embodiments discussed herein. Referring to fig. 20, hardware processing circuit 2000 may include a first circuit 2010 and/or a second circuit 2020. The first circuitry 2010 may be operable to generate DCI for a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam. The second circuitry 2020 may be operable to process an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator. The first circuitry 2010 may be operable to provide an indicator of the second UE beam to the second circuitry 2020 via the interface 2015. Hardware processing circuit 2000 may also include an interface for outputting DCI from one or more processors of hardware processing circuit 2000 and for inputting an acknowledgement transmission from a receiving circuit. The acknowledgement transmission may be one of: SRS transmission, CQI report transmission, or PRACH transmission.

For some embodiments, the DCI may carry a trigger indicator. In some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and the first circuitry 2010 may be operable to receive a second DCI for the first UE beam. For some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and the first circuitry 2010 may be operable to generate a second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. In some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be an SRS transmission.

In some embodiments, the first circuitry 2010 may be operable to generate a CSI-RS transmission for the first UE beam. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS transmission may be received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe that is offset from receiving the DCI by a subframe N of the plurality of subframes.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and the first circuitry 2010 may be operable to generate a second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. The first circuitry 2010 may also be operable to generate a CSI-RS transmission for the first UE beam. In some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report of a CSI-RS transmission.

In some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a PRACH transmission. For some embodiments, the first UE beam may include multiple eNB beams that partially overlap each other. In some embodiments, multiple eNB beams may have a respectively corresponding multiple AODs. For some embodiments, the plurality of eNB beams may have a respectively corresponding plurality ZOD.

In some embodiments, first circuit 2010 and/or second circuit 2020 may be implemented as separate circuits. In other embodiments, one or more of the first circuit 2010 and/or the second circuit 2020 may be combined together and implemented in a circuit without altering the essence of the embodiments.

Fig. 21 illustrates a method for a UE for acknowledgment beamforming in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 18, methodologies that may be associated with the UE 1830 and the hardware processing circuitry 1840 are discussed herein. While the actions in method 2100 of fig. 21 are shown in a particular order, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus, the illustrated embodiments may be performed in a different order, and some actions may be performed in parallel. Some of the actions and/or operations listed in fig. 21 are optional in accordance with certain embodiments. The numbering of the acts is for clarity and is not intended to dictate the order in which the acts must occur. Additionally, operations from the various flows may be utilized in various combinations.

Further, in some embodiments, a machine-readable storage medium may have executable instructions that when executed cause the UE 1830 and/or hardware processing circuitry 1840 to perform operations comprising the method of fig. 21. These machine-readable storage media may include any of a variety of storage media (e.g., magnetic storage media (e.g., tape or disk), optical storage media (e.g., optical disk), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid state drives, or flash memory-based storage media), or any other tangible or non-transitory storage media).

In some embodiments, an apparatus may include means for performing various acts and/or operations of fig. 21.

Returning to fig. 21, various methods may be in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. The method 2100 may include: processing (2110) and generating (2115). Method 2100 may also include processing (2120), processing (2130), processing (2140), processing (2150), and/or processing (2155).

In process (2110), DCI may be received via a first UE beam. The DCI may carry an indicator for switching to the second UE beam. In generating (2115), an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam may be generated based on the trigger indicator. The acknowledgement transmission may be one of: SRS transmission, CQI report transmission, or PRACH transmission.

For some embodiments, the DCI may carry a trigger indicator. In some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and in processing (2120), a second DCI received via the first UE beam may be processed. For some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and in the processing (2130), a second DCI received via the first UE beam may be processed within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. In some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be an SRS transmission.

In some embodiments, in the processing (2140), CSI-RS transmissions received via the first UE beam may be processed. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS transmission may be received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe that is offset from receiving the DCI by a subframe N of the plurality of subframes.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and in the processing (2150), a second DCI received via the first UE beam may be processed within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. In some embodiments, in processing (2155), CSI-RS transmissions received via the first UE beam may be processed. For some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. In some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report of a CSI-RS transmission.

