阅读说明：本技术 无线通信中的波束更新技术 (Beam update techniques in wireless communications ) 是由 K·文努戈帕尔 白天阳 J·H·刘 骆涛 周彦 于 2020-03-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：描述了用于无线通信的方法、系统和设备,其在发送设备与接收设备之间的波束成形通信中提供高效的波束更新。发送设备和接收设备可以使用一个或多个波束成形传输波束来建立连接。设备可以周期性地执行波束细化过程或波束训练过程,以及可以基于这样的过程来更新用于通信的传输波束。可以发送用于指示经更新的传输波束的信令,该信令指示以下各项中的一项或多项：与先前的波束成形参数的差异或差量、在接收设备处用于来自发送设备的参考信号的一个或多个测量的波束、或其任何组合。(Methods, systems, and devices are described for wireless communication that provide efficient beam updating in beamforming communication between a transmitting device and a receiving device. The transmitting device and the receiving device may establish a connection using one or more beamformed transmission beams. The device may periodically perform a beam refinement procedure or a beam training procedure, and may update the transmission beam used for communication based on such procedure. Signaling to indicate the updated transmission beam may be transmitted, the signaling indicating one or more of: differences or differences from previous beamforming parameters, beams used at the receiving device for one or more measurements of reference signals from the transmitting device, or any combination thereof.)

1. A method for wireless communication at a User Equipment (UE), comprising:

determining one or more channel state information parameters based at least in part on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based at least in part on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters;

formatting a channel state information report including the one or more channel state information parameters; and

transmitting the channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of beamforming parameters corresponds to quasi co-location (QCL) assumptions associated with the reference signals, and the third set of beamforming parameters is determined based at least in part on a receive beam refinement procedure at the UE.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate one or more of: a receive beam for receiving the reference signal, a codebook hypothesis for determining the one or more channel state information parameters, an indication of a difference between the second set of beamforming parameters and the third set of beamforming parameters, or any combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receive configuration information from the base station, the configuration information configuring the UE to transmit the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters provides quasi-co-location (QCL) parameters including one or more of QCL type A parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the indication of the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate a difference in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters relative to the second set of beamforming parameters.

7. A method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:

transmitting a reference signal to a User Equipment (UE) using a first set of beamforming parameters;

receiving, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report;

determining a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based at least in part on the channel state information report and the indication; and

sending, to the UE, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second set of beamforming parameters correspond to quasi-co-location (QCL) hypotheses associated with the reference signals for the UE, and the third set of beamforming parameters include one or more parameters determined based at least in part on a receive beam refinement procedure at the UE.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate one or more of: a receive beam used at the UE to receive the reference signal, a codebook hypothesis used at the UE to determine the one or more channel state information parameters, an indication of a difference between the second set of beamforming parameters and the third set of beamforming parameters, or any combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

configuring the UE via radio resource control signaling to transmit the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters provides quasi-co-location (QCL) parameters including one or more of QCL type A parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication of the refined first set of beamforming parameters further indicates a difference in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters relative to the first set of beamforming parameters.

13. A method for wireless communication at a transmitting device, comprising:

transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device;

determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the receiving device based at least in part on a beam refinement process at the transmitting device; and

transmitting, to the receiving device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

exchanging configuration information with the receiving device, the configuration information comprising one or more configured difference values, and wherein the indication of the difference provides an indication of the one or more configured difference values.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the sending the indication of the difference comprises:

transmitting, to the receiving device, control information associated with the data communication, the control information comprising the indication of the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmitting device is a base station and the control information comprises downlink control information transmitted to a user equipment.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmitting device is a user equipment and the control information comprises uplink control information transmitted to a base station.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the control information comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) indicating the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the first set of beamforming parameters are quasi co-location parameters, and wherein the differences between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters comprise differences in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the quasi-co-located (QCL) parameters comprise one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the difference of one or more quasi-co-location parameters comprises an explicit difference value or an implicit indication of difference based on one or more preconfigured differences of the one or more quasi-co-location parameters.

22. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, from the receiving device, a channel state information report and an indication of a quasi co-location hypothesis for determining one or more channel state information parameters of the channel state information report, and wherein the refined set of beamforming parameters is based at least in part on the channel state information report and the indication of the quasi co-location hypothesis.

23. A method for wireless communication at a receiving device, comprising:

identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based at least in part on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and the receiving device;

receiving, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device; and

receiving the data communication from the transmitting device based at least in part on a difference between the indicated first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

exchanging configuration information with the transmitting device, the configuration information comprising one or more configured difference values, and wherein the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters is an indication of the one or more configured difference values.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the receiving the indication of the difference comprises:

receiving control information associated with the data communication to the receiving device, the control information comprising the indication of the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the receiving device is a user equipment and the control information comprises downlink control information transmitted to the user equipment.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the receiving device is a base station and the control information comprises uplink control information transmitted from a user equipment to the base station.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the control information comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) indicating the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the first set of beamforming parameters are quasi co-location parameters, and wherein the differences between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters comprise differences in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the difference of one or more quasi-co-location parameters comprises an explicit difference value or an implicit indication of difference based on one or more preconfigured differences of the one or more quasi-co-location parameters.

Technical Field

The following generally relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to beam update techniques in wireless communications.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-advanced (LTE-a) systems, or LTE-a Pro systems) and fifth generation (5G) systems (which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems). These systems may employ techniques such as: code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include multiple base stations or network access nodes, each supporting communication for multiple communication devices (which may otherwise be referred to as User Equipment (UE)) simultaneously.

In some examples of wireless communication systems, a base station and a UE may communicate via highly directional waves (e.g., beams). For example, a base station may send downlink transmissions via one or more downlink beams, and a UE may receive one or more downlink transmissions via one or more receive beams. In some cases, a UE may be configured with one or more Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status configurations. Different TCI states, distinguished by different values of TCI, may correspond to quasi co-located (QCL) relationships with different reference signal transmissions. In some cases, the UE may measure the reference signals using the receive beamforming parameters based on the TCI status indicated for reference signal transmission from the base station. In some cases, one or more different beamforming parameters may be identified (e.g., due to performing a beam refinement process), which may provide enhanced performance of the beamforming parameters relative to the reference signal. Efficient techniques for providing an indication of such refined beamforming parameters may help to enhance network performance and reliability.

Disclosure of Invention

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatus that support beam update techniques in wireless communications. According to various aspects of the disclosure, a transmitting device (e.g., a base station or User Equipment (UE)) may indicate an update to a beam used for communication between the transmitting device and a receiving device (e.g., a UE or base station). The receiving device may use the indicated updates to modify one or more receive parameters (e.g., antenna weights at a receive antenna array, antenna gains, etc.) to enhance reception of communications from the transmitting device.

In some cases, a first set of beamforming parameters for communication between a transmitting device and a receiving device may be determined based on a beam training procedure. The transmitting device, the receiving device, or both may perform a beam refinement process in which one or more beamforming parameters may be refined according to the first set of beamforming parameters. For example, the base station may transmit reference signals based on first beamforming parameters, and may determine a second set of beamforming parameters to use for data transmission (e.g., based on a beam refinement process using one or more reference signals transmitted by the UE). In some cases, the base station may transmit an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the second set of beamforming parameters. The UE may use the indication of the difference to adjust one or more reception parameters used to receive the data transmission and thereby increase the likelihood of successfully receiving the data transmission. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may transmit a measurement report and an indication of beamforming parameters for measuring a receive beam associated with the measurement report.

