WO2023097596A1 - Entraînement de surfaces intelligentes reconfigurables par l'intermédiaire de signaux de référence 1 port comb-n - Google Patents

Entraînement de surfaces intelligentes reconfigurables par l'intermédiaire de signaux de référence 1 port comb-n Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023097596A1
WO2023097596A1 PCT/CN2021/135026 CN2021135026W WO2023097596A1 WO 2023097596 A1 WO2023097596 A1 WO 2023097596A1 CN 2021135026 W CN2021135026 W CN 2021135026W WO 2023097596 A1 WO2023097596 A1 WO 2023097596A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
reference signal
wireless communication
communication device
riss
network entities
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PCT/CN2021/135026
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English (en)
Inventor
Ahmed Elshafie
Yu Zhang
Hung Dinh LY
Seyedkianoush HOSSEINI
Saeid SAHRAEI
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Qualcomm Incorporated
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Priority to PCT/CN2021/135026 priority Critical patent/WO2023097596A1/fr
Publication of WO2023097596A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023097596A1/fr

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/14—Relay systems
    • H04B7/15—Active relay systems
    • H04B7/155—Ground-based stations
    • H04B7/15528—Control of operation parameters of a relay station to exploit the physical medium

Definitions

  • This application relates to wireless communication devices, systems, and methods, and more particularly to devices, systems, and methods for training reflective devices.
  • Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple usersby sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power) .
  • a wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations (BSs) , each simultaneously supporting communications for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE) .
  • BSs base stations
  • UE user equipment
  • LTE long term evolution
  • NR next generation new radio
  • 5G 5 th Generation
  • the path or medium of a signal may be obstructed by buildings or the environment.
  • devices such as reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) or amplify and forward (AF) relays may be used to reflect/retransmit signals around obstructions.
  • the reflective device is trained by measuring reference signals reflected by the device.
  • a method of wireless communication comprises receiving, by a first wireless communication device, a first reference signal reflected by a first network entity from among a plurality of network entities, the first reference signal having a first frequency shift by the first network entity.
  • the method further comprising receiving, by the first wireless communication device, a second reference signal reflected by a second network entity from among the plurality of network entities, the second reference signal having a second frequency shift by the second network entity, the second frequency shift being different than the first frequency shift.
  • the method further comprising transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, a first report including an indication of a subset of the plurality of network entities based on a measurement of the first reference signal and a measurement of the second reference signal, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal are reflections of an original reference signal from a second wireless communication device.
  • Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a method of wireless communication, comprises transmitting, by a first wireless communication device to a plurality of network entities, a reference signal for receipt by a second wireless communication device.
  • the method further comprises receiving, by the first wireless communication device from the second wireless communication device, a report including an indication of a subset of the plurality of network entities, wherein the report is based on a measurement of a first reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a first frequency shift by a first network entity of the plurality of network entities, and a measurement of a second reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a second frequency shift by a second network entity of the plurality of network entities, the second frequency shift being different than the first frequency shift.
  • a first wireless communication device comprising a transceiver configured to receive a first reference signal reflected by a first network entity from among a plurality of network entities, the first reference signal having a first frequency shift by the first network entity.
  • the transceiver is further configured to receive a second reference signal reflected by a second network entity from among the plurality of network entities, the second reference signal having a second frequency shift by the second network entity, the second frequency shift being different than the first frequency shift.
  • the transceiver is further configured to transmit a first report including an indication of a subset of the plurality of network entities based on a measurement of the first reference signal and a measurement of the second reference signal, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal are reflections of an original reference signal from a second wireless communication device.
  • a first wireless communication device comprising a transceiver configured to transmit, to a plurality of network entities, a reference signal for receipt by a second wireless communication device.
  • the transceiver is further configured to receive, from the secondwireless communication device, a report including an indication of a subset of the plurality of network entities, wherein the report is based on a measurement of a first reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a first frequency shift by a first network entity of the plurality of network entities, and a measurement of a second reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a second frequency shift by a second network entity of the plurality of network entities, the second frequency shift being different than the first frequency shift.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2A illustrates a communication scenario with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2B illustrates a communication scenario with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 3 is a signaling resource diagram of a reference signal according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 4 is a signaling resource diagram of a sequence of reference signals according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 5 is a signaling resource diagram of a sequence of reference signals according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 7 is a signaling diagram according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 8 is a signaling diagram according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 9A is a signaling diagram according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 9B is a signaling diagram according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a base station (BS) according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a user equipment (UE) according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • wireless communications systems also referred to as wireless communications networks.
  • the techniques and apparatus may be used for wireless communication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, 5 th Generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks, as well as other communications networks.
  • CDMA code division multiple access
  • TDMA time division multiple access
  • FDMA frequency division multiple access
  • OFDMA orthogonal FDMA
  • SC-FDMA single-carrier FDMA
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • 5G 5 th Generation
  • NR new radio
  • An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and the like.
  • E-UTRA evolved UTRA
  • IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • LTE long term evolution
  • UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents provided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP)
  • cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2) .
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • 3GPP long term evolution LTE
  • LTE long term evolution
  • the 3GPP may define specifications for the next generation of mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices.
  • the present disclosure is concerned with the evolution of wireless technologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and beyondwith shared access to wireless spectrum between networks using a collection of new and different radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.
  • 5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, and diverse services and devices that may be implemented using an OFDM-based unified, air interface.
  • further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition to development of the new radio technology for 5G NR networks.
  • the 5G NR will be capable of scaling to provide coverage (1) to a massive Internet of things (IoTs) with an Ultra-high density (e.g., ⁇ 1M nodes/km 2 ) , ultra-low complexity (e.g., ⁇ 10s of bits/sec) , ultra-low energy (e.g., ⁇ 10+years of battery life) , and deep coverage with the capability to reach challenging locations; (2) including mission-critical control with strong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, or classified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ⁇ 99.9999%reliability) , ultra-low latency (e.g., ⁇ 1 ms) , and users with wide ranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) with enhanced mobile broadband including extreme high capacity (e.g., ⁇ 10 Tbps/km 2 ) , extreme data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rate, 100+ Mbps user experienced rates) , and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.
  • IoTs Internet of things
  • a 5G NR communication system may be implemented to use optimized OFDM-based waveforms with scalable numerology and transmission time interval (TTI) ; having a common, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services and features with a dynamic, low-latency time division duplex (TDD) /frequency division duplex (FDD) design; and with advanced wireless technologies, such as massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) , robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility.
  • TTI transmission time interval
  • TTI transmission time interval
  • TTI transmission time interval
  • TTI transmission time interval
  • TTI transmission time interval
  • TTI transmission time interval
  • FDD frequency division duplex
  • MIMO massive multiple input, multiple output
  • mmWave millimeter wave
  • Scalability of the numerology in 5G NR with scaling of subcarrier spacing, may efficiently address operating diverse services across diverse spectrum and diverse deployments.
  • subcarrier spacing may occur with 15 kHz, for example over 5, 10, 20 MHz, and the like bandwidth (BW) .
  • BW bandwidth
  • subcarrier spacing may occur with 30 kHz over 80/100 MHz BW.
  • the subcarrier spacing may occur with 60 kHz over a 160 MHz BW.
  • subcarrier spacing may occur with 120 kHz over a 500 MHz BW.
  • frequency bands for 5G NR are separated into multiple different frequency ranges, a frequency range one (FR1) , a frequency range two (FR2) , and FR2x.
  • FR1 bands include frequency bands at 7 GHz or lower (e.g., between about 410 MHz to about 7125 MHz) .
  • FR2 bands include frequency bands in mmWave ranges between about 24.25 GHz and about 52.6 GHz.
  • FR2x bands include frequency bands in mmWave ranges between about 52.6 GHz to about 71 GHz. The mmWave bands may have a shorter range, but a higher bandwidth than the FR1 bands.
  • 5G NR may support different sets of subcarrier spacing for different frequency ranges.
  • the scalable numerology of the 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI for diverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTI may be used for higher spectral efficiency.
  • QoS quality of service
  • 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integrated subframe design with UL/downlink scheduling information, data, and acknowledgement in the same sub frame.
  • the self-contained integrated subframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum, adaptive UL/downlink that may be flexibly configured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between UL and downlink to meet the current traffic needs.
  • an aspect disclosed herein may be implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or more of these aspects may be combined in various ways.
  • an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein.
  • such an apparatus may be implemented or such a method may be practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein.
  • a method may be implemented as part of a system, device, apparatus, and/or as instructions stored on a computer readable medium for execution on a processor or computer.
  • an aspect may comprise at least one element of a claim.
  • a BS communicating on downlink/uplink channels, and/or a UE communicating on a sidelink channel may communicate via a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) .
  • RISs may also be referred to as reflectarrays, or (near-) passive MIMO arrays.
  • ARIS may include a reflective surface configured to reflect signals to and from the UE/BS.
  • the RIS may include an array of reflectors configured to direct signal energy.
  • a UE/BS may use the RIS by transmit and/or receive beamforming in a direction associated with the RIS.
  • a RIS may be configured with parameters which affect its reflective properties. In addition to controlling the direction of reflection, a RIS may potentially shift the frequency of a reflected signal.
  • the RIS may b e trained. Training a RIS may involve transmitting a sequence of reference signals while adjusting RIS parameters. As devices move and channel conditions change, RISs may be retrained periodically and/or when it is determined that the communication channel is not providing a good enough connection. The process of training a RIS consumes time and power of the devices performing the training. When there are multiple RISs available, the time it takes to train the RISs individually is even longer because it includes sending different reference signals on different beams for each RIS. Additionally, when multiple RISs are available, a UE may need to determine which RIS or set of RISs should be used for communication.
