WO2017099830A1

WO2017099830A1 - Events to trigger brs-rp (beam reference signal received power) report

Info

Publication number: WO2017099830A1
Application number: PCT/US2016/024476
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wenting CHANG; Yuan Zhu; Yushu Zhang; Huaning Niu; Gang Xiong
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2015-12-08
Filing date: 2016-03-28
Publication date: 2017-06-15
Also published as: TWI724047B; TW201731236A

Abstract

Techniques for generating BRS-RP (beam reference signal received power) reports based on configured criteria are discussed. An apparatus includes a processor to: receive, from a coupled receiver circuitry, a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters and a distinct set of BRS signals associated with each of one or more transmit beams; calculate a BRS received power (BRS-RP) for each of the one or more transmit beams based on the distinct set of BRS signals received via that transmit beam; and make a determination whether to trigger a BRS-RP report. The determination is based on the BRS configuration parameters and on at least one of the calculated BRS-RPs; the BRS-RP report is based on the determination being made to trigger the BRS-RP report.

Description

EVENTS TO TRIGGER BRS-RP (BEAM REFERENCE SIGNAL RECEIVED

POWER) REPORT

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Patent Cooperation Treaty No.

PCT/CN2015/096655 filed December 8, 2015, entitled "EVENTS TO TRIGGER BRSRP REPORT", the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless technology, and more specifically to techniques for triggering and communicating a BRS-RP (Beam Reference Signal Received Power) report.

BACKGROUND

[0003] In 5G (Fifth Generation) mmWave RAT (radio access technology), a beam reference signal (BRS) may be periodically transmitted by an eNB (evolved NodeB) for a UE (user equipment) to track and refine the transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) beam. The UE can keep monitoring the BRS, and measure the receive power (BRS-RP) of each BRS-ID (BRS identity) to check whether the optimal Tx beam for data transmission has changed enough and it needs to inform the eNB about the change.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example user equipment (UE) useable in connection with various aspects described herein.

[0005] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system that facilitates generation of a BRS-RP (beam reference signal received power) report from a mobile device according to various aspects described herein.

[0006] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a system that facilitates configuration of a mobile terminal by a base station to trigger a BRS-RP report based on one or more configured criteria according to various aspects described herein.

[0007] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of BRS-RP measurement results that can be measured by a UE in connection with various aspects described herein. [0008] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example table of spatial correlations between transmit beams that can be configured according to various aspects described herein.

[0009] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example scenario showing triggering of a BRS-RP report based on a successive counter and based on an accumulated counter, according to various aspects described herein.

[0010] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method that facilitates generation of a BRS-RP report at a mobile terminal according to various aspects described herein.

[0011] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method that facilitates configuration of a mobile terminal by a base station to generate a BRS-RP based on various criteria according to various aspects described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures and devices are not necessarily drawn to scale. As utilized herein, terms "component," "system," "interface," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component can be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller, or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet PC and/or a user equipment (e.g., mobile phone, etc.) with a processing device. By way of illustration, an application running on a server and the server can also be a component. One or more components can reside within a process, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. A set of elements or a set of other components can be described herein, in which the term "set" can be interpreted as "one or more."

[0013] Further, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon such as with a module, for example. The components can communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network, such as, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or similar network with other systems via the signal). [0014] As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, in which the electric or electronic circuitry can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors can be internal or external to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein to execute software and/or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, the functionality of the electronic components.

[0015] Use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "including", "includes", "having", "has", "with", or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term

"comprising."

[0016] 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.

[0017] Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 1 illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a User Equipment (UE) device 100. In some embodiments, the UE device 100 may include application circuitry 102, baseband circuitry 104, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 106, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 108 and one or more antennas 1 10, coupled together at least as shown.

[0018] The application circuitry 102 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 102 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.

[0019] The baseband circuitry 104 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 104 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 106 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 106. Baseband processing circuity 104 may interface with the application circuitry 102 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 106. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 104 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 104a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 104b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 104c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 104d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 104 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 104a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 106. 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 104 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation

mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 104 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. [0020] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 104 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) 104e of the baseband circuitry 104 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) 104f. The audio DSP(s) 104f 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 104 and the application circuitry 102 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0021] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 104 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 104 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 104 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0022] RF circuitry 106 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 106 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 106 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 108 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 104. RF circuitry 106 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1 04 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 108 for transmission.

[0023] In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 106 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 106 may include mixer circuitry 1 06a, amplifier circuitry 106b and filter circuitry 106c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 106 may include filter circuitry 106c and mixer circuitry 106a. RF circuitry 106 may also include synthesizer circuitry 106d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 108 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 106d. The amplifier circuitry 106b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 106c 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 104 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 1 06a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0024] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 106d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 108. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 104 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 106c. The filter circuitry 1 06c may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0025] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a 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 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a 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 1 06a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[0026] 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 106 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 104 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 106.

[0027] 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.

[0028] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 106d 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 106d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0029] The synthesizer circuitry 106d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 106a of the RF circuitry 1 06 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 106d may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

[0030] 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 104 or the applications processor 102 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 1 02.

[0031] Synthesizer circuitry 1 06d of the RF circuitry 106 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. [0032] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1 06d 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 106 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[0033] FEM circuitry 108 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1 10, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 106 for further processing. FEM circuitry 108 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 106 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1 1 0.

[0034] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 108 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 106). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 108 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 106), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1 1 0.

[0035] In some embodiments, the UE device 100 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface.

[0036] Additionally, although the above example discussion of device 100 is in the context of a UE device, in various aspects, a similar device can be employed in connection with an Evolved NodeB (eNB).

[0037] In various embodiments discussed herein, events that can trigger a BRS-RP (beam reference signal received power) report are discussed. A first set of

embodiments discussed herein relate to user equipments (UEs) and associated systems, apparatuses, methods, machine-readable media, etc. that facilitate generation of a BRS-RP report. A second set of embodiments discussed herein relate to evolved NodeBs (eNBs) and associated systems, apparatuses, methods, machine-readable media, etc. that facilitate configuration of a UE with BRS configuration parameters that can control when a BRS-RP report is generated.

[0038] BRS-RP reports can potentially be generated based on a variety of scenarios. For example, when a UE observes that the BRS-RP of one candidate Tx beam becomes much better than the Tx beam reported in the previous BRS-RP report or the reception panels of multiple Tx beams in the previous BRS-RP report has changed and prevents the UE from receiving both Tx beams simultaneously, the UE can report a BRS-RP to inform the eNB about the changed beam state, such as a best Tx beam index, or whether multiple Tx beams can still be received simultaneously by the UE or not. At the same time, the UE can keep refining its Rx beam for the best Tx beam, so the eNB may not need to be informed about the Rx beam change.

