COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Related Application

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Number

62/417,917, filed November 4, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communication networks, and more particularly, to apparatuses, systems, and methods for measurement reporting in new radio wireless communication networks.

Background

Fifth-generation wireless cellular networks can transmit to user equipments (UEs) on multiple beams within each cell. Each beam within a cell transmits on different time- frequency resource elements. Additionally, in some cases, different beams may be transmitted by different transmission reception points (TRPs) within the cell and/or using different beamforming (e.g., antenna tilt and/or azimuth). A UE can switch between beams within a cell and/or between beams of different cells.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates a network environment according to some embodiments.

Figure 2 illustrates an example operation flow/algorithmic structure of a user equipment according to some embodiments.

Figure 3 illustrates an example operation flow/algorithmic structure of a new radio base station according to some embodiments.

Figure 4 illustrates a computer system according to some embodiments.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way of illustration embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter.

However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "A or B," "A and/or B," and

"A/B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B).

The description may use the phrases "in an embodiment," or "in embodiments," which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include any combination of integrated circuits (for example, a field-programmable gate array

("FPGA") an application specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), etc.), discrete circuits, combinational logic circuits, system on a chip, SOC, system in a package, SiP, that provides the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware modules to provide the described functions. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

Figure 1 illustrates a wireless cellular network 100 (hereinafter "network 100") in accordance with various embodiments. The network 100 may include a plurality of new radio node Bs (gNBs) 102a-c, wherein individual gNBs 102a-c are associated with respective cells 104a-c of the network 100. Within each cell 104a-c, the respective gNB 102a-c may communicate with user equipments (UEs, such as UE 106 depicted in Figure 1) via one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) 108a-l (e.g., TRPs 108a-d associated with cell 104a, TRPs 108e-h associated with cell 104b, and TRPs 108i-l associated with cell 104c). In some embodiments, the TRPs 108a-l may be positioned at different locations within a coverage area of the respective cell 104a-c. In some embodiments, the gNB 102a-c may be co-located with or include one of the TRPs 108a-l of the respective cell. In various embodiments, different TRPs 108a-l may transmit different beams to the UE 106. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of the individual TRPs 108a-l may transmit multiple beams. Different beams of the same cell 104a-c may be transmitted on different resource elements (e.g., time and frequency resources). Each beam may transmit one or more reference signals, such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and/or a new radio synchronization signal (NRSS), on one or more of their respective resource elements. In some embodiments, different beams may use different beamforming (e.g., antenna tilt and/or azimuth) to provide coverage to different areas of the cell 104a-c.

In various embodiments, the UE 106 may switch its reception between different beams of the same cell 104a-c (intra-cell handover) and/or between different beams of different cells (inter-cell handover). For example, the UE 106 may switch its reception between different beams as the UE 106 moves and/or as signal conditions on the beams change. Intra-cell mobility may be managed by a beam management protocol. The beam management protocol may be configured via radio resource control (RRC). The UE 106 may perform beam management in the MAC and/or physical (PHY) layer.

To support inter-cell handovers, the UE 106 may generate a measurement report including feedback information on one or more beams of a plurality of cells 104a-c (e.g., a serving cell and one or more neighbor cells), and transmit the generated measurement report to the serving cell. For example, the UE 106 may be in a RRC connected state (RRC C ON ECTED) with the cell 104a as the serving cell. The UE 106 may measure feedback information on a plurality of beams of the serving cell 104a and one or more neighbor cells 104b-c. The feedback information may include, for example, a receive signal receive power (RSRP), a receive signal receive quality (RSRQ), and/or a signal-to- interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) value for the respective individual beams. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may measure the feedback information on the CSI-RS or NRSS associated with the respective individual beams.

In some embodiments, the type of feedback information and/or the reference signal to be used by the UE 106 to measure the feedback information may be configurable by the serving gNB 102a. For example, the gNB 102 may configure the type of feedback information and/or the type of reference signal to be used via RRC signaling during measurement configuration.

