PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11356861-B2
Application Number: US-202016809886-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: User equipment (UE) and methods for dynamic millimeter wave pencil cell communication

Abstract:
Embodiments of a User Equipment (UE), an Evolved Node-B (eNB), small-cell access point (AP), and methods for dynamic millimeter wave pencil cell communication are generally described herein. The UE may receive access point reference signals (APRS) from one or more small-cell access points (AP), and may transmit APRS signal quality measurements to a macro-cell Evolved Node-B (eNB). The UE may receive, from the macro-cell eNB, a message that indicates candidate pencil cells for which the UE is to determine signal quality measurements, the candidate pencil cells supported by the small-cell APs. The UE may receive beam reference signals (BRS) for the candidate pencil cells and may refrain from reception of BRS for pencil cells not included in the message. In some cases, beam-widths of the APRSs may be larger than beam-widths of the BRSs.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus, comprising:
 a processor, configured to cause a user equipment (UE) to:
 receive, from a base station, a control message that indicates a plurality of candidate small-cells for which the UE is to determine signal quality measurements using reference signals of a first type; 
 receive, from the plurality of candidate small-cells, reference signals of the first type; 
 perform measurements of the reference signals of the first type and refrain from performing measurements of second reference signals of the first type from at least one small-cell that is not among the plurality of candidate small-cells; 
 provide, to the base station, a report of the measurements; 
 receive, from the base station, a configuration message indicating one small-cell of the plurality of candidate small-cells, for exchanging data; 
 perform updated measurements of the reference signals; and 
 provide, to the base station, a report of the updated measurements. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control message includes signature sequences of the reference signals received from the plurality of candidate small-cells. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the reference signals of the first type are associated with a beam-width of less than or equal to 15 degrees. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to:
 receive a second type of reference signals associated with a second beam-width greater than 15 degrees. 
 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to:
 receive, from the base station, a control message indicating a second plurality of candidate small-cells, for measurement and reporting. 
 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to:
 perform measurements of reference signals from the second plurality of candidate small-cells; and 
 transmit, to the base station, periodic reports of the measurements of reference signals from the second plurality of candidate small-cells. 
 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the reference signals of the first type are received at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency. 
     
     
       8. A user equipment (UE), comprising:
 a radio; and 
 a processor operably connected to the radio and configured to cause the UE to:
 receive, from a base station, a control message that indicates a plurality of candidate small-cells for which the UE is to determine signal quality measurements using reference signals of a first type; 
 receive, from the plurality of candidate small-cells, reference signals of the first type; 
 perform measurements of the reference signals of the first type and refrain from performing measurements of second reference signals of the first type from at least one small-cell that is not among the plurality of candidate small-cells; 
 provide, to the base station, a report of the measurements; 
 receive, from the base station, a configuration message indicating one small-cell of the plurality of candidate small-cells, for exchanging data; 
 perform updated measurements of the reference signals; and 
 provide, to the base station, a report of the updated measurements. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the control message includes signature sequences of the reference signals received from the plurality of candidate small-cells. 
     
     
       10. The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the reference signals of the first type are associated with a beam-width of less than or equal to 15 degrees. 
     
     
       11. The UE of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to:
 receive a second type of reference signals associated with a second beam-width greater than 15 degrees. 
 
     
     
       12. The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to:
 receive, from the base station, a control message indicating a second plurality of candidate small-cells, for measurement and reporting. 
 
     
     
       13. The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to:
 perform measurements of reference signals from the second plurality of candidate small-cells; and 
 transmit, to the base station, periodic reports of the measurements of reference signals from the second plurality of candidate small-cells. 
 
     
     
       14. The UE of  claim 8 , wherein the reference signals of the first type are received at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency. 
     
     
       15. A method, comprising:
 at a user equipment (UE):
 receiving, from a base station, a control message that indicates a plurality of candidate small-cells for which the UE is to determine signal quality measurements using reference signals of a first type; 
 receiving, from the plurality of candidate small-cells, reference signals of the first type; 
 performing measurements of the reference signals of the first type and refraining from performing measurements of second reference signals of the first type from at least one small-cell that is not among the plurality of candidate small-cells; 
 providing, to the base station, a report of the measurements; 
 receiving, from the base station, a configuration message indicating one small-cell of the plurality of candidate small-cells, for exchanging data; 
 performing updated measurements of the reference signals; and 
 providing, to the base station, a report of the updated measurements. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the control message includes signature sequences of the reference signals received from the plurality of candidate small-cells. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the reference signals of the first type are associated with a beam-width of less than or equal to 15 degrees. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 receiving a second type of reference signals associated with a second beam-width greater than 15 degrees. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 receiving, from the base station, a control message indicating a second plurality of candidate small-cells, for measurement and reporting. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the reference signals of the first type are received at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/747,273, filed Jan. 24, 2018, which is a U.S. National Stage filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 from International Application No. PCT/US2015/061486, filed Nov. 19, 2015, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/198,247, filed Jul. 29, 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     The claims in the instant application are different than those of the parent application or other related applications. The Applicant therefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parent application or any predecessor application in relation to the instant application. The Examiner is therefore advised that any such previous disclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may need to be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant application should not be read into or against the parent application or other related applications. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to wireless networks including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, and 3GPP LTE-A (LTE Advanced) networks, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Some embodiments related to Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGIG) networks. Some embodiments relate to Fifth Generation (5G) networks. Some embodiments relate to communication using pencil cells, small cells and/or macro cells. Some embodiments relate to millimeter wave (mmW) communication. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A mobile network may support communication with mobile devices. In some cases, small cells may be deployed within a macro cell to provide localized communication to the mobile devices. For instance, when a large number of people are gathered at a particular location and/or event, demand for data communication and/or other communication may increase. The usage of small cells may alleviate the increased demand to some extent, although the mobile network may still become overloaded in some cases. Accordingly, there is a general need for methods and systems for enabling communication between the mobile devices and the network in these and other scenarios. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a functional diagram of a 3GPP network in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a User Equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a small-cell access point (AP) in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an example of a scenario in which a UE may be in communication with a macro-cell eNB and with multiple small-cell APs in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates the operation of a method of communication in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates another example of a method of communication in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an example of communication between a UE and a macro-cell eNB in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates another example of a method of communication in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates example reference signals in accordance with some embodiments; and 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an example of transmission of reference signals according to various periodicity parameters in accordance with some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims. 
       FIG. 1  is a functional diagram of a 3GPP network in accordance with some embodiments. The network comprises a radio access network (RAN) (e.g., as depicted, the E-UTRAN or evolved universal terrestrial radio access network)  100  and the core network  120  (e.g., shown as an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupled together through an S1 interface  115 . For convenience and brevity sake, only a portion of the core network  120 , as well as the RAN  100 , is shown. 
     The core network  120  includes a mobility management entity (MME)  122 , a serving gateway (serving GW)  124 , and packet data network gateway (PDN GW)  126 . The RAN  100  includes Evolved Node-B&#39;s (eNBs)  104  (which may operate as base stations) for communicating with User Equipment (UE)  102 . The eNBs  104  may include macro eNBs and low power (LP) eNBs. 
     The MME  122  is similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME  122  manages mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The serving GW  124  terminates the interface toward the RAN  100 , and routes data packets between the RAN  100  and the core network  120 . In addition, it may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNB handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The serving GW  124  and the MME  122  may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. The PDN GW  126  terminates an SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW  126  routes data packets between the EPC  120  and the external PDN, and may be a key node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. It may also provide an anchor point for mobility with non-LTE accesses. The external PDN can be any kind of IP network, as well as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) domain. The PDN GW  126  and the serving GW  124  may be implemented in one physical node or separated physical nodes. 
     The eNBs  104  (macro and micro) terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for a UE  102 . In some embodiments, an eNB  104  may fulfill various logical functions for the RAN  100  including but not limited to RN C (radio network controller functions) such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In accordance with embodiments, UEs  102  may be configured to communicate Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with an eNB  104  over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technique. The OFDM signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers. 
     The S1 interface  115  is the interface that separates the RAN  100  and the EPC  120 . It is split into two parts: the S1-U, which carries traffic data between the eNBs  104  and the serving GW  124 , and the S1-MME, which is a signaling interface between the eNBs  104  and the MME  122 . The X2 interface is the interface between eNBs  104 . The X2 interface comprises two parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C is the control plane interface between the eNBs  104 , while the X2-U is the user plane interface between the eNBs  104 . 
