阅读说明：本技术 用于鲁棒性波束报告的系统和方法 (System and method for robust beam reporting ) 是由 高波 陈艺戬 李儒岳 鲁照华 袁弋非 王欣晖 于 2017-06-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种用于执行鲁棒性波束报告的系统和方法。在一个实施例中,一种由第一通信节点执行的方法,包括：接收至少一个参考信号；确定与至少一个参考信号相关联的至少一个参考信号接收功率(RSRP)值；根据预定格式生成RSRP报告,预定格式将至少一个RSRP值分组为N组RSRP值,每组包含至少一个RSRP值,并将N组RSRP值中的每个与N组资源分组中的相应一个相关联,其中每组资源分组包含至少一个资源分组,并且N是正整数；以及传送RSRP报告。(A system and method for performing robust beam reporting is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a first communication node, comprises: receiving at least one reference signal; determining at least one Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value associated with at least one reference signal; generating an RSRP report according to a predetermined format, the predetermined format grouping the at least one RSRP value into N sets of RSRP values, each set containing the at least one RSRP value, and associating each of the N sets of RSRP values with a respective one of N sets of resource packets, wherein each set of resource packets contains the at least one resource packet, and N is a positive integer; and transmitting an RSRP report.)

1. A method performed by a first communication node, comprising:

receiving at least one reference signal;

determining at least one Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value associated with the at least one reference signal;

generating an RSRP report according to a predetermined format that groups the at least one RSRP value into N sets of RSRP values, each set containing the at least one RSRP value, and that associates each of the N sets of RSRP values with a respective one of N sets of resource groups, wherein each set of resource groups contains the at least one resource group, and N is a positive integer; and

transmitting the RSRP report.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the N groups of resource groupings comprises at least one of: beam groups, antenna groups, ports, Reference Signal (RS) resources, groups of RS resources, groups of ports, diversity branches, and receive branches.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the port packet is a set of ports at a second communication node, the set of ports being indicated by the second communication node either explicitly signaled or implicitly based on a predetermined format.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a port set is implicitly indicated based on at least one of:

the set of ports belongs to a time division code division multiplexing (TD-CDM) port group;

the set or port belongs to a frequency division code division multiplexing (FD-CDM) port group;

the port set is associated with a component;

the port sets are all located in one OFDM symbol or subunit;

the port set sequentially comprises K ports of one resource, wherein K is a positive integer; and

the port sets share one or more same or similar channel properties.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein RS ports and port groupings from the same or different RS resources are grouped into one port group in the second communication node.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein no more than S RS antenna ports quasi co-located with the port grouping or port can be transmitted simultaneously, where S is a positive integer.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein a total number of layers of Downlink Modulation Reference Signals (DMRS) having quasi-co-location with the port grouping or ports is less than or equal to S, where S is a positive integer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the RSRP report further contains a rank indicator, a layer, or a maximum number of data streams for at least one of the N sets of resource packets.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the RSRP report is based on one of the following multiple associations:

the at least one RSRP value is determined for each beam transmitted from a second communication node and each antenna packet associated with the first communication node;

the at least one RSRP value is determined for each beam transmitted from a second communication node and each group of receive beams associated with the first communication node;

the at least one RSRP value is determined for all beams transmitted from a second communication node and each group of receive beams associated with the first communication node; and

the at least one RSRP value is determined for each beam transmitted from a second communication node, each antenna packet associated with the first communication node, and each receive beam group associated with the first communication node.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one RSRP value is determined for a partial band or sub-band of the at least one reference signal.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the derivation rule of the reported RSRP values from T RSRP values for one of the N sets of resource packets is one of the following, where T is a positive integer:

configurable by the second communication node;

indicated by the first communication node to a second communication node; and

determined based on the receiving method.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the derivation rules include at least one of:

the reported RSRP value is not less than T RSRP values;

the reported RSRP value is the largest RSRP value of the E RSRP values;

the reported RSRP value is the smallest RSRP value of the E RSRP values; and

the reported RSRP value is an average RSRP value of the E RSRP values;

wherein the E RSRP values are selected from the T RSRP values, and E < ═ T.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving method comprises at least one of the following receiving techniques:

receiving by using a resource packet;

receiving by using a plurality of resource packets;

receiving diversity;

receiving phase combination;

receiving amplitude combination;

receiving and filtering; and

and (4) spatial multiplexing.

14. A method performed by a first communication node, comprising:

transmitting at least one reference signal;

receiving a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) report comprising at least one RSRP value associated with the at least one reference signal, wherein the RSRP report is formatted according to a predetermined format that groups the at least one RSRP value into N sets of RSRP values, each set containing the at least one RSRP value, and the predetermined format associates each of the N sets of RSRP values with a respective one of N sets of resource groups, wherein each set of resource groups contains at least one resource group, and N is a positive integer;

determining whether the at least one RSRP value meets a predetermined criterion; and

transmitting a transmission signal using at least one resource element used for transmitting the at least one reference signal in response to the at least one RSRP value satisfying the predetermined criterion.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the N groups of resource groupings comprises at least one of: beam groups, antenna groups, ports, Reference Signal (RS) resources, groups of RS resources, groups of ports, diversity branches, and receive branches.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the port packet is a set of ports at the first communication node, the set of ports being indicated to a second communication node either explicitly by a signal or implicitly based on the predetermined format.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a port set is implicitly indicated based on at least one of:

the set of ports belongs to a time division code division multiplexing (TD-CDM) port group;

the set or port belongs to a frequency division code division multiplexing (FD-CDM) port group;

the port set is associated with a component;

the port sets are all located in one OFDM symbol or subunit;

the port set sequentially comprises K ports of one resource, wherein K is a positive integer; and

the port sets share one or more same or similar channel properties.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein RS ports and port groupings from the same or different RS resources are grouped into one port group in the first communication node.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein no more than S RS antenna ports quasi co-located (QCLed) with the port group or port can be transmitted simultaneously, where S is a positive integer.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein a total number of layers of Downlink Modulation Reference Signals (DMRS) having quasi-co-location with the port grouping or ports is less than or equal to S, where S is a positive integer.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the RSRP report further contains a rank indicator, a layer, or a maximum number of data streams for at least one of the N sets of resource packets.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein the RSRP report is based on one of the following associations:

the at least one RSRP value is determined for each beam transmitted from the first communication node and each antenna packet associated with a second communication node;

the at least one RSRP value is determined for each beam transmitted from the first communication node and each group of receive beams associated with a second communication node;

the at least one RSRP value is determined for all beams transmitted from the first communication node and each group of received beams associated with a second communication node; and

the at least one RSRP value is determined for each beam transmitted from the first communication node, each antenna packet associated with a second communication node, and each receive beam group associated with the second communication node.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one RSRP value is determined for a partial band or sub-band of the at least one reference signal.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the derivation rule for reported RSRP values from T RSRP values for one of N sets of resource packets is one of the following, where T is a positive integer:

configurable by the first communication node;

indicated by a second communication node to the first communication node; and

determined based on the receiving method.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the derivation rules include at least one of:

the reported RSRP value is not less than T RSRP values;

the reported RSRP value is the largest RSRP value of the E RSRP values;

the reported RSRP value is the smallest RSRP value of the E RSRP values; and

the reported RSRP value is an average RSRP value of the E RSRP values;

wherein the E RSRP values are selected from the T RSRP values, and E < ═ T.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the receiving method comprises at least one of the following receiving techniques:

receiving by using a resource packet;

receiving by using a plurality of resource packets;

receiving diversity;

receiving phase combination;

receiving amplitude combination;

receiving and filtering; and

and (4) spatial multiplexing.

