IP Library Granted Patent US 12,328,689
Granted Patent B2
US 12,328,689 · App. 17/402,375 · Granted Jun 10, 2025

Information for wireless communication repeater device

Inventors: Navid Abedini (Basking Ridge, NJ); Jianghong Luo (Skillman, NJ); Tao Luo (San Diego, CA); Ashwin Sampath (Skillman, NJ); Junyi Li (Fairless Hills, PA); Valentin Alexandru Gheorghiu (Yokohama, JP); Philip David Coan (Fitchburg, WI); Ozcan Ozturk (San Diego, CA); Naeem Akl (Somerville, NJ); Juan Montojo (San Diego, CA)
Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
H04W56/001H04L5/0051H04W16/28H04W74/0833
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,328,689
App. No.
17/402,375
Granted
Jun 10, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Aspects relate to exchanging beam-related information for a repeater device. A network access node may configure a repeater device to transmit multiple synchronization signal blocks using different beams. The network access node may determine the number of beams that the repeater device can use for its operations. A repeater device may indicate how many beams the repeater device supports, how many antenna arrays it has, and a mapping of beam indices to antenna array indices. A repeater device may indicate which beam pairs cannot be used for simultaneous transmission and/or reception and/or which beam groups can be used for simultaneous transmission and/or reception. A network access node may determine which beam pairs the repeater device cannot use for simultaneous transmission and/or reception and/or which beam groups the repeater device can use for simultaneous transmission and/or reception based on signal measurements and/or beam configuration feedback from the repeater device.

Claims (92)

1. A method of wireless communication at a repeater device in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:

receiving a first configuration message that specifies K synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to be transmitted by the repeater device;

electing to use K′ beams to transmit SSBs, wherein K and K′ are whole numbers and K′ is less than or equal to K;

receiving at least one SSB transmission; and

transmitting the at least one SSB transmission up to K′ times via the K′ beams.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electing to use the K′ beams to transmit SSBs comprises:

determining K′ based on how many beams the repeater device can generate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electing to use the K′ beams to transmit SSBs comprises:

identifying beams that can be used by the repeater device to relay SSBs; and

determining K′ based on the beams that can be used by the repeater device to relay SSBs.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electing to use the K′ beams to transmit SSBs comprises:

identifying beams that have been successfully used by the repeater device to communicate with at least one user equipment; and

determining K′ based on the beams that have been successfully used by the repeater device to communicate with the at least one user equipment.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein K′ is less than K, the method further comprising:

generating an indication that the repeater device will use the K′ beams to transmit SSBs; and

transmitting the indication to a network access node.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

receiving a second configuration message after transmitting the indication, wherein the second configuration message specifies K′ SSBs to be used by the repeater device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one SSB transmission comprises a plurality of SSB transmissions, and transmitting the at least one SSB transmission further comprises:

sequentially relaying the plurality of SSB transmissions via the K′ beams.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one SSB transmission comprises SSB information, and transmitting the at least one SSB transmission further comprises:

generating a plurality of SSB transmissions from the SSB information; and

transmitting the plurality of SSB transmissions via the K′ beams.

9. A repeater device, comprising:

a relay unit;

a memory; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the relay unit and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to:

receive a first configuration message that specifies K synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to be transmitted by the relay unit of the repeater device;

elect to use K′ beams to transmit SSBs, wherein K and K′ are whole numbers and K′ is less than or equal to K;

receive at least one SSB transmission; and

transmit the at least one SSB transmission up to K′ times via the K′ beams.

10. The repeater device of claim 9 , wherein to elect to use the K′ beams, the processor and the memory are further configured to:

determine K′ based on how many beams the repeater device can generate.

11. The repeater device of claim 9 , wherein to elect to use the K′ beams, the processor and the memory are further configured to:

identify beams that can be used by the repeater device to relay SSBs; and

determine K′ based on the beams that can be used by the repeater device to relay SSBs.

12. The repeater device of claim 9 , wherein to elect to use the K′ beams, the processor and the memory are further configured to:

identify beams that have been successfully used by the repeater device to communicate with at least one user equipment; and

determine K′ based on the beams that have been successfully used by the repeater device to communicate with the at least one user equipment.

