CN116134743A

CN116134743A - Beam reporting method in a wireless communication system with beamforming

Info

Publication number: CN116134743A
Application number: CN202180048252.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蔡承融
Original assignee: MediaTek Inc
Current assignee: MediaTek Inc
Priority date: 2020-07-07
Filing date: 2021-07-07
Publication date: 2023-05-16
Also published as: WO2022007835A1; EP4173166A1

Abstract

Beam reporting methods associated with one or more AGCs are presented. The network node configures one or more AGCs. Each AGC may include at least one AGC index. Each AGC may include the number of ports or layers that the UE is able to support. In addition, each AGC may include an enabled panel state. The enabled panel state may indicate whether the UE may perform UL transmission to the network node and/or whether the UE may perform DL reception from the network node. The UE may determine one of the AGCs for each CRI or SSBRI in the beam report. The UE may enable and select one or more panels for DL reception and UL transmission, and the UE may receive and measure reference signals corresponding to CRI or SSBRI in the beam report.

Description

Beam reporting method in a wireless communication system with beamforming

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application 63/048,738 entitled "Antenna Group Configuration for Beam Reporting" filed 7/2020, U.S. provisional patent application 63/070,351 entitled "Antenna Group Configuration for Beam Reporting" filed 26/2020, and U.S. provisional patent application 63/150,158 entitled "Antenna Group Configuration for Beam Reporting" filed 17/2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to beam reporting associated with one or more antenna group configurations (Antenna Group Configuration, AGC).

Background

The increasing lack of bandwidth experienced by mobile operators has prompted the search for underutilized Millimeter Wave (mmWave) spectrum between 3G and 300GHz for the next generation broadband cellular communication networks. The available spectrum in the millimeter wave band is 200 times that of a conventional cellular system. Millimeter wave wireless networks may support data rates of several gigabits using narrow beam directional communications. The wavelength range of the underutilized bandwidth of the millimeter wave spectrum is 1mm to 100mm. The very small wavelength of the millimeter wave spectrum enables a large number of small antennas to be placed in a small area. Such miniaturized antenna systems can produce high beamforming gains by producing a directionally transmitted electrically steerable array.

With the recent development of millimeter wave semiconductor circuits, millimeter wave wireless systems have become a promising solution for true implementation. However, the severe reliance on directional transmission and vulnerability to propagation environments present particular challenges for millimeter wave networks. In general, cellular network systems are designed to achieve the following goals: 1) Simultaneously serving many users with a wide range of dynamic operating conditions; 2) Robustness to channel variations, traffic load and dynamic variations of different quality of service (Quality of Service, qoS) requirements; and 3) effectively utilizing resources such as bandwidth and power. Beamforming increases the difficulty of achieving these goals.

In principle, for compact mobile devices, different panels (panels) equipped on User Equipment (UE) may not have the same configuration, e.g. number of ports, due to the typically limited occupation and different sizes of the antenna modules. The UE may report the maximum number of ports or layers supported for Uplink (UL) transmission through capability signaling. However, this number is typically determined by the panel with the least number of antennas, as each panel that may be used for UL transmissions needs to support this number. Furthermore, even if panel capabilities are reported from the UE, the network still cannot know based on beam reporting whether the selected network node (e.g., gNB) beam is used for UL transmission, what the maximum number of ports or layers the UE selects to be able to support for the UL panel.

Furthermore, for a UE equipped with multiple panels with the same configuration, the panel configuration may still be altered to save power for the UE. Downlink (DL) multiple-Input multiple-Output (MIMO) layer adjustment supported by Bandwidth Part (BWP) handover can be used to save power of the UE. For UL, power saving for the UE is also beneficial if the maximum UL mimo layer on the UL panel can be dynamically adjusted. However, based on the current specifications, the network cannot be made aware of the change in UL panel configuration.

Furthermore, even though there may be multiple active panels, the UE can only select one UL panel from them. For example, to avoid transmit power backoff due to maximum allowed exposure (Maximum Permissible Exposure, MPE), the UE may select a panel for UL transmission instead of a panel for DL reception. If multiple panels are enabled and only one panel is selected for UL transmission, the network needs to know how to schedule UL transmission on that UL panel. However, the network cannot distinguish which gNB beam corresponds to the UL panel selected by the UE based on the beam report.

Thus, beam reporting for the enabled panel is an important part to determine.

