阅读说明：本技术 用于确定无线装置的传送器和接收器配置的系统和方法 (System and method for determining transmitter and receiver configuration of a wireless device ) 是由 M.弗伦纳 S.格兰特 于 2018-03-23 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了确定用于无线装置的传送器和接收器配置的系统和方法。在一个示例性实施例中,由无线通信系统(100)中的无线装置(105、200、300a-b、500、605)执行的方法包括：使用基于第一准共置(QCL)假设(121)的第一传送器或接收器配置来传送或接收(403)第一类型的第一信号(113),所述第一QCL假设(121)将第一信号与无线装置接收到的第一参考信号(111)关联。另外,该方法包括：使用基于第二QCL假设(123)的第二传送器或接收器配置来传送或接收(407)第二类型的第二信号(117),所述第二QCL假设(123)将第二信号与无线装置接收到的第二参考信号(115)关联。(Systems and methods of determining transmitter and receiver configurations for a wireless device are provided. In one example embodiment, a method performed by a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) in a wireless communication system (100) comprises: a first signal (113) of a first type is transmitted or received (403) using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first quasi co-location (QCL) hypothesis (121), the first QCL hypothesis (121) associating the first signal with a first reference signal (111) received by the wireless device. In addition, the method comprises: transmitting or receiving (407) a second signal (117) of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis (123), the second QCL hypothesis (123) associating the second signal with a second reference signal (115) received by the wireless device.)

1. A method performed by a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) in a wireless communication system (100), comprising:

transmitting or receiving (407), by the wireless device, a first signal (113) of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first quasi co-location (QCL) hypothesis (121), the first QCL hypothesis (121) associating the first signal with a first reference signal (111) received by the wireless device; and

transmitting or receiving (411), by the wireless device, a second signal (117) of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis (123), the second QCL hypothesis (123) associating the second signal with a second reference signal (115) received by the wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first reference signal is a broadcast reference signal and the second reference signal is a User Equipment (UE) -specific configuration reference signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the broadcast reference signal is a reference signal in a Synchronization Signal (SS) block and the UE-specific reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the first signal is a common signal and the second signal is a User Equipment (UE) -specific signal.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the first and second signals are User Equipment (UE) specific signals.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the first reference signal is a reference signal in a preferred Synchronization Signal (SS) block and the first signal is a common search space or a group common search space of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

7. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the first reference signal is a reference signal in a preferred Synchronization Signal (SS) block and the first signal is a User Equipment (UE) -specific search space of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the second reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and the second signal is a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a User Equipment (UE) specific search space for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

9. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the second reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and the second signal is a User Equipment (UE) -specific search space of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

10. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the second reference signal is a Reference Signal (RS) in a preferred Synchronization Signal (SS) block, and the second signal is a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) signal or a beam failure recovery signal.

11. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the second reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and the second signal is a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) signal.

12. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the second reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and the second signal is a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

13. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the second reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and the second signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) signal.

14. The method according to any of claims 1-13, wherein the first receiver configuration corresponds to a beam direction for receiving the first reference signal.

15. The method according to any of claims 1-14, wherein the second transmitter or receiver configuration corresponds to a beam direction for receiving the second reference signal.

16. The method of any of claims 1-15, further comprising:

determining (405) the first transmitter or receiver configuration based on the first QCL hypothesis.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining the first transmitter or receiver configuration comprises: determining a transmit precoder or a receive beamforming weight based on a receive beamforming weight that enables the reception of the first reference signal to enable the transmission or reception of the first signal.

18. The method of any of claims 1-17, further comprising:

determining (409) the second transmitter or receiver configuration based on the second QCL hypothesis.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the determining the second transmitter or receiver configuration comprises: determining a transmit precoder or a receive beamforming weight based on a receive beamforming weight that enables the reception of the second reference signal to enable the transmission or reception of the second signal.

20. The method of any of claims 1-19, wherein said QCL hypothesis is a spatial QCL hypothesis.

21. The method of any of claims 1-20, further comprising:

receiving (401), by the wireless device, an indication of the first or second QCL hypothesis from a network node (101, 601, 800, 900).

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the receiving the indication is through at least one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, medium access control element (MAC-CE) signaling, and Downlink Control Information (DCI) signaling.

23. The method of any of claims 1-22, wherein the first or second QCL assumption is a spatial relationship between reference signal reception by a wireless device and some type of signal transmission by the wireless device, or a QCL reference between reference signal reception by a wireless device and some type of signal reception by the wireless device.

24. The method of any of claims 1-23, further comprising:

receiving (403), by the wireless device, the first and second reference signals.