[0039] Along with the movement/rotation of UE, or change of the surrounding environment, the instantaneous BRS-RP value can change abruptly over time. At one measurement, the instantaneous BRS-RP of Ίχ could be better than that of beam Tx₂, while at the next measurement, the instantaneous BRS-RP of beam Tx₂ could be better than the BRS-RP of beam Txi . This phenomenon occurs frequently, especially among Tx beams with high spatial correlation. However, the UE does not need to immediately report the BRS-RP to inform the eNB about such changes every time it detects that one candidate Tx beam is better than the current Tx beam, since that can cause too frequent BRS-RP reports and waste uplink bandwidth. Thus, design of the triggering event(s) for reporting a BRS-RP is important, to provide necessary information on the one hand, while avoiding unnecessary reporting that can waste uplink bandwidth.

[0040] As one example in accordance with various aspects discussed herein, a UE does not need to report the BRS-RP if the Tx beams are changed among spatially correlated Tx beams. One reason is that even for a stationary channel, the best Tx beams may still change among spatially correlated Tx beams due to the finite spatial sampling by the Tx beams. Additionally, the Tx/Rx beams for data transmission can be gradually and smoothly maintained based on the beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) and the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). As such, a BRS- RP report which is only a little outdated will not harm data transmission.

[0041] In order to have effective BRS-RP reports and avoid excessive BRS-RP report overhead, one or more of the following techniques can be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein. In a first set of aspects, the spatial correlation of the eNB Tx beams can be configured to a UE (e.g., through higher layer signaling). In a second set of aspects, one or more BRS-RP triggering conditions can be configured to the UE based on the spatial correlation of the Tx beams and strength of the Tx beam(s). In a third set of aspects, one or more BRS-RP triggering conditions can be configured to the UE based on whether the Tx beam(s) can be received

simultaneously.

[0042] In the first set of aspects, the eNB can inform UE about the spatial correlation of Tx beams using high layer signaling, which can avoid frequently triggering BRS-RP reports when the optimal Tx beam(s) change among spatially correlated Tx beams.

[0043] In the second set of aspects, the eNB can configure criteria for a BRS-RP report being triggered based on a change in the Tx beam(s) that can depend on either or both of the beam receive power(s) and the spatial correlation among Tx beams. The criteria can comprise one or more Tx beam specific counters, and/or one or more Tx beam specific BRS-RP gap thresholds. The Tx beam specific counter can indicate how many times that the BRS-RP of one candidate Tx beam is better than the best Tx beam of the last BRS-RP report within an evaluation period such as a predefined

measurement window. The counter can be successive (e.g., how many consecutive times it is better (or better by at least a threshold amount) within the evaluation period) or accumulated (e.g., how many total times it is better (or better by at least a threshold amount) within the evaluation period), or both can be employed (e.g., which can have different threshold amounts or counter values for triggering a BRS-RP report, such as with the successive associated with a counter value, and the accumulated associated with a second, higher, counter value). The Tx beam specific BRS-RP gap threshold can indicate how much the BRS-RP of a candidate Tx beam exceeds that of the best Tx beam in the last BRS-RP report in order to either trigger a BRS-RP report or increment a counter. When evaluating the beam receive power criteria, the UE can also keep measuring the beam receive power for the best Tx beam for each non-simultaneous Rx beam and use the instantaneous beam receive power instead of the last reported BRS- RP value to evaluate the criteria.

[0044] In the third set of aspects, the eNB can configure the criteria for a BRS-RP report being triggered based on whether there has been a change in whether Tx beam(s) of the last BRS-RP report can be received simultaneously. [0045] In various embodiments, each of the BRS-RP report triggering criteria can be separately enabled or disabled by an eNB. When all criteria are disabled, a UE can report BRS-RP when triggered by the eNB. On the other hand, when one or more criteria are enabled, the UE can report a BRS-RP based on being commanded by the eNB or based on one or more of the criteria being met.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 2, illustrated is a block diagram of a system 200 that facilitates generation of a BRS-RP (beam reference signal received power) report from a mobile device according to various aspects described herein. System 200 can comprise receiver circuitry 21 0, a processor 220 (e.g., a baseband processor such as one of the baseband processors discussed in connection with FIG. 1 ), transmitter circuitry 230, and a memory 240 (which can comprise any of a variety of storage mediums and can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of receiver circuitry 21 0, processor 220, or transmitter circuitry 230). In various aspects, system 200 can be included within a user equipment (UE). As described in greater detail below, system 200 can facilitate reception of BRS configuration information and generation of a BRS-RP report based on criteria indicated via the BRS configuration information.

[0047] Receiver circuitry 210 can receive a set of BRS configuration parameters (e.g., via higher layer signaling) and provide the received set of BRS configuration parameters to processor 220. The set of BRS configuration parameters can indicate one or more criteria associated with triggering a BRS-RP report, or configuration information that can be employed by processor 220 in determining whether to trigger a BRS-RP report.

[0048] Additionally, receiver circuitry 220 can receive one or more sets of BRS signals, each of which is received via a distinct transmit beam of one or more of the plurality of transmit beams, and can provide the received BRS signals to processor 220. In various aspects, receiver circuitry 210 can receive one or more transmit beams via one or more coupled receiver panels, and can provide processor 220 information regarding which and/or how many receiver panel(s) a given transmit beam was received via.

[0049] Processor 220 can receive the set of BRS configuration parameters and one or more sets of BRS signals, and can calculate a BRS-RP for each one of the one or more transmit beams based on the set of BRS signals received via that transmit beam.

[0050] Based on the BRS configuration parameters and one or more of the calculated BRS-RP(s), processor 220 can determine whether to generate a BRS-RP report comprising one or more calculated BRS-RPs (e.g., instantaneous BRS-RP values, or BRS-RP values that are a function of two or more measurements of BRS signals of the associated transmit beam, etc.). In response to generating a BRS-RP report, processor 220 can output the BRS-RP report to transmitter circuitry 230 for subsequent transmission.

[0051] BRS-RP reports can be triggered based on a variety of criteria, depending on the calculated BRS value(s) and the set of BRS configuration parameters. In various embodiments, one or more of the criteria discussed herein can be employed by processor 220, either as independent criteria (e.g., trigger when A occurs or B occurs), as multiple criteria required for triggering (e.g., trigger when B occurs and C occurs), or as a combination thereof (e.g., trigger when A occurs, or when B occurs and C occurs). As an example of this combination scenario, in one embodiment, processor 220 can trigger a BRS-RP report when there is a change in whether a dominant Tx beam is received via multiple receiver panels (e.g., it was previously but is not currently, or vice versa). In the same example, processor 220 can alternatively trigger a BRS-RP report when a candidate Tx beam and a dominant Tx beam have a lack of spatial correlation, and a BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam exceeds a BRS-RP (e.g., a last reported BRS- RP or a current BRS-RP) of the dominant Tx beam by at least a threshold amount a given number of times in an evaluation period.

