Method, mobile terminal, base station, and system for reporting best companion precoding matrix index in communication system with double codebook

The present disclosure is related to Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO)/beam-forming technology in a multi-user communication system.

Multi-User (MU)-MIMO is an important means to increase peak data rate and spectral efficiency in the current wireless communication. To facilitate MU-MIMO operation, advanced feedback schemes are being considered in 4G wireless standards, such as LTE-A. One of those advanced feedback schemes is BCI (best companion PMI (pre-coding matrix index)) reporting.

In LTE Rel-8, PMI is adopted for Single-User (SU)-MIMO, i.e., the UE reports the most preferred pre-coding matrix to be used for the UE itself. PMI reporting is useful. Further, with BCI reporting, the UE also reports the most preferred pre-coding matrix to be used for the possibly co-scheduled UE.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram that the UE feedbacks to a base station the most preferred PMI to be used for itself and the most preferred BCI to be used for possibly co-scheduled UE. As shown in the FIG. 1 , a wireless communication system 100 may comprise a mobile terminal (UE) 101 and a base station 103 , in which the mobile terminal 101 reports to the base station 103 the most preferred PMI to be used for itself and the most preferred BCI to be used for a possibly co-scheduled UE (another mobile terminal) 102 . Similar to the PMI/CQI reporting pair, BCI reporting can be accompanied by a delta CQI, which indicates the CQI degradation due to the co-scheduled UE that adopts the reported BCI as its PMI.

In the LTE-advanced standardization, a double codebook structure for the PMI reporting of 8Tx antenna (eNB-base station) is agreed. The rank one pro-coding vector of the double codebook is in the form of [v i T k·v i T ] T , where i ε {0, 1, 2, . . . 31}, and k ε {1, −1, j, −j}. The vector v i is a 4×1 column vector, which can be expressed as:

v i = [ 1 exp ⁡ ( j ⁢ ⅈ · 2 ⁢ π 32 ) exp ⁡ ( j ⁢ 2 · ⅈ · 2 ⁢ π 32 ) exp ⁡ ( j ⁢ 3 · ⅈ · 2 ⁢ π 32 ) ] ,

where j denotes the imaginary unit.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of the agreed double codebook structure of the rank one used for the PMI reporting of 8Tx antenna. It is seen that the rank one codebook represents the combination of DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) beam (component) and co-phasing factors. However, the reporting of DFT beam index and co-phasing factors is not to simply report the above two things. Instead, a two-level report corresponding to the double codebook is adopted: the UE firstly feedbacks a rough knowledge of PMI (a long-term/wideband component, W 1 ), which indicates to the base station that possible pre-coding vectors are in a DFT direction {0, 1, 2, 3} when W 1 =0, and the co-phasing factors can be {1, −1, j, −j}. W 1 is a four-bit signal because there is overlapping of the possible pre-coding vectors between {W 1 =0} and {W 1 =1}. After W 1 is reported, the UE further reports another more accurate knowledge of PMI (a short-term/narrowband component, W 2 ), which indicates to the base station that the exact pre-coding vector is in the set confined by W 1 . In the FIG. 2 , the possible DFT beam indexes in case of W 1 =0 is from v 0 to v 3 , the possible DFT beam indexes in case of W 1 =1 is from v 2 to v 5 , the possible pre-coding vectors when W 1 =2 is from v 4 to v 7 , . . . , the possible DFT beam indexes in case of W 1 =14 is from v 28 to v 31 , and the possible DFT bean indexes in case of W 1 =15 includes v 30 , v 31 , V 0 , and V 1 .

The advantage of the double codebook is to better exploit the continuity of the pre-coding vectors in the time/frequency domain, so either the overhead can be improved comparing with a 7-bit single codebook design without significant loss of reporting accuracy.

An important feature of the agreed double codebook is that the adjacent DFT beams (in terms of index) are also adjacent in terms of their directionality.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of the directionality of the DFT beams.