  • a UE may transmit a single port sounding reference signal (SRS) (or SL-RS for communications on a sidelink channel) with a comb level equal to the number of potential RISs available to help the UE.
  • SRS single port sounding reference signal
  • the availability of RISs may be indicated by a BS in a resource pool (RP) and/or as part of the bandwidth part (BWP) configuration.
  • the comb-N reference signal may then be reflected in parallel by each of the RISs when each of the RISs receives the comb-N RS.
  • Each RIS may be assigned to shift the frequency of the reference signal upon reflection by a different amount in increments of one or more resource elements (REs) .
  • the receiving device may know which RIS was used for each reflection based on the frequencies of the reflected signals.
  • the direct path will have no frequency shift.
  • a comb-N reference signal may be used to train N-1 RISs.
  • one of the RISs may reflect without shifting the frequency of the reference signal.
  • a comb-N reference signal may be used to train N RISs.
  • each RIS may have parameters adjusted between transmitted comb-N reference signals so that each reference signal in the sequence is reflected by the RIS using different RIS parameters.
  • the receiving device may be able to distinguish among the available RISs and (upon comparing the results of the measured signals over time) determine which RISs, with which parameters, may provide the best received signal.
  • the UE transmitting a sequence of reference signals for training may shift the offset of the comb signal pattern between each signal.
  • the comb offset shifts one RE at each step.
  • different patterns may be used for sweeping the comb offset such that signals sent in succession are spaced further in frequency.
  • the receiving device may generate a report which indicates the one or more RISs that provide desirable signal metric (s) (e.g., the best spectral efficiency, reference signal received power, reference signal received quality, signal to interference noise ratio, etc., including some combination of metrics) , and the corresponding RIS parameters.
  • the report may include other information such as the measurements.
  • the report is sentby the BS directly to the RISs in order to configure them for communication with the UE.
  • the report is sent to another device, such as the transmitting UE or some UE which may control the RISs, which may then forward the report to the RISs, potentially after further refining the report (e.g.
  • a UE is able to configure the RISs, and in other aspects, only a BS is able to configure the RISs.
  • UEs using the RISs for sidelink communication may send a report to a BS such that the BS may configure the RISs appropriately.
  • the configuration message may be sent as a broadcast which is received by more than one RIS.
  • the RIS which is to be configured may be identified in the configuration message.
  • the identification for example, may be in the form of a RIS ID, a comb offset, and/or a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) (to name a few examples) .
  • RNTI radio network temporary identifier
  • the schemes and mechanisms of the present disclosure advantageously allow a UE and BS or a pair of UEs to train multiple RISs at the same time and thereby conserve time and power.
  • the RISs may be better characterized as some frequencies or frequency ranges may be in deep fade.
  • the same process may also be utilized for other devices besides RISs.
  • amplify-and-forward relays may be trained using the same methods described herein. As such, discussion of signals being reflected should be understood to include passive, semi-passive, and active (e.g. amplify-and-forward) reflection.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network 100 according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the network 100 may be a 5G network.
  • the network 100 includes a number of base stations (BSs) 105 (individually labeled as 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d, 105e, and 105f) and other network entities.
  • a BS 105 may be a station that communicates with UEs 115 (individually labeled as 115a, 115b, 115c, 115d, 115e, 115f, 115g, 115h, and 115k) andmay also be referred to as an evolved node B (eNB) , a next generation eNB (gNB) , an access point, and the like.
  • eNB evolved node B
  • gNB next generation eNB
  • Each BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area.
  • the term “cell” can refer to this particular geographic coverage area of a BS 105 and/or a BS subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.
  • a BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or a small cell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and/or other types of cell.
  • a macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider.
  • a small cell such as a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider.
  • a small cell such as a femto cell, would also generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restricted accessby UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG) , UEs for users in the home, and the like) .
  • a BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS.
  • a BS for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell BS, a pico BS, a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown in FIG.
  • the BSs 105d and 105e may be regular macro BSs, while the BSs 105a-105c may be macro BSs enabled with one of three dimension (3D) , full dimension (FD) , or massive MIMO.
  • the BSs 105a-105c may take advantage of their higher dimension MIMO capabilities to exploit 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuth beamforming to increase coverage and capacity.
  • the BS 105f may be a small cell BS which may be a home node or portable access point.
  • a BS 105 may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.
  • the network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation.
  • the BSs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time.
  • the BSs may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time.
  • the UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile.
  • a UE 115 may also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or the like.
  • a UE 1 15 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, or the like.
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • WLL wireless local loop
  • a UE 115 may be a device that includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) .
  • a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC.
  • UICC Universal Integrated Circuit Card
  • the UEs 115 that do not include UICCs may also be referred to as IoT devices or internet of everything (IoE) devices.
  • the UEs 115a-115d are examples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessing network 100.
  • a UE 115 may also be a machine specifically configured for connected communication, including machine type communication (MTC) , enhanced MTC (eMTC) , narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like.
  • MTC machine type communication
  • eMTC enhanced MTC
  • NB-IoT narrowband IoT
  • the UEs 115e-115h are examples of various machines configured for communication that access the network 100.
  • the UEs 115i-115k are examples of vehicles equipped with wireless communication devices configured for communication that access the network 100.
  • a UE 115 may be able to communicate with any type of the BSs, whether macro BS, small cell, or the like.
  • a lightning bolt e.g., communication links indicates wireless transmissions between a UE 115 and a serving BS 105, which is a BS designated to serve the UE 115 on the downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL) , desired transmission between BSs 105, backhaul transmissions between BSs, or sidelink transmissions between UEs 115.
  • the BSs 105a-105c may serve the UEs 115a and 115b using 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques, such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity.
  • the macro BS 105d may perform backhaul communications with the BSs 105a-105c, as well as small cell, the BS 105f.
  • the macro BS 105d may also transmits multicast services which are subscribed to and received by the UEs 115c and 115d.
  • Such multicast services may include mobile television or stream video, or may include other services for providing community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber alerts or gray alerts.
  • the BSs 105 may also communicate with a core network.
  • the core network may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions.
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • At least some of the BSs 105 (e.g., which may be an example of a gNB or an access node controller (ANC) ) may interface with the core network through backhaul links (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc. ) and may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communicationwith the UEs 115.
  • the BSs 105 may communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g., through core network) , with each other over backhaul links (e.g., X1, X2, etc. ) , which may be wired or wireless communication links.
  • the network 100 may also support mission critical communications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for mission critical devices, such as the UE 115e, which may be a drone. Redundant communication links with the UE 115e may include links from the macro BSs 105d and 105e, as well as links from the small cell BS 105f.
  • UE 115f e.g., a thermometer
  • UE 115g e.g., smart meter
  • UE 115h e.g., wearable device
  • the network 100 may also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDD communications, such asV2V, V2X, C-V2X communications between a UE 115i, 115j, or 115k and other UEs 115, and/or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications between a UE 115i, 115j, or 115k and a BS 105.
  • V2V dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDD communications
  • V2X V2X
  • C-V2X C-V2X communications between a UE 115i, 115j, or 115k and other UEs 115
  • V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure
  • the network 100 utilizes OFDM-based waveforms for communications.
  • An OFDM-based system may partition the system BW into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as subcarriers, tones, bins, or the like. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data.
  • the subcarrier spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system BW.
  • the system BW may also be partitioned into subbands.
  • the subcarrier spacing and/or the duration of TTIs may be scalable.
  • the BSs 105 can assign or schedule transmission resources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RB) ) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in the network 100.
  • DL refers to the transmission direction from a BS 105 to a UE 115
  • UL refers to the transmission direction from a UE 115 to a BS 105.
  • the communication canbe in the form of radio frames.
  • a radio frame may be divided into a plurality of subframes or slots, for example, about 10. Each slot may be further divided into mini-slots. In a FDD mode, simultaneous UL and DL transmissions may occur in different frequency bands.
  • each subframe includes an UL subframe in an UL frequency band and a DL sub frame in a DL frequency band.
  • UL and DL transmissions occur at different time periods using the same frequency band.
  • a subset of the subframes (e.g., DL subframes) in a radio frame may be used for DL transmissions and another subset of the subframes (e.g., UL subframes) in the radio frame may be used for UL transmissions.
  • each DL or UL subframe may have pre-defined regions for transmissions of reference signals, control information, and data.
  • Reference signals are predetermined signals that facilitate the communications between the BSs 105 and the UEs 115.
  • a reference signal can have a particular pilot pattern or structure, where pilot tones may span across an operational BW or frequency band, each positioned at a pre-defined time and a pre-defined frequency.
  • a BS 105 may transmit cell specific reference signals (CRSs) and/or channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RSs) to enable a UE 115 to estimate a DL channel.
  • CRSs cell specific reference signals
  • CSI-RSs channel state information-reference signals
  • a UE 115 may transmit sounding reference signals (SRSs) to enable a BS 105 to estimate an UL channel.
  • Control information may include resource assignments and protocol controls.
  • Data may include protocol data and/or operational data.
  • the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 may communicate using self-contained sub frames.
  • a self-contained subframe may include a portion for DL communication and a portion for UL communication.
  • a self-contained sub frame can be DL-centric or UL-centric.
  • a DL-centric subframe may include a longer duration for DL communication than for UL communication.
  • an UL-centric subframe may include a longer duration for UL communication than for UL communication.
  • the network 100 may be an NR network deployed over a licensed spectrum.
  • the BSs 105 can transmit synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) ) in the network 100 to facilitate synchronization.