     In some embodiments, the eNB  104 , the MME  122  and/or other component in the network may be communicatively coupled to one or more small-cell access points (AP)  106 . The small-cell AP  106  may communicate with the UE  102  using techniques such as those described herein, although embodiments are not limited as such. As an example, the eNB  104 , the MME  122  and/or other component may provide the small-cell AP  106  with various configuration information related to communication between the UE  102  and the small-cell AP  106 . For instance, the communication between the small-cell AP  106  and the UE  102  may include exchanging of data using pencil-cell techniques in which a signal from the small-cell AP  106  may be transmitted in a directional manner and may be transmitted with a relatively high gain. The UE  102  may also receive various reference signals from the small-cell AP  106 . The UE  102  and eNB  104  may exchange various control messages that may be related to measurements for such reception, in some cases. These embodiments will be described in more detail below. 
     It should be pointed out that embodiments are not limited to the usage of the example 3GPP network shown in  FIG. 1 , as other macro-cell networks may be used in some cases. Accordingly, the small-cell AP  106  (or other small-cell base station component) may be arranged to perform some or all of the techniques and operations described herein as part of embodiments that may include any suitable macro-cell network. 
     With cellular networks, LP cells are typically used to extend coverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or to add network capacity in areas with very dense phone usage, such as train stations. As used herein, the term low power (LP) eNB refers to any suitable relatively low power eNB for implementing a narrower cell (narrower than a macro cell) such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a micro cell. Femtocell eNBs are typically provided by a mobile network operator to its residential or enterprise customers. A femtocell is typically the size of a residential gateway or smaller and generally connects to the user&#39;s broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell connects to the mobile operator&#39;s mobile network and provides extra coverage in a range of typically 30 to 50 meters for residential femtocells. Thus, a LP eNB might be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through the PDN GW  126 . Similarly, a picocell is a wireless communication system typically covering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls, train stations, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. A picocell eNB can generally connect through the X2 link to another eNB such as a macro eNB through its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, LP eNB may be implemented with a picocell eNB since it is coupled to a macro eNB via an X2 interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs may incorporate some or all functionality of a macro eNB. In some cases, this may be referred to as an access point base station or enterprise femtocell. 
     In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from an eNB  104  to a UE  102 , while uplink transmission from the UE  102  to the eNB  104  may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid correspond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element (RE). Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks (RBs), which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements in the frequency domain and may represent the smallest quanta of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks. With particular relevance to this disclosure, two of these physical downlink channels are the physical downlink shared channel and the physical down link control channel. 
     The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to a UE  102  ( FIG. 1 ). The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It also informs the UE  102  about the transport format, resource allocation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (e.g., assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UEs  102  within a cell) may be performed at the eNB  104  based on channel quality information fed back from the UEs  102  to the eNB  104 , and then the downlink resource assignment information may be sent to a UE  102  on the control channel (PDCCH) used for (assigned to) the UE  102 . 
     The PDCCH uses CCEs (control channel elements) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols are first organized into quadruplets, which are then permuted using a sub-block inter-leaver for rate matching Each PDCCH is transmitted using one or more of these control channel elements (CCEs), where each CCE corresponds to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four QPSK symbols are mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of DCI and the channel condition. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8). 
     As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware. Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a User Equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments. The UE  200  may be suitable for use as a UE  102  as depicted in  FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, the UE  200  may include application circuitry  202 , baseband circuitry  204 , Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry  206 , front-end module (FEM) circuitry  208  and one or more antennas  210 , coupled together at least as shown. In some embodiments, other circuitry or arrangements may include one or more elements and/or components of the application circuitry  202 , the baseband circuitry  204 , the RF circuitry  206  and/or the FEM circuitry  208 , and may also include other elements and/or components in some cases. As an example, “processing circuitry” may include one or more elements and/or components, some or all of which may be included in the application circuitry  202  and/or the baseband circuitry  204 . As another example, “transceiver circuitry” may include one or more elements and/or components, some or all of which may be included in the RF circuitry  206  and/or the FEM circuitry  208 . These examples are not limiting, however, as the processing circuitry and/or the transceiver circuitry may also include other elements and/or components in some cases. 
     The application circuitry  202  may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry  202  may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system. 
     The baseband circuitry  204  may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry  204  may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry  206  and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry  206 . Baseband processing circuitry  204  may interface with the application circuitry  202  for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry  206 . For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  204  may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor  204   a , third generation (3G) baseband processor  204   b , fourth generation (4G) baseband processor  204   c , and/or other baseband processor(s)  204   d  for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry  204  (e.g., one or more of baseband processors  204   a - d ) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry  206 . The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry  204  may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry  204  may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. 
     In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  204  may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU)  204   e  of the baseband circuitry  204  may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP)  204   f . The audio DSP(s)  204   f  may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry  204  and the application circuitry  202  may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC). 
     In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  204  may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  204  may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry  204  is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry. 
     RF circuitry  206  may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry  206  may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry  206  may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  208  and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry  204 . RF circuitry  206  may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry  204  and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry  208  for transmission. 
     In some embodiments, the RF circuitry  206  may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry  206  may include mixer circuitry  206   a , amplifier circuitry  206   b  and filter circuitry  206   c . The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry  206  may include filter circuitry  206   c  and mixer circuitry  206   a . RF circuitry  206  may also include synthesizer circuitry  206   d  for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  208  based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry  206   d . The amplifier circuitry  206   b  may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry  206   c  may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry  204  for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry  206   a  of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry  206   d  to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry  208 . The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry  204  and may be filtered by filter circuitry  206   c . The filter circuitry  206   c  may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  206   a  may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation. 
     In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry  206  may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry  204  may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry  206 . In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  206   d  may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry  206   d  may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. The synthesizer circuitry  206   d  may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry  206   a  of the RF circuitry  206  based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  206   d  may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer. In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry  204  or the applications processor  202  depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor  202 . 
     Synthesizer circuitry  206   d  of the RF circuitry  206  may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle. 
     In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry  206   d  may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (f LO ). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry  206  may include an IQ/polar converter. 
     FEM circuitry  208  may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas  210 , amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry  206  for further processing. FEM circuitry  208  may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry  206  for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas  210 . 
     In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry  208  may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry  206 ). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry  208  may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry  206 ), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas  210 . In some embodiments, the UE  200  may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) in accordance with some embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the eNB  300  may be a stationary non-mobile device. The eNB  300  may be suitable for use as an eNB  104  as depicted in  FIG. 1 . The eNB  300  may include physical layer circuitry  302  and a transceiver  305 , one or both of which may enable transmission and reception of signals to and from the UE  200 , other eNBs, other UEs or other devices using one or more antennas  301 . As an example, the physical layer circuitry  302  may perform various encoding and decoding functions that may include formation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. As another example, the transceiver  305  may perform various transmission and reception functions such as conversion of signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range. Accordingly, the physical layer circuitry  302  and the transceiver  305  may be separate components or may be part of a combined component. In addition, some of the described functionality related to transmission and reception of signals may be performed by a combination that may include one, any or all of the physical layer circuitry  302 , the transceiver  305 , and other components or layers. The eNB  300  may also include medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry  304  for controlling access to the wireless medium. The eNB  300  may also include processing circuitry  306  and memory  308  arranged to perform the operations described herein. The eNB  300  may also include one or more interfaces  310 , which may enable communication with other components, including other eNBs  104  ( FIG. 1 ), the small-cell AP  106 , components in the EPC  120  ( FIG. 1 ) or other network components. In addition, the interfaces  310  may enable communication with other components that may not be shown in  FIG. 1 , including components external to the network. The interfaces  310  may be wired or wireless or a combination thereof. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a small-cell access point (AP) in accordance with some embodiments. The small-cell AP  400  may include physical layer circuitry  402  and a transceiver  405 , one or both of which may enable transmission and reception of signals to and from the UE  200 , eNB  300 , other eNBs, other UEs or other devices using one or more antennas  401 . As an example, the physical layer circuitry  402  may perform various encoding and decoding functions that may include formation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. As another example, the transceiver  405  may perform various transmission and reception functions such as conversion of signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range. Accordingly, the physical layer circuitry  402  and the transceiver  405  may be separate components or may be part of a combined component. In addition, some of the described functionality related to transmission and reception of signals may be performed by a combination that may include one, any or all of the physical layer circuitry  402 , the transceiver  405 , and other components or layers. The small-cell AP  400  may also include medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry  404  for controlling access to the wireless medium. The small-cell AP  400  may also include processing circuitry  406  and memory  408  arranged to perform the operations described herein. The small-cell AP  400  may also include one or more interfaces  410 , which may enable communication with other components, including the eNB  104  ( FIG. 1 ), components in the EPC  120  ( FIG. 1 ) or other network components. In addition, the interfaces  410  may enable communication with other components that may not be shown in  FIG. 1 , including components external to the network. The interfaces  410  may be wired or wireless or a combination thereof. 