27. A communications node configured to perform the steps of any of claims 1 to 26.

28. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 26.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to systems and methods for beam reporting.

Background

Beam reporting may be a process in wireless communications in which a Base Station (BS) transmitting a beam to a user equipment (e.g., a mobile phone or other personal device) may receive beam-related feedback from the User Equipment (UE). This feedback may be used to calibrate future beams transmitted from the base station to the User Equipment (UE). These future beams may be calibrated to include user information for reception by the UE.

Various BSs, such as next generation node BS (gbnodebs or gnbs), may have multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna arrays (e.g., panel arrays). A MIMO antenna array (e.g., a panel array) may include a large number of antenna elements, such as 1024 antenna elements. The antenna elements may be arranged on at least one panel antenna, which may be a two-dimensional array of the antenna elements.

As described above, the beam report may provide feedback to the BS regarding the beams that may be used for communication with the UE. Reporting on Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) is one example of such feedback. RSRP may be a measure of beam power as received by a UE and may be expressed as a value (such as watts). The BS may determine which beams are suitable or "best" for communication with the UE based on the RSRP value (e.g., by maximizing the RSRP value).

RSRP may be determined from Reference Signals (RSs) encoded in the beam on a per antenna port basis. An antenna port, also more simply referred to as a port, may be the smallest logical representation of a channel carried by one or more antennas. In other words, an antenna port ID may be used as an ID for a signal transmitted by the antenna port, which may correspond to one or more antenna elements. For example, the gNB may transmit an RS, such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), for one antenna port. The UE may then receive the RS (e.g., CSI-RS) associated with this antenna port and calculate a corresponding RSRP. Typically, RSRP is determined as a linear average of the power of Resource Elements (REs) on which RSs (e.g., CSI-RSs) are transmitted as part of a beam.

However, as wireless communication developments become more complex and sophisticated, conventional determinations of RSRP may not provide sufficient information or granularity to provide meaningful information for beam reporting. For example, the difference between beams transmitted by a BS may be more accurately represented based on a particular antenna orientation, such as polarization, rather than associating a beam with which antenna port. Accordingly, improved methods of beam reporting are needed.

Disclosure of Invention

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to solve one or more problems associated with the prior art and to provide additional features that will be readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is to be understood, however, that these embodiments are provided by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments may be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure while remaining within the scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment, a method performed by a first communication node, comprises: receiving at least one reference signal; determining at least one Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value associated with the at least one reference signal; generating an RSRP report according to a predetermined format that groups the at least one RSRP value into N sets of RSRP values, each set containing the at least one RSRP value, and that associates each of the N sets of RSRP values with a respective one of N sets of resource groups, wherein each set of resource groups contains the at least one resource group, and N is a positive integer; and transmitting the RSRP report.

In yet another embodiment, a method performed by a first communication node, comprises: transmitting at least one reference signal; receiving a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) report comprising at least one RSRP value associated with the at least one reference signal, wherein the RSRP report is formatted according to a predetermined format that groups the at least one RSRP value into N sets of RSRP values, each set containing the at least one RSRP value, and the predetermined format associates each of the N sets of RSRP values with a respective one of N sets of resource groups, wherein each set of resource groups contains at least one resource group, and N is a positive integer; determining whether the at least one RSRP value meets a predetermined criterion; and in response to the at least one RSRP value satisfying the predetermined criterion, transmitting a transmission signal using at least one resource element used for transmitting the at least one reference signal.

In another embodiment, a first communication node comprises: a receiver configured to receive at least one reference signal from a second communication node; at least one processor configured to: determining at least one Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value associated with the at least one reference signal; and generating an RSRP report according to a predetermined format that groups the at least one RSRP value into N sets of RSRP values, each set containing at least one RSRP value, and that associates each of the N sets of RSRP values with a respective one of N sets of resource groups, wherein each set of resource groups contains at least one resource group, and N is a positive integer; and a transmitter configured to transmit the RSRP report to the second communication node.

In yet another embodiment, a first communications node comprises: a transmitter configured to transmit at least one reference signal to a second communication node; a receiver configured to receive a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) report from the second communication node, wherein the RSRP report contains at least one RSRP value associated with the at least one reference signal and to group the at least one RSRP value into N sets of RSRP values, each set containing the at least one RSRP value and to associate each of the N sets of RSRP values with a respective one of N sets of resource groups, wherein each set of resource groups contains at least one resource group and N is a positive integer; and at least one processor configured to: determining whether the at least one RSRP value meets a predetermined criterion; and when the at least one RSRP value meets a predetermined criterion, cause the transmitter to send a transmission signal to the second communication node using at least one resource element used to send the at least one reference signal.

Drawings

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict exemplary embodiments of the invention to facilitate the reader's understanding of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings are not to be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present invention. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary cellular communication network in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station and user equipment, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a network diagram of a base station panel antenna communicated to a user equipment panel antenna, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram of antenna elements that may be disposed in the base station panel antenna of fig. 3, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D are simulation results showing power variation across different beams having different polarizations, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates two resource grids with correlations between different resource elements in the two resource grids, in accordance with some embodiments.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the drawings to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure that various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the particular order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is by way of example only. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods or processes disclosed may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present the various steps or actions in a sample order, and the invention is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless otherwise specifically indicated.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network 100 in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Exemplary communication network 100 includes a Base Station (BS)102 and a User Equipment (UE) device 104 capable of communicating with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of conceptual cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 covering a geographic area 101. In fig. 1, BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within the geographic boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 may include at least one Base Station (BS) operating with its allocated bandwidth to provide sufficient radio coverage for its intended users. For example, the BS 102 may operate on the allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to the UE 104. The BS 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118/124 may be further divided into subframes 120/127, which may include data symbols 122/128. In the present disclosure, a Base Station (BS)102 and a User Equipment (UE)104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes" that can generally practice the methods disclosed herein. Such a communication node may be capable of wireless and/or wired communication according to various embodiments of the present invention.

In network 100, signals transmitted from BS 102 may be subject to the above-mentioned environmental and/or operational conditions that result in undesirable channel characteristics (such as doppler spread, doppler shift, delay spread, multipath interference, etc.). For example, multipath signal components may occur as a result of reflections, scattering and diffraction of transmitted signals by natural and/or man-made objects. At the receiver antenna 114, multiple signals may arrive from multiple different directions with different delays, attenuations, and phases. Generally, the time difference between the arrival times of the first received multipath component (typically, line of sight (LOS) component) and the last received multipath component (typically, non-line of sight (NLOS) component) is referred to as delay spread. The combination of signals having various delays, attenuations, and phases may produce distortions in the received signal, such as inter-symbol interference (ISI) and inter-channel interference (ICI). The distortion may complicate reception of the received signal and conversion of the received signal into useful information. For example, delay spread may cause ISI in the useful information (data symbols) contained in the radio frame 124.

