WO2018035334A1

WO2018035334A1 - Beam refinement and control signaling for mobile communication systems

Info

Publication number: WO2018035334A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/047362
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yushu Zhang; Yuan Zhu; Wenting CHANG; Gang Xiong; Huaning Niu
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2016-08-19
Filing date: 2017-08-17
Publication date: 2018-02-22
Also published as: CN109565317A; CN109565317B

Abstract

An apparatus is configured to be employed within a base station. The apparatus comprises baseband circuitry which includes a radio frequency (RF) interface and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to generate a downlink control information (DCI) having a beam refinement indicator, wherein the beam refinement indicator includes one or more types of beam refinement. The one or more processors are further configured to generate a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) in accordance with the DCI. The one or more processors are further configured to send the DCI having the beam refinement indicator to the RF interface for transmission to one or more user equipment (UE) devices. The DCI having the beam refinement indicator is provided within a physical channel.

Description

BEAM REFINEMENT AND CONTROL SIGNALING FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATION

SYSTEMS

FIELD

[0001] Various embodiments generally may relate to the field of wireless

communications.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No.

PCT/CN2016/096021 , filed August 19, 201 6.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Wireless or mobile communication involves wireless communication between two or more devices. The communication requires resources to transmit data from one device to another and/or to receive data at one device from another.

[0004] One technique for communication is to have the devices generate or radiate signals or energy in all directions. Thus, signals from one device can reach another device. However, most of the energy is wasted as it is directed in other directions away from the receiving device.

[0005] Another approach is to directionally radiate signals/energy towards communicating devices. As a result, less energy is wasted. The focused or directed energy is referred to as a beam or cell. The beam itself is formed by a process referred to as beamforming, where direction and location for the devices is considered. Once beams are formed, conditions can change and medication of the beam is typically required. This modification of the created beam is referred to as beam refinement or adjustment.

[0006] What is needed are techniques to facilitate beam refinement, beam formation and the like for wireless communications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communications network environment for a network device (e.g., a UE or an eNB) according to various aspects or embodiments. [0008] FIG. 2 illustrates another block diagram of an example of wireless

communications network environment for a network device (e.g., a UE or an eNB) according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 3 another block diagram of an example of wireless communications network environment for network device (e.g., a UE or an eNB) with various interfaces according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a framework for beam formation and/or refinement in accordance with some embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating example beams used in a system for mobile communication.

[0012] FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating example beams used in a system for mobile communication.

[0013] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a table depicting examples of suitable values for a beam refinement flag (BRF) and its corresponding indication. The

[0014] FIG. 7 is a diagram of a table depicting examples of suitable values for a beam format indicator (BFI) and its corresponding indication.

[0015] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example mapping of a DCI format indicator to BRRS symbols for control and data UE beam refinement in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example mapping of a DCI format indicator to BRRS symbols having a gap in accordance with some embodiments.

[0017] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of performing beam refinement in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures and devices are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. Embodiments herein may be related to RAN1 and 5G.

[0019] As utilized herein, terms "component," "system," "interface," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component can be a processor, a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, and/or a computer with a processing device. By way of illustration, an application running on a server and the server can also be a component. One or more components can reside within a process, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. A set of elements or a set of other components can be described herein, in which the term "set" can be interpreted as "one or more."

[0020] Further, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon such as with a module, for example. The components can communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network, such as, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or similar network with other systems via the signal).

[0021] As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, in which the electric or electronic circuitry can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors can be internal or external to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein to execute software and/or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, the functionality of the electronic components.

[0022] Use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "including", "includes", "having", "has", "with", or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term

"comprising".

[0023] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

[0024] One technique for wireless/mobile communication is to have the devices generate or radiate signals or energy in all directions, referred to as omnidirectional. Thus, signals from one device can reach another device. However, most of the energy is wasted as it is directed in other directions away from the receiving device.

[0025] Another technique is to directionally radiate signals/energy towards communicating devices. As a result, less energy is wasted. The focused or directed energy is referred to as a beam or cell. The beam itself is formed by a process referred to as beamforming, where direction and location for the devices is considered. Once beams are formed, conditions can change and medication of the beam is typically required. This modification of the created beam is referred to as beam refinement or adjustment.

[0026] Generally, beamforming combines elements of an antenna array so that signals at particular angles experience constructive interference while signals at other angles experience destructive interference. Beamforming can be used at the

transmitting end, the receiving end and/or both ends.

[0027] Beamforming performed at both ends is referred to as hybrid beamforming. Thus, a first end, such as an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) and a second end, such as a user equipment (UE) device, can both be involved in the beamforming. The UE can identify a good network beam pair to receive a downlink signal. A beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) can be used to enable beam refinement for control and data channels. [0028] The same beam can be used for both control and data channels if the beam is highly correlated.

[0029] However, the control channel and the data channel can use different beams. For example, the control channel may use a wider beam and data channel may use a narrower beam. If different beams are used for the control and data channels, they are typically, but not necessarily, in a similar direction. For example, a control channel can be provided by a first eNB while a data channel is provided by a second eNB.

[0030] Using different beams for the control and data channels can require separate beam management for a control beam and a data beam. This is particularly true when the beams are in different directions and/or with different eNBs.

[0031] One or more techniques are provided that facilitate beam refinement, beam formation and the like for wireless communications. The techniques facilitate usage of different beams and/or different eNBs for different types of channels, such as control and data. The techniques include, but are not limited to, separation of beam refinement for different types of channels, design of signaling for a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS), framework for feedback after receiving the BRRS, framework for recovery/refinement after receiving the BRRS, and the like.

[0032] FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a system 100 of a network in accordance with some embodiments. The system 100 is shown to include a user equipment (UE) 101 and a UE 102. The UEs 101 and 102 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but can also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, or any computing device including a wireless communications interface.

[0033] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can comprise an Internet of Things (loT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designed for low-power loT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. An loT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network

(PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or loT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data can be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An loT network describes interconnecting loT UEs, which can include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The loT UEs can execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the loT network.

[0034] The UEs 101 and 102 can be configured to connect, e.g., communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN) 1 10— the RAN 1 10 can be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, the connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

[0035] In this embodiment, the UEs 101 and 1 02 can further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 can

alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0036] The UE 102 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. The connection 107 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.1 1 protocol, wherein the AP 106 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®) router. In this example, the AP 1 06 is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0037] The RAN 1 1 0 can include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 1 03 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next Generation NodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). A network device as referred to herein can include any one of these APs, ANs, UEs or any other network component. The RAN 1 10 can include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RAN node 1 1 1 , and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 1 12.