Disclosure of Invention

A beam reporting method associated with one or more AGCs is presented. The network node configures one or more AGCs. Each AGC may include at least one AGC index. Each AGC may include the number of ports or layers that the UE is able to support. In addition, each AGC may include an enabled panel state. The enabled panel state may indicate whether the UE may perform UL transmission to the network node and/or whether the UE may perform DL reception from the network node. The UE may determine one of the AGCs for each CRI or SSBRI in the beam report. The UE may enable and select one or more panels for DL reception and UL transmission, and the UE may receive and measure reference signals corresponding to CRI or SSBRI in the beam report. The UE may perform UL transmission to the network node according to the RS and/or DL reception from the network node according to the RS.

In one embodiment, a UE receives one or more AGCs configured by a network node in a beam forming wireless communication network, wherein each AGC includes at least one AGC index. The UE reports at least one AGC index to the network node in a beam report.

Other embodiments and advantages are described in the detailed description that follows. This summary is not intended to limit the invention. The invention is defined by the claims.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention in which like numerals refer to like parts.

Fig. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a network node and user equipment embodying some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of AGC configured by a network node.

Fig. 3 illustrates a first embodiment of panel aware beam reporting (panel-aware beam report) by a UE having multiple panels.

Fig. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of panel aware beam reporting by a UE having multiple panels.

Fig. 5 illustrates a third embodiment of panel aware beam reporting by a UE having multiple panels.

Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of beam reporting from a UE perspective in a beam forming wireless communication system in accordance with a novel aspect.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a network node and UE implementing some embodiments of the present invention. The network node 101 may be a Base Station (BS) or a gNB, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The UE102 may be a smart phone, a wearable device, an internet of things (Internet of Things, ioT) device, a tablet, or the like. Alternatively, UE110 may be a notebook or personal computer (Personal Computer, PC) with a data card inserted or installed, which may include a modem and a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver to provide the functionality of wireless communication.

The network node 101 has: an antenna array 111 having a plurality of antenna elements that transmit or receive radio signals; one or more RF transceiver modules 112 coupled to the antenna array, receive RF signals from the antenna 111, convert the RF signals to baseband signals, and transmit the baseband signals to the processor 113. The RF transceiver 112 also converts the baseband signal received from the processor 113, converts the baseband signal into an RF signal, and transmits it to the antenna 111. Processor 113 processes the received baseband signal and invokes different functional modules to implement features in network node 101. Memory 114 may store program instructions and data 115 for controlling the operation of network node 101. According to an embodiment of the invention, the network node 101 further comprises a plurality of functional modules performing different tasks.

Similarly, UE102 has an antenna 131 that transmits and receives radio signals. An RF transceiver module 132 coupled to the antenna receives RF signals from the antenna 131, converts the RF signals to baseband signals, and transmits the baseband signals to the processor 133. The RF transceiver 132 also converts the baseband signal received from the processor 133, converts the baseband signal into an RF signal, and transmits the RF signal to the antenna 131. The processor 133 processes the received baseband signals and invokes different functional modules to implement features in the UE 102. Memory 134 stores program instructions and data 135 for controlling the operation of UE 102. According to an embodiment of the invention, the UE102 also includes a plurality of functional modules and circuits that perform different tasks.

The functional modules and circuits may be implemented and configured by hardware, firmware, software, and any combination thereof. For example, network node 101 includes a beam management module 120 that further includes beam forming circuitry 121, beam monitor 122, resource allocation circuitry 123, and beam reporting circuitry 124. The beamforming circuit 121 may be part of an RF chain that imparts various beamforming weights to the plurality of antenna elements of the antenna 111, thereby forming various beams. The beam monitor 122 monitors received radio signals and performs measurements of the radio signals on the various UE beams. The resource allocation circuit 123 allocates one or more AGC. The beam reporting circuit 124 reports the received beam monitoring results of the respective UE beams.

Similarly, UE102 includes a beam management module 140 that further includes beam forming circuitry 141, beam monitor 142, beam grouping circuitry 143, and beam reporting circuitry 144. The beamforming circuit 141 may be part of an RF chain that imparts various beamforming weights to a plurality of antenna elements of the antenna 131, thereby forming various beams. The beam monitor 142 monitors the received radio signals and performs measurements of the radio signals on the various beams. The beam grouping circuit 143 groups different BS beams into beam groups based on Reference Signal (RS) resource configurations. Beam reporting circuitry 144 provides beam quality metrics and sends reports to network node 101 in beam groups based on beam monitoring results for the individual BS beams.

According to one novel aspect, a beamformed wireless communication network or beamformed wireless communication network system includes a network node 101 and a UE 102. Beamforming wireless communication networks use directional communication with narrow beams and may support several gigabit data rates. Directional communication may be achieved via digital and/or analog beamforming, wherein multiple sets of beamforming weights are assigned to multiple antenna elements to form multiple beams.