As shown in the FIG. 3 , when w 1 =0, the adjacent DFT beams v 0 , v 1 , v 2 , v 3 are also adjacent in their directionality.

Because the BCI is calculated based on the PMI assumption, how to report the BCI in conjunction with the double codebook based PMI is a problem.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of reporting BCI in a wireless communication system is provided, the method comprises the steps of: obtaining a PMI W 1 set and a PMI W 2 to be used for a mobile terminal based on a double codebook; computing a BCI W 1 set to be used for another mobile terminal based on the PMI W 1 set; and reporting the BCI W 1 set to a base station, wherein W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI.

In the above aspect, the BCI W 1 set is reported on a relatively long interval.

In the above aspect, the method of reporting BCI further comprises steps of: selecting a BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 , and reporting the BCI W 2 to the base station.

In the above aspect, the BCI W 1 set is reported on a relatively long interval, BCI W 2 is reported on a relatively short interval.

In the above aspect, the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 are reported both on relatively short interval.

In the above aspect, the method further comprises a step of shifting the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 .

In the above aspect, the BCI W 1 set is reported on a long time interval, the BCI W 2 is reported on a short time interval.

In the above aspect, the double codebook is a combination of DFT components and co-phasing factors, the DFT components are represented by a plurality of columns of vectors, and the co-phasing factors are represented by [1, −1, j, −j].

In the above aspect, the method further comprises a step of: if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, shifting the BCI W 1 set to its left side, and if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set, shifting the BCI W 1 set to its right side.

In the above aspect, the method further comprises a step of shifting the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors.

In the above aspect, the method further comprises a step of confining the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein, if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set are confined to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set are confined to [j, −j]. In the above aspect, the BCI W 2 is orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a mobile terminal for reporting BCI to a base station in a wireless communication system is provided, the mobile terminal comprises: an obtaining unit which obtains a PMI W 1 set and a PMI W 2 based on a double codebook; a computation unit which computes a BCI W 1 set to be used for another mobile terminal based on the PMI W 1 set; and a reporting unit which reports the BCI W 1 set to the base station, wherein, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI.

In the above another aspect, the BCI W 1 set is reported on a relatively long interval.

In the above another aspect, the mobile terminal further comprises a selection unit which selects a BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . The reporting unit reports the BCI W 2 to the base station.

In the above another aspect, the BCI W 1 set is reported on a relatively long interval, and BCI W 2 is reported on a relatively short interval.

In the above another aspect, the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 are reported both on relatively short interval.

In the above another aspect, the mobile terminal further comprises a shifting unit which shifts the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set to its left side if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, and shifts the BCI W 1 set to its right side if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set. The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors. The shifting unit further confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [j, −j]. The BCI W 2 selected from the BCI W 1 set is orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a base station for receiving BCI (best companion PMI (pre-coding matrix index)) from a mobile terminal in a wireless communication system is provided, which comprises: a receiving unit which receives a PMI W 1 set, a PMI W 2 , and a BCI W 1 set from the mobile terminal, which are generated based on a double codebook; and a pre-coding unit which pre-codes data to be sent to another mobile terminal with the BCI W 1 set, wherein, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI.

In the above further aspect, the receiving unit further receives a BCI W 2 from the mobile terminal, wherein the BCI W 1 set is shifted by the mobile terminal based on the PMI W 2 , and the BCI W 2 is selected by the mobile terminal from the shifted BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 .

In the above further aspect, the BCI W 1 set is received on a relatively long interval, and BCI W 2 is received on a relatively short interval.

