WO2021147087A1

WO2021147087A1 - Method and apparatus for deactivating user equipment panels

Info

Publication number: WO2021147087A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/074002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wei Ling; Chenxi Zhu; Bingchao LIU; Yi Zhang
Original assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited
Priority date: 2020-01-23
Filing date: 2020-01-23
Publication date: 2021-07-29

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatuses for deactivating user equipment panels. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method performed by a base station for wireless communication includes: receiving a request in an uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE) indicating a group of antenna ports of the UE to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one channel state information-reference signal or synchronization signal block; and transmitting a confirmation in response to the request.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DEACTIVATING USER EQUIPMENT PANELS

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to wireless communication technology, and more particularly, related to methods and apparatuses for deactivating user equipment panels.

BACKGROUND

In a wireless communication system, such as a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) system, a user equipment (UE) may have multiple panels, and each panel includes a group of antennas or an antenna array of the UE. The UE may activate one or more of the multiple panels for communications between the UE and a base station (BS) . One or more of the activated panels can be used simultaneously for downlink (DL) reception from the BS. In some cases, due to power limitation of the UE, only one activated panel can be used at a time for uplink (UL) transmission to the BS. In such cases, panel specific diversity can be obtained. However, maintaining an activated panel, even not using it for UL transmission, is very power consuming for the UE. Thus, the UE needs to deactivate or turn off some activated panels for power saving in some cases, such as when the battery power of the UE is low.

A term "beam" is introduced for wireless communications in high frequency bands, such as FR2 (from 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz) or other frequency bands higher than 6GHz. A beam refers to a main lobe of the radiation pattern of an antenna array or a panel. A panel may be associated with one or more beams. Each beam is associated with a spatial transmitter or receiver.

A BS may schedule transmit beams and receive beams for a UE. If a panel of a UE is deactivated, then all the beams associated with the deactivated panel will fail and be unusable for UL transmission and DL reception. If the UE deactivates the panel itself without informing the BS, then the BS has no information about the change, and may schedule a beam (s) associated with the deactivated panel for the UE, which will decrease network scheduling efficiency and throughput. Even if the UE can report its panel status to the BS by higher layer signaling after the UE deactivates the panel, there is a time gap after the UE deactivates the panel and before the BS receives the panel status where the BS may schedule a beam (s) associated with the deactivated panel for the UE.

Therefore, a scheme to deactivate UE panel (s) according to some conditions without decreasing network scheduling efficiency and throughput is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a novel method for deactivating UE panel (s) .

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method performed by a BS for wireless communication may include: receiving a request in an uplink transmission from a UE indicating a group of antenna ports of the UE to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or synchronization signal block (SSB) ; and transmitting a confirmation in response to the request.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method performed by a UE for wireless communication may include: determining that a group of antenna ports of the UE is to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one CSI-RS or SSB; and transmitting, in an uplink transmission, a request to a BS indicating the group of antenna ports.

According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus includes: at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions stored therein; at least one receiver; at least one transmitter; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, the at least one receiver and the at least one transmitter. The computer executable instructions are programmed to implement a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure with the at least one receiver, the at least one transmitter and the at least one processor.

The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which advantages and features of the present disclosure can be obtained, a description of the present disclosure is rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. These drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and are not therefore intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an architectural diagram of a communication system;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate respectively two options to report the change of the panel status of a UE to a BS;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a UE and a BS to deactivate a panel (s) of the UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary form of a beam report according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method performed by a BS to deactivate a panel of a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method performed by a UE to deactivate a panel of the UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of the appended drawings is intended as a description of the currently preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an architectural diagram of a wireless communication system 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes a BS 102 and a UE 104. Although merely, for simplicity, one BS is illustrated in FIG. 1, it is contemplated that the wireless communication system 100 may include more BSs in some other embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, although merely one UE is illustrated in FIG. 1 for simplicity, it is contemplated that the wireless communication system 100 may include more UEs in some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