     The antennas  210 ,  301 ,  401  may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas  210 ,  301 ,  401  may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result. 
     In some embodiments, the UE  200  and/or the eNB  300  and/or the small-cell AP  400  may be a mobile device and may be a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a wearable device such as a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, the UE  200  and/or eNB  300  and/or small-cell AP  400  may be configured to operate in accordance with 3GPP standards, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, the UE  200  and/or eNB  300  and/or small-cell AP  400  may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards and/or wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Mobile devices or other devices in some embodiments may be configured to operate according to other protocols or standards, including IEEE 802.11 or other IEEE standards. In some embodiments, the UE  200 , eNB  300 , small-cell AP  400  or other device may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen. 
     Although the UE  200 , the eNB  300 , and the small-cell AP  400  are each illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements. 
     Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device. 
     It should be noted that in some embodiments, an apparatus used by the UE  200  and/or eNB  300  and/or small-cell AP  400  may include various components of the UE  200  and/or the eNB  300  and/or the small-cell AP  400  as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 . Accordingly, techniques and operations described herein that refer to the UE  200  (or  102 ) may be applicable to an apparatus for a UE. In addition, techniques and operations described herein that refer to the eNB  300  (or  104 ) may be applicable to an apparatus for an eNB. In addition, techniques and operations described herein that refer to the small-cell AP  400  (or  106 ) may be applicable to an apparatus for a small-cell AP. 
     In accordance with some embodiments, the UE  102  may receive access point reference signals (APRS) from one or more small-cell APs  106 , and may transmit APRS signal quality measurements to a macro-cell eNB  104 . The UE  102  may receive, from the macro-cell eNB  104 , a message that indicates candidate pencil cells for which the UE  102  is to determine signal quality measurements, the candidate pencil cells supported by the small-cell APs  106 . The UE  102  may receive, from the small-cell APs  106 , beam reference signals (BRS) for the candidate pencil cells and may refrain from reception of BRS for pencil cells not included in the message. In some cases, beam-widths of the APRSs may be larger than beam-widths of the BRSs. These embodiments are described in more detail below. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an example of a scenario in which a UE may be in communication with a macro-cell eNB and with multiple small-cell APs in accordance with some embodiments. Although the example scenario  500  shown in  FIG. 5  may illustrate some or all aspects of techniques disclosed herein, it is understood that embodiments are not limited by this example scenario  500 . It should also be noted that embodiments are not limited to the components shown in the example scenario  500 . Embodiments are also not limited to the number of components shown or to the arrangement of the components as shown in  FIG. 5 . As an example, embodiments are not limited to usage of the UE  102 , as other mobile devices may be used in some cases. For instance, a station (STA) arranged to communicate using a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol (or other protocol) may be used. As another example, embodiments are not limited to usage of the eNB  104  (or macro-cell eNB  104  as shown), as other base station devices may be used in some cases. As another example, embodiments are not limited to the usage of the small-cell APs  106 , as other base station components or other components may be used in some cases. 
     In the example scenario  500 , the UE  102  may exchange packets, signals and/or messages with the eNB  104  using any suitable communication protocol, which may or may not be included as part of one or more standards. As a non-limiting example, the UE  102  may be arranged to communicate with the eNB  104  using a Third Generation Partnership Protocol (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol in some cases. The UE  102  may also exchange packets, signals and/or messages with the small-cell APs  106  using any suitable communication protocol, which may or may not be the same protocol used for communication with the eNB  104 . For instance, the UE  102  may be arranged to communicate with the small-cell APs  106  using a Fifth Generation (5G) protocol and/or an IEEE 802.11 protocol in some cases. 
     In addition, in the example scenario  500 , the small-cell APs  106  may communicate with the eNB  104  and/or other network components using any suitable links and/or interfaces, which may be wireless or wired or a combination thereof. As an example, back-end communication between the small-cell APs  106  and the MME  122  and/or eNB  104  may be used. For instance, the small-cell APs  106  may be informed of configuration information related to communication between the small-cell APs  106  and the UEs  102 . 
     In the example scenario  500 , the eNB  104  may be configured to operate as a macro-cell eNB  104  (or macro eNB  104 ) in some cases. Accordingly, a coverage area  505  of the eNB  104  may comprise or overlap one or more coverage areas of small-cell APs  106 . As a non-limiting example, the small-cell APs  106  may be installed on buildings. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the UE  102  may physically move along a path that may include points A-D. The first small-cell AP  106  labeled “S1” may support transmission according to multiple pencil cells such as those labeled  510 . The second small-cell AP  106  labeled “S2” may support transmission according to multiple pencil cells such as those labeled  520 . In a similar manner, the other small-cell APs  106  labeled S3-S12 may support transmission according to multiple pencil cells as shown. 
     When the UE  102  is located at point A, the UE  102  may be in coverage of small-cell APs S1 and/or S2. Accordingly, one or more of the pencil cells  510  and/or  520  may be able to provide directional, narrow-beam, high-gain coverage to the UE  102  based on the physical layout of the small-cell APs S1 and/or S2, the location of the UE  102  and/or other factors such as obstacles in the environment or other factors. Similarly, point B may be in coverage of small-cell APs S3, S4 and/or S5, point C may be in coverage of small-cell APs S7, S8 and/or S9, and point D may be in coverage of small-cell APs S10 and/or S11. Accordingly, the optimal set of pencil cells and/or small-cell APs  106  for the UE  102  may vary with movement of the UE  102 . 
     It should also be pointed out that coordinated multi-point transmission (CoMP) techniques and/or multi-connectivity techniques may be used in some embodiments. As an example, signals may be transmitted to the UE  102  from one or more small-cell APs  106  and/or pencil cells in a manner which enables diversity gain at the UE  102 . For instance, the same data packet may be transmitted from two or more different pencil cells for reception at the UE  102 , which may use diversity combining or other techniques to receive the multiple copies of the data packet. 
     As a non-limiting example, in scenarios such as  500  and/or others, millimeter wave (mmW) small cells may be deployed in the coverage of a macro cell operating at below 6 GHz. Such operation may be applicable for a heterogeneous network structure for future 5G mobile systems and/or other systems. The usage of pencil beams with relatively narrow beam-widths (such as 5 to 15 degrees, for instance) and relatively high antenna gains and/or beamforming gains may be used by mmW small-cell APs  106  to achieve link budget target and energy efficient communication, in some cases. Each pencil beam may be viewed as a pencil cell which can be detected by a dedicated signature signal sequence for the pencil cell. In an environment with ultra-densely deployed mmW small cells, for instance, it may be possible or likely that the UE  102  may be reached by multiple pencil beams experiencing possibly different path losses. The beams may originate from one or more mmW small-cell APs  106 . In some cases, in order to establish reliable, energy efficient and/or high data rate communication path between a mmW UE  102  and a radio access network (RAN), it may be beneficial to select and allocate a set of optimal pencil beams to serve the UE  102 . Due to the mobility of mmW UEs  102  and variation of surrounding environment, it is possible that the set of optimal pencil beams may vary according to the dynamics of the propagation channels between the UE  102  and small-cell APs  106 . As a result, components of the RAN, such as the macro-cell eNB  104 , may track such dynamics so as to provide a consistent high data rate service to the UE  102 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the operation of a method of communication in accordance with some embodiments. It is important to note that embodiments of the method  600  may include additional or even fewer operations or processes in comparison to what is illustrated in  FIG. 6 . In addition, embodiments of the method  600  are not necessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in  FIG. 6 . In describing the method  600 , reference may be made to  FIGS. 1-5 and 7-11 , although it is understood that the method  600  may be practiced with any other suitable systems, interfaces and components. 