In the above further aspect, the base station further comprises a shifting unit which shifts the BCI W 1 set based on the received PMI W 2 . The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set to its left side if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, and shifts the BCI W 1 set to its right side if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set. The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors. The shifting unit further confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [j, −j]. The BCI W 2 selected from the BCI W 1 set is orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

In another further aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication system for reporting BCI from a mobile terminal to a base station is provided, wherein the mobile terminal comprises: an obtaining unit which obtains a PMI W 1 set and a PMI W 2 based on a double codebook; a computation unit which computes a BCI W 1 set to be used for another mobile terminal based on the PMI W 1 set; a selection unit which selects a BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 ; and a reporting unit which reports the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 to the base station, wherein, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI. The said base station comprises: a receiving unit which receives a PMI W 1 set, a PMI W 2 , a BCI W 1 set and a BCI W 2 from the mobile terminal, which are generated based on a double codebook; and a pre-coding unit which pre-codes data to be sent to another mobile terminal with the BCI W 1 set, wherein, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI.

In the above other further aspect, the mobile terminal in the wireless communication system further comprises a shifting unit which shifts the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set to its left side if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, and shifts the BCI W 1 set to its right side if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set. The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors. The shifting unit further confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [j, −j]. The BCI W 2 selected from the BCI W 1 set is orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

In the above other further aspect, the base station in the wireless communication system further comprises a shifting unit which shifts the BCI W 1 set based on the received PMI W 2 . The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set to its left side if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, and shifts the BCI W 1 set to its right side if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set. The shifting unit shifts the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors. The shifting unit further confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [j, −j]. The BCI W 2 selected from the BCI W 1 set is orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

With the method, mobile terminal, and wireless communication system of the present disclosure, the probability that the optimal BCI W 2 is included in the shifted BCI W 1 set is increased, and the overhead for feeding-back the BCI is reduced.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity, simplifications, generalization, and omissions of details; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/or other subject matters described herein will become apparent in the teachings set forth herein. The summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram that UE feedbacks to a base station the most preferred PMI to be used for itself and the most preferred PCI to be used for a possibly co-scheduled UE;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of the double codebook structure with rank one used for the PMI reporting of 8Tx antenna;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the directionality of the DFT beams;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a mobile terminal for reporting the BCI according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the operations of the mobile terminal for reporting the BCI according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the operations of the mobile terminal for reporting the BCI based on the double codebook according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the operations of the mobile terminal for reporting the BCI according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the double codebook BCI calculation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows an example of shifting the BCI W 1 set in the BCI calculation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows an example of shifting the BCI W 1 set and considering the co-phasing factors in the BCI calculation according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of a method of reporting the BCI in a wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows a flow chart of a method of reporting the BCI in a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of a base station for receiving the BCI from a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated and make part of this disclosure.

The disclosure is drawn, inter alia, to methods, mobile terminals, base stations, and wireless communication systems for reporting the BCI.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a mobile terminal for reporting the BCI according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 4 , the mobile terminal 400 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise: an obtaining unit 401 , a computation unit 402 , and a reporting unit 404 which are connected with each other.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile terminal 400 may further comprise a selection unit 403 and/or a shifting unit 405 .

The mobile terminal 400 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may further comprise: a central process unit (CPU) 410 which is used to execute relevant programs to process various kinds of data, and to control the operations of each unit included in the mobile terminal 400 ; a read only memory (ROM) 413 which is used to store various programs required for the CPU 410 to execute various operations and controls; a random access memory (RAM) 415 which is used to store various data produced in the procedure of the CPU 410 executing operations and controls; an input/output unit (I/O) 417 which is used to connect with external devices, and transmit various data between the external devices and the mobile terminal 400 , etc. The above obtaining unit 401 , computation unit 402 , selection unit 403 , reporting unit 404 , shifting unit 405 , CPU 410 , ROM 413 , RAM 415 , and I/O unit 417 may be connected with each other via a data/command bus 420 , and transmit signals with each other.