25. The method of any of claims 1-24, wherein the wireless device is a User Equipment (UE).

26. A wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) configured to:

transmitting or receiving (407) a first signal (113) of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first quasi co-location (QCL) hypothesis (121), the first QCL hypothesis (121) associating the first signal with a first reference signal (111) received by the wireless device; and

transmitting or receiving (411) a second signal (117) of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis (123), the second QCL hypothesis (123) associating the second signal with a second reference signal (115) received by the wireless device.

27. The wireless device of claim 26, configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-25.

28. A wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), comprising:

at least one processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the wireless device is configured to:

transmitting or receiving (407) a first signal (113) of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first quasi co-location (QCL) hypothesis (121), the first QCL hypothesis (121) associating the first signal with a first reference signal (111) received by the wireless device; and

transmitting or receiving (411) a second signal (117) of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis (123), the second QCL hypothesis (123) associating the second signal with a second reference signal (115) received by the wireless device.

29. The wireless device of claim 28, configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-25.

30. A wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), comprising:

a transmit/receive module (311 b), the transmit/receive module (311 b) to:

transmitting or receiving (407) a first signal (113) of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first quasi co-location (QCL) hypothesis (121), the first QCL hypothesis (121) associating the first signal with a first reference signal (111) received by the wireless device; and

transmitting or receiving (411) a second signal (117) of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis (123), the second QCL hypothesis (123) associating the second signal with a second reference signal (115) received by the wireless device.

31. The wireless device of claim 30, further comprising one or more modules for performing the method of any of claims 2-25.

32. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (301 a) of a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), cause the at least one processor to carry out the method of any one of claims 1-25.

33. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 32, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

34. A method performed by a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) in a wireless communication system (100), comprising:

obtaining (703) one of a plurality of quasi co-located (QCL) hypotheses (121, 123), wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception (113, 115) by a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal (113, 117) by the wireless device; and

transmitting or receiving (705) a signal (113, 117) of a certain type using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis (121, 123), the QCL hypothesis (121, 123) associating the signal with a reference signal (111, 115) received by the wireless device.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the obtaining comprises:

receiving (701) an indication of one of the plurality of QCL hypotheses from a network node.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said indication comprises a subset of QCL parameters.

37. A wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) configured to:

obtaining (703) one of a plurality of quasi co-located (QCL) hypotheses (121, 123), wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception (113, 115) by a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal (113, 117) by the wireless device; and

transmitting or receiving (705) a signal (113, 117) of a certain type using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis, the QCL hypothesis associating the signal with a reference signal (111, 115) received by the wireless device.

38. The wireless device of claim 37, configured to perform the method of claims 35-37.

39. A wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), comprising:

at least one processor (301 a) and a memory (303 a), the memory comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the wireless device is configured to:

obtaining (703) one of a plurality of quasi co-located (QCL) hypotheses (121, 123), wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception (113, 115) by a wireless device with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device; and

transmitting or receiving (705) a signal (113, 117) of a certain type using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis, the QCL hypothesis associating the signal with a reference signal (111, 115) received by the wireless device.

40. The wireless device of claim 37, configured to perform the method of claim 35 or 36.

41. A wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), comprising:

a quasi co-located (QCL) hypothesis obtaining module (317 b) for obtaining (703) one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses (121, 123), wherein each hypothesis associates reception of a certain reference signal (111, 115) by a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal (113, 117) by the wireless device; and

a transmitting/receiving module (311 b) for transmitting or receiving (705) a signal (113, 117) of a type using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis, the QCL hypothesis associating the signal with a reference signal (111, 115) transmitted to the wireless device.

42. The wireless device of claim 41, configured to perform the method of claim 35 or 36.

43. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (301 a) of a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), cause the at least one processor to carry out the method of any one of claims 34-36.

44. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 43, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

45. A method performed by a network node (101, 601, 800, 900) in a wireless communication system (100), comprising:

obtaining (1003) one of a plurality of quasi co-location (QCL) hypotheses (121, 123) for a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), wherein each hypothesis associates receipt of a certain reference signal (111, 115) by the wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal (113, 117) by the wireless device; and

transmitting (1005) an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the obtaining comprises:

determining (1001) one of the plurality of QCL assumptions for the wireless device.

47. The method of any of claims 45-46, further comprising:

transmitting (1007), by the network node, a type of signal (113, 117) to or from the wireless device based on the obtained QCL hypothesis, associating the signal with a reference signal (111, 115) transmitted by the network node to the wireless device.

48. The method of any of claims 45-47, wherein the plurality of QCL hypotheses comprise at least one of a spatial relationship between reference signal reception by a wireless device and a type of signal transmission by the wireless device and QCL references between reference signal reception by a wireless device and a type of signal reception by the wireless device.