A method of wireless communication at a transmitting device is described. The method may include: transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device; determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the receiving device based on a beam refinement process at the transmitting device; and transmitting an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a transmitting device is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device; determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the receiving device based on a beam refinement process at the transmitting device; and transmitting an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a transmitting device is described. The apparatus may include means for: transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device; determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the receiving device based on a beam refinement process at the transmitting device; and transmitting an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a transmitting device is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device; determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the receiving device based on a beam refinement process at the transmitting device; and transmitting an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions to: exchanging configuration information with the receiving device, the configuration information comprising one or more configured difference values, and wherein the indication of the difference provides an indication of the one or more configured difference values. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the configuration information may be exchanged via radio resource control signaling. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the sending the indication of the difference may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: transmitting, to the receiving device, control information associated with the data communication, the control information comprising the indication of the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the transmitting device may be a base station and the control information comprises downlink control information transmitted to the user equipment. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the transmitting device may be a user equipment and the control information includes uplink control information transmitted to a base station. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the control information includes a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) indicating the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first set of beamforming parameters may be quasi co-location parameters, and wherein the differences between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters include differences in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the quasi-co-location (QCL) parameters include one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the discrepancy in one or more quasi co-location parameters comprises an explicit discrepancy value or an implicit indication of discrepancy based on one or more preconfigured discrepancies for the one or more quasi co-location parameters.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions to: receiving, from the receiving device, a channel state information report and an indication of a quasi co-location hypothesis for determining one or more channel state information parameters of the channel state information report, and wherein the refined set of beamforming parameters is based on the channel state information report and the indication of the quasi co-location hypothesis. Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions to: sending the data communication to the receiving device using the refined set of beamforming parameters.

A method of wireless communication at a receiving device is described. The method may include: identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and the receiving device; receiving, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device; and receiving the data communication from the transmitting device based on the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a receiving device is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and the receiving device; receiving, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device; and receiving the data communication from the transmitting device based on the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a receiving device is described. The apparatus may include means for: identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and the receiving device; receiving, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device; and receiving the data communication from the transmitting device based on the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a receiving device is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and the receiving device; receiving, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device; and receiving the data communication from the transmitting device based on the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions to: exchanging configuration information with the transmitting device, the configuration information comprising one or more configured difference values, and wherein the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters may be an indication of the one or more configured difference values. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the configuration information may be exchanged via radio resource control signaling. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the receiving the indication of the difference may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: receiving control information associated with the data communication to the receiving device, the control information comprising the indication of the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the receiving device may be a user equipment and the control information includes downlink control information sent to the user equipment. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the receiving device may be a base station and the control information comprises uplink control information transmitted from a user equipment. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the control information includes a MAC-CE indicating the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first set of beamforming parameters may be quasi co-location parameters, and wherein the differences between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters include differences in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the quasi-co-location (QCL) parameters include one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the discrepancy in one or more quasi co-location parameters comprises an explicit discrepancy value or an implicit indication of discrepancy based on one or more preconfigured discrepancies for the one or more quasi co-location parameters. Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions to: receiving the data communication from the transmitting device using the refined set of beamforming parameters.

A method of wireless communication at a UE is described. The method may include: determining one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters; formatting a channel state information report including the one or more channel state information parameters; and transmitting the channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: determining one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters; formatting a channel state information report including the one or more channel state information parameters; and transmitting the channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include means for: determining one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters; formatting a channel state information report including the one or more channel state information parameters; and transmitting the channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: determining one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters; formatting a channel state information report including the one or more channel state information parameters; and transmitting the channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second set of beamforming parameters correspond to quasi co-location (QCL) hypotheses associated with the reference signals, and the third set of beamforming parameters may be determined based on a receive beam refinement procedure at the UE. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate one or more of: a receive beam for receiving the reference signal, a codebook hypothesis for determining the one or more channel state information parameters, an indication of a difference between the second set of beamforming parameters and the third set of beamforming parameters, or any combination thereof.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions to: receive configuration information from the base station, the configuration information configuring the UE to transmit the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters provides quasi co-location (QCL) parameters comprising one or more of QCL type a, QCL type B, QCL type C, or QCL type D parameters. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate a difference in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters relative to the second set of beamforming parameters.

A method of wireless communication at a base station is described. The method may include: transmitting a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters; receiving, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report; determining a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication; and sending an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmitting a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters; receiving, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report; determining a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication; and sending an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include means for: transmitting a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters; receiving, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report; determining a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication; and sending an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a base station is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: transmitting a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters; receiving, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report; determining a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication; and sending an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second set of beamforming parameters corresponds to quasi co-location (QCL) hypotheses for the UE associated with the reference signals, and the third set of beamforming parameters includes one or more parameters determined based on a receive beam refinement procedure at the UE.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate one or more of: a receive beam used at the UE to receive the reference signal, a codebook hypothesis used at the UE to determine the one or more channel state information parameters, an indication of a difference between the second set of beamforming parameters and the third set of beamforming parameters, or any combination thereof. Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions to: configuring the UE via radio resource control signaling to transmit the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters provides quasi co-location (QCL) parameters comprising one or more of QCL type a, QCL type B, QCL type C, or QCL type D parameters. In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the refined first set of beamforming parameters further indicates a difference in one or more of the quasi co-location parameters relative to the first set of beamforming parameters.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a system for wireless communication that supports beam update techniques in wireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow to support a beam update technique in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a process flow to support a beam update technique in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 and 6 illustrate block diagrams of devices that support beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates a diagram of a system including devices that support beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 9 and 10 show block diagrams of devices that support beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 illustrates a diagram of a system including a User Equipment (UE) supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 13 illustrates a diagram of a system including a base station that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 14 and 15 show block diagrams of devices that support beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 illustrates a diagram of a system including devices that support beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 18-24 show flow diagrams illustrating methods of supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support efficient beam update techniques in beamformed wireless communications between a transmitting device (e.g., a User Equipment (UE) or a base station) and a receiving device (e.g., a UE or a base station). In some cases, the transmitting device and the receiving device may establish a connection using one or more beamformed transmission beams. The device may periodically perform a beam refinement procedure or a beam training procedure, and may update the transmission beam used for communication based on such procedure. Signaling to indicate the updated transmission beam may be transmitted, the signaling indicating one or more of: a difference or delta from a previous beamforming parameter, a beam used at the receiving device for one or more measurements of a reference signal from the transmitting device, or any combination thereof.

For example, a UE may be configured with one or more Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status configurations. Different TCI states distinguished by different values of TCI may correspond to quasi co-location (QCL) relationships with different reference signal transmissions (e.g., Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmissions, channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmissions, etc.). The particular TCI state may be identified based on an initial beam training process (e.g., a P1 beam training process in NR systems). One or more of the UE or base station may then perform a beam refinement procedure (e.g., a P2 or P3 beam refinement procedure in NR systems) and identify one or more refined parameters for communication. In accordance with the techniques discussed herein, a UE or base station may provide additional signaling indicating updated parameters in one or more transmissions (e.g., in a control signaling transmission) instead of providing an updated TCI state configuration (which consumes a relatively large amount of overhead and has signaling latency).

In some cases, the base station and the UE may establish the connection using a first set of beamforming parameters, which may be used to transmit a reference signal (e.g., a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a CSI-RS, a synchronization signal in an SSB, or any combination thereof) from the base station to the UE. The base station may identify one or more updated parameters (e.g., based on the P2 beam refinement procedure), and may determine that data transmissions (e.g., Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions) to the UE will use the updated parameters (which may be referred to as a second set of beamforming parameters). According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the base station may indicate a difference or delta amount between a reference signal (which may be QCL with a beam used for data transmission) and an actual beam used for data transmission.

