阅读说明：本技术 无线通信中的信道状态信息反馈 (Channel state information feedback in wireless communications ) 是由 吴昊 李永 郑国增 鲁照华 李儒岳 于 2019-02-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：用于通过压缩预编码向量的系数,并基于包括网络信号参数在内的几个参数报告压缩系数的子集来减少信道状态信息反馈信道开销的方法、系统和设备。一些实施例可以被用于无线通信实施例中,其中需要报告来自许多层和许多频域单元的信道状态信息。(Methods, systems, and devices for reducing channel state information feedback channel overhead by compressing coefficients of a precoding vector and reporting a subset of the compressed coefficients based on several parameters including network signal parameters. Some embodiments may be used in wireless communication embodiments where channel state information from many layers and many frequency domain elements need to be reported.)

1. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising:

generating, by a wireless device, a channel state information, CSI, feedback report based at least in part on L first basis vectors, M second basis vectors, and a plurality of coefficients, wherein the L first basis vectors, the M second basis vectors, and the plurality of coefficients indicate information about a precoding vector, and L and M are integers.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for each layer R of the R layers, selecting a subset of the plurality of coefficients having K0 non-zero coefficients or less; and

generating a CSI feedback report based at least in part on the L first basis vectors, the M second basis vectors, and a subset of non-zero coefficients for each of the R layers R.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2, wherein at least one of L, M, R and K0 is determined based on network configuration parameters.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein generating the CSI feedback report further comprises:

generating a first portion of the CSI feedback report, wherein the first portion comprises at least one of a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), a Rank Indicator (RI), and an indication of a number of non-zero coefficients for a total of R layers, wherein R is rank-valued; and

generating a second part of the CSI feedback report, wherein the second part of the CSI feedback report comprises a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI).

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the indicated bit width of the number of non-zero coefficients of the R layers total is based on a maximum number of layers.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the PMI comprises at least one of an indication of the L first basis vectors, an indication of the M second basis vectors, an indication of a magnitude and a phase of the plurality of coefficients, and an indication of a position of a non-zero coefficient of the plurality of coefficients.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more CSI parameters in the first portion of the CSI feedback report are jointly channel coded, the one or more CSI parameters in the second portion of the CSI feedback report are jointly channel coded, and the first portion of the CSI feedback report is channel coded independently of the second portion of the CSI feedback report.

8. The method of any of claims 2 to 7, further comprising:

defining at least one of the L, M and K0 such that when rank R is greater than rank R0, the rank R corresponding K0 value is less than or equal to the rank R0 corresponding K0 value, wherein R0 is greater than or equal to 1.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein a bit width indicated by a number of non-zero coefficients of the R layers total is based on at least one of the R0, L, M, and K0 for rank R0.

10. The method of any of claims 8 to 9, further comprising:

defining at least one of the L, M and K0 such that when rank R is greater than rank R0, the rank R corresponding K0 value is a predefined fraction of the rank R0 corresponding K0 value, wherein R0 is greater than or equal to 1.

11. The method of any of claims 8 to 10, further comprising:

defining at least one of the L, M and K0 is determined based on a maximum number of layers.

12. The method of any of claims 1-11, wherein the maximum number of layers is based on at least one of a network configuration parameter, a capability of the wireless device, and a maximum rank that a codebook used for determining the precoding vector can support.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 12, further comprising:

and sending the CSI feedback report to a wireless node.

14. The method according to any of claims 1-13, wherein the wireless device comprises a user equipment, UE, and the wireless node comprises a base station, BS.

15. A wireless communication device comprising a processor configured to implement the method of any one or more of claims 1 to 14.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer readable program medium having stored thereon processor executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out the method of any one or more of claims 1 to 14.

17. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising:

receiving, by a wireless node, a channel state information, CSI, feedback report, wherein the CSI feedback report includes an indication of L first basis vectors, an indication of M second basis vectors, and an indication of a plurality of coefficients.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the CSI feedback report comprises a first portion and a second portion, wherein the second portion of the CSI feedback report is received based on a payload in the first portion of the CSI feedback report.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first portion of the CSI feedback report comprises at least one of a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), a Rank Indicator (RI), and an indication of a number of non-zero coefficients for the R layers total, wherein R is rank-valued, and the second portion comprises a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI).

20. The method of any of claims 18-19, wherein the one or more CSI parameters in the first portion of the CSI feedback report are jointly channel coded, the one or more CSI parameters in the second portion of the CSI feedback report are jointly channel coded, and the first portion of the CSI feedback report is channel coded independently of the second portion of the CSI feedback report.