According to one novel aspect, network node 101 configures one or more AGCs. Each AGC may include at least one AGC index. Each AGC may also include a number of ports or layers that the UE102 can support. In addition, each AGC may also include an enable panel state (active panel state). Each panel may include one or more antennas and/or ports (e.g., a set of antennas). The enabled panel state may indicate whether UE102 may perform UL transmissions to network node 101 and/or whether UE102 may perform DL receptions from network node 101.

According to one novel aspect, UE102 may determine one of the AGCs for each Channel-State-Information Reference-Signal (CSI-RS) resource index (CSI-RS Resource Index, CRI) or synchronization Signal block (Synchronization Signal Block, SSB) resource index (SSB Resource Index, SSBRI) in the beam report. In beam reporting, the respective CRI or SSBRI may correspond to an AGC index and a number of reports (reporting quantity) of AGC (e.g., L1 reference symbol received power (Reference Symbol Received Power, RSRP) or L1 signal to interference plus noise ratio (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, SINR)). In addition, CRI or SSBRI may be associated with an enabled panel state of AGC, which indicates that UE102 may perform UL transmissions to network node 101 and/or UE102 may perform DL receptions from network node 101. The UE102 may enable and select one or more panels for DL reception and UL transmission, and the UE102 may receive and measure RSs corresponding to CRI or SSBRI in the beam report on the enabled panels. The processor 233 of the UE102 may perform UL transmission to the network node 101 according to the RS and/or DL reception from the network node 101 according to the RS. Respective panels enabled by the processor 233 of the UE102 are associated with the AGC. UE102 may send a beam report associated with the AGC to network node 101. UE102 may report at least one AGC index to network node 101 in a beam report.

According to one novel aspect, the receiver of the UE102 may receive CRI or SSBRI associated with different AGCs at the same time, but may not receive CRI or SSBRI associated with the same AGC at the same time.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of AGC configured by a network node. As depicted in table 210, each AGC may include an AGC index (i.e., AGC index #0, AGC index #1, AGC index #2, and AGC index # 3), a number of ports to enable a panel, and an enable panel state. In this example, for AGC index #0, the number of ports of the enabled panel is 1, and the enabled panel state is that the enabled panel selected and enabled by the UE is available for DL reception and UL transmission. For AGC index #1, the number of ports of the enabled panel is 2, and the enabled panel state is that the enabled panel selected and enabled by the UE is available for DL reception and UL transmission. For AGC index #2, the number of ports of the enabled panel is 1, and the enabled panel state is that the enabled panel selected and enabled by the UE is only for DL reception, i.e., the enabled panel cannot be used for UL transmission. For AGC index #3, the number of ports of the enabled panel is 2, and the enabled panel state is that the enabled panel selected and enabled by the UE is only for DL reception, i.e., the enabled panel cannot be used for UL transmission.

Fig. 3 illustrates a first embodiment of panel aware beam reporting by a UE having multiple panels. As depicted in fig. 3, UE 310 has three panels, panel #1, panel #2, and panel #3. In the first embodiment of fig. 3, panel #1 supports two ports, panel #2 supports one port, and panel #3 supports two ports. When UE 310 selects and enables panel #1 for DL reception and UL transmission and receives reference signals RS #2 and RS #4 on the enabled panel #1, panel aware beam report 320 may be associated with AGC index #1 depicted in table 210 of fig. 2. It can also be said that CRI or SSBRI corresponding to reference signals rs#2 and rs#4 in panel sense beam report 320 can be associated with AGC index # 1. Then, when the UE 310 changes to select and enable panel #2 for DL reception and UL transmission and receives reference signals RS #2 and RS #4 on the enabled panel #2, the panel aware beam report 320 may be associated with the AGC index #0 depicted in table 210 of fig. 2. Thus, in the first embodiment of fig. 3, even if the panel enabled by the UE 310 changes, the network node may learn the maximum number of ports supported by the currently enabled panel based on the panel aware beam report 320.

Fig. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of panel aware beam reporting by a UE having multiple panels. As depicted in fig. 4, UE 410 has three panels, panel #1, panel #2, and panel #3. In the second embodiment of fig. 4, panel #1 supports two ports, panel #2 supports two ports, and panel #3 supports two ports. When UE 410 selects and enables panel #1 for DL reception and UL transmission and receives reference signals RS #2 and RS #4 on the enabled panel #1, panel aware beam report 420 may be associated with AGC index #1 depicted in table 210 of fig. 2. Then, when UE 410 disables one port of enabled panel #1 to save power, panel aware beam report 420 may be associated with AGC index #0 depicted in table 210 of fig. 2. Thus, in the second embodiment of fig. 4, even if the number of ports supported by the currently enabled panel of UE 410 changes, the network node may learn the maximum number of ports supported by the currently enabled panel based on panel aware beam report 420.