The UE 104 may include computing devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , tablet computers, smart televisions (e.g., televisions connected to the Internet) , set-top boxes, game consoles, security systems (including security cameras) , vehicle on-board computers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, and modems) , or the like. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE 104 may include a portable wireless communication device, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a flip phone, a device having a subscriber identity module, a personal computer, a selective call receiver, or any other device that is capable of sending and receiving communication signals on a wireless network, In some embodiments, the UE 104 may include wearable devices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, optical head-mounted displays, or the like. Moreover, the UE 104 may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a user terminal, or a device, or described using other terminology used in the art.

The BS 102 may also be referred to as an access point, an access terminal, a base, a macro cell, a node-B, an enhanced node B (eNB) , a gNB, a home node-B, a relay node, or a device, or described using other terminology used in the art. The BS 102 is generally part of a radio access network that may include a controller communicably coupled to the BS 102.

The wireless communication system 100 is compatible with any type of network that is capable of sending and receiving wireless communication signals. For example, the wireless communication system 100 is compatible with a wireless communication network, a cellular telephone network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) -based network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) -based network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) -based network, an LTE network, a 3GPP-based network, a 3GPP 5G network, a satellite communications network, a high altitude platform network, and/or other communications networks.

The UE 104 may communicate with the BS 102 to receive data packets from the BS 102 on downlink (DL) and/or transmit data packets to the BS 102 on uplink (UL) . The UE 104 may activate multiple panels for communications between the UE 104 and the BS 102, and report the panel status to the BS 102 by higher layer signaling such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling or medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling.

In some conditions such as when the battery power of the UE 104 is low, the UE may determine to deactivate one or more panels (i.e., deactivate one or more groups of antenna ports associated with the one or more panels) to save power. The change of the panel status needs to be reported to the BS 102 so that the BS 102 and the UE 104 can maintain the same understanding on the panels′ activation/deactivation status and minimal panel-switching delay. There may be two options that the UE 104 can take to report the change of the panel status, which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, respectively.

FIG. 2A illustrates a first option to report the change of the panel status of a UE (e.g., UE 104) to a BS (e.g., BS 102) . As shown in FIG. 2A, after determining to deactivate a panel X of the UE according to the UE′s status, e.g., when the battery power of the UE is low or in other power saving situations, the UE deactivates the panel X at the time T1. At the time T2, the UE reports to the BS that the panel X is deactivated.

For the first option, the BS may misunderstand the status of the panel X during a transition period (i.e., time period P1) , which is the time period after the UE deactivates the panel X and before the UE reports the updated status of the panel X to the BS (omitting the time period of communicating the report from the UE to the BS and decoding/processing the report by the BS) . Due to the misunderstanding, the BS may deem the panel X activated and schedule a beam (s) associated with the panel X of the UE for UL transmission and/or DL reception. However, since the panel X has already been deactivated, the beam (s) associated with the panel X cannot be used by the UE for UL transmission and DL reception. Thus, the scheduled UL transmission and/or DL reception using the beam (s) associated with the panel X will fail, and then the BS may need to reschedule a beam (s) associated with other activated panel (s) of the UE for UL transmission and/or DL reception, which will decrease network scheduling efficiency and throughput.

FIG. 2B illustrates a second option to report the change of the panel status of a UE (e.g., UE 104) to a BS (e.g., BS 102) . As shown in FIG. 2B, after determining to deactivate a panel X of the UE according to the UE′s status, e.g., when the battery power of the UE is low or in other power saving situations, the UE reports to the BS at the time T3 that the panel X is to be deactivated. After a processing delay (i.e., time period P2) , the UE deactivates the panel X at the time T4.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the BS may transmit a confirmation in response to the UE′s report of the change of the panel status, and deactivation of the panel X may be performed after the UE receives the confirmation from the BS. According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the time period P2 may be a predetermined period of time, and the UE may deactivate the panel X without waiting for the BS′s confirmation.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104) and a BS (e.g., BS 102) to deactivate a panel (s) of the UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 3, at 302, the UE may activate multiple panels of the UE according to any technology that is known to persons skilled in the art or that is developing or to be developed. The UE may report its panel information to the BS by higher layer signaling such as RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling. Thus, the BS can know which panels of the UE are activated.