In various embodiments, the serving gNB 102a may transmit a message to the UE 106 that includes a maximum number to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell to be used by the UE 106 to generate the measurement report. The maximum number may be included in any suitable message from the serving gNB 102a to the UE 106, such as a downlink control information (DCI) message (e.g., in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a RRC message). The gNB 102a may select the value of the maximum number based on any suitable parameters, such as one or more network conditions, e.g., signal quality conditions, loading conditions, cell attributes (e.g., size, transmit power), the arrangement of the serving cell with respect to the neighbor cells, the number of neighbor cells, etc.

The UE 106 may generate the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number. For example, in some embodiments, the measurement report may include beam identifiers for individual beams up to the maximum number of beams having a highest signal quality (e.g., based on the measured feedback information) among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell. The beam identifiers may be referred to as a CSI-RS resource identifier or a timing index of the NRSS block in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the UE 106 may additionally or alternatively include the feedback information for the individual beams (e.g., the beams associated with the respective beam identifiers) up to the maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 106 may average feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams having a highest signal quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell and include the average feedback value in the measurement report.

In some embodiments, the serving gNB 102a may send a format indicator to the UE 106 to indicate to the UE 106 which information the UE 106 is to include in the measurement report. For example, the gNB 102a may send the format indicator to the UE 106 in the same message that includes the maximum number or in a different message. In some embodiments, the format indicator may indicate whether the measurement report is to include the beam identifiers without the associated feedback information or both the beam identifiers and the associated feedback information. Additionally, or alternatively, the format indicator may indicate whether the UE 106 is to provide beam-level feedback or not. In some cases, when the format indicator instructs the UE not to provide beam- level feedback, the UE 106 may provide average feedback information.

In various embodiments, the maximum number may be switchable by the serving cell 104a between any suitable set of values. For example, in some embodiments, the maximum number may be represented by a single bit to indicate whether the UE 106 is to provide feedback information for only one beam per cell or multiple beams per cell (which may be a predetermined number more than one, such as two, three, or four, etc.).

Alternatively, the maximum number may be represented by multiple bits to indicate one of a plurality of possible values of the maximum number (e.g., two bits to indicate one of four possible values or three bits to indicate one of eight possible values).

In some embodiments, the beams included in the measurement report may be subject to a signal quality threshold that corresponds to a minimum signal quality of a beam to be included in the measurement report. For example, the measurement report generated and transmitted by the UE 106 may include the beam identifiers and/or measured feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold. In some embodiments, the serving gNB 102a may configure the signal quality threshold for the UE 106. For example, the signal quality threshold may be included in the same message that includes the maximum number or in a different message.

In some embodiments, the UE 106 may only include beam identifiers and/or feedback information in the measurement report for neighbor cells 104b-c that have at least one beam with a signal quality above a threshold. In other embodiments, the measurement report may include the beam identifier and/or feedback information for the highest quality beam of one or more neighbor cells even if the signal quality of the highest quality beam is below the signal quality threshold. The measurement report may include additional beams for a cell only if the signal quality of the additional beams is above the signal quality threshold and the total beams reported for the given cell is equal to or less than the maximum number.

As discussed above, in some embodiments, the measurement report may include feedback information for individual beams and/or average feedback information that corresponds to the average of the feedback information for multiple beams of the same cell. In some embodiments (e.g., when the UE 106 is to include both individual feedback information and average feedback information in the measurement report), the gNB 102a may send the UE 106 a first maximum number to be used for determining the individual feedback information to be included and a second maximum number to be used for determining the number of beams to be used for the average feedback information. The second maximum number may be different (e.g., higher or lower) than the first maximum number. When the UE 106 is configured to provide average feedback values in the measurement report subject to a signal quality threshold, the UE 106 may select up to the maximum number of the beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold, and average the feedback information for the selected beams of the serving cell to generate a first average feedback value. Additionally, the UE 106 may select up to the maximum number of the beams of the neighbor cell having a highest signal quality that is above the signal quality threshold, and average the feedback information for the selected beams of the neighbor cell to generate a second average feedback value. The measurement report generated by the UE 106 and transmitted to the gNB 102a may include the first and second average feedback values. In some cases, the measurement report may further include an average feedback value for one or more additional neighbor cells (e.g., if the one or more neighbor cells have one or more beams with a signal quality above the signal quality threshold).

