CN116888906A

CN116888906A - Beam selection discovery window monitoring

Info

Publication number: CN116888906A
Application number: CN202280015194.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: I·I·萨科尼尼; 骆涛; 张晓霞; J·孙
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2021-02-22
Filing date: 2022-02-21
Publication date: 2023-10-13

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A User Equipment (UE) may perform cell discovery in a window by monitoring and receiving a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) from a network entity. The UE may receive an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window. The UE may use the received indication of the number of beams to map the SSB transmission set within the discovery window to the SSB candidate set in the discovery window. The UE may select, for each SSB candidate in the set of SSB candidates, a beam from the set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate. The UE may monitor SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate. The UE may then receive one or more SSBs based on the monitoring.

Description

Beam selection discovery window monitoring

Cross reference

This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No.63/152,150 entitled "BEAM SELECTION DISCOVERY WINDOW MONITORING (beam selection discovery window monitoring)" filed by SAKHNINI et al at 2021, month 2, and U.S. patent application No.17/675,247 entitled "BEAM SELECTION DISCOVERY WINDOW MONITORING (beam selection discovery window monitoring)" filed by SAKHNINI et al at 2022, month 2, month 18, each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present application.

Technical Field

The following relates to wireless communications, including beam selection discovery window monitoring.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-advanced (LTE-a) systems, or LTE-a Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems, which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ various techniques such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or discrete fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each of which simultaneously support communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise referred to as User Equipment (UE).

A Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) may be used for cell search. The beam may correspond to multiple SSBs and SSB transmission opportunities. The UE may receive SSB or PBCH from the base station. The UE may identify the beam based on the received SSB.

SUMMARY

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatus supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring. Generally, the described techniques enable a User Equipment (UE) to perform cell discovery in a window by monitoring and receiving Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) from a network entity. The UE may receive an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window (e.g., in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band or in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band). The UE may use the received indication of the number of beams to map the SSB transmission set within the discovery window to the SSB candidate set within the discovery window, wherein the SSB candidate set is a subset of the total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window. The UE may select, for each SSB candidate in the set of SSB candidates associated with the discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the SSB candidate and a number of beams. The UE may monitor SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate. The UE may then receive one or more SSBs based on the monitoring.

A method for wireless communication at a UE is described. The method may include: receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window; mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window; for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, selecting a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams; monitoring a plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate; and receiving one or more SSBs based on the monitoring.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores instructions. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window; mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window; for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, selecting a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams; monitoring a plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate; and receiving one or more SSBs based on the monitoring of the plurality of SSB candidates.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include: means for receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window; means for mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window; means for selecting, for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams; means for monitoring a plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate; and means for receiving one or more SSBs based on the monitoring.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window; mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window; for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, selecting a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams; monitoring a plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate; and receiving one or more SSBs based on the monitoring of the plurality of SSB candidates.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving an indication of the number of beams may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: a clear value of the number of receive beams.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving an indication of the number of beams may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: values of sub-windows of the discovery window are received, each sub-window being associated with at least one SSB transmission on each beam in the set of beams, wherein the number of beams may be implicit in the values of the sub-window.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: a repetition parameter is received that indicates a number of times each beam in the set of beams may be repeated within each sub-window of the discovery window.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions to the plurality of SSB candidates may be further based on a repetition parameter.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each beam may be repeated over consecutive SSB candidates of the plurality of SSB candidates within a given sub-window of the discovery window.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: transmitting one or more of the following: a request for or a UE capability supporting a repetition parameter, wherein the repetition parameter may be received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the repetition parameter.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, monitoring the plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for: several SSB candidates within the discovery window are combined, wherein multiple SSB candidates may be associated with a single beam in the set of beams.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, monitoring the plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for: one of several SSB candidates within the discovery window is discarded, wherein the multiple SSB candidates may be associated with a single beam in the set of beams.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving an indication of the number of beams may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: one or more of the following is received: a Master Information Block (MIB) including an indication of the number of beams, a System Information Block (SIB) including an indication of the number of beams, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including an indication of the number of beams, or a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) transmission including an indication of the number of beams.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the number of beams may be signaled through a subcarrier spacing (SCS) common field of MIB or PBCH transmissions. In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the number of beams may be signaled by at least one bit in an SCS common field of the MIB and at least one unused bit of the MIB.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the number of beams may be signaled through physical layer multiplexing of PBCH transmissions. In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the number of beams in the set of beams corresponds to SSB transmissions during a discovery window in the licensed radio frequency spectrum band.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: transmitting one or more of the following: a request for or a UE capability supporting a number of beams, wherein the indication of the number of beams may be received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

A method of wireless communication at a network entity is described. The method may include: transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band; and transmitting one or more SSBs according to the indication.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores instructions. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band; and transmitting one or more SSBs according to the indication.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity is described. The apparatus may include: means for transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band; and means for transmitting the one or more SSBs in accordance with the indication.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a network entity is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band; and transmitting one or more SSBs according to the indication.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting an indication of the number of beams may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: a clear value of the number of transmit beams.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting an indication of the number of beams may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: transmitting values for sub-windows of the discovery window, each sub-window being associated with at least one SSB transmission on each beam in the set of beams, wherein the number of beams may be implicit in the values for the sub-window.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: a repetition parameter is transmitted indicating the number of times each beam in the set of beams can be repeated within each sub-window of the discovery window.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: a request for a repetition parameter is received, and the repetition parameter is transmitted in response to the request for the repetition parameter.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: the method includes receiving a UE capability supporting a repetition parameter, and transmitting the repetition parameter in response to the UE capability supporting the repetition parameter.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting an indication of the number of beams may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: transmitting one or more of the following: MIB including an indication of the number of beams, SIB including an indication of the number of beams, RRC message including an indication of the number of beams, or PBCH transmission including an indication of the number of beams.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: the MIB is transmitted that includes an SCS common field that includes an indication of the number of beams.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: physical layer multiplexing of PBCH transmissions is performed and an indication of the number of beams is transmitted in the PBCH transmissions.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: a request for a number of beams is received, and an indication of the number of beams is transmitted in response to the request for the number of beams.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for: the method includes receiving a UE capability supporting a number of beams and transmitting an indication of the number of beams in response to the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a discovery window diagram supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a discovery window diagram supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a process flow supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 and 7 illustrate block diagrams of devices supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates a diagram of a system including a device supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 and 11 illustrate block diagrams of devices supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 13 illustrates a diagram of a system including a device supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14-17 illustrate flow diagrams that illustrate methods of supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

A User Equipment (UE) may communicate with one or more cells in a wireless communication system. The UE may operate in a shared spectrum channel that includes unlicensed spectrum. The UE may perform cell discovery in order to initiate communication with a network entity. The network entity may transmit a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or use a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). SSBs may correspond to different transmit beams of a network entity. The UE may determine the beam of the network entity based on the receipt of the SSB.

The network entity may transmit SSBs within different beams to one or more UEs. The network entity may transmit one or more SSBs within one beam. The network entity may communicate the SSB within a discovery window, such as, but not limited to, a discovery burst transmission (DRS) transmission window. The DRS window may begin with the first symbol of the first slot in half of the frame. An increased number of candidate SSB opportunities for a particular beam may increase reliability. For example, if Listen Before Talk (LBT) fails for transmission of one SSB occasion, there may be another transmission opportunity or occasion within the discovery or DRS window. For example, the DRS window may be 5 milliseconds (ms).

In some cases, a network entity (e.g., a base station or a component thereof) in a wireless communication system may support several beams. For example, a network entity may be able to support up to 64 SSB beams. The discovery window may remain the same length (e.g., 5 ms) for the system while the number of beams increases. With an increased number of beams (e.g., 64) and DRS windows of the same length, there may not be enough SSB candidates to provide redundant SSB transmissions (e.g., in the case of LBT failure). For example, if up to 64 beams are supported and there are 64 SSB candidate opportunities in the discovery window, each beam and corresponding SSB may be transmitted only once in the discovery window, thereby removing all redundancy. Thus, changes may be made to the DRS window configuration to provide multiple SSB candidate opportunities to provide sufficient redundancy for SSB transmissions.

By reducing the total number of beams supportable in the wireless communication system, the number of candidate SSB opportunities per beam may be increased. By reducing the number of beams and maintaining the number of SSB candidate opportunities (e.g., 64) in the same length discovery window (e.g., 5 ms), each of the reduced number of beams may correspond to an increased number of SSB candidate opportunities. For example, in a 5ms discovery window with 64 SSB candidate occasions, the number of beams may be reduced from 64 to 32, providing two SSB candidate occasions for transmission of each beam.