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of an exemplary system 200, the exemplary system 200 including a Base Station (BS)202 and a User Equipment (UE)204, the Base Station (BS)202 and the User Equipment (UE)204 being configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals, e.g., OFDM/OFDMA signals, between one another. System 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one exemplary embodiment, system 200 can be employed for transmitting and receiving data symbols in a wireless communication environment, such as wireless communication environment 100 of fig. 1, as described above.

BS 202 includes BS transceiver module 210, BS antenna 212, BS processor module 214, BS memory module 216, and network communication module 218, each coupled and interconnected with each other as needed via data communication bus 220. The UE 204 includes a UE transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each coupled and interconnected with each other as needed via a data communication bus 240. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel (e.g., link) 250, where communication channel 250 may be any wireless channel or other medium known in the art suitable for data transmission as described herein.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the system 200 may also include any number of modules other than those shown in fig. 2. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware, computer readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans who such a description relates to a particular implementation of the features disclosed in this specification, and such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention.

According to some embodiments, UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230, which includes RF transmitter and receiver circuits that are each coupled to an antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-duplex manner. Similarly, BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210 according to some embodiments, which includes RF transmitter and receiver circuits that are each coupled to an antenna 212. The downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple a downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time-duplex manner. The operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 are coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 to receive transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 while the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Preferably, there is tight time synchronization with only a minimum guard time between changes in the duplex direction.

UE transceiver 230 and base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via a wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna arrangement 212/232 that is capable of supporting particular wireless communication protocols and modulation schemes. In some demonstrative embodiments, UE transceiver 608 and base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the emerging 5G and New Radio (NR) standards. It should be understood, however, that the present invention need not be limited in application to a particular standard and associated protocol. Rather, UE transceiver 230 and base station transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternative, or additional, wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

According to various embodiments, the BS 202 may be, for example, a next generation nodeb (gbnodeb or gNB), a serving gbb, a target gbb, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), an evolved node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop, a wearable computing device, and so forth. The processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or realized with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, a processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, state machine, or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

Further, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in firmware, in a software module executed by the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. Memory modules 216 and 234 may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, the memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, such that the processor modules 214 and 236 may read information from the memory modules 216 and 234 and write information to the memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 214 and 236. In some embodiments, the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include cache memories for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively.

The network communication module 218 generally represents hardware, software, firmware, processing logic and/or other components of the base station 202 that enable bi-directional communication between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communication module 218 may be configured to support internet or WiMAX services. In a typical deployment without limitation, the network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 ethernet interface enabling the base transceiver station 210 to communicate with a conventional ethernet-based computer network. In this manner, the network communication module 218 may include a physical interface (e.g., a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)) for connecting to a computer network.

To meet the performance requirements of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) advanced systems, the LTE/LTE-advanced standard has provided several features to optimize the radio network in the frequency, time and/or spatial domains. With the continuous development of wireless technology, it is expected that future radio access networks will be able to support the explosive growth of wireless services. Among these features, broadening the system bandwidth is a straightforward approach to improving link and system capacity, which has been tested and confirmed by the deployment of carrier aggregation in LTE-Advanced (LTE-Advanced) systems.

As the demand for capacity increases, the mobile industry as well as academia have become more and more interested in increasing the system bandwidth to greater than 100 MHz. In addition, as spectrum resources operating below 6GHz frequencies have become more congested, high frequency communications above 6GHz are well suited to support system bandwidths in excess of 100MHz, even up to 1 GHz.

In some embodiments, communication between the base station and the UE is accomplished with signal frequencies greater than 6GHz, which is also referred to as "millimeter wave communication. However, high operating frequencies (i.e., greater than 6GHz) may cause significant propagation loss when using broad or ultra-wide spectrum resources. To solve this problem, antenna arrays (e.g., panel arrays) using massive MIMO (e.g., 1024 antenna elements for one node) and Beamforming (BF) training techniques have been employed to achieve beam alignment and obtain sufficiently high antenna gain. To keep implementation costs down while benefiting from antenna array technology, analog phase shifters have become attractive for implementing millimeter wave Beamforming (BF), which means that the number of phases is limited, and other constraints (e.g., amplitude constraints) may be imposed on the antenna elements to provide variable phase shift based BF. Given such a pre-specified beam pattern, e.g., an Antenna Weight Vector (AWV) codebook, a variable phase shift based BF training target may be determined to identify the best N beams for subsequent data transmission.

As introduced above, the beam report may be a procedure in wireless communication in which the BS may transmit a beam to the UE and receive feedback on the beam from the UE. This feedback may be used to calibrate future beams transmitted from the BS to the UE. These future beams may be calibrated to include user information for reception by the UE.

Systems and methods according to various embodiments may enable robust beam reporting. The robust beam report may include a feedback loop between the BS and the UE that provides the UE with sufficient communication details about the BS, or vice versa. These communication details may inform or instruct the BS or UE to perform efficient calibrated communication that takes into account all relevant communication details of the BS or UE (when compared to a system that does not implement robust beam reporting). The communication details may be any aspect of the communication of a first communication node (e.g., a BS or UE) that may be used to calibrate a second communication node (e.g., a correspondent UE or BS) to promote communication between the two communication nodes. Examples of communication details may include: a plurality of ports and/or port layouts at the UE or BS; port ID at UE or BS (e.g., identification of port); a channel estimation protocol (e.g., RSRP determination) for channel estimation by the UE; formats for channel estimation reporting (e.g., RSRP reporting or RSRP value reporting); a transmitter beam (Tx beam) group (e.g., a beam group transmitted from the BS to the UE); a receive beam (Rx beam) group (e.g., a beam group transmitted from a UE to a BS); grouping antennas; antenna orientation (e.g., the polarization and/or direction in which the antenna is pointed); RS that can be used for channel estimation; weights (e.g., priorities) of different RSs that can be used for channel estimation; an RS transmission characteristic; the number of independent data streams (e.g., ranks or layers) supported by a port grouping, antenna grouping, beam group, etc.; a customized RSRP definition; a partial bandwidth for determining RSRP; and the like. Further discussion of each of these and other communication details will be discussed further below.

According to various embodiments, as an example of robust beam reporting, a BS may transmit multiple beams for reception within the BS's cellular coverage area. The UE may receive at least one of the plurality of beams. The received beam may include instructions for a channel estimation protocol and/or reference signals, and channel estimation may be performed on the received beam at the UE. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the UE may not require external instructions, but may independently select a channel estimation protocol, which may be performed in response to selection criteria (e.g., by being preprogrammed to perform a particular channel estimation protocol, or based on available processing resources). The channel estimation protocol may instruct the UE how to perform channel estimation to generate communication details, which may be fed back (e.g., transmitted) to the BS to enhance communication between the BS and the UE. The channel estimation may be any type of measurement, calibration, determination, or other process that produces results (e.g., parameter values) that may be included in a channel estimation report. In other words, channel estimation may be a process of determining parameter values (e.g., which RSRP values should be included in the combined RSRP values, the number of independent data streams supported by a particular UE port group, customized RSRP definitions, etc.). The channel estimation protocol may also instruct the UE on the formatting or data structure of the channel estimation report that may be sent (e.g., fed back) to the BS. The channel estimation report may be an indication (as a parameter value) of at least one of the parameters determined during the indicated channel estimation. For example, the channel estimation protocol may instruct the UE to send channel estimation reports to the BS including RSRP values for certain port groups in a particular Rx beam group, as will be referenced in embodiments of Type-B2 (Type B2) discussed further below. The BS may transmit user data for the UE based on the received report. For example, if the reported RSRP indicates that the power value of a particular beam meets a predetermined criterion, the BS may transmit user data for the UE on the particular beam.