Fig. 22 illustrates a method for acknowledgment beamforming by an eNB in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 18, various methods that may be related to the eNB 1810 and the hardware processing circuitry 1820 are discussed herein. While the actions in method 2200 of FIG. 22 are shown in a particular order, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus, the illustrated embodiments may be performed in a different order, and some actions may be performed in parallel. Some of the actions and/or operations listed in fig. 22 are optional, in accordance with certain embodiments. The numbering of the acts is for clarity and is not intended to dictate the order in which the acts must occur. Additionally, operations from the various flows may be utilized in various combinations.

Further, in some embodiments, a machine-readable storage medium may have executable instructions that, when executed, cause the eNB 1810 and/or the hardware processing circuitry 1820 to perform operations comprising the method of fig. 22. These machine-readable storage media may include any of a variety of storage media (e.g., magnetic storage media (e.g., tape or disk), optical storage media (e.g., optical disk), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid state drives, or flash memory-based storage media), or any other tangible or non-transitory storage media).

In some embodiments, an apparatus may include means for performing various acts and/or operations of fig. 22.

Returning to fig. 22, various methods may be in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. The method 2200 may comprise: generation (2210) and processing (2215). In some embodiments, method 2200 may further include generating (2220), generating (2230), generating (2240), generating (2250), and/or generating (2255).

In generating (2210), DCI for a first UE beam may be generated. The DCI may carry an indicator for switching to the second UE beam. In process (2215), the acknowledgment transmission from the second UE beam may be processed based on the trigger indicator. In some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be one of: SRS transmission, CQI report transmission, or PRACH transmission.

For some embodiments, the DCI may carry a trigger indicator. In some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and in the generating (2220), a second DCI for the first UE beam may be generated. For some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and in the generating (2230), a second DCI for the first UE beam may be generated within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. In some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be an SRS transmission.

In some embodiments, in generating (2240), a CSI-RS transmission for the first UE beam may be generated. For some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS transmission may be received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from the subframe in which the DCI is received.

For some embodiments, the DCI may be a first DCI, and in the generating (2250), a second DCI for the first UE beam may be generated within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received. In generating (2255), a CSI-RS transmission for the first UE beam may be generated. For some embodiments, the second DCI may carry a trigger indicator. In some embodiments, the acknowledgement transmission may be a CQI report transmission carrying a report of a CSI-RS transmission.

Fig. 23 illustrates example components of a device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the device 2300 may include application circuitry 2302, baseband circuitry 2304, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 2306, Front End Module (FEM) circuitry 2308, one or more antennas 2310, and Power Management Circuitry (PMC)2312 coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 2300 may be included in a UE or RAN node. In some embodiments, apparatus 2300 may include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 2302, but instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, device 2300 may include additional elements (e.g., memory/storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input/output (I/O) interface). In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuitry may be included separately in more than one device with respect to a cloud RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

The application circuitry 2302 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 2302 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include memory/storage and may be configured to: instructions stored in the memory/storage are executed to enable various applications or operating systems to run on device 2300. In some embodiments, a processor of the application circuit 2302 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.

The baseband circuitry 2304 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 2304 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 2306 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 2306. The baseband processing circuits 2304 may interface with the application circuits 2302 for generating and processing baseband signals and controlling operation of the RF circuits 2306. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 2304 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 2304A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 2304B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 2304C, and/or other baseband processors 2304D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 2304 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 2304A-D) may process various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 2306. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of the baseband processors 2304A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 2304G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 2304E. Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation/demodulation circuitry of baseband circuitry 2304 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding/decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 2304 may include convolutional, tail-biting convolutional, turbo, viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 2304 may include one or more audio Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) 2304F. The audio DSP 2304F may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 2304 and the application circuitry 2302 together may be implemented, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 2304 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 2304 may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 2304 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

