阅读说明：本技术 用于具有多个面板的用户装备的面板选择 (Panel selection for user equipment having multiple panels ) 是由 周彦 骆涛 J·H·柳 白天阳 K·维努戈帕尔 于 2020-05-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开提供了用于用户装备(UE)面板标识的信令。UE可具有至少第一面板和第二面板。UE可从基站接收至少一个下行链路参考信号。UE可确定该至少一个下行链路参考信号到一个或多个面板标识符的第一映射。UE可接收上行链路参考信号资源的配置。基于该配置,UE可使用所选面板来传送上行链路参考信号,所选面板与所选面板标识符相关联。UE可传送包括所选面板标识符与上行链路参考信号之间的第二映射的报告。UE可接收指示与所选面板标识符相关联的所选面板的上行链路准予。UE可使用所选面板来传送上行链路数据信道。(The present disclosure provides signaling for User Equipment (UE) panel identification. The UE may have at least a first panel and a second panel. The UE may receive at least one downlink reference signal from a base station. The UE may determine a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers. The UE may receive a configuration of uplink reference signal resources. Based on the configuration, the UE may transmit the uplink reference signal using the selected panel, the selected panel being associated with the selected panel identifier. The UE may transmit a report including a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal. The UE may receive an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with the selected panel identifier. The UE may transmit an uplink data channel using the selected panel.)

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising, by a User Equipment (UE) having at least a first panel and a second panel:

receiving at least one downlink reference signal from a base station;

transmitting a first report comprising a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers;

receiving a configuration of uplink reference signal resources;

transmitting, in response to the configuring, an uplink reference signal using a selected panel of the first panel or the second panel, the selected panel being associated with a selected panel identifier;

transmitting a second report comprising a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal;

receiving an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with the selected panel identifier; and

the selected panel is used to transmit an uplink data channel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the UE, an action time at which the second mapping applies.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the action time is based at least in part on a configured amount of time after: receiving a downlink reference signal; receiving acknowledgement signaling sent by a base station in response to receiving the first report or the second report; transmitting the uplink reference signal; transmitting the second report; or some combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the action time is identified by the base station.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: transmitting, by the UE, the action time to the base station.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first mapping or the second mapping.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the second report including the second mapping comprises: a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is transmitted.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the panel identifiers included in the first mapping are the same as the panel identifiers included in the second mapping and the panel identifiers are associated with the same physical panel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal for beam management, antenna switching, or codebook or non-codebook transmission, or some combination thereof.

10. A method of wireless communication, comprising, at a base station:

transmitting at least one downlink reference signal;

receiving a first report from a User Equipment (UE) having at least a first panel and a second panel, the first report comprising a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers;

transmitting a configuration of uplink reference signal resources;

receiving, from the UE, an uplink reference signal in response to the configuration;

receiving, from the UE, a second report comprising a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal;

transmitting an uplink grant indicating the selected panel associated with the selected panel identifier; and

receiving an uplink data channel transmitted from the UE using the selected panel.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining, at the base station, an action time when the second mapping applies.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the action time is based at least in part on a configured amount of time after: transmitting a downlink reference signal; receiving the uplink reference signal; receiving the second report; a transmission of acknowledgement signaling sent by a base station in response to receiving the first report or the second report; or some combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: signaling, at the base station, the action time to the UE.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, at the base station, the action time from the UE.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first mapping or the second mapping.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the second report including the second mapping from the UE comprises: a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is received.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the panel identifiers included in the first mapping are the same as the panel identifiers included in the second mapping and the panel identifiers are associated with the same physical panel.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal for beam management, antenna switching, codebook or non-codebook transmission, or some combination thereof.

19. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a plurality of panels comprising at least a first panel and a second panel;

a transceiver coupled to the plurality of panels;

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and the memory and configured to:

receiving, via the transceiver, at least one downlink reference signal from a base station;

initiate transmission of a first report comprising a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers via the transceiver;

receiving, via the transceiver, a configuration of uplink reference signal resources;

in response to the configuring, initiating transmission of an uplink reference signal using a selected panel of the first panel or the second panel via the transceiver, the selected panel being associated with a selected panel identifier;

initiate transmission of a second report comprising a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal via the transceiver;

receiving, via the transceiver, an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with a selected panel identifier; and

initiating transmission of an uplink data channel using the selected panel via the transceiver.

20. The UE of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine an action time when the second mapping applies.

21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the action time is based at least in part on a configured amount of time after: receiving a downlink reference signal; receiving acknowledgement signaling sent by a base station in response to receiving the first report or the second report; transmitting the uplink reference signal; transmitting the second report; or some combination thereof.

22. The UE of claim 20, wherein the action time is identified by the base station.

23. The UE of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit the action time to the base station.

24. The UE of claim 19, wherein the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first mapping or the second mapping.

25. The UE of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit the second report comprising the second mapping as a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

26. The UE of claim 19, wherein a panel identifier included in the first mapping is the same as a panel identifier included in the second mapping and the panel identifiers are associated with the same physical panel.

27. The UE of claim 19, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal for beam management, antenna switching, or codebook or non-codebook transmission, or some combination thereof.

28. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a transceiver;

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and the memory and configured to:

initiating transmission of at least one downlink reference signal via the transceiver;

receive, via the transceiver, a first report from a User Equipment (UE) having at least a first panel and a second panel, the first report comprising a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers;

initiate transmission of a configuration of uplink reference signal resources to the UE via the transceiver;

receiving, via the transceiver, an uplink reference signal from the UE in response to the configuration;

receiving, via the transceiver, a second report from the UE comprising a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal;

initiate transmission of an uplink grant via the transceiver indicating a selected panel associated with a selected panel identifier; and

receiving, via the transceiver, an uplink data channel transmitted from the UE using the selected panel.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, in which the at least one processor is further configured to determine an action time when the second mapping applies.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first mapping or the second mapping.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to panel selection for User Equipment (UE) having multiple panels.

