Patent ID: 12192909

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments describe systems and methods for uplink (UL) data transmissions in a frequency range higher than FR2, e.g. in a 52.6 to 71 GHz range. Due to the impact of phase noise on NR operations in the 52.6 to 71 GHz frequency range, an interlace-based frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) mode may be used for UL transmissions to ensure UL coverage by a power boosting operation. The exemplary embodiments further describe operations for signaling the FDRA mode to be used by the UE and power control operations such as power headroom reporting (PHR) using the interlace-based FDRA mode.

It should be understood that while the exemplary embodiments are described with respect to 5G NR operation in the 52.6 to 71 GHz frequency range, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to these conditions. The principles described herein for the exemplary embodiments may be applied to other frequency ranges (e.g., above or below the exemplary frequency range) and may also be applied to other types of wireless networks (e.g., other types of cellular or non-cellular wireless networks).

Network/Devices

FIG.1shows an exemplary network arrangement100according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement100includes a plurality of UEs110,112. Those skilled in the art will understand that the UEs may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., a component of a connected car, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a phablet, an embedded device, a wearable, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. It should also be understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of two UEs110,112is merely provided for illustrative purposes. In some of the exemplary embodiments described below, groups of UEs may be employed to conduct respective channel measurements.

The UEs110,112may communicate directly with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration100, the networks with which the UEs110,112may wirelessly communicate are a 5G NR radio access network (5G NR-RAN)120, an LTE radio access network (LTE-RAN)122and a wireless local access network (WLAN)124. Therefore, the UEs110,112may include a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the 5G NR-RAN120, an LTE chipset to communicate with the LTE-RAN122and an ISM chipset to communicate with the WLAN124. However, the UEs110,112may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g. legacy cellular networks) and the UE110may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the exemplary embodiments, the UEs110,112may establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN120and/or the LTE-RAN122.

The 5G NR-RAN120and the LTE-RAN122may be portions of cellular networks that may be deployed by cellular providers (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks120,122may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. The WLAN124may include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, Hot Spot, IEEE 802.11x networks, etc.).

The UEs110,112may connect to the 5G NR-RAN120via at least one of the next generation nodeB (gNB)120A and/or the gNB120B. Reference to two gNBs120A,120B is merely for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may apply to any appropriate number of gNBs. For example, the UEs110,112may simultaneously connect to and exchange data with a plurality of gNBs in a multi-cell CA configuration. The UEs110,112may also connect to the LTE-RAN122via either or both of the eNBs122A,122B, or to any other type of RAN, as mentioned above. In the network arrangement100, the UE110is shown as having a connection to the gNB120A, while the UE112is shown as having a connection to gNB120B.

In addition to the networks120,122and124the network arrangement100also includes a cellular core network130, the Internet140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)150, and a network services backbone160. The cellular core network130may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network, e.g. the 5GC for NR. The cellular core network130also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet140.

The IMS150may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE110using the IP protocol. The IMS150may communicate with the cellular core network130and the Internet140to provide the multimedia services to the UE110. The network services backbone160is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet140and the cellular core network130. The network services backbone160may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE110in communication with the various networks.

FIG.2shows an exemplary UE110according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE110will be described with regard to the network arrangement100ofFIG.1. The UE110may represent any electronic device and may include a processor205, a memory arrangement210, a display device215, an input/output (I/O) device220, a transceiver225, and other components230. The other components230may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery that provides a limited power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE110to other electronic devices, sensors to detect conditions of the UE110, etc. The UE110illustrated inFIG.2may also represent the UE112.

The processor205may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the UE110. For example, the engines may include an FDRA engine235for performing operations including receiving an FDRA configuration from the network for at least one FDRA mode and performing a UL transmission based on the network configuration, to be described in detail below. The engines may also include a power control engine240for performing operations including measuring a DL reference signal (RS) to estimate the DL pathloss and performing power headroom reporting (PHR) to inform the network of PH for the component carriers of an active beam, to be described in detail below.

The above referenced engines being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor205is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engines may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE110or may be a modular component coupled to the UE110, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor205is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE.

The memory210may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE110. The display device215may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device220may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device215and the I/O device220may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. The transceiver225may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G-NR RAN120, the LTE RAN122etc. Accordingly, the transceiver225may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies). For example, the transceiver225may operate on the unlicensed spectrum when e.g. NR-U is configured.