The RF circuitry 2306 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 2306 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with a wireless network. The RF circuitry 2306 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 2308 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 2304. The RF circuitry 2306 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry to upconvert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 2304 and provide an RF output signal to the FEM circuitry 2308 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 2306 may include a mixer circuit 2306A, an amplifier circuit 2306B, and a filter circuit 2306C. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 2306 may include a filter circuit 2306C and a mixer circuit 2306A. The RF circuitry 2306 may also include synthesizer circuitry 2306D to synthesize frequencies used by the mixer circuitry 2306A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306A of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 2308 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 2306D. The amplifier circuit 2306B may be configured to: the downconverted signal is amplified, and the filter circuit 2306C may be a Low Pass Filter (LPF) or a Band Pass Filter (BPF) configured to: unwanted signals are removed from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 2304 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 2306A of the receive signal path may comprise a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306A of the transmit signal path may be configured to: the input baseband signal is up-converted based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 2306D to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 2308. Baseband signals may be provided by baseband circuitry 2304 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 2306C.

In some embodiments, mixer circuit 2306A of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 2306A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 2306A of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 2306A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, mixer circuit 2306A and mixer circuit 2306A of the receive signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and/or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 2306A of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 2306A of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, RF circuitry 2306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and baseband circuitry 2304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with RF circuitry 2306.

In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided for processing signals with respect to each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 2306D may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer, although the scope of embodiments is not so limited as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 2306D may be a delta sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuit 2306D may be configured to: the output frequency used by mixer circuit 2306A of input synthesis RF circuit 2306 is controlled based on a frequency input and a divider. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 2306D may be a fractional N/N +1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuitry 2304 or the application processor 2302 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application processor 2302.

Synthesizer circuit 2306D of RF circuit 2306 may include dividers, Delay Locked Loops (DLLs), multiplexers, and phase accumulators. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a Digital Phase Accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to: the input signal is divided by N or N +1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to decompose the VCO period into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 2306D may be configured to: a carrier frequency is generated as the output frequency, while in other embodiments the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate a plurality of signals at the carrier frequency having a plurality of different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 2306 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 2308 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 2310, amplify the received signals, and provide amplified versions of the received signals to RF circuitry 2306 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 2308 may further include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by the RF circuitry 2306 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 2310. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal path may be accomplished in the RF circuitry 2306 only, the FEM 2308 only, or both the RF circuitry 2306 and the FEM 2308.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 2308 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to RF circuitry 2306). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 2308 may include: a Power Amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 2306); and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 2310).

In some embodiments, PMC 2312 may manage power provided to baseband circuitry 2304. Specifically, PMC 2312 may control power selection, voltage regulation, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. PMC 2312 may often be included when device 2300 is capable of being battery powered (e.g., when device 2300 is included in a UE). The PMC 2312 may increase power conversion efficiency while providing desired implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

Although figure 23 shows PMC 2312 coupled only to baseband circuitry 2304. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 2312 may additionally or alternatively be coupled with other components (such as, but not limited to, the application circuit 2302, the RF circuit 2306, or the FEM 2308) and perform similar power management operations for them.

In some embodiments, PMC 2312 may control or be part of various power saving mechanisms of device 2300. For example, if device 2300 is in an RRC connected state (where it is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon afterwards), it may enter a state called discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, device 2300 may power down for a brief interval of time and thus save power.

If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, device 2300 can transition to an RRC idle state, where it is disconnected from the network and no operation (e.g., channel quality feedback, handover, etc.) is performed. Device 2300 enters a very low power state and it performs paging, where it again periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. Device 2300 cannot receive data in this state and in order to receive data it must transition back to the RRC connected state.

The additional power saving mode may allow the device to be unavailable to the network for a period of time longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unreachable to the network and may be completely powered down. Any data sent during this time results in a large delay and the delay is assumed to be acceptable.

The processor of the application circuitry 2302 and the processor of the baseband circuitry 2304 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuitry 2304, alone or in combination, may be used to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuitry 2304 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and also perform layer 4 functions (e.g., Transmission Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, layer 3 may include a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, layer 2 may include a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which are described in further detail below. As referred to herein, layer 1 may comprise the Physical (PHY) layer of the UE/RAN node, as described in further detail below.

