Facilitation of signal alignment for 5G or other next generation network

To facilitate signal alignment for an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a system can determine a subset of beams that can be used for communication transmissions. Based on a signal quality associated with the subset of beams, the system can indicate that the subset of beams is to be used for the communication transmission. Consequently, the subset of the beams or another subset of the subset of the beams can be utilized for the communication transmission based on the signal quality of the beams.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to facilitating signal alignment. For example, this disclosure relates to utilizing transmission beam sweeping to facilitate signal alignment for a 5G, or other next generation network.

BACKGROUND

5th generation (5G) wireless systems represent a next major phase of mobile telecommunications standards beyond the current telecommunications standards of 4thgeneration (4G). Rather than faster peak Internet connection speeds, 5G planning aims at higher capacity than current 4G, allowing a higher number of mobile broadband users per area unit, and allowing consumption of higher or unlimited data quantities. This would enable a large portion of the population to stream high-definition media many hours per day with their mobile devices, when out of reach of wireless fidelity hotspots. 5G research and development also aims at improved support of machine-to-machine communication, also known as the Internet of things, aiming at lower cost, lower battery consumption, and lower latency than 4G equipment.

The above-described background relating to facilitating signal alignment is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of some current issues, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Other contextual information may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Further, these components can execute from various machine-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components can communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network, e.g., the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, etc. with other systems via the signal).

In addition, the disclosed subject matter can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, machine-readable device, computer-readable carrier, computer-readable media, or machine-readable media. For example, computer-readable media can include, but are not limited to, a magnetic storage device, e.g., hard disk; floppy disk; magnetic strip(s); an optical disk (e.g., compact disk (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), a Blu-ray Disc™ (BD)); a smart card; a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive); and/or a virtual device that emulates a storage device and/or any of the above computer-readable media.

As an overview, various embodiments are described herein to facilitate signal alignment for a 5G or other next generation networks. For simplicity of explanation, the methods (or algorithms) are depicted and described as a series of acts. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various embodiments are not limited by the acts illustrated and/or by the order of acts. For example, acts can occur in various orders and/or concurrently, and with other acts not presented or described herein. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement the methods. In addition, the methods could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via a state diagram or events. Additionally, the methods described hereafter are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) to facilitate transporting and transferring such methodologies to computers. The term article of manufacture, as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media, including a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium.

It should be noted that although various aspects and embodiments have been described herein in the context of 5G, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and/or Long Term Evolution (LTE), or other next generation networks, the disclosed aspects are not limited to 5G, a UMTS implementation, and/or an LTE implementation as the techniques can also be applied in 3G, 4G or LTE systems. For example, aspects or features of the disclosed embodiments can be exploited in substantially any wireless communication technology. Such wireless communication technologies can include UMTS, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wi-Fi, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced GPRS, Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), LTE, Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Zigbee, or another IEEE 802.XX technology. Additionally, substantially all aspects disclosed herein can be exploited in legacy telecommunication technologies.

Described herein are systems, methods, articles of manufacture, and other embodiments or implementations that can facilitate signal alignment for a 5G network. Facilitating signal alignment for a 5G network can be implemented in connection with any type of device with a connection to the communications network (e.g., a mobile handset, a computer, a handheld device, etc.) any Internet of things (TOT) device (e.g., toaster, coffee maker, blinds, music players, speakers, etc.), and/or any connected vehicles (cars, airplanes, space rockets, and/or other at least partially automated vehicles (e.g., drones)). In some embodiments the non-limiting term user equipment (UE) is used. It can refer to any type of wireless device that communicates with a radio network node in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc. Note that the terms element, elements and antenna ports can be interchangeably used but carry the same meaning in this disclosure. The embodiments are applicable to single carrier as well as to multicarrier (MC) or carrier aggregation (CA) operation of the UE. The term carrier aggregation (CA) is also called (e.g. interchangeably called) “multi-carrier system”, “multi-cell operation”, “multi-carrier operation”, “multi-carrier” transmission and/or reception.

In some embodiments the non-limiting term radio network node or simply network node is used. It can refer to any type of network node that serves UE is connected to other network nodes or network elements or any radio node from where UE receives a signal. Examples of radio network nodes are Node B (NB), base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) node such as MSR BS, eNode B, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS) etc.

Cloud radio access networks (RAN) can enable the implementation of concepts such as software-defined network (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) in 5G networks. This disclosure can facilitate a generic channel state information framework design for a 5G network. Certain embodiments of this disclosure can comprise an SDN controller that can control routing of traffic within the network and between the network and traffic destinations. The SDN controller can be merged with the 5G network architecture to enable service deliveries via open application programming interfaces (“APIs”) and move the network core towards an all internet protocol (“IP”), cloud based, and software driven telecommunications network. The SDN controller can work with, or take the place of policy and charging rules function (“PCRF”) network elements so that policies such as quality of service and traffic management and routing can be synchronized and managed end to end.