21. The method of any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the indication of the plurality of coefficients comprises a subset of K0 non-zero coefficients having less than or equal to the non-zero coefficient selected from a plurality of coefficients for each R of the R layers.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

transmitting one or more network parameters to a wireless device, wherein the one or more network parameters determine at least one of the L, M, R and K0.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the L, M, and K0 is defined such that when rank R is greater than rank R0, the rank R corresponding K0 value is less than or equal to the rank R0 corresponding K0 value, wherein R0 is greater than or equal to 1.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the L, M, and K0 is defined such that when rank R is greater than rank R0, the rank R corresponding K0 value is a predefined score of the rank R0 corresponding K0 value, wherein R0 is greater than or equal to 1.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the L, M and K0 is defined based on a maximum number of layers.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the maximum number of layers is based on at least one of a network configuration parameter, a capability of the wireless device, and a maximum rank that a codebook used to determine the precoding vector can support.

27. The method of any one of claims 21 to 26, wherein a bit width indicated by the number of non-zero coefficients of the R layers total depends on the maximum number of layers.

28. The method of any one of claims 23-27, wherein, for the rank R0, a bit width indicated by a number of non-zero coefficients for the R layers total is based on at least one of the R0, L, M, and K0.

29. The method of claim 19, wherein the PMI comprises at least one of an indication of the L first basis vectors, an indication of the M second basis vectors, an indication of amplitude and phase of the plurality of coefficients, and an indication of position of non-zero coefficients of the plurality of coefficients.

30. A wireless communication device comprising a processor configured to implement the method of any one or more of claims 17-29.

31. A computer program product comprising a computer readable program medium having stored thereon processor executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out the method of any one or more of claims 17 to 29.

Technical Field

The present application is generally directed to wireless communications.

Background

Wireless communication technology is pushing the world to an increasingly interconnected and networked society. In the upcoming fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) networks, key drivers to meet the enhanced mobile broadband requirements are massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and beamforming technologies, i.e. the use of multiple transmit antennas and/or multiple receive antennas in the wireless nodes. Using this, the base station and the user equipment can improve the performance, efficiency and reliability of the wireless communication link between them. Accurate estimation and reporting of CSI (channel state information) is important in such systems. However, as the number of utilized frequency bands and transmit/receive antennas increases, the overhead of reporting CSI also increases, which is particularly problematic in view of the large bandwidth and large number of spatial streams of many transmit/receive antennas in a 5GNR wireless network.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application relates to methods, systems, and devices for reducing the overhead of reporting CSI (channel state information), such as precoding matrix indicators, by compressing the coefficients of a precoding vector. In some embodiments, reporting is performed using only a subset of the compressed coefficients, based on various criteria.

In one representative aspect, a method of wireless communication of a wireless communication device is disclosed. The method includes determining a spatial basis vector and spatial basis vector coefficients, wherein a precoding vector for a spatial channel is defined by a linear combination of the spatial basis vector and the spatial basis vector coefficients. The precoding vector is a vector that can be used to precode a transmission data stream to mitigate wireless channel impairments. The method also includes compressing the spatial basis vector coefficients by determining FD (frequency domain) unit basis vectors and FD basis vector coefficients such that a combination of the FD basis vectors and the FD basis vector coefficients define the spatial basis vector coefficients but with reduced overhead. The wireless communication device may then generate CSI (and corresponding CSI feedback reports) based on the spatial basis vectors, FD basis vectors, and FD basis vector coefficients, among other parameters.

In another example aspect, a wireless communications apparatus is disclosed that includes a processor. The processor is configured to implement the above-described method.

In another example aspect, a computer program product is disclosed. The computer program product includes a computer readable medium storing processor executable instructions embodying the above-described method.

The above and other aspects and embodiments thereof are described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, the description and the claims.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows an example of a Base Station (BS) and a User Equipment (UE) in wireless communication.

Fig. 2 shows a representative flow illustrating a method for compressing coefficients of a precoding vector for determining CSI.

Fig. 3 shows an example block diagram illustrating a method for compressing precoding vector coefficients.

Fig. 4 shows an example block diagram illustrating a method for compressing precoding vector coefficients based on certain constraints.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a part of the apparatus.

Detailed Description

There is an increasing demand for fourth-generation mobile communication technology (4G, fourth-generation mobile communication technology), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), and fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G, fifth-generation mobile communication technology), also referred to as NR (new radio).