In some cases, the difference or delta may be provided in terms of a larger or smaller parameter value indication (e.g., linked to QCL-a/B/C or in terms of peak gain) and may be transmitted in control information (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI) or in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE)). In some cases, one or more bits may be provided in DCI transmitted from a base station that indicate or confirm whether the same QCL hypothesis is maintained between a reference signal and data transmission. In some cases, if the base station determines that there is a mismatch and the actual beam used for data transmission is a refined version of the QCL hypothetical beam from the reference signal, the potential difference in post-beamforming signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) may be known and indicated to the UE. In some cases, an indication of a difference in QCLs (e.g., one or more parameters of QCL type a/B/C) may be provided. In some cases, the base station and the UE may exchange configuration information that maps one or more bits in the DCI to an amount of difference in one or more QCL parameters (e.g., difference in doppler shift, doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, or any combination thereof). In some cases, if the beam used for data transmission is a narrower beam, a new TCI status may need to be indicated, and the base station may trigger an update procedure to provide the new TCI status. Note that while this example discusses a base station refining one or more parameters, the UE may additionally or alternatively use such techniques to indicate a difference in uplink transmissions (e.g., the UE may signal a difference between a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) beam and a subsequent Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission beam).

Additionally or alternatively, the UE may provide an indication of one or more beamforming parameters for one or more reference signal measurements provided in a measurement report to the base station. In such a case, the UE may use a QCL assumption for the reference signal measurements that may be different from the base station QCL assumption (e.g., due to refinement of the P3-based beam refinement procedure in the receive beam at the UE). The UE may send a measurement report (e.g., a CSI measurement report) and also indicate a hypothesis (e.g., an indication of a received beam and a precoder selected from a linear combination codebook) at the UE for calculating one or more parameters included in the measurement report. In some cases, the base station may configure the UE via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling (e.g., via RRC parameters csi-ReportConfig) to provide such an indication when sending the measurement report. In some cases, the UE may report QCL parameters (e.g., QCL type D (spatial reception parameter) sources), precoding codebook assumptions, or a combination thereof. In addition, in some cases, the UE may also indicate one or more other QCL parameters (e.g., QCL type a/B/C) that may be different from the assumed parameters used to calculate the measurement report.

Such techniques may allow for relatively fast updates of transmission beams when performing transmission beam refinement and thus provide more efficient and reliable communications. In some examples, such techniques may be employed in systems that use beamforming and the UE moves between different beams or performs beam refinement procedures. Accordingly, techniques such as those discussed herein may enhance beamformed communication for such cases by faster and more efficient beam parameter updates (which may avoid having to signal new TCI states).

Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow charts relating to beam update techniques in wireless communications.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports beam update techniques in beamformed wireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-advanced (LTE-a) network, an LTE-APro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low cost and low complexity devices.

The base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UE115 via one or more base station antennas. The base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as base station transceivers, wireless base stations, access points, wireless transceivers, node bs, evolved node bs (enbs), next generation node bs or gigabit node bs (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), home node bs, home evolved node bs, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of base stations 105 and network devices, including macro enbs, small cell enbs, gnbs, relay base stations, and the like.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110 in which communications with various UEs 115 are supported. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include: uplink transmissions from the UE115 to the base station 105, or downlink transmissions from the base station 105 to the UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 for a base station 105 can be divided into sectors that make up a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector can be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other type of cell, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile and, thus, provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and the overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-a Pro or NR network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity used for communication with the base station 105 (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish between neighboring cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of geographic coverage area 110 over which a logical entity operates.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE115 may be stationary or mobile. The UE115 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a user equipment, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client. The UE115 may also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, the UE115 may also refer to a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, an internet of things (IoT) device, an internet of everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, etc., which may be implemented in various articles of manufacture such as appliances, vehicles, meters, etc.

Some UEs 115 (e.g., MTC or IoT devices) may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., communication via machine-to-machine (M2M)). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication techniques that allow devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application that may utilize the information or present the information to personnel interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, device monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, climate and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based commercial billing.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception rather than simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for the UE115 include: a power-saving "deep sleep" mode is entered when not engaged in active communications or operating on a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications). In some cases, the UE115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communication for these functions.

In some cases, the UE115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocols). One or more UEs 115 in the group of UEs 115 communicating with D2D may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some cases, multiple groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1: M) system, where each UE115 transmits to every other UE115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving base stations 105.

The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 over backhaul links 132 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) over backhaul links 134 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces).

Core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Core network 130 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) that may include at least one Mobility Management Entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transported through the S-GW, which may itself be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address assignment as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to a network operator IP service. The operator IP services may include access to the internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) or Packet Switched (PS) streaming services.

At least some of the network devices (e.g., base stations 105) may include subcomponents such as access network entities, which may be examples of Access Node Controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with the UE115 through a plurality of other access network transport entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, intelligent radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

Wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Typically, the region from 300MHz to 3GHz is referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelength range is from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by building and environmental features. However, the waves may be sufficient to penetrate the structure for the macro cell to provide service to the UE115 located indoors. UHF-wave transmission can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter distances (e.g., less than 100km) than transmission of smaller and longer waves using the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the ultra high frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3GHz to 30GHz, also referred to as a centimeter frequency band. The SHF area includes frequency bands such as the 5GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band, which may be opportunistically used by devices that can tolerate interference from other users.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum, e.g., from 30GHz to 300GHz (also referred to as the millimeter-band). In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communication between the UE115 and the base station 105, and EHF antennas of respective devices may be even smaller and more closely spaced compared to UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may suffer from even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter distances than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the specified use of frequency bands across these frequency regions may vary depending on the country or regulatory body.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band (e.g., the 5GHz ISM band). When operating in the unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices (e.g., base station 105 and UE115) may employ a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that a frequency channel is idle before transmitting data. In some cases, operation in the unlicensed band may be configured based on carrier aggregation in conjunction with component carriers operating in the licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in the unlicensed spectrum may be based on Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), Time Division Duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

In some examples, a base station 105 or UE115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., UE115), where the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, a transmitting device may transmit multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, a receiving device may receive multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that: the techniques may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., base station 105 or UE115) to form or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by: signals transmitted via the antenna elements of the antenna array are combined such that signals propagating in a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference while other signals experience destructive interference. The adjustment of the signal transmitted via the antenna element may comprise: a transmitting device or a receiving device applies certain amplitude and phase offsets to signals carried via each of the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays for beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. For example, the base station 105 may transmit some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) multiple times in different directions, which may include signals transmitted according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify beam directions (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device (e.g., UE 115)) for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the base station 105.

The base station 105 may transmit some signals (e.g., data signals associated with a particular receiving device) in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device (e.g., UE 115)). In some examples, a beam direction associated with a transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, the UE115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions (e.g., as part of a P1 beam training process), and the UE115 may report to the base station 105 an indication of the signal it receives with the highest or otherwise acceptable signal quality. Although the techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by the base station 105 in one or more directions, the UE115 may employ similar techniques to transmit signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify beam directions for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE115) or to transmit signals in a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

When receiving various signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from the base station 105, a receiving device (e.g., UE115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may attempt multiple receive beams. For example, a receiving device may attempt multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna sub-arrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna sub-arrays, by receiving according to different beamforming parameters (e.g., a set of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array), or by processing received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array (any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions). In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving data signals). The single receive beam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least in part on listening from different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio, or otherwise acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening from multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays that may support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array with multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UEs 115. Likewise, the UE115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate on logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority processing and multiplexing of logical channels to transport channels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide for the establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between the UE115 and the base station 105 or core network 130 that supports radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

May be in basic time units (which may, for example, refer to T)_sA sampling period of 1/30,720,000 seconds) to represent the time interval in LTE or NR. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be denoted as T_f＝307,200T_s. The radio frames may be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include a number from 010 subframes to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. A subframe may also be divided into 2 slots, each having a duration of 0.5ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix added in front of each symbol period). Each symbol period may contain 2048 sample periods, excluding the cyclic prefix. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened ttis (sTTI) or in a selected component carrier using sTTI).

