Patent Application
20240098752
This disclosure is directed generally to wireless communications, and particularly to a method, device, and system for saving network and User Equipment (UE) power consumption.
Controlling power consumption and reducing energy cost is critical for developing and deploying a wireless communication network. Energy saving technology is critical for achieving this goal. With the development of wireless communication technology, more and more elements and functionality are added which increases the complexity for power control. It is critical to have the capability to dynamically control the power consumption in different level of granularities yet still meet performance requirement.
This disclosure is directed to a method, device, and system for saving network and User Equipment (UE) power consumption in wireless communications.
In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless communication node in a wireless network is disclosed. The method may include transmitting, to a User Equipment (UE) in the wireless network, an indication message indicating configuration information for a configuration of at least one element associated with the wireless communication node or UE, where a type of the configuration comprises one of: an activation of the at least one element, a deactivation of the at least one element, or a configuration update related to the at least one element; and where the at least one element comprises at least one of: a cell, a frequency layer, a frequency band, a carrier, a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), a beam, a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state, an antenna, an antenna port, a MIMO layer, a rank, an antenna panel, a reference signal, or a reference resource.
In some embodiments, a method performed by a UE in a wireless network is disclosed. The method may include receiving, from a wireless communication node in the wireless network, an indication message indicating configuration information for a configuration related to at least one element associated with the wireless communication node or UE, where a type of the configuration comprises one of: an activation of the at least one element, a deactivation of the at least one element, or a configuration update related to the at least one element; and where the at least one element comprises at least one of: a cell, a frequency layer, a frequency band, a carrier, a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), a beam, a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state, an antenna, an antenna port, a MIMO layer, a rank, an antenna panel, a reference signal, or a reference resource.
In some embodiments, there is a wireless UE and/or a wireless communication node comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement any methods recited in any of the embodiments.
In some embodiments, a computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium code stored thereupon, the code, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to implement any method recited in any of the embodiments.
The above embodiments and other aspects and alternatives of their implementations are described in greater detail in the drawings, the descriptions, and the claims below.
The gNB 124 may include a central unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU). The CU and the DU may be co-located in a same location, or they may be split in different locations. The CU and the DU may be connected via an F1 interface. Alternatively, for an eNB which is capable of connecting to the 5G network, it may also be similarly divided into a CU and at least one DU, referred to as ng-eNB-CU and ng-eNB-DU, respectively. The ng-eNB-CU and the ng-eNB-DU may be connected via a W1 interface.
The wireless communication network 100 may include one or more tracking areas. A tracking area may include a set of cells managed by at least one base station. For example, tracking area 1 labeled as 140 includes cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3, and may further include more cells that may be managed by other base stations and not shown in
The wireless communication network 100 may be implemented as, for example, a 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, or 5G cellular communication network. Correspondingly, the base stations 122 and 124 may be implemented as a 2G base station, a 3G NodeB, an LTE eNB, or a 5G NR gNB. The UE 160 may be implemented as mobile or fixed communication devices which are capable of accessing the wireless communication network 100. The UE 160 may include but is not limited to mobile phones, laptop computers, tablets, personal digital assistants, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, MTC/eMTC devices, distributed remote sensor devices, roadside assistant equipment, XR devices, and desktop computers. The UE 160 may support sidelink communication to another UE via a PC5 interface.
While the description below focuses on cellular wireless communication systems as shown in
The electronic device 200 may also include system circuitry 204. System circuitry 204 may include processor(s) 221 and/or memory 222. Memory 222 may include an operating system 224, instructions 226, and parameters 228. Instructions 226 may be configured for the one or more of the processors 221 to perform the functions of the network node. The parameters 228 may include parameters to support execution of the instructions 226. For example, parameters may include network protocol settings, bandwidth parameters, radio frequency mapping assignments, and/or other parameters.
Referring to
Referring to
Improving the network and UE energy efficiency is a critical consideration when designing and deploying a green and sustainable wireless communication system.
In some embodiments, cell activation and deactivation is supported for network power saving. However, if the cell is deactivated, the base station would not transmit any signal or channel, which may impact UE access. To save network power consumption and reduce performance impact on UEs, a more dynamic and fine granularity network activation and deactivated is considered. For example, switch off transmission or reception antenna/panel, instead of the whole cell.