To reduce the number of beams and increase redundancy so that a UE can efficiently receive one or more beamsThe corresponding SSB may indicate signaling of the configuration change of the discovery window to one or more UEs. The network entity may transmit an indication of the reduced number of beams to one or more UEs. The UE may derive the beam index of the network entity beam used to transmit the SSB as a modulo function. The UE may receive the SSB in a candidate opportunity or occasion and the beam used to transmit the SSB may be derived by the UE as a module (candidate SSB index, Q), where Q may be specified or signaled by the network entity. Q may be a repetition parameter. For example, SSBs may be transmitted every Q SSB opportunities in the discovery window. Q may beFor example, Q may be 32. Thus, the same SSB for the same beam may be transmitted every 32 candidate occasions in the discovery window. Thus, the number of beams may be implicitly indicated as 32, as SSBs are repeated twice in a discovery window where 64 SSB candidate slots are available.

In another case, the number of sub-windows may be designated as N. N may be indicated to the UE. For example, N may be indicated as 2. In this case, there may be two sub-windows within the discovery window, dividing the discovery window of 64 SSB candidates in half. Thus, the number of beams may be implicitly indicated as 32, as each SSB corresponding to one beam may be transmitted once in each sub-window (e.g., twice in a discovery window).

In another case, SSB transmission corresponding to a beam may be repeated M times, where M may be signaled. For example, if M is signaled as 2, each SSB index may be repeated twice for each occasion. For example, the SSB index may be transmitted in SSB occasion 3 and SSB occasion 4.

Q, N or M parameters may be indicated to the UE via Master Information Block (MIB) signaling, system Information Block (SIB) signaling, PBCH signaling, radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) signaling, or a combination of these. Q, N or M or a combination may be indicated to the serving cell or another cell.

Aspects of the present disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the present disclosure are described subsequently in the context of discovery window diagrams and process flows. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to device diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts relating to beam selection discovery window monitoring.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network entities (e.g., one or more base stations 105), one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-advanced (LTE-a) network, an LTE-a Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, communications with low cost and low complexity devices, or any combination thereof.

The network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communication system 100 and may be different forms of devices or devices with different capabilities. In different examples, a network entity may be referred to as a network element, mobility element, radio Access Network (RAN) node or network device, or the like. In some examples, a network entity (e.g., base station 105) and UE 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 and ues 115 and base stations 105 may establish one or more communication links 125 over the coverage area 110. Coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which base station 105 and UE 115 may support signal communications in accordance with one or more radio access technologies.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile, or stationary and mobile at different times. Each UE 115 may be a different form of device or a device with different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in fig. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, network entities (e.g., base stations 105), or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as shown in fig. 1.

In some examples, network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may communicate with core network 130, or with each other, or both. For example, a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may interface with core network 130 through one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). In some examples, network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between network entities), or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130), or directly and indirectly over backhaul link 120 (e.g., via X2, xn, or other interface protocols). In some examples, network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may communicate with each other via an intermediate transport communication link (e.g., according to a mid-range interface protocol) or a front-end transport communication link (e.g., according to a front-end transport interface protocol), or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication link 120, intermediate range communication link, or forward range communication link may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., electrical links, fiber optic links), one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links, wireless optical links), and other examples or different combinations thereof. UE 115 may communicate with core network 130 via a communication link.

One or more of the network entities described herein may include or may be referred to as a base transceiver station 105 (e.g., a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), a next generation node B or a giganode B (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a 5G NB, a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a home node B, a home evolved node B, or other suitable terminology). In some examples, a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, free-standing) base station architecture that may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single network entity (e.g., a single RAN node, such as base station 105).

In some examples, a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may be implemented in a split architecture (e.g., split base station architecture, split RAN architecture) that may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more network entities, such as an IAB network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., network configuration sponsored by an O-RAN alliance), or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., cloud RAN (C-RAN)). For example, the network entity may include one or more of the following: a Central Unit (CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), a Radio Unit (RU), a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., near real-time RIC (near RT RIC), non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC)), a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system, or any combination thereof. RU may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), or a Transmission Reception Point (TRP). One or more components of a network entity (e.g., base station 105) in the split RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some examples, one or more network entities of the split RAN architecture (e.g., base station 105) may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., virtual CUs (VCUs), virtual DUs (VDUs), virtual RUs (VRUs)).

The division of functionality between CUs, DUs, and RUs is flexible and may support different functionalities, depending on which functions are performed at the CU, DU, or RU (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, and any combination thereof). For example, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a CU and a DU, such that the CU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some examples, a CU may host higher protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3), layer 2 (L2)) functionality and signaling (e.g., radio Resource Control (RRC), service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)). A CU may be connected to one or more DUs or RUs, and the one or more DUs or RUs may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio Link Control (RLC) layer, medium Access Control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU. Additionally or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between the DU and RU such that the DU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. A DU may support one or more different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs). In some cases, the functional split between a CU and a DU or between a DU and a RU may be within the protocol layer (e.g., some functions of the protocol layer may be performed by one of the CU, DU, or RU while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU, DU, or RU). The CUs can be further functionally split into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU may be connected to one or more DUs via a medium range communication link (e.g., F1c, F1 u), and a DU may be connected to one or more RUs via a forward range communication link (e.g., an open-range (FH) interface). In some examples, the medium range communication link or the forward communication link may be implemented according to an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities (e.g., base station 105) that communicate over these communication links.

Some wireless communication systems (e.g., wireless communication system 100), infrastructure for radio access, and spectrum resources may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement the wired backhaul connection to provide an IAB network architecture (e.g., to core network 130). In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more network entities (e.g., base stations 105) and/or IAB nodes may be controlled in part by each other. One or more IAB nodes may be referred to as donor entities or IAB donors. The one or more DUs or the one or more RUs may be controlled in part by one or more CUs associated with the donor network entity (e.g., donor base station 105). One or more donor network entities (e.g., donor base station 105 or IAB donor) may communicate with one or more additional network entities (e.g., additional base stations 105 or IAB nodes) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication link 120). The IAB node may include an IAB mobile termination (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by a DU of the coupled IAB donor. The IAB-MT may include a separate set of antennas for relaying communications with the UE 115, or may share the same antennas (e.g., of an RU) for an IAB node accessed via a DU of the IAB node (e.g., referred to as a virtual IAB-MT (v IAB-MT)). In some examples, the IAB node may include DUs that support communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB nodes, UEs 115) within a relay chain or configuration (e.g., downstream) of the access network. In such cases, one or more components of the split RAN architecture (e.g., one or more IAB nodes or components of an IAB node) may be configured to operate in accordance with the techniques described herein.

UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, client, or the like. The UE 115 may also include or be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, the UE 115 may include or be referred to as a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, an internet of things (IoT) device, a internet of everything (IoE) device, or a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays, as well as network entities (e.g., base stations 105) and network equipment including macro enbs or gnbs, small cell enbs or gnbs, relay base stations, etc., as shown in fig. 1.

The UE 115 and a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may wirelessly communicate with each other over one or more carriers via one or more communication links 125. The term "carrier" may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication link 125. For example, the carrier for the communication link 125 may include a portion (e.g., a bandwidth portion (BWP)) of the radio frequency spectrum band that operates according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE-A, LTE-a Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling to coordinate carrier operation, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with UEs 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. The UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) component carriers.

In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates the operation of other carriers. The carrier may be associated with a frequency channel, such as an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN), and may be positioned according to a channel grid for discovery by the UE 115. The carrier may operate in a standalone mode, in which initial acquisition and connection may be made by the UE 115 via the carrier, or the carrier may operate in a non-standalone mode, in which connections are anchored using different carriers (e.g., different carriers of the same or different radio access technologies).

The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to a network entity (e.g., base station 105) or a downlink transmission from a network entity (e.g., base station 105) to the UE 115. The carrier may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode).

The carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of several determined bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)) of a carrier of a particular radio access technology. Devices (e.g., network entities, UEs 115, etc.) of the wireless communication system 100 may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communication over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, wireless communication system 100 may include a network entity (e.g., base station 105) or UE 115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate over part (e.g., sub-band, BWP) or all of the carrier bandwidth.

The signal waveform transmitted on the carrier may include a plurality of subcarriers (e.g., using a multi-carrier modulation (MCM) technique such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, the resource elements may include one symbol period (e.g., duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing (SCS) are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the code rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Thus, the more resource elements that the UE 115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of the UE 115 may be. The wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further improve the data rate or data integrity of the communication with the UE 115.

One or more parameter designs for the carrier may be supported, where the parameter designs may include SCS (Δf) and cyclic prefix. The carrier may be divided into one or more BWP with the same or different parameter designs. In some examples, UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWP. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time, and communications for UE 115 may be limited to one or more active BWPs.

The time interval of a network entity (e.g., base station 105) or UE 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit, which may refer to, for example, a sampling period T _s ＝1/(Δf _max Nf) seconds, where Δf _max The maximum supported SCS may be represented and Nf may represent the maximum supported Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) size. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

Each frame may include a plurality of consecutively numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots may depend on the SCS. Each slot may include several symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix added before each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, a time slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., nf) sampling periods. The duration of the symbol period may depend on the SCS or operating band.

A subframe, slot, mini-slot, or symbol may be a minimum scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in the TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTI)).