Introduction to the design reside in

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access techniques capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access techniques include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access techniques have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a city, country, region, and even global level. An example telecommunication standard is the 5G New Radio (NR). The 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the third generation partnership project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the internet of things (IoT)), and other requirements. The 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), large-scale machine type communication (mtc), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Some aspects of the 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There is a need for further improvements in the 5G NR technology. These improvements are also applicable to other multiple access techniques and telecommunications standards employing these techniques.

Background

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a first method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the first method, and an apparatus (e.g., a User Equipment (UE)) configured to perform the first method are provided. The first method may be performed by a UE having at least a first panel and a second panel. A first method may include receiving at least one downlink reference signal from a base station. A first method may include determining a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers. A first method may include receiving a configuration of uplink reference signal resources. The first method may include: in response to the configuration, an uplink reference signal is transmitted using a selected panel of the first panel or the second panel, the selected panel being associated with a selected panel identifier. The first method may include transmitting a report including a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and an uplink reference signal. A first method may include receiving an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with a selected panel identifier. A first method may include transmitting an uplink data channel using the selected panel. The UE may include: a plurality of panels including at least a first panel and a second panel; a transceiver coupled to the plurality of panels; a memory; and at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and the memory and configured to perform the first method. Additionally, an apparatus may include means for performing the first method.

In another aspect, a second method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the second method, and an apparatus (e.g., a base station) configured to perform the second method are provided. The second method may be performed by a base station. A second method may include transmitting at least one downlink reference signal. The second method may comprise: a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel IDs is received from a UE having at least a first panel and a second panel. A second method may include transmitting a configuration of uplink reference signal resources. A second method may include receiving, from the UE, an uplink reference signal in response to the configuration. The second method may comprise: receiving a report from the UE including a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal. A second method may include transmitting an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with a selected panel identifier. A second method may include receiving an uplink data channel transmitted from a UE using a selected panel. The apparatus may include a transceiver, a memory, and at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and the memory and configured to perform the second method. Additionally, an apparatus may include means for performing the second method.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed and the present description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

Fig. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first 5G/NR frame.

Fig. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G/NR subframe.

Fig. 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second 5G/NR frame.

Fig. 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of a 5G/NR subframe.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and a User Equipment (UE) in an access network.

Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a first example multi-panel UE.

Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a second example multi-panel UE.

Fig. 6 is a message diagram illustrating an example message for configuring a panel identifier for a multi-panel UE.

Fig. 7 is a flow diagram of an example method for configuring a panel identifier for a multi-panel UE.

Fig. 8 is a flow diagram of an example method for configuring a panel identifier for a base station in communication with a multi-panel UE.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of example components of the UE of fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of example components of the base station of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

A multi-panel UE (mpue) may be a UE including a plurality of antenna groups configured as a panel. The terms mpte and UE may be used interchangeably. An example of an MPUE may include a folding device that includes physical panels that fold relative to one another. However, the concept of MPUE may be broader from a wireless communication perspective and may include any device having multiple antenna groups configured as a panel. That is, the MPUE may not be limited to a particular form factor.

The MPUE may provide flexibility in selecting antennas for wireless communication. In particular, the concept of a panel may be used to activate or deactivate certain antennas to improve performance and/or save battery power. Generally, multiple panels may be activated simultaneously, but the UE need not activate multiple panels. In an aspect, while multiple panels may be active, one panel may be selected for uplink transmission using a single beam. In other aspects, multiple beams may be transmitted from multiple panels, or multiple beams may be transmitted from one panel.

In an aspect, communications between an MPUE and a base station may identify a panel for communications. For example, the uplink grant may indicate a panel for the MPUE to use for transmission. The panel identifier (panel ID) may be based on a reference signal transmitted or received using the panel. For example, one or more panels of an MPUE may receive one or more downlink reference signals, measure the received signals, and transmit a mapping of downlink reference signals to panel identifiers. The mapping may also include the signal quality (e.g., SINR or RSRP) of the received signal. Accordingly, the base station may select a panel based on the mapping.

However, in an aspect, the MPUE may transmit uplink reference signals. The uplink reference signal may not be associated with the downlink reference signal. Thus, the mapping of uplink reference signals to panel IDs may be ambiguous. In addition, when an MPUE transmits a panel map, the panel map may not be immediately available for use (e.g., to allow the MPUE or base station to reconfigure).

In an aspect, the present disclosure provides a panel ID report that may include at least a second panel mapping transmitted by an MPUE, the second panel mapping including a mapping of at least one uplink reference signal to a panel identifier. The base station may transmit an uplink grant indicating a panel mapped to an uplink reference signal.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an action time when the mapping of panel IDs to reference signals becomes ready for use. For example, the action time may be based on a configurable time after receiving a reference signal or a mapping report. In another aspect, the mapping report may indicate an action time.

Several aspects of a telecommunications system will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods are described in the following detailed description and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

As an example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements, may be implemented as a "processing system" that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors include: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an application processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a system-on-chip (SoC), a baseband processor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may execute software. Software should be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terminology.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer readable media includes computer storage media. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (eeprom), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the above types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network 100. A wireless communication system, also referred to as a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), includes a base station 102, a UE104, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC)160, and a 5G core (5GC) 190. Base station 102 may include macro cells (high power cellular base stations) and/or small cells (low power cellular base stations). The macro cell includes a base station. Small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.

The one or more UEs 104 may be an MPUE that includes at least first and second panels and a panel control component 140. The panel control component 140 can control activation and deactivation of the panel and perform signaling regarding the configuration and status of the panel. For example, the panel control component 140 may include one or more of: a Reference Signal (RS) receiver 141, a configuration component 142, a Downlink (DL) mapping component 144, an RS transmitter 145, an Uplink (UL) mapping component 146, a grant component 147, and a transmission component 148. Reference Signal (RS) receiver 141 may receive a downlink reference signal. Configuration component 142 can receive a configuration of uplink reference signal resources. Downlink mapping component 144 may map downlink reference signals to panel identifiers and transmit a first report including a first mapping of downlink reference signals to panel identifiers. The RS transmitter 145 may transmit the uplink reference signal using a panel of the first panel or the second panel. The panel may be associated with a panel identifier. UL mapping component 146 can map the uplink reference signal to a panel identifier and transmit a second report including a second mapping between the panel identifier and the uplink reference signal. Grant component 147 can receive an uplink grant indicating a selected panel for transmission using a panel identifier. The transmission component 148 may transmit an uplink data channel using the selected panel.