[0052] In one set of aspects, a BRS-RP report can be triggered based on a candidate Tx beam having a BRS-RP greater than a BRS-RP of a dominant Tx beam (e.g., a dominant Tx beam as reported in a last BRS-RP report, etc.) by at least a threshold amount for at least a specified number of times during an evaluation period. In various aspects, the set of BRS configuration parameters can indicate one or more of a duration of the evaluation period, the threshold amount, or a triggering value for a beam specific counter (and potentially type of counter) that can track the number of times the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant Tx beam during the evaluation period. Alternatively, one or more of the duration of the evaluation period, the threshold amount, the triggering value for the beam specific counter, or the type of counter (e.g., successive, accumulated, etc.) can be predetermined.

[0053] In most embodiments, the threshold amount is a positive value, although in various aspects, threshold values of zero or negative values can be employed, and can also be employed in a similar procedure wherein processor 220 can determine whether to replace a candidate Tx beam with an alternative candidate Tx beam. [0054] Processor 220 can track whether the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant Tx beam by at least the threshold amount during the evaluation period via a beam specific counter. In some embodiments, the beam specific counter can be an accumulated counter, such that processor 220 can increment the counter for each time during the evaluation period that the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant Tx beam by at least the threshold amount. In other embodiments, the beam specific counter can be a successive counter, such that processor 220 can increment the counter for each successive time during the evaluation period that the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant Tx beam by at least the threshold amount (and the counter is reset if the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam fails to exceed the BRS-RP of the dominant Tx beam).

[0055] In various aspects, the evaluation period can comprise a number of measurements (e.g., configurable or predetermined) N (or a corresponding period of time) with a definite starting measurement and ending measurement, such that processor 220 can reset the beam specific counter at the ending measurement (e.g., and that evaluation period can be followed by a next evaluation period, etc.). In other aspects, the evaluation period can encompass the last N times BRS signals were received, etc., and processor 220 can determine the value of the counter based on the relevant BRS signals among those received from the last N times BRS signals were received, etc.

[0056] In the same or other aspects, the set of BRS configuration parameters can indicate spatial correlations between Tx beams, and a BRS-RP report can be generated based on a lack of spatial correlation between a candidate Tx beam and a dominant Tx beam, which can be in combination with one or more other criteria (e.g., the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam exceeding the BRS-RP of the dominant Tx beam, or exceeding it by at least a threshold value a given number of (total or successive) times during an evaluation period, etc.). The pairwise spatial correlations between N transmit beams can be represented by an N ^χ N matrix, where elements of the matrix either indicate spatial correlation or a lack thereof (e.g., 1 or 0), or alternatively indicate an extent of spatial correlation (e.g., 0, 1 , or any value between 0 or 1 ). When the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate an extent of spatial correlation, the set of BRS configuration parameters can also comprise a threshold value for spatial correlation, such that each pairwise spatial correlation exceeding that threshold indicates that processor 220 can consider the associated pair of transmit beams to be spatially correlated. Because a matrix of pairwise spatial correlations of Tx beams is symmetric, in various aspects, the set of BRS configuration parameters can comprise values associated with either an upper (or lower) triangle of the N χ N matrix of pairwise spatial correlations and can omit redundant values. In other aspects, the set of BRS

configuration parameters can indicate a group for each Tx beam, wherein processor 220 can consider Tx beams within the same group to lack spatial correlation (or, alternatively, to be spatially correlated), which can further reduce the number of values configured via the set of BRS configuration parameters.

[0057] In the same or other aspects, when receiver circuitry 210 can be coupled to a plurality of receiver panels, the set of BRS configuration parameters can configure processor 220 to trigger a BRS-RP report based on conditions involving reception via multiple receiver panels. In one set of embodiments, processor 220 can trigger a BRS- RP report when there is a change in whether the dominant Tx beam can be

simultaneously received via two or more receiver panels (e.g., previously it was not and currently it is, or previously it was and currently it is not). In another set of embodiments, separate BRS-RPs can be calculated for BRS signals from a given Tx beam (e.g., the dominant Tx beam) as received via distinct receiver panels, and the difference(s) between the BRS-RP values of that Tx beam as received via the distinct receiver panels can be calculated. In such embodiments, a BRS-RP report can be triggered based on a change in whether or not the difference(s) are within a target range. In this way, the eNB receiving the BRS-RP report can determine whether or not to employ SUST (single user superimposed coding) transmission, etc.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 3, illustrated is a block diagram of a system 300 that facilitates configuration of a mobile terminal by a base station to trigger a BRS-RP report based on one or more configured criteria according to various aspects described herein. System 300 can comprise a processor 310 (e.g., a baseband processor such as one of the baseband processors discussed in connection with FIG. 1 ), transmitter circuitry 320, receiver circuitry 330, and memory 340 (which can comprise any of a variety of storage mediums and can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processor 310, transmitter circuitry 320, or receiver circuitry 330). In various aspects, system 300 can be included within an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (Evolved Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) or other base station in a wireless communications network. In some aspects, the processor 310, the transmitter circuitry 320, the receiver circuitry 330 and the memory 330 can be included in a single device, while in other aspects, they can be included in different devices, such as part of a distributed architecture. As described in greater detail below, system 300 can facilitate generation of configuration parameters for triggering a BRS-RP report by a receiving UE.

[0059] Processor 310 can generate a set of BRS configuration parameters that can comprise criteria specifying conditions for a UE configured with the set of BRS configuration parameters to trigger a BRS-RP report. The set of BRS configuration parameters can also comprise additional information on which the UE can make a determination as to whether to trigger a BRS-RP report, such as an extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit (Tx) beams transmitted to the UE. In some aspects, the extent of spatial correlation can be indicated via a single bit for each pair of Tx beams (e.g., a 0 or a 1 ), while in other aspects, more than one bit can be employed for each pair, along with the set of BRS configuration parameters indicating a threshold value for spatial correlation, such that each value greater than or equal to the threshold value for spatial correlation indicates that pair of Tx beams are spatially correlated. In other aspects, as discussed elsewhere herein, the set of BRS configuration parameters can indicate a group number for each Tx beam, such that Tx beams having the same group number can be regarded as having zero spatial correlation (or, in other aspects, to be spatially correlated).

[0060] Processor 310 can output the set of BRS configuration parameters to transmitter circuitry 320 for subsequent transmission. In various aspects, processor 31 0 can output the set of BRS configuration parameters for transmission via any of a variety of higher layer signaling, such as via a MIB (master information block), a SIB (system information block), a RRC (radio resource control) message, a PBCH (physical broadcast channel) message, etc. In the same or other aspects, processor 310 can output the set of BRS configuration parameters for transmission via a different RAT (radio access technology) than that of the Tx beams. For example, for 5G Tx beams, the set of BRS configuration parameters could be output via an LTE (Long Term

Evolution) anchor connection to a UE, etc.