49. A network node (101, 601, 800, 900) configured to:

obtaining (1003) one of a plurality of quasi co-location (QCL) hypotheses (121, 123) for a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception (111, 115) by the wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal (113, 117) by the wireless device; and

transmitting (1005) an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

50. The network node of claim 49, configured to perform the method of any of claims 46-48.

51. A network node (101, 601, 800, 900) comprising:

at least one processor (810) and a memory (830), the memory comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the network node is configured to:

obtaining (1003) one of a plurality of quasi co-location (QCL) hypotheses (121, 123) for a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception (111, 115) by the wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal (113, 117) by the wireless device; and

transmitting (1005) an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

52. The network node of claim 51, configured to perform the method of any of claims 46-48.

53. A network node (101, 601, 800, 900) comprising:

a quasi co-located (QCL) hypothesis obtaining module (901) for obtaining (1003) one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses (121, 123) for a wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605), wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception (111, 115) by the wireless device (105, 200, 300a-b, 500, 605) with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal (113, 117) by the wireless device; and

a transmitting module (905) for transmitting (1005) an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

54. The network node of claim 53, further comprising one or more modules for performing the method of any of claims 46-48.

55. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (810) of a network node (101, 601, 800, 900), cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 45-48.

56. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 55, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of communications, and in particular to determining transmitter and receiver configurations for wireless devices.

Background

In fifth generation mobile networks or wireless systems (5G) or 5G new air interfaces (NR), spatial co-location (QCL) has been introduced as a new concept. Two reference signals transmitted from a transmitter (e.g., a base station) are said to be spatial QCLs at a receiver (e.g., a UE or a terminal) if the received spatial characteristics of the two received reference signals are the same or similar. The spatial characteristic may be one or more of: the main angle of arrival, the receive angle spread of the signal, the spatial correlation, or any other parameter or definition of the acquisition spatial characteristic. The two reference signals are sometimes equivalently denoted as being transmitted/received from/by two different antenna ports. If two transmit antenna ports of a gNB (e.g., base station) are spatially QCL at the UE, the UE may receive the first reference signal and the second reference signal using the same Receive (RX) beamforming weights.

The use of spatial QCLs is of particular importance when the UE uses analog beamforming, since the UE must know where to direct the analog beam before receiving the signal. Thus, for a 5G NR, it is possible to signal from the gNB to the UE: a certain previously transmitted channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource or CSI-RS antenna port is spatially QCL with Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission and demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission of PDSCH. With this information, the UE may use the same analog beam for PDSCH reception as it used in receiving the previous CSI-RS resources or antenna ports.

The spatial QCL framework may also be extended to be suitable for transmissions from UEs. In this case, the previous reception of the signal transmitted from the UE and the signal received by the UE is spatial QCL. If the UE makes this assumption for transmission, it means that the UE is transmitting back a signal in the same or similar analog Transmit (TX) beam as the RX beam previously used to receive the signal. Thus, a first Reference Signal (RS) transmitted from the gNB and a second RS transmitted back to the gNB from the UE are spatially QCL at the UE. This is useful if the gNB uses analog beamforming, since the gNB then knows from which direction the transmission from the UE is expected to be and can therefore adjust its beam direction just before actually receiving it.

In 5G NR, Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSs), Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) and possibly Tertiary Synchronization Signal (TSS) will be used in the Synchronization Signal (SS) block. An SS block will likely span four Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. Multiples of such SS blocks may be transmitted on different beams in different beamforming directions, and thus each SS block may benefit from the antenna gain of the corresponding beam. A disadvantage is that multiple SS blocks need to use multiples of four OFDM symbols to cover the entire gNB region with such beams. In addition, the narrower the beams, the better the coverage of each beam, but the greater the overhead from transmitting the SS block. Thus, there is a tradeoff between coverage and overhead. Furthermore, the SS block beam is wider than the data beam, which may be very narrow in order to provide very high antenna gain in order to maximize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the receiver.

Furthermore, existing air interface solutions do not provide robust communication between the UE and the gNB when utilizing narrow beamforming, such as in millimeter wave frequencies. It is even more evident that analog beamforming requires knowledge of where to direct the beam. Since the beam is very narrow (e.g., the beamwidth is reduced to a few degrees), failure to direct the narrow beam in the correct direction can result in a loss of connection and an interruption in data throughput. Also, when receiving a synchronization signal and a broadcast signal (e.g., a common search space Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)) or transmitting a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) or beam recovery signal while receiving and transmitting a dedicated signal (e.g., PDSCH, Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and UE-specific search space PDCCH) requiring a high gain or narrow beam, the UE may need to steer the beam in a robust manner. Furthermore, the UE may need to set the UE beam direction without dedicated beam indication signaling from the gNB to the UE. In NR systems, there is also a need to transmit both narrow beams, which may be used for transmission of unicast messages, and wide beams, which may be used for transmission of multicast or broadcast messages.