[0038] Any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 1 1 0 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) dynamic radio resource

management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0039] In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 101 and 102 can be configured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 1 2 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0040] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 to the UEs 1 01 and 1 02, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this can represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

[0041] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) can carry user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 101 and 102. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It can also inform the UEs 101 and 102 about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 102 within a cell) can be performed at any of the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 101 and 102. The downlink resource assignment information can be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 101 and 1 02.

[0042] The PDCCH can use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1 , 2, 4, or 8).

[0043] Some embodiments can use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments can utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH can be transmitted using one or more enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above, each ECCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE can have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

[0044] The RAN 1 1 0 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 1 20— via an S1 interface 1 1 3. In embodiments, the CN 120 can be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment the S1 interface 1 13 is split into two parts: the S1 -U interface 1 14, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and the S1 -mobility management entity (MME) interface 1 15, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 1 1 1 and 1 12 and MMEs 121 . [0045] In this embodiment, the CN 1 20 comprises the MMEs 121 , the S-GW 122, the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 124. The MMEs 121 can be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 121 can manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 can comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of

communication sessions. The CN 120 can comprise one or several HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 124 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0046] The S-GW 122 can terminate the S1 interface 1 13 towards the RAN 1 1 0, and routes data packets between the RAN 1 10 and the CN 1 20. In addition, the S-GW 122 can be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also can provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities can include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0047] The P-GW 123 can terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 123 can route data packets between the CN network 120 and external networks such as a network including the application server 130 (alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. Generally, the application server 130 can be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 123 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 130 via an IP communications interface 125. The application server 130 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 1 01 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0048] The P-GW 123 can further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, there can be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there can be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 can be communicatively coupled to the application server 130 via the P-GW 123. The application server 130 can signal the PCRF 1 26 to indicate a new service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 126 can provision this rule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier (QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by the application server 130.

[0049] In one or more embodiments, IMS services can be identified more accurately in a paging indication, which can enable the UEs 101 , 102 to differentiate between PS paging and IMS service related paging. As a result, the UEs 101 , 102 can apply preferential prioritization for IMS services as desired based on any number of requests by any application, background searching (e.g., PLMN searching or the like), process, or communication. In particular, the UEs 1 01 , 102 can differentiate the PS domain paging to more distinguishable categories, so that IMS services can be identified clearly in the UEs 101 , 102 in comparison to PS services. In addition to a domain indicator (e.g., PS or CS), a network (e.g., CN 120, RAN 1 10, AP 106, or combination thereof as an eNB or the other network device) can provide further, more specific information with the TS 36.331 -Paging message, such as a "paging cause" parameter. The UE can use this information to decide whether to respond to the paging, possibly interrupting some other procedure like an ongoing PLMN search.

[0050] In one example, when UEs 101 , 102 can be registered to a visited PLMN (VPLMN) and performing PLMN search (i.e., background scan for a home PLMN (HPLMN) or a higher priority PLMN), or when a registered UE is performing a manual PLMN search, the PLMN search can be interrupted in order to move to a connected mode and respond to a paging operation as part of a MT procedure / operation.

Frequently, this paging could be for PS data (non-IMS data), where, for example, an application server 130 in the NW wants to push to the UE 101 or 102 for one of the many different applications running in / on the UE 101 or 1 02, for example. Even though the PS data could be delay tolerant and less important, in legacy networks the paging is often not able to be ignored completely, as critical services like an IMS call can be the reason for the PS paging. The multiple interruptions of the PLMN search caused by the paging can result in an unpredictable delay of the PLMN search or in the worst case even in a failure of the procedure, resulting in a loss of efficiency in network

communication operations. A delay in moving to or handover to a preferred PLMN (via manual PLMN search or HPLMN search) in a roaming condition can incur more roaming charges on a user as well.

[0051] FIG. 2 illustrates example components of a network device 200 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 200 can include application circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 206, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 208, one or more antennas 210, and power management circuitry (PMC) 21 2 coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 200 can be included in a UE 101 , 102 or a RAN node 1 1 1 , 1 12, AP, AN, eNB or other network component. In some embodiments, the device 200 can include less elements (e.g., a RAN node can not utilize application circuitry 202, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the network device 200 can include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below can be included in more than one device (e.g., said circuitries can be separately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).

[0052] The application circuitry 202 can include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) can include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors can be coupled with or can include memory/storage and can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 200. In some embodiments, processors of application circuitry 202 can process IP data packets received from an EPC.

[0053] The baseband circuitry 204 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 204 can include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 206 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206. Baseband processing circuity 204 can interface with the application circuitry 202 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 can include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processor(s) 204D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), si2h generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 204A-D) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 206. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 204A-D can be included in modules stored in the memory 204G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions can include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 can include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments,

encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 can include convolution, tail- biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and can include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0054] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 can include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 204F. The audio DSP(s) 204F can be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and can include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry can be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 204 and the application circuitry 202 can be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0055] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 can provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 can support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 204 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol can be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0056] RF circuitry 206 can enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 can include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 206 can include a receive signal path which can include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 208 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 204. RF circuitry 206 can also include a transmit signal path which can include circuitry to up- convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 208 for transmission.

[0057] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 206 can include mixer circuitry 206a, amplifier circuitry 206b and filter circuitry 206c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206 can include filter circuitry 206c and mixer circuitry 206a. RF circuitry 206 can also include synthesizer circuitry 206d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path can be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 206d. The amplifier circuitry 206b can be configured to amplify the down- converted signals and the filter circuitry 206c can be a low-pass filter (LPF) or bandpass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals can be provided to the baseband circuitry 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals can be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path can comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0058] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 206d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 208. The baseband signals can be provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and can be filtered by filter circuitry 206c.

[0059] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a can be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path can be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[0060] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals can be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals can be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 can include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 204 can include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 206.

[0061] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry can be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the

embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0062] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206d can be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers can be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 206d can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0063] The synthesizer circuitry 206d can be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206a of the RF circuitry 206 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206d can be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

[0064] In some embodiments, frequency input can be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input can be provided by either the baseband circuitry 204 or the applications processor 202 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) can be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 202.

[0065] Synthesizer circuitry 206d of the RF circuitry 206 can include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider can be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator can be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD can be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL can include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip- flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements can be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0066] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 206d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 can include an IQ/polar converter.

[0067] FEM circuitry 208 can include a receive signal path which can include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 210, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for further processing. FEM circuitry 208 can also include a transmit signal path which can include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 21 0. In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths can be done solely in the RF circuitry 206, solely in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the FEM 208.