Fig. 24 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry according to some embodiments of the invention. As described above, the baseband circuitry 2304 of FIG. 23 can include the processors 2304A-2304E and memory 2304G utilized by the processors. The processors 2304A-2304E may each include a memory interface 2404A-2404E, respectively, to send and receive data to and from the memory 2304G.

The baseband circuitry 2304 may also include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitry/devices, such as a memory interface 2412 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry 2304), an application circuitry interface 2414 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 2302 of fig. 23), an RF circuitry interface 2416 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the RF circuitry 2306 of fig. 23), a wireless hardware connection interface 2418 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from a Near Field Communication (NFC) component, a bluetooth component (e.g., a bluetooth low energy component)

)、

Components and other communication components to send/receive data) and a power management interface 2420 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or control signals to/from the PMC 2312).

It should be noted that elements of any figure herein having the same reference numbers and/or names as elements of any other figure herein can, in various embodiments, operate or function in a similar manner as those of the other figure(s) (and are not limited to operating or functioning in this manner).

Reference in the specification to "an embodiment," "one embodiment," "some embodiments," or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments. The various appearances of "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "some embodiments" are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments. If the specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic "may", "might", or "could" be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to "a" or "an" element, that does not mean there is only one of the element. If the specification or claims refer to "an additional" element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

Furthermore, the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the first and second embodiments may be combined as long as the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics associated with the embodiments are not mutually exclusive.

While the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, many alternatives, modifications, and variations of these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. For example, other memory architectures (e.g., dynamic ram (dram)) may use the discussed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the broad scope of the appended claims.

Furthermore, well-known power/ground connections to Integrated Circuit (IC) chips and other components may or may not be shown within the presented figures, to simplify illustration and discussion, and thereby not obscure the disclosure. Further, arrangements may be shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure, and also in view of the fact that specifics with respect to implementation of such block diagram arrangements are highly dependent upon the platform within which the present disclosure is to be implemented (i.e., specifics should be well within purview of one skilled in the art). Where specific details (e.g., circuits) are set forth in order to describe example embodiments of the disclosure, it should be understood by one skilled in the art that the disclosure may be practiced without, or with variation of, these specific details. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

The following examples pertain to other embodiments. The details of the examples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments. All optional features of the apparatus described herein may also be implemented with respect to the methods or processes.

Example 1 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an evolved node b (enb) on a wireless network, comprising: one or more processors configured to: processing Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator, and an interface to: inputting the DCI to the one or more processors and outputting the acknowledgement transmission to transmit circuitry.

In example 2, the apparatus of example 1, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 3, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 or 2, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 4, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 or 2, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 5, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 or 2, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 6, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 or 2, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: processing a second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 7, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 or 2, wherein the one or more processors are to: process a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 8, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 or 2, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: processing second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI was received; and processing a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 9, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 or 2, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 10, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 to 9, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

Example 11 provides a User Equipment (UE) device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface to allow the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touchscreen display, the UE device comprising the apparatus of any of embodiments 1-10.

Example 12 provides a method comprising: for a user equipment, processing Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator.

In example 13, the method of example 12, wherein the acknowledgment transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 14, the method of any one of examples 12 or 13, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 15, the method of any one of examples 12 or 13, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 16, the method of any one of examples 12 or 13, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 17, the method of any one of examples 12 or 13, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: processing a second DCI received via the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 18, the method of any one of examples 12 or 13, comprising: process a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 19, the method of any one of examples 12 or 13, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: processing second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI was received; and processing a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 20, the method of any one of examples 12 or 13, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 21, the method of any one of examples 12 to 20, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

Example 22 provides a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform a method according to any of examples 12 to 21.

Example 23 provides apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an evolved node b (enb) on a wireless network, the apparatus comprising: means for processing Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and means for generating an acknowledgment transmission for the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator.