In a MIMO wireless communication system, a plurality of antennas are used to perform signal transmission. Such embodiments include transmitter side processing (such as precoding or beamforming) to improve transmission performance including efficiency and reliability. To achieve high performance precoding or beamforming, a precoding matrix or beamforming vector is selected to match the wireless channel. Therefore, the transmitter needs to determine CSI (channel state information) to accurately precode or beamform the transmission signal. The receiver device may determine CSI based on received reference signals (e.g., CSI reference signals (CSI-RS), Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), etc.) or pilots and then feed the CSI back to the transmitter (e.g., the UE may report the CSI to the BS). Accurate CSI feedback enables high performance MIMO transmission.

However, the feedback cost of high resolution CSI is high in terms of the overhead required for the feedback channel. Especially when the transmitter requires CSI for a plurality of sub-bands (frequency bands) or transmission layers (spatial streams) in total. The performance of CSI feedback versus overhead tradeoff is a key metric for achieving high resolution CSI performance.

In MIMO systems, a user equipment (e.g., User Equipment (UE)) typically reports CSI, which includes a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), a Rank Indicator (RI), and a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), among other parameters, to a wireless node (e.g., base station). RI indicates the number of layers (which is related to the rank of the channel matrix) and PMI indicates the precoding vector. The precoding vector is used by the wireless node to precode each layer and is represented as a linear combination of a set of spatial basis vectors. The UE quantizes (e.g., converts to a digital representation) the amplitude and phase of the coefficients in the linear combination and the selected spatial basis vector, and reports the quantized values to the base station.

For example, to allow for frequency selective scheduling, if multiple subbands are included in the CSI reporting band, quantized phase and amplitude are reported for each subband (or subset of subbands representing frequency domain elements). This high resolution CSI feedback results in high performance MIMO transmission. However, to determine or report CSI in multiple frequency domain elements (or subbands) or across multiple layers, the overhead may be substantial, consuming a significant amount of resources in the feedback channel. Furthermore, such high resolution CSI increases the complexity of the UE and results in greater power consumption. Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a CSI reporting technique that provides high resolution CSI for multiple subbands and/or layers, provides high performance MIMO or beamforming, but at the same time has reduced CSI reporting overhead.

The section headings and sub-headings are used herein for ease of understanding and do not limit the scope of the disclosed techniques and embodiments to certain sections. Thus, embodiments disclosed in different sections may be used together with each other. Further, the present application uses only examples from the 3GPP New Radio (NR) network architecture and 5G protocol to facilitate understanding, and the disclosed techniques and embodiments may be practiced in other wireless systems using communication protocols other than the 3GPP protocol.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a wireless communication system (e.g., an LTE, 5G, or New Radio (NR) cellular network) including a BS 120 and one or more User Equipments (UEs) 111, 112, and 113. The uplink transmissions (131, 133) may contain CSI feedback reports as disclosed in the present application. The UE may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a mobile computer, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a terminal, a mobile device, an internet of things (IoT) device, and/or the like.

Fig. 2 shows an example block diagram illustrating a method for compressing coefficients of a precoding vector. At block 210, a wireless device (e.g., UE) determines L spatial basis vectors [ v ] for a spatial channel₁，v₂，...，v_l，...，v_L]. In some embodiments, the L spatial basis vectors may be formed based on DFT (discrete fourier transform) vectors or kronecker products of DFT vectors.

At block 220, the wireless device determines complex coefficients(i.e., coefficients having amplitude and phase), where L1, 2, …, L is the number of spatial basis vectors, S1, 2, S is the number of FD (frequency domain) units or subbands (i.e., bins where CSI is reported), and R1, 2, R is the layer index (i.e., the number of layers of R) for spatial channels that are anecdotal R. Selecting complex coefficients(simply written as { a }) such that the combination (e.g., linear combination) of the complex coefficients { a } with the spatial basis vectors determines the precoding vectors for the spatial channels on all R layers R ∈ {1, 2.., R } and all FD units S ∈ {1, 2.., S }. The UE may determine the spatial basis vectors and spatial basis vector coefficients from received reference signals or pilots transmitted by the wireless node (e.g., base station), e.g., from CSI-RSs (CSI reference signals) with known amplitude and phase offsets.