     In addition, while the method  600  and other methods described herein may refer to eNBs  104  or UEs  102  operating in accordance with 3GPP or other standards, embodiments of those methods are not limited to just those eNBs  104  or UEs  102  and may also be practiced on other devices, such as a Wi-Fi access point (AP) or user station (STA). The method  600  and other methods described herein may also refer to small-cell APs  106  (or other APs  106 ) that may operate in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards, WiGIG standards, 5G standards or other standards, but embodiments of those methods are not limited to usage of APs  106  and/or operation according to those standards. For instance, other base station components may be configured to operate as small-cell base stations in some cases. 
     In addition, the method  600  and other methods described herein may be practiced by wireless devices configured to operate in other suitable types of wireless communication systems, including systems configured to operate according to various IEEE standards such as IEEE 802.11. The method  600  may also refer to an apparatus for a UE  102  and/or eNB  104  and/or small-cell AP  106  and/or other device described above. 
     At operation  605  of the method  600 , a UE  102  may receive, from a macro-cell eNB  104 , one or more small-cell AP control messages. In some embodiments, the small-cell AP control messages may indicate one or more small-cell APs  106  from which the UE  102  is to receive one or more access point reference signals (APRS). As an example, the small-cell AP control messages may include information related to the APRS and/or the small-cell APs  106 . Such information may include, but is not limited to, signature sequences for the APRSs, identifiers of the small-cell APs  106  from which the APRSs are to be received, channel resources to be used for the reception, timing in which the APRSs are to be received and/or other suitable information. In some embodiments, the small-cell AP control messages may include a “small-cell search request” that may request that the UE  102  determine small-cell signal quality measurements based on reception of the APRSs. 
     In addition, it should be noted that embodiments are not limited to the usage of small-cell AP control messages, as other control messages and/or other messages may be used for communication of such information related to the APRS and/or the small-cell APs  106 . For instance, such information may be included in other messages that may or may not be dedicated for communication of the information. 
     In some embodiments, the eNB  104  may be configured to operate as a macro-cell eNB  104 . As an example, a coverage area of the macro-cell eNB  104  may be larger than a combined coverage area that comprises coverage areas of the small-cell APs  106 . That is, the coverage areas of the small-cell APs  106  may be a sub-region of the coverage area of the macro-cell eNB  104 . This example is not limiting, however. In some cases, one or more of the small-cell coverage areas (or portions of them) may not necessarily be included in the macro-cell coverage area. 
     At operation  610 , the UE  102  may receive one or more APRSs from one or more small-cell APs  106 . In some embodiments, the APRSs may be received from small-cell APs  106  indicated in the small-cell AP control messages described previously, although embodiments are not limited as such. 
     It should be noted that in some embodiments, signals such as the small-cell AP control messages and/or others may be received from the eNB  104  in first channel resources that may be different from and/or exclusive to second channel resources in which other signals (such as the APRSs) are received from the small-cell APs  106 . As a non-limiting example, the first and second channel resources may both be located at centimeter wave (cmW) frequencies, which may be different in some cases. As another non-limiting example, frequency bands used for communication with the eNB  104  and for communication with the small-cell APs  106  may be non-overlapping in some cases. 
     As an example, the APRSs may be transmitted by the small-cell APs  106  in an omni-directional manner. As another example, a beam-width of 120, 90 or 45 degrees may be used. These examples are not limiting, however, as other suitable beam-widths may be used for the transmission of the APRS. 
     At operation  615 , the UE  102  may transmit, to the eNB  104 , one or more AP signal quality measurements. In some embodiments, the measurements may be based on the reception of APRSs at the UE  102 . For instance, the UE  102  may receive the APRSs and may perform the measurements, in some cases. The AP signal quality measurements may include any suitable measurements such as received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and/or any suitable measurement related to the received APRS. Such measurements may be included in one or more standards, in some cases, although embodiments are not so limited. The AP signal quality measurements may be transmitted in one or more control messages or other messages, which may or may not be dedicated for such purposes. 
     In some embodiments, the AP signal quality measurements may enable the eNB  104  to determine which small-cell APs  106  may be in the vicinity of the UE  102  and/or which small-cell APs  106  may have a strong wireless link with the UE  102 . 
     At operation  620 , the UE  102  may receive, from the eNB  104 , one or more pencil cell control messages that may indicate one or more candidate pencil cells for which the UE  102  is to determine signal quality measurements. At operation  625 , the UE  102  may receive, from the small-cell APs  106 , beam reference signals (BRS) for the candidate pencil cells. At operation  630 , the UE  102  may refrain from reception of BRSs from the small-cell APs  106  for pencil cells not included in the pencil cell control message. In some cases, the UE  102  may refrain from reception of BRSs from the small-cell APs  106  for pencil cells excluded from the pencil cell control message. In some embodiments, the pencil cell control messages may include a “pencil cell search request” that may request that the UE  102  determine pencil cell signal quality measurements based on reception of the BRSs. 
     It should be noted that the indication of which candidate pencil cells and/or BRSs that the UE  102  is to receive may enable the UE  102  to perform measurements on a relatively small number (or a manageable number) of pencil cells. That is, the indicated candidate pencil cells may be a subset of a total number of pencil cells supported by the small-cell APs  102 . In some cases, the UE  102  may benefit from not having to receive BRSs and perform measurements on the total number of pencil cells. 
     In some embodiments, the pencil cell control messages may include information related to the BRS and/or the pencil cells and/or the small-cell APs  106 . Such information may include, but is not limited to, signature sequences for the BRSs, identifiers of the pencil cells and/or small-cell APs  106  from which the BRSs are to be received, channel resources to be used for the reception, timing in which the BRSs are to be received and/or other suitable information. In addition, it should be noted that embodiments are not limited to the usage of pencil cell control messages, as other control messages and/or other messages may be used for communication of such information. For instance, such information may be included in other messages that may or may not be dedicated for communication of the information. 
     As described herein, a small-cell AP  106  may support multiple pencil cells in some cases. In some embodiments, a coverage area of the APRS for the small-cell AP  106  may be larger than a combined coverage area that comprises coverage areas of BRSs for multiple pencil cells supported by the small-cell AP  106 . As a non-limiting example, a portion of the coverage area of the APRS (which may be referred to as “small-cell coverage” in some cases) may be divided into smaller cells that may be used by the small-cell AP  106  for directional high-gain communication with the UE  102  in a relatively small and/or narrow area. That is, one or more coverage areas of the pencil cells may be sub-regions of the coverage area of the small-cell AP  106 . This example is not limiting, however. In some cases, one or more of the pencil cell coverage areas (or portions of them) may not necessarily be included in the coverage area of the small-cell AP  106 . 
     Accordingly, a relatively narrow beam-width may be used by the small-cell AP  106  for transmission according to a pencil cell. That is, directional transmission using beam-forming techniques and/or other techniques may be used for transmission according to the pencil cell. For instance, a beam-width used for transmission according to a pencil cell may be more narrow than a beam-width used for transmission of the APRS. As a non-limiting example, the beam-width for the APRS may be at least 90 degrees and the beam-width for the pencil cells may be at most 15 degrees. As another non-limiting example, the beam-widths for the pencil cells may be included in a range of 5 to 15 degrees. As another non-limiting example, the APRS may be transmitted in an omni-directional manner. 
     In addition, a beam-forming gain and/or other gain may be applied to the transmission according to the pencil cells. As a non-limiting example, the transmission of the BRS by the small-cell AP  106  may be performed using 10 dB of gain in comparison to the transmission of the APRS. Embodiments are not limited to the gain of 10 dB, however, as 5, 15, 20 dB or other suitable value may be used in some cases. 
     In some embodiments, at least one of the small-cell APs  106  may support multiple candidate pencil cells for which assigned BRSs are different. For instance, signature sequences upon which the BRSs are based may be different for different pencil cells. In some cases, such a difference may enable the UE  102  to identify which pencil cell is being used, by the small-cell AP  106 , for transmission. It should also be noted that the pencil cell control message may indicate candidate pencil cells that may or may not be supported by the same small-cell AP  106 . As an example, some of the candidate pencil cells may be supported by different small-cell APs  106 . For instance, the UE  102  may be located on the edge of coverage between two small-cell APs  106 , and the eNB  104  may identify one or more pencil cells from each of the two different small-cell APs  106  that may be candidates for usage by the UE  102 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , when the UE  102  is located at point A, one or more pencil cells  510  supported by the “S1” small-cell AP  106  and one or more pencil cells  520  supported by the “S2” small-cell AP  106  may be candidate pencil cells for the UE  102 . As another example, some or all of the candidate pencil cells may be supported by a same small-cell AP  106  in some cases. 