To meet the huge demand for data centric applications, 4G standards can be applied 5G, also called new radio (NR) access. 5G networks can comprise the following: data rates of several tens of megabits per second supported for tens of thousands of users; 1 gigabit per second can be offered simultaneously to tens of workers on the same office floor; several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections can be supported for massive sensor deployments; spectral efficiency can be enhanced compared to 4G; improved coverage; enhanced signaling efficiency; and reduced latency compared to LTE. In multicarrier system such as OFDM, each subcarrier can occupy bandwidth (e.g., subcarrier spacing). If the carriers use the same bandwidth spacing, then it can be considered a single numerology. However, if the carriers occupy different bandwidth and/or spacing, then it can be considered a multiple numerology.

Due to the expected larger bandwidth available for NR compared to LTE (e.g. mmWave spectrum) along with the native deployment of MIMO or multi-beam systems in NR, integrated access and backhaul links can be developed and deployed. This can allow for deployment of a dense network of self-backhauled NR cells in an integrated manner by building upon control and data channels/procedures defined for providing access to UEs. An example illustration of a network with such integrated access and backhaul links can comprise a relay node (Relay DU) that can multiplex access and backhaul links in time, frequency, or space (e.g. beam-based operation).

While an integrated access backhaul (IAB) can be deployed in a standalone architecture where the access UEs and relay DUs receive both control and data bearers on NR, it is also possible to support IAB operation under a non-standalone (NSA) architecture where the control plane signalling is sent over LTE or another NR anchor carrier (e.g., sub6-GHz).

In an exemplary protocol stack structure for an IAB node, if the backhaul links carrying relay traffic (Ur) are based on the same channels and protocols as the access links carrying user data traffic (Uu), then it is possible to construct the IAB node as containing two parallel protocol stacks, one containing a UE function or also called a mobile termination (MT) function, which provides connectivity between the IAB node and a lower order IAB node or donor node which has a wired connection to the core network. The other IAB node functionality can be the gNode B (gNB) function or distributed unit (Du) function, which can provide connectivity between the IAB node and a higher order IAB node or access UEs.

In order to route the relay data traffic within the IAB node, in one example, an adaptation layer can be inserted above a radio link control (RLC) of both the UE and gNB functions of the IAB node. In other examples the adaptation layer can be inserted above the medium access control (MAC) and packet data control protocol (PDCP) layers. In addition to data routing, the IAB node can manage the control plane signalling and configurations for both the UE and gNB functions. An example control plan signalling for the UE function can involve a radio resource control (RRC) and an F1 interface and operations administration and maintenance (OAM) for the gNB function. This coordination can be performed internally in the IAB node by an IAB control (IAB-C) interface.

The control plane configuration of the UE and gNB functions can be performed at the parent IAB node if it is a donor gNB, or it can be forwarded from the parent IAB node across one or more backhaul link hops from a central configuration entity or entities (e.g., at the gNB central-unit (CU) or RAN/OAM controller).

This disclosure describes the functionality of the IAB control interface for configuring radio resource management (RRM) measurements and reports for IAB nodes. The IAB nodes can multiplex the access and backhaul links in time, frequency, or space (e.g. beam-based operation), which can comprise the transmission of signals and/or channels utilized as part of initial access and measurements used for radio resource management. The same physical layer signals and channels used for these purposes by access UEs can be reused for performing similar procedures at the IAB node. However, the IAB nodes can have both gNB functionality as well as UE functionality. Thus, the IAB node gNB function can transmit signals and channels used for initial access and/or radio resource management (RRM) as well as receive reports from connected devices, which can be both access UEs and higher order IAB nodes. At the same time, due to the hierarchical topology used for IAB, the UE function of the IAB node can perform measurements and send measurement reports to higher order parent nodes (e.g., IAB nodes or donor nodes). Thus, a common framework can be used for the RRM configuration for IAB nodes.

Due to a half-duplexing constraint, IAB nodes can: 1) receive on the access link and/or backhaul link at any given time, and 2) transmit on the access link and/or backhaul link at any given time. As a result, while the same physical signals can be used for both UE and IAB nodes. Different configurations of the resources and/or transmission period(s) of the signals used for initial access for access UEs and IAB nodes can be used. In addition, since the UE functionality for IAB nodes is not fully identical with access UEs (e.g. optimized physical layer parameters, support for control plane messaging related to relay route/topology management), the network should be able to identify which UEs performing initial access are normal access UEs or IAB nodes with UE functionality. Also, the parameters configuring RRM operation at the IAB node gNB function can consider the half-duplex constraint imposed by the UE function and can also take into account hop order and other topology/route management functionalities.

During an initial configuration with the network, the IAB node UE function can perform initial access procedures (e.g., synchronization signal detection and random access procedure) to connect to one or potentially multiple parent IAB nodes. In one example, parameters for initial access such as one or more cell IDs of parent nodes, synchronization signal block (SSB) indices, synchronization measurement timing configurations (SMTC), and other parameters can be preconfigured or signalled by an anchor carrier (e.g., LTE). However, it can be beneficial for the IAB nodes to support self-discovery of IAB parent nodes and become integrated into the network topology without the need for planning or pre-configuration. In this case, the IAB nodes can perform blind detection of the SSBs upon initial power-up. Once the IAB node UE function is connected to the network (e.g. in RRC connected mode), the network can provide an updated measurement configuration or SMTC for the IAB node UE, which can comprise the timing of SSB transmissions (including periodicity) and/or a list of SSB indices (e.g., bitmap) that the UE can utilize for performing RRM measurements, which can be used for topology/route management or mobility in case of mobile relay node operations.