Thus, there is a need for improved techniques for determining transmitter and receiver configurations for wireless devices. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present disclosure will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the examples, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

The background section of this document is provided to place the embodiments of the disclosure in a technical and operational context to assist those skilled in the art in understanding their scope and use. Unless expressly stated as such, the statements herein are not to be construed as prior art, as they are solely included in the background section.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to those skilled in the art. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the embodiments or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The sole purpose of this summary is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Systems and methods of determining transmitter and receiver configurations for a wireless device are presented herein. According to one aspect, a method performed by a wireless device in a wireless communication system comprises: transmitting or receiving, by a wireless device, a first signal of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first QCL hypothesis, the first QCL hypothesis associating the first signal with a first reference signal received by the wireless device. In addition, the method comprises: transmitting or receiving, by the wireless device, a second signal of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis that associates the second signal with a second reference signal received by the wireless device.

According to another aspect, the first reference signal is a broadcast reference signal and the second reference signal is a UE-specific configuration reference signal.

According to another aspect, the broadcast reference signal is a reference signal in an SS block, and the UE-specific reference signal is a CSI-RS.

According to another aspect, the first signal is a common signal and the second signal is a UE-specific signal.

According to another aspect, the first and second signals are UE-specific signals.

According to another aspect, the first reference signal is a reference signal in a preferred SS block, and the first signal is a common search space or a group common search space of a PDCCH.

According to another aspect, the second reference signal is a CSI-RS and the second signal is a DMRS for a UE-specific search space of the PDCCH.

According to another aspect, the second reference signal is a CSI-RS and the second signal is a UE-specific search space of a PDCCH.

According to another aspect, the second reference signal is an RS in the preferred SS block, and the second signal is a PRACH signal or a beam failure recovery signal.

According to another aspect, the first reference signal is a reference signal in a preferred SS block, and the first signal is a UE-specific search space of a PDCCH.

According to another aspect, the second reference signal is a CSI-RS and the second signal is a PUSCH signal.

According to another aspect, the second reference signal is a CSI-RS and the second signal is a PDSCH signal.

According to another aspect, the second reference signal is a CSI-RS and the second signal is a PUCCH signal.

According to another aspect, the first receiver configuration corresponds to a beam direction for receiving the first reference signal.

According to another aspect, the second transmitter or receiver configuration corresponds to a beam direction for receiving the second reference signal.

According to another aspect, the method includes determining a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on the first QCL hypothesis.

According to another aspect, the step of determining the first transmitter or receiver configuration comprises: determining a transmission precoder or a reception beamforming weight to enable transmission or reception of the first signal based on the reception beamforming weight enabling reception of the first reference signal.

According to another aspect, the method includes determining a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on the second QCL hypothesis.

According to another aspect, the step of determining the second transmitter or receiver configuration comprises: determining a transmission precoder or a reception beamforming weight to enable transmission or reception of the second signal based on the reception beamforming weight enabling reception of the second reference signal.

According to another aspect, the QCL hypothesis is a spatial QCL hypothesis.

According to another aspect, the method comprises: receiving, by the wireless device, an indication of the first or second QCL hypothesis from the network node.

According to another aspect, the step of receiving the indication is through at least one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, medium access control element (MAC-CE) signaling, and Downlink Control Information (DCI) signaling.

According to another aspect, the first or second QCL assumption is a spatial relationship between reference signal reception by the wireless device and some type of signal transmission by the wireless device, or a QCL reference between reference signal reception by the wireless device and some type of signal reception by the wireless device.

According to another aspect, the method includes receiving, by a wireless device, first and second reference signals.

According to another aspect, the wireless device is a UE.

According to one aspect, a wireless device is configured to transmit or receive a first signal of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first QCL hypothesis that associates the first signal with a first reference signal received by the wireless device. Additionally, the wireless device is configured to transmit or receive a second signal of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis that associates the second signal with a second reference signal received by the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a wireless device includes at least one processor and memory. The memory includes instructions executable by the at least one processor whereby the wireless device is configured to transmit or receive a first signal of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first QCL hypothesis that associates the first signal with a first reference signal received by the wireless device. Additionally, the wireless device is configured to transmit or receive a second signal of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis that associates the second signal with a second reference signal received by the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a wireless device includes a transmit/receive module for transmitting or receiving a first signal of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on a first QCL hypothesis that associates the first signal with a first reference signal received by the wireless device. Additionally, the transmit/receive module is configured to transmit or receive a second signal of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis that associates the second signal with a second reference signal received by the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a method performed by a wireless device in a wireless communication system comprises: one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses is obtained, wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by a wireless device with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. In addition, the method includes transmitting or receiving a type of signal using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis, the received QCL hypothesis associating the signal with a reference signal received by the wireless device.