At blocks 230 and 240, the wireless device compresses the complex coefficients{ a }, to reduce overhead in reporting CSI to the base station. At block 230, the UE determines M FD basis vectors on L and on all layers of rank RAnd at block 240, the UE determines L, M the complex coefficients on all layers of rank R(simply written as { c }). The UE selects the FD basis vector and the complex coefficients { c }, such that a combination (e.g., a linear combination) of the FD basis vector and the complex coefficients { c } determines the complex coefficients { a } of block 220. Furthermore, as described further below, the network and UE ensure that the number of bits required to report the FD basis vectors and complex coefficients { c } is lower than the number of bits required to report { c }, thereby reducing the overhead of CSI feedback reporting after compression (e.g., by selection of M). Various techniques are described below that further reduce this overhead in connection with embodiments of the disclosed technology.

At block 250, the wireless device generates a CSI feedback report based on the spatial basis vector, the FD basis vector, the complex coefficients { c } and other additional parameters described below. That is, the UE may report the complex { c } and FD basis vectors, rather than the complex { a } with reduced overhead.

At block 260, the wireless device sends a CSI feedback report to the wireless node (e.g., to a base station in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)). The base station may incorporate such feedback information into decisions regarding precoding or beamforming the downlink data stream and generating the transmission waveform. In some embodiments, the wireless device may be a base station and may exclude the generation and transmission of CSI feedback reports.

Fig. 3 shows a block diagram illustrating a method for compressing precoding vector (e.g., MIMO precoding vector, or beamforming weight) coefficients. Such precoding vectors may be used, for example, for CSI feedback reports sent by the UE to the base station to support high performance MIMO/beamforming transmissions.

1.0 representative embodiment for compressing precoding vector coefficients and reporting coefficient subsets for each layer

In some embodiments, a user equipment (e.g., a UE) reports Channel State Information (CSI) to a wireless node (e.g., a base station) in the form of a PMI (precoding matrix indicator) Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI). The PMI may be represented as a linear combination with a spatial basis vector of an FD (frequency domain) unit on each layer r. For example, for L space basis vectors [ v ]₁,v₂,...,v_L]The precoding vector can be expressed as:

where r is the layer index, s is the FD Unit index, { v₁,v₂,...,v_LAre L space basis vectors, andare the coefficients of the precoding vector that are used to form a linear combination with the spatial basis vectors. In some embodiments, the L spatial basis vectors may be formed from Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) vectors or a kronecker product of DFT vectors. Coefficient of performanceIs a complex variable including amplitude and phase and is quantized by the user equipment and reported to the base station as part of the reported CSI feedback. Because of the coefficientMay be different for different frequency domain elements and/or layers, so reportingMay be significant, particularly for a large number of FD units (e.g., for a wide bandwidth divided into a number of small subbands or FD units where CSI is reported across all of these FD units), and for a large number of layers (e.g., for a large number of transmissions and a large number of phase differences over a full rank channel)Massive MIMO systems of receive antennas).

Thus, in some representative embodiments, to reduce reportingThe UE compresses the coefficients using a coefficient compression module 350 as shown in fig. 3I.e. the space base vector l (v) for all S FD units in total for each layer r_l) May be expressed as:

wherein(Block 354 of FIG. 3) are M FD basis vectors of length N3, and at block 356The coefficients for beam l and FD basis vector m compressed by coefficient compression module 350. Coefficient compression module 350 may generate FD basis vectors based on DFT vectors

Prior to compression, precoder FD unit 1 (block 310) generates precoding vectors for the first FD unit and layer r(output 312) as a spatial basis vector [ v [ ]₁,v₂,...,v_l,...,v_L](Block 314) and coefficients(block 316) linear combination. This can be expressed as:

similarly, precoder FD unit 2 (block 320) generates precoding vectors for the second FD unit and layer rAs a space base vector [ v ]₁,v₂,...,v_l,...,v_L]Sum coefficient(block 326) a linear combination, which may be represented as:

the precoding vector generated by the S-th precoder FD unit (block 330) is represented as:

in some embodiments, the UE reports the FD basis vectors generated by the coefficient compression module 350(Block 354) and FB base vectorsRather than reporting coefficients (block 356)Due to coefficient before compressionM may be set to less than 2L, resulting in the FD basis vectors being transmittedSum coefficientOverhead versus transmission of uncompressed coefficientsThe overhead of (2) is lower. For M<S, benefits may be derived from compression.

In some embodiments, reporting L × M coefficients may be further reduced, for example, by selecting K0 subsets of L × M coefficients for each layerThe overhead of (a). That is, the number of non-zero coefficients is limited to no more than K0 (i.e., the number of coefficients in the subset is limited to K0) and the UE reports the locations or positions of K1 non-zero coefficients of the L x M coefficients, as well as the amplitudes and phases of K1 coefficients.