At 304, the BS may transmit reference signals such as channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RSs) or synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the UE. Each reference signal has its respective index and is transmitted by a respective beam. Accordingly, the respective reference signal can be used to represent the respective beam.

If the UE receives a reference signal from the BS by a beam, the UE may transmit a beam report associated with the beam to the BS at 306. The beam report may include a resource indicator such as a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) or SSB resource indicator (SSBRI) , which is the index of the received reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) , as well as L1-RSRP (layer 1 reference signal received power) or L1-SINR (layer 1 signal to interference plus noise ratio) associated with the received reference signal. The UE may receive multiple reference signals by corresponding beams. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, these beams may be reported in a single beam report. That is, the beam report may include indexes of all the multiple reference signals and their corresponding L1-RSRPs or L1-SINRs. Alternatively, these beams may be reported separately. The BS may select a beam (s) for UL and DL communications with the UE based on the beam report received from the UE.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the beam report may further include an index or identifier of a panel associated with the beam represented by the received reference signal included in the beam report. That is, the beam report may include both an index or identifier of a panel (i.e., an index or identifier of a group of antenna ports related to the panel) and an index of a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) associated with the panel, thereby indicating to the BS the association between the index or identifier of the panel and the reference signal (or the beam represented by the reference signal) . In such way, the BS can know which beams are associated with a particular panel of the UE.

According to some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the beam report may include multiple blocks as illustrated in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the beam report includes N blocks, wherein N represents the number of activated panels of the UE, which is known by the BS through the UE′s panel information report. Each block includes M resource indicators (e.g., CRIs or SSBRIs) with corresponding L1-RSRPs or L1-SINRs. The number M may be configured by higher layer signaling. The M resource indicators in one block are associated with a same panel of the UE. That is, the reference signals (e.g., CSI-RSs or SSBs) corresponding to the resource indicators in one block can be received by a same panel of the UE. Different blocks of the beam report correspond to different panels of the UE. After receiving such beam report from the UE, the BS can know that all the reference signals indicated in one block (or the beams represented by these reference signals) are associated with a same panel of the UE without knowing the index or identifier of the panel.

Referring back to FIG. 3, in some conditions such as when battery power of the UE is low, the UE may determine to deactivate one or more panels (i.e., deactivate one or more groups of antenna ports associated with the one or more panels) to save power, at 308. After determining the panel (s) to be deactivated, the UE may transmit a request to the BS at 310. The request may explicitly or implicitly indicate the panel (s) to be deactivated and thus can be referred to as a panel deactivation request. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the request may be transmitted in a MAC CE in an uplink transmission, e.g., carried by a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) .

In the cases where the UE transmitted a beam report (s) explicitly indicating an index or identifier of a panel of the UE associated with a beam to inform the BS which beams are associated with a particular panel of the UE, the panel deactivation request may include an index or identifier of the panel to be deactivated. That is, the panel deactivation request explicitly indicates the index or identifier of the panel to be deactivated to the BS. According to the index or identifier of the panel indicated in the panel deactivation request and the previously received beam report (s) , the BS can determine the beam (s) which is (are) associated with the indicated panel and will become unusable after the indicated panel is deactivated. If the UE determines multiple panels to be deactivated, the panel deactivation request may indicate multiple panel indexes or identifiers.