According to another aspect, the obtaining step comprises receiving an indication of one of the plurality of QCL hypotheses from the network node.

According to another aspect, the indication includes a subset of QCL parameters. In one example, the set of QCL parameters includes average gain, average delay, delay spread, doppler shift, and spatial parameters.

According to one aspect, a wireless device is configured to obtain one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses, wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by the wireless device with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. In addition, the wireless device is configured to transmit or receive a certain type of signal using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis, which associates the signal with the reference signal received by the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a wireless device includes at least one processor and memory. Additionally, the memory includes instructions executable by the at least one processor whereby the wireless device is configured to obtain one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses, wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by the wireless device with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. Further, the wireless device is configured to transmit or receive a certain type of signal using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis, which associates the signal with a reference signal received by the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a wireless device includes a QCL hypothesis obtaining module for obtaining one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses. In addition, each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by a wireless device with the transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. Further, the wireless device includes a transmit/receive module for transmitting or receiving a type of signal using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypothesis, the received QCL hypothesis associating the signal with a reference signal transmitted to the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of a wireless device, cause the at least one processor to carry out any of the methods described herein. Additionally, a carrier containing the computer program, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

According to one aspect, a method performed by a network node in a wireless communication system comprises: one of a plurality of QCL assumptions is obtained for the wireless device. Furthermore, each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by a wireless device with the transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

According to another aspect, the obtaining step includes determining one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses for the wireless device.

According to another aspect, the method includes transmitting or receiving a type of signal to or from the wireless device based on the obtained QCL hypothesis, the obtained QCL hypothesis associating the signal with a reference signal transmitted by the network node to the wireless device.

According to another aspect, the plurality of QCL hypotheses include at least one of a spatial relationship between reference signal reception by the wireless device and a type of signal transmission by the wireless device and a QCL reference between reference signal reception by the wireless device and a type of signal reception by the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a network node is configured to obtain one of a plurality of quasi co-location (QCL) hypotheses for a wireless device, wherein each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by the wireless device with transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. Further, the network node is configured to transmit an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a network node includes at least one processor and a memory. Further, the memory includes instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the network node is configured to obtain one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses for the wireless device. In addition, each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by a wireless device with the transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. Further, the network node is configured to transmit an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a network node comprises a QCL hypothesis obtaining module for obtaining one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses for a wireless device. Each hypothesis associates a certain reference signal reception by a wireless device with the transmission or reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. Further, the network node comprises a transmitting module for transmitting an indication of the obtained QCL hypothesis to the wireless device.

According to one aspect, a computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of a network node, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods described herein. Additionally, a carrier may contain the computer program, where the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

Drawings

The present disclosure now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the disclosure are shown. However, the present disclosure should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Fig. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system for determining a transmitter and receiver configuration of a wireless device in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a wireless device in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 3A-B illustrate other embodiments of wireless devices in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a method for determining a transmitter and receiver configuration of a wireless device in a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a wireless device in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 6 illustrates another embodiment of a method for determining a transmitter and receiver configuration of a wireless device in a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 7 illustrates another embodiment of a method for determining a transmitter and receiver configuration of a wireless device in a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a network node 800 as implemented in accordance with various embodiments described herein.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of a network node in a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments described herein.

Fig. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a method performed by a network node for selecting a cell for transmitting control information according to various embodiments described herein.

Detailed Description

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is described by referring mainly to exemplary embodiments thereof. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without limitation to these specific details. In this description, well-known methods and structures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present disclosure.