As will be discussed further below, the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) may be a measure based on the power level (in watts) of the received signal. The RSRP may be determined at the UE and based on a received Reference Signal (RS) from the BS. Also, as will be discussed further below, the RS may be any type of signal that may be used as a reference to determine RSRP, Channel State Information (CSI), or any other channel estimate. Examples of RSs may include Downlink (DL) demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), Uplink (UL) DMRSs, DMRSs of a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), phase tracking reference signals (PT-RS), Tracking Reference Signals (TRS), sounding reference signals (srs), Secondary Synchronization Signals (SSS), Primary Synchronization Signals (PSS), SS blocks (e.g., one or more of PSS, SSS, or DMRS of a PBCH that may share the same transmission (Tx) beam), CSI-RS, and so forth.

Thus, to clarify the discussion relating communication details to RSRP, RSRP determination may be a kind of channel estimation based on RS. The RSRP may be a parameter and the RSRP value may be a parameter value. Also, the RSRP report (which may include RSRP values) may be a type of channel estimation report.

In some embodiments, the RSRP may be a linear average over the power contributions (in watts) of the resource elements carrying cell-specific Reference Signals (RSs) within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth. To determine RSRP, a cell-specific RS R0 (corresponding to the first port of the BS transmitting the RS) may be used. However, if the UE can reliably detect that R1 (e.g., corresponding to the second port of the BS transmitting the RS) is available, the UE can use R1 to determine RSRP in addition to R0 (corresponding to the first port of the BS transmitting the RS). Further, if higher layers (e.g., layers in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model) indicate discovery signal based measurements, the UE may measure RSRP of subframes used to transmit the discovery signal. However, if the UE can reliably detect the presence of cell-specific RSs in other subframes, the UE may measure RSRPs of those other subframes in addition to the RSRPs of the subframes used to transmit the discovery signals. For physical measurements of RSRP, the reference point for RSRP may be at the physical antenna connector of the UE performing the RSRP determination. In particular embodiments, if the UE is using receiver diversity (diversity), the reported value of RSRP may be set to be no lower than the respective RSRP of any single diversity branch (e.g., any receiver (Rx) chain, such as one or more independent receiver baseband processing units for MIMO diversity).

In certain types of wireless communication standards, such as 5G New Radio (NR), a Base Station (BS), also referred to herein as a "gNB," may include an antenna layout that includes multiple panel antennas. Moreover, the UE may also include an antenna layout including a plurality of panel antennas. In general, a panel on a BS or UE may have at least two transceiver units (TXRUs), which may be associated with different polarizations. In various embodiments, to enable high rank transmission (e.g., transmission with a large number of independent layers or a large number of data streams), the BS and the UE may use different beams generated from different panels. The beams utilized may cover the full range of communication capabilities of each panel and associated TXRU. In other words, when all communication capabilities of the BS and the UE are used, the BS and the UE can be fully utilized, such as by using all panel antennas of the BS and the UE. For example, if a UE with four panels uses less than all of its panels to receive signals from the BS and/or generates reports based on channel estimates for signals received by less than all of its panels, the UE will be underutilized. Similarly, if the UE reports only transmission (Tx) beams from BSs associated with only one BS panel, rather than all of the multiple panels of the BS, there are underutilized cases.

Fig. 3 illustrates a network diagram 300 of a base station panel antenna 302 transmitting to a user equipment panel antenna 304 in accordance with some embodiments. Base Station (BS) panel antenna 302 may be part of a rectangular panel array 306 that is part of a base station 308. Thus, the panel array 306 may include a plurality of BS panel antennas 302. Although only nine BS panel antennas 302 are shown for each panel array 306, the BS panel array 306 may include any number of one or more BS panel antennas.

Each of the BS panel antennas 302 may include one or more antenna elements, as will be illustrated and discussed below in connection with fig. 4. The antenna elements at the BS may generate one or more transmitter beams 310 (also referred to as Tx beams). The Tx beams 310 may reach the UE panel antenna 304 through a physical cluster (e.g., a physical environment through which the transmission beams 310 may pass or bounce, such as a building, object, wall, etc.). In other words, the antenna elements may form a directional beam 310 (e.g., a Tx beam) that is directed toward the location of the UE panel antenna 304 to receive the directional beam (e.g., the Tx beam) at the UE panel antenna 304. Moreover, as discussed further below, each UE panel antenna 304 may include antenna elements that may generate a received beam (also referred to as an Rx beam) for reception by BS 308 at the antenna elements of BS panel antenna 302.

Fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram 400 of an antenna element 402 that may be disposed in the base station panel antenna 302 of fig. 3, in accordance with some embodiments. The set of base station panel antennas 302 may be part of a base station panel array 306, as discussed above in connection with fig. 3.

Returning to FIG. 4, the base station panel array 306 may be a rectangular panel array comprising M_gN_gA base station panel antenna 302, where M_gIs the number of base station panel antennas 302 in a column, and N_gIs the number of base station panel antennas 302 in a row. Further, the base station panel antenna 302 may be oriented horizontally with d_g,HAre evenly spaced and are oriented in the vertical direction by d_g,VAre evenly spaced apart. On each panel antenna, the antenna elements 402 may be placed in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, where N is the number of columns and M is the number of antenna elements with the same polarization in each column. Further, the numbering on the panel (where the x-axis points to the broadside and the y-coordinate increases to increase the number of columns) is based on the observation from the front to the antenna array. Base station panel antenna 302 may be single polarized (P-1) or dual polarized (P-2).

As described above, typical determinations of RSRP may not provide sufficient separation to provide meaningful information for beam reporting. For example, RSRP may be determined at the UE based on received signals from the BS. However, with many moving parts, the modulation, transmission, propagation, reception, and demodulation of beams from the BS to the UE can be complex. Thus, having robust beam reporting that takes into account the communication details of each of these complex moving parts may provide more meaningful information than beam reporting that does not take into account these complex moving parts.

For example, the UE may include multiple panel antennas for receiving beams from the BS. However, depending on the orientation of the UE's receive panel antenna (e.g., the polarization and/or direction the antenna is facing), the UE may receive the same beam transmitted from the BS differently. Thus, a beam report that does not account for the orientation of the UE panel antenna may not characterize the beam as a robust beam report that accounts for the orientation of the UE panel antenna.

As another example, in the case of dual polarization, two beams associated with different polarizations but the same precoding from the BS may be characterized as different beams for beam reporting purposes. In other words, processing these beams separately for beam reporting may result in better or more accurate channel estimation or RSRP determination than processing these beams the same.