When a receiving node is configured with a non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resource set configured with repetition ‘on’, the receiving node can measure on the same transmission beam (e.g., transmission beam with the same spatial transmission filter) sent over multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. For the purposes of reception beam selection and measurement, the beams at the receiving node can be grouped into subsets, in a tree structure format, whereas each group can comprise multiple subgroups. The grouping can correspond, for example, to different antenna panels, and/or different effective angle directions, such that the sum of all groups constitute the entirety of the beams to be swept. The grouping can have multiple granularities (e.g., 2 groups, 4 groups, etc.). The grouping can also correspond to different beam widths (e.g., narrow vs. wide beams), reference signal associations (e.g., SSB or NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration), transmission source/quasi-colocation (QCL) (e.g. group 1 corresponds to TRP transmission point (TRP 1/Cell 1/DU 1, group 2 corresponds to TRP2/Cell 2/DU 2 depending on the multi-TRP, or a multi-connectivity option used by the network), and/or interference hypotheses (e.g. each group corresponds to a different set of interfering nodes).

In one embodiment, the receiver can report on the group that the best reception beam corresponds to an information element indicating the group. This procedure can be performed via the following steps: 1) the receiving node sweeps the receiving beam groups following a beam management procedure; 2) when the UE finds the best receiving beam, the UE can send an indication to the network of the subset restriction or the group associated with the strongest receiving beam, wherein the indication can be in the form of an information bit indicating the group (e.g., 1 bit to indicate group 1 or group 2), and wherein the determination of the best receiving beam can be based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) or a metric that takes interference into account (e.g., signal interference to noise ratio (SINR), reference signal received quality (RSRQ)) to mitigate the effect of cross link interference; 3) the receiving node can report on the reception beam group restriction that the best receiving beam belongs to a new report configuration that is configured for a repetition ‘on’ beam management procedure, along with a SINR report, if needed; 4) when the network triggers a new beam management procedure, receiving beam sweeping (e.g., NZP-CSI-RS resource set with repetition ‘on’) can be performed following the indication from the receiver of the receiving beam group, thus minimizing the overhead for receiving beam alignment, wherein the network can also maintain a memory of the previous receiving beam group reports, such that the repetition is done for a receiving beam subset chosen based on a predictive metric that takes into account the most recent report, in addition to the past report trends, and wherein the network can also choose to perform the beam sweeping based on a larger group size or different group/subset; and 5) within the group indicated by the network, the receiver can report on a subgroup, so that the receiving beams are further restricted, thus increasing granularity, wherein the subgroup reporting, given the group indicated by the network, can be differential, resulting in a very small feedback overhead (e.g., 1 bit reporting); and wherein the subgroup reporting can be indicated in a new report.

In another embodiment, the receiver can feed back the repetition order to the network, such that the repetition order can indicate how many OFDM symbols the network needs to transmit with repetition ‘on’. For example, if the receiver has 4 receiving beams, then the repetition order needed to sweep all the beams is 4, if the beams are grouped into 2 subgroups of 2, and the receiver indicates a repetition order of 2, then only 2 OFDM symbols are needed perform beam sweeping for a particular subgroup. The following steps describe the procedure with repetition order feedback: 1) the receiving node can sweep the receiving beam groups following a normal beam management procedure; 2) when the UE finds the best receiving beam, the UE can send an indication to the network of the subset restriction or the subgroup that it found to have the strongest receiving beam, wherein this indication can also be in the form of a repetition order, indicating to the base station the number of OFDM symbols repetition ‘on’ needs to be performed for, and wherein the determination of the best receiving beam can be based on RSRP or a metric that takes interference into account (SINR, RSRQ) to mitigate the effect of cross link interference; 3) the receiving node can report on the receiving beam group restriction that the best receive beam belongs to a new report configuration that is configured for the repetition ‘on’ beam management procedure, along with a SINR report; and 4) when the network triggers a new beam management procedure, receiving beam sweeping (e.g., NZP-CSI-RS resource set with repetition ‘on’) can be performed following the indication from the receiver on the Rx beam subset, thus minimizing the overhead of receiving beam alignment, wherein the network can also maintain a memory of the previous receiving beam group reports, such that the repetition is performed for a reception beam subset chosen based on a predictive metric that takes into account the most recent report, in addition to the past report trends, and wherein the network can also choose to do the beam sweeping based on a larger repetition order.

In one embodiment, described herein is a method comprising identifying, by a wireless network device comprising a processor, reception beams of a network based on a mobile device function. In response to the identifying the reception beams, the method can comprise determining, by the wireless network device, a group of the reception beams, fewer than the reception beams, of the network based on a quality of the group of the reception beams. In response to the identifying the group of the reception beams, the method can comprise sending, by the wireless network device, to a gNodeB function, an indication of the group of the reception beams to the network. In response to the sending the indication of the group of the reception beams, the method can comprise initiating, by the wireless network device, a transmission beam alignment associated with the gNodeB function.