In some wireless communication systems, a slot may be further divided into a plurality of minislots comprising one or more symbols. In some examples, the symbol of the micro-slot or the micro-slot may be a minimum scheduling unit. Each symbol may vary in duration depending on, for example, the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation. Further, some wireless communication systems may implement timeslot aggregation, where multiple timeslots or minislots are aggregated together and used for communication between the UE115 and the base station 105.

In a system employing MCM technology, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, the more resource elements the UE115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE 115. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate for communication with the UE 115.

In some cases, when using beamformed communication, a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105 or UE115) may indicate an update to a beam used for communication between the transmitting device and a receiving device (e.g., UE or base station). The receiving device may use the indicated updates to modify one or more receive parameters (e.g., antenna weights at a receive antenna array, antenna gains, etc.) to enhance reception of communications from the transmitting device.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 200 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. In the example of fig. 2, wireless communication system 200 may include a base station 105-a and a UE115-a, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with respect to fig. 1. The base station 105-a may provide network coverage for a geographic coverage area 110-a. In this example, the UE115-a and the base station 105-a may establish a connection 205 via one or more downlink beams 210 and one or more uplink beams 215 using beamformed communication.

In some cases, the base station 105-a and the UE115-a may establish communication via the connection 205 based on an initial beam training procedure (e.g., a P1 beam training procedure) in which QCL parameters (e.g., TCI indication according to the amount of available TCI state) for the first downlink beam 210-a and the first uplink beam 215-a are identified. Two antenna ports are referred to as QCLs if the properties of the channel on which the symbols on one antenna port are transmitted can be inferred from the channel on which the symbols on the other antenna port are transmitted. In some cases, one or both of the UE115-a or the base station 105-a may perform a beam refinement process (e.g., a P2 beam refinement process for the base station 105-a, a P3 beam refinement process for the UE115-a, or both), in which one or more reference signals may be measured to determine one or more refined beamforming parameters. For example, the base station 105-a may transmit CSI-RSs using a first set of beamforming parameters (e.g., according to a first TCI state) that may be measured at the UE115-a to provide CSI measurement reports to the base station 105-a. Further, the UE115-a may transmit one or more Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) using a first set of beamforming parameters that may be measured at the base station 105-a. In some cases, the updated beamforming parameters may be determined at one or both of UE115-a and base station 105-a based on reference signal measurements. In some cases, such beam refinement may be performed based at least in part on a transmitting device transmitting one or more reference signals, e.g., Channel State Information (CSI) reference signals (CSI-RS) in a P2 (for downlink beams) beam training process and/or SRS in a P3 (for uplink beams) beam training process, to identify more focused beams for use in communications.

In accordance with the techniques discussed herein, one or both of the UE115-a or the base station 105-a may transmit control signaling 220 (e.g., DCI, UCI, MAC-CE, or a combination thereof) and additional signaling 225, which may indicate an update of one or more beamforming parameters based on beam refinement. In some cases, the additional signaling 225 may be transmitted as part of the control signaling 220 (e.g., in a defined field within DCI, UCI, or MAC-CE). In some cases, the base station 105-a may determine a second set of beamforming parameters for the second downlink beam 210-b based on beam refinement (e.g., a P2 process), and the UE115-a may determine a third set of beamforming parameters for the second uplink beam 215-b based on beam refinement (e.g., a P3 process). The beam refinement procedure performed at each device may be transparent to the other device, and in conventional systems, the updated beamforming parameters determined by the refinement procedure will be communicated by the TCI update, which may cause latency as updates must be triggered, and may use a relatively large amount of overhead. By providing additional signaling 225 as well as control signaling 220 as discussed herein, such latency and overhead may be reduced, thereby enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the wireless communication system 200.

In some cases, the base station 105-a may send additional signaling 225 to indicate a difference or delta in terms of a larger or smaller parameter value indication (e.g., linked to QCL-a/B/C or in terms of peak gain), which may be transmitted with the control signaling 220 (e.g., in DCI or MAC-CE sent to the UE 115-a). In some cases, one or more bits may be provided in DCI transmitted from the base station 105-a that indicate or confirm to the UE115-a whether the same QCL hypothesis is maintained between a previously transmitted reference signal and data transmission. In some cases, if the base station 105-a determines that there is a mismatch and the actual beam used for data transmission is a refined version of the QCL assumed beam from the reference signal, the potential difference in the post-beamforming SNR indicated to the UE115-a may be known. The UE115-a may receive an indication of the difference or delta and modify one or more receive beamforming parameters (e.g., according to one or more predetermined adjustments) to receive and decode the data transmission. In some cases, an indication of a difference in QCLs (e.g., one or more parameters of QCL type a/B/C) may be provided. In some cases, the base station 105-a and the UE115-a may exchange configuration information that maps one or more bits in the DCI or MAC-CE to an amount of difference in one or more QCL parameters (e.g., difference in doppler shift, doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, or any combination thereof). In some cases, if the beam used for data transmission is a narrower beam, a new TCI status may need to be indicated, and the base station 105-a may trigger an update procedure to provide the new TCI status. Similar techniques may be used when UE115-a is the transmitting device (e.g., UE115-a may signal the difference in additional signaling 225 between the SRS beam and the subsequent PUSCH beam).

Additionally or alternatively, UE115-a may provide an indication of one or more beamforming parameters (i.e., QCL hypotheses) for one or more reference signal measurements provided in a measurement report (e.g., CSI measurement report) to base station 105-a. In such a case, the UE115-a may use a QCL assumption for reference signal measurements that may be different from the base station 105-a QCL assumption (e.g., due to refinement of the P3-based beam refinement procedure in the received beam at the UE 115-a). The UE115-a may send a measurement report (e.g., a CSI measurement report in the control signaling 220) and also indicate a hypothesis (e.g., an indication of the received beam and the precoder selected from the linear combination codebook in the additional signaling 225) at the UE115-a for calculating one or more parameters included in the measurement report. In some cases, the base station 105-a may configure the UE115-a via RRC signaling (e.g., via RRC parameters csi-ReportConfig) to provide such an indication when sending the measurement report.

In some cases, the UE115-a may report QCL parameters (e.g., QCL type D (spatial reception parameter) sources), precoding codebook assumptions, or a combination thereof. Additionally, in some cases, UE115-a may also indicate one or more other QCL parameters (e.g., QCL type a/B/C) that may be different from the assumed parameters used to calculate the measurement report.

Note that the operations described herein as being performed by the UE115 and the base station 105 may be performed by the UE115, the base station 105, or another wireless device, respectively, and the illustrated examples should not be construed as limiting. For example, operations shown as being performed by base station 105-a may be performed by UE115-a, a TRP, or another wireless device.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 for supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow 300 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 or 200. For example, process flow 300 includes a UE 115-b and a base station 105-b, which may be examples of a base station 105 or UE115 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The UE 115-b and the base station 105-b may transmit an indication of the updated beamforming parameters based on one or more beam refinement procedures as discussed herein. Alternative examples below may be implemented in which some steps are performed in a different order than described or not performed at all. In some cases, the steps may include additional functionality not mentioned below, or additional steps may be added.