The above units do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the functions of the obtaining unit 401 , computation unit 402 , selection unit 403 , reporting unit 404 , and shifting unit 405 can be realized by software in combination with the CPU 410 , ROM 413 , RAM 415 , and I/O unit 417 . Further, the obtaining unit 401 , computation unit 402 , selection unit 403 , reporting unit 404 , and shifting unit 405 can be realized by combining into one unit.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the above units of the mobile terminal 400 for reporting BCI to a base station in a wireless communication system are operated as: the obtaining unit 401 obtains a PMI W 1 set and a PMI W 2 based on a double codebook, the computation unit 402 computes a BCI W 1 set to be used for another mobile terminal based on the PMI W 1 set, and the reporting unit 404 reports the BCI W 1 set to the base station, wherein, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI. Here, the other mobile terminal is possibly co-scheduled with the mobile terminal 400 in the wireless communication system.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the operations of the mobile terminal for reporting the BCI according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 5 , when the PMI W 1 set is generated and reported in a sub-frame (the uplink control channel) or in a report (the uplink data channel), a corresponding BCI W 1 set is calculated based on the generated PMI W 1 set, and the generated BCI W 1 set is reported to the base station with a sub-frame or with a report too. The BCI W 1 set is reported to the base station on a relatively long interval.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the operations of the mobile terminal for reporting the BCI based on the double codebook according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 400 for reporting the BCI based on the double codebook reuses the double codebook structure. In other words, the BCI reporting is based on the double codebook structure as well, where the BCI W 1 set is calculated based on the PMI W 1 set, and the BCI W 2 is selected from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 .

As shown in the FIG. 6 , when the PMI W 1 set is generated and reported in a sub-frame (the uplink control channel) or in a report (the uplink data channel), a corresponding BCI W 1 set is calculated based on the generated PMI W 1 set, and the generated BCI W 1 set is reported to the base station with a sub-frame or with a report too. In the subsequent sub-frame or report, the PMI W 2 is generated and reported to the base station. The selection unit 403 of the mobile terminal 400 selects a corresponding BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the generated PMI W 2 , and the reporting unit 404 reports the generated BCI W 2 to the base station. According to the present embodiment, the reporting unit 404 reports the BCI W 1 set to the base station on a relatively long interval, and reports the BCI W 2 to the base station on a relatively short interval. According to the present embodiment, the BCI W 1 set is reported to the base station on a relatively long interval, and BCI W 2 is reported to the base station on a relatively short interval.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the operations of the mobile terminal for reporting the BCI according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 7 , the PMI W 1 set is generated and reported in a sub-frame (the uplink control channel) or in a report (the uplink data channel). In the subsequent sub-frame or report, the PMI W 2 is generated and reported to the base station. A corresponding BCI W 1 set is calculated based on the generated PMI W 1 set, and the selection unit 403 of the mobile terminal 400 selects a corresponding BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the generated PMI W 2 , and the reporting unit 404 reports both the generated BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 to the base station. According to the present embodiment, the reporting unit 404 reports the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 to the base station both on a relatively short interval.

Hereinafter, more detailed analysis of BCI calculation process based on the double codebook will be provided.

FIG. 8 shows an example of BCI calculation the double codebook according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 8 , the double codebook is a combination of DFT components and co-phasing factors, the DFT components are represented by a plurality of columns of vectors “v 0 , v 1 , v 2 , v 3 , . . . v 31 ”, and co-phasing factors are represented by [1, −1, j, −j]. The resultant precoding vector corresponds to the form [v 1 T −v 1 T ] T , if reported DFT beam and co-phasing factors are v 1 and −1, respectively, where T denotes vector transpose. The person skilled in the art should be able to generalize the above example to any combination of DFT component and co-phasing factors without any difficulty.

Similar to the PMI calculation process, the double codebook BCI calculation is a two stage process. Specifically, in the first stage, given that the reported PMI W 1 is 0, which is in the direction {0, 1, 2, 3} with co-phasing factors {1, −1, j, −j}, and the BCI W 1 set is calculated to be, for example, 4. An important observation is that BCI W 1 set is calculated based on the “average” of the multiple possible PMI W 2 s in the set W 1 =0. However, it is noted that the BCI W 1 set calculated based on the PMI W 1 set is rough information of the PMI, so the BCI W 1 set is not optimal.