In various embodiments, certain conditions may cause the UE 106 to trigger generation and transmission of the measurement report. For example, in some embodiments, the UE 106 may measure feedback information for the plurality of beams of the serving cell 104a and one or more neighbor cells 104b-c. When the UE 106 determines that the measured feedback information for a neighbor cell 104b-c is higher by more than a ping-pong threshold than the measured feedback information of the serving cell, the UE 106 may start a timer. The determination may be based on, for example, the signal quality of the best beam of the serving cell 104a and the best beam of the neighbor cell 104b-c, the signal quality of multiple beams of the serving cell 104a and the neighbor cell 104b-c, and/or the average signal quality of multiple beams of the serving cell 104a and the neighbor cell 104b-c. When the timer expires, the UE 106 may measure the feedback information for the plurality of beams of the serving cell 104a and one or more neighbor cells 104b-c again to obtain updated feedback information. If the updated feedback information for the neighbor cell 104b-c is higher by more than the threshold than the updated feedback information for the serving cell 104a, then the UE 106 generates and transmits the measurement report (e.g., using the updated feedback information). The timer and/or ping-pong threshold may prevent/reduce frequent handovers between cells 104a-c (sometimes referred to as the "ping-pong effect").

In some embodiments, the length of the timer used by the UE 106 may vary based on the speed of the UE 106. For example, the UE 106 may use a longer timer when the UE 106 is moving slower (or not moving) and a shorter timer when the UE 106 is moving faster. The shorter timer when the UE 106 is moving faster may enable the UE 106 to handover to the neighbor cell 104b-c more quickly, while the longer timer when the UE 106 is moving slower may prevent frequent handovers by the UE 106 (e.g., while the UE 106 is near the cell edge and/or moving from one cell 104a-c to another 104a-c. Because of the multiple beams in each cell 104a-c and the beam tracking performed by the UE 106 to switch between beams of the serving cell 104a-c, the signal quality within a given cell 104a-c may be multimodal as the UE 106 moves within the cell 104a-c. The multimodal signal quality may cause a slower moving UE 106 to handover multiple times between the same two cells 104a-c as it moves from one to the other. The increased timer value for slower moving UEs 106 described herein may alleviate this problem, while still providing a quick handover for faster moving UEs 106.

In various embodiments, the serving gNB 102a may initiate a handover for the UE from the serving cell 104a to one of the neighbor cells 104b-c (referred to as the target cell) based on the measurement report. For example, the UE 106 may send the measurement report to the serving gNB 102a as part of a handover request. The serving gNB 102a may send a handover response to the UE 106 to instruct the UE 106 to change its serving cell (e.g., RRC connection) from the serving cell 104a to the target cell 104b-c.

Figure 2 illustrates an example operation flow/algorithmic structure 200 of the UE 106 according to some embodiments.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 200 may include, at 204, processing a message received from a gNB of a serving cell (e.g., gNB 102a of serving cell 104a) to determine a maximum number of beams per cell for the UE 106 to include in a measurement report. The maximum number may be any suitable value, such as one or more. Additionally, the maximum number may be represented by any suitable number of bits, such as one, two, three, or more bits. In some embodiments, the message may further include a signal quality threshold as discussed herein.

At 208, the operation flow/algorithmic structure 200 may further include measuring feedback information on a plurality of beams of respective individual cells, including the serving cell and a neighbor cell (e.g., neighbor cell 104b or 104c). In some embodiments, the UE may measure feedback information on beams of more than one neighbor cell. The feedback information may include, for example, RSRP, RSRQ, and/or SINR.

At 212, the operation flow/algorithmic structure 200 may include generating the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number. In some embodiments, the measurement report may include beam identifiers, the measured feedback information, and/or average feedback values for up to the maximum number of beams having a highest signal quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the beams included in the measurement report may be subject to a signal quality threshold as discussed herein.

At 216, the operation flow/algorithmic structure 200 may further include transmitting the generated measurement report to the gNB. In some embodiments, the measurement report may be transmitted as part of a handover request by the UE. The serving gNB may initiate a handover to a target cell (one of the neighbor cells) based on the measurement report. For example, the serving gNB may transmit a handover response to the UE, and the UE may switch its RRC connection from the serving gNB to the target gNB.