According to another embodiment, a system can facilitate identifying a signal based on a quality associated with the signal of signals of a wireless network. In response to the identifying the signal, the system can comprise sending a first indication representative of the signal to a network device of the wireless network. In response to the sending the first indication of the signal, the system can comprise generating a second indication that the signal is to be used for a transmission between a transmission device of the wireless network and a reception device of the wireless network.

In yet another embodiment, described herein is a machine-readable medium that can perform the operations comprising identifying first signals of a group of signals and second signals of the group of signals, wherein the first signals are different than the second signals. In response to the identifying the first signals and the second signals, the machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising determining that the first signals are associated with a first quality and the second signals are associated with a second quality, wherein the first quality is greater than the second quality. Based on the first quality being determined to be greater than the second quality, the machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising sending, an indication of the first signals and initiating a transmission signal alignment in response to the sending the indication of the first signals.

These and other embodiments or implementations are described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

Referring now toFIG. 1, illustrated is an example wireless communication system100in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure. In one or more embodiments, system100can comprise one or more user equipment UEs102. The non-limiting term user equipment can refer to any type of device that can communicate with a network node in a cellular or mobile communication system. A UE can have one or more antenna panels having vertical and horizontal elements. Examples of a UE comprise a target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communications, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop mounted equipment (LME), universal serial bus (USB) dongles enabled for mobile communications, a computer having mobile capabilities, a mobile device such as cellular phone, a laptop having laptop embedded equipment (LEE, such as a mobile broadband adapter), a tablet computer having a mobile broadband adapter, a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, a heads-up display (HUD) device, a smart car, a machine-type communication (MTC) device, and the like. User equipment UE102can also comprise IOT devices that communicate wirelessly.

In various embodiments, system100is or comprises a wireless communication network serviced by one or more wireless communication network providers. In example embodiments, a UE102can be communicatively coupled to the wireless communication network via a network node104. The network node (e.g., network node device) can communicate with user equipment (UE), thus providing connectivity between the UE and the wider cellular network. The UE102can send transmission type recommendation data to the network node104. The transmission type recommendation data can comprise a recommendation to transmit data via a closed loop MIMO mode and/or a rank-1 precoder mode.

A network node can have a cabinet and other protected enclosures, an antenna mast, and multiple antennas for performing various transmission operations (e.g., MIMO operations). Network nodes can serve several cells, also called sectors, depending on the configuration and type of antenna. In example embodiments, the UE102can send and/or receive communication data via a wireless link to the network node104. The dashed arrow lines from the network node104to the UE102represent downlink (DL) communications and the solid arrow lines from the UE102to the network nodes104represents an uplink (UL) communication.

System100can further include one or more communication service provider networks106that facilitate providing wireless communication services to various UEs, including UE102, via the network node104and/or various additional network devices (not shown) included in the one or more communication service provider networks106. The one or more communication service provider networks106can include various types of disparate networks, including but not limited to: cellular networks, femto networks, picocell networks, microcell networks, internet protocol (IP) networks Wi-Fi service networks, broadband service network, enterprise networks, cloud based networks, and the like. For example, in at least one implementation, system100can be or include a large scale wireless communication network that spans various geographic areas. According to this implementation, the one or more communication service provider networks106can be or include the wireless communication network and/or various additional devices and components of the wireless communication network (e.g., additional network devices and cell, additional UEs, network server devices, etc.). The network node104can be connected to the one or more communication service provider networks106via one or more backhaul links108. For example, the one or more backhaul links108can comprise wired link components, such as a T1/E1 phone line, a digital subscriber line (DSL) (e.g., either synchronous or asynchronous), an asymmetric DSL (ADSL), an optical fiber backbone, a coaxial cable, and the like. The one or more backhaul links108can also include wireless link components, such as but not limited to, line-of-sight (LOS) or non-LOS links which can include terrestrial air-interfaces or deep space links (e.g., satellite communication links for navigation).

Wireless communication system100can employ various cellular systems, technologies, and modulation modes to facilitate wireless radio communications between devices (e.g., the UE102and the network node104). While example embodiments might be described for 5G new radio (NR) systems, the embodiments can be applicable to any radio access technology (RAT) or multi-RAT system where the UE operates using multiple carriers e.g. LTE FDD/TDD, GSM/GERAN, CDMA2000 etc.

For example, system100can operate in accordance with global system for mobile communications (GSM), universal mobile telecommunications service (UMTS), long term evolution (LTE), LTE frequency division duplexing (LTE FDD, LTE time division duplexing (TDD), high speed packet access (HSPA), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCMDA), CDMA2000, time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA), single-carrier code division multiple access (SC-CDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-spread OFDM) single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Filter bank based multi-carrier (FBMC), zero tail DFT-spread-OFDM (ZT DFT-s-OFDM), generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), fixed mobile convergence (FMC), universal fixed mobile convergence (UFMC), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), unique word DFT-spread OFDM (UW DFT-Spread-OFDM), cyclic prefix OFDM CP-OFDM, resource-block-filtered OFDM, Wi Fi, WLAN, WiMax, and the like. However, various features and functionalities of system100are particularly described wherein the devices (e.g., the UEs102and the network device104) of system100are configured to communicate wireless signals using one or more multi carrier modulation schemes, wherein data symbols can be transmitted simultaneously over multiple frequency subcarriers (e.g., OFDM, CP-OFDM, DFT-spread OFMD, UFMC, FMBC, etc.). The embodiments are applicable to single carrier as well as to multicarrier (MC) or carrier aggregation (CA) operation of the UE. The term carrier aggregation (CA) is also called (e.g. interchangeably called) “multi-carrier system”, “multi-cell operation”, “multi-carrier operation”, “multi-carrier” transmission and/or reception. Note that some embodiments are also applicable for Multi RAB (radio bearers) on some carriers (that is data plus speech is simultaneously scheduled).