Meanwhile, base station may indicate to the UEs in the cell of the activation/deactivated operation to assist UE adaptation. For example, if the base station informs UE that an antenna is switched off, UE can correspondingly turn off some radio frequency hardware to save power, for example, due to reduced base station antenna configuration and complexity.
The wireless communication network includes many elements which interact with each other. In this disclosure, various embodiments for controlling power consumption at various element level are disclosed. Elements of the wireless communication network are described in this disclosure. Signaling interaction between the base station and the UE is disclosed. The base station, based on real time network condition, may target elements in different granularity and at different level, and indicate to the UE that the targeted element needs to be deactivated (power off), activated, or updated with new configuration. Therefore, a fine control of power consumption is achieved.
In this disclosure, various embodiments are disclosed for deactivating, activating, or update the configuration targeting different level of elements, or elements serving different network functionalities. The term “element” is used to represent an object or an entity that is subject to power control or power saving using the methods disclosed in this disclosure. Power saving may be implemented by, for example, deactivating an element, activating an element, or update the configuration of an element. In some implementation, the configuration impacts the power consumption of the element.
An element may be a hardware including a hardware circuitry, a hardware component, a hardware module, or any combination thereof. An element may also be a functionality such as signal measurement and report. An element may also be a software which supports the functionality or controls the hardware. An element may also be other virtual entities, such as signal, or time/frequency resources. There is no limitation imposed to the type of elements in this disclosure. Elements may be in different level and may be categorized in different granularity. For example, an element may be a whole base station, or an antenna in the base station, or an antenna port of the antenna.
Exemplary elements may include: cell, frequency layer, frequency band, carrier, Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), beam, Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state, antenna, antenna port, antenna panel, antenna element, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) layer, rank, reference signal, reference resource, and spatial relation information. In some embodiments, the rank includes a rank of channel matrix, or channel rank. In some embodiments, the MIMO layer may be also termed as transmission layer, or layer in this disclosure.
By applying deactivation, activation, or update of the configuration on elements in different level, a fine granularity of power control or power saving may be achieved. Meanwhile, the impact on system performance may be reduced with the fine granularity operation. For example, an antenna panel contains multiple antenna elements. Depending on network condition, various number of antenna elements, or the whole antenna panel may be deactivated to meet a real time performance requirement yet saving power consumption to the maximum extent. For another example, a certain frequency band maybe deactivated, and power saving may be achieved as procedures related to signal transmission and reception in the particular band are skipped.
The elements may interact with each other, therefore, update on one element may impact another element. For example, the configuration of reference signal or reference signal resource (may also be referred to as reference resource) includes information relevant to antenna, antenna port, TCI state, etc. In some embodiments, the activation/deactivation/update of the antenna, the antenna port, or the TCI state may have an impact on reference signal or reference resource. On the other hand, in some embodiments, the activation/deactivation/update of reference signal or reference resource may be used to determine or derive the configuration of antenna, antenna port, TCI state, etc.
In some embodiments, the configuration (i.e., activation, deactivation, or update) may be periodic and last for a certain duration. For example, an antenna element may be powered off every 10 seconds, and the powered off condition may be applied for or may last for a duration of 5 seconds.
In some embodiments, the activation/deactivation/update operation may be a-periodic, for example, the operation may be just one shot. The duration of the activation deactivation, or update may be determined by at least one of a duration length, a start time position, or an end time position. In some embodiments, the start time position may be determined by at least one of a higher layer signaling, a UE capability, or a sub-carrier spacing. In some embodiments, the end time position may be determined by at least one of a higher layer signaling, a UE capability, or a sub-carrier spacing.
In some embodiments, the duration may be determined by at least one of:
The base station may be triggered to initiate a certain configuration (i.e., activation/deactivation/update) under at least one of the following conditions:
For example, when the number of UEs in a cell is below a threshold, the base station may determine to deactivate the cell and instruct the UEs to move to another cell. The threshold may be predetermined and may be adjusted based on network requirement.