  • the BSs 105 can broadcast system information associated with the network 100 (e.g., including a master information block (MIB) , remaining system information (RMSI) , and other system information (OSI) ) to facilitate initial network access.
  • MIB master information block
  • RMSI remaining system information
  • OSI system information
  • the BSs 105 may broadcast the PSS, the SSS, and/or the MIB in the form of synchronization signal block (SSBs) and may broadcast the RMSI and/or the OSI over a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) .
  • the MIB may be transmitted over a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) .
  • PBCH physical broadcast channel
  • a UE 115 attempting to access the network 100 may perform an initial cell search by detecting a PSS from a BS 105.
  • the PSS may enable synchronization of period timing and may indicate a physical layer identity value.
  • the UE 115 may then receive a SSS.
  • the SSS may enable radio frame synchronization, and may provide a cell identity value, which may be combined with the physical layer identity value to identify the cell.
  • the PSS and the SSS may be located in a central portion of a carrier or any suitable frequencies within the carrier.
  • the UE 115 may receive a MIB.
  • the MIB may include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and/or OSI.
  • the UE 115 may receive RMSI and/or OSI.
  • the RMSI and/or OSI may include radio resource control (RRC) information related to random access channel (RACH) procedures, paging, control resource set (CORESET) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, physical UL control channel (PUCCH) , physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) , power control, and SRS.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the UE 115 can perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105.
  • the random access procedure may be a four-step random accessprocedure.
  • the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble and the BS 105 may respond with a random access response.
  • the random access response (RAR) may include a detected random access preamble identifier (ID) corresponding to the random access preamble, timing advance (TA) information, an UL grant, a temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) , and/or a backoffindicator.
  • ID detected random access preamble identifier
  • TA timing advance
  • C-RNTI temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier
  • the UE 115 may transmit a connection request to the BS 105 and the BS 105 may respond with a connection response.
  • the connection response may indicate a contention resolution.
  • the random access preamble, the RAR, the connection request, and the connection response can be referred to as message 1 (MSG1) , message 2 (MSG2) , message 3 (MSG3) , and message 4 (MSG4) , respectively.
  • the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, where the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble and a connection request in a single transmission and the BS 105 may respond by transmitting a random access response and a connection response in a single transmission.
  • the UE 115 and the BS 105 can enter a normal operation stage, where operational data may be exchanged.
  • the BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 for UL and/or DL communications.
  • the BS 105 may transmit UL and/or DL scheduling grants to the UE 115 via a PDCCH.
  • the scheduling grants may be transmitted in the form of DL control information (DCI) .
  • the BS 105 may transmit a DL communication signal (e.g., carrying data) to the UE 115 via a PDSCH according to a DL scheduling grant.
  • the UE 115 may transmit an UL communication signal to the BS 105 via a PUSCH and/or PUCCH according to an UL scheduling grant.
  • the connection may be referred to as an RRC connection.
  • the UE 115 is actively exchanging data with the BS 105, the UE 115 is in an RRC connected state.
  • the UE 115 may initiate an initial network attachment procedure with the network 100.
  • the BS 105 may coordinate with various network entities or fifth generation core (5GC) entities, such as an access and mobility function (AMF) , a serving gateway (SGW) , and/or a packet data network gateway (PGW) , to complete the network attachment procedure.
  • 5GC fifth generation core
  • AMF access and mobility function
  • SGW serving gateway
  • PGW packet data network gateway
  • the BS 105 may coordinate with the network entities in the 5GC to identify the UE, authenticate the UE, and/or authorize the UE for sending and/or receiving data in the network 100.
  • the AMF may assign the UE with a group of tracking areas (TAs) .
  • TAs tracking areas
  • the UE 115 can move around the current TA.
  • the BS 105 may request the UE 115 to update the network 100 with the UE 115’s locationperiodically.
  • the UE 115 may only report the UE 115’s location to the network 100 when entering a new TA.
  • the TAU allows the network 100 to quickly locate the UE 115 and page the UE 115 upon receiving an incoming data packet or call for the UE 115.
  • the BS 105 may communicate with a UE 115 using HARQ techniques to improve communication reliability, for example, to provide a URLLC service.
  • the BS 105 may schedule a UE 115 for a PDSCH communication by transmitting a DL grant in a PDCCH.
  • the BS 105 may transmit a DL data packet to the UE 115 according to the schedule in the PDSCH.
  • the DL data packet may be transmitted in the form of a transport block (TB) . If the UE 115 receives the DL data packet successfully, the UE 115 may transmit a HARQ ACK to the BS 105.
  • TB transport block
  • the UE 115 may transmit a HARQ NACK to the BS 105.
  • the BS 105 may retransmit the DL data packet to the UE 115.
  • the retransmission may include the same coded version of DL data as the initial transmission.
  • the retransmission may include a different coded version of the DL data than the initial transmission.
  • the UE 115 may apply soft combining to combine the encoded data received from the initial transmission and the retransmission for decoding.
  • the BS 105 and the UE 115 may also apply HARQ for UL communications using substantially similar mechanisms as the DL HARQ.
  • the network 100 may operate over a system BW or a component carrier (CC) BW.
  • the network 100 may partition the system BW into multiple BWPs (e.g., portions) .
  • a BS 105 may dynamically assign a UE 115 to operate over a certain BWP (e.g., a certain portion of the system BW) .
  • the assigned BWP may be referred to as the active BWP.
  • the UE 115 may monitor the active BWP for signaling information from the BS 105.
  • the BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 for UL or DL communications in the active BWP.
  • a BS 105 may assign a pair of BWPs within the CC to a UE 115 for UL and DL communications.
  • the BWP pair may include one BWP for UL communications and one BWP for DL communications.
  • the network 100 may operate over a shared channel, which may include shared frequency bands and/or unlicensed frequency bands.
  • the network 100 may be an NR-U network operating over an unlicensed frequency band.
  • the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 may be operatedby multiple network operating entities.
  • the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 may employ a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to monitor for transmission opportunities (TXOPs) in the shared channel.
  • TXOP may also be referred to as COT.
  • LBT listen-before-talk
  • the goal of LBT is to protect reception at a receiver from interference.
  • a transmitting node may perform an LBT prior to transmitting in the channel.
  • the transmitting node may proceed with the transmission.
  • the transmitting node may refrain from transmitting in the channel.
  • An LBT can be based on energy detection (ED) or signal detection.
  • ED energy detection
  • the LBT results in a pass when signal energy measured from the channel is below a threshold. Conversely, the LBT results in a failure when signal energy measured from the channel exceeds the threshold.
  • the LBT results in a pass when a channel reservation signal (e.g., a predetermined preamble signal) is not detected in the channel.
  • a channel reservation signal e.g., a predetermined preamble signal
  • an LBT may be in a variety of modes.
  • An LBT mode may be, for example, a category 4 (CAT4) LBT, a category 2 (CAT2) LBT, or a category 1 (CAT1) LBT.
  • a CAT1 LBT is referred to a no LBT mode, where no LBT is to be performedprior to a transmission.
  • a CAT2 LBT refers to an LBT without a random backoffperiod.
  • a transmitting node may determine a channel measurement in a time interval and determine whether the channel is available or not based on a comparison of the channel measurement against a ED threshold.
  • a CAT4 LBT refers to an LBT with a random backoff and a variable contentionwindow (CW) . For instance, a transmitting node may draw a random number and backofffor a duration based on the drawn random number in a certain time unit.
  • CW variable contentionwindow
  • the network 100 may operate in communication scenarios where different obstacles (e.g., buildings) limit or prevent direct line-of-sight (LOS) or non-line-of-sight (NLOS) communicationwith one or more UEs.
  • the network 100 may include one or more reflective surfaces, such as reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) or amplify-and-forward relays.
  • RIS reconfigurable intelligent surfaces
  • ARIS may be positioned with respect to a BS 105 such that the BS 105 can use the RIS by beamforming in the direction of the RIS.
  • a RIS may be used to reflect DL communications and/or UL communications.
  • a RIS may also be used for sidelink communication between UEs 115.
  • a UE 115 together with a BS 105 or another UE 115 may train multiple RISs by having a UE 115 transmit a sequence of comb-N reference signals (N corresponding to the number of RISs being trained) , with the RISs adjusting reflection parameters for each reference signal in the sequence.
  • the availability of RISs may be indicated by a BS 105 in a resource pool (RP) and/or as part of the bandwidth part (BWP) configuration.
  • RP resource pool
  • BWP bandwidth part
  • each RIS may shift the frequency of the transmitted reference signal by a different amount (relative to the other RISs in the group being trained) such that the device receiving the reference signal will receive it at a different RE for each RIS.
  • the frequency offset of the reference signal may be changed between each reference signal transmission over time. This comb offset sweeping may be performed by the UE 115, or each RIS may adjust the frequency shift they apply in order to achieve the offset sweeping effect.
  • the receiving device may generate a report indicating a subset of RISs to use for helping the UE 115 communicate with the receiving device, and/or more specifically the best beam (s) to use for helping the UE 115 communicate.
  • the report may either be communicated directly to the RISs in order to configure them or may first be communicated to another UE 115 or BS 105.
  • the UE 115 or BS 105 receiving the report may further refine which RISs/beams are to be used.
  • a UE 115 may configure the RISs based on the report.
  • only a BS 105 may configure the RISs. Further examples and aspects will be discussedbelow with respect to the remaining figures.
  • FIG. 2A illustrates a communication scenario 200A with RISs 202a-202c (the number of RISs being exemplary) .
  • RISs 202 will be used as examples.
  • the communication scenario 200A may correspond to a communication scenario between a BS 105 and a UE 115 in the network 100.
  • FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a network with UE 115m and BS 105g.
  • FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a network with UE 115m and BS 105g.
  • FIG. 2A illustrates one BS 105 and one UE 115, but a greater number of UEs 115 and/or BSs 105 may be present in the network and may perform some of the actions described herein.
  • BS 105g may serve UE 115m.
  • UE 115 m may transmit a reference signal for the BS 105g to receive. While multiple arrows are shown leaving the UE 115m, it should be understood that each of these may represent the same signal which has a wide enough beam or set of beams that it propagates in each of the illustrated directions and is able to reflect off of each of the RISs 202. If there is no obstruction, then the reference signal may be transmitted directly to the BS 105 in direction 212. Each RIS 202 may be used to reflect the reference signal to be received by B S 105 g. In direction 208, the reference signal may reflect from RIS 202a, creating a reflection in direction 210.
  • the reference signal may reflect from RIS 202c, creating a reflection in direction 208.
  • the reference signal may reflect from RIS 202b, creating a reflection in direction 218.
  • each of the RISs 202 may each shift the frequency of the reference signal such that reflections in directions 208, 210, and 218 eachhave a different frequency.
  • each RIS 202 shifts the frequency of the reference signal by a non-zero amount, as the no-shifting case is used by this direct communication path. If there is an obstruction where there is no direct communication in direction 212, then one of the RISs 202 may not shift the frequency of the reference signal.
  • each RIS 202 shifts the frequency by a different amount, the reflections are essentially watermarked so that BS 105g may differentiate between the received signals.
  • BS 105 g may determine to use one or any combination of the RISs 202 based on measurements of the reference signal as reflected.
  • BS 105g may communicate with the RISs 202 to configure the RISs 202 so that the best measured beams will be used for communication with UE 115m. Communication with the RISs 202 may be via a broadcast where each of them receives the same messages from BS 105g.
  • FIG. 2B illustrates a communication scenario 200A with RISs 202 (or more generally reflectors) .
  • communication is performed via sidelink between UE 115m and UE 115n.
  • the communication scenario 200B is similar to communication scenario 200A.
  • UE 115 m and 115n may communicate via sidelink without passing communications through a BS 105
  • a BS such as BS 105g may assist the UEs 115.
  • RISs 202 may not have the capability of being configured directly by a UE 115, so a BS 105 such as BS 105g may be used to perform any configuration of the RISs 202.
  • FIG. 3 is a signaling resource diagram of a reference signal according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Signals represented in FIG. 3 may be transmitted and receivedusing devices such as a UE 115 and/or a BS 105 as discussedwith references to FIGS. 1-2 and 10-11.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a transmitted reference signal 310, and a received reference signal 320.
  • a UE e.g., UE 115g of FIG. 2A or 2B
  • transmits reference signal 310 which is a comb signal.
  • the vertical axis represents frequency, and the divisions in the blocks represent resource elements (REs) .
  • REs resource elements
  • Blank blocks represent REs in which a reference signal 310 is not transmitted, and the hashed REs represent REs (i.e., frequencies) where the reference signal 310 is present.
  • the signal is present at resource elements (REs) 0, 5, and 10, making this a comb-5 signal. It should be understood that this comb pattern may extend beyond what is illustrated (e.g., over the full available bandwidth) .
  • the comb-5 reference signal configuration illustrated in FIG. 3 is by way of example; other levels of comb may be used depending on the situation. In some aspects, the comb level is set based on the number of RISs present. The availability of RISs may be indicated by a BS in a resource pool (RP) and/or as part of the bandwidth part (BWP) configuration. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 3 the comb-5 signal is configured based on there being 5 RISs present for the UE 115 to train.
  • RP resource pool
  • BWP bandwidth part
  • Received reference signal 320 represents the reference signal 310 as reflected by multiple RISs and received by a device such as a BS 105 g of FIG. 2A or a UE 115n of FIG. 2B.
  • a device such as a BS 105 g of FIG. 2A or a UE 115n of FIG. 2B.
  • the receiving device may receive the reflected signals each at a different set of REs.
  • each different hash style for each RE in received reference signal 320 represents the reference signal 310 (transmitted by the UE 115) as reflected by a different RIS (e.g., in the example of FIG. 3, 5 different RISs) .
  • a direct communication path such as is illustrated as direction 212 in FIG 2, then the REs at the same frequency as the transmitted reference signal 310 are received via that direct path (e.g., at frequencies represented by REs 0, 5, and 10) .
  • a comb-N signal may be used for training N-1 RISs, since one of the REs in each rep etition may be the direct path that is not received at the receiving device via a RIS.
  • one of the RISs may reflect the reference signal 310 without shifting the frequency.
  • a comb-N signal may be used for training N RISs.
  • RISs may shift the frequency of a reflected signal an assigned amount by changing the RIS configuration according to a sinusoid function during the symbol period.
  • the phase delay of each RIS element is multiplied by the same scalar function: where f 0 is the frequency by which the signal is shifted.
  • Some RISs may not have the capability of shifting frequency at the granularity of a single RE.
  • the frequency shifts selected for each RIS may be determined based onthe RISs’ capabilities. For example, where one RIS is able to shift frequency by a single RE, and another is not, then the RIS able to shift frequency by a single RE may be selected to shift the frequency by a single RE, and the other may be selected to shift the frequency by some larger number of REs within its capability.
  • the capability of a RIS controller for each subcarrier spacing can be signaled to UEs 115 from eachRIS, or to a BS 105 which may then communicate the information to a UE 115.
  • the number of RISs that can be trained for a given comb level may be reduced based on RIS capability. For example, if each RIS can only shift a signal by a minimum of 2 REs, in a comb-4 reference signal, only 2 RISs can be trained.
  • FIG. 4 is a signaling resource diagram 400 of a sequence of reference signals according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the vertical axis represents frequency, with each division representing a RE.
  • the horizontal axis represents time with each division representing a symbol period.
  • the hashed REs represent REs in which the reference signal is transmitted. For example, this may be the reference signal transmitted by UE 115m of FIG. 2. It should be understood that the comb pattern may continue and repeat beyond what is illustrated (e.g., over the full available bandwidth) . The number of symbol periods over which the pattern continues may be more than is illustrated, or may be fewer than what is illustrated.
  • the comb offset may be applied by the UE 115 transmitting the reference signal, or may be an additional offset applied by each RIS.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates one method of maximizing the distance in frequency between neighboring symbol periods.
  • the subcarriers occupied by consecutive symbol periods are separated as much as possible given the subcarriers already used. This allows for a greater variety in the frequency ranges measured over small periods of time, which is especially useful for when the pattern does not continue long enough to measure each RIS reflection at each frequency. For example, If the pattern of FIG. 4 continued for only 2 symbol periods, then the transmitted/measured frequencies would cover a more varied range of frequencies than it would have if the frequency had shifted by a single RE.
  • the pattern illustrated in FIG. 4 may be achievedby using a “bit-reversal” method.
  • This method may be most fit for a comb-N reference signal where N is a power of 2.
  • FIG. 5 is a signaling resource diagram 5 00 of a sequence of reference signals according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the vertical axis represents frequency, with each division representing a RE and the horizontal axis represents time with each division representing a symbol period.
  • the hashed REs represent REs in which the reference signal is transmitted. For example, this may be the reference signal transmitted by UE 115m of FIG. 2.
  • the comb pattern may continue and repeat beyond what is illustrated (e.g., over the full available bandwidth) .
  • the number of symbol periods over which the pattern continues may be more than is illustrated, or may be fewer thanwhat is illustrated.
  • the comb offset may be applied by the UE 115 transmitting the reference signal, or may be an additional offset applied by each RIS.
  • the comb offset sweeping method illustrated in FIG. 5 is a staircase method. Each symbol period a counter may be incremented which is used as an index to determine the next starting point of the comb. This has the benefit of being simple, and easier to implement, especially when the comb level is not a power of 2.
  • FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram 600 according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the diagram 600 is employed by a BS 105 such as the BSs 105 discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-2, and a UE 115 such as the UEs 115 discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-2.
  • FIG. 2A is an example of a system which includes a UE 115 communicating with a BS 105 via RISs 202.
  • RISs more generally reflectors
  • the BS 105 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the memory 1004, the reflector training module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, and the one or more antennas 1016 shown in FIG. 10 (discussed further below)
  • the UE 115 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1102, the memory 1104, the reflector training module 1108, the transceiver 1110, the modem 1112, and the one or more antennas 1116 shown in FIG. 11 (discussed further below)
  • the signaling diagram 600 includes a number of enumerated actions, but aspects of FIG. 6 may include additional actions before, after, and in between the enumerated actions. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated actions may be omitted, combined together, or performed in a different order.
  • UE 115 transmits a reference signal.
  • UE 115 transmits reference signal 602a
  • both RIS 202a and RIS 202b reflect the reference signal 602a.
  • the reflection from RIS 202a is reference signal 602b
  • the reflection from RIS 202b is reference signal 602c.
  • Each RIS 202 shifts the frequency of reference signal 602a such that reference signals 602b and 602c are at different frequencies.
  • Reference signals 602b and 602c are received by BS 105 each at a different RE.
  • Reference signal 602a may be a sounding reference signal transmitted as a comb such that it is transmitted at a number of different equally spaced frequencies within the available or allocated bandwidth.
  • the reflected reference signals 602b and 602c represent different reflections of the same originally transmitted reference signal 602a, and are also comb signals like reference signal 602a. However, reflected reference signals 602b and 602c are shifted such that when they are received by BS 105 they do not overlap, as is discussed with reference to the exemplary signals of FIG. 3. That is, the reference signal 602a is reflected with a different frequency watermark by each RIS 202a, 202b. In some aspects, reference signal 602a is also received directly without reflection at BS 105.