In some embodiments, the value of M may be based on the N3 value and/or a parameter configured by the network (e.g., N3 ═ S). For example, M ═ ceil (pN)₃) Where p is a parameter based on the network configuration and M is a minimum integer (ceiling function) greater than or equal to the product of p and the value of N3 (ceil (x) is the minimum integer greater than or equal to x). In other embodiments, M may be defined by other parameters configured in or derived by the UE.

In some embodiments, the UE or the network may set the value of K0 to a parameter that depends on L, M and/or is configured by the network. For example, K0 may be set to K0 ═ ceil (β LM), where β may be based on configured parameters.

2.0 representative embodiment for defining overhead for reporting CSI

In some embodiments, the CSI may be split into two parts, e.g., CSI part 1 and CSI part 2. In part 1 of the CSI, the UE may report, among other parameters, a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), a Rank Indicator (RI), and a non-zero coefficient indicating the total of multiple layers (e.g., R layers, where R is the rank value)The value of (d). The bit width of the indication of the number of non-zero coefficients of the plurality of layers in total may be determined by the maximum number of layers. The maximum number of layers may be determined by the maximum rank that the codebook can support (for codebook-based precoding), network configuration parameters, capability values reported by the UE to the base station, and so on. In CSI part 2, the UE reports other parameters of the CSI, such as a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI). The reported PMI may include an indicator of the spatial basis vector (e.g., vector 314 in fig. 3), an indicator of the FD basis vector (e.g., vector 354), an indicator of the magnitude and phase of the compressed coefficients (e.g., coefficients 356), and an indicator of the position of the non-zero coefficients among the L x M coefficients.

In some embodiments, the CSI parameters in each portion are jointly channel coded, but the different portions are independently channel coded. Furthermore, the loading of CSI part 2 may depend on the value of CSI part 1, so that the network does not need to always reserve the maximum overhead for CSI transmission. That is, CSI part 1 may have a fixed allocation and may contain parameters that always require feedback, while CSI part 2 may include parameters that may not always require feedback, or may have parameters of variable size (e.g., variable bit width). Using this approach, unused overhead can be saved from allocation when CSI part 2 does not utilize the largest possible overhead, resulting in higher efficiency. For example, if the maximum number of layers reported by the UE in the capability value is R1 (i.e., the UE can process only R1 layers at most), and the number of coefficients reported by each layer is limited to K0, the minimum number of bits required to report K0R 1 non-zero coefficients is ceil (log)₂(R1x K0)). Alternatively, if the maximum number of layers is limited by the network configuration parameters to R2 (e.g., based on parameters that limit the RI values that the UE can report), the minimum number of bits to report the K0R 2 non-zero coefficients is ceil (log)₂(R2 x K0)). a.. Alternatively, if the number of RI values that can be supported by the codebook in use is R3, the minimum number of bits for reporting the R3 x K0 non-zero coefficients is ceil (log)₂(R3 x K0)). In some embodiments, when the UE has more than one layer numberWhen constrained (e.g., the number of layers is constrained by two or more of R1, R2, R3), the bit width of the reported non-zero coefficients may be set to ceil (log)₂(R4 x K0)), wherein R4 is the minimum value of { R1, R2, R3 }.

3.0 representative embodiments for defining overhead for reporting CSI for larger rank

Due to the compression factorThe number of layers R (e.g., block 356 in fig. 3) increases as the number of layers increases (e.g., as the rank of the spatial channel increases), as does the CSI overhead. Thus, in some embodiments, the number of spatial basis vectors (e.g., vector 314), the number of FD basis vectors (e.g., vector 354), or the number of coefficients in K0 subsets of the L x M coefficients, may be defined to not grow too much (or grow at a lower rate) as R increases, e.g., when R is large and when R is small are the same.

For rank R CSI reporting, if rank R is selected from rank-valued candidate set S1, the bit width of reporting non-zero coefficients depends on the maximum number of total K0 subset coefficients that can be reported for all layers for any rank value in candidate set S1. For example, if rank R in S1_maxThe maximum number of coefficients in the K0 total subsets for all layers will be generated, then the bit width for reporting non-zero coefficients may be compared to ceil (log)₂(R_maxx K0)) are equally large. That is, the bit width of the reported non-zero coefficients is ceil (log)₂(max ({ S1}) x K0)), where max ({ S1}) is the rank (R) in S1 that yields the maximum number of coefficients in the K0 subset_max). In some embodiments, the candidate set S1 may be determined by network configuration parameters and/or UE reported capability values.