The physical channels may be multiplexed on the carrier according to various techniques. The physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on the downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. The control region (e.g., control resource set (CORESET)) for the physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across a system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., core) may be configured for the set of UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search the control region for control information according to one or more sets of search spaces, and each set of search spaces may include one or more control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level for control channel candidates may refer to the number of control channel resources (e.g., control Channel Elements (CCEs)) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. The set of search spaces may include a common set of search spaces configured to transmit control information to a plurality of UEs 115 and a set of UE-specific search spaces configured to transmit control information to a particular UE 115.

A network entity (e.g., base station 105) may provide communication coverage via one or more cells (e.g., macro cells, small cells, hotspots, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof). The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station 105 (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), a Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID), or otherwise) for distinguishing between neighboring cells. In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion (e.g., a sector) of geographic coverage area 110 over which a logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from a smaller area (e.g., structure, subset of structures) to a larger area depending on various factors, such as the capabilities of the network entity (e.g., base station 105). For example, a cell may be or include a building, a subset of buildings, or an external space between geographic coverage areas 110 or overlapping geographic coverage areas 110, among other examples.

The macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 115 with service subscription with network providers supporting the macro cell. The small cell may be associated with a lower power network entity (e.g., lower power base station 105) as compared to the macro cell, and the small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency band as the macro cell. The small cell may provide unrestricted access to UEs 115 with service subscription with the network provider or may provide restricted access to UEs 115 with association with the small cell (e.g., UEs 115 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs 115 associated with users in a home or office). A network entity (e.g., base station 105) may support one or more cells and may also support communication over one or more cells using one or more component carriers.

In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) that may provide access for different types of devices.

In some examples, network entities (e.g., base stations 105, RUs) may be mobile and, thus, provide communication coverage to a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same network entity (e.g., base station 105). In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities (e.g., base stations 105). The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of network entities (e.g., base stations 105) use the same or different radio access technologies to provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may have different frame timings, and in some examples, transmissions from different network entities (e.g., base stations 105) may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operation.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication techniques that allow devices to communicate with each other or devices to communicate with a network entity (e.g., base station 105) without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communications or MTC may include communications from devices integrated with sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application that utilizes or presents the information to a person interacting with the application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or to implement automated behavior of a machine or other device. Examples of applications for MTC devices include: smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, health care monitoring, field survival monitoring, weather and geographic event monitoring, queue management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but not simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed with reduced peak rates. Other power saving techniques for UE 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaged in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a subcarrier or set of Resource Blocks (RBs)) within, within a guard band of, or outside of a carrier.

The wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low latency communication or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) or mission critical communications. The UE 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low latency, or critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions). Ultra-reliable communications may include private communications or group communications, and may be supported by one or more mission critical services, such as mission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission critical video (MCVideo), or mission critical data (MCData). Support for mission critical functions may include prioritizing services, and mission critical services may be used for public safety or general business applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.

In some examples, the UE 115 may also be capable of communicating directly with other UEs 115 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocols). One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area 110 of a network entity (e.g., base station 105). Other UEs 115 in the group may be outside of the geographic coverage area 110 of the network entity (e.g., base station 105) or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the network entity (e.g., base station 105). In some examples, groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, a network entity (e.g., base station 105) facilitates scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving a network entity (e.g., base station 105).

In some systems, D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel (such as a side link communication channel) between vehicles (e.g., UEs 115). In some examples, the vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these communications. The vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergency, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in the V2X system may communicate with a roadside infrastructure, such as a roadside unit, or with a network, or with both, via one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations 105) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications.

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or a 5G core (5 GC), which may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) that manages access and mobility, and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a User Plane Function (UPF)) that routes packets or interconnects to an external network. The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by a network entity (e.g., base station 105) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be communicated through a user plane entity that may provide IP address assignment, as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 of one or more network operators. The IP service 150 may include access to the internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a packet switched streaming service.

Some network devices, such as network entities (e.g., base stations 105), may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity 140, which may be an example of an Access Node Controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with each UE 115 through one or more other access network transport entities 145 (such as RUs may also be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, RRHs, RRUs, or TRPs). Each access network transport entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or incorporated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, a region of 300MHz to 3GHz is called a Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or a decimeter band because the wavelength ranges from about 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by building and environmental features, but these waves may penetrate various structures for macro cells sufficiently to serve UEs 115 located indoors. Transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 km) than transmission of smaller and longer waves using High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in an ultra-high frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3GHz to 30GHz (also referred to as a centimeter frequency band) or in an extremely-high frequency (EHF) region of a frequency spectrum (e.g., from 30GHz to 300 GHz) (also referred to as a millimeter frequency band). In some examples, wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communication between UE 115 and base station 105, and EHF antennas of respective devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the device. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may experience even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the frequency band usage specified across these frequency regions may vary from country to country or regulatory agency to regulatory agency.

The wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in unlicensed frequency bands, such as the 5GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency bands. When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, devices such as network entities (e.g., base stations 105) and UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and collision avoidance. In some examples, operation in the unlicensed band may be based at least in part on a carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., LAA) in conjunction with component carriers operating in the licensed band. Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among others.

A network entity (e.g., base station 105) or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. The antennas of the network entity (e.g., base station 105) or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels that may support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly (such as an antenna tower). In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may be located in different geographic locations. The network entity (e.g., base station 105) may have an antenna array with several rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity (e.g., base station 105) may use to support beamforming for communication with UE 115. Likewise, UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for signals transmitted via the antenna ports.

A network entity (e.g., base station 105) or UE 115 may utilize multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers using MIMO communication. Such techniques may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, the transmitting device may transmit multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the receiving device may receive multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the plurality of signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or a different data stream (e.g., a different codeword). Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiver device; and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), wherein the plurality of spatial layers are transmitted to the plurality of devices.

Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a network entity such as base station 105, UE 115) to shape or steer antenna beams (e.g., transmit beams, receive beams) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be implemented by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating in a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference while other signals experience destructive interference. The adjustment of the signal communicated via the antenna element may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying an amplitude offset, a phase offset, or both, to the signal carried via the antenna element associated with the device. The adjustment associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).

A network entity (e.g., base station 105) or UE 115 may use beam sweep techniques as part of a beamforming operation. For example, a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) for beamforming operations for directional communication with UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by a network entity (e.g., base station 105) in different directions. For example, a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may transmit signals according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a network entity (e.g., base station 105), or a receiving device, such as UE 115), a beam direction used by a network entity (e.g., base station 105) for later transmission or reception.

Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular recipient device, may be transmitted by a network entity (e.g., base station 105) in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a recipient device, such as UE 115). In some examples, a beam direction associated with transmissions in a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by a network entity (e.g., base station 105) in different directions and may report an indication to the network entity (e.g., base station 105) of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a network entity (such as base station 105) or UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from the network entity (such as base station 105) to UE 115). The UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more subbands. A network entity (e.g., base station 105) may transmit reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) that may be precoded or not precoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by a network entity (e.g., base station 105) in one or more directions, UE 115 may use similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying beam directions for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115), or for transmitting signals in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a recipient device).

The receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may attempt multiple reception configurations (e.g., directed listening) upon receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from a network entity (e.g., base station 105). For example, the recipient device may attempt multiple directions of reception by: the received signals are received via different antenna sub-arrays, processed according to different antenna sub-arrays, received according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array (e.g., different sets of directional listening weights), or processed according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, the recipient device may use a single receive configuration to receive in a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving the data signal). The single receive configuration may be aligned over a beam direction determined based at least in part on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening according to multiple beam directions).

The wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. At the user plane, the communication of the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplex logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmission by the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the RRC protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections between the UE 115 and network entities (e.g., base stations 105) or core network 130 that support radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

The UE 115 and a network entity (e.g., base station 105) may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood that the data is successfully received. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is a technique for increasing the likelihood that data is properly received over the communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), forward Error Correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput of the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions). In some examples, a device may support simultaneous slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a particular slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent time slot or according to some other time interval.

UE115 may perform cell discovery in a window by monitoring and receiving SSBs from base stations. The UE115 may receive an indication of the number of beams in the set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during the discovery window. UE115 may use the received indication of the number of beams to map the SSB transmission set within the discovery window to the SSB candidate set within the discovery window, where the SSB candidate set is a subset of the total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window. UE115 may select, for each SSB candidate in the set of SSB candidates associated with the discovery window, a beam from the set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the SSB candidate and a number of beams. UE115 may monitor SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate. The UE may then receive one or more SSBs based on the monitoring.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 200 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communication system 200 may include a UE 115-a, which may be an example of a UE115 as described with respect to fig. 1. The wireless communication system 200 may also include a base station 105-a, which may be an example of a network entity (e.g., base station 105) as described with respect to fig. 1. The base station 105-a may communicate with the UE 115-a and other UEs 115 using the beam 205 (including beams 205-a, 205-b, and 205-c). UE 1150a may communicate with base station 105-a using beams 210-a, 210-b, and 210-c. Base station 105-a and UE 115-a may transmit and receive wireless communication signals using beams 205 and 210.