  • each RIS 202 shifts the reference signal 602a by a non-zero amount of REs. This is to avoid the reflected signal overlapping with the non-reflected signal, and the BS 105 may get a measurement of the signal only as reflected by each RIS. Given a comb-N reference signal, N-1 RISs may be used in this manner when reference signal 602a is directly received by BS 105.
  • N RISs may be used without overlapping in REs, assuming that each RIS has the capability of shifting frequency by an appropriate granularity (including at least one RIS having the capability of shifting frequency by one RE) .
  • the comb level of reference signal 602a may be based on the number of RISs which are used for reflection. Thus, with two RISs illustrated in FIG. 6, the comb level may be set as comb-2.
  • BS 105 measures the received reference signals.
  • the BS 105 measures reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements. With each reflection arriving at its own comb frequencies, the measurements may be used to determine the quality of the signal from each particular RIS 202.
  • RSRP reference signal received power
  • RSRW reference signal received quality
  • SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio
  • BS 105 determines, based on the received and measured reference signals, a subset of RISs 202 to use for communication.
  • the subset may be a single RIS 202, may include all of the available RISs 202, or some other combination of RISs 202.
  • the determination may be based on signal quality exceeding a threshold in order for a RIS to be used for communication.
  • the required bandwidth of the UE 115 may be taken into consideration, and only the amount of RISs deemed necessary may be selected.
  • a report is transmitted by BS 105 to the RISs 202.
  • the report is transmitted to the RIS 202 controllers.
  • the report may be sent as a broadcast signal as illustrated, or may be sent to each individual RIS 202.
  • the report may be in the form of a single message or a series of messages.
  • the report may include an RIS ID and an indication of the best beam corresponding to that RIS 202.
  • the best beam may be indicated either by a best beam index, or a time index corresponding to the beam.
  • the report may include a comb offset or a port ID which the BS 105 and UE 115 agree upon in order to identify the RIS 202.
  • an alternative RIS 202 identification may be a specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) . Identifying the RIS 202 or RISs 202 which are to be used is desirable especially when the report is sent as a broadcast signal to all RISs 202, regardless of whether or not they have been selected for use. By reporting the selected RISs 202 and best beams, the RIS 202 controllers may configure the RIS parameters for use in communication (specifically, the one or more RISs 202 that are determined based on action 606) .
  • RNTI radio network temporary identifier
  • FIG. 7 is a signaling diagram 700 according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the diagram 700 is employed by a BS 105 such as the BSs 105 discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-2, and a UE 1 15 such as the UEs 115 discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-2.
  • FIG. 2A is an example of a system which includes a UE 115 communicating with a BS 105 via RISs 202.
  • RISs more generally reflectors
  • the BS 105 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the memory 1004, the reflector training module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, and the one or more antennas 1016 shown in FIG. 10, and the UE 115 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1102, the memory 1104, the reflector training module 1108, the transceiver 1110, the modem 1112, and the one or more antennas 1116 shown in FIG. 11.
  • the signaling diagram 700 includes a number of enumerated actions, but aspects of FIG. 7 may include additional actions before, after, and in between the enumerated actions. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated actions may be omitted, combined together, or performed in a different order.
  • UE 115 transmits a reference signal 702a, which is reflected by both RIS 202a and RIS 202b.
  • the reflection from RIS 202a is reference signal 702b and the reflection from RIS 202b is reference signal 702c.
  • Each RIS 202 shifts the frequency of reference signal 702a such that reference signals 702b and 702c are at different frequencies.
  • Reference signals 702b and 702c are received by BS 105 each at a different RE. This reference signal transmission and reflection is performed substantially the same as is discussed with respect to action 602 of FIG. 6.
  • BS 105 measures the received reference signals.
  • BS 105 measures reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements. With each reflection arriving at its own comb frequencies, the measurements may be used to determine the quality of the signal from each particular RIS 202.
  • RSRP reference signal received power
  • RSRW reference signal received quality
  • SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio
  • the UE 115 transmits a second reference signal 706a. Similar to reference signal 702a, reference signal 706a is reflected by RISs 202a and 202b which shift the frequency and reflect the reference signal 706a, thereby respectively creating reference signals 706b and 706c.
  • the RISs 202 may reflect reference signal 706a using different RIS parameters than were used for reflecting reference signal 702a. In this way different RIS parameters may be tested.
  • the offset of the reference signal combs may shift for reference signal 706a.
  • a staircase method may be used as described with reference to FIG. 5, a bit reversal method may be used as discussed with reference to FIG. 4, or some other method.
  • the shifting of the comb offset may be accomplished by UE 115 transmitting reference signal 706a at a different frequency than reference signal 702a (according to the comb offset changes) , or alternatively the frequency shifting performed by RISs 202 may include an additional offset to achieve a similar result (e.g., with the UE 115 transmitting the reference signal 70 6a at the same frequencies as reference signal 702a) .
  • BS 105 measures the received reference signals.
  • BS 105 measures reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements. With each reflection arriving at its own comb frequencies, the measurements may be used to determine the quality of the signal from each particular RIS 202.
  • the measurements from the reference signal at action 702 may be used to compare to the measurements from the reference signal at action 706 in order to determine which RIS parameters are better for each RIS 202.
  • BS 105 determines, based on the received and measured reference signals, a subset of RISs 202 to use for communication.
  • the subset may be a single RIS 202, may include all of the available RISs 202, or some other subset/combination of RISs 202.
  • the determination may be based on signal quality exceeding a threshold in order for a RIS to be used for communication.
  • the required bandwidth of the UE 115 may be taken into consideration, and only the amount of RISs deemed necessary may be selected.
  • a report is sent by BS 105 to the RISs 202, for example as described with reference to action 608 of FIG. 6.
  • FIG. 8 is a signaling diagram 800 according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the diagram 800 is employed by UEs 115 such as the UEs 115 discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-2.
  • FIG. 2B is an example of a system which includes two UEs 115 communicating via RISs 202.
  • RISs more generally reflectors
  • the UEs 115 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1102, the memory 1104, the reflector training module 1108, the transceiver 1110, the modem 1112, and the one or more antennas 1116 shown in FIG. 11.
  • the signaling diagram 800 includes a number of enumerated actions, but aspects of FIG. 8 may include additional actions before, after, and in between the enumerated actions. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated actions may be omitted, combined together, or performed in a different order.
  • UE 115m transmits a reference signal.
  • UE 115m transmits reference signal 802a, and both RIS 202a and RIS 202b reflect the reference signal 802a.
  • the reflection from RIS 202a is reference signal 802b and the reflection from RIS 202b is reference signal 802c.
  • Each RIS 202 shifts the frequency of reference signal 802a such that reference signals 802b and 802c are at different frequencies.
  • Reference signals 802b and 802c are received by UE 115n each at a different RE. This reference signal transmission and reflection is performed substantially the same as is discussed with respect to action 602 of FIG. 6, except that the receiving device is another UE 115 rather than a BS 105.
  • UE 115n measures the received reference signals.
  • the UE 115n measures reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements.
  • RSRP reference signal received power
  • RSRW reference signal received quality
  • SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio
  • additional other measurements With each reflection arriving at its own comb frequencies, the measurements may be used to determine the quality of the signal from each particular RIS 202.
  • the measurements from the first reference signal transmission may be used to compare to the measurements from the second reference signal transmission in order to determine which RIS parameters are better for each RIS 202.
  • UE 115n determines, based on the received and measured reference signals, a subset of the best RISs 202 for communication.
  • the subset may be a single RIS 202, may include all of the available RISs 202, or some other combination of RISs 202.
  • the determination may be based on signal quality exceeding a threshold in order for a RIS to be used for communication.
  • the required bandwidth of the UE 115 may be taken into consideration, and fewer RISs 202 may be selected.
  • UE 115n may determine a pre-defined number of beams associatedwith the subset of RISs.
  • the determined subset of RISs 202 in some aspects is not the final subset of RISs 202 which will be used for communication. Rather, the subset of RISs 202 may by a first pass at a selection of RISs which may be further refined later by another device. In other examples, the subset of RISs 202 might not be further refined by another device, such that the subset constitutes the final subset.
  • UE 115n sends a report to UE 115m.
  • UE 115n may create the report with a subset of RISs 202 (e.g., as determined from action 806) and beam information either as a single report where the information is appended together, or as separate reports.
  • UE 115m selects a subset of RISs 202 from the subset which was reported at action 808.
  • UE 115m may determine that all of the RISs 202 which were reported at action 808 should be used in communication, or fewer. The determination may be based on the reported measurements, and other network considerations such as the capabilities of UE 115m and network conditions.
  • a report is transmitted by UE 115m to RISs 202a and 202b. This report is substantially the same as described with reference to action 608 of FIG. 6. This occurs in embodiments where the UE 115m is also a controlling UE that controls the relevant RISs.
  • FIG. 9A is a signaling diagram 900a according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the diagram 900a is employed by UEs 115 such as the UEs 115 discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-2.
  • FIG. 2B is an example of a system which includes two UEs 115 communicating via RISs 202.
  • RISs more generally reflectors
  • the UEs 115 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1102, the memory 1104, the reflector training module 1108, the transceiver 1110, the modem 1112, and the one or more antennas 1116 shown in FIG. 11.
  • the signaling diagram 900a includes a number of enumerated actions, but aspects of FIG. 9 may include additional actions before, after, and in between the enumerated actions. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated actions may be omitted, combined together, or performed in a different order.