[0061] Receiver circuitry 330 can receive any BRS-RP reports from one or more UEs as reports are triggered either by criteria specified via the set of BRS configuration parameters being met. Additionally or alternatively, receiver circuitry 330 can receive one or more BRS-RP reports in response to a command to trigger a BRS-RP report that can be generated by processor 310 and output to transmitter circuitry 320 for subsequent transmission to one or more UEs. Receiver 330 can provide any received BRS-RP reports to processor 310, which can receive them therefrom.

[0062] In 5G mmWave systems, beam reference signal (BRS) can be periodically transmitted by an eNB, for example, one BRS transmission every 25 subframes. A UE can continue to refine and/or measure the Tx beam and the Rx beams from the BRS, and can update the receive power of BRS (BRS-RP). However, to avoid excessive signaling overhead, the UE need not report a BRS-RP to the eNB as often as it is measured by the UE.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 4, illustrated is an example of BRS-RP measurement results that can be measured by a UE in connection with various aspects described herein. In an example scenario in connection with the BRS-RP measurement results shown in FIG. 4, the Tx₂ beam was the best Tx beam in the last BRS-RP report, and the Tx₄ and Tx₂o beams were not in the last BRS-RP report. In FIG. 4, it can be seen that the UE has discovered two additional Tx beam candidates: (1 ) the Tx₄ beam, which in this example is spatially correlated to the Tx₂ beam, and (2) the Tx₂₀ beam, which in this example is spatially uncorrelated to the Tx₂ beam.

[0064] Because of the spatial correlation, the eNB and UE can gradually and smoothly switch to the Tx/Rx beams Tx₄/Rx₂ by utilizing the beam refinement reference signal (BRRS) and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). Because of this, the BRS-RP report can omit the Tx₄ beam in order to save signaling overhead.

[0065] However, the Tx₂₀ beam is spatially uncorrelated to Tx beam #Tx₂ in this example. If the Tx₂₀ beam was not a candidate Tx beam in the previous BRS-RP report and the BRS-RP of the Tx₂₀ beam is larger than the BRS-RP of the Tx₂ beam, a BRS- RP report can be generated to update the eNB with the new Tx beam information.

[0066] Thus, in order to trigger an effective BRS-RP report, and avoid unnecessary BRSRP report which causes excessive signaling overhead, one or more high layer criteria can be employed for BRS-RP report triggering in connection with various aspects described herein.

[0067] In a first set of aspects, BRS-RP reports can be triggered based on a lack of spatial correlation and based on the received power of Tx beam(s). In this set of aspects, Tx beam correlation can be used as a basis for determining whether to trigger a BRS-RP report, so as to avoid a BRS-RP report triggered by discovering a new Tx beam which is highly spatially correlated with one or more of the Tx beams in the last BRS-RP report.

[0068] In some aspects, a correlation table of Tx beams can be configured through higher layer signaling (e.g., via the master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB) or radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling). In some such aspects, a 1 bit indicator can be utilized to indicate whether two Tx beams are correlated or not, for example with a "0" indicating a correlated state and a "1 " indicating an independent state, or vice versa. In other aspects, the spatial correlation of two Tx beams can be described using multiple levels, for example, with 3 bits that evenly quantize the spatial correlation range between 0 and 1 . Such aspects can also configure UE(s) with a threshold value in that range for determining whether two Tx beams are spatially correlated.

[0069] Referring to FIG. 5, illustrated is an example table of spatial correlations between transmit beams that can be configured according to various aspects described herein. In some embodiments, a two dimensional Tx beam correlation table such as the example illustrated in FIG. 5 can be created by an eNB. The correlation state of each pair of Tx beams can be included in the table. Since the correlation matrix is

symmetrical (identical to its transpose), it is sufficient for the eNB to transmit only the upper (or lower) triangular elements to save signaling overhead. The Tx beam correlation table can be transmitted by concatenating the elements row by row (or column by column). As discussed elsewhere herein, correlation values in the correlation table or matrix can be quantized using one or multiple bits to cover the correlation range between 0 and 1 .

[0070] In another set of aspects, Tx beam groupings can be employed to indicate spatial correlations. In such aspects, each of the Tx beams can be indicated (e.g., predefined, via configuration) as belonging to one of several Tx beam groups (e.g., 3), and different Tx beams of each Tx beam group can be assumed to have zero spatial correlation For example, the Tx beams of every four consecutive symbols can be in one group. Then the Tx beam correlation bit map can be greatly reduced, and the eNB can omit the bits representing the correlation state of two different Tx beams in a same group, and only send the bits representing the correlation state of Tx beams from distinct groups (e.g., from the other 2 groups, in embodiments with 3 groups). [0071] In various embodiments, the correlation matrix can be transmitted via LTE anchor, or through a broadcast information channel such as PBCH (physical broadcast channel).

[0072] In some aspects, a Tx beam correlation threshold A_co can be configured to evaluate the BRS-RP triggering criteria through higher layer signaling via MIB, SIB, or RRC signaling. If the spatial correlation of two Tx beams is smaller than Δ_∞η-, then those two Tx beams can be viewed as lowly correlated Tx beams. The eNB can configure the Tx beam correlation criteria to allow a UE only to discover candidate Tx beam which have low spatial correlation with the Tx beams in the last BRS-RP report. When the spatial correlation of two different Tx beams are encoded using a single bit, the Tx beam correlation threshold can be omitted.

[0073] Along with movement, rotation of the UE, or the Doppler effect, the BRS-RP can fluctuate over time. At one moment, the instantaneous BRS-RP of one Tx beam might be better than the instantaneous BRS-RP of another Tx beam, but at the next moment, the relative strength of those two Tx beams might be reversed. In order to avoid excessive BRS-RP report overhead, one or more BRS-RP strength criteria for BRS-RP report triggering can be employed.

[0074] A UE can potentially employ criteria discussed herein for changing a dominant beam, or for changing a candidate beam.

[0075] Regarding dominant beam change, the dominant Tx beam as discussed herein refers to the strongest Tx beam in the last BRS-RP report. A UE will normally tune its Rx beam to receive the dominant Tx beam.