However, in some embodiments, accurate beam reporting may be balanced against practical considerations. For example, the performance gain incurred by processing dual polarized beams individually may not exceed the processing resources saved by processing dual polarized beams equally. This may be due to, for example, slight accuracy gains from individual processing when the beams have very similar properties. Thus, in certain embodiments, as will be discussed further below (e.g., when determining combined RSRP values), considerations such as performance gain versus resource cost to implement certain types of beam reporting may be balanced against considerations such as accurate beam reporting.

Fig. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D are simulation results showing power variation across different beams having different polarizations, according to some embodiments. These figures illustrate how changes in various beam reporting parameters, such as the polarization of the Tx beams, may produce corresponding changes in channel estimation results, such as RSRP and/or channel gain, between different BS and UE configurations.

For example, fig. 5A shows that there may be an RSRP measurement error of 4-dB when dual polarized Tx beams are evaluated as single polarized Tx beams in a beam report. Fig. 5A plots the RSRP difference of the measurements for the single and dual polarized cases in dB along the x-axis and the actual number of captures in the bin (bin) along the y-axis where the bin step size is 0.1 dB. The data in the figure is based on 3072 actual cases in 30GHz Link Level Simulation (LLS), where the BS is represented by one panel with dual polarized 8x4 antenna elements, and where the UE is represented by a panel antenna with dual polarized 4x2 antenna elements.

Fig. 5B, 5C and 5D show further simulation results indicating how different types of BS polarizations produce different simulation results. In particular, fig. 5B shows RSRP measurement results for a single antenna port at +45 degree BS polarization. Fig. 5C shows RSRP measurement results for a single antenna port at-45 degree BS polarization. Fig. 5D shows RSRP measurement results for two antenna ports at +/-45 degree BS polarization, respectively. Each of fig. 5B, 5C, and 5D was simulated with the SNR assumed to be 0dB and the receiver noise power 1 mW. The labels "first", "second" and "third" demarcate the first highest, second highest and third highest peaks, respectively. It may be noted that each of fig. 5B, 5C, and 5D is different. Thus, fig. 5B, 5C and 5D indicate how polarization changes of a transmitted beam at a base station will change the determination of RSRP at a UE (and subsequent beam reporting and/or determination).

In addition to the above embodiments, various exemplary embodiments will be discussed below which provide non-limiting examples of robust beam reporting that takes into account various communication aspects, such as an applicable multiplexing or diversity transmission scheme, to more accurately characterize beams relative to beam reporting that does not take into account these various communication aspects. While six exemplary embodiments are described below, other exemplary embodiments are contemplated in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Moreover, each exemplary embodiment may include features of other exemplary embodiments, such as where the channel estimation report may include different parameter values discussed in different exemplary embodiments.

According to various embodiments, the robust beam report may include a channel estimation and a channel estimation report based on the specification of the UE. For example, RSRP determinations may be made based on each UE antenna group and/or each Rx beam group. As described above, a UE may be configured to be different from a BS and other UEs, such as by having different receiver panel antenna orientations, number of antennas, demodulation schemes, channel estimation report transmission schemes (e.g., format and/or time of channel estimation reports sent from the UE to the BS), and so on. Thus, for robust beam reporting, the actual or relevant nuances of the UE may be taken into account when performing channel estimation. According to various exemplary embodiments, the method and system for robust beam reporting may include a variety of beam reporting formats, such as Type-A (A Type), Type-B1(B1 Type), Type-B2(B2 Type), and Type-C (C Type) formats, described below. According to various embodiments, the robust beam reporting protocol may include one or more, or all, of these beam reporting formats (e.g., alternative formats based on specified criteria).

As described above, RSRP determination may be an RS-based channel estimation. Also, the RSRP may be a parameter, and the RSRP value may be a parameter value. Further, the RSRP report (which may include RSRP values) may be a type of channel estimation report.

Table 1 below shows a first beam reporting format in which a value of a type of RSRP may be determined from each Tx beam transmitted by a BS to a UE, and evaluated by the UE based on each UE antenna packet, according to some embodiments. In other words, the RSRP value is determined for each Tx beam (each with a logical beam index) received by a respective UE antenna group. In some embodiments, an antenna group may be a grouping of antennas (e.g., quasi-co-located antennas), as dictated by similar characteristics (e.g., transmit and/or receive characteristics, etc.) between each of the constituent antennas of the antenna group. Quasi co-location will be discussed further below.

Table 1: beam reporting format for UE antenna grouping

In table 1 above, the UE antenna group ID identifies UE antenna groups (e.g., quasi co-located, as discussed in further detail below) that are associated with each other, the logical beam index is an identifier for a single Tx beam received by the UE from the BS (and may be represented by a port index, a port group index, a CSI-RS resource indicator, a combination of the above (e.g., port index, port group index, CSI-RS resource indicator), etc.), and the a-type parameter of RSRP represents a measured RSRP value for each Tx beam received by the UE and grouped according to the corresponding UE antenna group. As shown in table 1, in addition to the a-type parameters of RSRP, other information, such as other parameters regarding CSI, may also be included in the beam reporting format. As further shown in table 1, each UE antenna group may receive multiple Tx beams, and the beam report format may include information on the multiple UE antenna groups. According to various embodiments, the beam report may include a-type values of RSRP measured for some or all of the Tx beams of all UE antenna groups, or any subset of such information based on a desired criteria or application. The subscripts next to the UE antenna group ID and the logical beam index are arbitrary and merely indicate that there may be multiple UE antenna group IDs and multiple logical beam indices in the beam report, according to various embodiments of the present invention.

Table 2 below shows a second beam reporting format, in which B1 type RSRP parameters may be determined on a per Tx beam basis, as evaluated at the UE on a per "Rx beam group" basis, according to some embodiments. In other words, the RSRP parameter may be determined for each Tx beam received by the UE and grouped in the UE's respective "Rx beam group". For example, RSRP values for multiple Tx beams transmitted to the UE may be determined and then grouped to correspond to a single Rx beam group of the UE. According to various embodiments, a beam group may include multiple beams (e.g., quasi co-located beams, as discussed further below) that share one or more common features or characteristics.

Table 2: beam reporting format based on each reported Tx beam of each Rx beam group

In table 2 above, the Rx beam group IDs identify Rx beam groups associated with each other, the logical beam index is an identifier of a single Tx beam received by the UE from the BS (and may be represented by a port index; a port group index; a CSI-RS resource indicator; a combination of a port index, a port group index and a CSI-RS resource indicator, etc.), and the RSRP parameter of the B1 type represents a measured RSRP value for the respective Tx beams received by the UE and grouped with the corresponding Rx beam group. As shown in table 2, in addition to the B1 type parameter for RSRP, other information, such as other parameters regarding CSI, may also be included in the beam reporting format. As further shown in table 2, each Rx beam group may correspond to a plurality of Tx beams, and the beam report format may include information on the plurality of Rx beam groups. According to various embodiments, the beam report may include B2 type values of RSRP measured for some or all of the Tx beams of all Rx beam groups, or any subset of such information based on desired criteria or application. The subscripts next to the Rx beam group ID and logical beam index are arbitrary and indicate that there may be multiple Rx beam group IDs and multiple logical beam indices in the RSRP report.