FIG.3shows an exemplary network cell, in this case gNB120A, according to various exemplary embodiments. As noted above with regard to the UE110, the gNB120A may represent a cell providing services as a PCell or an SCell, or in a standalone configuration with the UE110. The gNB120A may represent any access node of the 5G NR network through which the UEs110,112may establish a connection and manage network operations. The gNB120A illustrated inFIG.3may also represent the gNB120B.

The gNB120A may include a processor305, a memory arrangement310, an input/output (I/O) device320, a transceiver325, and other components330. The other components330may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the gNB120A to other electronic devices, etc.

The processor305may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the gNB120A. For example, the engines may include an FDRA engine335for performing operations including configuring at least one FDRA mode for a UE and signaling an FDRA mode for the UE to use for an UL transmission, to be described in detail below. The engines may also include a power control engine340for performing operations including configuring an RS for the UE to perform DL pathloss measurements on and receiving a PHR from the UE.

The above noted engines each being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor305is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engines may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the gNB120A or may be a modular component coupled to the gNB120A, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. In addition, in some gNBs, the functionality described for the processor305is split among a plurality of processors (e.g., a baseband processor, an applications processor, etc.). The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a gNB.

The memory310may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UEs110,112. The I/O device320may be a hardware component or ports that enable a user to interact with the gNB120A. The transceiver325may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UEs110,112and any other UE in the system100. The transceiver325may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies). Therefore, the transceiver325may include one or more components (e.g., radios) to enable the data exchange with the various networks and UEs.

FDRA Modes

In current NR design, the minimum resource allocation granularity in the frequency domain is limited to one physical resource block (PRB). For unlicensed operation, maximum power spectral density (PSD) requirements exist in many different regions. The PSD is a measure of signal power as a function of frequency. In most cases, the maximum PSD requirement is stated with a resolution bandwidth of 1 MHz. The implication of the PSD requirement on the physical layer design is that, without proper design, a signal with a small transmission bandwidth will be limited in transmission power. This can negatively affect the coverage of the operation. For example, the maximum PSD requirement is a binding condition that requires changes to UL transmissions in the unlicensed spectrums.

For NR operation in the 52.6 to 71 GHz frequency range, the impacts of phase noise on NR operations in this frequency range may be more pronounced than those on NR operations in FR2. The subcarrier spacing (SCS) may be increased to 480 kHz while balancing common phase error (CPE) and inter-symbol-interference (ISI) effects. Although a single PRB with a 480 kHz SCS spans 480×12=5.76 MHz, there is still a need to support interlace-based transmission so as to ensure adequate UL coverage for a power boosting operation.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, different frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) modes may be defined for uplink (UL) transmission. In a first FDRA mode, the minimum basic FDRA unit comprises a set of ‘K1’ consecutive resource blocks (RBs), where K1is a function of regulatory requirements for a maximum PSD and subcarrier spacing, K1=f(PSD,SCS). The bitmap for signaling the configuration of the first mode, to be discussed in further detail below, is of size PMode1=[NBWP/K1], wherein NBWPis a number of Bandwidth Parts (BWP) allocated for a UL transmission.

In a second FDRA mode, an interlace-based structure allows the UE to occupy every 1 MHz with at least one subcarrier block (SCB) and utilize the maximum transmission power, thus improving the UL coverage. The minimum transmission unit is one interlace including ‘M’ adjacent subcarriers (one SCB) in each occupied physical resource block (PRB), the interlaces spanning a bandwidth of ‘N’ PRBs. The SCBs with M subcarriers are spaced equally in the frequency domain over the ‘N’ occupied PRBs. In various designs, M may be equal to, for example, 1, 3, 6 or 12, which may be configurable by a gNB or dynamically signaled by a scheduling downlink control information (DCI) Format, depending on, for example, the scheduled transport block size for a given scheduling opportunity. In other exemplary embodiments, a separate M value may be configured by higher-layer parameters for different UL channels, e.g. a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). Multiple interlaces of SCBs may be defined where each interlace k ∈ {0, 1, . . . , K2−1} comprises SCBs {0, K2+k, 2K2+k, 3K2+k . . . }, with K2being the number of interlaces in the FDRA unit, depending on the SCS. The relation between the interlace SCB nISCB,ku∈ {0, 1, . . . ) and Interlace k and the RB index nRBuis determined by nRBu=K*nISCB,ku+mod(k, K2))/(NSCRB/M).