     At operation  635 , the UE  102  may transmit, to the eNB  104 , pencil cell signal quality measurements. In some embodiments, the measurements may be based on the reception of BRSs at the UE  102 . For instance, the UE  102  may receive the BRSs and may perform the measurements, in some cases. The pencil cell signal quality measurements may include any suitable measurements such as received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and/or any suitable measurement related to the received APRS. Such measurements may be included in one or more standards, in some cases, although embodiments are not so limited. The pencil cell signal quality measurements may be transmitted in one or more control messages or other messages, which may or may not be dedicated for such purposes. In some embodiments, the pencil cell signal quality measurements may enable the eNB  104  to determine which pencil cells may be in the vicinity of the UE  102  and/or which small-cell APs  106  may have a strong wireless link with the UE  102 . 
     At operation  640 , the UE  102  may receive, from the eNB  104 , one or more pencil cell configuration messages. In some embodiments, the messages may indicate a candidate pencil cell selected, by the eNB  104 , for exchanging of data messages with the UE  102 . At operation  645 , the UE  102  may receive, according to the selected candidate pencil cell, a data message from a corresponding small-cell AP  106  that supports the selected candidate pencil cell. That is, the UE  102  may begin to receive data from the corresponding small-cell AP  106  according to the selected candidate pencil cell. 
     In some embodiments, the UE  102  may continue to perform measurements on APRS and/or BRS in order to monitor signal quality from the pencil cells and/or small-cell APs  106 . As an example, the UE  102  may transmit such measurements (which may be updated measurements, in some cases) in a periodic manner according to a periodicity parameter. As another example, the UE  102  may transmit the measurements in a non-periodic manner. For instance, the eNB  104  may request the measurements in some cases. As another example, the eNB  104  may inform the UE  102  of a new group of candidate pencil cells for which the UE  102  is to perform measurements. As another example, the eNB  104  may indicate to the UE  102  to hand-off to another pencil cell. In some cases, the pencil cell to which the UE  102  is to hand-off may be included in the original group of candidate pencil cells (such as indicated in operation  620 ) and/or in the new group of candidate pencil cells, although embodiments are not limited as such. As another example, the eNB  104  may indicate a reconfiguration, by the UE  102 , from the selected candidate pencil cell to a reconfigured candidate pencil cell for exchanging of data messages with the UE  102 . The UE  102  may receive, according to the reconfigured candidate pencil cell, a data message from a corresponding small-cell AP that supports the reconfigured candidate pencil cell. It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to these example operations related to hand-off and/or reconfiguration, as other operations may be used in some cases, in addition to or instead of the operations just described. 
     In some embodiments, different channel resources may be used for different communication by the UE  102 . As a non-limiting example, the UE  102  may exchange control messages with the eNB  104  using macro-cell channel resources located at a first centimeter wave (cmW) frequency. The UE  102  may receive APRSs from the small-cell APs  106  in small-cell channel resources at a second cmW frequency. The small-cell channel resources may be different from, exclusive to and/or non-overlapping with the macro-cell channel resources. The UE  102  may receive BRSs from the small-cell APs  106  according to the candidate pencil cells in pencil cell channel resources at a millimeter save (mmW) frequency. Accordingly, the pencil cell channel resources may be different from, exclusive to and/or non-overlapping with the macro-cell channel resources and the small-cell channel resources. In some cases, the UE  102  may receive data from a small-cell AP  106  according to a selected candidate pencil cell using channel resources at an mmW frequency, which may or may not be the same mmW frequency used for the reception of the BRSs. 
     It should be noted that various techniques and/or designs may enable transmission and/or reception of signals by the UE  102  in multiple frequency bands, in some cases. As an example, a group of one or more antennas may be used by the UE  102  to transmit and/or receive signals in different frequency bands. It is understood that additional components, such as diplexers or other components, may be included in some such arrangements. As another example, one or more antennas may be dedicated to each frequency band for transmission and/or reception. These examples are not limiting, however, as any suitable technique may be used to accommodate the usage of multiple frequency bands by the UE  102  in these and other scenarios. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates another example of a method of communication in accordance with some embodiments. As mentioned previously regarding the method  600 , embodiments of the method  700  may include additional or even fewer operations or processes in comparison to what is illustrated in  FIG. 7  and embodiments of the method  700  are not necessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in  FIG. 7 . In describing the method  700 , reference may be made to  FIGS. 1-6 and 8-11 , although it is understood that the method  700  may be practiced with any other suitable systems, interfaces and components. In addition, embodiments of the method  700  may also be applicable to UEs  102 , eNBs  104 , small-cell APs  106 , APs, STAs or other wireless or mobile devices. The method  700  may also refer to an apparatus for a small-cell AP  106 , eNB  104  and/or UE  102  or other device described above. 
     It should be noted that the method  700  may be practiced at an eNB  104  and may include exchanging of signals or messages with a UE  102 . Similarly, the method  600  may be practiced at a UE  102  and may include exchanging of signals or messages with an eNB  104 . In some cases, operations and techniques described as part of the method  600  may be relevant to the method  700 . In addition, embodiments may include operations performed at the eNB  104  that may be reciprocal or similar to other operations described herein performed at the UE  102 . For instance, an operation of the method  700  may include transmission of a message by the eNB  104  while an operation of the method  600  may include reception of the same message or similar message by the UE  102 . 
     In addition, previous discussion of various techniques and concepts may be applicable to the method  700  in some cases, including macro-cell arrangements and devices, small-cell arrangements and devices, pencil cell arrangements and devices, APRSs, BRSs, control messages, beam-forming and others. 
     At operation  705 , the eNB  104  may transmit, to a UE  102 , a small-cell measurement request that indicates one or more small-cell APs  106  for which the UE  102  is to determine small-cell signal quality measurements. At operation  710 , the eNB  104  may receive the small-cell signal quality measurements from the UE  102 . Although embodiments are not limited as such, in some cases, previously described techniques for indicating the small-cell APs  106  may be used and previously described signal quality measurements may be used. 
     At operation  715 , the eNB  104  may determine a group of candidate pencil cells for which the UE  102  is to determine pencil cell signal quality measurements. At operation  720 , the eNB  104  may transmit, to the UE  102 , a pencil cell measurement request that indicates the group of candidate pencil cells. The candidate pencil cells may be determined from pencil cells supported by the small-cell APs  106 . In some embodiments, the eNB  104  may determine that the candidate pencil cells in the group may be possible candidates for usage by the UE  102  for pencil cell reception of data. As an example, the determination may be based at least partly on the received small-cell signal quality measurements. For instance, pencil cells of small-cell APs  106  with relatively strong small-cell signal quality measurements may be determined as candidates. As another example, the determination may be based on a geographic layout of the pencil cells and directional beam patterns of the pencil cells. For instance, such geographic information may be used, along with the small-cell signal quality measurements, in the determination of the candidate pencil cells. 
     At operation  725 , the eNB  104  may receive pencil cell signal quality measurements from the UE  102 . In some embodiments, the received pencil cell signal quality measurements may be for the candidate pencil cells indicated in the pencil cell measurement request. As a non-limiting example, previously described signal quality measurements may be used. The measurements may be received in one or more control messages or other messages from the UE  102 , which may or may not be dedicated for communication of the signal quality measurements. 
     At operation  730 , the eNB  104  may select a candidate pencil cell from the group of candidate pencil cells for usage by the UE  102 . At operation  735 , the eNB  104  may transmit an indicator of the selected candidate pencil cell to the UE  102 . It should also be pointed out that the selected candidate pencil cell and/or related information may also be communicated to one or more of the small-cell APs  106  (such as the particular one that supports the selected candidate pencil cell) using techniques such as those previously described. For instance, the MME  122  and/or the eNB  104  may communicate such information through a back-haul and/or other interface. 
     As an example, the selection may be based at least partly on the pencil cell signal quality measurements. As another example, the selection may also be based at least partly on geographic information, such as the geographic layout information previously described. As another example, the selection may be further based at least partly on the small-cell signal quality measurements received at operation  710 . Accordingly, any combination of such information may be used by the eNB  104  to select the pencil cell to be used by the UE  102  for reception of data. These examples are not limiting, however, as other information may be used in the selection, in addition to or instead of the information described in these examples. 