In various embodiments, system100can be configured to provide and employ 5G wireless networking features and functionalities. 5G wireless communication networks are expected to fulfill the demand of exponentially increasing data traffic and to allow people and machines to enjoy gigabit data rates with virtually zero latency. Compared to 4G, 5G supports more diverse traffic scenarios. For example, in addition to the various types of data communication between conventional UEs (e.g., phones, smartphones, tablets, PCs, televisions, Internet enabled televisions, etc.) supported by 4G networks, 5G networks can be employed to support data communication between smart cars in association with driverless car environments, as well as machine type communications (MTCs). Considering the drastic different communication needs of these different traffic scenarios, the ability to dynamically configure waveform parameters based on traffic scenarios while retaining the benefits of multi carrier modulation schemes (e.g., OFDM and related schemes) can provide a significant contribution to the high speed/capacity and low latency demands of 5G networks. With waveforms that split the bandwidth into several sub-bands, different types of services can be accommodated in different sub-bands with the most suitable waveform and numerology, leading to an improved spectrum utilization for 5G networks.

To meet the demand for data centric applications, features of proposed 5G networks may comprise: increased peak bit rate (e.g., 20 Gbps), larger data volume per unit area (e.g., high system spectral efficiency—for example about 3.5 times that of spectral efficiency of long term evolution (LTE) systems), high capacity that allows more device connectivity both concurrently and instantaneously, lower battery/power consumption (which reduces energy and consumption costs), better connectivity regardless of the geographic region in which a user is located, a larger numbers of devices, lower infrastructural development costs, and higher reliability of the communications. Thus, 5G networks may allow for: data rates of several tens of megabits per second should be supported for tens of thousands of users, 1 gigabit per second to be offered simultaneously to tens of workers on the same office floor, for example; several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections to be supported for massive sensor deployments; improved coverage, enhanced signaling efficiency; reduced latency compared to LTE.

The upcoming 5G access network may utilize higher frequencies (e.g., >6 GHz) to aid in increasing capacity. Currently, much of the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, the band of spectrum between 30 gigahertz (Ghz) and 300 Ghz is underutilized. The millimeter waves have shorter wavelengths that range from 10 millimeters to 1 millimeter, and these mmWave signals experience severe path loss, penetration loss, and fading. However, the shorter wavelength at mmWave frequencies also allows more antennas to be packed in the same physical dimension, which allows for large-scale spatial multiplexing and highly directional beamforming.

Performance can be improved if both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas. Multi-antenna techniques can significantly increase the data rates and reliability of a wireless communication system. The use of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) techniques, which was introduced in the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) and has been in use (including with LTE), is a multi-antenna technique that can improve the spectral efficiency of transmissions, thereby significantly boosting the overall data carrying capacity of wireless systems. The use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques can improve mmWave communications, and has been widely recognized a potentially important component for access networks operating in higher frequencies. MIMO can be used for achieving diversity gain, spatial multiplexing gain and beamforming gain. For these reasons, MIMO systems are an important part of the 3rd and 4th generation wireless systems, and are planned for use in 5G systems.

Referring now toFIG. 2, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram of a message sequence chart between a network node and user equipment according to one or more embodiments.FIG. 2depicts a message sequence chart for downlink data transfer in 5G systems200. The network node104can transmit reference signals to a user equipment (UE)102. The reference signals can be cell specific and/or user equipment102specific in relation to a profile of the user equipment102or some type of mobile identifier. From the reference signals, the user equipment102can compute channel state information (CSI) and compute parameters needed for a CSI report at block202. The CSI report can comprise: a channel quality indicator (CQI), a pre-coding matrix index (PMI), rank information (RI), a CSI-resource indicator (e.g., CRI the same as beam indicator), etc.

The user equipment102can then transmit the CSI report to the network node104via a feedback channel either on request from the network node104, a-periodically, and/or periodically. A network scheduler can leverage the CSI report to determine downlink transmission scheduling parameters at204, which are particular to the user equipment102. The scheduling parameters204can comprise modulation and coding schemes (MCS), power, physical resource blocks (PRBs), etc.FIG. 2depicts the physical layer signaling where the density change can be reported for the physical layer signaling or as a part of the radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In the physical layer, the density can be adjusted by the network node104and then sent over to the user equipment102as a part of the downlink control channel data. The network node104can transmit the scheduling parameters, comprising the adjusted densities, to the user equipment102via the downlink control channel. Thereafter and/or simultaneously, data can be transferred, via a data traffic channel, from the network node104to the user equipment102.