Each beam 205 of base station 105-a may correspond to an SSB or quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter. The base station 105-a may transmit SSBs for each beam 205 within SSB occasions in the discovery window to indicate the beam information to the UE 115-a. The UE 115-a may receive the SSB and determine beam information based on the SSB received during a discovery window (e.g., in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band or in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band). The discovery window may have a particular length, such as 5ms. The discovery window may include a set number of SSB candidate occasions, such as 64 occasions. The base station 105-a may use a beam in each SSB occasion to transmit the SSB corresponding to the beam. In some systems, the base station 105-a may communicate using up to a maximum number of beams (e.g., 64) and the same number of SSBs (e.g., 64). Thus, if the number of candidate SSB opportunities is the same as the number of beams, each SSB for each beam may be transmitted only once in the discovery window.

Although each SSB may be transmitted, there may be no redundancy in this configuration, which may increase latency and reduce communication efficiency, as the UE 115-a may lose some SSBs. Thus, the base station 105-a may reduce the number of beams 205 used in order to increase the number of times each SSB of a beam is transmitted. For example, the base station 105-a may transmit using 32 beams instead of 64 beams such that each SSB for each beam may be transmitted twice within the discovery window.

The UE 115-a may map each SSB received in each candidate opportunity to the beam of the base station 105-a in order to efficiently communicate with the base station 105-a. In order for the UE 115-a to correctly map each SSB candidate opportunity to an SSB for each beam, the UE 115-a may need to know the number of beams used by the base station 105-a or know the repetition configuration used by the base station 105-a. Thus, the base station 105-a may transmit an indication of the number of beams 215 to the UE 115-a. The indication of the number of beams 215 may be transmitted to the UE 115-a in MIB signaling, SIB signaling, RRC signaling, DMRS signaling, PBCH layer 1 multiplexing, or DMRS sequences. New bits may be defined in these signals for indication of the number of beams 215. Further, unused bits in PBCH or MIB signaling may be used. For example, in the case where SSB and CORESET0 are the same, SCS common bits may be used to signal an indication of the number of beams 215. In some examples, any combination of new bits, unused bits, and SCS common bits may be used to indicate the number of beams in MIB signaling, SIB signaling, RRC signaling, DMRS signaling, PBCH layer 1 multiplexing, or DMRS sequences 215.

The indication of the number of beams 215 may include an implicit or explicit indication of the number of beams used by the base station 105-a. The indication of the number of beams 215 may include an explicit or explicit indication of the number of beams. The indication of the number of beams 215 may also implicitly indicate the number of beams by explicitly or explicitly indicating parameters Q, N or M or a combination of these parameters. The parameter Q may be a repetition parameter, wherein SSB transmissions or QCL transmissions (each transmission corresponding to a single beam) may be repeated every Q. For example, Q may be 32, where (in the case where there are 64 SSB candidate opportunities in the discovery window), each SSB may be transmitted every 32 SSB candidate opportunities. Thus, in this example, each SSB may be transmitted twice, thus corresponding to 32 beams. Thus, the number of beams (e.g., 32) may be implicitly indicated by Q. UE 115-a may determine the beam indexed with a module (candidate SSB index, Q).

The indication of the number of beams 215 may also include an indication of the parameter N. The parameter N may be an indication of the number of sub-windows. For example, N may be indicated as 2. In this case, there may be two sub-windows within the discovery window, dividing the discovery window of 64 SSB candidates in half. Thus, the number of beams may be implicitly indicated as 32, as each SSB corresponding to one beam may be transmitted once in each sub-window (e.g., twice in the discovery window).

In another case, the indication of the number of beams 215 may include an indication of an M parameter. SSB transmissions corresponding to the beam may be repeated M times. For example, if M is signaled as 2, there may be 32 beams used in the wireless communication configuration. UE 115-a may derive the beam index as a modulus (floor (candidate SSB index/M), Q). M and Q may be specified or signaled.

In the licensed spectrum example, the indication of Q or N may allow more than one SSB candidate per beam. In these cases, the beam may also be repeated every Q. For example, in the case where N is indicated as 2 (such that Q is 32), two SSBs may be transmitted on the first or second candidate SSB occasion. UE 115-a may then combine SSBs to improve coverage. In other cases, at least one SSB may be transmitted on one candidate SSB. Other candidate SSBs for the SSB may or may not include the SSB in the SSB. For example, if N is indicated as 2 and Q is 32, only one SSB may be transmitted on the first or second candidate SSB occasion.

Based on the parameter signaling, the base station 105-a may transmit SSBs in SSB candidate opportunities for each beam 205. UE 115-a may monitor and receive SSB 220 based on the received indication of beam number 215. The described techniques may also be used in situations with more or less than 64 SSB candidate opportunities, more or less than 64 standard beams, and discovery windows of different lengths.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a discovery window diagram 300 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Discovery window diagram 300 may include subframes 340, which may include a discovery window 305 (e.g., a DRX window). In some examples, the discovery window 305 may be 5ms in length. Each slot of the discovery window may be 1ms. The 1ms slot 310 of the discovery window may be broken down into 8 sub-slots (e.g., 0-7, 8-5, etc.). Thus, the 5ms discovery window may include 40 sub-slots (0-39). A network entity (e.g., base station 105) may transmit an SSB index in each SSB candidate 315. In this example, the SCS may be 120kHz.

The base station 105 may transmit an indication of the number of beams to the UE 115. The indication of the number of beams may be an explicit indication of the number of beams or may include an indication of one or more of the parameters Q, N or M. The discovery window diagram 300 may be an example of a case where the indication of the number of beams includes an indication of Q being 32 and an indication of N being 2. Thus, two sub-windows exist in the discovery window 305. Additionally or alternatively, each SSB transmitted by the base station 105 corresponding to a beam may be transmitted twice within the discovery window 305. Thus, the base station 105 may operate with 32 beams.

For example, base station 105 may transmit a first SSB index 320-a of a first beam in SSB candidate 0. The base station 105 may transmit a second instance 320-b of the same SSB index for the first beam in SSB candidate opportunity 32. The base station 105 may transmit the same SSB indices 325-a and 325-b for the second beam in SSB candidate slots 1 and 33. Base station 105 may transmit the same SSB indices 330-a and 330-b for the third beam in SSB candidate slots 2 and 34. The base station 105 may transmit the same SSB indices 335-a and 335-b for the fourth beam in SSB candidate slots 4 and 35.

The UE115 may receive an indication of the number of beams including an indication of one or more of Q, N or M. UE115 may monitor SSB candidate occasions to receive SSB indexes. UE115 may map each SSB candidate slot to each received SSB transmission. The UE115 may determine the beam corresponding to each received SSB transmission from the received indication of the number of beams or one or more of Q, N or M or a combination of these.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a discovery window diagram 400 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Discovery window diagram 400 may include subframes 440, which may include discovery windows 405 (e.g., DRX windows). In some examples, the discovery window 405 may be 5ms in length. Each slot of the discovery window may be 1ms. The 1ms slot 410 of the discovery window may be broken down into 8 sub-slots (e.g., 0-7, 8-5, etc.). Thus, the 5ms discovery window may include 40 sub-slots (0-39). A network entity (e.g., base station 105) may transmit an SSB index in each SSB candidate 415. In this example, the SCS may be 120kHz.

The base station 105 may transmit an indication of the number of beams to the UE 115. The indication of the number of beams may be an explicit indication of the number of beams or may include an indication of one or more of the parameters Q, N or M. The discovery window diagram 400 may be an example of a case where the indication of the number of beams includes an indication of Q being 4 and an indication of M being 2. Thus, SSB index transmission may be repeated every 4 th beam, and SSB index may be repeated twice (e.g., back-to-back) in a row. Additionally or alternatively, each SSB transmitted by the base station 105 corresponding to a beam may be transmitted twice within the discovery window 405. Thus, the base station 105 may operate on 4 beams.

For example, base station 105 may transmit a first SSB index 420-a for a first beam in SSB candidate 0. The base station 105 may transmit a second instance 420-b of the same SSB index for the first beam in SSB candidate occasion 1. The base station may also transmit repetitions 420-c and 420-d of the SSB index in SSB candidate opportunities 8 and 9. The base station 105 may transmit the same SSB indices 425-a and 425-b for the second beam in SSB candidate slots 2 and 3. Base station 105 may transmit the same SSB indices 430-a and 430-b for the third beam in SSB candidate occasions 4 and 5. The base station may also transmit repetitions 430-c and 430-d of the SSB index in SSB candidate opportunities 60 and 61. The base station 105 may transmit the same SSB indices 435-a and 435-b for the fourth beam in SSB candidate occasions 6 and 7. The base station may also transmit repetitions 435-c and 435-d of the SSB index in SSB candidate opportunities 60 and 61. Thus, the pattern according to Q4 and M2 is repeated for 64 SSB occasions (e.g., SSB occasions 0-63).