In some embodiments, the total number of spatial basis vectors for all R layers of rank R CSI reporting may be defined as less than or equal to the total number of spatial basis vectors for all R0 layers of rank R0 CSI reporting, where R is rank R>R0 is more than or equal to 1. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the bit width for reporting the number of non-zero coefficients in CSI part 1 may be based onThe number of spatial basis vectors in each layer when the rank is R0. For example, the bit width may be defined as ceil (log)₂(R0 xceil (β x M x 2L R0))), wherein L R0 is the number of space basis vectors in each layer when it is R0.

In some embodiments, the total number of FD basis vectors for all R layers of rank R CSI reporting may be defined as less than or equal to the total number of FD basis vectors for all R0 layers of rank R0 CSI reporting, where R is rank R>R0 is more than or equal to 1. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the bit width for reporting the number of non-zero coefficients in CSI part 1 may be based on the number of FD basis vectors in each layer when the rank is R0. For example, the bit width may be defined as ceil (log)₂(R0 xceil (β x M x 2L R0))), wherein M R0 is the number of FD basis vectors per layer when it is R0.

In some embodiments, the total number of coefficients in the K0 subset of all R layers for rank R0 CSI reporting may be defined as less than or equal to the total number of coefficients in the K0 subset of all R0 layers, where R>R0 is more than or equal to 1. Further, in some embodiments, the bit width for reporting the number of non-zero coefficients in CSI part 1 may be based on the K0 value when the rank is R0. For example, the bit width may be defined as ceil (log)₂(R0 x K0 × R0)), wherein K0 × R0 is the median K0 value of each layer when scaled as R0.

3.1 representative embodiments for limiting the number of FD basis vectors in each layer or the K0 value in each layer for a larger rank to a predefined fraction of the lower rank value:

in some embodiments, the number of FD basis vectors in each layer for rank R CSI reporting may depend on rank R. For example, if the number of FD basis vectors for each layer is M0 for rank less than or equal to 2, for arbitrary rank R>The number of FD basis vectors per layer of 2 may be set toThat is, M may be set to be equal to or less than(floor(x)＝greatest integer less than or equal to x)。

In some embodiments, a range of ranks may be defined such that the total number of FD basis vectors remains constant for ranks within the range. For example, if the number of FD basis vectors for each layer of rank 2 is M0, the number of FD basis vectors for each layer of rank 3 and rank 4 may be defined asTherefore, rank-4 CSI reports will have the same total number of FD basis vectors as rank-2 CSI reports.

In some embodiments, the K0 value may be based on the rank value. For example, rank R (R) if rank 2 less K0 is K01>2) K0 value of (a) can be set to

In some embodiments, rank ranges may be defined as K0 values in each layer having the same component as the specified lower rank K0 value. For example, if a rank less than or equal to 2 has a value of K0₁K0 value of, a rank of 3 and a rank of 4 may be defined as havingK0 value of (a).

3.2 representative embodiments for defining the number of spatial basis vectors in each layer, the number of FD basis vectors in each layer, and the value of K0 in each layer based on the maximum rank given by the network configuration parameters:

in some embodiments, for rank-R CSI reporting, the number of FD basis vectors for each layer may be based on a maximum rank value given by the network configuration parameters. For example, if the number of FD basis vectors for each layer rank less than or equal to 2 is M0, the number of FD basis vectors for each layer rank greater than 2 may be set toWherein R _ cfgIs the maximum rank value given by the network configuration parameters.

In some embodiments, for rank-R CSI reporting, the K0 value for each layer may be based on the maximum rank value given by the network configuration parameters. For example, if the value of K0 for each layer rank equal to or less than 2 is K0₁K0 values for each layer rank greater than 2 may be set toWhere R _ cfg is the maximum rank value given by the network configuration parameters.

In some embodiments, for rank-R CSI reporting, the number of spatial basis vectors for each layer may be based on a maximum rank value given by the network configuration parameters. For example, if the number of spatial basis vectors for each layer rank less than or equal to 2 is L0, the number of spatial basis vectors for each layer rank greater than 2 may be set to L0Where R _ cfg is the maximum rank value given by the network configuration parameters.