[0076] In one set of embodiments related to BRS-RP strength criteria, a successive counter Nl_{Suc TxBeam} can be defined, which can indicate the number of BRS-RP measurement times to evaluate the receive power of one candidate Tx beam before triggering a BRS-RP report. If the BRS-RP of a new candidate Tx beam, which was not a candidate Tx beam in the last BRS-RP, is some threshold value (e.g., Tl_{Suc TxBeam}) dB better than that of the dominant Tx beam in the last BRS-RP report for Nl_{Suc TxBeam} BRS-RP measurements, a BRS-RP report can be triggered to include this new candidate Tx beam. During the evaluating window for this new candidate Tx beam, if there is a time that the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam is poorer than the dominant Tx beam of the last BRS-RP report, then the counter can be reset to zero. The parameters of Nl_{Suc TxBeam} and Tl_{Suc TxBeam} can be configured via higher layer signaling such as via MIB, SIB or RRC signaling. Referring to FIG. 6, illustrated is an example scenario showing triggering of a BRS-RP report based on a successive counter at 600 and based on an accumulated counter at 610, according to various aspects described herein. An example value for Tl_{Suc TxBeam} can be 1 dB and one example value of Nl_{Suc TxBeam} can be 3, which is the value in the example illustrated at 600. However, in various aspects, greater or lesser values can be employed for either or both.

[0077] In another set of embodiments, the new candidate Tx beam discovery criteria can be defined using a measuring window, a beam receive power threshold and an accumulated counter. During a measuring window with Nl_{Watch TxBeam} measurements of BRS-RP, if the accumulated number of times that the BRS-RP of the new candidate Tx beam is Tl_{Accu TxBeam} dB better than that of the dominant Tx beam in the last BRS- RP report for Nl_{Accu TxBeam} times, a BRS-RP report can be triggered to include the new candidate Tx beam. Nl_Watch}TxBeam, Nl_{Accu TxBeam}, and Tl_{Accu TxBeam} can be configured by higher layer signaling, such as via MIB, SIB or RRC signaling.

[0078] In various aspects, similar techniques can be employed to change candidate Tx beams. In one set of embodiments associated with candidate beam change, a successive counter N2_{Suc TxBeam} and a threshold gap T2_{Suc TxBeam} can be defined for candidate beam change, which can be configured by higher layer signaling such as via MIB, SIB or RRC signaling. If the BRS-RP of a new candidate Tx beam, which is not a highly correlated beam with any Tx beam in the last BRS-RP, is T2_{Suc TxBeam} dB better than that of the dominant Tx beam in the last BRS-RP report for N2_{Suc TxBeam} measurements, a BRS-RP report can be triggered to include the new candidate Tx beam.

[0079] In another embodiment, a watch window, an accumulated counter, and a threshold gap N2_{Watch TxBeam}, N2_AccuJxBeam, and T2_AccuJxBeam, respectively, can be configured by higher layer signaling such as via MIB, SIB or RRC signaling. During a measuring window with N2_{Watch xBeam} measurements of BRS-RP, if the accumulated times that the BRS-RP of the new candidate Tx beam, which is not a highly correlated beam with any Tx beams in the last BRS-RP report, is T2_{Accu TxBeam} dB better than that of the dominant Tx beam in the last BRS-RP report for N2_{Accu TxBeam} times, a BRS-RP report can be triggered to include this new candidate Tx beam.

[0080] In some embodiments, both thresholds T2_{Suc xBeam} and T2_{Accu xBeam} can be negative values to allow discovering a relatively good candidate beam even if not superior to the dominant beam. [0081] In various embodiments, one of the successive or accumulated counter based evaluation criteria can be applied, or both can be evaluated, either independently or together.

[0082] In various aspects discussed herein, reported BRS-RPs can be instantaneous measurements, or can be filtered over multiple BRS-RP measurements. In some embodiments wherein reported BRS-RPs are filtered over multiple measurements, the filtering function can be configured by the eNB through higher layer signaling. In one example set of embodiments, the filter can be defined as y(n) = a^*x(n) + (1 -a)y(n-1 ), where a is a filter length, x(n) is an instantaneous BRS-RP value and y(n) is a filtered BRS-RP. As a particular example, a can set to be 0.25 to have the filtered BRS-RP as the average of the most recent four instantaneous BRS-RP values.

[0083] In various aspects, BRS-RP reports can also be triggered based on receive (Rx) beam conditions. Along with the movement/rotation of UE, or changes in the surrounding environment, the number of active Rx panels can be changed, such as from a single panel to multiple simultaneous Rx panels, or vice versa.

[0084] In one set of embodiments, a BRS-RP report can be triggered based on whether one or more of the Tx beams in the last BRS-RP report can be received simultaneously has changed.

[0085] In another set of embodiments, a BRS-RP measurement difference of the same Tx beam from multiple (e.g., 2), simultaneous Rx beams can be used to trigger a BRS-RP report in order to support single user super imposed coding (SUST) transmission. For example, a UE could recommend SUST transmission by reporting more than one BRS-RP measurements for a single Tx beam using multiple

simultaneous Rx beams and multiple measurements with sufficiently large difference(s). The range of the difference can be configured by the network using two parameters, such as A_maJ, which can thereby define a range. Based on whether the difference of BRS-RPs of one Tx beam on two simultaneous Rx beam falls in the range defined via those parameters or not has changed since the last BRS-RP report, a BRS-RP report can be triggered, which can inform the eNB to enable or disable single user super-imposed transmission.

[0086] Referring to FIG. 7, illustrated is a flow diagram of a method 700 that facilitates generation of a BRS-RP report at a mobile terminal according to various aspects described herein. In some aspects, method 700 can be performed at a UE. In other aspects, a machine readable medium can store instructions associated with method 700 that, when executed, can cause a UE to perform the acts of method 700.

[0087] At 710, a set of BRS configuration parameters can be received. The set of BRS configuration parameters can indicate one or more criteria for triggering a BRS-RP report, and can indicate additional information for determining whether to trigger a BRS- RP report, such as spatial correlations between transmit beams that are received. When the set of BRS configuration parameters indicates spatial correlations, they can be indicated via entries of a matrix of spatial correlations, or via entries corresponding to an upper (or lower) triangle of such a matrix, or of a subset of such entries along with indications of a beam group for each Tx beam (wherein Tx beams in the same beam group either are not or are spatially correlated), etc.

[0088] At 720, a set of BRS signals can be received via each of a plurality of distinct transmit beams, which can comprise at least a dominant Tx beam (e.g., based on a previous BRS-RP report) and one or more candidate Tx beams.

[0089] At 730, based on the received BRS signals, a BRS-RP can be calculated for one or more Tx beams, which can comprise at least a BRS-RP for the dominant Tx beam (e.g., based on a previous BRS-RP report) and one or more BRS-RPs for the one or more candidate Tx beams.

[0090] At 740, a determination can be made whether to generate a BRS-RP report, which can be based on the calculated BRS-RPs and on the set of BRS configuration parameters. For example, if a new candidate beam under consideration is spatially correlated with a beam reported in a last BRS-RP report (e.g., with the current dominant Tx beam, etc.), then the determination can be to not generate the BRS-RP report.