  • UE 115m transmits a reference signal.
  • UE 115m transmits reference signal 902a, andboth RIS 202a and RIS 202b reflect the reference signal 902a.
  • the reflection from RIS 202a is reference signal 902b and the reflection from RIS 202b is reference signal 902c.
  • Each RIS 202 shifts the frequency of reference signal 902a such that reference signals 902b and 902c are at different frequencies.
  • Reference signals 902b and 902c are received by UE 115n each at a different RE. This reference signal transmission and reflection is performed substantially the same as is discussed with respect to action 602 of FIG. 6, except that the receiving device is another UE 115 rather than a BS 105.
  • UE 115n measures the received reference signals.
  • the UE 115n measures reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements.
  • RSRP reference signal received power
  • RSRW reference signal received quality
  • SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio
  • additional other measurements With each reflection arriving at its own comb frequencies, the measurements may be used to determine the quality of the signal from each particular RIS 202.
  • the measurements from the first reference signal transmission may be used to compare to the measurements from the second reference signal transmission in order to determine which RIS parameters are better for each RIS 202.
  • UE 115n determines, based on the received and measured reference signals, a subset of the best RISs 202 for communication.
  • the subset may be a single RIS 202, may include all of the available RISs 202, or some other combination of RISs 202.
  • the determination may be based on signal quality exceeding a threshold in order for a RIS to be used for communication.
  • the required bandwidth of the UE 115 may be taken into consideration, and fewer RISs 202 may be selected.
  • UE 115n may determine a pre-defined number of beams associatedwith the subset of RISs.
  • the determined subset of RISs 202 in some aspects is not the final subset of RISs 202 which will be used for communication. Rather, the subset of RISs 202 may by a first pass at a selection of RISs which may be further refined later by another device. In other examples, the subset of RISs 202 might not be further refined by another device, such that the subset constitutes the final subset.
  • UE 115n sends a report to UE 115p.
  • the report may be sent to UE 115p, for example, when UE 115p is a controlling UE 115 which is able to configure RISs 202 (e.g., in embodiments where the UE 115m andUE 115n are not controlling UEs for the RISs) .
  • UE 115n may create the report with a subset of RISs 202 and beam information either as a single report where the information is appended together, or as separate reports.
  • UE 115p selects a subset of RISs 202 from the subset which was reported at action 908.
  • UE 115m may determine that all of the RISs 202 which were reported at action 908 should be used in communication, or fewer. The determination may be based on the reported measurements, and other network considerations such as the capabilities of UE 115m and network conditions. In some aspects, UE 115p does not make any additional determination beyond what is received in the report at action 908, but rather UE 115p is used only in order to communicate with RISs 202.
  • a report is transmitted by UE 115p to RISs 202a and 202b. This report is substantially the same as described with reference to action 608 of FIG. 6.
  • FIG. 9B is a signaling diagram 900b according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • Signaling diagram 900b illustrates substantially the same method as signaling diagram 900a, except a BS 105 is used instead of UE 115p for certain aspects.
  • RISs are only able to be configured by a B S 105, or it is at least desirable for the RISs to be configured by a BS 105.
  • a BS 105 may still be used to facilitate certain functions such as configuring a RIS.
  • the report may be sent to BS 105 (as compared to UE 115p of 900a) .
  • the BS 105 may use the report to determine which RISs will be used for communication between UE 115m and UE 115n, with which RIS parameters. The determination may be solely made by the UEs 115, or the BS 105 may receive the report and further refine it, for example by reducing further the number of RISs utilized. Finally, at action 912, BS 105 may send the report to the RISs in order to configure them for use by UE 115m and UE 115n. These functions are performed substantially the same as described above with reference to the same actions as performed byUE 115p.
  • FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplaryBS 1000 according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the BS 1000 may be a BS 105 as discussed in FIGS. 1-2.
  • the BS 1000 may include a processor 1002, a memory 1004, a reflector training module 1008, a transceiver 1010 including a modem subsystem 1012 and a RF unit 1014, and one or more antennas 1016.
  • These elements may be coupled with one another.
  • the term “coupled” may refer to directly or indirectly coupled or connected to one or more intervening elements. For instance, these elements may be in direct or indirect communication with each other, for example via one or more buses.
  • the processor 1002 may have various features as a specific-type processor. For example, these may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, a FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.
  • the processor 1002 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
  • the memory 1004 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of the processor 702) , RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, a solid state memory device, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-based arrays, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory.
  • the memory 1004 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
  • the memory 1004 may store instructions 1006.
  • the instructions 1006 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 1002, cause the processor 1002 to perform operations described herein, for example, aspects of FIGS. 1-9 and 11-14. Instructions 1006 may also be referred to as program code.
  • the program code may be for causing a wireless communication device to perform these operations, for example by causing one or more processors (such as processor 1002) to control or command the wireless communication device to do so.
  • processors such as processor 1002
  • the terms “instructions” and “code” should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statement (s) .
  • the terms “instructions” and “code” may refer to one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures, etc.
  • “Instructions” and “code” may include a single computer-readable statement or many computer-readable statements.
  • the reflector training module 1008 may be implemented via hardware, software, or combinations thereof.
  • the reflector training module 1008 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions 1006 stored in the memory 1004 and executed by the processor 1002.
  • the reflector training module 1008 can be integrated within the modem subsystem 1012.
  • the reflector training module 1008 can be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within the modem subsystem 1012.
  • the reflector training module 1008 may communicate with one or more components of BS 1000 to implement various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, aspects of FIGS. 1-9 and 11-14.
  • the reflector training module 1008 is configured to receive and measure reference signals from a UE 115, both directly and as reflectedby RISs 202.
  • Received reference signals may be, for example, SRS signals which are transmitted as a comb over a number of frequencies. Reflected reference signals may be shifted in frequency such that the reflector training module 1008 is able to measure each reflection from each different RIS individually as they use their own REs (and, moreover, the reflector training module 1008 or the BS 1000 generally is able to distinguish between the RISs based on a knowledge of the frequency of the original SRS transmission from the UE 115, and the frequency shifts assigned to each respective RIS) .
  • Reflector training module 1008 may measure reference signal receivedpower (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements. With each reflection arriving at its own comb frequencies, the measurements may be used to determine the quality of the signal from eachparticular RIS 202.
  • RSRP reference signal receivedpower
  • RSRW reference signal received quality
  • SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio
  • Reflector training module 1008 may determine, based on the received and measured reference signals, a subset of RISs 202 to use for communication.
  • the subset may be a single RIS 202, may include all of the available RISs 202, or some other combination of RISs 202.
  • the determination may be based on signal quality exceeding a threshold in order for a RIS to b e used for communication.
  • the required bandwidth of the UE 115 may be taken into consideration, and only the amount of RISs deemed necessary may be selected.
  • Reflector training module 1008 may then transmit a report to the RISs 202 based on the determination described above. Specifically, the report is transmitted to the RIS 202 controllers.
  • the report may be sent as a broadcast signal, or may be sent to each individual RIS 202.
  • the report may be in the form of a single message or a series of messages.
  • the report may include an RIS ID and an indication of the best beam corresponding to that RIS 202.
  • the best beam may be indicated either by a bestbeam index, or a time index corresponding to the beam.
  • the report may include a comb offset or a port ID which the reflector training module 1008 and UE 115 agree upon in order to identify the RIS 202.
  • an alternative RIS 202 identification may be a specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) . Identifying the RIS 202 or RISs 202 which are to be used is desirable especially when the report is sent as a broadcast signal to all RISs 202 regardless of whether or not they have been selected for use. By reporting the selected RISs 202 and best beams, the RIS 202 controllers may configure the RIS parameters for use in communication.
  • RNTI radio network temporary identifier
  • Reflector training module 1008 may configure RISs 202 in a number of ways. Reflector training module 1008 may configure RIS parameters that affect reflective properties including frequency shifting. This may be done both for training, and then after training is completed, to configure the RISs 202 as desired to be used for communication.
  • the transceiver 1010 may include the modem subsystem 1012 and the RF unit 1014.
  • the transceiver 1010 can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with other devices, such as the UEs 115 and/or BS 105 and/or another core network element.
  • the modem subsystem 1012 may be configured to modulate and/or encode data according to a MCS, e.g., a LDPC coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.
  • the RF unit 1014 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion, etc.
  • modulated/encoded data e.g., RRC configurations, PDSCH data, PDCCH DCI, etc.
  • modulated/encoded data e.g., RRC configurations, PDSCH data, PDCCH DCI, etc.
  • the RF unit 1014 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digital beamforming.
  • the modem subsystem 1012 and/or the RF unit 1014 may be separate devices that are coupled together at the BS 1000 to enable the BS 1000 to communicate with other devices.
  • the RF unit 1014 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g. data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one or more data packets and other information) , to the antennas 1016 for transmission to one or more other devices.
  • the antennas 1016 may further receive data messages transmitted from other devices and provide the received data messages for processing and/or demodulation at the transceiver 1010.
  • the transceiver 1010 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., channel sensing reports, etc. ) to the reflector training module 1008 for processing.
  • the antennas 1016 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustain multiple transmission links.
  • the BS 1000 can include multiple transceivers 1010 implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE) .
  • the BS 1000 can include a single transceiver 1010 implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE) .
  • the transceiver 1010 can include various components, where different combinations of components can implement different RATs.
  • FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplaryUE 1100 according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the UE 1100 may be a UE 115 as discussed in FIGS. 1-2.
  • the UE 1100 may include a processor 1102, a memory 1104, a reflector training module 1108, a transceiver 1110 including a modem subsystem 1112 and a radio frequency (RF) unit 1114, and one or more antennas 1116.