[0068] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 208 can include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry can include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry can include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 208 can include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 206), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

[0069] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 can manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 204. In particular, the PMC 212 can control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMC 212 can often be included when the device 200 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE. The PMC 21 2 can increase the power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation

characteristics.

[0070] While FIG. 2 shows the PMC 212 coupled only with the baseband circuitry 204. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 2 12 can be additionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar power management operations for, other components such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 202, RF circuitry 206, or FEM 208.

[0071] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 can control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 200. For example, if the device 200 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it can enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 200 can power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[0072] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the device 200 can transition off to an RRCJdle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 200 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 200 does not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it transitions back to RRC_Connected state.

[0073] An additional power saving mode can allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device can be unreachable to the network and can power down completely. Any data sent during this time can incur a large delay with the delay presumed to be acceptable.

[0074] Processors of the application circuitry 202 and processors of the baseband circuitry 204 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 204, alone or in combination, can be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 204 can utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 can comprise a radio resource control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 can comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 can comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node. Each of these layers can be implemented to operate one or more processes or network operations of embodiments / aspects herein.

[0075] In addition, the memory 204G can comprise one or more machine-readable medium / media including instructions that, when performed by a machine or

component herein cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described herein. It is to be understood that aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium (e.g., the memory described herein or other storage device). Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media or a computer readable storage device can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD- ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory medium, that can be used to carry or store desired information or executable instructions. Also, any connection can also be termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if 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 coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.

[0076] In general, there is a move to provide network services for the packet domain. The earlier network services like UMTS or 3G and predecessors (2G) configured a CS domain and a packet domain providing different services, especially CS services in the CS domain as well as voice services were considered to have a higher priority because consumers demanded an immediate response. Based on the domain that the paging was received, the device 200 could assign certain priority for the incoming transaction. Now with LTE / 5G most services are moving to the packet domain. Currently, the UE (e.g., 1 01 , 102, or device 200) can get paging for a packet service without knowing any further information about the paging of the MT procedure, such as whether someone is calling on a line, a VoIP call, or just some packet utilized from Facebook, other application service, or other similar MT service. As such, a greater opportunity exists for further delays without the possibility for the UE to discriminate between the different application packets that could initiate a paging and also give a different priority to it based on one or more user preferences. This can could be important for the UE because the UE might be doing other tasks more vital for resource allocation.

[0077] In one example, a UE (e.g., 101 , 102, or device 200) could be performing a background search for other PLMNs. This is a task the UE device 200 could do in regular intervals if it is not connected on its own home PLMN or a higher priority PLMN, but roaming somewhere else. A higher priority could be a home PLMN or some other PLMNs according to a list provided by the provider or subscriber (e.g., HSS 124).

Consequently, if a paging operation arrives as an MT service and an interruption results, such that a start and begin operation are executed, a sufficient frequency of these interruptions could cause the UE to never complete a background search in a reasonable way. This is one way where it would be advantageous for the UE or network device to know that the interruption is only a packet service, with no need to react to it immediately, versus an incoming voice call that takes preference immediately and the background scan should be postponed.

[0078] Additionally, the device 200 can be configured to connect or include multiple subscriber identity / identification module (SIM) cards / components, referred to as dual SIM or multi SIM devices. The device 200 can operate with a single transmit and receive component that can coordinate between the different identities from which the SIM components are operating. As such, an incoming voice call should be responded to as fast as possible, while only an incoming packet for an application could be relatively ignored in order to utilize resources for the other identity (e.g., the voice call or SIM component) that is more important or has a higher priority from a priority list / data set / or set of user device preferences, for example. This same scenario can also be utilized for other operations or incoming data, such as with a PLMN background search such as a manual PLMN search, which can last for a long period of time since, especially with a large number of different bands from 2G, etc. With an ever increasing number of bands being utilized in wireless communications, if paging interruptions come in between the operations already running without distinguishing between the various packet and real critical services such as voice, the network devices can interpret this manual PLMN search to serve and ensure against a drop or loss of any increment voice call, with more frequent interruptions in particular. [0079] As stated above, even though in most of these cases the PS data is delay tolerant and less important, in legacy networks the paging cannot be ignored

completely, as critical services like an IMS call can be the reason for the PS paging. The multiple interruptions of a PLMN search caused by the paging can result in an unpredictable delay of the PLMN search or in the worst case even in a failure of the procedure. Additionally, a delay in moving to preferred PLMN (via manual PLMN search or HPLMN search) in roaming condition can incur more roaming charges on user.

Similarly, in multi-SIM scenario when UE is listening to paging channel of two networks simultaneously and has priority for voice service, a MT IMS voice call can be interpreted as "data" call as indicated in MT paging message and can be preceded by MT Circuit Switched (CS) paging of an other network or MO CS call initiated by user at same time. As such, embodiments / aspects herein can increase the call drop risk significantly for the SIM using IMS voice service.

[0080] In embodiments, 3GPP NW can provide further granular information about the kind of service the network is paging for. For example, the Paging cause parameter could indicate one of the following values / classes / categories: 1 ) IMS voice/video service; 2) IMS SMS service; 3) IMS other services (not voice/video/SMS-related; 4) any IMS service; 5) Other PS service (not IMS-related). In particular, a network device (e.g., an eNB or access point) could only be discriminating between IMS and non-IMS services could use 4) and 5), whereas a network that is able to discriminate between different types of IMS services (like voice/video call, SMS, messaging, etc.) could use 3) instead of 4) to explicitly indicate to the UE that the paging is for an IMS service different from voice/video and SMS. By obtaining this information UE may decide to suspend PLMN search only for critical services like incoming voice/video services.

[0081] In other aspects, dependent on the service category (e.g., values or classes 1 -5 above), the UE 101 , 102, or device 200 can memorize that there was a paging to which it did not respond, and access the network later, when the PLMN search has been completed and the UE decides to stay on the current PLMN. For example, if the reason for the paging was a mobile terminating IMS SMS, the MME can then inform the HSS (e.g., 124) that the UE is reachable again, and the HSS 124 can initiate a signaling procedure which will result in a delivery of the SMS to the UE once resources are more available or less urgent for another operation / application / or category, for example. To this purpose the UE 101 , 102, or 200 could initiate a periodic tau area update (TAU) procedure if the service category in the Paging message indicated "IMS SMS service", for example. [0082] FIG. 3 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the baseband circuitry 204 of FIG. 2 can comprise processors 204A-204E and a memory 204G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 204A-204E can include a memory interface, 304A-304E, respectively, to send/receive data to/from the memory 204G.

