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US-20260128779-A1 - SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVED GROUP-BASED BEAM REPORTING

US20260128779A1US 20260128779 A1US20260128779 A1US 20260128779A1US-20260128779-A1

Abstract

Systems and methods for group-based beam reporting are disclosed herein. A user equipment (UE) may determine first and second characteristics of first and second beams used by the network and that are received at the UE in a simultaneous fashion. The UE is configured to identify the first and second beams as a qualified beam pair upon analyzing a characteristic of first beam and a characteristic of second beam in relation to a threshold, and then send the network a beam reporting message identifying the first beam and the second beam as a qualified beam pair. The network may then use this beam pair to communicate with the UE. Relevant beam characteristics, threshold types, and related analyses are discussed. Uses of beam pair validity timers during which a reported qualified beam pair is valid are discussed. Updates to a qualified beam pair are discussed.

Inventors

  • Xiang Chen
  • Haitong Sun
  • Jie Cui
  • Manasa Raghavan
  • Yang Tang
  • Qiming Li
  • Yuexia Song
  • Dawei Zhang
  • Rolando E Bettancourt Ortega

Assignees

  • APPLE INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20221102

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining a first characteristic of a first beam used by a network that is received on a first antenna panel of the UE using a first reference signal transmitted on the first beam; determining a second characteristic of a second beam used by the network that is received on a second antenna panel of the UE using a second reference signal transmitted on the second beam, wherein the first beam and the second beam are received at the UE simultaneously; determining that a qualified beam pair comprises the first beam and the second beam using the first characteristic, the second characteristic, and a threshold value; and sending, to the network, a beam reporting message indicating the qualified beam pair comprising the first beam and the second beam, wherein the beam reporting message comprises a first reference signal received power (RSRP) for the first beam and a second RSRP for the second beam.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first characteristic of the first beam comprises the first RSRP for the first beam, the second characteristic comprises the second RSRP for the second beam, the threshold value comprises an RSRP threshold value, and the determining that the qualified beam pair comprises the first beam and the second beam comprises: comparing the first RSRP to the RSRP threshold value; and comparing the second RSRP to the RSRP threshold value.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first characteristic of the first beam comprises the first RSRP for the first beam, the second characteristic comprises the second RSRP for the second beam, the threshold value comprises an RSRP difference threshold value, and the determining that the qualified beam pair comprises the first beam and the second beam comprises: calculating a difference between the first RSRP and the second RSRP; and comparing the difference between the first RSRP and the second RSRP to the RSRP difference threshold value.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first characteristic of the first beam comprises a first angle of arrival (AoA) for the first beam, the second characteristic comprises a second AoA for the second beam, the threshold value comprises an AoA offset threshold value, and the determining that the qualified beam pair comprises the first beam and the second beam comprises: calculating an offset between the first AoA and the second AoA; and comparing the offset between the first AoA and the second AoA to the AoA offset threshold value.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first characteristic of the first beam comprises a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam, the second characteristic comprises a second SINR for the second beam, the threshold value comprises an SINR threshold value, and the determining that the qualified beam pair comprises the first beam and the second beam comprises: comparing the first SINR to the SINR threshold value; and comparing the second SINR to the SINR threshold value.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first characteristic of the first beam comprises a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam, the second characteristic comprises a second SINR for the second beam, the threshold value comprises an SINR difference threshold value, and the determining the qualified beam pair comprises the first beam and the second beam comprises: calculating a difference between the first SINR and the second SINR; and comparing the difference between the first SINR and the second SINR to the SINR difference threshold value.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , the method of claim 1 , wherein: the first characteristic of the first beam comprises the first RSRP for the first beam, the second characteristic comprises the second RSRP for the second beam, the threshold value comprises one of an RSRP threshold value and an RSRP difference threshold value, and the determining that a qualified beam pair comprises the first beam and the second beam further comprises using a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam, a second SINR for the second beam, and one of an SINR threshold value and an SINR difference threshold value.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold value is pre-defined at the UE.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold value is one of a range of values pre-defined at the UE and that is indicated to the UE in a group-based beam reporting configuration.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold value is one of a range of values pre-defined at the UE and that is indicated to the network in a UE capability message.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam reporting message indicates a plurality of qualified beam pairs including the qualified beam pair and further indicates a ranking of the plurality of qualified beam pairs.