In the second stage, the short-term/narrowband BCI (W 2 ) is selected from the BCI W 1 set based on the knowledge of PMI W 2 . It should be noted that the BCI W 2 reported to the base station is selected from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 , i.e., the possible BCI W 2 are in the direction {8, 9, 10, 11} with co-phasing factors {1, −1, j, −j}. In other words, the reported BCI W 2 is searched for inside the BCI W 1 set.

For example, in the FIG. 8 , given that the PMI W 2 corresponds to the direction {0} and co-phasing factor {1}, which is on the left side of the “average” of the pre-coding vectors of the PMI W 1 set (W 1 =0). Because the BCI W 1 set is calculated based on the “average” of the pre-coding vectors of the PMI W 1 set, and an optimal BCI W 2 may be calculated based on the PMI W 2 , possibly the optimal BCI W 2 may not be in the BCI W 1 set. Therefore, the BCI W 2 selected from the BCI W 1 set and reported to the base station sometimes is not the optimal BCI W 2 , and causes performance degradation.

FIG. 9 shows an example of shifting the BCI W 1 set in the BCI calculation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

To resolve the above problem of possibly the optimal BCI W 2 being not within the BCI W 1 set, the present disclosure proposes to shift the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile terminal 400 further comprises a shifting unit 405 which shifts the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . For example, if the PMI W 2 is on the left side column of the vectors of the PMI W 1 set, the shifting unit 405 shifts the BCI W 1 set to its left side. Similarly, if the PMI W 2 is on the right side column of the vectors of the PMI W 1 set, the shifting unit 405 shifts the BCI W 1 set to its right side. As shown in the FIG. 9 , after the shifting operation, the BCI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =3 may be used as the shifted BCI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =4, though the current BCI W 1 set corresponds to W 1 =4.

As shown in the FIG. 9 , given that the PMI W 1 set is W 1 =0, and the BCI W 1 set is calculated to be W 1 =4, and further given that the actual PMI W 2 corresponds to the direction {0} and co-phasing factor {1}, which is located on the upper-left side of the PMI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =0, then the optimal BCI W 2 is calculated based on the actual PMI W 2 to correspond to the direction {7} and co-phasing factor {−1}. In this connection, the calculated optimal BCI W 2 is not located within the calculated BCI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =4, so the BCI W 2 selected from the BCI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =4 and reported to the base station will not be the optimal BCI W 2 . However, according to the embodiment as shown in the FIG. 9 , since the actual PMI W 2 is located on the left side of the averaged PMI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =0, the BCI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =4 is shifted to its left side to obtain the shifted BCI W 1 set, which is indicated as W 1 =3. After the shifting operation, the optimal BCI W 2 corresponding to the direction {7} and co-phasing factor {−1} is located within the shifted BCI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =3, so the optimal BCI W 2 can be selected from the shifted BCI W 1 set indicated as W 1 =3, and reported to the base station.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the BCI W 1 set may be shifted by one or two columns of the vectors. For example, similar to the FIG. 9 , it is possible to shift just one column to the left side if the PMI W 2 is on the left side of the averaged PMI W 1 set. In this case, the shifted BCI W 1 set does not correspond to any PMI W 1 set, but it takes a better tradeoff between the actual PMI W 2 and the averaged PMI W 1 set than the two columns shifting.

FIG. 10 shows an example of shifting the BCI W 1 set by considering the co-phasing factors in the BCI calculation according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to further confine the BCI co-phasing factors according to the actual PMI W 2 value. For example, the shifting unit 405 may further confine the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the shifting unit 405 confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the shifting unit 405 confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [j, −j].