Fig. 5 illustrates a third embodiment of panel aware beam reporting by a UE having multiple panels. As depicted in fig. 5, the UE 510 has three panels, panel #1, panel #2, and panel #3. In the third embodiment of fig. 5, panel #1 supports two ports, panel #2 supports two ports, and panel #3 supports two ports. When the UE 510 selects and enables panel #1 for DL reception and UL transmission and receives reference signals RS #2 and RS #4 on the enabled panel #1, the panel aware beam report 520 may be associated with AGC index #1 depicted in table 210 of fig. 2. Then, when the UE 510 changes to select and enable panel 1 for DL reception only and panel #2 for DL reception and UL transmission, and receives reference signals rs#2 and rs#4 on the enabled panel #1 and reference signals rs#9 and rs#12 on the enabled panel #2, the panel aware beam report 520 may be associated with AGC index #0 and AGC index #3 depicted in table 210 of fig. 2. Thus, in the third embodiment of fig. 5, even though the UE 510 has multiple panels enabled, the network node can learn how to schedule DL reception and UL transmission based on the panel aware beam report 520.

According to a novel aspect, the network node may configure only one AGC. The UE selects and enables a panel according to an AGC configured by the network node and reports a beam report associated with the AGC. In one example, if the network node is configured with an AGC having an AGC index #0 and the enabled panel state of the AGC indicates that the enabled panel is selected for UL transmission and DL reception, the UE may select and enable one panel for DL reception and UL transmission and the UE may receive and measure the RS corresponding to CRI or SSBRI in the beam report associated with the AGC on the enabled panel. If the network node is configured with another AGC having AGC index #2 and the enabled panel state of the AGC indicates that the enabled panel is selected for DL reception only, the UE may select and enable the other panel for DL reception and the UE may receive and measure the RS corresponding to CRI or SSBRI in the beam report associated with the AGC on the enabled panel. In embodiments of the novel aspect, the receiver of the UE may receive CRI or SSBRI in different beam reports associated with different AGCs simultaneously; the receiver of the UE cannot receive CRI or SSBRI in different beam reports associated with the same AGC at the same time; and the receiver of the UE cannot receive CRI or SSBRI in the same beam report at the same time.

According to one novel aspect, a receiver of a UE receives a set of transmit configuration indicator (Transmission Configuration Indicator, TCI) states configured by a network node via radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) signaling. The network node enables one or more TCI states through a Control Element (CE) of a medium access Control (Media Access Control, MAC). If the network node enables more than one TCI state, the network node may indicate one of the enabled TCI states that is used to determine the spatial Tx filter for UL transmission. If the network node only enables one TCI state, the network node may use the enabled TCI state to determine a spatial Tx filter for UL transmission. In one embodiment, each TCI state is associated with an AGC. In another embodiment, each TCI state may be configured with AGC.

According to one novel aspect, a transmitter of a UE reports panel-related capabilities to a network node. The panel-related capability includes at least one of a maximum number of enabled panels, a maximum number of AGC configured, a maximum number of ports or layers of a panel, and an enabled panel state supported by a panel.

Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of beam reporting from a UE perspective in a beam forming wireless communication system in accordance with a novel aspect. In step 601, a UE receives one or more AGCs configured by a network node in a beamforming wireless communication network, wherein each AGC includes at least one AGC index. In step 602, the UE reports at least one AGC index to a network node in a beam report. In one example, each AGC includes at least one of an AGC index, a number of panel-enabled ports, and a panel-enabled state. The enable panel state indicates whether the enable panel is selected for UL transmission, DL reception, or both UL transmission and DL reception. The beam report includes at least one CRI or SSBRI, and each CRI or SSBRI corresponds to the number of reports and AGC index in the beam report.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with some specific embodiments for instructional purposes, the present invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, various modifications, adaptations, and combinations of the various features of the described embodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

in a beamforming wireless communication network, receiving, by a user equipment, one or more antenna group configurations configured by a network node, wherein each antenna group configuration comprises at least one antenna group configuration index; and