The base station 102 in communication with the UE104 may include a multi-panel component 198 in communication with the panel control component 140 for activating and deactivating panels and performing signaling regarding the configuration and status of the panels. For example, as illustrated in fig. 10, the multi-panel assembly 198 may include one or more of: RS transmitter 1041, configuration component 1042, DL mapping component 1044, RS receiver 1045, UL mapping component 1046, scheduler 1047, and reception component 1048. The multipanel assembly 198 may optionally include a motion assembly 1049. The RS transmitter 1041 may transmit a downlink reference signal from the base station. The configuration component 1042 may transmit a configuration of uplink reference signal resources to the UE. DL mapping component 1044 may receive a first report from a UE having at least a first panel and a second panel, the first report comprising a first mapping of downlink reference signals to panel identifiers. The RS receiver 1045 may receive an uplink reference signal from the UE. UL mapping component 1046 may receive a second report from the UE comprising a second mapping between the panel identifier and the uplink reference signal. The scheduler 1047 may transmit an uplink grant indicating a panel using a panel identifier. A receiving component 1048 may receive an uplink data channel transmitted from the UE using the panel. An optional action component 1049 can determine an action time when the second panel mapping applies. Further details of the multi-panel assembly 198 are described below.

A base station 102 configured for 4G LTE, collectively referred to as an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), may interface with the EPC160 through a backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). Base stations 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively, next generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with 5GC 190 through backhaul links 184, which backhaul links 184 may be wired or wireless. Among other functions, the base station 102 may perform one or more of the following functions: communication of user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC160 or 5GC 190) over backhaul link 134 (e.g., X2 interface). The backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

The base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102 'may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG). The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE104 may include Uplink (UL) (also known as reverse link) transmissions from UE104 to base station 102 and/or Downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmissions from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna techniques including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. These communication links may be over one or more carriers. For each carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of YxMHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction, the base station 102/UE 104 may use a spectrum of up to a Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400MHz, etc.) bandwidth. These carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL than UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL/UL WWAN spectrum. D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels such as a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), and a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be over a variety of wireless D2D communication systems such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on IEEE 802.11 standards, LTE, or NR.

The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi Access Point (AP)150 in communication with a Wi-Fi Station (STA)152 via a communication link 154 in a 5GHz unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152/AP 150 may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) prior to the communication in order to determine whether the channel is available.

The small cell 102' may operate in licensed and/or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. A small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and/or increase the capacity of the access network.

Whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 102 may include an eNB, g B node (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as the gNB 180, may operate in the legacy sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and/or near mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a mmW base station. Extremely High Frequencies (EHF) are part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The EHF has a range of 30GHz to 300GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended down to 3GHz frequencies with 100 mm wavelength. The ultra-high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3GHz to 30GHz, which is also known as a centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band (e.g., 3 GHz-300 GHz) have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE104 to compensate for the very high path loss and short range.

The base station 180 may transmit the beamformed signals to the UE104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. The UE104 may receive beamformed signals from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182 ". The UE104 may also transmit beamformed signals to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from the UEs 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180/UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of the base station 180/UE 104. The transmit direction and the receive direction of the base station 180 may be the same or may be different. The transmit direction and the receive direction of the UE104 may be the same or may be different.

The EPC160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME)162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC)170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway 172. MME 162 may be in communication with Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between UE104 and EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets pass through the serving gateway 166, which serving gateway 166 itself connects to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and BM-SC 170 are connected to an IP service 176. IP services 176 may include the internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), PS streaming services, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may be used as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service and may be responsible for session management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS-related charging information.

The 5GC 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF)192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF)194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may be in communication with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is a control node that processes signaling between the UE104 and the 5GC 190. In general, the AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address assignment as well as other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to the IP service 197. The IP services 197 may include the internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), PS streaming services, and/or other IP services.

A base station may also be called a gbb, a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 provides an access point for the UE104 to the EPC160 or the 5GC 190. Examples of UEs 104 include cellular phones, smart phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablets, smart devices, wearable devices, vehicles, electricity meters, gas pumps, large or small kitchen appliances, healthcare devices, implants, sensors/actuators, displays, or any other similar functioning device. Some UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, oil pumps, ovens, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

Fig. 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G/NR frame structure. Fig. 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G/NR subframe. Fig. 2C is a diagram 250 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G/NR frame structure. Fig. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G/NR subframe. The 5G/NR frame structure may be FDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within that set of subcarriers are dedicated to either DL or UL; or may be TDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within that set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL. In the example provided by fig. 2A, 2C, the 5G/NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, with subframe 4 configured with slot format 28 (mostly DL) and subframe 3 configured with slot format 34 (mostly UL), where D is DL, U is UL, and X for flexible use between DL/UL. Although subframes 3, 4 are shown as having slot formats 34, 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of a variety of available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0, 1 are full DL, full UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format (dynamically configured through DL Control Information (DCI) or semi-statically/statically configured through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) through a received Slot Format Indicator (SFI). Note that the following description also applies to a 5G/NR frame structure which is TDD.

Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and/or different channels. One frame (10ms) can be divided into 10 equally sized sub-frames (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more slots. A subframe may also include a mini-slot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the slot configuration. For slot configuration 0, each slot may include 14 symbols, and for slot configuration 1, each slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on the DL may be Cyclic Prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission). Number of slots in a subframeThe purpose is based on time slot configuration and parameter design. For slot configuration 0, different parameter designs μ 0 to 5 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter designs 0 to 2 allow 2, 4 and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and parameter design μ, there are 14 symbols per slot and 2 per subframe^μAnd a time slot. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length/duration are a function of the parameter design. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2^μ15kHz, where μ is parametric 0 to 5. Thus, the parametric design μ -0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, while the parametric design μ -5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480 kHz. The symbol length/duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Fig. 2A-2D provide examples of slot configuration 0 and parameter design μ ═ 0 with 14 symbols per slot, with 1 slot per subframe. The subcarrier spacing is 15kHz and the symbol duration is about 66.7 mus.