In example 24, the apparatus of example 23, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 25, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 or 24, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 26, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 or 24, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 27, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 or 24, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 28, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 or 24, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: processing a second DCI received via the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 29, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 or 24, comprising: process a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 30, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 or 24, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: processing second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI was received; and processing a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 31, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 or 24, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 32, the apparatus of any one of examples 23 to 31, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

Example 33 provides a machine-readable storage medium having machine-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an evolved node b (enb) over a wireless network to perform operations comprising: processing Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator.

In example 34, the machine-readable storage medium of example 33, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 35, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 or 34, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 36, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 or 34, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 37, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 or 34, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 38, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 or 34, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and the operations comprise: processing a second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 39, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 or 34, the operations comprising: process a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 40, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 or 34, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and the operations comprise: processing second DCI received via a first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI was received; and processing a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission received via the first UE beam, and wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 41, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 or 34, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 42, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 33 to 41, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

Example 43 provides an apparatus of an evolved node b (enb) operable to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a wireless network, comprising: one or more processors configured to: generating Downlink Control Information (DCI) for a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator, and an interface to: outputting the DCI from the one or more processors and inputting the acknowledgement transmission from a receive circuit.

In example 44, the apparatus of example 43, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 45, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 or 44, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 46, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 or 44, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 47, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 or 44, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 48, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 or 44, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: generating second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of the subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 49, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 or 44, wherein the one or more processors are to: generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 50, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 or 44, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: generating second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of the subframe in which the first DCI is received; generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, the second DCI carrying the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 51, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 or 44, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 52, the apparatus of any one of examples 43 to 51, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

Example 53 provides an evolved node b (eNB) device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and an interface to allow the application processor to communicate with another device, the eNB device comprising the apparatus of any of examples 43 to 52.

Example 54 provides a method, comprising: for an evolved node B (eNB), generating Downlink Control Information (DCI) for a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and processing an acknowledgment transmission from the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator.

In example 55, the method of example 54, wherein the acknowledgment transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 56, the method of any one of examples 54 or 55, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 57, the method of any one of examples 54 or 55, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 58, the method of any one of examples 54 or 55, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 59, the method of any one of examples 54 or 55, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: generating second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of the subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 60, the method of any one of examples 54 or 55, the operations comprising: generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 61, the method of any one of examples 54 or 55, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: generating second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of the subframe in which the first DCI is received; and generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, the second DCI carrying the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 62, the method of any of examples 54 or 55, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 63, the method of any one of examples 54 to 62, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

Example 64 provides a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform a method according to any one of examples 54 to 63.

Example 65 provides an apparatus of an evolved node b (enb) operable to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a wireless network, comprising: means for generating Downlink Control Information (DCI) for a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and means for processing an acknowledgment transmission from the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator.

In example 66, the apparatus of example 65, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 67, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 or 66, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 68, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 or 66, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: means for generating a second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 69, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 or 66, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 70, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 or 66, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: means for generating a second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of a subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 71, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 or 66, the operations comprising: means for generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 72, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 or 66, wherein the DCI is a first DCI comprising: means for generating second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N in which the first DCI subframe is received; and means for generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, and wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 73, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 or 66, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 74, the apparatus of any one of examples 65 to 73, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

Example 75 provides a machine-readable storage medium having machine-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of an evolved node b (enb) operable to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) over a wireless network to perform operations comprising: generating Downlink Control Information (DCI) for a first UE beam, the DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam; and processing an acknowledgment transmission from the second UE beam based on a trigger indicator.

In example 76, the machine-readable storage medium of example 75, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is one of: sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 77, the machine-readable storage medium of any one of examples 75 or 76, wherein the DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 78, the machine-readable storage medium of any one of examples 75 or 76, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and wherein the one or more processors are to: generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator.

In example 79, the machine-readable storage medium of any one of examples 75 or 76, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is generated at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI was received.

In example 80, the machine-readable storage medium of any one of examples 75 or 76, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, and the operations comprise: generating second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of the subframe in which the first DCI is received, wherein the second DCI carries the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In example 81, the machine-readable storage medium of any one of examples 75 or 76, the operations comprising: generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, and wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission; and wherein the CSI-RS transmission is received via the second UE receive beam at a subframe offset by a plurality of subframes N from a subframe in which the DCI is received.