According to some embodiments, a third beam reporting format is shown in table 3 below, where RSRP of the B2 type may be determined for all Tx beams corresponding to an Rx beam group. In other words, a single RSRP value may be determined for a plurality of Tx beams belonging to a predetermined Rx beam group. For example, RSRPs for all Tx beams transmitted to the UE and belonging to a single Rx beam group may be determined and then used to calculate a value of B2 type for the aggregated RSRP. Thus, in contrast to the B1 type embodiment which may have multiple RSRP parameter values for each Rx beam group as described above, each Rx beam group (which may include information about multiple Tx beams) will have a single RSRP B2 type of parameter value.

Table 3: beam reporting format based on all reported Tx beams of each Rx beam group

In table 3 above, the Rx beam group identifies an Rx beam group, the logical beam index is an identifier of a single beam received by the UE from the BS (and may be represented by a port index; a port group index; a CSI-RS resource indicator; a combination of the port index, the port group index, and the CSI-RS resource indicator, etc.), and the parameter of B2 type of RSRP represents a value of an aggregated RSRP value measured for a plurality of Tx beams belonging to the single Rx beam group. In some embodiments, for example, the B2 type value of RSRP may be calculated as an average of a plurality of measured RSRP values, or as a sum of a plurality of measured RSRP values, or as a predetermined weighted function of a plurality of measured RSRP values. As shown in table 3, in addition to the B2 type parameter for RSRP, other information, such as other parameters about CSI, for example, may also be included in the beam reporting format. As further shown in table 3, each Rx beam group may correspond to a B2 type value for multiple Tx beams but only one RSRP, and the beam reporting format may include information on the multiple Rx beam groups. According to various embodiments, the beam report may include B2 type values of RSRP measured for some or all of all Rx beam groups, or any subset of such information based on desired criteria or application. The subscripts next to the Rx beam group ID and logical beam index are arbitrary and indicate that there may be multiple Rx beam group IDs and multiple logical beam indices in the RSRP report.

According to a further embodiment, table 4 shows another beam reporting format, wherein RSRP parameters of type C are determined for each of a plurality of Tx beams grouped as a corresponding UE antenna group. The multiple UE antenna groups may be further grouped into corresponding Rx beam group groups. In other words, RSRP may be determined for all Tx beams and organized for each UE antenna group and each Rx beam group, where an Rx beam group may include multiple UE antenna groups and a UE antenna group may include multiple Tx beams. Alternatively, in some embodiments, RSRP may be determined for all Tx beams and organized for each Rx beam group and each UE antenna group, where a UE antenna group may include multiple Rx beam groups and an Rx beam group may include multiple Tx beams. In other words, the hierarchy of UE antenna groups and Rx beam groups may be switched in table 4 to provide a new class of RSRP parameters (e.g., D-type of RSRP).

Table 4: beam reporting format for each reported Tx beam for each UE antenna group for each Rx beam group

The Rx beam group, UE antenna group, logical beam index representing each Tx beam is similar to the similarly named groups discussed above. However, as shown in table 4, the beam reporting format organizes the packets into a new hierarchy and generates the C-type parameter values for RSRP according to this hierarchy. As shown in table 3, in addition to the B2 type parameter for RSRP, other information, such as other parameters about CSI, for example, may also be included in the beam reporting format. As further shown in table 4, each Rx beam group may correspond to a plurality of UE antenna groups, and each UE antenna group may correspond to a plurality of Tx beams and a corresponding number of C-type parameter values of RSRP, and the beam reporting format may include information on the plurality of Rx beam group groups. According to various embodiments, the beam report may include C-type values of RSRP for some or all measurements of all Rx beam groups, or any subset of such information based on desired criteria or applications.

In some embodiments as described above, the parameters in each individual report (e.g., channel estimation report or RSRP report) may combine multiple individual parameter values (e.g., individual RSRPs) from multiple RSs (from multiple beams) to form a combined parameter value representing each of the multiple RSs (and/or each of the multiple beams). The combined RSRP value may be a combined parameter value. In other words, the RSRP value may be equal to the sum of the RSRPs of all the individual combined branches. The type B2 embodiment discussed above provides an example of combined parameter values, where each Rx beam group (which may include information about multiple Tx beams) may have a single parameter (e.g., a single combined parameter value) as compared to other embodiments where each Rx beam group may have multiple parameters. In particular embodiments, these combined parameter values may be a sum of RSRP values, a linear average of RSRP values, or a maximum of any single constituent RSRP value. Each of the RSRP values may be determined based on Resource Elements (REs) on which an RS (e.g., CSI-RS) is transmitted as part of a beam. In other words, each of the RSRP values may be determined from a single diversity branch. In some embodiments, the combined parameter values may be set so that they do not fall below the constituent RSRP values (e.g., the RSRP values from which the combined parameter values are determined).

Furthermore, the manner of robust beam reporting may determine how to determine channel estimation parameters (e.g., RSRP). In other words, the format or data structure of the channel estimation report (e.g., RSRP report) may indicate how to perform channel estimation, and vice versa. This may be due at least to the channel estimation report indicating the type of information (e.g., parameters) to be transmitted together (and thus indicating parameters that may be determined substantially together or before being transmitted together). For example, as described above, in a-type embodiments, RSRP values may be determined at reception and may be based on the receiving antennas of the UE (e.g., evaluated based on signals received at a UE antenna group). Furthermore, in embodiments of the B1 type, the RSRP values to be transmitted together (in an Rx beam or group of Rx beams) may be determined together and/or substantially simultaneously. Furthermore, in embodiments of the B2 type, the RSRP values of all beams to be transmitted together (in an Rx beam or group of Rx beams) may be determined together and/or substantially simultaneously.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, robust beam reporting may be performed with channel estimation (e.g., RSRP determination) based on BS port grouping. These RSRP determinations may be determined at the UE as indicated by the BS or selected by the UE. As will be discussed further below, the UE may select how it may determine RSRP based on selection criteria (e.g., available resources, such as which RSs are detected or the amount of computational resources available to the UE). Further, the BS may instruct the UE to determine RSRP on a per port packet basis (where the number of ports within one port packet is K, and K is a positive integer). For example, if K ═ 1, RSRP may be measured from one BS port. The instructions that the BS may provide to the UE may also be based on selection criteria (e.g., available resources such as which RSs are included in the beam for reception by the UE, or the amount of computational resources available to the UE). Relating RSRP to the broader concepts discussed above, the instructions that the BS may provide to the UE may indicate the type of channel estimation protocol.

In certain embodiments, the UE may determine RSRP based on the RS port packets. In other words, the UE may determine RSRP based on the BS port packets identified from the BS to the UE. These BS port groupings may also correspond to particular RSs. In some embodiments, ports that are part of a single port packet may transmit their RSs simultaneously. As described above, the UE may perform such a determination based on selection criteria, as indicated by the BS, or locally.

An example of the type of BS port packet for which the UE can determine RSRP is given below. As a first example, RSRP may be determined for each set of time division code division multiplexed (TD-CDM) ports and/or frequency domain code division multiplexed (FD-CDM) ports. These types of ports (which may be part of a port grouping) are shown in fig. 6, where fig. 6 shows a resource grid 602 with frequencies represented on the y-axis and plotted against time on the x-axis. As shown in fig. 7, R7 and R8 each represent a single port packet sharing FD-CDM properties transmitted at different time intervals (arbitrarily selected as the 7 th and 8 th time intervals). Furthermore, when the number of ports in a port packet is 1, RSRP may be based on one port.