A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each slot includes Resource Blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (prbs)) extending 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a plurality of Resource Elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

As illustrated in fig. 2A, some REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RSs) for the UE. The RS may include a demodulation RS (DM-RS) (indicated as R for one particular configuration) for channel estimation at the UE_xWhere 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS). The RS may also include a beam measurement RS (BRS), a Beam Refinement RS (BRRS), and a phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

Fig. 2B illustrates an example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame. A Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each CCE includes 9 RE groups (REGs), each REG including 4 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of the frame. The PSS is used by the UE104 to determine subframe/symbol timing and physical layer identity. A Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE may determine a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. A Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) carrying a Master Information Block (MIB) may be logically grouped with a PSS and a SSS to form a Synchronization Signal (SS)/PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth, and the System Frame Number (SFN). The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information, such as System Information Blocks (SIBs), which are not transmitted through the PBCH, and a paging message.

As illustrated in fig. 2C, some REs carry DM-RS for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible). The UE may transmit the DM-RS for a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and the DM-RS for a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first one or two symbols of PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is transmitted and depending on the particular PUCCH format used. Although not shown, the UE may transmit a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

Fig. 2D illustrates an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries Uplink Control Information (UCI) such as scheduling request, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), Rank Indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK/NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry Buffer Status Reports (BSRs), Power Headroom Reports (PHR), and/or UCI.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with a UE 350 in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from EPC160 may be provided to controller/processor 375. The controller/processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcast of system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration of UE measurement reports; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer Packet Data Units (PDUs), error correction by ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto Transport Blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction by HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

The Transmit (TX) processor 316 and the Receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the Physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoding/decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation/demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce a plurality of spatial streams. The channel estimates from channel estimator 374 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal transmitted by the UE 350 and/or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318 TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a Receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. RX processor 356 then transforms the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by channel estimator 358. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physical channel. These data and control signals are then provided to a controller/processor 359 that implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

The controller/processor 359 can be associated with memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher interpretation, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller/processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and/or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DL transmission by base station 310, controller/processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, and security (ciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction by ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction by HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

Channel estimates, derived by a channel estimator 358 from reference signals or feedback transmitted by base station 310, may be used by TX processor 368 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes, as well as to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354 TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

UL transmissions are processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in connection with receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to RX processor 370.

The controller/processor 375 can be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. Memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher interpretation, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. IP packets from controller/processor 375 may be provided to EPC 160. The controller/processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and/or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

At least one of TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller/processor 359 may be configured to perform various aspects in conjunction with panel control component 140 of fig. 1.

At least one of TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller/processor 375 may be configured to perform various aspects in conjunction with multi-panel assembly 198 of fig. 1.

Turning to fig. 4, conceptual diagram 400 includes an example multi-panel ue (mpue) 404. MPUE 404 may include a plurality of panels, such as a first panel 410, a second panel 412, and an optional third panel 414. The MPUE 404 may include additional optional panels (not shown). In general, a panel may be a UE component that includes an antenna group that includes one or more antennas and is associated with a panel ID. The antenna may include one or more antennas, antenna elements, and/or antenna arrays. Each panel can be operated independently to some extent. For example, each panel may be individually activated or deactivated. The activated panel may be used for transmission and/or reception. A deactivated panel may not be used for transmission and/or reception. For example, the deactivated panel may be in a sleep mode that conserves power. In an aspect, the disabled panel may be in a light sleep mode or a deep sleep mode. Each panel may be configured with a different panel identifier (panel ID). In an aspect, a panel may be associated with an antenna group. For example, panel 410 may be associated with antenna group 430, panel 412 may be associated with antenna group 432, and panel 414 may be associated with antenna group 434.

In an aspect, the panel may be an antenna group unit that independently controls beams. For example, within a panel, one beam may be selected and used for UL transmission. For example, one of the beams 440a, 440b may be selected for the panel 410. In an aspect, a UE may be restricted to a single panel for UL transmissions. In another aspect, multiple panels may be used for UL transmissions, and across different panels, multiple beams (each beam selected per panel) may be used for UL transmissions. For example, one of beams 442a, 442b may be selected for panel 412, and one of beams 444a, 444b may be selected for panel 414. In another aspect, multiple beams may be transmitted from the same panel. For example, panel 410 may transmit both beam 440a and beam 440 b. A limited number of beams are illustrated for simplicity, but it should be understood that the panel may select from a larger number of beams, for example, depending on the frequency range of transmission.

In an aspect, the panel may be an antenna group unit that controls transmit power of the antenna group. For example, all antennas or antenna elements within an antenna group may use the same transmit power.

In an aspect, the panel may be an antenna group unit with common UL timing. For example, all antennas or antenna elements within an antenna group may be configured to have the same timing advance.

In an aspect, the panels of the mpie 404 may be based on the hardware structure of the mpie 404. For example, MPUE 404 may include a hinge 420 between panel 410 and panel 412 such that panel 410 and panel 412 may be oriented at an angle to each other. Similarly, hinge 422 may be located between panel 412 and panel 414. In an aspect, panels 410, 412, 414 may be physically reconfigured (e.g., by folding MPUE 404 at hinges 420, 422) to change the orientation of the respective panels. When the panels 410, 412, 414 are physically reconfigured, the direction of the beams associated with each panel may also change.