Figure 3 illustrates an example operation flow/algorithmic structure 300 of the gNB 102a according to some embodiments.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 300 may include, at 304, generating a message to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell for a UE (e.g., UE 106), that is connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB, to include in a measurement report.

The maximum number may be any suitable value, such as one or more. Additionally, the maximum number may be represented by any suitable number of bits, such as one, two, three, or more bits. In some embodiments, the message may further include a signal quality threshold as discussed herein.

At 308, the operation flow/algorithmic structure 300 may include transmitting the message to the UE. For example, the message may be a DCI message transmitted in a

PDCCH.

At 312, the operation flow/algorithmic structure 300 may include receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams for the serving cell and a neighbor cell having a highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the measurement report may further include the measured feedback information and/or average feedback values for up to the maximum number of beams having a highest signal quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the beams included in the measurement report may be subject to a signal quality threshold as discussed herein. Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Figure 4 illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of an electronic device 400. In embodiments, the electronic device 100 may be, implement, be incorporated into, or otherwise be a part of a UE (e.g., UE 106), a gNB (e.g., gNB 102a-c), a computer device that may perform and/or implement one or more of the features or operations of the UE and/or gNB, or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, the electronic device 400 may include application circuitry 402, baseband circuitry 404, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 406, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 408 and one or more antennas 410, coupled together at least as shown. In embodiments where the electronic device 400 is implemented in or by an eNB 410, the electronic device 400 may also include network interface circuitry (not shown) for communicating over a wired interface (for example, an X2 interface, an S 1 interface, and the like).

The application circuitry 402 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 402 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors 402a. The processor(s) 402a may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors 402a may be coupled with and/or may include computer-readable media 402b (also referred to as "CRM 402b", "memory 402b", "storage 402b", or "memory /storage 402b") and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the CRM 402b to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 404 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 404 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 406 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 406. Baseband circuity 404 may interface with the application circuitry 402 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 406. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 404a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 404b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 404c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 404d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 404 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 404a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 406. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 404 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 404 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 404 may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) 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) 404e of the baseband circuitry 404 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 RRC layer may perform one or more of the operations described herein, such as generation of the measurement report by the UE.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 404f. The audio DSP(s) 404f may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. The baseband circuitry 404 may further include computer-readable media 404g (also referred to as "CRM 404g", "memory 404g", "storage 404g", or "memory /storage 404b"). The CRM 404g may be used to load and store data and/or instructions for operations performed by the processors of the baseband circuitry 404. For example, when the device 400 is an eNB, the CRM 404g may load and store data and/or instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the baseband circuitry 404, cause the baseband circuitry 404 to generate the message including the maximum value to be transmitted to the UE (e.g., via the RF circuitry 406) as described herein. As another example, when the device 400 is a UE, the CRM 404g may load and store data and/or instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the baseband circuitry 404, cause the baseband circuitry 404 to generate a measurement report to be transmitted to a serving gNB (e.g., via the RF circuitry 406) as described herein.

CRM 404g for one embodiment may include any combination of suitable volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. The CRM 404g may include any combination of various levels of memory /storage including, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) having embedded software instructions (e.g., firmware), random access memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), cache, buffers, etc.). The CRM 404g may be shared among the various processors or dedicated to particular processors. Components of the baseband circuitry 404 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 404 and the application circuitry 402 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may support communication with an E-UTRAN 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 404 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 406 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various

embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 406 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 408 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 404. RF circuitry 406 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry to up- convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 404 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 408 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 406 may include mixer circuitry 406a, amplifier circuitry 406b and filter circuitry 406c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 406 may include filter circuitry 406c and mixer circuitry 406a. RF circuitry 406 may also include synthesizer circuitry 406d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 408 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 406d. The amplifier circuitry 406b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 406c 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 404 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 406a 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 406a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 406d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 408. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 404 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 406c. The filter circuitry 406c 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 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a 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 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a 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 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a 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 406 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 404 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 406.

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 406d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+l 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 406d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. The synthesizer circuitry 406d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 406a of the RF circuitry 406 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 406d may be a fractional N/N+l 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 404 or the application circuitry 402 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 application circuitry 402.