At 305, the UE 115-b and the base station 105-b may establish a connection via a first beam. The connection may be established in accordance with an RRC connection establishment technique and/or may be configured for a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure. For example, a first beam may have a first set of QCL parameters based on a first TCI state.

At 310, the base station 105-b may optionally send configuration information to the UE 115-b. In some cases, the configuration information may include information related to one or more fields that may be provided in control signaling (e.g., DCI, UCI, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof), which may indicate updated beam parameters of the transmitting device. For example, the base station 105-b may configure a single bit that may indicate the updated beamforming parameters, and the UE 115-b will change one or more beamforming parameters for subsequent data transmissions. In some cases, the configuration information may provide a mapping between two or more bits of the updated beam indication and different adjustments to one or more beamforming parameters (e.g., "00" may indicate no adjustment, "01" may indicate a first QCL adjustment, "10" may indicate a second QCL adjustment, etc.). In some cases, the configuration information may be provided as part of a connection establishment procedure.

At 315, the base station 105-b may transmit one or more CSI reference signals for measurement at the UE 115-b. The CSI reference signals may be transmitted using one or more beams and, at 320, may be measured at the UE 115-b (e.g., at multiple antenna ports).

At 325, the UE 115-b may determine a refined set of beamforming parameters based on the CSI measurements. For example, UE 115-b may determine parameters for weights and gains for antennas providing enhanced beam reception at one or more antenna panels of UE 115-b. In some cases, the UE 115-b may determine updated beamforming parameters for the uplink transmission beam (e.g., based on beam reciprocity).

At 330, the UE 115-b may send one or more SRS transmissions to the base station 105-b. At 335, the base station may perform one or more measurements of SRS.

At 340, the base station 105-b may determine a refined set of beamforming parameters based on the SRS measurements. For example, base station 105-b may determine parameters for weights and gains for antennas providing enhanced beam reception at one or more antenna panels of base station 105-b. In some cases, base station 105-b may determine updated beamforming parameters for downlink transmission beams (e.g., based on beam reciprocity).

At 345, the base station 105-b may transmit control information with a beam update indication to the UE 115-b. In some cases, the control information may be DCI sent to UE 115-b, which allocates downlink or uplink resources for subsequent data transmission. In some cases, the control information may be a MAC-CE sent to the UE 115-b, the MAC-CE including an indication of a beam update.

At 350, the UE 115-b may send a measurement report with a beam update indication to the base station 105-b. In some cases, a measurement report may be sent from UE 115-b to base station 105-b in UCI, and the UCI may include one or more bits indicating a beam update at UE 115-b. In some cases, the UE 115-b may transmit a MAC-CE indicating a beam update. The UE 115-b and the base station 105-b may send one or more data transmissions according to the beam update information.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a process flow 400 supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process flow 400 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100 or 200. For example, process flow 400 includes a UE115-c and a base station 105-c, which may be examples of a base station 105 or UE115 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In this example, the UE115-c may use a particular set of beamforming parameters for one or more reference signal measurements and may provide an indication of the beamforming parameters to the base station 105-c, as discussed herein. Alternative examples below may be implemented in which some steps are performed in a different order than described or not performed at all. In some cases, the steps may include additional functionality not mentioned below, or additional steps may be added.

At 405, UE115-c and base station 105-c may establish a connection via a first beam. The connection may be established in accordance with an RRC connection establishment technique and/or may be configured for a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure. For example, a first beam may have a first set of QCL parameters based on a first TCI state.

At 410, the base station 105-c may send configuration information to the UE 115-c. In some cases, the configuration information may include a configuration of the UE115-c to report an indication of receive beamforming parameters, codebooks, and/or QCL hypotheses for one or more measurements. For example, the base station 105-c may be configured via the RRC parameter csi-report config. In some cases, the configuration information may be provided as part of a connection establishment procedure.

At 415, the base station 105-c may transmit one or more CSI reference signals for measurement at the UE 115-c. In some examples, the CSI reference signal may be transmitted according to a first QCL parameter associated with a TCI state established between the UE115-c and the base station 105-c.

At 420, the UE115-c may perform CSI measurements according to at least the second QCL hypothesis. In some cases, the UE115-c may perform CSI measurements according to a plurality of different QCL hypotheses and may identify the most favorable or otherwise acceptable QCL hypothesis that provides enhanced reception at the UE 115-c.

At 425, the UE115-c may determine a CSI measurement report. In some cases, the CSI measurement report may include one or more parameters (e.g., Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), Rank Indicator (RI), or a combination thereof) based on CSI measurements.

At 430, the UE115-c may transmit a measurement report with an indication of a QCL hypothesis for calculating one or more parameters of the measurement report. In some cases, a measurement report may be sent from the UE115-c to the base station 105-c in the UCI, and the UCI may include one or more bits indicating the TCI used at the UE 115-c.

Optionally, at 435, the base station 105-c may determine an updated set of beamforming parameters based on the measurement report and the indication of the UE115-c QCL hypothesis. For example, base station 105-c may determine parameters for weights and gains for antennas providing enhanced beam reception at one or more antenna panels of base station 105-c. At 445, the base station 105-c may optionally send control information with a beam update indication to the UE 115-c. In some cases, the control information may be a DCI sent to UE115-c, the DCI allocating downlink or uplink resources for a subsequent data transmission. In some cases, the control information may be a MAC-CE sent to the UE115-c, the MAC-CE including an indication of a beam update.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram 500 of a device 505 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 may be an example of aspects of a UE115 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a communication manager 515, and a transmitter 520. The device 505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 510 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beam update techniques in wireless communications, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 820 described with reference to fig. 8. Receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 515 may perform the following operations: determining one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters; formatting a channel state information report comprising one or more channel state information parameters; and transmitting a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station. The communication manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 810 described herein.

The communication manager 515 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 515 or subcomponents thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 515 or subcomponents thereof may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that some of the functionality is implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 515 or subcomponents thereof may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 515 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The actions performed by the communication managers 515, 615 as described herein may be implemented to realize one or more potential advantages. An implementation may allow the UE115 to save power and increase battery life by avoiding having to perform inefficient signaling procedures. Another implementation may provide improved quality of service and reliability at the UE115, as latency at the UE115 may be reduced.

The transmitter 520 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 505. In some examples, the transmitter 520 may be collocated with the receiver 510 in a transceiver component. For example, the transmitter 520 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 820 described with reference to fig. 8. The transmitter 520 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of the device 605 or the UE115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a communication manager 615, and a transmitter 630. The device 605 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 610 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beam update techniques in wireless communications, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of device 605. The receiver 610 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 820 described with reference to fig. 8. Receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 615 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 515 as described herein. The communication manager 615 may include a reference signal manager 620 and a CSI manager 625. The communication manager 615 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 810 described herein.

The reference signal manager 620 may determine one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters.

The CSI manager 625 may format a channel state information report including one or more channel state information parameters and send the channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station

Transmitter 630 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 605. In some examples, the transmitter 630 may be collocated with the receiver 610 in a transceiver component. For example, the transmitter 630 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 820 described with reference to fig. 8. The transmitter 630 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram 700 of a communication manager 705 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 705 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 515, the communication manager 615, or the communication manager 810 described herein. The communication manager 705 may include a reference signal manager 710, a CSI manager 715, a beam refinement manager 720, and a configuration manager 725. Each of these components may be in direct or indirect communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The reference signal manager 710 may determine one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters.

The CSI manager 715 may format a channel state information report including one or more channel state information parameters. In some examples, the CSI manager 715 may send a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station.