In another aspect, the panels of the mpie 404 can be defined dynamically, for example by selecting a subset of the total antennas or antenna elements as a panel. For example, fig. 5 illustrates an example MPUE 504 that does not necessarily include a hinge. The MPUE 504 may include multiple antenna groups 520, 522, 524, 526. The MPUE 504 may configure the antenna groups 520, 522, 524, 526 into multiple panels. For example, first panel 510 may include antenna groups 520 and 522, and second panel 512 may include antenna groups 524 and 526. When the first panel 510 is active, one of the beams 540a, 540b, 540c, 540d may be selected for uplink transmission. When the second panel 512 is active, one of the beams 542a, 542b, 542c, or 542d may be selected for uplink transmission. In an aspect, MPUE 504 may dynamically configure a panel comprising different combinations of antenna groups 520, 522, 524, 526.

Turning to fig. 6, an example message diagram 600 includes signaling messages that may be used to identify one or more panels of the example mpie 404 for transmission.

MPUE 404 may transmit UE capability 605, which may indicate that MPUE 404 includes multiple panels. UE capabilities 605 may indicate the total number of panels and/or the maximum number of active panels for MPUE 404. The UE capabilities 605 may be carried in, for example, an RRC configuration message.

Base station 102 may transmit one or more downlink reference signals 610. The downlink reference signal 610 may use multiple DL beams. For example, downlink reference signals 610 may include Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) and/or CSI-RSs. The same reference signals may be transmitted on different beams and on different resources to allow MPUE 404 to determine the relative strengths of different beam and panel combinations.

At 615, MPUE 404 may measure multiple beams of downlink reference signal 610. The MPUE 404 may determine the number of strongest DL RSs (e.g., N). For example, the MPUE 404 may compare the signal strength of each received DL RS corresponding to the different beams, such as a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), or a signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), to determine the number of strongest DL RSs. The MPUE 404 may rank the DL RSs to determine the top N strongest DL RSs. In an aspect, N may have a value between 1 and 8. In an aspect, the downlink beam may correspond to the uplink beam through a channel correspondence.

The MPUE 404 may transmit a first panel mapping report 620 comprising one or more mappings between DL RSs, signal strengths, and panel identifiers. For example, the mapping report may include one or more mapping sets of DL RS IDs, corresponding RSRP/SINR, and corresponding UE Rx/Tx panel IDs. For example, the MPUE 404 may transmit a mapping set for each of the top N strongest DL-RSs. The MPUE 404 and the base station 102 may each store a mapping between each reported DL RS ID and the corresponding UE Rx/Tx panel ID.

The base station 102 may transmit an uplink reference signal resource configuration 625. For example, the uplink reference signal resource configuration 625 may be an RRC message, a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) (MAC-CE), or Downlink Control Information (DCI). The MPUE 404 may transmit the UL reference signal 630 using the configured resources. For example, the uplink reference signals may include Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) for beam management, antenna switching, or codebook or non-codebook transmission. In an aspect, the UL reference signal 630 may not correspond to one of the DL reference signals. For example, UL reference signal 630 may use a different beam than the downlink reference signal, or may use a different panel than the downlink reference signal. For example, MPUE 404 may select a selected panel for UL reference signals (e.g., a newly activated panel or a panel selected based on the signal strength of the corresponding downlink reference signals). At 635, the base station 102 can perform reference signal measurements on the uplink reference signals 630. Similar to the measurements performed by the MPUE 404, the reference signal measurements may include at least one of RSSI, RSRP, or SINR.

Base station 102 may optionally transmit a mapping request 640. For example, the mapping request 640 may be transmitted based on UL RS resource configuration 625 or RS measurements 635. For example, base station 102 can transmit mapping request 640 if UL RS resource configuration 625 or RS measurements 635 include reference signals for which no panel ID is stored (e.g., when there is no beam correspondence between UL and DL). Thus, when the base station does not store a panel identifier corresponding to the selected panel, the base station 102 may transmit a mapping request 640.

MPUE 404 may transmit a second panel mapping report 645 that includes a mapping of UL reference signals 630 to panel IDs of panels used to transmit UL reference signals 630. For example, second panel mapping report 645 may be based on mapping request 640, or may be initiated by MPUE 404, e.g., in response to using a new panel to transmit UL reference signals 630. The second panel mapping report 645 may be transmitted, for example, as a MAC-CE. The panel ID in second panel mapping report 645 may be referred to as a selected panel identifier and may coincide with the panel ID transmitted in first panel mapping report 620. For example, if the panel ID included in the first mapping is the same as the selected panel ID included in the second mapping, then the panel ID refers to the same physical panel or the same set of antennas. Accordingly, the first mapping and the second mapping may use the same panel identifier for the selected panel.

In an aspect, a panel map may be available at action time 654. For example, the MPUE 404 and/or the base station 102 may require time (e.g., 1-5ms) to configure for transmissions using the identified panel. The MPUE 404 and/or the base station 102 may perform activation 650. The MPUE 404 and/or the base station 102 may determine an action time 654 when a second panel mapping is available. In an aspect, the action time 654 may be based on a configured amount of time 652 after receiving the downlink reference signal 610, the uplink reference signal 630, the second panel mapping report 645, or another signal sent by the base station 102 in response to the second panel mapping report 645. In another aspect, the action time 654 may be signaled by the base station 102 or the MPUE 404. For example, the MPUE 404 may include an action time 654 in the second panel mapping report 645.

After action time 654, the base station 102 may transmit an uplink grant 655 indicating a panel for transmission using the panel identifier. For example, the uplink grant 655 may be DCI. The uplink grant 655 may include a panel identifier, which may be a selected panel identifier in the case where the base station selects the same panel for transmitting uplink reference signals. In another aspect, the uplink grant 655 may indicate a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first panel map or the second panel map. The MPUE 404 may transmit an uplink transmission 660 (e.g., an uplink data channel) using the indicated panel based on the uplink grant 655.

Fig. 7 is a flow diagram of an example wireless communication method 700. The method 700 may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE104 that includes the panel control component 140, or the MPUE 404, 504 that may also include the panel control component 140). The UE performing method 700 may include at least a first panel (e.g., panel 410) and a second panel (e.g., panel 412).

At 710, method 700 may include receiving at least one downlink reference signal from a base station. In an aspect, for example, the UE104, the RX processor 356, and/or the controller/processor 359 may execute the panel control component 140 and/or the RS receiver 141 to receive downlink reference signals 610 from the base station 102 at the mpie 404 having at least the first panel 410 and the second panel 412. Accordingly, execution of panel control component 140 by UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 may provide means for receiving at least one downlink reference signal from the base station.