In the cases where the UE transmitted a beam report including multiple blocks each including resource indicators (e.g., CRIs or SSBRIs) associated with a same panel of the UE, the panel deactivation request does not explicitly indicate an index or identifier of the panel to be deactivated. Instead, the panel deactivation request may include an index of a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) associated with the panel to be deactivated. According to the index of the reference signal indicated in the panel deactivation request and the previously received beam report, the BS can determine the beam (s) which is (are) associated with the same panel as the indicated reference signal and will become unusable after the panel is deactivated, i.e., the beam (s) represented by the reference signal (s) which are in the same block of the beam report as the indicated reference signal. That is, the panel deactivation request may implicitly indicate the panel to be deactivated to the BS. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the panel deactivation request may include more than one resource indicator associated with the panel to be deactivated. If the UE determines multiple panels to be deactivated, the panel deactivation request may indicate multiple reference signal indexes, each associated with one of the multiple panels to be deactivated.

In a 3GPP NR system, a UE may be configured by a BS with search spaces and control resource sets (CORESETs) to locate physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) to be monitored. The CORESETs may include transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states indicating beams used to monitor the PDCCHs. If a panel of the UE is deactivated, all the beams associated with the panel cannot be used to monitor PDCCHs. The BS may reconfigure CORESETs for the UE, which may however cause a relatively long latency. In such case, the UE may need to use a temporary beam associated with an activated panel to monitor a PDCCH in the CORESETs having TCI states associated with the deactivated panel indicated in the request before the UE receives reconfiguration of CORESETs from the BS, e.g., an activation for a TCI state or parameters such as TCI-StatesPDCCH-ToAddlist and/or TCI-StatesPDCCH-ToReleaseList configured in higher layer signaling such as RRC signaling.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE may be configured by the BS via higher layer signaling to report a new beam (i.e., the aforementioned temporary beam) in the panel deactivation request. For example, the panel deactivation request may include an additional index of a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) associated with the new beam. The new beam is associated with a panel of the UE which is currently activated and will remain activated after the panel indicated in the panel deactivation request is deactivated (e.g., after the panel deactivation request is confirmed) . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the additional index of a reference signal associated with the new beam is selected from a candidate reference signal list configured by higher layer signaling. After receiving the panel deactivation request indicating both the panel to be deactivated and the new beam, the BS may use a spatial transmitter associated with the new beam represented by the additional reference signal index in the request to transmit a PDCCH in the CORESETs having TCI states associated with the panel to be deactivated after confirming the request. Also, the UE may use antenna port quasi-collocation parameters associated with the new beam to monitor the PDCCH after the panel is deactivated and the confirmation of the request is received and before the UE receives reconfiguration of the CORESETs from the BS. In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the BS may configure the UE not to report the new beam in the panel deactivation request, but to wait for reconfiguration of the CORESETs.

As shown in FIG. 3, the BS may transmit a confirmation in response to the panel deactivation request at 312, and then it will not schedule UL or DL transmissions with beams associated with the panel (s) indicated in the request.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the BS may transmit downlink control information (DCI) to confirm the panel deactivation request in a dedicated search space or a dedicated CORESET. The dedicated search space or dedicated CORESET is configured for the UE by higher layer signaling. The UE may monitor the DCI in the dedicated search space or dedicated CORESET after it transmits the panel deactivation request.

In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, to confirm the panel deactivation request, the BS may transmit a normal uplink grant by a UL DCI to schedule a new transmission for the same hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process as the UL transmission carrying the panel deactivation request.

Once the UE receives the confirmation of the panel deactivation request (e.g., the DCI in the dedicated search space or dedicated CORESET, or the normal uplink grant) , at 314, the UE may deactivate the panel (s) explicitly or implicitly indicated in the panel deactivation request.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE may automatically deactivate the panel (s) explicitly or implicitly indicated in the panel deactivation request if it does not receive a confirmation of the panel deactivation request from the BS for a long time. In such cases, the panel deactivation request is deemed as being confirmed by default.