FIG.4shows an exemplary subcarrier block (SCB) based interlaced frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) structure400according to various exemplary embodiments. The FDRA structure400relates to the second FDRA mode discussed above, including the assumptions K2=8 and M=3, K2being the number of interlaces in the minimum FDRA unit (dependent on SCS) and M being the number of adjacent subcarriers in an SCB. The inter-SCB distance between two consecutive SCBs is 11.52 MHz>>1 MHz.

As shown inFIG.4, an allocated BWP405for the UL transmission comprises a plurality of sub-bands410, each sub-band comprising a plurality of PRBs415. In the exemplary FDRA structure400, each PRB415comprises four subcarrier blocks (SCB)420, each SCB comprising M=3 consecutive subcarriers. A given SCB420corresponds to one of the 8 interlaces. Thus, a given interlace, e.g. Interlace0, comprises a 7 PRB spacing between interlaces.

When indicating an SCB-based interlaced FDRA, the FDRA field includes a first sub-field for a sub-band indicator, the sub-band indicator providing the sub-band allocation information using a bitmap approach or a start and length indicator value (SLIV) based approach to indicate the starting and number of consecutive sub-bands. The FDRA field also includes a second sub-field for interlace allocation, which may also be indicated based on a bitmap approach or SLIV-based signaling.

A variety of approaches may be considered for FDRA mode signaling. In a first approach, one of the two FDRA modes may be configured by higher layers. For example, the FDRA mode may be provided in a system information block (SIB) and applied for all UEs in the cell. Alternatively, the FDRA mode may be explicitly configured by dedicated RRC signaling on a per UE basis. In some designs, the UE may be configured with the first FDRA mode when a large packet size is expected in relation to a currently running application. Additionally, in some designs, the UE may be configured with the second FDRA mode when a smaller packet size is expected, so as to leverage the maximum transmission power without violating the regional PSD requirement.

In a second approach, if both the first and second modes are configured for the UE, a mode indicator (MI) field in the scheduling DCI Format can be used to indicate FDRA mode for frequency domain resource allocation. In one example, a 1-bit MI field may be introduced, where a bit value of 0 indicates the first FDRA mode and a bit value of 1 indicates the second FDRA mode. The first or second FDRA mode may be indicated by using a most significant bit (MSB). The number of bits for resource assignment is determined as the Max(PMode, PMode2), where PMode1, PMode2is the number of bits determined for the first FDRA mode and the second FDRA mode, respectively.

FIG.5shows an exemplary DCI format500to dynamically indicate the FDRA mode to be used for an uplink transmission according to various exemplary embodiments. The DCI format500may be used when both the first and second FDRA modes are configured for the UE. The DCI format500includes a mode indicator (MI) field505and an FDRA field510. When the first FDRA mode is being signaled, a bitmap515may be used in the FDRA field510in accordance with the bitmap size PMode1, discussed above. When the second FDRA mode is being signaled, a sub-band indicator field520and an interlace allocation field525may be used in the FDRA field510in accordance with the bitmap size PMode2, discussed above. The sub-band indicator field520and the interlace allocation field525may utilize either a bitmap approach or a SLIV-based approach.

FIG.6shows a method600for configuring a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) mode for an uplink (UL) transmission according to various exemplary embodiments. In605, a gNB configures a UE with at least one of a first FDRA mode or a second FDRA mode. As described above, the first FDRA mode utilizes an FDRA unit comprising a set of consecutive RBs, while the second FDRA mode utilizes an interlaced FDRA unit. The gNB may configure the one or two FDRA modes via higher layer signaling.

In610, when both of the first and second modes are configured for the UE, the gNB signals the UE to use either one of the first or second FDRA modes for the UL transmission. The mode may be indicated using, for example, a scheduling DCI Format comprising the MI field. Depending on the mode being signaled, the DCI Format may include either a resource allocation bitmap (for the first mode) or both of a sub-band indicator field and an interlace allocation field, which may utilize either of a bitmap or SLIV-based approach.

In615, when the first FDRA mode is configured, the UE performs the UL transmission in accordance with the first FDRA mode. In620, when the second FDRA mode is configured, the UE performs the UL transmission in accordance with the second FDRA mode.