The beam refinement manager 720 may determine one or more beam updates and associated sets of beamforming parameters. In some cases, the second set of beamforming parameters corresponds to a quasi co-location (QCL) hypothesis associated with the reference signal, and the third set of beamforming parameters is determined based on a receive beam refinement procedure at the UE. In some cases, the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate one or more of: a receive beam for receiving a reference signal, a codebook hypothesis for determining one or more channel state information parameters, an indication of a difference between the second set of beamforming parameters and the third set of beamforming parameters, or any combination thereof.

In some cases, the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters provides QCL parameters, the QCL parameters including one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters. In some cases, the indication of the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate a difference in one or more of the QCL parameters relative to the second set of beamforming parameters.

The configuration manager 725 may receive configuration information from the base station that configures the UE to transmit an indication of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters.

Fig. 8 illustrates a diagram of a system 800 that includes a device 805 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. The device 805 may be an example of a device 505, device 605, or UE115 or include components of a device 505, device 605, or UE115 as described herein. Device 805 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 810, an I/O controller 815, a transceiver 820, an antenna 825, a memory 830, and a processor 840. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses, such as bus 845.

The communication manager 810 may perform the following operations: determining one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters; formatting a channel state information report comprising one or more channel state information parameters; and transmitting a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station.

I/O controller 815 may manage input and output signals for device 805. I/O controller 815 may also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 805. In some cases, I/O controller 815 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I/O controller 815 may utilize a mechanism such as Or another known operating system. In other casesI/O controller 815 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I/O controller 815 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 805 via I/O controller 815 or via hardware components controlled by I/O controller 815.

The transceiver 820 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 820 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 820 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, as well as demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 825. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 825, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

Memory 830 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 830 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 835, the code 835 comprising instructions that when executed cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 830 may also contain a BIOS or the like, which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 840 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 840 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 840. The processor 840 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 830) to cause the device 805 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support beam update techniques in wireless communications).

Based on providing additional signaling indicating an update to one or more beamforming parameters, the processor 840 of the UE115 may efficiently perform a beam refinement procedure. Thus, when the beamforming parameters are transparent to the corresponding device, the processor may be ready to respond more efficiently by reducing the ramp up of processing power, as opposed to being updated by the TCI.

Code 835 may include instructions for implementing aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. Code 835 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, code 835 may not be directly executable by processor 840, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram 900 of a device 905 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of aspects of a UE115 or a base station 105 as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communication manager 915, and a transmitter 920. The device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 910 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beam update techniques in wireless communications, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of the device 905. The receiver 910 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1220 or 1320 as described with reference to fig. 12 and 13. Receiver 910 can utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 915 may perform the following operations: transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device; determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to a receiving device based on a beam refinement process at a transmitting device; and transmitting an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

The communication manager 915 may also perform the following operations: identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and a receiving device; receiving, from a transmitting device, an indication of a difference between a first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to a receiving device; and receiving a data communication from the transmitting device based on a difference between the indicated first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters. The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1210 or 1310 as described herein.

The communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be implemented in hardware, in code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or in any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that some of the functionality is implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The actions performed by the communication manager 915 as described herein may be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. An implementation may allow a base station 105 to provide improved quality of service and reliability at the base station 105, as latency may be reduced. Another implementation may provide reduced signaling since resource overhead may be reduced.

The transmitter 920 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 905. In some examples, the transmitter 920 may be collocated with the receiver 910 in a transceiver component. For example, transmitter 920 may be an example of aspects of transceiver 1220 or 1230 as described with reference to fig. 12 and 13. Transmitter 920 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of the device 905, UE115, or base station 105 as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a communication manager 1015, and a transmitter 1035. The device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1010 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beam update techniques in wireless communications, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1220 or 1320 as described with reference to fig. 12 and 13. Receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 915 as described herein. The communication manager 1015 may include a reference signal manager 1020, a beam refinement manager 1025, and a control information manager 1030. The communication manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1210 or 1310 as described herein.

The reference signal manager 1020 may transmit a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device. In some cases, the reference signal manager 1020 may identify a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device.

The beam refinement manager 1025 may determine a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to a receiving device based on a beam refinement process at a transmitting device. In some cases, the beam refinement manager 1025 may receive, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device, and receive the data communication from the transmitting device based on the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

The control information manager 1030 may send an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

A transmitter 1035 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1005. In some examples, the transmitter 1035 may be co-located with the receiver 1010 in a transceiver component. For example, the transmitter 1035 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1220 or 1320 as described with reference to fig. 12 and 13. The transmitter 1035 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a communication manager 1105 supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1105 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 915, the communication manager 1015, or the communication manager 1210 described herein. The communication manager 1105 may include a reference signal manager 1110, a beam refinement manager 1115, a control information manager 1120, and a configuration manager 1125. Each of these components may be in direct or indirect communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The reference signal manager 1110 may transmit a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device. In some examples, the reference signal manager 1110 may identify a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device.

The beam refinement manager 1115 may determine a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to a receiving device based on a beam refinement process at a transmitting device. In some examples, the beam refinement manager 1115 may receive, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device. In some examples, the beam refinement manager 1115 may receive a data communication from the transmitting device based on a difference between the indicated first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

In some examples, the beam refinement manager 1115 may receive a channel state information report and an indication of a quasi co-location assumption for determining one or more channel state information parameters of the channel state information report from a receiving device, and wherein the refined set of beamforming parameters is based on the channel state information report and the indication of the quasi co-location assumption.

In some examples, the beam refinement manager 1115 may use the refined set of beamforming parameters to transmit data communications to the receiving device. In some examples, the beam refinement manager 1115 may use the refined set of beamforming parameters to receive data communications from the transmitting device.

In some cases, the first set of beamforming parameters are QCL parameters, and wherein the differences between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters comprise differences in one or more of the QCL parameters. In some cases, the QCL parameters include one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters. In some cases, the difference in the one or more QCL parameters comprises an explicit difference value or an implicit indication of the difference based on one or more preconfigured differences in the one or more QCL parameters.

The control information manager 1120 may send an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device. In some examples, the control information manager 1120 may transmit control information associated with the data communication to the receiving device, the control information including an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

In some examples, the control information manager 1120 may receive control information associated with the data communication to the receiving device, the control information including an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters. In some cases, the transmitting device is a base station and the control information includes downlink control information transmitted to the user equipment. In some cases, the transmitting device is a user equipment and the control information includes uplink control information transmitted to the base station. In some cases, the control information includes a MAC-CE indicating to the receiving device a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

The configuration manager 1125 may exchange configuration information with a receiving device, the configuration information including one or more configured difference values, and wherein the indication of the difference provides an indication of the one or more configured difference values. In some cases, the configuration information is exchanged via radio resource control signaling.

Fig. 12 shows a diagram of a system 1200 including a device 1205 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Device 1205 may be an example of device 905, device 1005, or UE115 as described herein or include components of device 905, device 1005, or UE 115. Device 1205 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1210, a transceiver 1220, an antenna 1225, a memory 1230, a processor 1240, and an I/O controller 1215. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1245.

The communication manager 1210 may perform the following operations: transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device; determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to a receiving device based on a beam refinement process at a transmitting device; and transmitting an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

The communication manager 1210 may also perform the following operations: identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and a receiving device; receiving, from a transmitting device, an indication of a difference between a first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to a receiving device; and receiving a data communication from the transmitting device based on a difference between the indicated first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

The transceiver 1220 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 1220 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1220 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, as well as demodulate packets received from the antenna.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1225. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1225, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

Memory 1230 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 1230 may store computer-readable code 1235, the code 1235 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor 1240), cause the apparatus to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1230 may also contain a BIOS or the like, which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 1240 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 1240 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 1240. Processor 1240 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1230) to cause device 1205 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support beam update techniques in wireless communications).