Referring now toFIG. 3, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram of integrated access and backhaul links according to one or more embodiments. For example, the network300, as represented inFIG. 3with integrated access and backhaul links, can allow a relay node to multiplex access and backhaul links in time, frequency, and/or space (e.g. beam-based operation). Thus,FIG. 3illustrates a generic IAB set-up comprising a core network302, a centralized unit304, a donor distributed unit306, a relay distributed unit308, and UEs1021,1022,1023. The donor distributed unit306(e.g., access point) can have a wired backhaul with a protocol stack and can relay the user traffic for the UEs1021,1022,1023across the IAB and backhaul link. Then the relay distributed unit308can take the backhaul link and convert it into different strains for the connected UEs1021,1022,1023. AlthoughFIG. 3depicts a single hop (e.g., over the air), it should be noted that multiple backhaul hops can occur in other embodiments.

The relays can have the same type of distributed unit structure that the gNode B has. For 5G, the protocol stack can be split, where some of the stack is centralized. For example, the PDCP layer and above can be at the centralized unit304, but in a real time application part of the protocol stack, the RLC, the MAC, and the PHY can be co-located with the base station wherein the system can comprise an F1 interface. In order to add relaying, the F1 interface can be wireless so that the same structure of the donor distributed unit306can be kept.

Referring now toFIG. 4, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram of an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node400protocol stack according to one or more embodiments. If the backhaul links carrying relay links (Ur) are based on the same channels and protocol as the access links carrying user data traffic (Uu), then the IAB node400can receive relay links (Ur) in the same manner that a UE receives and processes relay links. For example, the data traffic from the UE function404can transition up to the adaption layer408and then transition down to the gNode B function406of the IAB node400. From there the data can be sent to another user or to another backhaul node if there are additional hops. The UE function404can provide connectivity between the IAB node400and a lower IAB node or donor node, which has a wired connection to the core network. The gNode B function406(e.g., distributed unit function) can provide connectivity between the IAB node400and a higher order IAB node or access UEs. With reference toFIG. 3, The IAB node400protocol stack can be between the donor distributed unit306and the relay distributed unit308. An IAB control interference402can be introduced because the UE function404can be configured by the network and typically uses RRC signaling for the configuration. However, the gNode B function406(relay distributed unit308) can be controlled by the F1/OAM. Thus, a separate protocol stack can be leveraged for the gNode B function406and the IAB control interface402can connect the UE function404to the gNode B function406to can coordinate radio resources.

The IAB node400can comprise many antennas, akin to that of a DU for transmission and reception. An equal number of antennas at the transmitter and the receiver in an integrated access and backhaul network can allow a plethora of massive MIMO functionality that may not be possible with a gNB to UE access link.

Beam management procedures can acquire and maintain a set of transmission and/or reception beams that can be used for downlink and/or uplink transmission and/or reception. Beam management can be used in mmWave systems where channels can suffer from a blockage effect due to smaller wavelengths and/or objects around a user, including the user's body. The narrower beamforming of NR also makes this effect more obvious.

Receiver beamforming can be used to overcome the blockage effect (e.g., reduce user self-blockage). This principle can comprise switching receiver antenna weighting factors to adjust the effective receiving angle. Based on the aforementioned data, the UE can adaptively find the propagation path, which is blocked and then adapt to a separate propagation path. To assist the UE in identifying the signal quality from different reception beams, a receiver beam training procedure is introduced. The receiver beam training procedure can also be called CSI-RS transmission with repetition ‘ON’. The receiver beam training procedure can repeat CSI-RS transmissions from the same transmission beam multiple times so the UE receiver can sweep the IAB node400receiver beam to find the best one.

Referring now toFIG. 5illustrates an example flow diagram for a method for facilitation of signal alignment. At element500, a method can comprise identifying (e.g., via the IAB node400) reception beams of a network based on a mobile device function (e.g., UE function404). In response to the identifying the reception beams, at element502, the method can comprise determining (e.g., via the IAB node400) a group of the reception beams, fewer than the reception beams, of the network based on a quality of the group of the reception beams. In response to the identifying the group of the reception beams, at element504, the method can comprise sending (e.g., via the IAB node400), to a gNodeB function406, an indication of the group of the reception beams to the network. Additionally, in response to the sending the indication of the group of the reception beams, at element506, the method can comprise initiating (e.g., via the IAB node400) a transmission beam alignment associated with the gNodeB function406.

Referring now toFIG. 6, illustrates an example flow diagram for a method for facilitation of signal alignment. At element600, a method can comprise identifying (e.g., via the IAB node400) reception beams of a network based on a mobile device function (e.g., UE function404). In response to the identifying the reception beams, at element602, the method can comprise determining (e.g., via the IAB node400) a group of the reception beams, fewer than the reception beams, of the network based on a quality of the group of the reception beams. In response to the identifying the group of the reception beams, at element604, the method can comprise sending (e.g., via the IAB node400), to a gNodeB function406, an indication of the group of the reception beams to the network. Additionally, in response to the sending the indication of the group of the reception beams, at element606, the method can comprise initiating (e.g., via the IAB node400) a transmission beam alignment associated with the gNodeB function406. Furthermore, at element608, based on the identifying the group of the reception beams and predictive data representative of a prediction, repeating (e.g., via the IAB node400) a transmission from the gNodeB function406to the mobile device function (e.g., UE function404).