At 720, method 700 may include transmitting a first report including a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers. In an aspect, for example, UE104, TX processor 368, and/or controller/processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and/or DL mapping component 144 to transmit a first panel mapping report 620 comprising a first mapping to base station 102. For example, DL mapping component 144 may determine a first mapping of each downlink reference signal 610 to a corresponding panel identifier. For example, the first mapping may include a set of mappings of DL RSIDs, corresponding RSRP/SINRs, and corresponding UE Rx/Tx panel IDs for each downlink reference signal 610. In an implementation, the first report may be transmitted as a MAC-CE. Accordingly, UE104, TX processor 368 and/or controller/processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and/or DL mapping component 144 may provide means for transmitting a first report including a first mapping of downlink reference signals to panel identifiers.

At 730, the method 700 can include receiving a configuration of uplink reference signal resources. In an aspect, for example, UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and/or configuration component 142 to receive UL RS resource configuration 625 of uplink reference signal resources. Accordingly, execution of panel control component 140 and/or configuration component 142 by UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 may provide means for receiving a configuration of uplink reference signal resources.

At 740, the method 700 may include transmitting an uplink reference signal using a selected panel of the first panel or the second panel. The selected panel may be associated with a selected panel identifier. In an aspect, for example, the UE104, TX processor 368, and/or controller/processor 359 may execute the panel control component 140 and/or RS transmitter 145 to transmit the uplink reference signal 630 using a selected panel of the first panel 410 or the second panel 412, the selected panel being associated with a selected panel identifier. The uplink reference signal may be an SRS for beam management, antenna switching, or codebook or non-codebook transmission. Accordingly, the UE104, TX processor 368, and/or controller/processor 359 executing the panel control component 140 and/or the RS transmitter 145 may provide means for transmitting uplink reference signals using a selected one of the first panel or the second panel.

At 750, method 700 may include transmitting a second report including a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal. In an aspect, for example, UE104, TX processor 368, and/or controller/processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and/or UL mapping component 146 to transmit a second panel mapping report 645 that includes a second mapping between selected panel identifiers and uplink reference signals. In an aspect, the second report may be a MAC-CE. In an aspect, the panel ID included in the first map is the same as the panel ID included in the second map, and the panel IDs refer to the same physical panel. Accordingly, execution of panel control component 140 and/or UL mapping component 146 by UE104, TX processor 368, and/or controller/processor 359 may provide means for transmitting a second report comprising a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal.

At 760, method 700 may optionally include determining an action time when the second panel mapping applies. In an aspect, for example, UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and/or action component 149 to determine an action time when the second panel mapping applies. In an implementation, the action time may be based on a configured amount of time (e.g., activation time 652) after: receiving a downlink reference signal 610; receiving acknowledgement signaling sent by the base station in response to receiving the first report 620 or the second report 645; transmitting an uplink reference signal 630; transmitting a second report 645; or some combination thereof. In another implementation, the action time is identified by the base station. In yet another implementation, action component 149 may communicate the action time to base station 102. Accordingly, execution of panel control component 140 and/or action component 149 by UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 may provide means for determining an action time when a second panel mapping applies.

At 770, method 700 may include receiving an uplink grant indicating a panel using a panel identifier. In an aspect, for example, UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and/or grant component 147 to receive uplink grant 655 indicating the selected panel associated with the selected panel identifier. In an implementation, the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first panel map or the second panel map. Accordingly, UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 to perform panel control component 140 and/or grant component 147 may provide means for receiving an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with a selected panel identifier.

At 780, method 700 may include transmitting an uplink data channel using the selected panel. In an aspect, for example, UE104, TX processor 368, and/or controller/processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and/or transmission component 148 to transmit an uplink data channel (e.g., uplink transmission 660) using the selected panel. Accordingly, execution of panel control component 140 and/or transmission component 148 by UE104, TX processor 368, and/or controller/processor 359 can provide means for transmitting uplink data channels using the selected panel.

Fig. 8 is a flow chart of an example wireless communication method 800. The method 800 may be performed by a base station (e.g., the base station 102 including the multi-panel assembly 198). The method 800 may be performed in communication with an mpie 404, the mpie 404 comprising a plurality of panels, such as at least a first panel (e.g., panel 410) and a second panel (e.g., panel 412). Dashed lines indicate optional boxes.

At 810, the method 800 may include transmitting at least one downlink reference signal. In an aspect, for example, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or TX processor 316 may execute multi-panel assembly 198 and/or RS transmitter 1041 to transmit at least downlink reference signal 610. Accordingly, execution of panel control component 140 by UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 may provide means for transmitting at least one downlink reference signal.

At 820, method 800 may include receiving a first report from a UE having at least a first panel and a second panel, the first report including a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers. In an aspect, for example, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and/or DL mapping component 1044 to receive a first report 620 from UE104 having at least a first panel 410 and a second panel 412, the first report 620 comprising a first mapping of at least downlink reference signals 610 to one or more panel identifiers. The first report may be received as a MAC-CE. Accordingly, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and/or DL mapping component 1044 may provide means for receiving a first report from a UE having at least a first panel and a second panel, the first report comprising a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers.

At 830, the method 800 may include transmitting a configuration of uplink reference signal resources. In an aspect, for example, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or TX processor 316 may execute multi-panel component 198 and/or configuration component 1042 to communicate configuration 625 of uplink reference signal resources. Accordingly, the UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 to perform the panel controlling component 140 and/or configuring component 1042 may provide means for transmitting a configuration of uplink reference signal resources.

At 840, method 800 may include receiving an uplink reference signal from the UE in response to the configuration. The panel may be associated with a panel identifier. In an aspect, for example, the base station 102, the controller/processor 375, and/or the RX processor 370 may execute the multi-panel component 198 and/or the RS receiver 1045 to receive an uplink reference signal 630 from the UE104 in response to the configuration 625. The uplink reference signal may be a sounding reference signal used for beam management, antenna switching, codebook or non-codebook transmission, or some combination thereof. Accordingly, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and/or RS receiver 1045 may provide means for receiving an uplink reference signal from the UE in response to the configuration.