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a process flow 500 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Process flow 500 includes UE 115-b, which may be an example of UE115 as described with reference to fig. 1 and 2. Process flow 500 also includes base station 105-b, which may be an example of a network entity (e.g., base station 105) as described with respect to fig. 1 and 2. UE 115-b may perform an initial cell search to establish communication with base station 105-b.

At 505, UE 115-b may receive an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window. UE 115-b may receive an explicit value of the number of beams. UE 115-b may receive the values (e.g., parameter N) of the sub-windows of the discovery window, each sub-window associated with at least one SSB transmission on each beam in the set of beams. In these cases, the number of beams is implicit in the value of the sub-window.

In some cases, UE 115-b may receive one or more of a MIB including an indication of a number of beams, a SIB including an indication of a number of beams, an RRC message including an indication of a number of beams, or a PBCH including an indication of a number of beams. In some cases, the indication of the number of beams may be signaled through SCS common fields of MIB or PBCH transmissions. The indication of the number of beams may also be signaled by PHY layer multiplexing of PBCH transmissions.

In some cases, the base station 105-b may perform PHY layer multiplexing of PBCH transmissions, and the base station 105-b may transmit an indication of the number of beams in the PBCH transmissions.

In some cases, the UE 115-b may receive a repetition parameter (e.g., parameter M) indicating the number of times each beam in the set of beams is repeated within each sub-window of the discovery window.

In some cases, the UE 115-b may transmit one or more of a request for repetition parameters or UE capabilities of the UE 115-b to support repetition parameters, where the repetition parameters may be received in response to the request for repetition parameters or UE capabilities to support repetition parameters.

In some cases, the UE 115-b may transmit one or more of a request for the number of beams or UE capabilities of the UE 115-b to support the number of beams, where the indication of the number of beams may be received in response to the request for the number of beams or the UE capabilities to support the number of beams.

At 510, UE115-b may use the received indication of the number of beams to map an SSB transmission set within a discovery window (e.g., a DRS window) to an SSB candidate set within the discovery window, wherein the SSB candidate set is a subset of the total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window.

In the case where UE115-b receives repetition parameters, the mapping of SSB transmission sets to SSB candidate sets may be further based on the repetition parameters.

In some cases, each beam is repeated over consecutive SSB candidates in the SSB candidate set within a given sub-window of the discovery window.

At 515, UE115-b may select, for each SSB candidate in the set of SSB candidates associated with the discovery window, a beam from the set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to the index of the SSB candidate and the number of beams.

At 520, UE115-b may monitor the SSB candidate set according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate. In some cases, UE115-b may combine several SSB candidates within a discovery window, where the SSB candidate set may be associated with a single beam in the beam set. In some cases, UE115-b may discard one or several SSB candidates within the discovery window, where the SSB candidate set may be associated with a single beam in the beam set.

At 525, UE 115-b may receive one or more SSBs based on the monitoring. The base station 105-b may transmit one or more SSBs based on the indication of the number of beams.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 of an apparatus 605 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of the UE 115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a transmitter 615, and a communication manager 620. The device 605 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 610 may provide means for receiving information, such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. Information may be passed on to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set comprising multiple antennas.

The transmitter 615 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 605. For example, the transmitter 615 may transmit information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 615 may be co-located with the receiver 610 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 615 may utilize a single antenna or a set including multiple antennas.

The communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations thereof, or various components thereof, may be examples of means for performing aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein. For example, the communication manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

In some examples, the communication manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communication management circuitry). The hardware may include processors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof, configured or otherwise supporting the apparatus for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and a memory coupled to the processor may be configured to perform one or more functions described herein (e.g., by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory).

Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented by code (e.g., as communication management software or firmware) that is executed by a processor. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 620, receiver 610, transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof, may be performed by a general purpose processor, DSP, central Processing Unit (CPU), ASIC, FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., means configured or otherwise supported for performing the functions described herein).

In some examples, the communication manager 620 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise in conjunction with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both. For example, the communication manager 620 may receive information from the receiver 610, send information to the transmitter 615, or be integrated with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations described herein.

The communication manager 620 may support wireless communication at the UE according to examples disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 620 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window. The communication manager 620 may be configured or otherwise support means for mapping a plurality of SSB transmissions within a discovery window to a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window. The communication manager 620 may be configured or otherwise support means for selecting, for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the SSB candidate and a number of beams. The communication manager 620 may be configured or otherwise support means for monitoring a plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate. The communication manager 620 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving one or more SSBs in accordance with the monitoring.

By including or configuring a communication manager 620 according to examples as described herein, the device 605 (e.g., a processor that controls or is otherwise coupled to the receiver 610, the transmitter 620, the communication manager 720, or a combination thereof) can support techniques for improving redundancy opportunities for SSB transmissions in order to improve communication efficiency and reduce latency. The device 605 may receive an indication of a repeated configuration of the set of beams from the base station, and the device 605 may use the configuration to efficiently map SSB candidate opportunities to the received SSB index and corresponding beams.

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram 700 of a device 705 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Device 705 may be an example of aspects of device 605 or UE 115 as described herein. Device 705 may include a receiver 710, a transmitter 715, and a communication manager 720. The device 705 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 710 may provide means for receiving information, such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. Information may be passed on to other components of device 705. The receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a set comprising multiple antennas.

Transmitter 715 may provide means for transmitting signals generated by other components of device 705. For example, the transmitter 715 may transmit information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 715 may be co-located with the receiver 710 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 715 may utilize a single antenna or a set including multiple antennas.

Device 705, or various components thereof, may be an example of an apparatus for performing aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein. For example, communication manager 720 may include a beam number component 725, an SSB mapping component 730, a beam selection component 735, an SSB monitoring component 740, an SSB receiving component 745, or any combination thereof. Communication manager 720 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 620 as described herein. In some examples, the communication manager 720 or various components thereof may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise in conjunction with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both. For example, the communication manager 720 may receive information from the receiver 710, send information to the transmitter 715, or be integrated with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations described herein.

The communication manager 720 may support wireless communication at the UE in accordance with examples disclosed herein. The number of beams component 725 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window. SPS mapping component 730 may be configured or otherwise enabled to use the received indication of the number of beams to map a plurality of SSB transmissions within a discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window. The beam selection component 735 may be configured or otherwise support means for selecting, for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams. SSB monitoring component 740 may be configured or otherwise support means for monitoring multiple SSB candidates according to a selected beam for each SSB candidate. The SSB receiving component 745 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving one or more SSBs in accordance with the monitoring.

Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram 800 of a communication manager 820 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Communication manager 820 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 620, communication manager 720, or both described herein. Communication manager 820 or various components thereof may be an example of means for performing aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein. For example, communication manager 820 can include a beam number component 825, an SSB mapping component 830, a beam selection component 835, an SSB monitoring component 840, an SSB receiving component 845, a sub-window component 850, a repetition component 855, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

The communication manager 820 may support wireless communication at a UE according to examples disclosed herein. The number of beams component 825 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving an indication of the number of beams in the set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during the discovery window. SPS mapping component 830 may be configured or otherwise enabled to use the received indication of the number of beams to map a plurality of SSB transmissions within a discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window. The beam selection component 835 may be configured or otherwise support means for selecting, for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams. SSB monitoring component 840 may be configured or otherwise support means for monitoring multiple SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate. The SSB receiving component 845 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving one or more SSBs in accordance with the monitoring.

In some examples, to support receiving an indication of the number of beams, the beam number component 825 may be configured or otherwise support a means for receiving an explicit value of the number of beams.

In some examples, to support receiving an indication of a number of beams, the sub-window component 850 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving values of sub-windows of a discovery window, each sub-window associated with at least one SSB transmission on each beam of a set of beams, wherein the number of beams is implicit in the values of the sub-window.

In some examples, the repetition component 855 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a repetition parameter indicating a number of repetitions of each beam in the set of beams within each sub-window of the discovery window.

In some examples, mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions to the plurality of SSB candidates is further based on a repetition parameter.

In some examples, each beam is repeated over consecutive SSB candidates of the plurality of SSB candidates within a given sub-window of the discovery window.

In some examples, the repetition component 855 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more of: a request for or a UE capability supporting a repetition parameter is received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the repetition parameter.

In some examples, to support monitoring multiple SSB candidates according to a selected beam for each SSB candidate, SSB mapping component 830 may be configured or otherwise support means for combining several SSB candidates within a discovery window, where the multiple SSB candidates are associated with a single beam in a set of beams.

In some examples, to support monitoring multiple SSB candidates according to a selected beam for each SSB candidate, SSB mapping component 830 may be configured or otherwise support means for discarding one of several SSB candidates within a discovery window, where the multiple SSB candidates are associated with a single beam in a set of beams.

In some examples, to support receiving an indication of the number of beams, the beam number component 825 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving one or more of: MIB including an indication of the number of beams, SIB including an indication of the number of beams, RRC message including an indication of the number of beams, or PBCH transmission including an indication of the number of beams.