Referring now toFIG. 7, illustrates an example flow diagram for a system for facilitation of signal alignment. At element700, a system can facilitate identifying (e.g., via the IAB node400) a signal based on a quality associated with the signal of signals of a wireless network. In response to the identifying the signal, at element702, the system can comprise sending (e.g., via the IAB node400) a first indication representative of the signal to a network device of the wireless network. In response to the sending the first indication of the signal, at element704, the system can comprise generating (e.g., via the IAB node400) a second indication that the signal is to be used for a transmission between a transmission device of the wireless network and a reception device of the wireless network.

Referring now toFIG. 8, illustrates an example flow diagram for a system for facilitation of signal alignment. At element800, a system can facilitate identifying (e.g., via the IAB node400) a signal based on a quality associated with the signal of signals of a wireless network. In response to the identifying the signal, at element802, the system can comprise sending (e.g., via the IAB node400) a first indication representative of the signal to a network device of the wireless network. In response to the sending the first indication of the signal, at element804, the system can comprise generating (e.g., via the IAB node400) a second indication that the signal is to be used for a transmission between a transmission device of the wireless network and a reception device of the wireless network. Furthermore, at element804, the identifying the signal is based on identifying a corresponding transmission device.

Referring now toFIG. 9, illustrates an example flow diagram for a machine-readable medium for facilitation of signal alignment. At element900, a machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising identifying (e.g., via the IAB node400) first signals of a group of signals and second signals of the group of signals, wherein the first signals are different than the second signals. In response to the identifying the first signals and the second signals, at element902the machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising determining (e.g., via the IAB node400) that the first signals are associated with a first quality and the second signals are associated with a second quality, wherein the first quality is greater than the second quality. Based on the first quality being determined to be greater than the second quality, at element904the machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising sending (e.g., via the IAB node400), an indication of the first signals and initiating a transmission signal alignment in response to the sending the indication of the first signals.

Referring now toFIG. 10, illustrates an example flow diagram for a machine-readable medium for facilitation of signal alignment. At element1000, a machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising identifying (e.g., via the IAB node400) first signals of a group of signals and second signals of the group of signals, wherein the first signals are different than the second signals. In response to the identifying the first signals and the second signals, at element1002the machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising determining (e.g., via the IAB node400) that the first signals are associated with a first quality and the second signals are associated with a second quality, wherein the first quality is greater than the second quality. Based on the first quality being determined to be greater than the second quality, at element1004the machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising sending (e.g., via the IAB node400), an indication of the first signals and initiating a transmission signal alignment in response to the sending the indication of the first signals. Additionally, at element1006, the machine-readable medium can perform the operations comprising indicating that the second signals are to be used for the communication in response to a second indication that the first quality has been determined to have been reduced.

Referring now toFIG. 11, illustrated is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary end-user device such as a mobile device1100capable of connecting to a network in accordance with some embodiments described herein. Although a mobile handset1100is illustrated herein, it will be understood that other devices can be a mobile device, and that the mobile handset1100is merely illustrated to provide context for the embodiments of the various embodiments described herein. The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of an example of a suitable environment1100in which the various embodiments can be implemented. While the description includes a general context of computer-executable instructions embodied on a machine-readable storage medium, those skilled in the art will recognize that the innovation also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

The handset1100includes a processor1102for controlling and processing all onboard operations and functions. A memory1104interfaces to the processor1102for storage of data and one or more applications1106(e.g., a video player software, user feedback component software, etc.). Other applications can include voice recognition of predetermined voice commands that facilitate initiation of the user feedback signals. The applications1106can be stored in the memory1104and/or in a firmware1108, and executed by the processor1102from either or both the memory1104or/and the firmware1108. The firmware1108can also store startup code for execution in initializing the handset1100. A communications component1110interfaces to the processor1102to facilitate wired/wireless communication with external systems, e.g., cellular networks, VoIP networks, and so on. Here, the communications component1110can also include a suitable cellular transceiver1111(e.g., a GSM transceiver) and/or an unlicensed transceiver1113(e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMax) for corresponding signal communications. The handset1100can be a device such as a cellular telephone, a PDA with mobile communications capabilities, and messaging-centric devices. The communications component1110also facilitates communications reception from terrestrial radio networks (e.g., broadcast), digital satellite radio networks, and Internet-based radio services networks.

The handset1100includes a display1112for displaying text, images, video, telephony functions (e.g., a Caller ID function), setup functions, and for user input. For example, the display1112can also be referred to as a “screen” that can accommodate the presentation of multimedia content (e.g., music metadata, messages, wallpaper, graphics, etc.). The display1112can also display videos and can facilitate the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes. A serial I/O interface1114is provided in communication with the processor1102to facilitate wired and/or wireless serial communications (e.g., USB, and/or IEEE 1394) through a hardwire connection, and other serial input devices (e.g., a keyboard, keypad, and mouse). This supports updating and troubleshooting the handset1100, for example. Audio capabilities are provided with an audio I/O component1116, which can include a speaker for the output of audio signals related to, for example, indication that the user pressed the proper key or key combination to initiate the user feedback signal. The audio I/O component1116also facilitates the input of audio signals through a microphone to record data and/or telephony voice data, and for inputting voice signals for telephone conversations.