Alternatively, in some aspects, if the BRS-RP of the candidate Tx beam exceeds a BRS-RP (current or last reported, depending on the embodiment) of the dominant Tx beam at least a given number of times (e.g., successive times or accumulated (total) times) by at least a threshold amount during an evaluation period, and the two beams are not spatially correlated, then the determination can be made to generate the BRS- RP report. In such aspects, one or more of the threshold, the number of times (and optionally whether those are successive or accumulated, or both), or the size of the evaluation period can be indicated via the received set of BRS configuration

parameters.

[0091] At 750, the report can be generated when the determination is made to generate the report, and the generated report can include at least one reported BRS-RP value (e.g., that of the candidate Tx beam), which can be either an instantaneous or a filtered BRS-RP value.

[0092] At 760, the generated report can be output for subsequent transmission to an eNB.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 8, illustrated is a flow diagram of a method 800 that facilitates configuration of a mobile terminal by a base station to generate a BRS-RP based on various criteria according to various aspects described herein. In some aspects, method 800 can be performed at an eNB. In other aspects, a machine readable medium can store instructions associated with method 800 that, when executed, can cause an eNB to perform the acts of method 800.

[0094] At 810, a set of BRS configuration parameters can be generated. The set of BRS configuration parameters can comprise one or more criteria under which a BRS- RP report is triggered, and can also comprise additional information (e.g., spatial correlations of Tx beams) that can be employed in triggering a BRS-RP report by a UE.

[0095] At 820, the set of BRS configuration parameters can be output for subsequent transmission to one or more UEs (e.g., via higher layer signaling such as MIB, SIB, RRC; via an LTE anchor; etc.).

[0096] At 830, one or more BRS-RP reports can be received, each comprising one or more reported BRS-RP values associated with one or more Tx beams, wherein at least one of the one or more BRS-RP reports received was generated based at least in part on the set of BRS configuration parameters.

[0097] Examples herein can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions that, when performed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like) cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described.

[0098] Example 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed within a User

Equipment (UE), comprising a processor configured to: receive, from a coupled receiver circuitry, a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters and a distinct set of BRS signals associated with each of one or more transmit beams; calculate a BRS received power (BRS-RP) for each of the one or more transmit beams based on the distinct set of BRS signals received via that transmit beam; make a determination whether to trigger a BRS-RP report, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the BRS configuration parameters and on at least one of the calculated BRS-RPs; generate the BRS-RP report based on the determination being made to trigger the BRS-RP report; and output the BRS-RP report to a transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission to an evolved nodeB (eNB).

[0099] Example 2 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 1 , wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate whether a candidate beam and a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams are spatially correlated, and wherein the determination is made to trigger the BRS-RP report based at least in part on a lack of spatial correlation between the dominant beam and the candidate beam.

[00100] Example 3 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1 -2, wherein the determination is made to trigger the BRS-RP report based at least in part on whether a value of a beam specific counter is at least a threshold value, wherein the beam specific counter is based on a comparison between a first BRS-RP of a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams and a second BRS-RP of a candidate beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00101 ] Example 4 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 3, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the number of successive times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

[00102] Example 5 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 3, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the total number of times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

[00103] Example 6 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1 -2, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises at least one BRS-RP value that is a function of a plurality of BRS-RP measurements of a single transmit beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00104] Example 7 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1 -2, wherein the processor is further configured to receive each distinct set of BRS signals via one or more of a plurality of receiver panels coupled to the receiver circuitry.

[00105] Example 8 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 7, wherein the processor is configured to receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via at least one receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels, and wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the first set of BRS signals is simultaneously received via two or more of the plurality of receiver panels.

[00106] Example 9 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 7, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via a first receiver panel and a second receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels; calculate a first value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the first receiver panel; calculate a second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the second receiver panel; calculate a difference between the first value and the second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam; and determine whether the difference is within a target range, wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the difference is within the target range.

[00107] Example 10 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1 -5, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises at least one BRS-RP value that is a function of a plurality of BRS-RP measurements of a single transmit beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00108] Example 1 1 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples

I - 5 or 10, wherein the processor is further configured to receive each distinct set of BRS signals via one or more of a plurality of receiver panels coupled to the receiver circuitry.

[00109] Example 12 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 1 1 , wherein the processor is configured to receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via at least one receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels, and wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the first set of BRS signals is simultaneously received via two or more of the plurality of receiver panels.

[00110] Example 13 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples

I I - 1 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via a first receiver panel and a second receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels; calculate a first value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the first receiver panel; calculate a second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the second receiver panel; calculate a difference between the first value and the second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam; and determine whether the difference is within a target range, wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the difference is within the target range.

[00111 ] Example 14 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 1 , wherein the determination is made to trigger the BRS-RP report based at least in part on whether a value of a beam specific counter is at least a threshold value, wherein the beam specific counter is based on a comparison between a first BRS-RP of a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams and a second BRS-RP of a candidate beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00112] Example 15 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 14, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the number of successive times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

[00113] Example 16 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 14, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the total number of times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

[00114] Example 17 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 1 , wherein the BRS-RP report comprises at least one BRS-RP value that is a function of a plurality of BRS-RP measurements of a single transmit beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00115] Example 18 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive each distinct set of BRS signals via one or more of a plurality of receiver panels coupled to the receiver circuitry.

[00116] Example 19 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 18, wherein the processor is configured to receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via at least one receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels, and wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the first set of BRS signals is simultaneously received via two or more of the plurality of receiver panels.

[00117] Example 20 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 18, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via a first receiver panel and a second receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels; calculate a first value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the first receiver panel; calculate a second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the second receiver panel; calculate a difference between the first value and the second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam; and determine whether the difference is within a target range, wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the difference is within the target range.

[00118] Example 21 is a machine readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a User Equipment (UE) to: receive a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters that indicate an extent of spatial correlation between transmit beams of a plurality of transmit beams; receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the plurality of transmit beams and a second set of BRS signals associated with a candidate beam of the plurality of transmit beams; calculate a first BRS received power (BRS-RP) for the dominant beam based on the first set of BRS signals, and a second BRS-RP for the candidate beam based on the second set of BRS signals; make a determination whether to generate a BRS-RP report, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on either a lack of spatial correlation or less than a threshold spatial correlation between the dominant beam and the candidate beam; generate the BRS-RP report based on the

determination being made, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises a BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam; and output the BRS-RP report for subsequent transmission to an evolved NodeB (eNB).

[00119] Example 22 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 21 , wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise one or more elements of a matrix of spatial correlations between transmit beams of the plurality of transmit beams.

[00120] Example 23 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 22, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise one of upper triangular elements of the matrix of spatial correlations or lower triangular elements of the matrix of spatial correlations.