Synthesizer circuitry 406d of the RF circuitry 406 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 (DP A). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+l (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 406d 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 (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 408 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 410, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 406 for further processing. FEM circuitry 408 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 406 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 410. In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 408 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 408 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 406). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 408 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 406), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 410).

In some embodiments, the electronic device 400 may include additional elements such as, for example, a display, a camera, one or more sensors, and/or interface circuitry (for example, input/output (I/O) interfaces or buses) (not shown). In embodiments where the electronic device is implemented in or by an eNB, the electronic device 400 may include network interface circuitry. The network interface circuitry may be one or more computer hardware components that connect electronic device 400 to one or more network elements, such as one or more servers within a core network or one or more other eNBs via a wired connection. To this end, the network interface circuitry may include one or more dedicated processors and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to

communicate using one or more network communications protocols such as X2 application protocol (AP), S I AP, Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP), Ethernet, Point-to-Point (PPP), Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), and/or any other suitable network communications protocols. The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for

implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the function/act specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

Some non-limiting Examples of various embodiments are provided below.

Example 1 is one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: process a message received from a new radio base station (gNB) of a serving cell to determine a maximum number of beams per cell for the UE to include in a measurement report; measure feedback information on a plurality of beams of respective individual cells, including the serving cell and a neighbor cell;

generate the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number; and transmit the generated measurement report to the gNB.

Example 2 is the one or more media of Example 1, wherein the generated measurement report includes a beam identifier and the measured feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams having a highest signal quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell.

Example 3 is the one or more media of Example 2, wherein the generated measurement report includes the beam identifier and the measured feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold.

Example 4 is the one or more media of Example 3, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 5 is the one or more media of Example 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: select up to the maximum number of the beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold; average the feedback information for the selected beams of the serving cell to generate a first average feedback value; select up to the maximum number of the beams of the neighbor cell having a highest signal quality that is above the signal quality threshold; and average the feedback information for the selected beams of the neighbor cell to generate a second average feedback value; wherein the generated measurement report include the first and second average feedback values.

Example 6 is the one or more media of Example 5, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 7 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the message is further to indicate a type of feedback to be measured for the feedback information.

Example 8 is the one or more media of Example 7, wherein the type of feedback is a received signal received power (RSRP), received signal received quality (RSRQ), or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR).

Example 9 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein the UE is to measure the feedback information on respective channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 10 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein the UE is to measure the feedback information on respective new radio synchronization signals (NRSSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 11 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the plurality of beams of the serving cell are transmitted on different resource elements and with different beamforming. Example 12 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 1 to 11, wherein the measured feedback information is first feedback information, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: measure second feedback information on the plurality of beams; start a timer based on a determination that the second feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher by more than a threshold than the second feedback information of the serving cell; measure the first feedback information after expiration of the timer; and transmit the measurement report when the first feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher by more than the threshold than the second feedback information of the serving cell.

Example 13 is the one or more media of Example 12, wherein a length of the timer varies based on a speed of the UE.

Example 14 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the message is a downlink control information (DCI) message.

Example 15 is one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a new radio base station (gNB), cause the gNB to: generate a message to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell for a UE, that is connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB, to include in a measurement report; transmit the message to the UE; and receive a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams for the serving cell and a neighbor cell having a highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell.

Example 16 is the one or more media of Example 15, wherein the measurement report further includes feedback information measured by the UE for the beams associated with the respective beam identifiers included in the measurement report.

Example 17 is the one or more media of Example 15 or 16, wherein the measurement report includes the respective beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold.

Example 18 is the one or more media of Example 17, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 19 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 15 to 19, wherein the measurement report includes: a first average feedback value corresponding to an average of the feedback information for up to the maximum number of the beams of the serving cell having the highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold; and a second average feedback value corresponding to an average of the feedback information for up to the maximum number of the beams of the neighbor cell having the highest signal quality that is above the signal quality threshold.

Example 20 is the one or more media of Example 19, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 21 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 15 to 20, wherein the message is further to indicate a type of feedback to be measured for the feedback information.