Specifically, as shown in the FIG. 10 , given that the PMI W 1 set is W 1 =0, and the BCI W 1 set is calculated to be W 1 =4, and further given that the actual PMI W 2 corresponds to the direction {0} and co-phasing factor {1}, which is located on the upper-left side of the PMI W 1 set (W 1 =0). Since the actual PMI W 2 is located on the left side of the averaged PMI W 1 set (W 1 =0), so the BCI W 1 set (W 1 =4) is shifted to its left side by one column or two columns to obtain the shifted BCI W 1 set. According to the present embodiment, since the actual PMI W 2 is located on the upper side of the PMI W 1 set (W 1 =0), i.e., the actual PMI W 2 has co-phasing factor within [1, −1], the shifted BCI W 1 set is more restricted by confining the co-phasing factors to [1, −1]. Similarly, if the actual PMI W 2 is located on the lower side of the PMI W 1 set (W 1 =0), i.e., the actual PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, j], the shifted BCI W 1 set is more restricted by confining the co-phasing factors to [j, j]. In such a case, not only the possibility of including the optimal BCI W 2 in the shifted BCI W 1 set is increased, but also the overhead for feeding-back the BCI W 2 is reduced, e.g., from 4 bits to 3 bits.

In another embodiment, the BCI W 2 may be selected from the BCI W 1 set so that the BCI W 2 is orthogonal to the PMI W 2 . For example, If PMI W 1 set is determined as W 1 =0, then the possible BCI W 1 set are calculated as W 1 =4, or 8, or 12. In this case, If PMI W 2 is determined as having vector of v 0 and co-phasing factor of [1], the BCI W 1 set is shifted to its left side by one column. At this time, if the BCI W 2 is selected as orthogonal to the PMI W 2 , the overhead for reporting the BCI W 1 set will be reduced to 2 bits (original 4 bits), and the overhead for reporting the BCI W 2 will be reduced to 3 bits (original 4 bits).

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a shifting unit may not be installed in the base station side, and the schema of how to shift the BCI W 1 set and confine the co-phasing factors is explicitly signaled from the mobile terminal to the base station. In such a way, the reporting unit at the mobile terminal not only reports PMI W 1 , PMI W 2 , BCI W 1 set, and BCI W 2 , but also reports how the BCI W 1 set is shifted/confined from the original BCI W 1 set. Furthermore, when the reporting unit of the mobile terminal reports the BCI W 1 set to the base station as well as the signaling indicating shifting/confining information, both of the base station and the mobile terminal will know how to shift the BCI W 1 set and confine the co-phasing factors, so can select the BCI W 2 from the shifted BCI W 1 set with the same schema. However, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the shifting unit may be installed in the base station. In such a way, there is no explicit signaling from the mobile terminal to the base station to indicate how to shift/confine the BCI W 1 set. Furthermore, when the mobile terminal reports the BCI W 1 set to the base station, the shifting unit at the base station will derive the shifted/confined BCI W 1 set based on the knowledge of PMI W 2 . In this case (shifting unit installed at the base station), in general, the shifting units in the mobile terminal and base station should maintain the same shifting/confining rules (i.e., same PMI W 2 value should result the same shifting/confining in shifting units in both base station and mobile terminal). In both cases (base station shifting unit is installed or not), it is commonly understood between the mobile terminal and the base station that the reported BCI W 2 is selected from the shifted/confined BCI W 1 set but not the original BCI W 1 set.

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of a method of reporting the BCI in a wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 11 , in the step S 1101 , a PMI W 1 set and a PMI W 2 to be used for a mobile terminal are obtained based on a double codebook. In the step S 1102 , a BCI W 1 set to be used for another mobile terminal is calculated based on the PMI W 1 set. In the step S 1103 , the BCI W 1 set is reported to a base station. Here, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI. The BCI W 1 set may be reported to the base station on a relatively long interval.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the above step S 1101 can be executed by the obtaining unit 401 , the above step S 1102 can be executed by the computation unit 402 , the above step S 1103 can be executed by the reporting unit 404 .

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of reporting BCI further comprises steps of selecting a BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 ; and reporting the BCI W 2 to the base station. The above steps can be executed by the selection unit 403 and the reporting unit 405 , respectively. The BCI W 1 set may be reported on a relatively long interval, and the BCI W 2 may be reported on a relatively short interval. Alternatively, the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 are reported both on relatively short interval.