reporting, by the user equipment, the at least one antenna group configuration index to the network node in a beam report.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each antenna group configuration further comprises a number of ports or layers that the user device is capable of supporting.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam report comprises at least one channel state information reference signal resource index or synchronization signal block resource index, wherein each channel state information reference signal resource index or synchronization signal block resource index corresponds to a number of reports and the antenna group configuration index in the beam report.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein each antenna group configuration further comprises an enabled panel state indicating whether the user equipment is capable of performing uplink transmission to the network node, downlink reception from the network node, or both uplink transmission to the network node and downlink reception from the network node.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

uplink transmission to the network node is performed by the user equipment according to a reference signal corresponding to a channel state information reference signal resource index or a synchronization signal block resource index, wherein the channel state information reference signal resource index or the synchronization signal block resource index is associated with an antenna group configuration indicating that the user equipment is capable of performing uplink transmission to the network node.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

downlink reception from the network node is performed by the user equipment in accordance with a reference signal corresponding to a channel state information reference signal resource index or a synchronization signal block resource index, wherein the channel state information reference signal resource index or the synchronization signal block resource index is associated with an antenna group configuration indicating that the user equipment is capable of performing downlink reception from the network node.

7. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that channel state information reference signal resource indices or synchronization signal block resource indices associated with different antenna group configurations can be received simultaneously by the user equipment, and channel state information reference signal resource indices or synchronization signal block resource indices associated with the same antenna group configuration cannot be received simultaneously by the user equipment.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

in the event that the beam report is associated with one antenna group configuration of the network node configuration, the user equipment selects and enables a panel according to the antenna group configuration.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein channel state information reference signal resource indices or synchronization signal block resource indices in different beam reports associated with different antenna group configurations are receivable simultaneously by the user equipment, wherein channel state information reference signal resource indices or synchronization signal block resource indices in different beam reports associated with the same antenna group configuration are not receivable simultaneously by the user equipment, and wherein channel state information reference signal resource indices or synchronization signal block resource indices in the same beam report are not receivable simultaneously by the user equipment.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a set of transmit configuration indicator states configured by the network node is received via radio resource control signaling, wherein each transmit configuration indicator state is associated with an antenna group configuration.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

reporting panel-related capabilities to the network node, wherein the panel-related capabilities include at least one of a maximum number of enabled panels, a maximum number of configured antenna group configurations, a maximum number of ports or layers of panels, and an enabled panel state supported by a panel.

12. A user equipment, comprising:

a receiver that receives one or more antenna group configurations configured by a network node in a beam forming wireless communication network, wherein each antenna group configuration comprises at least one antenna group configuration index; and

beam reporting circuitry to report the at least one antenna group configuration index to the network node in a beam report.

13. The user equipment of claim 12, wherein each antenna group configuration further comprises a number of ports or layers that the user equipment is capable of supporting.

14. The user equipment of claim 12, wherein the beam report comprises at least one channel state information reference signal resource index or synchronization signal block resource index, wherein each channel state information reference signal resource index or synchronization signal block resource index corresponds to a number of reports and the antenna group configuration index in the beam report.

15. The user equipment of claim 14, wherein each antenna group configuration further comprises an enabled panel state indicating whether the user equipment is capable of performing uplink transmission to the network node, downlink reception from the network node, or both uplink transmission to the network node and downlink reception from the network node.

16. The user equipment of claim 15, wherein the processor of the user equipment performs uplink transmission to the network node in accordance with a reference signal corresponding to a channel state information reference signal resource index or a synchronization signal block resource index associated with an antenna group configuration indicating that the user equipment is capable of performing uplink transmission to the network node.

17. The user equipment of claim 15, the processor of the user equipment performing downlink reception from the network node in accordance with a reference signal corresponding to a channel state information reference signal resource index or a synchronization signal block resource index, wherein the channel state information reference signal resource index or the synchronization signal block resource index is associated with an antenna group configuration indicating that the user equipment is capable of performing downlink reception from the network node.

18. The user equipment of claim 14, wherein the receiver is capable of receiving channel state information reference signal resource indices or synchronization signal block resource indices associated with different antenna group configurations simultaneously, and wherein the receiver is incapable of receiving channel state information reference signal resource indices or synchronization signal block resource indices associated with the same antenna group configuration simultaneously.

19. The user equipment of claim 12, wherein the receiver receives a set of transmit configuration indicator states configured by the network node via radio resource control signaling, wherein each transmit configuration indicator state is associated with an antenna group configuration.

20. The user device of claim 12, wherein the transmitter of the user device reports to the network node panel-related capabilities, wherein the panel-related capabilities comprise at least one of a maximum number of enabled panels, a maximum number of configured antenna group configurations, a maximum number of ports or layers of a panel, and an enabled panel state supported by a panel.