[0083] The baseband circuitry 204 can further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memory interface 312 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memory e2ernal to the baseband circuitry 204), an application circuitry interface 314 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 202 of FIG. 2), an RF circuitry interface 316 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 206 of FIG. 2), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 31 8 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 320 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or control signals to / from the PMC 21 2.

[0084] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a framework 400 for beam formation and/or refinement in accordance with some embodiments. The framework 400 can be incorporated into an architecture of a system, such as the system 1 00. Further, the framework 400 can be utilized with the provided embodiments and variations thereof. The framework 400 is provided as an example and it is appreciated that suitable variations are contemplated.

[0085] The framework 400 includes a network device 401 and a node 402. The device 401 is shown as a UE device and the node 402 is shown as an eNB for illustrative purposes. It is appreciated that the UE device 401 can be other network devices, such as Aps, ANs and the like. It is also appreciated that the eNB 402 can be other nodes or access nodes (ANs), such as BSs, gNB, RAN nodes and the like. Other network or network devices can be present and interact with the device 401 and/or the node 402.

[0086] Downlink (DL) transmissions occur from the eNB 402 to the UE 401 whereas uplink (UL) transmissions occur from the UE 401 to the eNB 402. The downlink transmissions utilize a DL control beam and a DL data beam. The uplink transmissions utilize an UL control beam and a UL data beam. The various beams can be different in terms of direction, link to another eNB and the like. [0087] The UE 401 and/or the eNB 402 are/is configured to perform beam formation and/or beam refinement for various beam types. The beam types or types include data beams/channels, control beams/channels, primary beams/channels, secondary beams/channels and the like. The primary beam is an active beam used for current data/control reception and the secondary beam is used for a new or next beam search. In one example, the beam types include the DL control beam and the DL data beam.

[0088] The UE 401 and/or the eNB 402 are/is configured to form control and data channels using determined or formed control and data beams. One or more reference signals, such as the BRRS, are used to measure strengths of the received reference signals, identify antenna ports, weigh the measured strengths and the like. The measurements, strengths and determined weights are then used by the UE 401 and/or the eNB 402 to form and/or refine the beams.

[0089] The control and data beam formation and refinement can be performed independently based on intended or estimated downlink transmission characteristics including, for example, data rate, reliability, available frequency resources and the like. In one example, the UE 401 uses separate processes to perform beam refinement for control UE beam refinement and data UE beam refinement. FIGS. 5A and 5B are provided below to illustrate examples of different beams that can be used for control and/or data.

[0090] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating example beams used in a system 500 for mobile communication. The example beams are provided for illustrative purposes and it is appreciated that suitable variations are contemplated.

[0091] The system 500 includes the UE 401 and the eNB 402. Downlink

communications exist where control and data is transmitted from the eNB 402 and received by the UE 401 . There are a plurality of beams or beamlets at the UE 401 that can be used for receiving control and data. Additionally, there are a plurality of beams or beamlets at the eNB 402 that can be used for sending/transmitting control and data.

[0092] The UE 401 identifies or determines a data beam 507 based on downlink transmission characteristics for data and a control beam 508 based on downlink transmission characteristics for control or control information. The UE 401 utilizes one or more reference signals to determine the data beam 507 and the control beam 508. Similarly, the eNB 402 identifies a data beam 505 based on the downlink transmission characteristics for data and a control beam 506 based on the downlink transmission characteristics for control or control information. The data beams 507 and 505 facilitate downlink communications for data and the control beams 506 and 507 facilitate downlink communications for control. It is noted that a control channel, in this example, uses wider control beams 506 and 508 whereas a data channel, in this example, uses narrower data beams 505 and 507.

[0093] In this example, different beams are used for control and data. Additionally, a single eNB, the eNB 402, is used for control and data.

[0094] FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating example beams used in a system 501 for mobile communication. The example beams are provided for illustrative purposes and it is appreciated that suitable variations are contemplated.

[0095] The system 501 includes the UE 401 , the eNB 402 and a second eNB 503. Downlink communications exist where control and data is transmitted from the eNB 402 and/or the eNB 503 and received by the UE 401 . There are a plurality of beams or beamlets at the UE 401 that can be used for receiving control and data. There are a plurality of beams or beamlets at the eNB 402 that can be used for sending/transmitting control and data. Further, there are a plurality of beams or beamlets at the eNB 503 that can also be used for sending/transmitting control and data.

[0096] The UE 401 identifies a data beam 507 based on downlink transmission characteristics for data and a control beam 508 based on downlink transmission characteristics for control or control information. In this example, it is noted that the different beams are pointing in different directions. The eNB 402 identifies a control beam 506 based on the downlink transmission characteristics for control or control information. The eNB 402 does not identify a beam for data. Instead, the eNB 503 identifies a data beam 500 based on its downlink transmission characteristics for data. The data beams 507 and 505 facilitate downlink communications for data and the control beams 506 and 507 facilitate downlink communications for control.

[0097] In this example, different beams are used for control and data. Additionally, multiple eNBs are used for control and data beams. In this example, the eNB 402 is used for control and the eNB 503 is used for data.

[0098] Returning to FIG. 4, the UE 401 is configured to use signaling, shown as a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) to facilitate beam and channel formation. The BRRS is configured by and/or based on a downlink control indicator (DCI) provided within a downlink transmission, such as within a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0099] A beam refinement flag (BRF) can be included within the DCI in order to trigger generation and/or transmission of the BRRS. The DCI also specifies other information on the BRRS including, but not limited to, subframe and the symbols for the BRRS. The BRRS can be specific to the UE 401 and/or be generic and applicable for a group of UE devices. Further, the BRRS can include a multiple of reference signals from one or more base stations, including the base station 402.

[00100] The framework 400 depicts an example where the UE 401 is configured to perform beam refinement for a control channel. It is appreciated that the framework 400 and/or suitable variations thereof can be used to perform beam refinement for a data channel.

[00101 ] It is appreciated that a UE, such as the UE 401 , can select a beam that is not suitable. The UE may select a bad control UE beam, for example, based on channel estimation loss for BRRS detection. In such scenarios, a recovery technique/process can be used to recover the associated channel. Otherwise, the UE 401 would be in a radio link failure state.