In some examples, the indication of the number of beams is signaled through an SCS common field of MIB or PBCH transmissions. In some examples, the indication of the number of beams may be signaled by at least one bit in the SCS common field of the MIB and at least one unused bit of the MIB.

In some examples, the indication of the number of beams is signaled through physical layer multiplexing of PBCH transmissions. In some examples, the indication of the number of beams in the set of beams corresponds to SSB transmissions during a discovery window in the licensed radio frequency spectrum band.

In some examples, the beam number component 825 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more of: a request for or a UE capability supporting a number of beams, wherein the indication of the number of beams is received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

Fig. 9 illustrates a diagram of a system 900 including a device 905 that supports beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of or include components of the device 605, the device 705, or the UE 115 as described herein. The device 905 may communicate wirelessly with one or more network entities (e.g., base station 105), UEs 115, or any combination thereof. The device 905 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 920, an input/output (I/O) controller 910, a transceiver 915, an antenna 925, a memory 930, code 935, and a processor 940. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 945).

The I/O controller 910 may manage input and output signals for the device 905. The I/O controller 910 may also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into the device 905. In some cases, the I/O controller 910 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I/OThe controller 910 may utilize an operating system, such as Or another known operating system. Additionally or alternatively, the I/O controller 910 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I/O controller 910 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as processor 940. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 910 via the I/O controller 905 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 910.

In some cases, the device 905 may include a single antenna 925. However, in some other cases, the device 905 may have more than one antenna 925, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 915 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas 925, wired or wireless links, as described herein. For example, transceiver 915 may represent a wireless transceiver and may be in two-way communication with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 915 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 925 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 925. The transceiver 915 or the transceiver 915 and one or more antennas 925 may be examples of a transmitter 615, a transmitter 715, a receiver 610, a receiver 710, or any combination thereof or component thereof as described herein.

Memory 930 may include Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM). The memory 930 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 935 comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor 940, cause the device 905 to perform the various functions described herein. Code 935 may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as system memory or other types of memory. In some cases, code 935 may not be directly executable by processor 940, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, memory 930 may include, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interactions with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 940 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 940 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 940. Processor 940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 930) to cause device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support beam selection discovery window monitoring). For example, the device 905 or components of the device 905 may include a processor 940 and a memory 940 coupled to the processor 930, the processor 940 and the memory 930 configured to perform various functions described herein.

The communication manager 920 may support wireless communication at a UE according to examples disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 920 may be configured or otherwise enabled to receive an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window. The communication manager 920 may be configured or otherwise support means for mapping a plurality of SSB transmissions within a discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window. The communication manager 920 may be configured or otherwise support means for selecting, for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams. Communication manager 920 may be configured or otherwise support means for monitoring multiple SSB candidates according to a selected beam for each SSB candidate. The communication manager 920 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving one or more SSBs in accordance with the monitoring.

By including or configuring a communication manager 920 according to examples as described herein, the device 905 may support techniques for improving redundancy opportunities for SSB transmissions to increase communication efficiency and reduce latency. The device 905 may receive an indication of a repeated configuration of the set of beams from the network entity and the device 905 may use the configuration to efficiently map SSB candidate opportunities to the received SSB index and corresponding beams.

In some examples, the communication manager 920 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise in conjunction with the transceiver 915, one or more antennas 925, or any combination thereof. Although the communication manager 920 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 920 may be supported or performed by the processor 940, the memory 930, the code 935, or any combination thereof. For example, code 935 may include instructions executable by processor 940 to cause device 905 to perform aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein, or processor 940 and memory 930 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Device 1005 may be an example of aspects of a network entity (e.g., base station 105) as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a transmitter 1015, and a communication manager 1020. The device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 1010 may provide means for receiving information, such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a set comprising multiple antennas.

The transmitter 1015 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 1005. For example, the transmitter 1015 may transmit information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1015 may be co-located with the receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 1015 may utilize a single antenna or a set comprising multiple antennas.

The communication manager 1020, receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or various combinations thereof, or various components thereof, may be examples of means for performing aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein. For example, communication manager 1020, receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof, may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

In some examples, the communication manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communication management circuitry). The hardware may include processors, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured or otherwise supporting means for performing the functions described in this disclosure. In some examples, a processor and a memory coupled to the processor may be configured to perform one or more functions described herein (e.g., by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory).

Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communication manager 1020, receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented by code (e.g., as communication management software or firmware) executed by a processor. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1020, receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof, may be performed by a general purpose processor, DSP, CPU, ASIC, FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured or otherwise supporting means for performing the functions described herein).

In some examples, communication manager 1020 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise in conjunction with receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or both. For example, communication manager 1020 may receive information from receiver 1010, send information to transmitter 1015, or be integrated with receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations described herein.

According to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 1020 may support wireless communication at a network entity. For example, the communication manager 1020 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band. The communication manager 1020 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more SSBs in accordance with the indication.

By including or configuring a communication manager 1020 according to examples as described herein, the device 1005 (e.g., a processor that controls or is otherwise coupled to the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, the communication manager 1020, or a combination thereof) can support techniques for improving redundancy opportunities for SSB transmissions in order to improve communication efficiency and reduce latency. The communication manager 1020 may operate the transmitter 1015 to transmit an indication of the repetition configuration of the set of beams, and the communication manager 1020 may transmit the SSB index set using the transmitter 1015 according to the beam repetition configuration.

Fig. 11 illustrates a block diagram 1100 of a device 1105 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Device 1105 may be an example of aspects of device 1005 or a network entity (e.g., base station 105) as described herein. The device 1105 may include a receiver 1110, a transmitter 1115, and a communication manager 1120. The device 1105 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1110 can provide means for receiving information, such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1105. Receiver 1110 may utilize a single antenna or a set comprising multiple antennas.

The transmitter 1115 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 1105. For example, the transmitter 1115 may transmit information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam selection discovery window monitoring), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1115 may be co-located with the receiver 1110 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 1115 may utilize a single antenna or a set comprising multiple antennas.

The device 1105 or various components thereof may be an example of an apparatus for performing aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein. For example, communication manager 1120 may include a quantity indication component 1125, an SSB transmission component 1130, or any combination thereof. Communication manager 1120 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1020 as described herein. In some examples, the communication manager 1120 or various components thereof may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise in conjunction with the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or both. For example, the communication manager 1120 may receive information from the receiver 1110, send information to the transmitter 1115, or be integrated with the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations described herein.

According to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 1120 may support wireless communication at a network entity. The number indication component 1125 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band. SSB transmission component 1130 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more SSBs in accordance with the indication.

Fig. 12 illustrates a block diagram 1200 of a communication manager 1220 supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Communication manager 1220 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1020, communication manager 1120, or both described herein. The communication manager 1220 or various components thereof may be an example of means for performing aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein. For example, communication manager 1220 can include a quantity indication component 1225, an SSB transmission component 1230, a child window indication component 1235, a repetition indication component 1240, a multiplexing component 1245, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

According to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 1220 may support wireless communication at a network entity. The quantity indication component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication of a quantity of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band. The SSB transmission component 1230 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more SSBs in accordance with the indication.

In some examples, to support transmitting an indication of the number of beams, the number of beams component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an explicit value of the number of beams.

In some examples, to support transmitting an indication of the number of beams, the sub-window indication component 1235 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting values of sub-windows of the discovery window, each sub-window associated with at least one SSB transmission on each beam in the set of beams, wherein the number of beams is implicit in the values of the sub-window.

In some examples, repetition indication component 1240 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting a repetition parameter that indicates a number of repetitions of each beam in the set of beams within each sub-window of the discovery window.

In some examples, repetition indication component 1240 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a request for repetition parameters. In some examples, repetition indication component 1240 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting repetition parameters in response to a request for repetition parameters.

In some examples, repetition indication component 1240 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving UE capabilities supporting repetition parameters. In some examples, repetition indication component 1240 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting repetition parameters in response to UE capabilities supporting the repetition parameters.

In some examples, to support transmitting an indication of the number of beams, the beam number component 1225 may be configured to or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more of: MIB including an indication of the number of beams, SIB including an indication of the number of beams, RRC message including an indication of the number of beams, or PBCH transmission including an indication of the number of beams.

In some examples, the number indication component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting a MIB including an SCS common field that includes an indication of the number of beams.

In some examples, multiplexing component 1245 may be configured or otherwise support apparatus for performing physical layer multiplexing of PBCH transmissions. In some examples, the number indication component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication of the number of beams in a PBCH transmission.

In some examples, the number indication component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a request for a number of beams. In some examples, the number indication component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication of the number of beams in response to a request for the number of beams.