[00121 ] Example 24 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 22, wherein each transmit beam of the plurality of transmit beams is associated with a beam group of a plurality of beam groups, wherein each transmit beam has a lack of spatial correlation with each other transmit beam in the same beam group as that transmit beam, and wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise elements of the matrix associated with spatial correlations between transmit beams of distinct beam groups.

[00122] Example 25 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 21 -24, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on the second BRS-RP exceeding the first BRS-RP by at least a threshold amount a predetermined number of times during an evaluation period.

[00123] Example 26 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 25, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of consecutive times during the evaluation period.

[00124] Example 27 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 25, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of total times during the evaluation period.

[00125] Example 28 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 25, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the threshold amount.

[00126] Example 29 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 25, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the duration of the evaluation period.

[00127] Example 30 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 21 -24, wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a single value calculated for the second BRS-RP.

[00128] Example 31 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 21 -24, wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a plurality of values calculated for the second BRS-RP.

[00129] Example 32 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 21 , wherein the determination is made based at least in part on the second BRS-RP exceeding the first BRS-RP by at least a threshold amount a predetermined number of times during an evaluation period.

[00130] Example 33 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 32, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of consecutive times during the evaluation period.

[00131 ] Example 34 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 32, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of total times during the evaluation period. [00132] Example 35 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 32, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the threshold amount.

[00133] Example 36 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 32, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the duration of the evaluation period.

[00134] Example 37 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 21 , wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a single value calculated for the second BRS-RP.

[00135] Example 38 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 21 , wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a plurality of values calculated for the second BRS-RP.

[00136] Example 39 is an apparatus configured to be employed within an Evolved NodeB (eNB), comprising a processor configured to: generate a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate conditions under which a User Equipment (UE) triggers a BRS received power (BRS-RP) report, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate an extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit beams of a plurality of transmit beams; output the set of BRS configuration parameters to transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission to the UE; and receive one or more BRS-RP reports from the UE via receiver circuitry, wherein each of the one or more BRS-RP reports indicates one or more BRS-RP values associated with one or more of the plurality of transmit beams.

[00137] Example 40 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 39, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate the extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit beams via a single bit per pair of transmit beams.

[00138] Example 41 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 39, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate the extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit beams via a plurality of bits per pair of transmit beams and an associated spatial correlation threshold.

[00139] Example 42 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 39-41 , wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a master information block (MIB). [00140] Example 43 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 39-41 , wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a system information block (SIB).

[00141 ] Example 44 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 39-41 , wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[00142] Example 45 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 39-41 , wherein the plurality of transmit beams are associated with a first radio access technology (RAT), and wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a second RAT distinct from the first RAT.

[00143] Example 46 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 39, wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a master information block (MIB).

[00144] Example 47 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 39, wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a system information block (SIB).

[00145] Example 48 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 39, wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[00146] Example 49 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 39, wherein the plurality of transmit beams are associated with a first radio access technology (RAT), and wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a second RAT distinct from the first RAT.

[00147] Example 50 is a method configured to be employed at a User Equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters that indicate an extent of spatial correlation between transmit beams of a plurality of transmit beams; receiving a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the plurality of transmit beams and a second set of BRS signals associated with a candidate beam of the plurality of transmit beams; calculating a first BRS received power (BRS-RP) for the dominant beam based on the first set of BRS signals, and a second BRS-RP for the candidate beam based on the second set of BRS signals; making a determination whether to generate a BRS-RP report, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on either a lack of spatial correlation or less than a threshold spatial correlation between the dominant beam and the candidate beam; generating the BRS-RP report based on the determination being made, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises a BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam; and outputting the BRS-RP report for subsequent transmission to an evolved NodeB (eNB).

[00148] Example 51 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 50, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise one or more elements of a matrix of spatial correlations between transmit beams of the plurality of transmit beams.

[00149] Example 52 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 51 , wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise one of upper triangular elements of the matrix of spatial correlations or lower triangular elements of the matrix of spatial correlations.

[00150] Example 53 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 51 , wherein each transmit beam of the plurality of transmit beams is associated with a beam group of a plurality of beam groups, wherein each transmit beam has a lack of spatial correlation with each other transmit beam in the same beam group as that transmit beam, and wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise elements of the matrix associated with spatial correlations between transmit beams of distinct beam groups.

[00151 ] Example 54 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 50-53, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on the second BRS-RP exceeding the first BRS-RP by at least a threshold amount a predetermined number of times during an evaluation period.

[00152] Example 55 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 54, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of consecutive times during the evaluation period. [00153] Example 56 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 54, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of total times during the evaluation period.

[00154] Example 57 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 54, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the threshold amount.

[00155] Example 58 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 54, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the duration of the evaluation period.

[00156] Example 59 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 50-53, wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a single value calculated for the second BRS-RP.

[00157] Example 60 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 50-53, wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a plurality of values calculated for the second BRS-RP.

[00158] Example 61 is a machine readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a User Equipment (UE) to perform the method of any variation of any one of examples 50-60.

[00159] Example 62 is an apparatus configured to be employed within a User

Equipment (UE), comprising means for receiving, means for processing, and means for transmitting. The means for receiving is configured to receive a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters and a distinct set of BRS signals associated with each of one or more transmit beams. The means for processing is configured to:

calculate a BRS received power (BRS-RP) for each of the one or more transmit beams based on the distinct set of BRS signals received via that transmit beam; make a determination whether to trigger a BRS-RP report, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the BRS configuration parameters and on at least one of the calculated BRS-RPs; and generate the BRS-RP report based on the determination being made to trigger the BRS-RP report. The means for transmitting is configured to transmit the BRS-RP report to an evolved nodeB (eNB).

[00160] Example 63 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 62, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate whether a candidate beam and a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams are spatially correlated, and wherein the determination is made to trigger the BRS-RP report based at least in part on a lack of spatial correlation between the dominant beam and the candidate beam. [00161 ] Example 64 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 62, wherein the determination is made to trigger the BRS-RP report based at least in part on whether a value of a beam specific counter is at least a threshold value, wherein the beam specific counter is based on a comparison between a first BRS-RP of a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams and a second BRS-RP of a candidate beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00162] Example 65 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 64, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the number of successive times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

[00163] Example 66 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 64, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the total number of times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

[00164] Example 67 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 65-66, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate the threshold amount.

[00165] Example 68 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 65-66, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate the duration of the evaluation period.

[00166] Example 69 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 62-63, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises at least one BRS-RP value that is a function of a plurality of BRS-RP measurements of a single transmit beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00167] Example 70 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 62-63, wherein the processor is further configured to receive each distinct set of BRS signals via one or more of a plurality of receiver panels coupled to the receiver circuitry.

[00168] Example 71 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 70, wherein the processor is configured to receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via at least one receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels, and wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the first set of BRS signals is simultaneously received via two or more of the plurality of receiver panels.