[00102] The framework 400 can utilize one or more recovery windows to recover from failed beam formation and/or beam refinement. The one or more recovery windows are time periods for UE performance of beam related operations including, but not limited to, DCI decoding, UE control/data beam refinement, and the like. If the beam related operations are not performed within an associated recovery window and/or the beam quality of control channel and/or data channel falls below a threshold, a recovery process is triggered. The recovery process can include using a previous control/data beam (fall back), signaling retransmission of a control channel including the DCI, request a grant of frequency/time resources and the like.

[00103] In one example, the framework 400 includes two recovery windows, a first window W1 and a second window W2. The second window W2 occurs after the first window W1 , thus W2 >= W1 . The windows W1 and W2 can be preconfigured, configured by higher layer signaling and the like.

[00104] In this example, if the UE 401 is unable to decode the DCI within the first window W1 , the UE determines an associated control UE beam as bad or invalid.

Then, the UE 401 attempts to use a prior and/or current control UE beam to receive the control channel. However, if the UE 401 is still unable to decode the DCI within the second window W2, the UE 401 transmits a recovery request, such as by sending a beam reference signal received power (BRS-RP) request, scheduling request (SR), physical random access channel (PRACH) request, and the like.

[00105] In additional detail, the eNB 402 generates a control BRRS for control beam refinement at the UE 401 as shown at 404. The UE 401 is configured to attempt to decode the DCI and find a new control UE beam during the first window W1 . If the UE 401 does not decode a DCI within W1 subframes, the UE 401 considers an associated control UE beam to be defective and the UE 401 attempts to utilize the current or prior control UE beam. Thus, at 406 the UE 401 attempts to use the existing or prior control UE beam within W2 subframes at 408. If the UE 401 does not decode the DCI within the W2 subframes, a recovery process is performed as shown at 41 0. The recovery process includes transmission of a beam reference signal received power (BRS-RP) request, scheduling request (SR), physical random access channel (PRACH), and the like to recover a link between the UE 401 and the eNB 402.

[00106] It is appreciated that other suitable recovery processes are contemplated.

[00107] The framework 400 can also be used where the UE 401 is configured to perform beam refinement for both a data UE beam and a control UE beam within one BRRS subframe and/or multiple subframes.

[00108] The DCI is configured to provide information about subsequent BRRS, beam formation, and the like. The DCI includes an indicator that identifies/triggers BRRS and related information. The indicator can include, for example, beam type, refinement process identification (ID), antenna port, antenna group, an index to BRRS symbols, and the like.

[00109] In one example, the indicator is a flag, such as a beam refinement flag (BRF), also described above. The BRF is located or configured within the DCI and determines the type of UE beam refinement to be performed. In another example, the indicator is a BRRS format indicator (BFI), also described above. The BFI indicates the type and number of symbols used for beam refinement and can also include an index to the BRRS symbols.

[00110] The framework 400 is described in terms of a control channel for illustrative purposes. It is appreciated that the framework 400 can also be used for a data channel. It is further appreciated that the node 402 can also be configured to perform beam refinement and/or formation.

[00111 ] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a table 600 depicting examples of suitable values for a beam refinement flag (BRF) and its corresponding indication. The table 600 and the examples provided are for illustrative purposes and it is appreciated that other suitable values and indications are contemplated.

[00112] The BRF is provided within a DCI of a downlink transmission. The BRF indicates which type or types of beam refinement to perform at the UE.

[00113] A BRF value of 0 indicates that the UE 401 is to perform data UE beam refinement. [00114] A BRF value of 1 indicates that the UE 401 is to perform control UE beam refinement.

[00115] A BRF value of 2 indicates that the UE 401 is to perform both data and control UE beam refinement.

[00116] A BRF value of 3 is reserved and can be used for other purposes, such as testing the transmission of the BRF and the like.

[00117] Thus, the presence of the BRF within a DCI indicates that the UE is to perform beam refinement. The value of the BRF indicates the type or types of beam refinement to perform.

[00118] FIG. 7 is a diagram of a table 700 depicting examples of suitable values for a beam format indicator (BFI) and its corresponding indication. The table 700 and the examples provided are for illustrative purposes and it is appreciated that other suitable values and indications are contemplated.

[00119] In another embodiment, a BFI is used instead of the BRF to indicate that the UE is to perform beam refinement and which type. A pre-defined number of symbols are used for control beam refinement and data beam refinement. The BFI, in addition to the type of beam refinement, indicates the location and number of symbols used for data and/or control beam refinement.

[00120] The data UE beam and the control UE beam can be from different antenna panels or eNBs. Thus, different antenna portions in the BRRS can be allocated for the types of beam refinement. Thus, the DCI can include information to trigger the BRRS for each antenna port or antenna port group. One indicator can be added to the DCI to indicate the antenna port and type of beam refinement. The BFI is an example of a suitable indicator that can be used to indicate the antenna port, type of beam refinement and the symbols used for control UE beam refinement and/or data UE beam refinement.

[00121 ] The table 700 depicts various values for the BFI and the resulting symbols. A value or entry of 0 (zero) indicates no symbols are used. The table 700 includes entries that identify the symbols and/or number of BRRS symbols used for UE beam refinement for control and/or data channels.

[00122] A BFI value of 0 indicates 0 symbols are used for control UE beam refinement and D1 (one data) symbols are used for data UE beam refinement. Thus, in this example, the UE is configured to perform data UE beam refinement for a data channel, but not control UE beam refinement for a control channel.

[00123] A BFI value of 1 indicates 0 symbols are used for control UE beam refinement and D2 (two data) symbols are used for data UE beam refinement. Thus, in this example, the UE is configured to perform data UE beam refinement for a data channel, but not control UE beam refinement for a control channel.

[00124] A BFI value of 2 indicates C1 (one control) symbol is used for control UE beam refinement and 0 symbols are used for data UE beam refinement. Thus, in this example, the UE is configured to perform control UE beam refinement for a control channel, but not data UE beam refinement for a data channel.

[00125] A BFI value of 3 indicates C1 (one control) symbol is used for control UE beam refinement and D1 (one data) symbol is used for data UE beam refinement.

Thus, in this example, the UE is configured to perform control UE beam refinement for a control channel and data UE beam refinement for a data channel.

[00126] A BFI value of 4 indicates C1 (one control) symbol is used for control UE beam refinement and D2 (two data) symbols are used for data UE beam refinement.

[00127] A BFI value of 5 indicates C2 (two control) symbols are used for control UE beam refinement and 0 symbols are used for data UE beam refinement. Thus, in this example, the UE is configured to perform control UE beam refinement for a control channel, but not data UE beam refinement for a data channel.

[00128] A BFI value of 6 indicates C2 (two control) symbols are used for control UE beam refinement and D1 (one data) symbol is used for data UE beam refinement.