Example 22 is the one or more media of Example 21, wherein the type of feedback is a received signal received power (RSRP), received signal received quality (RSRQ), or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR).

Example 23 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 15 to 22, wherein the UE is to measure the feedback information on respective channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 24 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 15 to 23, wherein the UE is to measure the feedback information on respective new radio synchronization signals (NRSSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 25 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 15 to 24, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the gNB to transmit the plurality of beams of the serving cell on different resource elements and with different beamforming.

Example 26 is the one or more media of Example 25, wherein the gNB is to transmit the plurality of beams via a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs).

Example 27 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 15 to 26, wherein the measurement report is received as part of a handover request, and wherein the instructions, when executed, are further to cause the gNB to initiate a handover of the UE to the neighbor cell based on the measurement report.

Example 28 is the one or more media of any one of Examples 15 to 27, wherein the message is a downlink control information (DCI) message.

Example 29 is an apparatus to be employed by a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory has instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, are to cause the apparatus to: obtain a message from a new radio base station (gNB) of a serving cell to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell for the UE to include in a measurement report; measure feedback information on a plurality of beams of respective individual cells, including the serving cell and a neighbor cell; generate the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams for the serving cell and the neighbor cell having a highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell; and transmit the generated measurement report to the gNB.

Example 30 is the apparatus of Example 29, wherein the generated measurement report further includes the measured feedback information for the beams associated with the respective beam identifiers included in the measurement report.

Example 31 is the apparatus of Example 29 or 30, wherein the message further includes a signal quality threshold, and wherein the measurement report includes the respective beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams for the serving cell and the neighbor cell having the highest quality that is above the signal quality threshold.

Example 32 is the apparatus of any one of Examples 29 to 31, wherein the measurement report is to include: a first average feedback value corresponding to an average of the feedback information for up to the maximum number of the beams of the serving cell having the highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold; and a second average feedback value corresponding to an average of the feedback information for up to the maximum number of the beams of the neighbor cell having the highest signal quality that is above the signal quality threshold.

Example 33 is the apparatus of any one of Examples 29 to 32, wherein the message is further to indicate a type of feedback to be measured for the feedback information, wherein the type of feedback is a received signal received power (RSRP), received signal received quality (RSRQ), or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR).

Example 34 is the apparatus of any one of Examples 29 to 33, wherein the UE is to measure the feedback information on respective channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams or on respective new radio synchronization signals (NRSSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 35 is the apparatus of any one of Examples 29 to 34, wherein the measured feedback information is first feedback information, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: measure second feedback information on the plurality of beams; start a timer based on a determination that the second feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher by more than a threshold than the second feedback information of the serving cell; measure the first feedback information after expiration of the timer; and transmit the measurement report when the first feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher by more than the threshold than the second feedback information of the serving cell.

Example 36 is the apparatus of Example 35, wherein a length of the timer varies based on a speed of the UE.

Example 37 is the apparatus of any one of Examples 29 to 36, wherein the message is a downlink control information (DCI) message.

Example 38 is an apparatus to be employed by a new radio base station (gNB), the apparatus comprising: means for transmitting a message to a UE that is connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB, the message to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell for the UE to include in a measurement report; and means for receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers and the measured feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams for the serving cell and a neighbor cell having a highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cell.

Example 39 is the apparatus of Example 38, wherein the message further includes a signal quality threshold, and wherein the generated measurement report includes the respective beam identifiers and the measured feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality that is above a signal quality threshold.

Example 40 is the apparatus of Example 38 or 39, further comprising means for transmitting a configuration message to the UE to indicate whether the UE is to measure the feedback information on respective channel state information reference signals (CSI- RSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams or on respective new radio synchronization signals (NRSSs) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 41 is the apparatus of Example 40, further comprising means for transmitting, via a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs), the plurality of beams of the serving cell on different resource elements and with different beamforming.

Example 42 is the apparatus of any one of Examples 38 to 41, wherein the measurement report is received as part of a handover request, and wherein the apparatus further comprises means for initiating a handover of the UE to the neighbor cell based on the measurement report.

The description herein of illustrated implementations, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. While specific implementations and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, a variety of alternate or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be made in light of the above detailed description, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.