For another example, UE assistance information may include at least one of traffic pattern, UE speed information, UE position information, a preferred number of carriers, or a preferred number of resource blocks that is reported by UE to network (e.g., base station). For example, the traffic pattern includes at least one of data packet size, or data rate. In some embodiments, the UE speed information indicates or includes UE mobility speed. In some embodiments, the UE speed information includes at least one of high-mobility speed, medium-mobility speed, low-mobility speed, or stationary state, where the speed ranges for the high, medium, and low speed may be predetermined and may be configured or updated
In some embodiments, when a cell covers the areas of other cells (e.g., multiple cells cover the same area), the base station may deactivate one or more cells and instruct the UEs to move to another cell. In some embodiments, when multiple cells cover the same area, the base station may deactivate one or more cells with few UEs.
In some embodiments, for the service with small data packet and/or insensitive to delay, the base station may initiate a certain configuration, for example, reduce the antenna, bandwidth, or MIMO layer.
Referring to
The indication message may be transmitted via at least one of:
The higher layer signaling may include a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC CE) message, or a DCI message. In some embodiments, the higher layer parameter may include system information block (SIB).
The indication message (or signaling) may indicate the type of the configuration, i.e., whether the configuration is an activation operation, a deactivation operation, or an update operation.
The indication message may also indicate the identification information for the element to which the configuration applies.
The indication message may also indicate a pattern, or time domain characteristics of the configuration. The pattern may be determined by at least one of a periodicity, an offset, a duration, a start time position, an end time position. The duration indicates how long the particular configuration lasts. For example, the deactivation lasts for 2 seconds, or a configuration update lasts for 10 seconds.
The indication message may further indicate a sleep mode from a list of sleep modes or sleep configurations. Each sleep mode in the list corresponds to a duration. The list of sleep modes may be predetermined, or may be signaled to the UE. The indication message may indicate an index to the list, so the UE may determine which sleep mode to apply. Refer to Table 1 below for an example sleep mode configuration.
In some embodiments, the content of the indication message may be split into multiples messages. For example, one message is used to indicate the ID of the element, and another message is used to indicate the configuration.
In some embodiments, the indication message may include a handover indication to the UE. For example, if the base station decides to switch off a carrier element, it may hand over the UE to another base station, and the indication message may carry this handover indication.
As described above, the indication message for the configuration information may be a DCI.
In some embodiments, the DCI format includes at least one of: DCI format 0-1, DCI format 0-2, DCI format 1-1, or DCI format 1-2.
In some embodiments, the configuration indication may be jointly encoded with, or indicated by at least one of the following DCI information field:
In some embodiments, the joint encoding may be implemented by at least one of the following schemes:
Use a codepoint or value to indicate information of the aforementioned information fields, and the configuration information associated with element activation/deactivation/update at the same time.
Referring to Table 2 below for an example. The codepoint is carried in one of the aforementioned DCI fields. In this example, the codepoint takes 3 bits and may represent 8 different interpretations. Under each interpretation, there is indication information for identifying the elements, in this example, the antenna port(s). Each codepoint also indicates a detailed configuration information for applying the activation/deactivation/update configuration. The indication may be achieved by using an index or a pointer to a list of different interpretations. The list of interpretations may be predetermined, or may be determined via signaling.
Use a first block in an information field to indicate the information that is already assigned to the information field, and adding a second block in the information field to indicate the indication information associated with element activation/deactivation/update. The information field includes at least one of: SRS resource indicator field, precoding information field, number of transmission layers field, antenna port field, SRS request field, CSI request field, PUCCH resource indicator field, transmission configuration indication field, SCell dormancy indication field, Single TRP/Multi-TRP switching field.
Table 3 below illustrates an example using the antenna ports indication field in the DCI. The first block carried the original information which is serving antenna ports indication, and a newly added second block is used for indicating configuration information.
In some embodiments, rather than using a field to explicitly indicate the configuration information, like the two schemes described above, the configuration information may be implicitly indicated. For example, the configuration information may be indicated by one of the following information fields: SRS resource indicator field, precoding information field, number of transmission layers field, antenna port field, SRS request field, CSI request field, PUCCH resource indicator field, transmission configuration indication field, SCell dormancy indication field, Single TRP/Multi-TRP switching field.
In some embodiments, the information of one element may be derived by the configuration information of another element.
For example, at least one of the number of antenna ports, the number of transmission layers, or the number of antennas may be determined by or derived from the SRS resource indicator DCI field. For another example, the number of antenna ports, or the number of transmission layers may be determined by or derived from the maximum number of ports of SRS resource, or the maximum number of transmission layers among one or more SRS resources indicated by SRS resource indicator DCI field.