Based on providing additional signaling indicating an update to one or more beamforming parameters, the processor 1240 of the base station 105 may efficiently perform a beam refinement procedure. Thus, when the beamforming parameters are transparent to the corresponding device, the processor may be ready to respond more efficiently by reducing the ramp up of processing power, as opposed to being updated by the TCI.

I/O controller 1215 may manage input and output signals for device 1205. The I/O controller 1215 may also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into the device 1205. In some cases, I/O controller 1215 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, the I/O controller 1215 may utilize a processor such as Or another known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller 1215 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 1215 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1205 via I/O controller 1215 or via hardware components controlled by I/O controller 1215.

Code 1235 may include instructions for implementing aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 1235 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1235 may not be directly executable by the processor 1240, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 13 illustrates a diagram of a system 1300 that includes a device 1305 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1305 may be an example of a device 905, a device 1005, or a base station 105 or a component including a device 905, a device 1005, or a base station 105 as described herein. The device 1305 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 1310, a network communications manager 1350, a transceiver 1320, an antenna 1325, a memory 1330, a processor 1340, and an inter-station communications manager 1355. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1345.

The communication manager 1310 may: transmitting a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device; determining a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to a receiving device based on a beam refinement process at a transmitting device; and transmitting an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device.

The communication manager 1310 may also perform the following operations: identifying a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between a transmitting device and a receiving device; receiving, from a transmitting device, an indication of a difference between a first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to a receiving device; and receiving a data communication from the transmitting device based on a difference between the indicated first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

The network communication manager 1350 may manage communication with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communication manager 1350 may manage transmission of data communications for client devices (e.g., one or more UEs 115).

The transceiver 1320 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 1320 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1320 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, as well as demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1325. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1325, which may be capable of concurrently sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

The memory 1330 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. Memory 1330 may store computer-readable code 1335 comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1340), cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1330 may also contain a BIOS or the like, which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 1340 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 1340 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 1340. Processor 1340 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1330) to cause device 1305 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support beam update techniques in wireless communications).

The inter-station communication manager 1355 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105. For example, the inter-station communication manager 1355 may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to the UEs 115 to implement various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communication manager 1355 may provide an X2 interface within LTE/LTE-a wireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations 105.

Code 1335 may include instructions for implementing aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. Code 1335 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, code 1335 may not be directly executable by processor 1340, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 14 shows a block diagram 1400 of a device 1405 supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1405 may be an example of aspects of the base station 105 as described herein. The device 1405 may include a receiver 1410, a communication manager 1415, and a transmitter 1420. The device 1405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1410 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beam update techniques in wireless communications, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of the device 1405. The receiver 1410 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1720 described with reference to fig. 17. Receiver 1410 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 1415 may perform the following operations: transmitting a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters; receiving, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report; determining a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication; and sending an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE. The communication manager 1415 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1710 described herein.

The communication manager 1415 or subcomponents thereof may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1415 or subcomponents thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 1415, or subcomponents thereof, may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that some of the functionality is implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 1415, or subcomponents thereof, may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 1415 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Transmitter 1420 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 1405. In some examples, the transmitter 1420 may be collocated with the receiver 1410 in a transceiver component. For example, the transmitter 1420 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1720 described with reference to fig. 17. The transmitter 1420 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 15 shows a block diagram 1500 of a device 1505 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Device 1505 may be an example of aspects of device 1405 or base station 105 as described herein. The device 1505 may include a receiver 1510, a communication manager 1515, and a transmitter 1535. Device 1505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 1510 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beam update techniques in wireless communications, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of device 1505. The receiver 1510 may be an example of aspects of a transceiver 1720 as described with reference to fig. 17. The receiver 1510 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 1515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1415 as described herein. The communication manager 1515 may include a reference signal manager 1520, a CSI manager 1525, and a beam refinement manager 1530. The communication manager 1515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1710 described herein.

The reference signal manager 1520 may use the first set of beamforming parameters to transmit the reference signal to the UE.

The CSI manager 1525 may receive, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report.

The beam refinement manager 1530 may determine a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication, and send an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE.

A transmitter 1535 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1505. In some examples, the transmitter 1535 may be collocated with the receiver 1510 in a transceiver component. For example, the transmitter 1535 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1720 described with reference to fig. 17. The transmitter 1535 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 16 shows a block diagram 1600 of a communication manager 1605 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1605 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1415, the communication manager 1515, or the communication manager 1710 described herein. The communication manager 1605 may include a reference signal manager 1610, a CSI manager 1615, a beam refinement manager 1620, and a configuration manager 1625. Each of these components may be in direct or indirect communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The reference signal manager 1610 may transmit a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters.

The CSI manager 1615 may receive, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report.

The beam refinement manager 1620 may determine a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication. In some examples, the beam refinement manager 1620 may send an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE. In some cases, the second set of beamforming parameters corresponds to a QCL hypothesis for the UE associated with the reference signal, and the third set of beamforming parameters includes one or more parameters determined based on a receive beam refinement procedure at the UE.

In some cases, the indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters is to indicate one or more of: a receive beam used at the UE to receive the reference signal, a codebook hypothesis used at the UE to determine the one or more channel state information parameters, an indication of a difference between the second set of beamforming parameters and the third set of beamforming parameters, or any combination thereof.

In some cases, the indication of the second set of beamforming parameters provides QCL parameters, the QCL parameters including one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters. In some cases, the indication of the refined first set of beamforming parameters further indicates a difference in one or more of the QCL parameters relative to the first set of beamforming parameters.

The configuration manager 1625 may configure the UE to transmit an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters via radio resource control signaling.

Fig. 17 shows a diagram of a system 1700 including a device 1705 that supports beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1705 may be an example of or a component comprising the device 1405, the device 1505 or the base station 105 as described herein. The device 1705 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 1710, a network communications manager 1715, a transceiver 1720, an antenna 1725, a memory 1730, a processor 1740, and an inter-station communications manager 1745. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1755.

The communication manager 1710 may perform the following operations: transmitting a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters; receiving, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report; determining a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication; and sending an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE.

The network communication manager 1715 may manage communication with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communication manager 1715 may manage the transmission of data communications for client devices (e.g., one or more UEs 115).

The transceiver 1720 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 1720 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1720 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, as well as demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1725. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1725, which may be capable of concurrently sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

Memory 1730 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 1730 may store computer readable code 1735 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1740), cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1730 may contain, among other things, a BIOS or the like, which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 1740 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 1740 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1740. The processor 1740 may be configured to execute computer readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1730) to cause the device 1705 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support beam update techniques in wireless communication).

The inter-station communication manager 1745 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105. For example, the inter-station communication manager 1745 may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to the UEs 115 to implement various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communication manager 1745 may provide an X2 interface within LTE/LTE-a wireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations 105.