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a rank of the qualified beam pair within the plurality of qualified beam pairs is based on a sum of the first RSRP for the first beam and the second RSRP of the second beam.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a rank of the qualified beam pair within the plurality of qualified beam pairs is based on a minimum of the first RSRP for the first beam and the second RSRP for the second beam.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a rank of the qualified beam pair within the plurality of qualified beam pairs is based on a maximum of the first RSRP for the first beam and the second RSRP for the second beam.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a rank of the qualified beam pair within the plurality of qualified beam pairs is based on a sum of a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam and a second SINR of the second beam.
  16. 16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a rank of the qualified beam pair within the plurality of qualified beam pairs is based on a sum of a first effective channel capability that is calculated using a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam and a second effective channel capability that is calculated using a second SINR of the second beam.
  17. 17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a rank of the qualified beam pair within the plurality of qualified beam pairs is based on a minimum of a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam and a second SINR of the second beam.
  18. 18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a rank of the qualified beam pair within the plurality of qualified beam pairs is based on a maximum of a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam and a second SINR of the second beam.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam reporting message further includes a first signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) for the first beam and a second SINR for the second beam.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first beam is from a first channel measurement resource (CMR) set configured to the UE, and wherein the second beam is from a second CMR set configured to the UE.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including wireless communications system using group-based beam reporting. BACKGROUND Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a base station and a wireless communication device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols can include, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP new radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN) (commonly known to industry groups as Wi-Fi®). As contemplated by the 3GPP, different wireless communication systems standards and protocols can use various radio access networks (RANs) for communicating between a base station of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to generally as a RAN node, a network node, or simply a node) and a wireless communication device known as a user equipment (UE). 3GPP RANs can include, for example, global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and/or Next-Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN). Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communication between the base station and the UE. For example, the GERAN implements GSM and/or EDGE RAT, the UTRAN implements universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, the E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes simply referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to herein as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or simply NR). In certain deployments, the E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In certain deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT. A base station used by a RAN may correspond to that RAN. One example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). One example of an NG-RAN base station is a next generation Node B (also sometimes referred to as a g Node B or gNB). A RAN provides its communication services with external entities through its connection to a core network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), while NG-RAN may utilize a 5G Core Network (5GC). Frequency bands for 5G NR may be separated into two or more different frequency ranges. For example, Frequency Range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands operating in sub 6 gigahertz (GHz) frequencies, some of which are bands that may be used by previous standards, and may potentially be extended to cover new spectrum offerings from 410 megahertz (MHz) to 7125 MHz. Frequency Range 2(FR2) may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. Note that in some systems, FR2 may also include frequency bands from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (or beyond). Bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 may have smaller coverage but potentially higher available bandwidth than bands in FR1. Skilled persons will recognize these frequency ranges, which are provided by way of example, may change from time to time or from region to region. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram showing a UE according to embodiments herein. FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram showing a first CMR set and a first CMR set, according to embodiments herein. FIG. 3 illustrates a method of a UE, according to embodiments herein. FIG. 4 illustrates a method of a RAN, according to embodiments herein. FIG. 5 illustrates a method of a RAN, according to embodiments herein. FIG. 6 illustrates a method of a RAN, according to embodiments herein. FIG. 7 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system, according to embodiments disclosed herein. FIG. 8 illustrates a system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device, according to embodiments disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component. In some cases, multiple receive (multi-Rx) chain downlink (DL) reception at a UE may be beneficial. In some cases, such multi-Rx chain DL reception mechanisms may be used in FR2. In such cases, it may be benef