For another example, at least one of the number of antenna ports, the number of transmission layers, or the number of antennas may be determined by or derived from the antenna port indication DCI field. For yet another example, the maximum number of antenna ports, or the number of transmission layers may be indicated by the antenna port indication DCI field first, then the number of antenna ports, or the number of transmission layers may be determined by or derived from the maximum number of antenna ports, or the number of layers.
For another example, at least one of the number of antenna ports, the number of transmission layers, or the number of antennas may be determined by the precoding information together with the number of layers which is indicated by a DCI field.
For yet another example, TRP activation/de-activation may be determined by the single TRP/multi-TRP switching indication DCI field.
In some embodiments, the indication (explicit indication and/or the implicit indication) for the configuration information as described above may be enabled when at least one of the information fields is set to a predetermined codepoint:
The predetermined codepoint may be all zeros, all ones, or another predetermined pattern.
In some embodiments, the indication of configuration information may be carried by a dedicated DCI information field.
When a UE is in the RRC idle or inactive state, the UE needs to detect Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) with Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits scrambled by Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) for paging message, or PDCCH with CRC scrambled by System Information RNTI (SI-RNTI) for system information. In some embodiments, the CRC bits of the DCI carrying the indication of the configuration information may be scrambled by a P-RNTI or a SI-RNTI. In some embodiments, the indication of configuration information may be carried by the short message in the DCI. In some embodiments, the indication of configuration information may be carried by the reserved bits in the DCI.
In some embodiments, the DCI includes a paging-early indication. The paging-early indication comprises an indication to the UE whether to monitor paging occasion or not.
In some embodiments, the DCI as the indication message may be a group-common DCI, which carries configuration information for one or more UEs. The DCI format includes at least one of DCI format 2-0, DCI format 2-1, DCI format 2-2, DCI format 2-3, DCI format 2-4, DCI format 2-5, or DCI format 2-6.
The DCI may include one or more information blocks. In some embodiments, as shown in Table 4, each block corresponds to a UE and a serving cell associated with the UE. In some embodiments, each block corresponds to a serving cell.
In some embodiments, a UE is configured with at least one of the following: a position information for the information blocks, or a DCI size. With this information, the UE may decode the configuration information from the DCI.
In some embodiments, the size of the group-common DCI is aligned with at least one of the following DCI formats:
In some embodiments, the size alignment is implemented by zero-padding or truncation. For example, if the size of the group-common DCI is less than the size of DCI format 1-0 in common search space set, a number of zeros is appended to the group-common DCI until the payload size equals to that of a format 1_0 DCI monitored in common search space. In another example, if the size of the group-common DCI is larger than the size of DCI format 1-0 in common search space set, the information field of group-common DCI is truncated until the payload size equals to DCI size of format 1_0 monitored in common search space.
In some embodiments, the DCI in format 1_0 in common search space and the group common DCI are monitored in the same serving cell. In some embodiments, the DCI in format 1_0 in UE specific search space and the group common DCI are monitored in the same serving cell.
The detailed content of the configuration information for activation/deactivation/update is described herein.
In some embodiments, a maximum number (or value) is carried in the configuration information. The maximum number applies to, or is associated with at least one of: a cell, a frequency layer, a frequency band, a carrier, a TRP, a beam, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state, an antenna, an antenna port, a MIMO layer, a rank, an antenna panel, a reference signal, or a reference resource. In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a cell is a maximum number of cells. In some implementations, the cell is used for downlink transmission and/or uplink transmission.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a frequency layer includes a maximum number of frequency layers.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a frequency band includes a maximum number of frequency bands. In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a frequency band is a maximum number of resource blocks of a frequency band.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a carrier includes a maximum number of carriers. In some implementation, the carrier is used for downlink transmission and/or uplink transmission.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a TRP includes a maximum number of TRPs. In some implementation, the TRP is used for transmission and/or reception.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a TCI includes a maximum number of TCI states. In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a TCI includes a maximum ID of TCI state.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with an antenna includes a maximum number of antennas.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with an antenna port includes a maximum number of antenna ports.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a transmission layer includes a maximum number of transmission layers.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a rank includes a maximum number of ranks.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with an antenna panel includes a maximum number of antenna panels.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a reference signal includes a maximum number of reference signals. In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a reference signal includes a maximum number of ports of the reference signal. In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a reference signal includes a maximum ID of the reference signal.