Code 1735 may include instructions for implementing aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communication. The code 1735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., system memory or other type of memory). In some cases, the code 1735 may not be directly executable by the processor 1740, but may cause the computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 18 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1800 of supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1800 may be implemented by a UE115 or a base station 105, or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1800 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some examples, a UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1805, the UE or base station may transmit a reference signal to the receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device. The operations of 1805 may be performed in accordance with the methodologies described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1805 may be performed by a reference signal manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 1810, the UE or base station may determine a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to a receiving device based on a beam refinement process at a transmitting device. The operations of 1810 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1810 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 1815, the UE or base station may send an indication of the difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device. The operations of 1815 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1815 may be performed by a control information manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some cases, the UE or the base station may transmit control information associated with the data communication to the receiving device, the control information including an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters. In some cases, the transmitting device is a base station and the control information includes downlink control information transmitted to the user equipment. In some cases, the transmitting device is a user equipment and the control information includes uplink control information transmitted to the base station. In some cases, the control information includes a MAC-CE indicating to the receiving device a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

In some cases, the first set of beamforming parameters are QCL parameters, and wherein the differences between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters comprise differences in one or more of the QCL parameters. In some cases, the QCL parameters include one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters. In some cases, the difference in the one or more QCL parameters comprises an explicit difference value or an implicit indication of the difference based on one or more preconfigured differences in the one or more QCL parameters.

Fig. 19 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1900 of supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1900 may be implemented by the UE115 or the base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1900 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some examples, a UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1905, the UE or base station may exchange configuration information with the receiving device, the configuration information including one or more configured disparity values. The operations of 1905 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1905 may be performed by a configuration manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some cases, the configuration information is exchanged via radio resource control signaling.

At 1910, the UE or base station may transmit a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device. The operations of 1910 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1910 may be performed by a reference signal manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 1915, the UE or the base station may determine a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the receiving device based on a beam refinement process at the transmitting device. Operations 1915 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1915 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 1920, the UE or the base station may transmit an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device, wherein the indication of the difference provides an indication of the one or more configured difference values. The operations of 1920 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1920 may be performed by a control information manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

Fig. 20 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 2000 of supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 2000 may be implemented by a UE115 or a base station 105, or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2000 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some examples, a UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 2005, a UE or a base station may transmit a reference signal to a receiving device using a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device. The operations of 2005 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2005 may be performed by a reference signal manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2010, the UE or base station may determine a refined set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the receiving device based on a beam refinement process at the transmitting device. The operations of 2010 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2010 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2015, the UE or base station may send an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters to the receiving device. The operations of 2015 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2015 may be performed by a control information manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2020, the UE or base station may receive, from the receiving device, a channel state information report and an indication of a quasi co-location hypothesis for determining one or more channel state information parameters of the channel state information report, and wherein the refined set of beamforming parameters is based on the channel state information report and the indication of the quasi co-location hypothesis. The operations of 2020 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2020 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2025, the UE or base station may transmit a data communication to the receiving device using the refined set of beamforming parameters. The operations of 2025 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2025 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

Fig. 21 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 2100 of supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2100 may be implemented by the UE115 or the base station 105, or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2100 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some examples, a UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 2105, the UE or base station may identify a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device. The operations of 2105 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2105 may be performed by a reference signal manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2110, the UE or base station may receive an indication from the transmitting device of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device. The operations of 2110 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2110 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2115, the UE or base station may receive control information associated with the data communication to the receiving device, the control information including an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters. The operations of 2115 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2115 may be performed by a control information manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2120, the UE or the base station may receive a data communication from the transmitting device based on a difference between the indicated first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters. The operations of 2120 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2120 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some cases, the receiving device is a user equipment and the control information includes downlink control information sent to the user equipment. In some cases, the receiving device is a base station and the control information includes uplink control information transmitted from the user equipment. In some cases, the control information includes a MAC-CE indicating to the receiving device a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters.

In some cases, the first set of beamforming parameters are QCL parameters, and wherein the differences between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters comprise differences in one or more of the QCL parameters. In some cases, the QCL parameters include one or more of QCL type a parameters, QCL type B parameters, QCL type C parameters, or QCL type D parameters. In some cases, the difference in the one or more QCL parameters comprises an explicit difference value or an implicit indication of the difference based on one or more preconfigured differences in the one or more QCL parameters.

Fig. 22 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 2200 of supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2200 may be implemented by the UE115 or the base station 105, or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2200 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some examples, a UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 2205, the UE or base station may exchange configuration information with the transmitting device, the configuration information including one or more configured difference values. The operations of 2205 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2205 may be performed by a configuration manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13. In some cases, the configuration information is exchanged via radio resource control signaling.

At 2210, the UE or base station may identify a first set of beamforming parameters determined based on a beam training procedure between the transmitting device and the receiving device. The operations of 2210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2210 may be performed by a reference signal manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2215, the UE or the base station may receive, from the transmitting device, an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and a refined set of beamforming parameters used by the transmitting device for data communication to the receiving device, wherein the indicated difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters is an indication of one or more configured difference values. The operations of 2215 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2215 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

At 2220, the UE or the base station may receive a data communication from the transmitting device based on a difference between the indicated first set of beamforming parameters and the refined set of beamforming parameters. The operations of 2220 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2220 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 9-13.

Fig. 23 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 2300 of supporting beam update techniques in wireless communications, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2300 may be implemented by the UE115 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2300 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 5-8. In some examples, the UE may execute the set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 2305, the UE may determine one or more channel state information parameters based on a reference signal received from a base station, wherein the reference signal corresponds to a first set of beamforming parameters and the one or more channel state information parameters are determined based on one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters that is different from the first set of beamforming parameters. The operations of 2305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2305 may be performed by a reference signal manager as described with reference to fig. 5-8.

At 2310, the UE may format a channel state information report including one or more channel state information parameters. The operations of 2310 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2310 may be performed by a CSI manager as described with reference to fig. 5 through 8.

At 2315, the UE may transmit a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of the second set of beamforming parameters or the third set of beamforming parameters to the base station. The operations of 2315 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2315 may be performed by a CSI manager as described with reference to fig. 5 through 8.

Fig. 24 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 2400 of supporting a beam update technique in wireless communication, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 2400 may be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2400 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 14-17. In some examples, the base station may execute sets of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 2405, the base station may transmit a reference signal to the UE using the first set of beamforming parameters. The operations of 2405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2405 may be performed by a reference signal manager as described with reference to fig. 14-17.

At 2410, the base station may receive, from the UE, a channel state information report and an indication of one or more of a second set of beamforming parameters or a third set of beamforming parameters used by the UE to determine one or more channel state information parameters included in the channel state information report. The operations of 2410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2410 may be performed by a CSI manager as described with reference to fig. 14-17.

At 2415, the base station may determine a refined first set of beamforming parameters for data communication to the UE based on the channel state information report and the indication. The operations of 2415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2415 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 14-17.

At 2420, the base station may send an indication of a difference between the first set of beamforming parameters and the refined first set of beamforming parameters to the UE. The operations of 2420 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2420 may be performed by a beam refinement manager as described with reference to fig. 14-17.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified, and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. The IS-2000 version may be generally referred to as CDMA 20001X, 1X, etc. IS-856(TIA-856) IS commonly referred to as CDMA 20001 xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM).

The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A and LTE-A Pro are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization entitled "3 rd Generation partnership project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3 rd generation partnership project 2" (3GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio techniques mentioned herein as well as other systems and radio techniques. Although aspects of the LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein may be applicable to ranges outside of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR applications.

A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell may be associated with a lower power base station than a macro cell, and the small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency band as the macro cell. According to various examples, the small cells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells. For example, a pico cell may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs for users in the residence, etc.). An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, pico eNB, femto eNB, or home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells and may also support communication using one or more component carriers.

The wireless communication systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous operations or asynchronous operations.

The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (eeprom), flash memory, Compact Disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Further, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein (including in the claims), an "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items ending with a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B or C means a or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., a and B and C). Further, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, exemplary steps described as "based on condition a" may be based on both condition a and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on" is interpreted.

In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second or other subsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein in connection with the appended drawings describes example configurations and is not intended to represent the entire example that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, the techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.