[00129] A BFI value of 7 indicates C2 (two control) symbols are used for control UE beam refinement and D2 (two data) symbols are used for data UE beam refinement.

[00130] The BFI and the DCI can trigger BRRS for each antenna port and/or antenna port group. The BFI can include an indicator that indicates whether an associated antenna port or group is used for data UE beam refinement or control UE beam refinement. The table 700 includes an indicator as 'C to indicate control type and 'D' to indicate data type beam refinement.

[00131 ] It is appreciated that other format indicators and variations thereof are contemplated.

[00132] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example mapping 800 of a DCI format indicator to BRRS symbols for control and data UE beam refinement in accordance with some embodiments. The mapping 800 is provided for illustrative purposes and it is appreciated that other mappings and variations thereof are contemplated.

[00133] The mapping 800 includes a DCI 801 and a plurality of symbols 802. In this example, the DCI includes a BFI, similar to that shown in FIG. 7. The DCI uses one or more resource blocks within a slot/subframe. The symbols 802 include BRRS symbols for data UE and/or control UE beam formation. An x-axis depicts time increasing from left to right and a y-axis depicts frequency increasing from bottom to top.

[00134] The BFI in this example has a value of 6, which indicates C2 (two control) symbols are used for control UE beam refinement and D1 (one data) symbol is used for data UE beam refinement. Thus, in this example, the UE is configured to perform control UE beam refinement for a control channel and data UE beam refinement for a data channel.

[00135] The symbols 802 include two control symbols for control UE beam refinement and one data symbol for data UE beam refinement. The symbols are BRRS symbols and include BRRS.

[00136] The symbols 802 are concatenated in that there are no spacings, no gap or other symbols between the control and data symbols.

[00137] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example mapping 900 of a DCI format indicator to BRRS symbols having a gap in accordance with some embodiments. The mapping 900 is for control and data UE beam refinement in accordance with some embodiments. The mapping 900 is provided for illustrative purposes and it is appreciated that other mappings and variations thereof are contemplated.

[00138] The mapping 900 includes a DCI 901 and a plurality of symbols 902. The mapping 900 also includes a gap 903 between sets of BRRS symbols. The DCI 901 includes a BFI, similar to that shown in FIG. 7. The symbols 902 include BRRS symbols for data UE and/or control UE beam formation. An x-axis depicts time increasing from left to right and a y-axis depicts frequency increasing from bottom to top.

[00139] The BFI in this example has a value of 6, which indicates C1 (one control) symbol is used for control UE beam refinement and D1 (one data) symbol is used for data UE beam refinement. Thus, in this example, the UE is configured to perform control UE beam refinement for a control channel and data UE beam refinement for a data channel. [00140] The symbols 902 include one control symbol for control UE beam refinement and one data symbol for data UE beam refinement in line with the BFI. The symbols are BRRS symbols and include BRRS.

[00141 ] The symbols 902 are near or proximate each other. However, there is the gap 903 between the BRRS symbol(s) for control UE beam refinement and the BRRS symbol(s) used for data UE beam refinement.

[00142] The gap 903 can be provided with the DCI and/or the BFI and specifies a period of time between BRRS symbols. In one example, the gap 903 corresponds to a period of time to perform post-processing of one or more BRRS control symbols where a UE performed control UE beam refinement. The gap 903 can be predetermined, based on previous beamforming operations, provided by the UE, and the like.

[00143] Thus, the gap 903 provides a suitable period of time for post processing of received BRRS, performing beam refinement, and the like. The gap 903 is shown occurring after the control beam UE refinement, however it is appreciated it can occur after data UE beam refinement and before control UE beam refinement.

[00144] FIGs. 8 and 9 provide examples of techniques for mapping and/or identifying BRRS using and configured by a DCI. It is appreciated that other suitable variations of the DCI are contemplated.

[00145] In one example, the DCI is used to trigger the BRRS for one type of UE beam refinement only, such as control or data.

[00146] The DCI can also include a beam refinement process ID.

[00147] There can be multiple beam refinement processes that are pre-defined or configured by higher layer signaling. For example, a first process can be used for a first type of beam refinement and other processes can be used for other types of beam refinement. Thus, a first process can be used for control UE beam refinement and a second or other process can be used for data UE beam refinement.

[00148] In yet another example, beam refinement process 0 is used for a primary control channel beam refinement, beam refinement process 1 is used for a secondary control channel beam refinement, beam refinement process 2 is used for primary channel beam refinement and beam refinement process 3 is used for secondary channel beam refinement. The types of beam refinement can include primary or secondary and control or data channels. In one example, the primary beam is an active beam used for current data/control reception and the secondary beam can be used for a new or next beam search. [00149] It is also appreciated that one UE, such as the UE 401 , can receive multiple DCIs that trigger multiple BRRS in a same subframe. A symbol index for each BRRS process is associated with a beam refinement process identification (ID) or search space. The beam refinement process ID can be pre-defined and/or configured by higher layer signaling.

[00150] While the methods described within this disclosure are illustrated in and described herein as a series of acts or events, it will be appreciated that the illustrated ordering of such acts or events are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. For example, some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or pre apart from those illustrated and/or described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the description herein. Further, one or more of the acts depicted herein may be carried out in one or more separate acts and/or phases.

[00151 ] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1000 of performing beam refinement in accordance with an embodiment. The method or process 1 000 is described with reference to a UE device and a node, however it is appreciated that other device and/or nodes can be used. For example, the node can be other types of nodes, such as an eNB, gNB and the like. The method 1 000 can be implemented using the above systems, arrangements and variations thereof.

[00152] The method 1000 begins at block 1002, wherein a node generates downlink control information (DCI) having a beam refinement indicator. The indicator includes beam refinement information including, but not limited to, beam/channel type, primary, secondary, symbols, indexes to symbols, antenna port, antenna group and the like. The beam refinement indicator can be a flag, such as the BRF described above, the BFI and the like.

[00153] The node can also generate one or more recovery windows, such as W1 and W2 described above. In one example, the recovery windows include a first window for UE decoding of the DCI and a second window for UE beam refinement. The recovery windows can be included within the DCI. The DCI is then transmitted.

[00154] The node generates a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) in accordance with the DCI at block 1004. The BRRS can include one or more BRRS symbols, including sets of symbols for various types. The BRRS can be for different types of beam operations, including control beam reforming, data beam reforming and the like. [00155] The node transmits the BRRS at block 1 006 using an RF interface. It is noted that the BRRS and/or DCI can be generated and/or transmitted from more than one node.