FIG. 12 shows a flow chart of a method of reporting the BCI in a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 12 , in the step S 1201 , a PMI W 1 set and a PMI W 2 to be used for a mobile terminal are obtained based on a double codebook. In the step S 1202 , a BCI W 1 set to be used for another mobile terminal is calculated based on the PMI W 1 set. In the step S 1203 , a BCI W 2 is selected from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . In the step S 1204 , the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 are reported to a base station. Here, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the above step S 1201 can be executed by the obtaining unit 401 , the above step S 1202 can be executed by the computation unit 402 , the above step S 1203 can be executed by the selection unit 403 , and the above step S 1204 can be executed by the reporting unit 404 .

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of reporting BCI further comprises a step of shifting the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . The above step can be executed by the shifting unit 405 .

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of reporting BCI further comprises a step of reporting the BCI W 1 set on a long time interval, and reporting the BCI W 2 on a short time interval. The above step can be executed by the reporting unit 404 .

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the double codebook is a combination of DFT components and co-phasing factors, the DFT components are represented by a plurality of columns of vectors, and the co-phasing factors are represented by [1, −1, j, −j].

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of reporting BCI further comprises steps of: if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, shifting the BCI W 1 set to its left side, and if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set, shifting the BCI W 1 set to its right side. The above step can be executed by the shifting unit 405 .

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of reporting BCI further comprises a step of: shifting the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors. The above step can be executed by the shifting unit 405 .

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of reporting BCI further comprises a step of: confining the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein, if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set is confined to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set is confined to [j, −j]. The above step can be executed by the shifting unit 405 .

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the BCI W 2 selected from the shifted BCI W 1 set, where the BCI W 2 is constraint to be orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of a base station for receiving the BCI from a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 13 , the base station 1300 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise: a receiving unit 1301 and a pre-coding unit 1302 which are connected with each other.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station 1300 may further comprise a selection unit 1306 and/or a shifting unit 1307 .

The base station 1300 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may further comprise: a central process unit (CPU) 1310 which is used to execute relevant programs to process various kinds of data, and to control the operations of each unit included in the base station 1300 ; a read only memory (ROM) 1313 which is used to store various programs required for the CPU 1310 to execute various operations and controls; a random access memory (RAM) 1315 which is used to store various data produced in the procedure of the CPU 1310 executing operations and controls; an input/output unit (I/O) 1317 which is used to connect with external devices, and transmit various data between the external devices and the base station 1300 , etc. The above receiving unit 1301 , pre-coding unit 1302 , selection unit 1306 , shifting unit 1307 , CPU 1310 , ROM 1313 , RAM 1315 , and I/O unit 1317 may be connected with each other via a data/command bus 1320 , and transmit signals with each other.

The above units do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the functions of the receiving unit 1301 , pre-coding unit 1302 , selection unit 1306 , and shifting unit 1307 can be realized by software in combination with the CPU 1310 , ROM 1313 , RAM 1315 , and I/O unit 1317 . Further, the receiving unit 1301 , pre-coding unit 1302 , selection unit 1306 , and shifting unit 1307 can be realized by combining into one unit.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the above units of the base station 1300 for receiving BCI from a mobile station in a wireless communication system are operated as: the receiving unit 1301 receives a PMI W 1 set, a PMI W 2 , and a BCI W 1 set from the mobile terminal, wherein the PMI W 1 set, PMI W 2 , and BCI W 1 set are generated based on a double codebook; the pre-coding unit 1302 pre-codes data to be sent to another mobile terminal with the BCI W 1 set, wherein, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI. Here, the other mobile terminal is possibly co-scheduled with the mobile terminal in the wireless communication system.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the receiving unit 1301 further receives a BCI W 2 from the mobile terminal, wherein the BCI W 1 set is shifted by the mobile terminal based on the PMI W 2 , and the BCI W 2 is selected by the mobile terminal from the shifted BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the BCI W 1 set is received on a relatively long interval. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the BCI W 1 set is received on a relatively long interval, and BCI W 2 is received on a relatively short interval. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 are received both on relatively short interval.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the selection unit 1306 selects the BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . Here, the BCI W 2 is preferred to be orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shifting unit 1307 shifts the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . In the present disclosure, the double codebook is a combination of DFT components and co-phasing factors, the DFT components are represented by a plurality of columns of vectors, and the co-phasing factors are represented by [1, −1, j, −j]. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shifting unit 1307 shifts the BCI W 1 set to its left side if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, and shifts the BCI W 1 set to its right side if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set. Further, the shifting unit 1307 can shift the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shifting unit 1307 further confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [j, −j].