The handset1100can include a slot interface1118for accommodating a SIC (Subscriber Identity Component) in the form factor of a card Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or universal SIM1120, and interfacing the SIM card1120with the processor1102. However, it is to be appreciated that the SIM card1120can be manufactured into the handset1100, and updated by downloading data and software.

A video processing component1122(e.g., a camera) can be provided for decoding encoded multimedia content. The video processing component1122can aid in facilitating the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes. The handset1100also includes a power source1124in the form of batteries and/or an AC power subsystem, which power source1124can interface to an external power system or charging equipment (not shown) by a power I/O component1126.

The handset1100can also include a video component1130for processing video content received and, for recording and transmitting video content. For example, the video component1130can facilitate the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes. A location tracking component1132facilitates geographically locating the handset1100. As described hereinabove, this can occur when the user initiates the feedback signal automatically or manually. A user input component1134facilitates the user initiating the quality feedback signal. The user input component1134can also facilitate the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes. The user input component1134can include such conventional input device technologies such as a keypad, keyboard, mouse, stylus pen, and/or touch screen, for example.

Referring again to the applications1106, a hysteresis component1136facilitates the analysis and processing of hysteresis data, which is utilized to determine when to associate with the access point. A software trigger component1138can be provided that facilitates triggering of the hysteresis component1138when the Wi-Fi transceiver1113detects the beacon of the access point. A SIP client1140enables the handset1100to support SIP protocols and register the subscriber with the SIP registrar server. The applications1106can also include a client1142that provides at least the capability of discovery, play and store of multimedia content, for example, music.

The handset1100, as indicated above related to the communications component810, includes an indoor network radio transceiver1113(e.g., Wi-Fi transceiver). This function supports the indoor radio link, such as IEEE 802.11, for the dual-mode GSM handset1100. The handset1100can accommodate at least satellite radio services through a handset that can combine wireless voice and digital radio chipsets into a single handheld device.

Referring now toFIG. 12, there is illustrated a block diagram of a computer1200operable to execute a system architecture that facilitates establishing a transaction between an entity and a third party. The computer1200can provide networking and communication capabilities between a wired or wireless communication network and a server (e.g., Microsoft server) and/or communication device. In order to provide additional context for various aspects thereof,FIG. 12and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the various aspects of the innovation can be implemented to facilitate the establishment of a transaction between an entity and a third party. While the description above is in the general context of computer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the innovation also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

With reference toFIG. 12, implementing various aspects described herein with regards to the end-user device can include a computer1200, the computer1200including a processing unit1204, a system memory1206and a system bus1208. The system bus1208couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory1206to the processing unit1204. The processing unit1204can be any of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi processor architectures can also be employed as the processing unit1204.

The system bus1208can be any of several types of bus structure that can further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory1206includes read-only memory (ROM)1227and random access memory (RAM)1212. A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatile memory1227such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer1200, such as during start-up. The RAM1212can also include a high-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer1200further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)1214(e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive1214can also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD)1216, (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette1218) and an optical disk drive1220, (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk1222or, to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive1214, magnetic disk drive1216and optical disk drive1220can be connected to the system bus1208by a hard disk drive interface1224, a magnetic disk drive interface1226and an optical drive interface1228, respectively. The interface1224for external drive implementations includes at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1294 interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies are within contemplation of the subject innovation.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM1212, including an operating system1230, one or more application programs1232, other program modules1234and program data1236. All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also be cached in the RAM1212. It is to be appreciated that the innovation can be implemented with various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer1200through one or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard1238and a pointing device, such as a mouse1240. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit1204through an input device interface1242that is coupled to the system bus1208, but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 2394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc.

A monitor1244or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus1208through an interface, such as a video adapter1246. In addition to the monitor1244, a computer1200typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer1200can operate in a networked environment using logical connections by wired and/or wireless communications to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer(s)1248. The remote computer(s)1248can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment device, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device1250is illustrated. The logical connections depicted include wired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN)1252and/or larger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN)1254. Such LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which may connect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer1200is connected to the local network1252through a wired and/or wireless communication network interface or adapter1256. The adapter1256may facilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN1252, which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adapter1256.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer1200can include a modem1258, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN1254, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN1254, such as by way of the Internet. The modem1258, which can be internal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to the system bus1208through the input device interface1242. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer, or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1250. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.

In the presence of a large number of antennas, a receiver can be inefficient. Thus, having the ability to sweep a smaller subset of the antennas is beneficial for a quick establishment of transmitter/receiver beam alignment. However, with dynamic time division duplexing (TDD), and in the presence of multiple hops in JAB, cross-link interference on access and backhaul links present a challenge and interference measurement and management solutions to mitigate the interference is needed. This disclosure proposed advantages over previous solutions that enables fast transmitter/receiver beam alignment in the presence of a large number of antennas at the receiver, takes into account the effect of cross link interference in choosing the right receiver beam at a victim node, allows the network to control the beam direction at the receiving node by indicating a subset of the Rx beams to be swept, and enables efficient power and time savings and interference reduction in JAB nodes via coordination between the network and the receiving JAB node.

In this regard, while the subject matter has been described herein in connection with various embodiments and corresponding FIGs, where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below.