3.3 representative embodiments for defining the number of spatial basis vectors per layer, the number of FD basis vectors per layer, and the value of K0 per layer based on UE capabilities:

in some embodiments, for rank-R CSI reporting, the number of FD basis vectors for each layer depends on the maximum rank value that the UE can support or the maximum rank value that the UE reports in the capability parameter (i.e., the UE capability value). For example, if the number of FD basis vectors for each layer rank less than or equal to 2 is M0, the number of FD basis vectors for each layer rank greater than 2 may be set toR _ UE is the maximum rank value given by the UE capability value.

In some embodiments, for rank-R CSI reporting, the K0 value for each layer may be based on the reported UE capability value. For example, if the K0 value for each layer rank equal to or less than 2 isK0₁K0 values for each layer rank greater than 2 may be set toWhere R _ UE is the maximum rank value given by the UE capability value.

In some embodiments, for rank-R CSI reporting, the number of spatial basis vectors for each layer may be based on the reported UE capability value. For example, if the number of spatial basis vectors for each layer with rank less than or equal to 2 is 10, the number of spatial basis vectors for each layer with rank greater than 2 may be set to be 10Where R _ UE is the maximum rank value given by the UE capability value.

Fig. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating a method for compressing coefficients of a precoding vector, where M is set to 2L. That is, every 2L of coefficients (e.g., coefficients 416, 426, and 436) for each FD unit (the sum of all S x 2L coefficients across all S FD units) are compressed into M x 2L coefficients (for each rank) by the coefficient compression module 450. Such compression may be achieved by decomposing spatial basis vector coefficients (such as, for example, coefficients 452) into a linear combination of FD basis vector coefficients (e.g., coefficients 456) and FD basis vectors (e.g., vector 454).

Some example embodiments may be described using the following clauses.

Clause 1. A wireless device (e.g., UE) L first basis vectors (e.g., spatial basis vectors), M second basis vectors (e.g., FD basis vectors), and a plurality of coefficients (e.g., coefficients for FD basis vectors) to generate Channel State Information (CSI), wherein the first plurality of basis vectors, the second plurality of basis vectors, and the plurality of coefficients are indicative of information about a precoding vector (i.e., the basis vectors and coefficients are selected to provide information about a channel to a wireless node (e.g., a base station) such that the wireless node may utilize the information in precoding a downlink data stream). In some embodiments, the wireless device may determine the first plurality of basis vectors (e.g., spatial basis vectors) and/or the second plurality of basis vectors (e.g., FD basis vectors) by selecting a basis vector from a set of basis vectors provided in one or more codebooks. That is, the wireless device may determine from a predefined set of basis vectors in the codebook which basis vectors match closest to the basis vectors needed to accurately estimate the wireless channel. When the wireless device is a UE, it may generate a CSI report based on the CSI and generate a transmission waveform based on the CSI report and send it to the base station (e.g., in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)). See section 1.0, above, for more details.

Clause 2. For each of the R layers, R, a subset of coefficients having a number of non-zero coefficients less than or equal to K0 is selected from the plurality of coefficients, and CSI is generated based at least in part on the first plurality of basis vectors, the second plurality of basis vectors, and the subset of non-zero coefficients for each of the R layers. See section 1.0, above, for more details.

Clause 3. A first portion of CSI (or a first portion of a CSI feedback report) is generated that includes an indication of a number of non-zero coefficients, e.g., CQI (channel quality indicator), RI (rank indicator), and R layers (R is rank-valued) together.

Clause 4. A second part of the CSI (or CSI feedback report) is generated, wherein the second part comprises, for example, a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI). See section 2.0 above for more details.

Clause 5. The PMI includes indications of the L first basis vectors, indications of the M second basis vectors, indications of amplitudes and phases of the plurality of coefficients, and indications of positions of non-zero coefficients of the plurality of coefficients (e.g., L × M pluralities of coefficients in each layer R of R). See section 2.0 above for more details.

Clause 6. The one or more CSI parameters in the first part of the CSI (or CSI feedback report) are jointly channel coded, the one or more CSI parameters in the second part are also jointly channel coded, and the first part is channel coded independently from the second part (i.e., the CSI parameters in each part are jointly channel coded, while the different parts are independently channel coded). See section 2.0 above for more details.

Clause 7. Define at least one of L, M and K0 such that when the rank R is greater than rank R0, the rank R's K0 value is less than or equal to the rank R0's K0 value (R > R0 ≧ 1)). See section 2.0 above for more details.

Clause 8. At least one of L, M and K0 is defined such that when rank R is greater than rank R0, a K0 value of rank R is a predefined fraction of a K0 value of rank R0, wherein R0 is greater than or equal to 1. See section 2.0 above for more details.