[00169] Example 72 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 70, wherein the means for processing is further configured to: receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via a first receiver panel and a second receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels; calculate a first value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the first receiver panel; calculate a second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the second receiver panel; calculate a difference between the first value and the second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam; and determine whether the difference is within a target range, wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the difference is within the target range.

[00170] Example 73 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 62, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises a reported BRS-RP value based on a single calculated BRS-RP value for a first transmit beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00171 ] Example 74 comprises the subject matter of any variation of example 62, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises a reported BRS-RP value based on a plurality of calculated BRS-RP values for a first transmit beam of the one or more transmit beams.

[00172] Example 75 is an apparatus configured to be employed within an Evolved NodeB (eNB), comprising means for processing, means for transmitting, and means for receiving. The means for processing is configured to generate a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate conditions under which a User Equipment (UE) triggers a BRS received power (BRS-RP) report, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate an extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit beams of a plurality of transmit beams. The means for transmitting is configured to transmit the set of BRS configuration parameters to the UE. The means for receiving is configured to receive one or more BRS-RP reports from the UE, wherein each of the one or more BRS-RP reports indicates one or more BRS-RP values associated with one or more of the plurality of transmit beams.

[00173] Example 76 comprises the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1 -20, wherein the processor is a baseband processor.

[00174] The above description of illustrated embodiments of the subject disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible that are considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art can recognize. [00175] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding Figures, where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below.

[00176] In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus configured to be employed within a User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a processor configured to:

receive, from a coupled receiver circuitry, a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters and a distinct set of BRS signals associated with each of one or more transmit beams;

calculate a BRS received power (BRS-RP) for each of the one or more transmit beams based on the distinct set of BRS signals received via that transmit beam;

make a determination whether to trigger a BRS-RP report, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the BRS configuration parameters and on at least one of the calculated BRS-RPs;

generate the BRS-RP report based on the determination being made to trigger the BRS-RP report; and

output the BRS-RP report to a transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission to an evolved nodeB (eNB).

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate whether a candidate beam and a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams are spatially correlated, and wherein the determination is made to trigger the BRS-RP report based at least in part on a lack of spatial correlation between the dominant beam and the candidate beam.

3. The apparatus of any of claims 1 -2, wherein the determination is made to trigger the BRS-RP report based at least in part on whether a value of a beam specific counter is at least a threshold value, wherein the beam specific counter is based on a comparison between a first BRS-RP of a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams and a second BRS-RP of a candidate beam of the one or more transmit beams.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the number of successive times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the value of the beam specific counter is based on the total number of times that the BRS-RP of the candidate beam exceeds the BRS-RP of the dominant beam by at least a threshold amount within an evaluation period.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1 -2, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises at least one BRS-RP value that is a function of a plurality of BRS-RP measurements of a single transmit beam of the one or more transmit beams.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1 -2, wherein the processor is further configured to receive each distinct set of BRS signals via one or more of a plurality of receiver panels coupled to the receiver circuitry.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via at least one receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels, and wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the first set of BRS signals is simultaneously received via two or more of the plurality of receiver panels.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the one or more transmit beams via a first receiver panel and a second receiver panel of the plurality of receiver panels;

calculate a first value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the first receiver panel;

calculate a second value of the BRS-RP for the dominant beam as received via the second receiver panel;

calculate a difference between the first value and the second value of the BRS- RP for the dominant beam; and

determine whether the difference is within a target range, wherein the determination to trigger the BRS-RP report is made based at least in part on a change in whether the difference is within the target range.

10. A machine readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a User Equipment (UE) to:

receive a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters that indicate an extent of spatial correlation between transmit beams of a plurality of transmit beams;

receive a first set of BRS signals associated with a dominant beam of the plurality of transmit beams and a second set of BRS signals associated with a candidate beam of the plurality of transmit beams;

calculate a first BRS received power (BRS-RP) for the dominant beam based on the first set of BRS signals, and a second BRS-RP for the candidate beam based on the second set of BRS signals;

make a determination whether to generate a BRS-RP report, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on either a lack of spatial correlation or less than a threshold spatial correlation between the dominant beam and the candidate beam;

generate the BRS-RP report based on the determination being made, wherein the BRS-RP report comprises a BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam; and

output the BRS-RP report for subsequent transmission to an evolved NodeB

(eNB).

1 1 . The machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise one or more elements of a matrix of spatial correlations between transmit beams of the plurality of transmit beams.

12. The machine readable medium of claim 1 1 , wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise one of upper triangular elements of the matrix of spatial correlations or lower triangular elements of the matrix of spatial correlations.

13. The machine readable medium of claim 1 1 , wherein each transmit beam of the plurality of transmit beams is associated with a beam group of a plurality of beam groups, wherein each transmit beam has a lack of spatial correlation with each other transmit beam in the same beam group as that transmit beam, and wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters comprise elements of the matrix associated with spatial correlations between transmit beams of distinct beam groups.

14. The machine readable medium of any of claims 10-13, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on the second BRS-RP exceeding the first BRS-RP by at least a threshold amount a predetermined number of times during an evaluation period.

15. The machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of consecutive times during the evaluation period.

16. The machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the predetermined number of times is a predetermined number of total times during the evaluation period.

17. The machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the threshold amount.

18. The machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicated the duration of the evaluation period.

19. The machine readable medium of any of claims 10-13, wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a single value calculated for the second BRS-RP.

20. The machine readable medium of any of claims 10-13, wherein the BRS-RP value associated with the candidate beam is based on a plurality of values calculated for the second BRS-RP.

21 . An apparatus configured to be employed within an Evolved NodeB (eNB), comprising:

a processor configured to:

generate a set of beam reference signal (BRS) configuration parameters, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate conditions under which a User Equipment (UE) triggers a BRS received power (BRS-RP) report, wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate an extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit beams of a plurality of transmit beams;

output the set of BRS configuration parameters to transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission to the UE; and

receive one or more BRS-RP reports from the UE via receiver circuitry, wherein each of the one or more BRS-RP reports indicates one or more BRS-RP values associated with one or more of the plurality of transmit beams.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate the extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit beams via a single bit per pair of transmit beams.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the set of BRS configuration parameters indicate the extent of spatial correlation between pairs of transmit beams via a plurality of bits per pair of transmit beams and an associated spatial correlation threshold.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 21 -23, wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a master information block (MIB).

25. The apparatus of any of claims 21 -23, wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a system information block (SIB).

26. The apparatus of any of claims 21 -23, wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

27. The apparatus of any of claims 21 -23, wherein the plurality of transmit beams are associated with a first radio access technology (RAT), and wherein the processor is configured to output the set of BRS configuration parameters to the transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via a second RAT distinct from the first RAT.