In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a reference resource includes a maximum number of reference resources. In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a reference resource includes a maximum number of ports of the reference resource. In some embodiments, the maximum number applying to, or associated with a reference resource includes a maximum ID of the reference resource.
In some embodiments, the maximum value may be indicated together with a type of element it applies to, so the UE knows what type of element that the maximum value applies to.
In some embodiments, an element with ID information larger than or equal to the maximum value is deactivated.
In some embodiments, an element with corresponding value larger than or equal to the maximum value is deactivated. For example, if the current number of ports of a reference resource is larger than the indicated maximum value of ports, then the reference resource is deactivated.
In some embodiments, if a corresponding value of an element is larger than the maximum value, the corresponding value of the element is updated as the indicated maximum value. For example, if the current configured maximum number of transmission layers is larger than the indicated maximum value of transmission layer, then maximum number of transmission layers configured is updated as the indicated maximum value. For another example, if the current configured number of ports of a reference resource is larger than the indicated maximum value of ports, then the number of ports of the reference resource configured is updated as the indicated maximum value of ports.
In some embodiments, the configuration information for activation/deactivation/update of the element may be presented in a list. The list applies to, or is associated with at least one of: a cell, a frequency layer, a frequency band, a carrier, a TRP, a beam, a TCI state, an antenna, an antenna port, a MIMO layer, a rank, an antenna panel, a reference signal, or a reference resource.
In some embodiments, the list may be carried in a bitmap.
In some embodiments, the list may be indicated by a codepoint, and the list may include ID information for one or more elements to be activated/deactivated/updated.
In some embodiments, one or more elements may be grouped, and each group is associated with a group ID. The indication message is used to indicate a target group ID which points to a target group that contains the elements to be configured (for example, to be activated/deactivated/updated). Some examples are given below.
In some embodiments, a triggering state is associated with one or more elements. The indication message is used to indicate a triggering state, so the one or more elements may be derived from the indicated triggering state, and the configuration may be applied to the one or more elements.
In some embodiments, a threshold value may be indicated by the indication message. The threshold value applies to, or is associated with at least one of: a cell, a frequency layer, a frequency band, a carrier, a TRP, a beam, a TCI state, an antenna, an antenna port, a MIMO layer, a rank, an antenna panel, a reference signal, or a reference resource.
In some embodiments, the element with ID information larger than the threshold value is deactivated.
In some embodiments, the element with ID information smaller than the threshold value is deactivated.
In some embodiments, the element with ID information equal to the threshold value is deactivated.
In some embodiments, the element with ID information larger than the threshold value is updated according to another element. In some embodiments, the another element is the element with ID equal to the threshold value. In some embodiments, the another element is the element with the smallest index within the same type of elements. In some embodiments, the another element is the element with the largest index within the same type of elements. In some embodiments, the same type of elements are the same type of elements configured in the same bandwidth part, or cell, or cell group.
In some embodiments, the configuration information includes a source element used as a reference to update the information of a target element. For example, a whole configuration or a partial configuration of the source element may be copied to the target element.
In some embodiments, the source element is indicated by the indication message.
In some embodiments, the source element is determined by a criterion associated with at least an ID, a threshold value, or a target element. For example, the source element may be the element with ID equal to or larger than a threshold value. For example, the source element may be the element with ID larger than the target element. For example, the source element may be the element with the smallest ID within the same type of elements. In some embodiments, the same type of elements is the same type of elements configured in the same bandwidth part, or cell, or cell group.
In some embodiments, the indication message includes the information of the source element and/or target element.
In some embodiments, the indication message includes a serving cell ID and/or a Bandwidth Part (BWP) ID.
In some embodiments, the indication message may include an RRC message, a MAC CE message, or a DCI message.
The configuration information includes a target element and a source element. The information of the target element may be updated as the source element. For example, Table 5 below illustrates that the source element is TCI state-i, and the target element is TCI state-j, wherein i, j are non-negative values. As indicated by this indication message, the TCI state-j is updated as TCI state-i.