13. The repeater device of claim 9 , wherein K′ is less than K, and the processor and the memory are further configured to:

generate an indication that the repeater device will use the K′ beams to transmit SSBs; and

transmit the indication to a network access node.

14. The repeater device of claim 13 , wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to:

receive a second configuration message after transmitting the indication, wherein the second configuration message specifies K′ SSBs to be used by the repeater device.

15. The repeater device of claim 9 , wherein the at least one SSB transmission comprises a plurality of SSB transmissions, and the processor and the memory transmit the at least one SSB transmission by being further configured to:

sequentially relay the plurality of SSB transmissions via the K′ beams.

16. The repeater device of claim 9 , wherein the at least one SSB transmission comprises SSB information, and the processor and the memory transmit the at least one SSB transmission by being further configured to:

generate a plurality of SSB transmissions from the SSB information; and

transmit the plurality of SSB transmissions via the K′ beams.

17. A method of wireless communication at a network access node in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:

generating a first configuration message that specifies K synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to be transmitted by a repeater device;

transmitting the first configuration message to the repeater device;

determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs;

generating a second configuration message after determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs, the second configuration message indicating K′ SSBs to be transmitted by the repeater device; and

transmitting the second configuration message to the repeater device,

wherein K and K′ are whole numbers and K′ is less than or equal to K.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

transmitting at least one SSB transmission to the repeater device after transmitting the first configuration message.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs further comprises:

receiving an indication that the repeater device is using K′ beams to transmit SSBs.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs comprises:

determining that there is no communication with a user equipment on at least one beam associated with the K SSBs.

21. The method of claim 17 , wherein the determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs comprises:

determining that random access messages are not being received on at least one random access channel (RACH) occasion with the K SSBs.

22. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

receiving capability information from the repeater device;

estimating a quantity of beams supported by the repeater device based on the capability information; and

determining K based on the quantity of beams supported by the repeater device.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the capability information comprises at least one of: a maximum number of configured transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states per component carrier, a maximum number of configured spatial relations, a maximum number of sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets, a maximum number of SRS resources per set, or a combination thereof.

24. A network access node, comprising:

a transceiver;

a memory; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to:

generate a first configuration message that specifies K synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to be transmitted by a repeater device;

transmit the first configuration message to the repeater device via the transceiver;

determine that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs;

generate a second configuration message after determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs, the second configuration message specifying K′ SSBs to be transmitted by the repeater device; and

transmit the second configuration message to the repeater device via the transceiver,

wherein K and K′ are whole numbers and K′ is less than or equal to K.

25. The network access node of claim 24 , wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to:

transmit at least one SSB transmission to the repeater device after transmitting the first configuration message.

26. The network access node of claim 24 , wherein the processor and the memory determine that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs by being further configured to:

receive an indication that the repeater device is using K′ beams to transmit SSBs.

27. The network access node of claim 24 , wherein the processor and the memory determine that the repeater device is transmitting less the K SSBs by being further configured to:

determine that there is no communication with a user equipment on at least one beam associated with the K SSBs.

28. The network access node of claim 24 , wherein the processor and the memory determine that the repeater device is transmitting less than the K SSBs by being further configured to:

determine that random access messages are not being received on at least one random access channel (RACH) occasion with the K SSBs.

29. The network access node of claim 24 , wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to:

receive capability information from the repeater device;

estimate a quantity of beams supported by the repeater device based on the capability information; and

determine K based on the quantity of beams supported by the repeater device.

30. The network access node of claim 29 , wherein the capability information comprises at least one of: a maximum number of configured transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states per component carrier, a maximum number of configured spatial relations, a maximum number of sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets, a maximum number of SRS resources per set, or a combination thereof.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 2, 2021
From: ABEDINI, NAVID; LUO, JIANGHONG; LUO, TAO; SAMPATH, ASHWIN; LI, JUNYI; GHEORGHIU, VALENTIN ALEXANDRU; COAN, PHILIP; OZTURK, OZCAN; AKL, NAEEM; MONTOJO, JUAN
To: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 057997/0256 →
Continuity (5)
Provisional Application 63138046 · Jan 15, 2021
Provisional Application 63070194 · Aug 25, 2020
Provisional Application 63067790 · Aug 19, 2020
Provisional Application 63065915 · Aug 14, 2020
Related Publication 20220053433A1 · Feb 17, 2022
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