     As a non-limiting example, the measurement requests may be transmitted in macro-cell channel resources at a first centimeter wave (cmW) frequency. The small-cell signal quality measurements may be based on signals transmitted by the small-cell APs  106  in small-cell channel resources at a second cmW frequency. The pencil cell signal quality measurements may be based on directional signals transmitted by the small-cell APs  106  in pencil cell channel resources at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an example of communication between a UE and a macro-cell eNB in accordance with some embodiments. It should be noted that embodiments are not limited by the example communication  800  shown in  FIG. 8 , in terms of the number, arrangement or type of components or messages. As an example, some embodiments may or may not include all messages and/or operations shown in the example communication  800  in  FIG. 8 . Some methods described herein may include some or all of these operations and/or similar operations, but embodiments are not limited as such. In addition, other mobile device components and/or base station components may be used in some cases. In some cases, previous discussion of various techniques and concepts may be applicable to the example communication  800 , including macro-cell arrangements and devices, small-cell arrangements and devices, pencil cell arrangements and devices, APRSs, BRSs, control messages, beam-forming and others. 
     At operation  805 , the eNB  104  may configure a list of APRSs to be measured and reported by the UE  102  and may communicate the list to the UE  102 . The UE  102  may detect and measure the APRSs included in the list at operation  810 , and may periodically report RSRP/RSRQ and/or other measurements for the APRSs to the eNB  104  at operation  815 . At operation  820 , the eNB  104  may select a number of pencil cells that may be associated with the strongly received APRSs for measurement by the UE  102 . At operation  825 , the eNB  104  may configure a list of BRSs to be measured and reported. The BRSs may be those BRSs assigned to the pencil cells determined at operation  820  in some cases. At operation  830 , the UE  102  may detect and measure the indicated BRSs, and may periodically report RSRP/RSRQ and/or other measurements for the BRSs to the eNB  104  at operation  835 . At operation  840 , the eNB may select a number of strongly received pencil cells using any suitable technique, examples of which will be described below. At operation  845 , the eNB  104  may configure the selected pencil cells as secondary component cells and may communicate such information to the UE  102 . At operation  850 , the UE  102  may monitor the configured pencil cells for data packets. 
     At operations  855 - 870 , the eNB  104  and the UE  102  may perform similar operations to possibly select a new set of secondary pencil cells. For instance, in order to accommodate mobility of the UE  102 , it may be beneficial or necessary that new pencil cells with different locations and/or directions be used in some cases. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates another example of a method of communication in accordance with some embodiments. As mentioned previously regarding the methods  600  and  700 , embodiments of the method  900  may include additional or even fewer operations or processes in comparison to what is illustrated in  FIG. 9  and embodiments of the method  900  are not necessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in  FIG. 9 . In describing the method  900 , reference may be made to  FIGS. 1-8 and 10-11 , although it is understood that the method  900  may be practiced with any other suitable systems, interfaces and components. In addition, embodiments of the method  900  may also be applicable to UEs  102 , eNBs  104 , small-cell APs  106 , APs, STAs or other wireless or mobile devices. The method  900  may also refer to an apparatus for a small-cell AP  106 , eNB  104  and/or UE  102  or other device described above. 
     It should be noted that the method  900  may be practiced at a small-cell AP  106  and may include exchanging of signals or messages with a UE  102 . Similarly, the method  600  may be practiced at a UE  102  and may include exchanging of signals or messages with a small-cell AP  106 . In some cases, operations and techniques described as part of the method  600  may be relevant to the method  900 . In addition, embodiments may include operations performed at the small-cell AP  106  that may be reciprocal or similar to other operations described herein performed at the UE  102 . For instance, an operation of the method  900  may include transmission of a reference signal by the small-cell AP  106  while an operation of the method  600  may include reception of the same reference signal or similar reference signal by the UE  102 . 
     In addition, previous discussion of various techniques and concepts may be applicable to the method  900  in some cases, including macro-cell arrangements and devices, small-cell arrangements and devices, pencil cell arrangements and devices, APRSs, BRSs, control messages, beam-forming and others. 
     At operation  905 , the small-cell AP  106  may transmit an APRS in APRS channel resources. Although not limited as such, the APRS may be transmitted at a centimeter wave (cmW) frequency. At operation  910 , the small-cell AP  106  may transmit multiple BRSs in BRS channel resources. Although not limited as such, the BRS may be transmitted at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency. In some embodiments, the BRSs may be assigned to multiple directional pencil cells supported by the small-cell AP  106 . Although embodiments are not limited as such, previously described specifications for the APRS and BRS (such as beam-widths) may be applicable in some cases. 
     At operation  915 , the small-cell AP  106  may receive an indication that one of the pencil cells is selected for usage by the small-cell AP  106  for transmission of data messages to a UE  102 . As an example, the MME  122 , macro eNB  104  or other component may transmit such an indication to the small-cell AP  106  as previously described, although embodiments are not limited as such. At operation  920 , the small-cell AP  106  may transmit one or more data messages to the UE  102 . In some embodiments, the transmission may be performed according to a transmission direction assigned to the selected pencil cell, as previously described. As an example, the BRS channel resources used for the transmission of the BRSs may also be used for transmission of the data. This example is not limiting, however, as other channel resources may be used. The other channel resources may or may not overlap the BRS channel resources in some cases, and may or may not be performed at another mmW frequency in some cases. 
     In some embodiments, the data messages may include or may be based on the BRS for the selected pencil cell. For instance, a data message may include a data portion and may also include a control portion (such as a pilot portion or other) that may be based on the BRS. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates example reference signals in accordance with some embodiments. The small-cell AP  1000  (which may be suitable for use as the small-cell AP  106  in some cases) may provide APRS coverage  1010  or small-cell coverage as indicated by the circular region  1015 . As a non-limiting example, omni-directional transmission or transmission with a beam-width that is relatively wide (like 90 degrees or higher) may be used for the APRS coverage. The small-cell AP  1000  may also provide BRS coverage  1020  or pencil cell coverage as indicated by the oval shaped regions  1025 . As a non-limiting example, narrow beam-widths may be used. For instance, a range of 5-15 degrees may be used for the pencil cells. As another non-limiting example, a coverage of the APRS transmitted by the small-cell AP  106  may be similar to an aggregated coverage of the pencil cells transmitted by the small-cell AP  106 . 
     As an example of APRS transmission, the LTE cell-specific reference symbol (CRS) of port 0 may be used. As another example, an LTE discovery signal may be use. Accordingly, one or more synchronization signals and/or the CRS of port 0 may be used. As another example, a physical side-link discovery signal may be used. Accordingly, the small-cell AP  106  may be configured to operate as a device which can be discovered by the UE  102 , such as when the UE  102  is in close proximity to the small-cell AP  106 . It should be noted that embodiments are not limited by these examples, as other suitable techniques may be used for APRS transmission and/or APRS design. The CSI-RS may be included in 3GPP standards or other standards, although embodiments are not limited as such. 
     As an example of BRS transmission, a periodicity and/or time-frequency resources for the BRSs may be configured by the macro eNB  104 . As another example, the BRS may reuse similar techniques used for LTE discovery signal. For instance, the BRS may include one or more beam-specific synchronization signals and/or channel state information reference symbols (CSI-RS). The CSI-RS may be included in 3GPP standards or other standards, although embodiments are not limited as such. As another example, different BRSs used for pencil cells of the same small-cell AP  106  may be transmitted with different periodicities. For instance, BRSs of pencil cells supporting more UEs  102  and/or more traffic may be transmitted more frequently than BRSs of pencil cells that support fewer UEs  102  and/or less traffic. As another example, some or all BRSs used by pencil cells of the same small-cell AP  106  may be transmitted simultaneously. For instance, the BRSs in such cases may be transmitted in a same OFDM symbol period and/or time transmission interval (TTI) or other time period. In such cases, the small-cell AP  106  may comprise multiple RF chains and/or multiple analog beam-formers to support the simultaneous transmission of multiple beams. As another example, multiple BRSs may be transmitted by a same RF chain at different times. It should be noted that embodiments are not limited by these examples, as other suitable techniques may be used for BRS transmission and/or BRS design. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an example of transmission of reference signals according to various periodicity parameters in accordance with some embodiments. In the first example  1110 , BRSs for 8 pencil cells (labeled as BRSs 0-7) are transmitted according to a period of T. For instance, within the group of time intervals  1115 , each of BRS0-BRS7 are transmitted. Additional groups similar to  1115  may be transmitted spaced apart by an interval of T, as indicated by  1117 . 