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shifting unit 1307 is installed in the base station, and the shifting unit 405 can be configured with the same schema of how to shift the BCI W 1 set and confine the co-phasing factors in advance. In such a way, when the mobile terminal reports the BCI W 1 set to the base station, both of the base station and the mobile terminal will know how to shift the BCI W 1 set and confine the co-phasing factors, so can select the BCI W 2 from the shifted BCI W 1 set with the same schema consistently between the base station and the mobile terminal. However, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the shifting unit 1307 may not be installed in the base station. In such a way, when the mobile terminal reports the BCI W 1 set to the base station, the mobile terminal will additionally report to the base station how the BCI W 1 set is shifted compared with original BCI W 1 set. In this case, the base station receiving unit not only receives PMI W 1 , PMI W 2 , BCI W 1 , BCI W 2 , but also receives the addition signaling regarding the shifting/confining schema. In both cases (shifting unit is installed or not), it is commonly understood between the mobile terminal and the base station that the reported BCI W 2 is selected from the shifted/confined BCI W 1 set but not the original BCI W 1 set. Thus, the base station can receive the signaling to get the preferred BCI W 2 , and potentially pre-code the data of the co-scheduled mobile terminal with the preferred BCI W 2 .

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, in the FIG. 1 , the mobile terminal 101 included in the wireless communication system 100 can be realized as the mobile terminal 400 according to the present disclosure, wherein the mobile terminal 400 comprises: an obtaining unit 401 which obtains a PMI W 1 set and a PMI W 2 based on a double codebook, a computation unit 402 which computes a BCI W 1 set to be used for another mobile terminal based on the PMI W 1 set, a selection unit 403 which selects a BCI W 2 from the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 , and a reporting unit 404 which reports the BCI W 1 set and the BCI W 2 to the base station. Here, W 1 indicates a long-term or wideband component of the PMI and BCI, and W 2 indicates a short-term or narrowband component of the PMI and BCI. The other mobile terminal is possibly co-scheduled with the mobile terminal in the wireless communication system.

Further, the mobile terminal 400 included in the wireless communication system 100 can further comprise a shifting unit 405 which shifts the BCI W 1 set based on the PMI W 2 . Specifically, the reporting unit 404 reports the BCI W 1 set on a long time interval, and reports the BCI W 2 on a short time interval. The double codebook is a combination of DFT components and co-phasing factors, the DFT components are represented by a plurality of columns of vectors, the co-phasing factors are represented by [1, −1, j, −j]. The shifting unit 405 shifts the BCI W 1 set to its left side if the PMI W 2 is located on the left side column of the PMI W 1 set, and shifts the BCI W 1 set to its right side if the PMI W 2 is located on the right side column of the PMI W 1 set. The shifting unit 405 may shift the BCI W 1 set by one or two columns of the vectors. The shifting unit 405 further confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set, wherein if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [1, −1], the shifting unit confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [1, −1], and if the PMI W 2 has co-phasing factors within [j, −j], the shifting unit 405 confines the co-phasing factors of the BCI W 1 set to [j, −j]. The BCI W 2 selected from the BCI W 1 set is orthogonal to the PMI W 2 .

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skills in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to disclosures containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.