At 850, method 800 may include receiving a second report from the UE, the second report including a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal. In an aspect, for example, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and/or UL mapping component 1046 to receive a second report 645 from UE104, second report 645 including a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and uplink reference signal 630. In an aspect, the second report 645 may be a MAC-CE. In an aspect, the panel ID included in the first map is the same as the panel ID included in the second map, and the panel IDs refer to the same physical panel. Accordingly, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and/or UL mapping component 1046 may provide means for receiving a second report from the UE, the second report including a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal.

At 860, method 800 may optionally include determining an action time when the second panel mapping applies. In an aspect, for example, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and/or action component 1049 to determine an action time when a second panel mapping applies. In an implementation, the action time may be based at least in part on a configured amount of time after: transmitting a downlink reference signal 610; receiving an uplink reference signal 630; receiving a second report 645; transmission of acknowledgement signaling sent by the base station in response to receipt of the first report 620 or the second report 645; or some combination thereof. In another implementation, the action time is identified by the base station. In yet another implementation, action component 149 may receive an action time from UE 104. Accordingly, execution of multi-panel component 198 and/or action component 1049 by base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 may provide means for determining an action time when a second panel mapping applies.

At 870, method 800 may include transmitting an uplink grant indicating the selected panel associated with the selected panel identifier. In an aspect, for example, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or TX processor 316 may execute multi-panel component 198 and/or scheduler 1047 to transmit an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with a selected panel identifier. In an implementation, the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first panel map or the second panel map. Accordingly, UE104, RX processor 356, and/or controller/processor 359 to execute panel control component 140 and/or scheduler 1047 may provide means for transmitting an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with a selected panel identifier.

At 880, method 800 may include receiving an uplink data channel transmitted from the UE using the selected panel. In an aspect, for example, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and/or receiving component 1048 to receive an uplink data channel transmitted from a UE using a selected panel. Accordingly, base station 102, controller/processor 375, and/or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and/or receiving component 1048 may provide means for receiving an uplink data channel transmitted from a UE using a selected panel.

With reference to fig. 9, one example of an implementation of UE104 may include various components, some of which have been described above, but also components such as one or more processors 912 and memory 916, and transceiver 902 in communication via one or more buses 944, which may operate in conjunction with modem 914 and panel control component 140 to implement one or more functions described herein related to signaling for panel activation. Further, the one or more processors 912, modem 914, memory 916, transceiver 902, RF front end 988, and one or more antennas 965 can be configured to support voice and/or data calls in one or more radio access technologies (simultaneous or non-simultaneous). The antenna 965 may include one or more antennas, antenna elements, and/or antenna arrays.

In an aspect, the one or more processors 912 may include a modem 914 using one or more modem processors. Various functions associated with the panel control component 140 can be included in the modem 914 and/or the processor 912 and, in one aspect, can be performed by a single processor, while in other aspects, different functions can be performed by a combination of two or more different processors. For example, in an aspect, the one or more processors 912 may include any one or any combination of the following: a modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or a transceiver processor associated with the transceiver 902. In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors 912 and/or modems 914 associated with the panel control component 140 can be performed by the transceiver 902.

Additionally, the memory 916 can be configured to store data used herein and/or local versions of the applications 975 or the panel control component 140 and/or one or more sub-components thereof executed by the at least one processor 912. The memory 916 can include any type of computer-readable medium usable by the computer or at least one processor 912, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In an aspect, for example, when UE104 is operating at least one processor 912 to execute panel control component 140 and/or one or more sub-components thereof, memory 916 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable codes defining panel control component 140 and/or one or more sub-components thereof and/or data associated therewith.

The transceiver 902 may include at least one receiver 906 and at least one transmitter 908. Receiver 906 may include hardware, firmware, and/or software code executable by a processor, the code comprising instructions and being stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium) for receiving data. Receiver 906 may be, for example, a Radio Frequency (RF) receiver. In an aspect, receiver 906 may receive signals transmitted by at least one base station 102. Additionally, receiver 906 may process such received signals and may also obtain measurements for such signals, such as but not limited to Ec/Io, SNR, RSRP, RSSI, and so forth. The transmitter 908 may include hardware, firmware, and/or software code executable by a processor for transmitting data, the code comprising instructions and being stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). Suitable examples of transmitter 908 may include, but are not limited to, an RF transmitter.

Also, in an aspect, the UE104 may include an RF front end 988 that is communicatively operable with one or more antennas 965 and transceiver 902 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, e.g., wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 102 or wireless transmissions transmitted by the UE 104. The RF front end 988 may be connected to one or more antennas 965 and may include one or more Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) 990, one or more switches 992, one or more Power Amplifiers (PAs) 998, and one or more filters 996 for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

In an aspect, the LNA 990 may amplify the received signal to a desired output level. In an aspect, each LNA 990 may have specified minimum and maximum gain values. In an aspect, the RF front end 988 may use one or more switches 992 to select a particular LNA 990 and corresponding specified gain value based on a desired gain value for a particular application.

Further, for example, one or more PAs 998 may be used by the RF front end 988 to amplify signals to obtain an RF output at a desired output power level. In an aspect, each PA 998 may have specified minimum and maximum gain values. In an aspect, the RF front end 988 may select a particular PA 998 and corresponding specified gain value using one or more switches 992 based on a desired gain value for a particular application.

Additionally, for example, one or more filters 996 may be used by the RF front end 988 to filter the received signal to obtain an input RF signal. Similarly, in an aspect, for example, a respective filter 996 may be used to filter the output from a respective PA 998 to produce an output signal for transmission. In an aspect, each filter 996 may be connected to a particular LNA 990 and/or PA 998. In an aspect, the RF front end 988 may use one or more switches 992 to select a transmit or receive path using a specified filter 996, LNA 990, and/or PA 998 based on the configuration as specified by the transceiver 902 and/or processor 912.