In an embodiment, a predetermined number of retransmissions may be configured for the panel deactivation request by higher layer signaling. If the number of retransmissions of the panel deactivation reaches (e.g., equal to or greater than) the predetermined number, the UE may deactivate the panel (s) explicitly or implicitly indicated in the panel deactivation request without the BS′s confirmation.

In another embodiment, a timer configured with a predetermined period of time may be started after the UE transmits the panel deactivation request. If the timer expires, i.e., the predetermined period of time has elapsed since the UE transmits the panel deactivation request, the UE may deactivate the panel (s) explicitly or implicitly indicated in the panel deactivation request without the BS′s confirmation.

In the cases where the UE deactivate a panel explicitly or implicitly indicated in the panel deactivation request without the BS′s confirmation, the UE may further report that the panel is deactivated to the BS by higher layer signaling.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method 500 performed by a BS to deactivate a panel of a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although described with respect to a BS, it should be understood that other devices with similar functions may be configured to perform a method similar to that of FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, in step 502, the BS may receive a request in a UL transmission from a UE indicating a group of antenna ports (i.e., a panel) of the UE to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one CSI-RS or SSB. In step 504, the BS may transmit a confirmation in response to the request.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the request may include an index of the group of antenna ports. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the request may include an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports. The request may be received in a MAC CE on a PUSCH. Before the BS receives the request, the BS may receive a beam report from the UE, as discussed with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. For example, the beam report may include both the index of the group of antenna ports and an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports. Alternatively, the beam report may include a plurality of blocks, and each block corresponds to a respective group of antenna ports of the UE and comprises indexes of a plurality of CSI-RSs or SSBs associated with the respective group of antenna ports.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the request may further indicate an additional CSI-RS or SSB associated with an additional group of antenna ports of the UE which will remain activated after the request is confirmed (by the BS or by default) , wherein the additional CSI-RS or SSB is selected from a candidate reference signal list configured by higher layer signaling. The BS may transmit, using a spatial transmitter associated with the additional CSI-RS or SSB, a PDCCH in CORESETs having TCI states associated with the group of antenna ports indicated by the request after confirming the request.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the confirmation may include a DCI in a dedicated search space or a dedicated CORESET. According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the confirmation may include a normal uplink grant by a UL DCI to schedule a new transmission for the same HARQ process as the UL transmission carrying the request.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method 600 performed by a UE to deactivate a panel of the UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 6, in step 602, the UE may determine that a group of antenna ports (i.e., a panel) of the UE is to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one CSI-RS or SSB. In step 604, the UE may transmit, in a UL transmission, a request to a BS indicating the group of antenna ports.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the request may include an index of the group of antenna ports. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the request may include an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports. The request may be transmitted in a MAC CE on a PUSCH. Before transmitting the request, the UE may transmit a beam report to the BS, as discussed with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. For example, the beam report may include both the index of the group of antenna ports and an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports. Alternatively, the beam report may include a plurality of blocks, and each block corresponds to a respective group of antenna ports of the UE and comprises indexes of a plurality of CSI-RSs or SSBs associated with the respective group of antenna ports.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the request may further indicate an additional CSI-RS or SSB associated with an additional group of antenna ports of the UE which will remain activated after the request is confirmed (by the BS or by default) , wherein the additional CSI-RS or SSB is selected from a candidate reference signal list configured by higher layer signaling. The UE may monitor, using antenna port quasi-collocation parameters associated with the additional CSI-RS or SSB, a PDCCH in CORESETs having TCI states associated with the group of antenna ports indicated by the request after the request is confirmed.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may deactivate the group of antenna ports after receiving a confirmation of the request from the BS. The confirmation may include a DCI in a dedicated search space or a dedicated CORESET. Alternatively, the confirmation may include a normal uplink grant by a UL DCI to schedule a new transmission for the same HARQ process as the UL transmission carrying the request.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may deactivate the group of antenna ports after a predetermined number of retransmissions for the request. Alternatively, the UE may deactivate the group of antenna ports after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the UE transmits the request.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus 700 may be a BS (e.g., gNB) , which can at least perform the method illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus 700 may include at least one receiver 702, at least one transmitter 704, at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium 706, and at least one processor 708 coupled to the at least one receiver 702, the at least one transmitter 704, and the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium 706.