     In the second example  1120 , BRSs for 8 pencil cells (labeled as BRSs 8-15) are transmitted according to a period of 2 T. For instance, within the group of time intervals  1125 , each of BRS8-BRS15 are transmitted. Additional groups similar to  1125  may be transmitted spaced apart by an interval of 2 T, as indicated by  1127 . In the third example  1130 , BRSs for 8 pencil cells (BRSs 16-23) are transmitted according to a period of 4 T. For instance, within the group of time intervals  1135 , each of BRS16-BRS23 are transmitted. Additional groups similar to  1135  may be transmitted spaced apart by an interval of 4 T, as indicated by  1137 . 
     As a non-limiting example, the small-cell AP  106  may be configured to perform multiple BRS transmissions in time periods that may at least partly overlap. For instance, the small-cell AP  106  may comprise and/or may be configured to support three analog beam-formers, each of which may be used for a different pencil cell supported by the small-cell AP  106 . The first beam-former may be used by the small-cell AP  106  for transmission of the BRS0-BRS7 according to the example  1110 . In addition, the second beam-former may be used for transmission of the BRS8-BRS15 according to the example  1120  and the third beam-former may be used for transmission of the BRS16-BRS23 according to the example  1130 . Accordingly, in this example of transmission of three BRSs in overlapping time periods, the small-cell AP  106  may transmit up to three different BRS simultaneously and may transmit BRSs according to different periodicity parameters. It should be noted that embodiments are not limited by this example, as any suitable number of RF chains and/or analog beam-formers may be used, and any suitable arrangement of BRS transmission times may also be used. For instance, periodicity parameters used for each of the RF chains and/or analog beam-formers may or may not be different in some arrangements. As described previously, the periodicity used for each pencil cell may be varied according to a number of UEs  102  supported by the pencil cell and/or traffic loading of the pencil cell. 
     In some embodiments, the UE  102  may perform two levels of cell detection and measurement. As an example, the first level may be used for detection and measurement of mmW APs  106  by searching cmW APRSs. The second level may be used to measure mmW pencil cells by detection BRSs. Cell IDs of the reference signals (APRS and/or BRS) that the UE  102  is to search may be determined by the eNB  104  and may be signaled to the UE  102 . The selected beam cell ID list for the second level measurement may be based on uld also be noted that embodiments are not limited to the com 
     In some embodiments, the first level cell detection may enable the UE  102  to discover an mmW AP  106  without the need for beam acquisition. The second level cell detection and measurement may be performed, in some cases, using only the BRSs signaled by the eNB  104 . Accordingly, the UE  102  may not need to perform exhaustive initial pencil cell searches for all possible pencil cells from all possible mmW APs  106 , in some cases. 
     As an example, the eNB  104  may select one or more mmW pencil cells based at least partly on reported BRS signal quality measurements. The eNB  104  may configure the selected pencil cells as secondary component cells. Accordingly, the downlink beam acquisition may be inherently realized by the pencil cell allocation. The configured mmW pencil cells may be supported by one or more mmW APs  106 , in some cases. Accordingly, CoMP may be supported in some cases. 
     As an example, a number of configured secondary component cells, which may include small-cell APs  106  and/or pencil cells, may be larger than a number of supported secondary cells (SCells). For instance, the number of supported SCells may be related to a standard, although embodiments are not limited as such. In such cases, the number of supported SCells may be increased (in the standard or otherwise) and/or SCells may be further aggregated with their own secondary cells. For instance, such cells may be “order-2 secondary cells” or similar in accordance with a hierarchical cell/carrier aggregation arrangement. 
     In some embodiments, pencil cells may be selected as SCells using any suitable technique. As an example, the eNB  104  may define a threshold Tbrs and pencil cells with reported RSRP/RSRQ (or other measurement) above the threshold Tbrs may be selected as secondary cells. Referring to operation  840  ( FIG. 8 ), this technique may be referred to in  FIG. 8  as “method C1.” 
     As another example, multiple thresholds may be defined, which may help to avoid frequent SCell reconfiguration due to environmental variation. The thresholds for k=1, 2, . . . K may be Tbrs-1, Tbrs-2, . . . Tbrs-K, for which Tbrs-1&gt;Tbrs-2&gt; . . . Tbrs-K. Each threshold Tbrs-k may be used to define a pencil cell cluster which comprises Bk adjacent pencil cells centered about the pencil cell with reported RSRP/RSRQ measurements greater than Tbrs-k. It may be plausible to define B1&gt;B2&gt; . . . &gt;Bk. The variable p_j (for j=1, . . . L) may define the L BRSs reported by the UE  102  to the eNB  104 , each of which has a reported RSRP/RSRQ greater than one of the thresholds Tbrs-k. The eNB  104  may select L pencil cell clusters defined as P_i, with i=1, . . . L, as the secondary cells for the UE  102 . That is, P_i may include a number of adjacent beam cells centered around the pencil cell p_i, and the number of pencil cells in P_i may depend on which threshold the reported RSRP/RSRQ is above. The pencil cells other than p_i included in P_i may be referred to as “guard beams” in some cases. Referring to operation  840  ( FIG. 8 ), this technique may be referred to in  FIG. 8  as “method C2.” It should be noted that some embodiments may include one or more of the operations and/or techniques described in this example, and some embodiments may include additional operations and/or techniques. 
     As another example, secondary component pencil cells may be reconfigured to support mobility. When updated APRS and/or BRS signal quality measurements are reported from a moving or mobile UE  102  to the eNB  104 , reconfiguration and/or reselection of the secondary component cells may be performed by the eNB  104 . As previously described, guard beams may be used. In addition, in some cases, the guard beams may have a potential to become “anchor beams” for which the reported RSRQ/RSRP (or other measurement) may be above defined thresholds. A current configured group of secondary pencil cells may be defined as P_current. Based on updated BRS signal quality measurements, a new set P_new of pencil cells may be determined using previously described techniques and/or other techniques. An intersection set P_work may include an intersection of the sets P_current and P_new. Sets of selection metrics O_current and O_new may be determined for the sets P_current and P_new, respectively. As a non-limiting example of such, each selected pencil cell in the set may be given a weight factor according to its reported signal quality measurement. In addition, some pencil cells not reported may be given a predetermined minimum weight factor in some cases. As an example, when a ratio of O_current and O_new is below a particular threshold T (which may or may not be predefined), the beam cell reconfiguration may be performed. This example is not limiting, however, as other suitable comparison operations and/or other operations may be performed on the sets O_current and O_new to determine whether or not the beam cell reconfiguration is to be performed. Referring to operation  865  ( FIG. 8 ), this technique may be referred to in  FIG. 8  as “method R1.” It should be noted that some embodiments may include one or more of the operations and/or techniques described in this example, and some embodiments may include additional operations and/or techniques. 
     It should be noted that a handoff and/or handover of pencil cells may be inherently implemented as a result of such reconfiguration methods, in some cases. It should be noted that one or more operations included in the examples just described (such as the reconfiguration of secondary component pencil cells and selection of pencil cells as SCells) may be included in some embodiments, including but not limited to the methods  600 ,  700 , and  900  and the scenario  800  shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     In Example 1, an apparatus for User Equipment (UE) may comprise transceiver circuitry and hardware processing circuitry. The hardware processing circuitry may configure the transceiver circuitry to receive one or more access point reference signals (APRS) from one or more small-cell access points (AP). The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit, to a macro-cell Evolved Node-B (eNB), one or more AP signal quality measurements based on the reception of the APRSs. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive, from the macro-cell eNB, a pencil cell control message that indicates one or more candidate pencil cells for which the UE is to determine signal quality measurements, the candidate pencil cells supported by the small-cell APs. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive, from the small-cell APs, beam reference signals (BRS) for the candidate pencil cells. 
     In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1, the hardware processing circuitry to further configure the transceiver circuitry to refrain from reception of BRSs from the small-cell APs for pencil cells not included in the pencil cell control message. 