In some examples, the number indication component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving UE capabilities supporting a number of beams. In some examples, the number indication component 1225 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication of the number of beams in response to the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

Fig. 13 illustrates a diagram of a system 1300 including a device 1305 that supports beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Device 1305 may be or include examples of device 1005, device 1105, or components of a network entity (e.g., base station 105) as described herein. Device 1305 may communicate wirelessly with one or more network entities (e.g., base station 105), UE 115, or any combination thereof. Device 1305 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications such as a communications manager 1320, a network communications manager 1310, a transceiver 1315, an antenna 1325, memory 1330, code 1335, a processor 1340, and an inter-station communications manager 1345. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1350).

The network communication manager 1310 may manage communications with the core network 130 (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communication manager 1310 may manage delivery of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

In some cases, device 1305 may include a single antenna 1325. However, in some other cases, device 1305 may have more than one antenna 1325, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1315 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas 1325, wired or wireless links, as described herein. For example, transceiver 1315 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1315 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the one or more antennas 1325 for transmission, and demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 1325. The transceiver 1315 or transceiver 1315 and one or more antennas 1325 may be examples of a transmitter 1115, a receiver 1010, a receiver 1110, or any combination or component thereof as described herein.

The memory 1330 may include RAM and ROM. Memory 1330 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1335 comprising instructions that, when executed by processor 1340, cause device 1305 to perform the various functions described herein. Code 1335 may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, code 1335 may not be directly executable by processor 1340, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1330 may include, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interactions with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 1340 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1340 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1340. Processor 1340 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1330) to cause device 1305 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support beam selection discovery window monitoring). For example, device 1305 or a component of device 1305 may include a processor 1340 and a memory 1340 coupled to processor 1330, the processor 1340 and memory 1330 configured to perform the various functions described herein.

The inter-station communication manager 1345 may manage communication with other network entities (e.g., base station 105) and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communication with the UE 115 in cooperation with the other network entities (e.g., base station 105). For example, inter-station communication manager 1345 may coordinate scheduling of transmissions to UE 115 for various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communication manager 1345 may provide an X2 interface within the LTE/LTE-a wireless communication network technology to provide communication between network entities (e.g., base stations 105).

The communication manager 1320 may support wireless communication at a base station according to examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 1320 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band. The communication manager 1320 may be configured or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more SSBs in accordance with the indication.

By including or configuring a communication manager 1320 in accordance with examples as described herein, device 1305 may support techniques for improving redundancy opportunities for SSB transmissions to increase communication efficiency and reduce latency. Device 1305 may transmit an indication of the repetition configuration of the beam set and communication manager 1020 may transmit using the SSB index set according to the beam repetition configuration.

In some examples, the communication manager 1320 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise in conjunction with the transceiver 1315, one or more antennas 1325, or any combination thereof. Although the communication manager 1320 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 1320 may be supported or performed by the processor 1340, the memory 1330, the code 1335, or any combination thereof. For example, code 1335 may include instructions executable by processor 1340 to cause device 1305 to perform aspects of beam selection discovery window monitoring as described herein, or processor 1340 and memory 1330 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

Fig. 14 illustrates a flow chart that describes a method 1400 for supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1400 may be implemented by a UE or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by UE 115 as described with reference to fig. 1-9. In some examples, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functionality.

At 1405, the method can receive an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with synchronizing signal block transmissions during a discovery window. 1405 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1405 may be performed by beam number component 825 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1410, the received indication of the number of beams is used to map a plurality of synchronization signal block transmissions within a discovery window to a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates are a subset of a total number of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window. 1410 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1410 may be performed by SSB mapping component 830 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1415, the method may include selecting, for each synchronization signal block candidate of the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates associated with the discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each synchronization signal block candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding synchronization signal block candidate and a number of beams. 1415 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1415 may be performed by beam selection component 835 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1420, the method may include monitoring a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates according to the selected beam for each synchronization signal block candidate. Operations of 1420 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1420 may be performed by SSB monitoring component 840 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1425, the method may include receiving one or more synchronization signal blocks in accordance with the monitoring. The operations of 1425 may be performed in accordance with examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1425 may be performed by SSB receiving component 845 as described with reference to fig. 8.

Fig. 15 illustrates a flow chart that demonstrates a method 1500 of supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by a UE or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by UE 115 as described with reference to fig. 1-9. In some examples, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functionality.

At 1505, the method may receive an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with a synchronization signal block transmission during a discovery window. The operations of 1505 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1505 may be performed by beam number component 825 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1510, the method may include receiving an explicit value of the number of beams. 1510 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1510 may be performed by beam number component 825 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1515, the method may include mapping the plurality of synchronization signal block transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates is a subset of a total number of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window. Operations of 1515 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be performed by SSB mapping component 830 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1520, the method may include selecting, for each of a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates associated with a discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each synchronization signal block candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding synchronization signal block candidate and a number of beams. Operations of 1520 may be performed in accordance with examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1520 may be performed by beam selection component 835 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1525, the method may comprise monitoring a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates according to the selected beam for each synchronization signal block candidate. Operations of 1525 may be performed in accordance with examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1525 may be performed by SSB monitoring component 840 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1530, the method can include receiving one or more synchronization signal blocks in accordance with the monitoring. Operations of 1530 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1530 may be performed by SSB receiving component 845 as described with reference to fig. 8.

Fig. 16 illustrates a flow chart that describes a method 1600 for supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1600 may be implemented by a UE or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by UE 115 as described with reference to fig. 1-9. In some examples, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functionality.

At 1605, the method may receive an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with synchronization signal block transmission during a discovery window. The operations of 1605 may be performed in accordance with examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1605 may be performed by beam number component 825 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1610, the method may include receiving a value of a sub-window of a discovery window, each sub-window associated with at least one synchronization signal block transmission on each beam of a set of beams, wherein the number of beams is implicit in the value of the sub-window. The operations of 1610 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1610 may be performed by a sub-window component 850 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1615, the method may include mapping the plurality of synchronization signal block transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates is a subset of a total number of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window. 1615 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1615 may be performed by SSB mapping component 830 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1620, the method may include selecting, for each synchronization signal block candidate of the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates associated with the discovery window, a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each synchronization signal block candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding synchronization signal block candidate and a number of beams. 1620 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1620 may be performed by beam selection component 835 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1625, the method may include monitoring a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates according to the selected beam for each synchronization signal block candidate. The operations of 1625 may be performed in accordance with examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1625 may be performed by SSB monitoring component 840 as described with reference to fig. 8.

At 1630, the method may include receiving one or more synchronization signal blocks according to the monitoring. 1630 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1630 may be performed by SSB receiving component 845 as described with reference to fig. 8.

Fig. 17 illustrates a flow chart that is an understanding of a method 1700 of supporting beam selection discovery window monitoring in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1700 may be implemented by a network entity (e.g., a base station or component thereof) as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1700 may be performed by a network entity (e.g., base station 105) as described with reference to fig. 1-5 and 10-13. In some examples, a network entity may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the network entity to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the network entity may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functionality.

At 1705, the method may transmit an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with a synchronization signal block transmission during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band. 1705 may be performed in accordance with examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1705 may be performed by the number indication component 1225 described with reference to fig. 12.

At 1710, the method may include transmitting one or more synchronization signal blocks according to the indication. Operations of 1710 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1710 may be performed by SSB transmission component 1230 as described with reference to fig. 12.

The following provides an overview of aspects of the disclosure:

aspect 1: a method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window; mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of SSB candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates is a subset of a total number of SSB candidates within the discovery window; for each SSB candidate of a plurality of SSB candidates associated with a discovery window, selecting a beam from a set of beams for monitoring each SSB candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding SSB candidate and a number of beams; monitoring a plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate; and receiving one or more SSBs based on the monitoring.

Aspect 2: the method of aspect 1, wherein receiving an indication of the number of beams comprises: a clear value of the number of receive beams.

Aspect 3: the method of any of aspects 1-2, wherein receiving an indication of a number of beams comprises: values of sub-windows of the discovery window are received, each sub-window being associated with at least one SSB transmission on each beam in the set of beams, wherein the number of beams is implicit in the values of the sub-window.

Aspect 4: the method of aspect 3, further comprising: a repetition parameter is received that indicates a number of repetitions of each beam in the set of beams within each sub-window of the discovery window.

Aspect 5: the method of aspect 4, wherein mapping the plurality of SSB transmissions to the plurality of SSB candidates is further based on a repetition parameter.

Aspect 6: the method of any of aspects 4-5, wherein each beam is repeated over consecutive SSB candidates of the plurality of SSB candidates within a given sub-window of the discovery window.

Aspect 7: the method of any one of aspects 4 to 6, further comprising: transmitting one or more of the following: a request for or a UE capability supporting a repetition parameter is received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the repetition parameter.

Aspect 8: the method of any of aspects 1 to 7, wherein monitoring the plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate comprises: several SSB candidates within the discovery window are combined, wherein the multiple SSB candidates are associated with a single beam in the set of beams.

Aspect 9: the method of any of aspects 1 to 8, wherein monitoring the plurality of SSB candidates according to the selected beam for each SSB candidate comprises: one of a number of SSB candidates within the discovery window is discarded, wherein the plurality of SSB candidates are associated with a single beam in the set of beams.