Although in FIG. 7, elements such as receiver 702, transmitter 704, non-transitory computer-readable medium 706, and processor 708 are described in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one receiver 702 and the at least one transmitter 704 are combined into a single device, such as a transceiver. In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus 700 may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium 706 may have stored thereon computer-executable instructions which are programmed to implement the steps of the methods, for example as described in view of FIGS. 3 and 5, with the at least one receiver 702, the at least one transmitter 704, and the at least one processor 708.

For example, the at least one receiver 702 may receive a request in a UL transmission from a UE indicating a group of antenna ports (i.e., a panel) of the UE to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one CSI-RS or SSB. The at least one transmitter 704 may transmit a confirmation in response to the request. The at least one receiver 702 may receive a beam report from the UE before receiving the request, wherein the beam report may explicitly or implicitly indicate the association between the group of antenna ports and its associated CSI-RS or SSB.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus 800 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus 800 may be a UE, which can at least perform the method illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6.

As shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus 800 may include at least one receiver 802, at least one transmitter 804, at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium 806, and at least one processor 808 coupled to the at least one receiver 802, the at least one transmitter 804, and the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium 806.

Although in FIG. 8, elements such as receiver 802, transmitter 804, non-transitory computer-readable medium 806, and processor 808 are described in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one receiver 802 and the at least one transmitter 804 are combined into a single device, such as a transceiver. In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus 800 may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium 806 may have stored thereon computer-executable instructions which are programmed to implement the steps of the methods, for example as described in view of FIGS. 3 and 6, with the at least one receiver 802, the at least one transmitter 804, and the at least one processor 808.

For example, the at least one processor 808 may determine that a group of antenna ports (i.e., a panel) of the UE is to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one CSI-RS or SSB. The at least one transmitter 804 may transmit, in a UL transmission, a request to a BS indicating the group of antenna ports. The at least one transmitter 804 may transmit a beam report to the BS before transmitting the request, wherein the beam report may explicitly or implicitly indicate the association between the group of antenna ports and its associated CSI-RS or SSB. The at least one receiver 802 may monitor, using antenna port quasi-collocation parameters associated with an additional CSI-RS or SSB, a PDCCH in CORESETs having TCI states associated with the group of antenna ports indicated by the request after the request is confirmed, wherein the additional CSI-RS or SSB is associated with an additional group of antenna ports of the UE which will remain activated after the request is confirmed. The at least one processor 808 may deactivate the group of antenna ports after receiving a confirmation of the request from the BS. Alternatively, the at least one processor 808 may deactivate the group of antenna ports after a predetermined number of retransmissions for the request, or after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the UE transmits the request.

Those having ordinary skills in the art would understand that the steps of a method described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may 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. Additionally, in some aspects, the steps of a method may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

While this disclosure has been described with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, or substituted in the other embodiments. Also, all of the elements of each figure are not necessary for operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, those having ordinary skills in the art would be enabled to make and use the teachings of the disclosure by simply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In this document, the terms "includes, " "including, " or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by "a, " "an, " or the like does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element. Also, the term "another" is defined as at least a second or more. The term "having" and the like, as used herein, are defined as "including. "