The present disclosure includes descriptions of systems and methods for determining transmitter and receiver configurations for a wireless device. For example, fig. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system 100 for determining a transmitter and receiver configuration of a wireless device in accordance with various aspects described herein. In fig. 1, system 100 may include a network node 101 (e.g., a base station such as a gNB) and a wireless device 105 (e.g., a UE). Network node 101 may include one or more antenna ports 103 (e.g., antenna arrays, transmission/reception points (TRPs), etc.) that may transmit a first reference signal 111 (e.g., a broadcast reference signal such as an SS block). The wireless device 105 may receive the first reference signal 111 using some receiver configuration (e.g., receive beamforming weights, receive spatial filtering weights, etc.). In addition, network node 101 may transmit or receive a first signal 113 of a first type (e.g., a common signal, such as a common search space or group common search space of a PDCCH). The wireless device 105 (e.g., UE) may transmit or receive the first signal 113 of the first type using a first transmitter configuration (e.g., transmit beamforming weights) or a first receiver configuration (e.g., receive beamforming weights) based on the first QCL hypothesis 121, the first QCL hypothesis 121 associating the first signal 113 with the first reference signal 111 received by the wireless device 105. The transmit beamforming weights may also be referred to as transmit precoders, transmit spatial filtering weights, and the like. In addition, the receive beamforming weights may also be referred to as receive spatial filtering weights.

Still further, the wireless device 105 may determine a first receiver configuration based on the first QCL hypothesis 121. QCLs may also be referred to as spatial QCLs, reciprocal QCLs, and the like. In addition, QCL may be associated with transmission or reception of a signal in the same beam direction as transmission or reception of another signal. For example, the QCL assumption may be the spatial relationship between the reception of reference signals (e.g., SS blocks, CSI-RS, etc.) by a wireless device and the transmission of certain types of signals (e.g., PDSCH, common or UE-specific PDCCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc.) by the wireless device. In another example, the QCL assumption may be a QCL reference between reception of a reference signal by the wireless device and reception of a certain type of signal by the wireless device. In one example, the first reference signal is an SS block and the first signal is a UE-specific PDCCH, wherein the second reference signal is a CSI-RS and the second signal is a PUCCH. In another example, the first reference signal is an SS block and the first signal is a UE-specific PDCCH, wherein the second reference signal is a CSI-RS and the second signal is a PUSCH. The first receiver configuration may correspond to the same beam direction used for receiving the first reference signal 111. The wireless device 105 may determine a first receiver configuration to enable reception of the first signal 113 in the same beam direction as used for reception of the first reference signal 111. For example, the wireless device 105 may determine receive beamforming weights to enable reception of the first signal 113 based on the receive beamforming weights enabling reception of the first reference signal 111.

In this embodiment, the network node 101 may transmit a second reference signal 115 (e.g., a UE-specific configuration reference signal). The UE-specific configuration reference signal may be a CSI-RS, an RS in a preferred SS block, or the like. The wireless device 105 may receive the second reference signal 115 using a certain receiver configuration (e.g., receiver beamforming weights). In addition, network node 101 may transmit a second signal 117 of a second type (e.g., a UE-specific signal). The UE-specific signal may be a DMRS for a UE-specific search space of the PDCCH, a PRACH signal or a beam failure recovery signal, a PUSCH signal, a PDSCH, or the like. The wireless device 105 (e.g., UE) may receive the second signal 117 of the second type using a second receiver configuration (e.g., receiver beamforming weights) based on the second QCL hypothesis 123, associating the second signal 117 with the second reference signal 115 received by the wireless device 105. The wireless device 105 may determine a second receiver configuration based on the second QCL hypothesis 123. The second receiver configuration may correspond to the same beam direction used to receive the second reference signal 115. The wireless device 105 may determine a second receiver configuration to enable receiving the second signal 117 in the same beam direction as used for receiving the second reference signal 115. For example, the wireless device 105 may determine receive beamforming weights to enable reception of the second signal 117 based on the receive beamforming weights enabling reception of the second reference signal 115.

In another embodiment, network node 101 may obtain or determine one of the plurality of QCL hypotheses 121, 123 for wireless device 105. Each QCL hypothesis 121, 123 associates a certain reference signal reception 111, 115 by the wireless device 105 with the transmission or reception of a certain type of signal 113, 117 by the wireless device 105. In addition, the network node 101 transmits an indication of the determined QCL hypotheses 121, 123 to the wireless device 105. The wireless device 105 receives the indication and then transmits or receives a certain type of signal 113, 117 using a transmitter or receiver configuration based on the received QCL hypotheses 121, 123, the received QCL hypotheses 121, 123 associating the signal 113, 117 with the reference signals 111, 115 received by the wireless device 105.

Additionally or alternatively, network node 101 may be configured to support a wireless communication system (e.g., NR, LTE-NR, UMTS, GSM, etc.). In addition, network node 101 may be a base station (e.g., eNB, gNB), access point, wireless router, or the like. Network node 101 may serve wireless devices, such as wireless device 105. The wireless device 105 may be configured to support a wireless communication system (e.g., NR, LTE-NR, UMTS, GSM, etc.). Wireless device 105 may be a UE, a Mobile Station (MS), a terminal, a cellular telephone, a cellular handset, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a wireless telephone, an organizer (organizer), a handheld computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a set-top box, a television, an appliance, a gaming device, a medical device, a display device, a metering device, and so forth.