  • RF radio frequency
  • the processor 1102 may include a central processing unit (CPU) , a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.
  • the processor 1102 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
  • the memory 1104 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of the processor 1102) , random access memory (RAM) , magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , programmable read-only memory (PROM) , erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) , electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) , flash memory, solid state memory device, hard disk drives, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory.
  • the memory 1104 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
  • the memory 1104 may store, or have recorded thereon, instructions 1106.
  • the instructions 1106 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 1102, cause the processor 1102 to perform the operations described herein with reference to a UE 115 or an anchor in connection with aspects of the present disclosure, for example, aspects of FIGS. 1-9 and 12-14. Instructions 1106 may also be referred to as code, which may be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statement (s) as discussed above with respect to FIG. 10.
  • the reflector training module 1108 may be implemented via hardware, software, or combinations thereof.
  • the reflector training module 1108 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions 1106 stored in the memory 1104 and executedby the processor 1102.
  • the reflector training module 1108 can be integrated within the modem subsystem 1112.
  • the reflector training module 1108 can be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within the modem subsystem 1112.
  • the timing advance module 1108 may communicate with one or more components of UE 1100 to implement various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, aspects of FIGS. 1-9 and 12-14.
  • Reflector training module 1108 may perform a number of functions depending on the role carried out by the UE 1100 as described herein with reference to FIGS. 6-9 and 12-14. For example, when UE 1100 is the transmitting UE 115 (e.g., UE 115m in FIG. 6) , reflector training module 1108 may be configured to transmit a sequence of reference signals (e.g. SRS signals) to be reflected by RISs 202 and received by a BS 105. In some aspects, the comb of the transmitted reference signals are shifted each symbol periodby the reflector training module 1108 as described with reference to FIGS. 4-5.
  • a sequence of reference signals e.g. SRS signals
  • reflector training module 1108 may receive a report indicating a list of RISs 202 and potentially measurements associated with those RISs 202. The report may be used to subsequently configure the RISs 202. In some aspects, reflector training module 1108 may further refine the list of RISs that is received in the report before configuring the RISs 202 accordingly. In some aspects, the capabilities of the RISs 202 are communicated to the reflector training module 1108 so that it may know how to configure the training sequence. For example, if the RISs 202 are only able to shift frequency by a granularity of 2 REs, then a larger comb may be necessary for the reference signal in order to accommodate training all of the RISs in parallel.
  • UE 1100 When UE 1100 is a receiving UE 115 such as UE 115n in FIG. 8, it may perform other functions similar to those described with reference to BS 1000 reflector training module 1008.
  • reflector training module 1108 may be configured to receive and measure the transmitted and reflected reference signals.
  • Reflector training module may also be configured to determine the best RISs and transmit a report as is discussed with reference to BS 1000 reflector training module 1008.
  • the transceiver 1110 may include the modem subsystem 1112 and the RF unit 1114.
  • the transceiver 1110 can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with other devices, such as the BSs 105 and 1000.
  • the modem subsystem 1112 may be configured to modulate and/or encode the data from the memory 1104 and/or the reflector training module 1108 according to a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) , e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.
  • MCS modulation and coding scheme
  • LDPC low-density parity check
  • the RF unit 1114 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion, etc.
  • modulated/encoded data e.g., channel sensing reports, etc.
  • modulated/encoded data e.g., channel sensing reports, etc.
  • the RF unit 1114 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digital beamforming.
  • the modem subsystem 1112 and the RF unit 1114 may be separate devices that are coupled together at the UE 1100 to enable the UE 1100 to communicate with other devices.
  • the RF unit 1114 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g. data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one or more data packets and other information) , to the antennas 1116 for transmission to one or more other devices.
  • the antennas 1116 may further receive data messages transmitted from other devices.
  • the antennas 1116 may provide the received data messages for processing and/or demodulation at the transceiver 1110.
  • the transceiver 1110 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., RRC configurations, PUSCH configurations, SRS resource configurations, PUCCH configurations, BWP configurations, etc. ) to the reflector training module 1108 for processing.
  • the antennas 1116 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustain multiple transmission links.
  • the UE 1100 can include multiple transceivers 1110 implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE) .
  • the UE 1100 can include a single transceiver 1110 implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE) .
  • the transceiver 1110 can include various components, where different combinations of components can implement different RATs.
  • FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a wireless communication method 1200 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of the method 1200 can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device or other suitable means for performing the blocks.
  • a computing device e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component
  • a BS 105, or 1000 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the memory 1004, the reflector training module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, the RF unit 1014, and the one or more antennas 1016, to execute the blocks of method 1200.
  • a UE 115, or 1100 may perform the method 1200 utilizing components such as the processor 1102, the memory 1104, the reflector training module 1108, the transceiver 1110, the modem 1112, and the one or more antennas 1116 shown in FIG. 11.
  • the method 1200 may employ similar mechanisms as described in FIGS. 2-9. As illustrated, the method 1200 includes a number ofenumeratedblocks, but aspects of the method 1200 may include additional blocks before, after, and in between the enumerated blocks. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated blocks may be omitted or performed in a different order.
  • a wireless communication device receives and measures a first reference signal at a first set of REs reflected by a first RIS 202 from among a plurality of RISs 202, the first reference signal having a first frequency shift by the first RIS.
  • the reference signal is a SRS signal with a comb level based on the number of RISs 202 in the plurality of RISs 202.
  • Measurements may include reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements.
  • the wireless communication device receives and measures a second reference signal at a second set of REs reflectedby a second RIS 202 from among the plurality of RISs 202, the second reference signal having a second frequency shift by the RIS 202, the second frequency shift being different than the first frequency shift.
  • Blocks 1205 and 1210 may happen substantially in parallel, where each of the reflected reference signals is a reflection of the same source reference signal, shifted to a different respective frequency.
  • the wireless communication device selects a subset of RISs to be used for assisting in communication based on the measurements.
  • This subset may be a final determination in which RISs will be used, or may be subject to further refinement by another device before the RISs are configured accordingly.
  • the wireless communication device transmits a report to the plurality of RISs 202 indicating the selected RISs and associated measurements.
  • the report may be sent as a broadcast signal to the plurality of RIS 202, or may be sent to each individual RIS 202.
  • the report may be in the form of a single message or a series of messages.
  • the report may include an RIS ID and an indication of the best beam corresponding to that RIS 202.
  • the best beam may be indicated either by a bestbeam index, or a time index corresponding to the beam.
  • the report may include a comb offset or a port ID which has been agreed upon in order to identify the RIS 202.
  • an alternative RIS 202 identification may be a specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) .
  • RNTI radio network temporary identifier
  • FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a wireless communication method 1300 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of the method 1300 can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device or other suitable means for performing the blocks.
  • a computing device e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component
  • a UE 115, or 1100 may perform the method 1300 utilizing components such as the processor 1102, the memory 1104, the reflector training module 1108, the transceiver 1110, the modem 1112, and the one or more antennas 1116 shown in FIG. 11.
  • the method 1300 may employ similar mechanisms as described in FIGS. 2-9. As illustrated, the method 1300 includes a number ofenumeratedblocks, but aspects of the method 1300 may include additional blocks before, after, and in between the enumerated blocks. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated blocks may be omitted or performed in a different order.
  • a first wireless communication device e.g., a UE 115 or BS 105 transmits a reference signal (e.g., an SRS with a comb level set according to the number of RISs) to a plurality of RISs 202 for receipt by a second wireless communication device (e.g. a UE 115 or BS 105) .
  • a reference signal e.g., an SRS with a comb level set according to the number of RISs
  • the first wireless communication device receives a report from the second wireless communication device indicating a subset of the RISs 202 based on measurements of the reflected versions of the reference signal.
  • the first wireless communication device selects a subset of RISs 202 from the subset of RISs 202 in the report.
  • the subsets both include the same RISs 202, and in other aspects the first wireless communication device reduces the number of RISs 202.
  • the first wireless communication device transmits a report to the plurality of RISs 202 indicating the selected RISs and associated measurements.
  • the report is sent to the RIS 202 controllers.
  • the RIS parameters may be configured based on the measurements.
  • the report may be sent as a broadcast signal to the plurality of RIS 202, or may be sent to each individual RIS 202.
  • the report may be in the form of a single message or a series of messages.
  • the report may include an RIS ID and an indication of the best beam corresponding to that RIS 202.
  • the best beam may be indicated either by a best beam index, or a time index corresponding to the beam.
  • the report may include a comb offset or a port ID which has been agreed upon in order to identify the RIS 202.
  • an alternative RIS 202 identification may be a specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) .
  • RNTI radio network temporary identifier
  • FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a wireless communication method 1400 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of the method 1400 can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device or other suitable means for performing the blocks.
  • a computing device e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component
  • a BS 105, or 1000 may utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the memory 1004, the reflector training module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, the RF unit 1014, and the one or more antennas 1016, to execute the blocks of method 1400.
  • a UE 115, or 1100 may perform the method 1400 utilizing components such as the processor 1102, the memory 1104, the reflector training module 1108, the transceiver 1110, the modem 1112, and the one or more antennas 1116 shown in FIG. 11.
  • the method 1400 may employ similar mechanisms as described in FIGS. 2-9. As illustrated, the method 1400 includes a number ofenumeratedblocks, but aspects of the method 1400 may include additional blocks before, after, and in between the enumerated blocks. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated blocks may be omitted or performed in a different order.
  • a wireless communication device receives and measures a first set of reference signals as reflected and frequency shifted by a plurality of RISs 202.