Claims

A method performed by a base station (BS) for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving a request in an uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE) indicating a group of antenna ports of the UE to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or synchronization signal block (SSB) ; and

transmitting a confirmation in response to the request.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the request comprises an index of the group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a beam report from the UE before receiving the request, wherein the beam report comprises both the index of the group of antenna ports and an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the request comprises an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 4, further comprising:

receiving a beam report from the UE before receiving the request, wherein the beam report comprises a plurality of blocks, and each block corresponds to a respective group of antenna ports of the UE and comprises indexes of a plurality of CSI-RSs or SSBs associated with the respective group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the request further indicates an additional CSI-RS or SSB associated with an additional group of antenna ports of the UE which will remain activated after the request is confirmed.
The method of Claim 6, further comprising transmitting, using a spatial transmitter associated with the additional CSI-RS or SSB, a physical downlink control channel in control resource sets having transmission configuration indicator states associated with the group of antenna ports indicated by the request after confirming the request.
The method of Claim 6, wherein the additional CSI-RS or SSB is selected from a candidate reference signal list configured by higher layer signaling.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the request is received in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) on a physical uplink shared channel.
The method of Claim 1, wherein transmitting the confirmation comprises transmitting downlink control information in a dedicated search space or a dedicated control resource set.
The method of Claim 1, wherein transmitting the confirmation comprises transmitting a normal uplink grant by an uplink downlink control information to schedule a new transmission for the same hybrid automatic repeat request process as the uplink transmission carrying the request.
The method of Claim 1, wherein group of antenna ports relates to a panel of the UE.
A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

determining that a group of antenna ports of the UE is to be deactivated, wherein the group of antenna ports is associated with at least one channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or synchronization signal block (SSB) ; and

transmitting, in an uplink transmission, a request to a base station (BS) indicating the group of antenna ports to be deactivated.
The method of Claim 13, wherein the request comprises an index of the group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 14, further comprising:

transmitting a beam report to the BS before transmitting the request, wherein the beam report comprises both the index of the group of antenna ports and an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 13, wherein the request comprises an index of a CSI-RS or SSB associated with the group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 16, further comprising:

transmitting a beam report to the BS before transmitting the request, wherein the beam report comprises a plurality of blocks, and each block corresponds to a respective group of antenna ports of the UE and comprises indexes of a plurality of CSI-RSs or SSBs associated with the respective group of antenna ports.
The method of Claim 13, wherein the request further indicates an additional CSI-RS or SSB associated with an additional group of antenna ports of the UE which will remain activated after the request is confirmed.
The method of Claim 18, further comprising monitoring, using antenna port quasi-collocation parameters associated with the additional CSI-RS or SSB, a physical downlink control channel in control resource sets having transmission configuration indicator states associated with the group of antenna ports indicated in the request after the request is confirmed.
The method of Claim 18, wherein the additional CSI-RS or SSB is selected from a candidate reference signal list configured by higher layer signaling.
The method of Claim 13, wherein the request is transmitted in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) on a physical uplink shared channel.
The method of Claim 13, further comprising deactivating the group of antenna ports after receiving a confirmation of the request from the BS.
The method of Claim 22, wherein the confirmation comprises downlink control information in a dedicated search space or a dedicated control resource set.
The method of Claim 22, wherein the confirmation comprises a normal uplink grant by an uplink downlink control information to schedule a new transmission for the same hybrid automatic repeat request process as the uplink transmission carrying the request.
The method of Claim 13, further comprising deactivating the group of antenna ports after a predetermined number of retransmissions for the request.
The method of Claim 13, further comprising deactivating the group of antenna ports after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the UE transmits the request.
The method of Claim 13, wherein group of antenna ports relates to a panel of the UE.
An apparatus, comprising:

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions stored therein;

at least one receiver;

at least one transmitter; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, the at least one receiver, and the at least one transmitter;

wherein the computer executable instructions are programmed to implement a method according to any one of Claims 1-12 with the at least one receiver, the at least one transmitter, and the at least one processor.
An apparatus, comprising:

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions stored therein;

at least one receiver;

at least one transmitter; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, the at least one receiver, and the at least one transmitter;

wherein the computer executable instructions are programmed to implement a method according to any one of Claims 13-27 with the at least one receiver, the at least one transmitter, and the at least one processor.