In example 82, the machine-readable storage medium of any one of examples 75 or 76, wherein the DCI is a first DCI, the operations comprising: generating second DCI for the first UE beam within a plurality of subframes N of the subframe in which the first DCI is received; and generating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission for the first UE beam, the second DCI carrying the trigger indicator; and wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report of the CSI-RS transmission.

In example 83, the machine-readable storage medium of any of examples 75 or 76, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In example 84, the machine-readable storage medium of any one of examples 75 to 83, wherein the first UE beam comprises a plurality of eNB beams partially overlapping each other; wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of azimuth angles of departure (AODs); and wherein the plurality of eNB beams have a respectively corresponding plurality of exit zenith angles (ZOD).

In example 85, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 to 10 and examples 43 to 52, wherein the one or more processors comprise a baseband processor.

In example 86, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 to 10 and 43 to 52, comprising: a memory to store instructions, the memory coupled to the one or more processors.

In example 87, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 to 10 and 43 to 52, comprising transceiver circuitry to at least one of: generating a transmission, encoding a transmission, processing a transmission, or decoding a transmission.

In example 88, the apparatus of any one of examples 1 to 10 and 43 to 52, comprising transceiver circuitry to generate the transmission and to process the transmission.

The abstract is provided to allow the reader to ascertain the nature and substance of the technical disclosure. The abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. An apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

processing first downlink control information, DCI, received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam;

processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and

generating an acknowledgement signal for the second UE beam for transmission to the base station based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement signal is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS); and an interface for: inputting the first DCI and the second DCI to the one or more processors, and outputting the acknowledgement signal to transmit circuitry.

2. An apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission, and

an interface for: inputting the first DCI and the second DCI to the one or more processors and outputting the acknowledgement transmission to transmit circuitry.

3. A user equipment, UE, comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touchscreen display, the UE comprising the apparatus of any of claims 1-2.

4. A method for acknowledging beam switching, comprising:

for a User Equipment (UE), processing first Downlink Control Information (DCI) received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam;

generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission.

5. A method for acknowledging beam switching, comprising:

processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam;

wherein the acknowledgement signal is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel State information reference Signal, CSI-RS, transmission.

6. An apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:

means for processing first downlink control information, DCI, received via a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam;

means for processing second DCI received via the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and

means for generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

7. An apparatus of a user equipment, UE, operable to communicate with a base station over a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:

means for generating an acknowledgement transmission for the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission.

8. An apparatus of a base station operable to communicate with a user equipment, UE, over a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

generating first downlink control information, DCI, for a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam;

generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and

processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator,

wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission; and

an interface for: outputting the first DCI and the second DCI from the one or more processors and inputting the acknowledgement transmission from a receive circuit.

9. An apparatus of a base station operable to communicate with a user equipment, UE, over a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission; and

10. A base station comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and an interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, the base station comprising the apparatus of any of claims 8 to 9.

11. A method for acknowledging beam switching, comprising:

for a base station, generating first Downlink Control Information (DCI) for a first User Equipment (UE) beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam;

processing an acknowledgement transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator, wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission.

12. A method for acknowledging beam switching, comprising:

generating a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission for the first UE beam,

generating second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam,

processing an acknowledgment transmission, wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report transmission that carries a report corresponding to the CSI-RS transmission.

13. An apparatus of a base station operable to communicate with a user equipment, UE, over a wireless network, comprising:

means for generating first downlink control information, DCI, for a first UE beam, the first DCI carrying an indicator for switching to a second UE beam;

means for generating a second DCI for the first UE beam, wherein the second DCI carries a trigger indicator for an acknowledgement signal for beam switching to the second UE beam; and

means for processing an acknowledgment transmission from the second UE beam based on the trigger indicator,

wherein the acknowledgement transmission is a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmission, or,

wherein the acknowledgment transmission is a channel quality indicator, CQI, report transmission carrying a report corresponding to a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, transmission.