Fig. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a wireless device 200 in accordance with various aspects described herein. In fig. 2, the wireless device 200 may include a receiver circuit 201, a receiver configuration determination circuit 203, a transmitter circuit 205, a transmitter configuration determination circuit 207, a QCL hypothesis obtainer circuit 209, and the like, or any combination thereof. The receiver configuration determination circuit 203 may be configured to determine the first receiver configuration based on a first QCL hypothesis that associates a first signal of a first type with a first reference signal received by the wireless device. The receiver circuit 201 may be configured to receive a first signal of a first type using a first receiver configuration based on the first QCL assumption. The receiver configuration determination circuit 203 may be further configured to determine a second receiver configuration based on a second QCL assumption associating a second signal of a second type with a second reference signal received by the wireless device 200. The receiver circuit 201 may also be configured to receive a second signal of a second type using a second receiver configuration based on the second QCL assumption. Further, the transmitter configuration determination circuit 207 may be configured to determine a second transmitter configuration based on the second QCL assumption. The transmitter circuit 205 may be configured to transmit a first signal of a first type using a first transmitter configuration based on the first QCL assumption. The transmitter circuit 205 may also be configured to transmit a second signal of a second type using a second transmitter configuration based on the second QCL assumption. The QCL hypothesis obtainer circuit 209 may be configured to obtain one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses. The receiving circuit 201 may also be configured to receive an indication of one of the plurality of QCL hypotheses.

Fig. 3A-B illustrate other embodiments of wireless devices 300a-B in accordance with various aspects described herein. In fig. 3A, a wireless apparatus 300a (e.g., a UE) may include processing circuit(s) 301a, Radio Frequency (RF) communication circuit(s) 305a, antenna(s) 307a, or the like, or any combination thereof. The communication circuit(s) 305a may be configured to transmit information to or receive information from one or more network nodes via any communication technology. This communication may be conducted using one or more antennas 307a internal or external to the wireless device 300 a. The processing circuit(s) 301a may be configured to perform the processes described herein (e.g., the methods of fig. 4, 6, and 7), such as by executing program instructions stored in the memory 303 a. In this regard, the processing circuit(s) 301a may implement certain functional components, units or modules.

In fig. 3B, the wireless device 300B may implement various functional components, units, or modules (e.g., via the processing circuit(s) 301a in fig. 3A or via software code). These functional means, units or modules (e.g., for implementing the methods of fig. 4, 6 and 7) may include a transmitting/receiving unit or module 311b for transmitting/receiving a certain type of signal using a transmitter/receiver configuration based on a first QCL hypothesis that associates the signal with a reference signal received by the wireless device. In addition, these functional means, units or modules may comprise a receiver configuration determining unit or module 313b for determining a receiver configuration based on the QCL hypothesis. Further, these functional means, units or modules may comprise a transmitter configuration determining unit or module 315b for determining the transmitter configuration based on the QCL assumption. Finally, these functional means, units or modules may include a QCL hypothesis obtaining module 317b for obtaining one of a plurality of QCL hypotheses.

Fig. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a method 400 for determining a transmitter and receiver configuration of a wireless device in a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects described herein. The wireless device performing this method 400 may correspond to any of the wireless devices 105, 200, 300a, 300b, 500, 605 described herein. In fig. 4, the method 400 may begin, for example, at block 401, where it may include receiving an indication of a first or second QCL hypothesis from a network node. Additionally, as noted at block 403, the method 400 may include receiving first and second reference signals. At block 405, the method 400 may include determining a first receiver configuration based on a first QCL hypothesis that associates a first signal of a first type with a first reference signal received by a wireless device. At block 407, the method 400 includes transmitting or receiving a first signal of a first type using a first transmitter or receiver configuration based on the first QCL hypothesis. At block 409, the method 400 may include determining a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL hypothesis that associates a second signal of a second type with a second reference signal received by the wireless device. At block 411, the method 400 includes transmitting or receiving a second signal of a second type using a second transmitter or receiver configuration based on a second QCL assumption.

Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a wireless device in accordance with various aspects described herein. In some examples, wireless device 500 may be referred to as a UE, an MS, a terminal, a cellular phone, a cellular handset, a PDA, a smartphone, a wireless phone, an organizer (organizer), a handheld computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a set-top box, a television, an appliance, a gaming device, a medical device, a display device, a metering device, or some other similar terminology. In other examples, wireless device 500 may be a collection of hardware components. In fig. 5, wireless device 500 may be configured to include a processor 501, processor 501 operatively coupled to an input/output interface 505, a Radio Frequency (RF) interface 509, a network connection interface 511, a memory 515 including Random Access Memory (RAM) 517, Read Only Memory (ROM) 519, storage medium 531, or the like, a communication subsystem 551, a power supply 533, another component, or any combination thereof. Storage media 531 can include operating system 533, application programs 535, data 537, and the like. A particular device may utilize all of the components shown in fig. 5, or only a subset of the components, and the level of integration may vary from device to device. In addition, a particular apparatus may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, and so forth. For example, a computing device may be configured to include a processor and a memory.

In fig. 5, processor 501 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. The processor 501 may be configured as any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic along with appropriate firmware; one or more stored programs, a general purpose processor such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP) together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processor 501 may include two computer processors. In one definition, data is information in a form suitable for use by a computer. It is important to note that those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the subject matter of the present disclosure can be implemented with various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

In the current embodiment, the input/output interface 505 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or both. The wireless device 500 may be configured to use output devices via the input/output interface 505. One of ordinary skill will recognize that the output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to wireless device 500 and to provide output from wireless device 500. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The wireless device 500 may be configured to use an input device via the input/output interface 505 to allow a user to capture information into the wireless device 500. Input devices may include a mouse, a trackball, directional keys (directional pads), a trackpad, a presence-sensitive input device, a display such as a presence-sensitive display, a scroll wheel, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, a microphone, a sensor, a smart card, and so forth. Presence-sensitive input devices may include digital cameras, digital video cameras, web cameras, microphones, sensors, etc. to sense input from a user. A presence-sensitive input device may be combined with a display to form a presence-sensitive display. Additionally, a presence-sensitive input device may be coupled to the processor. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input devices may be accelerometers, magnetometers, digital cameras, microphones and optical sensors.

In fig. 5, RF interface 509 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers, and antennas. The network connection interface 511 may be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 543 a. Network 543a may include wired and wireless communication networks such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 543a may be a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 511 may be configured to include receiver and transmitter interfaces for communicating with one or more other nodes over a communications network according to one or more communications protocols known or developed in the art, such as ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, etc. The network connection interface 511 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate for a communication network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In this embodiment, the RAM 517 may be configured to interface with the processor 501 via the bus 503 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during execution of software programs, such as operating systems, application programs, and device drivers. In one example, wireless device 500 may include at least one hundred twenty-eight megabytes (128 megabytes) of RAM. ROM 519 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processor 501. For example, ROM 519 may be configured as invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions stored in non-volatile memory, such as basic input and output (I/O), initiating or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard. The storage medium 531 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge (cartridge), a flash drive. In one example, the storage medium 531 can be configured to include an operating system 533, an application program 535, such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, or another application, and a data file 537.

In fig. 5, the processor 501 may be configured to communicate with the network 543b using a communication subsystem 551. The networks 543a and 543b may be the same network or networks or different networks or networks. The communication subsystem 551 may be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 543 b. The one or more transceivers may be used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another wireless device, such as a base station of a Radio Access Network (RAN), according to one or more communication protocols known or that may be developed in the art, such as IEEE 802.xx, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, NR, NB IoT, UTRAN, WiMax, etc.

In another example, the communication subsystem 551 may be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another wireless device, such as user equipment, in accordance with one or more communication protocols known or that may be developed in the art, such as IEEE 802.xx, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, NR, NB IoT, UTRAN, WiMax, and the like. Each transceiver may include a transmitter 553 or a receiver 555 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.) appropriate for the RAN link, respectively. In addition, the transmitter 553 and receiver 555 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the present embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 551 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short range communication such as bluetooth, near field communication, location-based communication such as using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 551 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network 543b may include wired and wireless communication networks such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 543b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and a near field network. Power supply 513 may be configured to provide Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC) power to the components of wireless device 500.

In fig. 5, the storage medium 531 may be configured to include a plurality of physical drive units, such as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical disk drive, an internal hard disk drive, a blu-ray disk drive, a Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disk drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module), other memory, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 531 may allow the wireless device 500 to access computer-executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on a transitory or non-transitory memory medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 531, and the storage medium 531 may include a computer-readable medium.

The functionality of the methods described herein may be implemented in one of the components of wireless device 500 or divided across multiple components of wireless device 500. Additionally, the functionality of the methods described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 551 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Additionally, the processor 501 may be configured to communicate with any such components over the bus 503. In another example, any such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that, when executed by the processor 501, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any such components may be divided between the processor 501 and the communication subsystem 551. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any one of the respective processes described above. In this regard, a computer program may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or elements described above.