Clause 9. When R > R0 ≧ 1, the total number of coefficients in the subset of all R layers is equal to or less than the total number of coefficients in the subset of all R0 layers in R0-scaled CSI. The bit width indicated by the number of non-zero coefficients depends on the L/M/K0 value when rank R0 and the value of R0. Thus, although the indication of the number of non-zero coefficients implies a number of non-zero coefficients for the maximum number of layers in total, the bit width of the indication may only depend on a smaller number of rank values (e.g., R0). Further, in some embodiments, K0 depends on the values of L and M (e.g., K0 ═ p × L × M). Thus, in some embodiments, KO may be defined by defining L, M or other parameters (e.g., p) for determining K0. K0 represents an upper limit for the number of non-zero coefficients. See sections 2.0 and 3.0 above for more details.

Clause 10. At least one of L, M and K0 may be defined based on an allowed maximum number of layers, where the allowed maximum number of layers is based on, for example, network configuration parameters, capabilities of the wireless device, a highest rank that a codebook used for determining precoding vectors can support, and so on. See section 3.0 above for more details.

Clause 11. The wireless device may be a UE or a BS. That is, in some embodiments, the UE or BS may generate CSI according to any of the terms described above. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may generate and send a CSI report to a wireless node (e.g., a BS). When the BS receives the CSI feedback report from the UE, the CSI feedback report is generated according to the one or more terms. That is, the BS receives L first basis vectors, M second basis vectors, and a plurality of coefficients. In addition, the CSI feedback report includes the first part and the second part described above. In some embodiments, the BS may receive only an indication of what the basis vectors and coefficients are, and not the actual vectors (e.g., the BS may receive an indication of the codebook indices associated with the respective basis vectors, or look up the actual coefficients from a look-up table using the received coefficient indications). Furthermore, the BS need not always receive the second portion of the CSI report (or need not receive the maximum number of bits associated with the second portion). Conversely, the BS may allocate a variable number of resources to receive the second portion based on the load received in the CSI reporting first portion, thereby further reducing the overhead of reporting CSI. The BS may use (but need not use) the received information to generate a precoding vector to precode the downlink data stream and generate a downlink transmission waveform based on the precoded data.

The wireless device (e.g., UE) or wireless node (e.g., base station) may include a processor configured to implement the method described in any one or more of the above clauses. Further, the UE or base station may include a computer program product comprising a computer readable program medium having stored thereon processor executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the method described in any one or more of the clauses above.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram representation showing a portion of an apparatus in accordance with some embodiments of the presently disclosed technology. An apparatus 505, such as a base station or wireless device (or UE), may include processor electronics 510, such as a microprocessor, implementing one or more techniques presented herein. The apparatus 505 may include transceiver electronics 515 to transmit and/or receive wireless signals over one or more communication interfaces, such as antennas 520 and 522. The device 505 may include other communication interfaces for transmitting and receiving data. The apparatus 505 may include one or more memories (not explicitly shown) configured to store information, such as data and/or instructions. In some embodiments, the processor electronics 510 may include at least a portion of the transceiver electronics 515. In some embodiments, at least some of the disclosed techniques, modules, or functions are implemented using the apparatus 505.

This description, together with the drawings, is to be considered exemplary only, with the illustration being meant as an example, and not an idealized or preferred embodiment unless expressly so stated. As used herein, the use of "or" is intended to include "and/or" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Some embodiments described herein are described in the general context of methods or processes, which may be implemented in one embodiment by a computer program product, embodied in a computer-readable medium, including computer-executable instructions, such as program code, executed by computers in networked environments. Computer-readable media may include removable and non-removable storage devices, including but not limited to Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), and the like. Thus, a computer-readable medium may include a non-transitory storage medium. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-or processor-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes.

Some embodiments disclosed are implemented as a device or module using hardware circuitry, software, or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuit implementation may include discrete analog and/or digital components that are integrated as part of a printed circuit board, for example. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and/or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices. Additionally or alternatively, some embodiments include a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), which is a special-purpose microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the operational requirements of digital signal processing related to the functions disclosed herein. Similarly, the various components or sub-components within each mold block may be implemented in software, hardware, or firmware. Connections between modules and/or components within modules may be provided using any of the connection methods and media known in the art, including, but not limited to, communications over the internet, wired, or wireless networks using an appropriate protocol.

While this application contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the claimed invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features of particular embodiments. Certain features that are described herein in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.

Only a few embodiments and examples are described and other embodiments, enhancements and variations can be made based on what is described and illustrated in this disclosure.