The configuration information includes a source element and more than one target element. The information of the all target elements are updated as the source element. For example, the target elements are TCI state-a, TCI state-b, and the source element is TCI state-c, where a, b, and c are non-negative values. With this update indication, the TCI state-a and TCI state-b in the target elements are updated as TCI state-c.
In some embodiments, the configuration information includes N pairs of target element and source element.
In some embodiments, the indication message carrying the configuration information may be a higher layer signaling includes at least one of an RRC signaling, a MAC CE signaling, or a system information signaling.
In some embodiments, the indication message carrying the configuration information may be a reference signal, such as a reference signal with paging-early indication. The paging-early indication is used to indicate to the UE whether to monitor paging occasion or not.
In some embodiments, when the base station sends an indication message to the UE indicating configuration information, it is beneficial to also inform the configuration information to another base station, for example, a neighbor base station, so as to support better collaboration between the base stations and the UE. The base station may inform at least one of the following information to the another base station:
In some embodiments, the elements interact with each other. For example, a number of ports of reference signal may be determined by an indication of number of antenna ports. In another example, a number of antenna ports may be derived by the configuration of the number of ports of reference signal. Therefore, the configuration of one element may impact other elements. In some other implementations, the indication of number of antenna ports may be used to determine the number of antenna port of a reference signal, or vice versa. Therefore, the indication (e.g., message or signaling carrying the indication) may be reduced by using one message to carry information for two or more elements.
The detailed schemes are disclosed below.
In some embodiments, in the wireless communication network, the Downlink (DL) and/or Uplink (UL) beam management may be implemented by Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state framework. Under this framework, each TCI state is configured with one or more reference signals which are associated with a Quasi Co-Location (QCL) type. A TCI state implies which beam is used for DL reception or UL transmission. In some implementation, a TCI state is configured with a reference signal.
When a TCI state is activated/deactivated/update, a reference signal resource or reference signal resource set associated with the TCI state needs to be activated/deactivated/update correspondingly.
In some embodiments, the transmission occasion of a reference signal is determined by the corresponding reference signal resource. For example, the de-activation of reference signal implies the de-activation of the corresponding reference signal resource, or vice versa. For another example, the activation of reference signal implies the activation of the corresponding reference signal resource, or vice versa. For another example, the update of reference signal implies the update of the corresponding reference signal resource, or vice versa.
In some embodiments, the reference signal associated with the TCI state may be configured with at least one of:
In some embodiments, the reference signal associated with the TCI state is the same reference signal as the one configured by the activated/deactivated TCI state.
For example, if a particular TCI state is de-activated, it may imply reference signal configured by this TCI state and/or the corresponding transmission/reception beam associated with the configured reference signal needs to be de-activated. In this case, another reference signal configured with the same TCI state, or a different TCI state but associated with same reference signal also needs to be de-activated. The similar operation is also applied to activation or update configuration.
In some embodiments, two reference signals are the same if at they share at least one of: a reference signal type, a reference signal index, a serving cell ID, or a BWP ID.
In some embodiments, the reference signal set associated with the TCI state includes at least one reference signal resource which is configured with at least one of:
In some embodiments, the reference signal set associated with the TCI state is the reference signal set comprising the same reference signal as the one configured by the activated/deactivated TCI state.
In some embodiments, for a UE, a certain channel or signal (e.g., a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) may be configured with multiple TCI states by RRC signaling, and then a sub-set of the multiple TCI states may be activated by a MAC CE, and finally a desired TCI state may be indicated by a DCI. If a TCI state is deactivated, the UE is not expected to transmit UL channel/signal using the deactivated TCI state. If a TCI state is deactivated, the UE is not expected to receive DL channel/signal using the deactivated TCI state.
In some embodiments, the UL beam management procedure is implemented by spatial relation information framework. For example, each spatial relation information is configured with one or more reference signals which are associated with a QCL type. With the indication of spatial relation information, it implies which beam is used for UL transmission. In some implementations, the spatial relation information is configured with a reference signal.
When a spatial relation information is activated/deactivated, a reference signal or reference signal set associated with the spatial relation information needs to be activated/deactivated correspondingly.