Power Control for UL Transmission

According to some exemplary embodiments, the UE may perform power control for uplink (UL) transmissions based on a downlink (DL) pathloss estimation. The UE may be configured by high layers to use a reference signal (RS) resource from a system synchronization block (SSB), e.g. either a synchronization signal (SS) or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), to estimate the DL pathloss for power control on the UL. In some exemplary embodiments, the RS that may be configured for pathloss estimation is limited to the CSI-RS or SSB transmitted in a discovery RS window. The pathloss measurement may be a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement on the RS.

Regardless of the outcome of a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) operation performed across component carriers (CCs), for the RSRP DL pathloss measurement, the UE may assume the energy per resource element (EPRE) of the configured RS/SSB is constant across the transmission bandwidth and constant across all slots. If different configuration information is received, a corresponding averaging operation may be conducted at the UE side to improve the accuracy of the pathloss estimation.

FIG.7provides an exemplary downlink (DL) pathloss measurement operation700for a user equipment (UE) according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary operation700includes four component carriers (CCs)705, i.e. CC0705a, CC1705b, CC2705cand CC3705d. Three discovery reference symbol (DRS) windows710are shown, e.g., DRS windows710a,710band710c. Prior to the gNB transmitting the RS for pathloss measurement, e.g. the SSB or CSI-RS, an LBT operation is first performed. When the LBT operation is successful, the RS is then transmitted.

In the exemplary operation700, the LBT operation fails on CC1705bduring DRS window710b, on CC2705cduring the DRS window710c, and on CC3705dduring the DRS windows710band710c. Although the number of CCs passing LBT operation varies across the DRS windows710, the transmission power of the RS transmissions on CC0705aare kept constant by the gNB such that an averaging operation can be conducted on the measurement of these RS resources at the UE side. The power is underutilized in DRS windows710band710cat the gNB side, as power boosting is not allowed so as to keep the constant power.

A power headroom report (PHR) is used to indicate how much transmission power remains for a UE to use in view of the power being used for a UL transmission. To report the PH, in a first step, the uplink CCs are divided into a set of groups based on the associated UL beam index. The CC grouping information may be reported as part of UE capability or implicitly determined based on some predefined rule. As one example, the CCs in a same band may be grouped into one CC group.

In a second step, for the PHR report, the UE may include only the octets containing a Power Headroom field and PCMAX,f,cfor the CCs or serving cells in the same group with the active/scheduled UL beam. Correspondingly, a single octet bitmap may be used for indicating the presence of PH per serving cell when there are less than8active UL beams in the serving cell, otherwise four octets are used.

FIG.8shows an exemplary CC group-dependent power headroom reporting operation800based on an associated UL beam configuration according to various exemplary embodiments. In the exemplary operation800, the UE is transmitting on six component carriers805and is capable of transmitting three beams810in a time division multiplex (TDM) manner, where beam810acovers CC0805aand CC1805b, beam810bcovers CC2805cand CC3805d, and beam810ccovers CC4805eand CC5805f. Based on the exemplary embodiments described herein, the UE reports PH for CC0805aand CC1805bonly, instead of for all active CCs, if the PHR is triggered for and the PUSCH is transmitted on CC0805aor CC1805b(associated with active beam810a), while the remaining CCs805are not reported for deactivated beams810band810c.

FIG.9shows a method900for power headroom reporting (PHR) according to various exemplary embodiments. In905, a UE is configured by a gNB to use an RS resource to estimate DL pathloss. As described above, the RS may be, e.g., a CSI-RS or an SS from the SSB.

In910, the UE performs the DL pathloss measurement on the configured CCs. An averaging operation may be used when multiple estimations are performed across multiple slots. In some examples, an LBT operation for the CC may fail for a given CC for a given slot, but the UE may assume the EPRE of the configured RS is constant across the transmission bandwidth and across all slots.

In915, the UE performs PHR for the CCs associated with the active beam for a UL transmission. The CCs covered by a given beam may be grouped so that only CC groups associated with an active UL beam may be reported in the PHR.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. In a further example, the exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

Although this application described various aspects each having different features in various combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one aspect may be combined with the features of the other aspects in any manner not specifically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed aspects.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.