As such, transceiver 902 may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through one or more antennas 965 via RF front end 988. In an aspect, the transceiver may be tuned to operate at a specified frequency such that the UE104 may communicate with one or more base stations 102 or one or more cells associated with one or more base stations 102, for example. In an aspect, for example, the modem 914 may configure the transceiver 902 to operate at a specified frequency and power level based on a UE configuration of the UE104 and a communication protocol used by the modem 914.

In an aspect, the modem 914 can be a multi-band-multi-mode modem that can process digital data and communicate with the transceiver 902 such that the transceiver 902 is used to transmit and receive digital data. In an aspect, the modem 914 can be multi-band and configured to support multiple frequency bands for a particular communication protocol. In an aspect, the modem 914 can be multi-mode and configured to support multiple operating networks and communication protocols. In an aspect, the modem 914 can control one or more components of the UE104 (e.g., RF front end 988, transceiver 902) to enable transmission and/or reception of signals from a network based on a specified modem configuration. In an aspect, the modem configuration may be based on the mode of the modem and the frequency band used. In another aspect, the modem configuration may be based on UE configuration information associated with the UE104, as provided by the network during cell selection and/or cell reselection.

With reference to fig. 10, one example of an implementation of base station 102 may include various components, some of which have been described above, including components such as one or more processors 1012 and memory 1016 in communication via one or more buses 1054, and a transceiver 1002, which may operate in conjunction with modem 1014 and multi-panel component 198 to implement one or more functions described herein related to signaling panel activation.

The transceiver 1002, the receiver 1006, the transmitter 1008, the one or more processors 1012, the memory 1016, the applications 1075, the bus 1054, the RF front end 1088, the LNA 1090, the switch 1092, the filter 1096, the PA 1098, and the one or more antennas 1065 may be the same as or similar to corresponding components of the UE104 as described above, but configured or otherwise programmed for base station operation rather than UE operation.

It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flow diagrams disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. It will be appreciated that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flow diagrams may be rearranged based on design preferences. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. The term "some" or "an" refers to one or more, unless specifically stated otherwise. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C", and "A, B, C or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B and/or C, and may include a plurality of a, B, or C. In particular, combinations such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C", and "A, B, C or any combination thereof" may be a only, B only, C, A and B, A and C, B and C only, or a and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The terms "module," mechanism, "" element, "" device, "and the like may not be a substitute for the term" means. As such, no claim element should be construed as a means-plus-function unless the element is explicitly recited using the phrase "means for … …".

Some further example embodiments

A first example method of wireless communication, comprising, by a User Equipment (UE) having at least a first panel and a second panel: receiving at least one downlink reference signal from a base station; transmitting a first report comprising a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers; receiving a configuration of uplink reference signal resources; in response to the configuration, transmitting an uplink reference signal using a selected panel of the first panel or the second panel, the selected panel being associated with a selected panel identifier; transmitting a second report comprising a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal; receiving an uplink grant indicating a selected panel associated with the selected panel identifier; and transmitting an uplink data channel using the selected panel.

The above first example method further comprises: determining, by the UE, an action time at which the second mapping applies.

The method of any of the above first example methods, wherein the action time is based at least in part on a configured amount of time after: receiving a downlink reference signal; receiving acknowledgement signaling sent by a base station in response to receiving the first report or the second report; transmitting the uplink reference signal; transmitting the second report; or some combination thereof.

The method of any of the first example methods above, wherein the action time is identified by the base station.

As in any of the above first example methods, further comprising: transmitting, by the UE, the action time to the base station.

The apparatus of any of the above first example methods, wherein the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first mapping or the second mapping.

The method of any of the above first example methods, wherein transmitting the second report including the second mapping comprises: a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is transmitted.

The method of any of the above first example methods, wherein the panel identifier included in the first map is the same as the panel identifier included in the second map, and the panel identifiers are associated with the same physical panel.

The method of any of the first example methods above, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal for beam management, antenna switching, or codebook or non-codebook transmission, or some combination thereof.

A UE, comprising: a plurality of panels comprising at least a first panel and a second panel; a transceiver coupled to the plurality of panels; a memory; and at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and the memory and configured to perform any of the first example methods as above.

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for performing any of the first example methods above.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform any of the first example methods above.

A second example method of wireless communication, comprising, at a base station: transmitting at least one downlink reference signal; receiving a first report from a User Equipment (UE) having at least a first panel and a second panel, the first report comprising a first mapping of the at least one downlink reference signal to one or more panel identifiers; transmitting a configuration of uplink reference signal resources; receiving, from the UE, an uplink reference signal in response to the configuration; receiving, from the UE, a second report comprising a second mapping between the selected panel identifier and the uplink reference signal; transmitting an uplink grant indicating the selected panel associated with the selected panel identifier; and receiving an uplink data channel transmitted from the UE using the selected panel.

The above second example method further comprises: determining, at the base station, an action time when the second mapping applies.

The method of any of the above second example methods, wherein the action time is based at least in part on a configured amount of time after: transmitting a downlink reference signal; receiving the uplink reference signal; receiving the second report; a transmission of acknowledgement signaling sent by a base station in response to receiving the first report or the second report; or some combination thereof.

As in any of the above second example methods, further comprising: signaling, at the base station, the action time to the UE.

As in any of the above second example methods, further comprising: receiving, at the base station, the action time from the UE.

The apparatus of any of the above second example methods, wherein the uplink grant indicates a downlink reference signal or an uplink reference signal associated with the selected panel identifier in the first mapping or the second mapping.

The method of any of the above second example methods, wherein receiving the second report including the second mapping from the UE comprises: a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is received.

The method of any of the above second example methods, wherein the panel identifier included in the first map is the same as the panel identifier included in the second map, and the panel identifiers refer to the same physical panel.

The method of any of the above second example methods, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal for beam management, antenna switching, codebook or non-codebook transmission, or some combination thereof.

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and the memory and configured to perform any of the second example methods as above.

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for performing any of the second example methods above.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform any of the second example methods above.