[00156] A UE receives the DCI and decodes the DCI at block 1008. The UE decodes the DCI to obtain the beam refinement indicator. If the UE is unable to decode the DCI within a recover window, a previous channel, such as a prior control channel, is attempted to be used.

[00157] The UE receives the BRRS in accordance with the beam refinement indicator at block 1 010.

[00158] The UE performs UE beam refinement at block 1012 using the BRRS based on the beam refinement indicator.

[00159] The UE initiates a recovery operation at block 1014 if the UE beam

refinement is not completed within a second recovery window.

[00160] The UE can notify the node of the newly refined beam to be used for control and/or data channels.

[00161 ] The method 1000 can be repeated or re-utilized for additional channel estimation. It is appreciated that suitable variations of the method 1000 are

contemplated.

[00162] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

[00163] As it employed in the subject specification, the term "processor" can refer to substantially any computing processing unit or device including, but not limited to including, single-core processors; single-processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithread technology;

parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic controller, a complex programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions and/or processes described herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance performance of mobile devices. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[00164] In the subject specification, terms such as "store," "data store," data storage," "database," and substantially any other information storage component relevant to operation and functionality of a component and/or process, refer to "memory

components," or entities embodied in a "memory," or components including the memory. It is noted that the memory components described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory.

[00165] By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory, for example, can be included in a memory, non-volatile memory (see below), disk storage (see below), and memory storage (see below). Further, nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory, programmable read only memory, electrically programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, or flash memory.

Volatile memory can include random access memory, which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, random access memory is available in many forms such as synchronous random access memory, dynamic random access memory, synchronous dynamic random access memory, double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory, enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory, Synchlink dynamic random access memory, and direct Rambus random access memory. Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methods herein are intended to include, without being limited to including, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[00166] Examples can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including instructions that, when performed by a machine cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described herein.

[00167] Example 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed within a base station. The apparatus comprises baseband circuitry which includes a radio frequency (RF) interface and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to generate a downlink control information (DCI) having a beam refinement indicator, wherein the beam refinement indicator includes one or more types of beam refinement. The one or more processors are further configured to generate a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) in accordance with the DCI. The one or more processors are further configured to send the DCI having the beam refinement indicator to the RF interface for transmission to one or more user equipment (UE) devices. The DCI having the beam refinement indicator is provided within a physical channel.

[00168] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1 , including or omitting optional elements, the one or more processors are further configured to send the BRRS to the RF interface for transmission in accordance with the DCI.

[00169] Example 3 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -2, including or omitting optional elements, where the one or more types of beam refinement include data refinement and control refinement, wherein the data refinement is associated with a data channel and the control refinement is associated with a control channel.

[00170] Example 4 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -3, including or omitting optional elements, where the one or more types of beam refinement include primary refinement and secondary refinement, wherein the primary refinement is for a currently used data or control channel and the secondary refinement is for a next to be used data or control channel.

[00171 ] Example 5 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -4, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator includes a gap, wherein the gap includes a period of time to perform post-processing on one or more BRRS symbols.

[00172] Example 6 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -5, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator includes a gap, wherein the gap includes a period of time for the one or more UE devices to perform beam refinement.

[00173] Example 7 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -6, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator identifies one or more BRRS symbols used for control UE beam refinement.

[00174] Example 8 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -7, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator identifies one or more BRRS symbols used for data UE beam refinement. [00175] Example 9 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -8, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator is a beam refinement flag (BRF) where a value of 0 indicates that control beam refinement is enabled and a value of 1 indicates that data beam refinement is enabled and a value of 2 indicates that control beam refinement and data beam refinement are enabled.

[00176] Example 10 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -9, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator is a beam refinement flag (BRF) where a value of 0 indicates that control beam refinement is enabled and a value of 1 indicates that data beam refinement is enabled.

[00177] Example 1 1 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 -1 0, including or omitting optional elements, where the one or more processors are further configured to determine a first recovery window and a second recovery window, wherein the first recovery window defines a time period for the one or more UE devices to decode the DCI using a new beam and the second recover window defines a time period for the one or more UE devices to decode the DCI using a previously used beam.

[00178] Example 12 is an apparatus configured to be employed within a user equipment (UE) device comprising baseband circuitry. The baseband circuitry includes a radio frequency (RF) interface and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to obtain a downlink control information (DCI) having a beam refinement indicator from the RF interface as received from one or base stations, decode the DCI to obtain the beam refinement indicator, obtain a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) according to the beam refinement indicator from the RF interface, and perform beam refinement to obtain a new beam using the BRRS.

[00179] Example 13 includes the subject matter of Example 12, including or omitting optional elements, wherein the beam refinement indicator includes a recovery window.

[00180] Example 14 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12-13, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator includes a recovery window, and the one or more processors are configured to fall back to a prior beam if the DCI is not decoded within the recovery window.

[00181 ] Example 15 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12-14, including or omitting optional elements, where the one or more processors are configured to generate a recovery request if the beam refinement is not completed within a recovery window and the beam quality of control channel and/or data channel falls below a threshold, and the recovery request is provided to the RF interface to transmission to the one or more base stations. [00182] Example 16 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12-15, including or omitting optional elements, where the recovery request is one or more of a beam reference signal received power (BRS-RP) request, scheduling request (SR), and a request via a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[00183] Example 17 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12-16, including or omitting optional elements, where the BRRS includes a plurality of reference signals from a plurality of base stations.

[00184] Example 18 is one or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a base station to generate a beam refinement indicator having a type of beam refinement and a recovery window; generate a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) based on the DCI; and send the beam refinement indicator and the BRRS to one or more user equipment devices using a physical channel.

[00185] Example 19 includes the subject matter of Example 18, including or omitting optional elements, where the beam refinement indicator is a beam refinement flag (BRF) that indicates a type of beam refinement as UE control refinement, UE data refinement and/or UE control and UE data refinement.

[00186] Example 20 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 18-19, including or omitting optional elements, where the instructions, when executed, further cause the base station to receive a recovery request in accordance within the recovery window and respond to the recovery request.

[00187] Example 21 is an apparatus configured to be employed within a user equipment (UE) device. The apparatus includes a means to obtain a beam refinement indicator from a downlink control channel; a means to decode the beam refinement indicator and identify a beam refinement type; a means to obtain one or more reference signals; a means to measure the one or more reference signals and determine strengths of the one or more reference signals; and a means to determine a beam for downlink communications based on the determined strengths of the one or more reference signals.