Aspect 10: the method of any of aspects 1 to 9, wherein receiving an indication of the number of beams comprises: one or more of the following is received: MIB including an indication of the number of beams, SIB including an indication of the number of beams, RRC message including an indication of the number of beams, or PBCH transmission including an indication of the number of beams.

Aspect 11: the method of aspect 10, wherein the indication of the number of beams is signaled by at least one bit in an SCS common field of the MIB and at least one unused bit of the MIB.

Aspect 12: the method of any of aspects 1 through 11, wherein the indication of the number of beams in the set of beams corresponds to SSB transmissions during a discovery window in the licensed radio frequency spectrum band.

Aspect 13: the method of any one of aspects 1 to 12, further comprising: transmitting one or more of the following: a request for or a UE capability supporting a number of beams, wherein the indication of the number of beams is received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

Aspect 14: a method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with SSB transmissions during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band; and transmitting one or more SSBs according to the indication.

Aspect 15: the method of aspect 14, wherein transmitting an indication of the number of beams comprises: a clear value of the number of transmit beams.

Aspect 16: the method of any of aspects 14 to 15, wherein transmitting an indication of the number of beams comprises: transmitting values for sub-windows of the discovery window, each sub-window being associated with at least one SSB transmission on each beam in the set of beams, wherein the number of beams is implicit in the values for the sub-window.

Aspect 17: the method of aspect 16, further comprising: a repetition parameter is transmitted that indicates a number of repetitions of each beam in the set of beams within each sub-window of the discovery window.

Aspect 18: the method of aspect 17, wherein each beam is repeated over consecutive SSB candidates of the plurality of SSB candidates within a given sub-window of the discovery window.

Aspect 19: the method of any one of aspects 17 to 18, further comprising: receiving a request for a repetition parameter; and transmitting the repetition parameter in response to the request for the repetition parameter.

Aspect 20: the method of any one of aspects 17 to 19, further comprising: receiving UE capabilities supporting repetition parameters; and transmitting the repetition parameter in response to the UE capability supporting the repetition parameter.

Aspect 21: the method of any of aspects 14 to 20, wherein transmitting an indication of the number of beams comprises: transmitting one or more of the following: MIB including an indication of the number of beams, SIB including an indication of the number of beams, RRC message including an indication of the number of beams, or PBCH transmission including an indication of the number of beams.

Aspect 22: the method of aspect 21, further comprising: the MIB is transmitted that includes an SCS common field that includes an indication of the number of beams.

Aspect 23: the method of any one of aspects 21 to 22, further comprising: physical layer multiplexing of PBCH transmission is performed; an indication of the number of beams is transmitted in the PBCH transmission.

Aspect 24: the method of any one of aspects 14 to 23, further comprising: receiving a request for a number of beams; and transmitting an indication of the number of beams in response to the request for the number of beams.

Aspect 25: the method of any one of aspects 14 to 24, further comprising: receiving UE capabilities supporting the number of beams; and transmitting an indication of the number of beams in response to the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

Aspect 26: an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and wherein the instructions stored in the memory are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of aspects 1 to 13.

Aspect 27: an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising at least one means for performing the method of any of aspects 1-13.

Aspect 28: a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any of aspects 1 to 13.

Aspect 29: an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and wherein the instructions stored in the memory are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of aspects 14 to 25.

Aspect 30: an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising at least one means for performing the method of any one of aspects 14 to 25.

Aspect 31: a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a network entity, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any one of aspects 14 to 25.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

Although aspects of the LTE, LTE-A, LTE-a Pro or NR system may be described for exemplary purposes and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-a Pro or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein may also be applied to networks other than LTE, LTE-A, LTE-a Pro or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applied to various other wireless communication systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, and other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, CPU, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software for execution by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwired or any combination thereof. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various places including being distributed such that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact Disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk (disc) and disc (disc), as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein (including in the claims), an "or" used in an item enumeration (e.g., an item enumeration with a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of" attached) indicates an inclusive enumeration, such that, for example, enumeration of at least one of A, B or C means a or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., a and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based at least in part on" should not be read as referring to a closed set of conditions. For example, example steps described as "based at least in part on condition a" may be based at least in part on both condition a and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based at least in part on" should be read in the same manner as the phrase "based on.

The term "determining" or "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions, and as such, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, exploring, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, database or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. In addition, "determining" may include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data in memory), and the like. Additionally, "determining" may include parsing, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.

In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Further, individual components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference number is used in the specification, the description may be applied to any one of the similar components having the same first reference number, regardless of the second reference number, or other subsequent reference numbers.

The description set forth herein in connection with the appended drawings describes example configurations and is not intended to represent all examples that may be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and does not mean "better than" or "over other examples. The detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described technology. However, the techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a User Equipment (UE), comprising:

receiving an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with a synchronization signal block transmission during a discovery window;

mapping a plurality of synchronization signal block transmissions within the discovery window to a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window using the received indication of the number of beams, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates is a subset of a total number of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window;

for each synchronization signal block candidate of the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates associated with the discovery window, selecting a beam from the set of beams for monitoring each synchronization signal block candidate, wherein the beam is selected according to an index of the corresponding synchronization signal block candidate and the number of beams;

monitoring the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates according to the beam selected for each synchronization signal block candidate; and

one or more synchronization signal blocks are received in accordance with the monitoring.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the number of beams comprises:

a clear value of the number of beams is received.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the number of beams comprises:

receiving values of sub-windows of the discovery window, each sub-window being associated with at least one synchronization signal block transmission on each beam of the set of beams, wherein the number of beams is implicit in the values of sub-windows.

4. A method as in claim 3, further comprising:

a repetition parameter is received that indicates a number of repetitions of each beam of the set of beams within each sub-window of the discovery window.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein mapping the plurality of synchronization signal block transmissions to the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates is further based on the repetition parameter.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein each beam is repeated over consecutive ones of the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates within a given sub-window of the discovery window.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

transmitting one or more of the following: a request for or a UE capability supporting the repetition parameter is received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the repetition parameter.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates according to the beam selected for each synchronization signal block candidate comprises:

combining a number of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates are associated with a single beam in the set of beams.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates according to the beam selected for each synchronization signal block candidate comprises:

one of a number of synchronization signal block candidates within the discovery window is discarded, wherein the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates are associated with a single beam of the set of beams.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the number of beams comprises:

a primary information block is received that includes the indication of the number of beams.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of the number of beams is signaled by at least one bit in a subcarrier spacing shared field of the master information block and at least one unused bit of the master information block.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the number of beams in the set of beams corresponds to the synchronization signal block transmission during the discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting one or more of the following: a request for or a UE capability supporting the number of beams, wherein the indication of the number of beams is received in response to the request for or the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

14. A method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:

transmitting an indication of a number of beams in a set of beams associated with a synchronization signal block transmission during a discovery window in a licensed radio frequency spectrum band; and

one or more synchronization signal blocks are transmitted in accordance with the indication.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting the indication of the number of beams comprises:

and transmitting an explicit value of the number of beams.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting the indication of the number of beams comprises:

transmitting values of sub-windows of the discovery window, each sub-window being associated with at least one synchronization signal block transmission on each beam of the set of beams, wherein the number of beams is implicit in the values of sub-windows.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

Transmitting a repetition parameter indicating a number of repetitions of each beam of the set of beams within each sub-window of the discovery window.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each beam is repeated over consecutive ones of a plurality of synchronization signal block candidates within a given sub-window of the discovery window.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a request for the repetition parameter; and

the repetition parameter is transmitted in response to the request for the repetition parameter.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving User Equipment (UE) capabilities supporting the repetition parameters; and

the repetition parameters are transmitted in response to the UE capabilities supporting the repetition parameters.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting the indication of the number of beams comprises:

transmitting one or more of the following: a primary information block comprising the indication of the number of beams, a system information block comprising the indication of the number of beams, a radio resource control message comprising the indication of the number of beams, or a physical broadcast channel transmission comprising the indication of the number of beams.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

the primary information block including a subcarrier spacing shared field including the indication of the number of beams is transmitted.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

performing physical layer multiplexing of the physical broadcast channel transmission; and

the indication of the number of beams is transmitted in the physical broadcast channel transmission.

24. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a request for the number of beams; and

the indication of the number of beams is transmitted in response to the request for the number of beams.

25. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving UE capabilities supporting the number of beams; and

the indication of the number of beams is transmitted in response to the UE capability supporting the number of beams.

26. An apparatus for wireless communication at a User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to cause the device to:

one or more synchronization signal blocks are received based on the monitoring of the plurality of synchronization signal block candidates.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the instructions for receiving the indication of the number of beams are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

A clear value of the number of beams is received.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the instructions for receiving the indication of the number of beams are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

29. An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:

a processor; and

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the instructions for transmitting the indication of the number of beams are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

and transmitting an explicit value of the number of beams.