In some embodiments, the associated reference signal is configured with at least one of:
In some embodiments, the reference signal associated with the spatial relation information is a same reference signal as the one configured by the activated/deactivated/update spatial relation information. In some embodiments, if a spatial relation is de-activated, it may imply the reference signal configured by the spatial relation and/or the transmission/reception beam associated with the configured reference signal needs to be de-activated. In this case, another reference signal configured with the same spatial relation, or different spatial relation but associated with same reference signal also needs to be de-activated. The similar operation is also applied to activation or update configuration.
In some embodiments, when a spatial relation information is deactivated, the UE is not expected to be indicated to transmit UL channel/signal using the deactivated spatial relation information.
When the maximum number of antenna is indicated as n (n is a non-negative integer) by the indication message, at least one of the following factors are constrained: number of Demodulation Reference Signal (DM-RS) ports, number of Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports, number of transmission layers, number of ranks, number of Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) ports, precoding information, number of TCI states, number of reference resources, and number of reference resource sets. In some embodiments, these factors are constrained as m, where m a non-negative integer not larger than n. For example, m=n.
In some embodiments, when the number of TCI states is constrained as m via the indication message, the TCI state with ID equal to or larger than m needs to be deactivated.
In some embodiments, when the number of reference resources is constrained as m via the indication message, the reference resource with ID equal to or larger than m needs to be deactivated. In some embodiments, when the number of reference resources is constrained as m via the indication message, the reference resource with ports equal to or larger than m needs to be deactivated.
In some embodiments, when the number of reference resource sets is constrained as m via the indication message, the reference resource set with ID equal to or larger than m needs to deactivated. In some embodiments, when the number of reference resource sets is constrained as m via the indication message, the reference resource set with ports equal to or larger than m needs to deactivated.
In some embodiments, a number of zeros are padded in the Most Significant Bits (MSBs) or Least Significant Bits (LSBs) of the antenna port information field in a DCI with a first DCI format when a first condition is met. The first DCI format includes at least one of: DCI format 1-1, DCI format 1-2, DCI format 0-1, or DCI format 0-2. The first condition may be associated with a number of antenna ports determined by the indication message, and the first condition may include: the number of DM-RS ports determined by a higher layer parameter is larger than the number of DM-RS ports determined by the indication message.
In some embodiments, a number of zeros are padded in the MSB or LSB of the precoding information and transmission layer information field in a DCI with a second DCI format when a second condition is met. The second DCI format includes at least one of: DCI format 0-1, or DCI format 0-2. The second condition may be associated with at least one of the following parameters determined by the indication message: a number of antennas, a number of layers, or a rank.
The second condition includes at least one of the following:
When the maximum number of transmission layers is indicated as n (n is a non-negative integer) by the indication message, or when the maximum number of antenna ports is indicated as n, at least one of the following factors are constrained: number of DM-RS ports, number of CSI-RS ports, number of transmission layers, number of rank, number of SRS ports, precoding information, number of TCI states, number of reference resources, and number of reference resource sets. In some embodiments, these factors are constrained as m, where m a non-negative integer not larger than n. For example, m=n.
In some embodiments, when the number of TCI states is constrained as m, the TCI state with ID equal to or larger than m needs to be deactivated.
In some embodiments, as various elements may interact with each other, or the operation of one element may depend on or propagate to another element, the indication message targeting an element may not only directly trigger configuration change on the targeted element, but may also trigger configuration change, or an operation on another related element indirectly. The operation triggered on the another related element may be referred to as an “associated operation” hereinafter.
For example, the CSI measurement and CSI reporting are associated with antenna configuration. If the antenna configuration is updated via the indication message, the configuration for CSI measurement and CSI reporting should also be updated accordingly, to make sure that the CSI measurement is accurate for the updated channel condition. In some embodiments, after an antenna is activated, deactivated, or updated as indicated by the indication message, a CSI acquisition procedure may be triggered by the same indication message, or by another signaling after the indication message, which will be described in more details below.
In some embodiments, after an antenna is updated, the configuration of CSI-RS is updated accordingly.
In some embodiments, the beam management is also associated with antenna configuration. If the antenna configuration is updated via the indication message, the configuration for beam management needs to be updated accordingly.
In some embodiments, at least one of the following operations is associated with the indication message: CSI measurement, CSI reporting, CSI request, SRS transmission, SRS request, radio link measurement, radio resource management (RRM) measurement, RRM reporting, radio link reporting, beam measurement, or beam reporting.