[00188] Example 22 includes the subject matter of Example 21 , including or omitting optional elements, where the one or more reference signals are specific to the UE device.

[00189] It is to be understood that aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media or a computer readable storage device can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD- ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory medium, that can be used to carry or store desired information or executable instructions. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if 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 coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (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 should also be included within the scope of computer- readable media.

[00190] Various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other

programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform functions described herein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, 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. Additionally, at least one processor can comprise one or more modules operable to perform one or more of the s and/or actions described herein.

[00191 ] For a software implementation, techniques described herein can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform functions described herein. Software codes can be stored in memory units and executed by processors. Memory unit can be implemented within processor or external to processor, in which case memory unit can be communicatively coupled to processor through various means as is known in the art. Further, at least one processor can include one or more modules operable to perform functions described herein.

[00192] Techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA1800, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. Further, CDMA1800 covers IS-1800, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile

Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.1 1 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.18, Flash-OFDML , etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on downlink and SC-FDMA on uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). Additionally, CDMA1 800 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). Further, such wireless communication systems can additionally include peer-to-peer (e.g., mobile-to-mobile) ad hoc network systems often using unpaired unlicensed spectrums, 802. xx wireless LAN, BLUETOOTH and any other short- or long- range, wireless communication techniques.

[00193] Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), which utilizes single carrier modulation and frequency domain equalization is a technique that can be utilized with the disclosed aspects. SC-FDMA has similar performance and essentially a similar overall complexity as those of OFDMA system. SC-FDMA signal has lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) because of its inherent single carrier structure. SC-FDMA can be utilized in uplink communications where lower PAPR can benefit a mobile terminal in terms of transmit power efficiency.

[00194] Moreover, various aspects or features described herein can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROM, card, stick, key drive, etc.). Additionally, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data. Additionally, a computer program product can include a computer readable medium having one or more instructions or codes operable to cause a computer to perform functions described herein.

[00195] Communications media embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport media. The term "modulated data signal" or signals refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

[00196] Further, the actions of a method or algorithm described in connection with aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination thereof. A software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium can be coupled to processor, such that processor can read information from, and write information to, storage medium. In the alternative, storage medium can be integral to processor. Further, in some aspects, processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Additionally, ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, processor and storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the s and/or actions of a method or algorithm can reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machine-readable medium and/or computer readable medium, which can be incorporated into a computer program product.

[00197] The above description of illustrated embodiments of the subject disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible that are considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art can recognize.

[00198] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding Figures, where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below.

[00199] In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations of the disclosure. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus for a base station, comprising baseband circuitry having:

a radio frequency (RF) interface; and

one or more processors configured to:

generate a downlink control information (DCI) having a beam refinement indicator, wherein the beam refinement indicator indicates one or more types of beam refinement;

generate a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) in accordance with the DCI; and

send the DCI having the beam refinement indicator to the RF interface for transmission to one or more user equipment (UE) devices, wherein the DCI having the beam refinement indicator is provided within a physical channel.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send the BRRS to the RF interface for transmission in accordance with the DCI.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more types of beam refinement include data refinement and control refinement, wherein the data refinement is associated with a data channel and the control refinement is associated with a control channel.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more types of beam refinement include primary refinement and secondary refinement, wherein the primary refinement is for a currently used data or control channel and the secondary refinement is for a next to be used data or control channel.

5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -4, wherein the beam refinement indicator includes a gap, wherein the gap includes a period of time to perform post-processing on one or more BRRS symbols.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -4, wherein the beam refinement indicator includes a gap, wherein the gap includes a period of time for the one or more UE devices to perform beam refinement.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -4, wherein the beam refinement indicator identifies one or more BRRS symbols used for control UE beam refinement.

8. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -4, wherein the beam refinement indicator identifies one or more BRRS symbols used for data UE beam refinement.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the beam refinement indicator is a beam refinement flag (BRF) where a value of 0 indicates that control beam refinement is enabled and a value of 1 indicates that data beam refinement is enabled and a value of 2 indicates that control beam refinement and data beam refinement are enabled.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the beam refinement indicator is a beam refinement flag (BRF) where a value of 0 indicates that control beam refinement is enabled and a value of 1 indicates that data beam refinement is enabled.

1 1 . The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -4, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine a first recovery window and a second recovery window, wherein the first recovery window defines a time period for the one or more UE devices to decode the DCI using a new beam and the second recover window defines a time period for the one or more UE devices to decode the DCI using a previously used beam.

12. An apparatus for user equipment (UE) device, comprising baseband circuitry having:

a radio frequency (RF) interface; and

one or more processors configured to:

obtain a downlink control information (DCI) having a beam refinement indicator from the RF interface as received from one or base stations;

decode the DCI to obtain the beam refinement indicator;

obtain a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) according to the beam refinement indicator from the RF interface; and

perform beam refinement to obtain a new beam using the BRRS.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the beam refinement indicator includes a recovery window.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the beam refinement indicator includes a recovery window, and the one or more processors are configured to fall back to a prior beam if the DCI is not decoded within the recovery window.

15. The apparatus of any one of claims 12-14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to generate a recovery request if the beam refinement is not completed within a recovery window and the beam quality of control channel and/or data channel falls below a threshold, and the recovery request is provided to the RF interface to transmission to the one or more base stations.

16. The apparatus of any one of claims 12-14, wherein the recovery request is one or more of a beam reference signal received power (BRS-RP) request, scheduling request (SR), and a request via a physical random access channel (PRACH).

17. The apparatus of any one of claims 12-14, wherein the BRRS includes a plurality of reference signals from a plurality of base stations.

18. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a base station to:

generate a beam refinement indicator having a type of beam refinement and a recovery window;

generate a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) based on the DCI; and send the beam refinement indicator and the BRRS to one or more user equipment devices using a physical channel.

19. The computer-readable media of claim 18 wherein the beam refinement indicator is a beam refinement flag (BRF) that indicates a type of beam refinement as UE control refinement, UE data refinement and/or UE control and UE data refinement.

20. The computer-readable media of any one of claims 18-19 comprising one or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, further cause the base station to:

receive a recovery request in accordance within the recovery window and respond to the recovery request.

21 . An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) device, the apparatus comprising:

a means to obtain a beam refinement indicator from a downlink control channel; a means to decode the beam refinement indicator and identify a beam

refinement type;

a means to obtain one or more reference signals;

a means to measure the one or more reference signals and determine strengths of the one or more reference signals; and

a means to determine a beam for downlink communications based on the determined strengths of the one or more reference signals.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the one or more reference signals are specific to the UE device.