     In Example 3, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-2, wherein beam-widths of the APRSs may be larger than beam-widths of the BRSs. 
     In Example 4, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-3, wherein the beam-widths of the APRSs may be at least 90 degrees and the beam-widths of the BRSs may be at most 15 degrees. 
     In Example 5, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-4, wherein for at least one of the small-cell APs, a coverage area of the APRS for the small-cell AP may be larger than a combined coverage area that comprises coverage areas of BRSs for multiple pencil cells supported by the small-cell AP. 
     In Example 6, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-5, wherein the pencil cell control message may be received in macro-cell channel resources at a first centimeter wave (cmW) frequency. The APRSs may be received in small-cell channel resources at a second cmW frequency. The BRSs may be received in pencil cell channel resources at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency. 
     In Example 7, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-6, wherein a coverage area of the macro-cell eNB may be larger than a combined coverage area that comprises coverage areas of the small-cell APs. 
     In Example 8, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-7, wherein at least some of the candidate pencil cells may be supported by different small-cell APs. 
     In Example 9, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-8, wherein at least some of the candidate pencil cells may be supported by a same small-cell AP. 
     In Example 10, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-9, wherein at least one of the small-cell APs may support multiple candidate pencil cells for which assigned BRSs are different. 
     In Example 11, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-10, the hardware processing circuitry to further configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit, to the macro-cell eNB, pencil cell signal quality measurements based on the reception of the BRSs. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive, from the macro-cell eNB, a pencil cell configuration message that indicates one of the candidate pencil cells that is selected, by the macro-cell eNB, for exchanging of data messages with the UE. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive, according to the selected candidate pencil cell, a data message from a corresponding small-cell AP that supports the selected candidate pencil cell. 
     In Example 12, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-11, the hardware processing circuitry to configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit, to the macro-cell Evolved Node-B (eNB), updated pencil cell signal quality measurements for the candidate pencil cells. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive, from the macro-cell eNB, a pencil cell reconfiguration message that indicates a reconfiguration, by the UE, from the selected candidate pencil cell to a reconfigured candidate pencil cell for exchanging of data messages with the UE. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive, according to the reconfigured candidate pencil cell, a data message from a corresponding small-cell AP that supports the reconfigured candidate pencil cell. 
     In Example 13, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-12, the hardware processing circuitry to further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive, from the macro-cell eNB, a small-cell AP control message that indicates the small-cell APs from which the UE is to receive the APRSs. 
     In Example 14, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-13, wherein the pencil cell control message may further indicate BRSs that are assigned to the candidate pencil cells. 
     In Example 15, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-14, wherein the UE may be arranged to operate according to a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol to exchange messages with the macro-eNB. 
     In Example 16, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-15, wherein the apparatus may further include one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry for the reception of the pencil control message and for the transmission of the AP signal quality measurements. 
     In Example 17, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for communication by a User Equipment (UE). The operations may configure the one or more processors to receive, from a macro-cell Evolved Node-B (eNB), a request to determine small-cell signal quality measurements based on a reception, at the UE, of access point reference signals (APRS) from one or more small-cell access points (AP). The operations may further configure the one or more processors to transmit, to the macro-cell eNB, small-cell signal quality measurements that are determined by the UE. The operations may further configure the one or more processors to receive, from the macro-cell eNB, a request to determine pencil cell signal quality measurements for a group of candidate pencil cells supported by at least a portion of the small-cell APs. The pencil cell signal quality measurements may be based on a reception, at the UE, of directional beam reference signals (BRS) from the small-cell APs according to the candidate pencil cells. 
     In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17, the operations to further configure the one or more processors to receive BRSs from the small-cell APs according to pencil cells included in the group of candidate pencil cells. The operations may further configure the one or more processors to refrain from reception of BRSs from the small-cell APs according to pencil cells not included in the group of candidate pencil cells. 
     In Example 19, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 17-18, the operations to further configure the one or more processors to transmit, to the macro-cell eNB, pencil cell signal quality measurements that are determined by the UE. The operations may further configure the one or more processors to receive, from the macro-cell eNB, an indicator of a candidate pencil cell selected by the eNB for exchanging of data messages with the UE. The operations may further configure the one or more processors to receive a data message, according to the selected candidate pencil cell, from a corresponding small-cell AP that supports the selected candidate pencil cell. 
     In Example 20, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 17-19, wherein a first centimeter wave (cmW) frequency may be used for the reception of the requests from the macro-cell eNB. A second cmW frequency may be used for the reception of the APRSs. A millimeter wave (mmW) frequency may be used for the reception of the BRSs. 
     In Example 21, an apparatus for an Evolved Node-B (eNB) may comprise transceiver circuitry and hardware processing circuitry. The hardware processing circuitry may configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit, to a User Equipment (UE), a small-cell measurement request that indicates one or more small-cell access points (AP) for which the UE is to determine small-cell signal quality measurements. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive the small-cell signal quality measurements from the UE. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit, to the UE, a pencil cell measurement request that indicates a group of candidate pencil cells for which the UE is to determine pencil cell signal quality measurements. At least a portion of the small-cell APs may be arranged to support multiple pencil cells for directional transmission of data messages to the UE. 
     In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may be configured to determine the group of candidate pencil cells from pencil cells supported by the small-cell APs. The determination may be based at least partly on the received small-cell signal quality measurements. 
     In Example 23, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 21-22, wherein the determination of the group of candidate pencil cells may be further based at least partly on a geographic layout of the pencil cells and directional beam patterns of the pencil cells. 
     In Example 24, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 21-23, the hardware processing circuitry to further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive the pencil cell signal quality measurements from the UE. The hardware processing circuitry may be configured to select a candidate pencil cell for exchanging of data messages with the UE. The selection may be based at least partly on the received pencil cell signal quality measurements. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit, to the UE, an indicator of the selected candidate pencil cell. 
     In Example 25, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 21-24, wherein the measurement requests may be transmitted in macro-cell channel resources at a first centimeter wave (cmW) frequency. The small-cell signal quality measurements may be based on signals transmitted by the small-cell APs in small-cell channel resources at a second cmW frequency. The pencil cell signal quality measurements may be based on directional signals transmitted by the small-cell APs in pencil cell channel resources at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency. 
     In Example 26, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 21-25, wherein the eNB may be configured to operate as a macro-cell eNB for which a coverage area may be larger than a combined coverage area that comprises coverage areas of the small-cell APs. 
     In Example 27, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 21-26, wherein the apparatus may further include one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry for the transmission of the measurement requests and for the reception of the small-cell signal quality measurements. 
     In Example 28, an apparatus for a small-cell access point (AP) may comprise transceiver circuitry and hardware processing circuitry. The hardware processing circuitry may configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit an access point reference signal (APRS) in APRS channel resources at a centimeter wave (cmW) frequency. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit multiple beam reference signals (BRS) in BRS channel resources at a millimeter wave (mmW) frequency, wherein the BRSs are assigned to multiple directional pencil cells supported by the small-cell AP. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to receive an indication that one of the pencil cells is selected for usage by the small-cell AP for transmission of data messages to a User Equipment (UE). The hardware processing circuitry may further configure the transceiver circuitry to transmit a data message to the UE in the BRS channel resources according to a transmission direction assigned to the selected pencil cell. 
     In Example 29, the subject matter of Example 28, wherein the data message may include a data portion and may further include a control portion that is based on a corresponding BRS that is assigned to the selected pencil cell. 
     In Example 30, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 28-29, wherein a beam-width of the APRS may be larger than beam-widths of the BRSs. 
     In Example 31, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 28-30, wherein the beam-width of the APRS may be at least 90 degrees and the beam-widths of the BRSs may be at most 15 degrees. 
     In Example 32, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 28-31, wherein a coverage area of the APRS may be larger than a combined coverage area that comprises coverage areas of the BRSs. 
     In Example 33, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 28-32, wherein the apparatus may further include one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry for the transmission of the APRS, the BRSs, and the data message. 
     The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b) requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200305
Publication Date: 20220607
Grant Date: 20220607
Priority Date: 20150729
Inventors: MIAO, HONGLEI
NIU, HUANING
FAERBER, MICHAEL
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W72/23", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/046", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/00837", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/045", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/0085", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0695", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/309", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W16/28", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/0085", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W16/32", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/309", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W16/28", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/045", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/0085", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/00837", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W16/32", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0695", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0695", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/00837", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 57884789