  • the reference signals may be comb-N signals where the comb level is based on the number of RISs.
  • the set of reference signals may originate as a single comb-N reference signal from a transmitting device, where each RIS shifts the frequency by a different amount with respect to the other RISs, resulting in a set of non-overlapping reference signals.
  • Measurements may include reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRW) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , and/or additional other measurements.
  • RSRP reference signal received power
  • RSRW reference signal received quality
  • SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio
  • the wireless communication device receives and measures a second set of reference signals as reflected and frequency shifted by the plurality of RISs 202 with different RIS parameters than the first set of reference signals.
  • the offset of the reference signals is the same for each member of the sequence.
  • the wireless communication device may continue to receive a sequence of reflected and frequency shifted reference signals as described with respect to blocks 1405 and 1410.
  • Different RIS parameters may be used by each RIS 202 for each set of reference signals so that the wireless communication device may determine the optimal parameters.
  • the comb offset sweeping may continue such that a number of different frequencies are tested for each RIS 202.
  • the pattern may be as short as only two sets of reference signals, even if the comb offset in that case does not utilize every offset available.
  • the pattern may continue for any number of cycles, including a larger number such that the comb offset pattern must repeat a number of times.
  • the wireless communication device selects a subset of RISs 202 and RIS parameters to be used for assisting in communication based on the measurements.
  • the wireless communication device transmits a report to the plurality of RISs 202 indicating the selected RISs 202, associated measurements, and RIS parameters.
  • the report may be sent as a broadcast signal to the plurality of RIS 202, or may be sent to each individual RIS 202.
  • the report may be in the form of a single message or a series of messages.
  • the report may include an RIS ID and an indication of the bestbeam corresponding to that RIS 202.
  • the best beam may be indicated either by a best beam index, or a time index corresponding to the beam.
  • the report may include a comb offset or a port ID which has been agreed upon in order to identify the RIS 202.
  • an alternative RIS 202 identification may be a specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) .
  • RNTI radio network temporary identifier
  • a method of wireless communication comprising:
  • a first wireless communication device receiving, by a first wireless communication device, a first reference signal reflected by a first network entity from among a plurality of network entities, the first reference signal having a first frequency shift by the first network entity;
  • a first report including an indication of a subset of the plurality of network entities based on a measurement of the first reference signal and a measurement of the second reference signal
  • first reference signal and the second reference signal are reflections of an original reference signal from a second wireless communication device.
  • Aspect 2 The method of aspect 1, wherein:
  • the first report is transmitted to the second wireless communication device.
  • Aspect 3 The method of aspect 1, wherein:
  • the first report is transmitted to the plurality of network entities, and
  • the first report further includes an identification of one of the plurality of network entities.
  • Aspect 4 The method of any of aspects 1-3, wherein the plurality of network entities are respective reconfigurable intelligent surfaces or amplify and forward devices.
  • Aspect 5 The method of any of aspects 1-4, wherein the first frequency shift and the second frequency shift are such that the first reference signal and the second reference signal each occupy different resource elements when received by the first wireless communication device.
  • Aspect 6 The method of any of aspects 1-5, wherein the first report further includes the measurement of the first reference signal and the measurement of the second reference signal.
  • Aspect 7 The method of any of aspects 1-6, wherein the first reference signal comprises a comb signal on a plurality of frequencies that has a comb level set based on a total number of the plurality of network entities.
  • Aspect 8 The method of any of aspects 1-7, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal are received during a first symbol period, further comprising:
  • a third reference signal at a different frequency than the first reference signal, which is reflected by the plurality of network entities and transmitted by the second wireless communication device.
  • a method of wireless communication comprising:
  • the report is based on a measurement of a first reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a first frequency shift by a first network entity of the plurality of network entities, and a measurement of a second reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a second frequency shift by a second network entity of the plurality of network entities, the second frequency shift being different than the first frequency shift.
  • Aspect 10 The method of aspect 9, further comprising:
  • Aspect 11 The method of any of aspects 9-10, wherein the first frequency shift and the second frequency shift are such that the first reflection and the second reflection are received by the second wireless communication device at different resource elements.
  • Aspect 12 The method of any of aspects 9-11, wherein the report further includes the measurement of the first reflection and the measurement of the second reflection.
  • Aspect 13 The method of any of aspects 9-12, further comprising:
  • Aspect 14 The method of any of aspects 9-13, wherein the reference signal comprises a comb signal on a plurality of frequencies that has a comb level set based on a total number of the plurality of network entities.
  • Aspect 15 The method of any of aspects 9-14, wherein the reference signal comprises a first reference signal transmitted during a first symbol period, further comprising:
  • a first wireless communication device comprising:
  • a transceiver configured to:
  • first reference signal and the second reference signal are reflections of an original reference signal from a second wireless communication device.
  • Aspect 17 The first wireless communication device of aspect 16, wherein:
  • the first report is transmitted to the second wireless communication device.
  • Aspect 18 The first wireless communication device of aspect 16, wherein:
  • the first report is transmitted to the plurality of network entities, and
  • the first report further includes an identification of one of the plurality of network entities.
  • Aspect 19 The first wireless communicationdevice of any of aspects 16-18, wherein the plurality of network entities are respective reconfigurable intelligent surfaces or amplify and forward devices.
  • Aspect 20 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 16-19, wherein the first frequency shift and the second frequency shift are such that the first reference signal and the second reference signal each occupy different resource elements when received by the first wireless communication device.
  • Aspect 21 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 16-20, wherein the first report further includes the measurement of the first reference signal and the measurement of the second reference signal.
  • Aspect 22 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 16-21, wherein the first reference signal comprises a comb signal on a plurality of frequencies that has a comb level set based on a total number of the plurality of network entities.
  • Aspect 23 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 16-22, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal are received during a first symbol period, the transceiver further configured to:
  • a first wireless communication device comprising:
  • a transceiver configured to:
  • the report is based on a measurement of a first reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a first frequency shift by a first network entity of the plurality of network entities, and a measurement of a second reflection of the reference signal reflected and shifted with a second frequency shift by a second network entity of the plurality of network entities, the second frequency shift being different than the first frequency shift.
  • Aspect 25 The first wireless communication device of aspect 24, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:
  • Aspect 26 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 24-25, wherein the first frequency shift and the second frequency shift are such that the first reflection and the second reflection are received by the second wireless communication device at different resource elements.
  • Aspect 27 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 24-26, wherein the report further includes the measurement of the first reflection and the measurement of the second reflection.
  • Aspect 28 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 24-27, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:
  • Aspect29 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 24-28, wherein the reference signal comprises a comb signal on a plurality of frequencies that has a comb level set based on a total number of the plurality of network entities.
  • Aspect 30 The first wireless communication device of any of aspects 24-29, wherein the reference signal comprises a first reference signal transmitted during a first symbol period, the transceiver further configured to:
  • Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques.
  • data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
  • a general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the pro cessor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.
  • a processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) .
  • the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne des procédés et des mécanismes de sélection et d'entraînement de dispositifs réfléchissants. Dans un réseau ayant des surfaces intelligentes reconfigurables (RIS) (ou d'autres dispositifs réfléchissants configurables), de multiples RIS peuvent être sélectionnés et entraînés en même temps à l'aide d'un unique signal de référence de sondage comb-N transmis par un équipement utilisateur (UE). Le signal de référence peut être réfléchi par chaque RIS avec un décalage de fréquence différent appliqué par chaque RIS. Le dispositif de réception (une station de base ou autre UE) recevra ainsi le signal de référence à différentes fréquences, chaque ensemble de fréquences correspondant à une RIS différente. En mesurant les signaux reçus, le dispositif de réception peut déterminer le meilleur ensemble de RIS et de paramètres RIS et à utiliser pour une communication. Le dispositif de réception peut configurer directement ou indirectement les RIS en conséquence.
PCT/CN2021/135026 2021-12-02 2021-12-02 Entraînement de surfaces intelligentes reconfigurables par l'intermédiaire de signaux de référence 1 port comb-n WO2023097596A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

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Applications Claiming Priority (1)

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PCT/CN2021/135026 WO2023097596A1 (fr) 2021-12-02 2021-12-02 Entraînement de surfaces intelligentes reconfigurables par l'intermédiaire de signaux de référence 1 port comb-n

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Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111245492A (zh) * 2020-01-10 2020-06-05 北京邮电大学 基于接收功率排序的联合波束训练和智能反射面选择方法
WO2021109345A1 (fr) * 2020-03-03 2021-06-10 Zte Corporation Procédé de modulation de signaux par des surfaces réfléchissantes
CN113346917A (zh) * 2020-02-18 2021-09-03 索尼公司 电子设备、无线通信方法和计算机可读存储介质
WO2021221603A1 (fr) * 2020-04-27 2021-11-04 Nokia Technologies Oy Positionnement d'ue assisté par des surfaces réfléchissantes reconfigurables telles que des surfaces réfléchissantes intelligentes (irs)

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111245492A (zh) * 2020-01-10 2020-06-05 北京邮电大学 基于接收功率排序的联合波束训练和智能反射面选择方法
CN113346917A (zh) * 2020-02-18 2021-09-03 索尼公司 电子设备、无线通信方法和计算机可读存储介质
WO2021109345A1 (fr) * 2020-03-03 2021-06-10 Zte Corporation Procédé de modulation de signaux par des surfaces réfléchissantes
WO2021221603A1 (fr) * 2020-04-27 2021-11-04 Nokia Technologies Oy Positionnement d'ue assisté par des surfaces réfléchissantes reconfigurables telles que des surfaces réfléchissantes intelligentes (irs)

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