As a second example, RSRP may be determined for each set of time division orthogonal cover code (TD-OCC) ports and/or frequency division orthogonal cover code (FD-OCC) ports. As a third example, as described above, RSRP may be determined for all ports within one component, which may be determined based on selection criteria. A component may be a set of time and frequency resources (e.g., resource elements) that remain contiguous in both the time and frequency domains. As a fourth example, RSRP may be determined for all ports within one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or sub-unit. As a fifth example, RSRP may be determined for K ports of one RS resource (e.g., CSI-RS resource, antenna port, RS pattern, portion of time and frequency associated with resource elements, etc.) in turn, where K is any number to be indicated from the BS to the UE. As a sixth example, RSRP may be determined for each RS resource or set of RS resources (e.g., a grouping of resources), such as a CSI-RS resource or set of CSI-RS resources. In some embodiments, each RS port grouping may be identified from an RS resource or a set of RS resources.

As a seventh example, RSRP may be determined for each group of ports sharing the same or similar channel properties. In other words, RSRP may be determined for each group of ports of a quasi co-located (QCL). QCL means that these port groups may share the same or similar channel properties. The channel attributes for determining whether QCL should be performed for two or more resources may include one or more of the following attributes: (1) doppler spread; (2) doppler frequency shift; (3) delay propagation; (4) an average delay; (5) average gain; and (6) spatial parameters. As used herein, "doppler spread" refers to frequency domain spread for one received multipath component, "doppler shift" refers to the frequency difference between one carrier component observed by the receiver and the carrier component transmitted by the transmitter according to the carrier frequency, "delay spread" refers to the time difference between the arrival instants of the first received multipath component (typically, line of sight (LOS) component) and the last received multipath component (typically, non-line of sight (NLOS) component), "average delay" refers to the weighted average of the delays of all multipath components multiplied by the power of each component, "average gain" refers to the average transmission power per antenna port or resource element, and "spatial parameter" refers to the spatial domain property of the multipath components observed by the receiver, such as angle of arrival (AoA), spatial correlation, and the like. Such information of channel properties may be predefined or configured through L-1 or higher level signaling. For example, it may be predefined that two channel properties are similar to each other when their respective parameter values are within 5% or 10% of each other. In some embodiments, QCL-enabled ports may share similar channel properties, while a broader concept of port grouping may include any set of ports that may or may not share similar channel properties (and may be arbitrarily clustered).

In certain embodiments, RSRP determinations may be made using more than one type of RS to produce a combined RSRP value. When more than one type of RS is used for RSRP determination, the final RSRP associated with the RS (e.g., the combined RSRP) may be based on weighted RSRP values from different RSs. For example, the individual RSRPs from different RSs may be weighted differently (e.g., prioritized), as indicated by the BS, predetermined, or based on selection criteria. For example, when determining a combined RSRP value (e.g., a combined parameter value), RSRP from demodulation reference signals (DMRS) of a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) may be provided more weight than RSRP from channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) and/or Synchronization Signals (SS), such as RSs.

In some embodiments, the two types of RSs may have the same time/frequency in some regions (e.g., subcarriers or Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs)) but have differences in other regions. In these embodiments, the RSs may be provided with weights for combined parameter value determination (e.g., combined RSRP values), which may be based on parameters (e.g., RSRPs) that are present (and/or have quality present) in certain regions (but not others). For example, in regions where two types of RSs may have the same time/frequency, a lower weight (e.g., 50%) may be applied to the combined parameter value determination. However, in other regions where the two types of RS may not have the same time/frequency and RSRP determination is made using only one RS, a higher weight (or all weights, e.g., 100%) may be applied.

In certain embodiments where multiple RSs are used for combined parameter value determination, the weight value of RSs with wider frequency bands may be greater than the weight value of RSs with narrower frequency bands. As an example, when CSI-RS and SS are used as RSs, CSI-RS applicable to the entire frequency band may be weighted to be more than 50%, while SS applicable to only a partial frequency band may be weighted to be less than 50%.

Furthermore, the combined parameter value determination may follow a predefined rule to distinguish between RSs used for parameter value determination, in case multiple RSs may be used for parameter value determination. For example, if CSI-RS is detected, the predefined rules may instruct the UE to determine RSRP during Radio Resource Management (RRM). However, if no CSI-RS is detected, the SS block may be used as an RS for RSRP determination.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the robust beam reporting may include providing Tx transmission properties (e.g., specification information) to the UE. In particular, the BS may transmit a port packet indicator including transmission attribute or specification information, wherein in response to receiving the port packet indicator, the BS may perform channel estimation (according to a particular channel estimation protocol) and return a channel estimation report (according to a particular channel estimation protocol) according to the port packet indicator. Thus, the port packet indicator may be an instruction to perform a particular channel estimation protocol.

The port packet indicator may indicate a predetermined packet of BS ports (e.g., a BS port packet) that the UE may reference in determining RSRP. For example, once indicated which BS port packets may be associated with which reference signals or beams, the UE may generate a report constructed in a manner to indicate a correspondence between RSRP values and the identified BS port packets.

In some embodiments, the port group indicator may be a CSI-RS resource indicator transmitted from the BS to the UE. These BS port packets may be symbolized by an index, expressed as SET-i, where "i" indicates the port packet number or index. In particular embodiments, the BS ports within each BS port packet number may be associated with a single panel antenna. Such a BS port packet number identifying the BS port packet may be communicated to the UE so that the UE may reference the BS port packet number in determining RSRP or formatting the channel estimation report.

In some embodiments, the port packet indicator may indicate a maximum number of BS ports (e.g., such as any number S) that can be simultaneously transmitted within any particular BS port packet (e.g., within any "SET-i")_i)。

In some embodiments, the port grouping indicator may indicate the total number of BS ports within a BS port group. For example, the port grouping indicator may indicate a total number of BS ports (e.g., as an arbitrary constant S) that can be grouped or QCL with other BS ports to form a BS port group (e.g., SET-i)_i)。

In some embodiments, the port packet indicator may indicate the maximum layer (e.g., independent data flow) that can be associated with a particular BS port packet. In other words, the port grouping indicator may indicate that the total number of layers does not exceed S_i(arbitrary constant value), the DMRS of a layer is QCL with any one of the port/port groups of the BS within a particular SET-i.

In some embodiments, the port packet indicator may indicate the maximum number of independent data streams (e.g., layers or ranks) that can be used in the data/control channel associated with any BS port packet. In other words, the port packet indicator may indicate that the maximum number of independent data streams for the data/control channel does not exceed S_i(arbitrary constant value), DMRS ports of data/control channels are (spatially) QCL with any BS port or BS port packet in a particular SET-i.

In addition to the port packet indicator providing information about the port packet at the BS port or BS, the port packet indicator may also provide information about how the UE generates reports for transmission to the BS. For example, in certain embodiments, for an RX beam group, the port packet indicator may indicate that the maximum number of Tx beams from a BS port packet (e.g., SET-i) within the same RX beam group may not exceed S_iOr S_iA (where a is a positive integer, such as 2, due to the capabilities of the BS-based TXRU). In a further embodiment, the port packet indicator may indicate that the maximum number of Tx beams from a SET-i in the same Rx beam group but within different UE antenna groups should not exceed S_i(arbitrarily constant value) or S_iA (where a is a positive integer, such as 2, due to the capabilities of the BS-based TXRU).