In some embodiments, the CSI measurement is associated with at least one of CSI-RS or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).
In some embodiments, the radio link measurement is associated with at least one of CSI-RS or SSB.
In some embodiments, the beam measurement is associated with at least one of CSI-RS or SSB. In some embodiments, the beam reporting includes reporting of Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) and Layer 1 Signal to Noise and Interference Ratio (L1-SINR).
Referring to
Further referring to
In some embodiments, the first time gap is defined by a first start time point and first end time point.
The first start time point is determined by at least one of the following:
The first end time point is determined by at least one of the following:
Referring to
Further referring to
The second or the third time gap is determined by at least one of the following: a UE capability, a frequency range, a PDCCH processing time, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) processing time, a time in response to a semi-persistent PDSCH release, a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) processing time, a sub-carrier spacing, a pre-determined value, or a higher layer parameter.
In some embodiments, the second time gap is defined by a second start time point and/or a second end time point.
The second start time point is determined by at least one of the following:
The second end time point is determined by at least one of the following:
In some embodiments, the third time gap is defined by a third start time point and/or a third end time point.
The third start time point is determined by at least one of the following:
The third end time point is determined by at least one of the following:
In some embodiments, certain reference signals or channels are cell specific, or configured to more than one UE, or can be used by UE in RRC idle/inactive state. The deactivation/update operation is not applicable to these reference signals or channels.
The applicable use case of deactivation/update operation may be restricted according to channel type. The channel type includes at least control channel, or data channel. The channel type includes at least physical broadcast channel, or data channel. The channel type includes at least downlink channel, or uplink channel.
The applicable use case of deactivation/update operation may also be restricted according to reference signal type.
The applicable use case of deactivation/update operation may also be restricted according to CSI type.
The applicable use case of deactivation/update operation may also be restricted according to at least one of the following:
In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to PDCCH with CRC scrambled a pre-determined RNTI. In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to PDCCH with CRC scrambled by at least one of the following RNTIs: Paging RNTI (P-RNTI), System Information RNTI (SI-RNTI), Random Access RNTI (RA-RNTI), Msg-B RNTI, or Temporary Cell RNTI (TC-RNTI).
In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduled by PDCCH with CRC scrambled. In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to PDSCH or PUSCH scheduled by PDCCH with CRC scrambled by at least one of the following RNTIs: P-RNTI, SI-RNTI, RA-RNTI, Msg-B RNTI, or TC-RNTI.
In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to PDCCH monitored in at least one of the following search space set type: search space set type 0, search space set type 0A, search space set type 1, or search space set type 2.
In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to SSB.
In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to at least one of periodic reference signal or semi-persistent reference signal.
In some embodiments, deactivation/update operation is not applicable to at least one of: SSB, CSI-RS, SRS, or positioning reference signal.
In some embodiments, once the UE receives an indication message, the deactivation/activation/update operation may be applied after a delay. The delay may be determined by at least one of the following: UE capability, a frequency range, a sub-carrier spacing, a pre-determined value, a higher layer parameter, a time slot when HARQ-ACK information is transmitted or received, a PDCCH processing time, a PDSCH processing time, a time in response to a semi-persistent PDSCH release, or a PUSCH processing time.
In some embodiments, the delay is defined by a fourth start time position and/or a fourth end time position.
The fourth start time point may be determined by at least one of the following:
The fourth end time point may be determined by: a system frame, a slot, or a symbol in which the indication message is applied.
The description and accompanying drawings above provide specific example embodiments and implementations. The described subject matter may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any example embodiments set forth herein. A reasonably broad scope for claimed or covered subject matter is intended. Among other things, for example, subject matter may be embodied as methods, devices, components, systems, or non-transitory computer-readable media for storing computer codes. Accordingly, embodiments may, for example, take the form of hardware, software, firmware, storage media or any combination thereof. For example, the method embodiments described above may be implemented by components, devices, or systems including memory and processors by executing computer codes stored in the memory.
Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment/implementation” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in another embodiment/implementation” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter includes combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.
In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a,” “an,” or “the,” may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for the existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.
Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present solution should be or are included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, discussions of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout the specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, advantages and characteristics of the present solution may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the present solution may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present solution.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2021/116623 | Sep 2021 | US |
| Child | 18521334 | US |