According to some example embodiments, the robust beam reporting may include the UE sending a channel estimation report indicating the number of independent data streams the UE may support (e.g., the UE's capabilities). This type of channel estimation report may be referred to as a capability report and transmitted as instructed by the BS, or may be transmitted independently of input from the BS, such as being a beacon that can be periodically transmitted.

For example, the UE may send a capability report to the BS detailing the number of independent data streams that may be associated with each Tx beam, Tx beam group, Rx beam, or Rx beam group. As a further example, the UE may generate and transmit a capability report for a maximum number of independent data streams (e.g., ranks or layers) that may be associated with a particular Tx beam, Tx beam set, port (at the BS or UE), Contention Resolution Identity (CRI), CRI + port (at the BS or UE), port grouping (at the BS or UE), Rx beam, or Rx beam group.

As another example, the capability report may indicate that there may be more than R of DMRS antenna ports for a portion of a particular BS port group (e.g., a BS port group of BS ports using a particular port i, port group i, or Rx beam group i for spatial QCL) that may not exist_i(e.g., 2) independent data streams (e.g., layers). As yet another example, the capability report may indicate a maximum number of independent data flows for a particular BS port or data/control channel of a BS port packet. In other words, the capability report may indicate a maximum number of independent data streams (e.g., a maximum rank or layer) of the data/control channel whose DMRS ports are (spatially) QCL as port packets.

According to a fifth exemplary embodiment, the robust beam reporting may provide a specific definition for RSRP, which may be referred to herein as a customized RSRP definition. These customized RSRP definitions may be associated with particular ports or groups of ports.

In certain embodiments, the customized RSRP definition may comprise a co-phase based customized RSRP definition. The in-phase based customized RSRP definition may be: RSRP is defined as the maximum of the linear average of the power contributions (in [ W ]) of the receiving resource elements carrying RSs within a certain measurement frequency bandwidth and being associated with antenna ports weighted by selective in-phase elements associated with the antenna ports, respectively, wherein the in-phase elements are from a predefined group. The predefined groups may be obtained from a discrete fourier transform DFT with oversampling.

In certain embodiments, the customized RSRP definition may include a maximum (or minimum) based customized RSRP definition. The maximum (or minimum) based customized RSRP definition may define RSRP as the maximum (or minimum) of a linear average of the power contributions (in [ W ]) of the received resource elements that carry RSs within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth and are associated with any of the measured antenna ports.

In certain embodiments, the customized RSRP definition may comprise a mean-based customized RSRP definition. The average-based customized RSRP definition may define RSRP as a linear average of the power contributions (in [ W ]) of the resource elements that carry RSs within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth and are associated with the measured antenna ports.

In certain embodiments, the customized RSRP definition may include a customized RSRP definition for a single port, which may be used for a single antenna port. The customized RSRP definition for a single port may define RSRP as the linear average of the power contributions (in [ W ]) of the resource elements that carry RSs within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, the robust beam report may include a partial bandwidth instruction. The partial bandwidth instruction may be transmitted from the BS to the UE, determined by the UE behavior, or predefined. The partial bandwidth instruction may instruct the UE to employ a channel estimation protocol that performs channel estimation by determining a parameter (e.g., RSRP) from the bandwidth of the entire RS or only a portion of the RS bandwidth (e.g., 1/T of the entire bandwidth of the RS, where the partial bandwidth instruction would provide an arbitrary constant "T").

For example, the partial bandwidth instruction may indicate that the UE is to use partial-band RSs for channel estimation (e.g., RSRP determination). In response, the UE may generate a channel estimation report to the BS indicating a band ID (identification of bandwidth) and an RSRP value for each partial band or a portion of the partial band (e.g., partial bandwidth). In other embodiments, the partial bandwidth instruction sent from the BS to the UE may instruct the UE to generate to the BS a channel estimation report for RSRP for the entire band, RSRP for the partial band, RSRP for the sub-band, best-W RSRP from the partial band, where W is a positive integer, or indicate the band with the largest RSRP value. The partial band may be a portion of the entire band. However, the set of all reported partial bands need not constitute (e.g., be equal or equivalent to) the entire band. The sub-band may be a portion of the entire frequency band. However, the set of all reported sub-bands should constitute (e.g., be equal or equivalent to) the entire band. Each resource grouping (e.g., beam group, antenna grouping, port, reference signal, diversity branch, and receive branch) may correspond to a different optimal fractional frequency band or frequency resource. The reported RSRPs for different sub-bands or partial bands may be grouped into different RSRP packets. The RSRP value for the entire band may be determined as a linear average over the sub-bands related to different resource groups. For example, the entire frequency band may be divided into multiple sub-bands, and the associated UE antenna groups for RSRP determination over the entire frequency band may be different in different sub-bands (e.g., selected with the goal of maximizing RSRP for the sub-bands). Thus, in some embodiments, the RSRP for the entire band may then be determined by a linear average over the RSRPs for any sub-band. In some embodiments, in RSRP reporting, the derivation rule for reported RSRP values of T RSRP values from a set of resource packets (where T is a positive integer) may be: configurable by the BS; or indicated (e.g., recommended) by the UE to the BS; or determined based on the reception method at the UE. The derivation rules may include at least one of the following rules: the reported RSRP value is no less than T RSRP values; (b) the reported RSRP value is the largest RSRP value of the E RSRP values; (c) the reported RSRP value is the smallest RSRP value of the E RSRP values; and (d) the reported RSRP value is an average RSRP value of the E RSRP values; wherein E RSRP values are selected from the T RSRP values, and E is equal to or less than (e.g., < ═ T). Further, the reception method (e.g., technique) at the UE may include at least one of the following reception techniques: (a) receiving by using a resource packet; (b) receiving by using a plurality of resource packets; (c) receiving diversity; (d) receive phase combining (e.g., combining the received signals according to phase); (e) receive amplitude combining (e.g., combining received signals according to amplitude); (f) receive filtering (e.g., filtering out certain received signals based on criteria); and (g) spatial multiplexing.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Similarly, the various figures may depict example architectures or configurations provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand the example features and functionality of the present invention. However, such persons will understand that the invention is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

It will also be understood that any reference herein to elements using a name such as "first," "second," etc., does not generally limit the number or order of those elements. Rather, these names may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, reference to first and second elements does not imply that only two elements are used or that the first element must be somehow before the second element.

In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols 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.

It will be further appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of design code or programs containing instructions (which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these technologies.

To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or as a combination of such technologies, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. According to various embodiments, a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc. may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. The terms "configured to" or "configured to" as used herein with respect to a particular operation or function, refer to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc. being physically constructed, programmed, and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented within or performed by an Integrated Circuit (IC) that may include: a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration, to perform the functions described herein.

If the functionality is implemented in software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can cause a computer program or code to be transferred from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. In addition, for purposes of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

Additionally, memory or other storage devices and communication components may be employed in embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments of the invention with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains may be used without detracting from the invention. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic elements or controllers. Thus, references to specific functional units are only to references to suitable means for providing the described functionality rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as set forth in the following claims.