Replication for ultra-reliable low-latency communications

Abstract

Embodiments include methods performed by a user equipment (UE) for communicating via multiple nodes in a wireless network. Such methods include: receiving multiple transmission configuration indication (TCI) states; and receiving scheduling information for multiple physical data channels carrying corresponding multiple repetitions of data blocks via a single physical control channel. The physical data channels can be corresponding layers of a PDSCH, or each physical data channel can be a subset of all layers of the PDSCH. Such methods include: assigning one or more of the TCI states to multiple repetitions; and receiving multiple repetitions via multiple physical data channels based on the scheduling information and the assigned TCI states. Embodiments also include supplementary methods performed by a wireless network, as well as UEs and wireless networks configured to perform such methods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication networks, and more particularly to performance improvements in Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) in wireless communication networks. Background Art

[0002] Generally, all terms used in this article will be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant technical field, unless clearly given different meanings and / or different meanings from those implied in the context in which it is used. Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to elements, devices, assemblies, methods, steps, etc. will be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance in elements, devices, assemblies, methods, steps, etc. The steps of any method and / or process disclosed herein are not necessarily performed in the exact order disclosed, unless the steps are clearly described as being after or before another step and / or imply that the steps must be after or before another step. As long as it is appropriate, any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applicable to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applicable to any other embodiment, and vice versa. From the following description, other purposes, features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent.

[0003] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is an umbrella term for so-called fourth generation (4G) radio access technologies developed within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and initially standardized in Releases 8 and 9, also known as Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). LTE targets various licensed frequency bands and is accompanied by non-radio improvements generally referred to as System Architecture Evolution (SAE), which includes an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. LTE continues to evolve through subsequent releases developed according to the standards setting process of 3GPP and its working groups (WGs), including the Radio Access Network (RAN) WG, and sub-working groups (e.g., RAN1, RAN2, etc.).

[0004] LTE Release 10 (Rel-10) supports bandwidths greater than 20MHz. An important requirement for Rel-10 is to ensure backward compatibility with LTE Release-8. As such, a broadband LTE Rel-10 carrier (e.g., wider than 20MHz) should appear as many carriers to a LTE Rel-8 ("legacy") terminal. Each such carrier may be referred to as a component carrier (CC). In order to also efficiently use the wide carrier for legacy terminals, legacy terminals may be scheduled in all parts of a broadband LTE Rel-10 carrier. An exemplary way to achieve this is by means of carrier aggregation (CA), where a Rel-10 terminal may receive multiple CCs, each CC preferably having the same structure as a Rel-8 carrier. One of the enhancements in LTE Rel-11 is an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH), which has the goal of increasing capacity and improving spatial multiplexing of control channel resources, improving inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC), and supporting antenna beamforming and / or transmit diversity for control channels. Furthermore, LTE Rel-12 introduces Dual Connectivity (DC), whereby a UE can be simultaneously connected to two network nodes, thereby improving connection robustness and / or capacity.

[0005] Figure 1 An overall exemplary architecture of a network including LTE and SAE is shown. E-UTRAN 100 includes one or more evolved Node Bs (eNBs), such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115, and one or more user equipments (UEs), such as UE 120. As used within the 3GPP standards, "user equipment" or "UE" means any wireless communication device (e.g., a smartphone or computing device) capable of communicating with 3GPP standard-compliant network equipment, including E-UTRAN as well as UTRAN and / or GERAN, as third generation ("3G") and second generation ("2G") 3GPP radio access networks are generally known.

[0006] As specified by 3GPP, E-UTRAN 100 is responsible for all radio-related functions in the network, including radio bearer control, radio admission control, radio mobility control, scheduling, and dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in uplink and downlink, and security of communications with UEs. These functions reside in eNBs, such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115. The eNBs in E-UTRAN communicate with each other via an X1 interface, such as Figure 1 The eNB is also responsible for the E-UTRAN interface of the EPC 130, in particular, the S1 interface of the mobile management entity (MME) and the serving gateway (SGW), collectively shown as Figure 1134 and 138 in the MME / S-GW. In general, the MME / S-GW handles the overall control of the UE and the data flow between the UE and the rest of the EPC. More specifically, the MME handles the signaling (e.g., control plane) protocol between the UE and the EPC, which is called the non-access stratum (NAS) protocol. The S-GW handles all Internet Protocol (IP) data packets (e.g., data or user plane) between the UE and the EPC and serves as a local mobility anchor for data bearers when the UE moves between multiple eNBs (such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115).

[0007] The EPC 130 may also include a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 131 that manages user-related information and subscriber-related information. The HSS 131 may also provide support functions in mobility management, call and session setup, user authentication, and access authorization. The functions of the HSS 131 may be related to the functions of a conventional Home Location Register (HLR) and an Authentication Center (AuC) function or operation.

[0008] In some embodiments, HSS 131 may communicate with a user data repository (UDR) via a Ud interface. Figure 1 The EPC-UDR 135 may communicate with the HSS 131 (not shown in the EPC-UDR 135). The EPC-UDR 135 may store the user credentials after they have been encrypted by the AuC algorithm. These algorithms are not standardized (i.e., are vendor specific), making the encrypted credentials stored in the EPC-UDR 135 inaccessible to any other vendor except the vendor of the HSS 131.

[0009] Figure 2A A high-level block diagram of an exemplary LTE architecture in terms of its constituent entities - UE, E-UTRAN and EPC - and the high-level functional division into the Access Stratum (AS) and the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) is shown. Figure 2A Also shown are two specific interface points, namely, Uu (UE / E-UTRAN radio interface) and S1 (E-UTRAN / EPC interface), each using a specific set of protocols (i.e., radio protocols and S1 protocols). Figure 2A Not shown, each of the protocol sets may also be divided into user plane and control plane protocol functions. The user and control planes are also referred to as U-plane and C-plane, respectively. On the Uu interface, the U-plane carries user information (e.g., data packets), while the C-plane carries control information between the UE and the E-UTRAN.

[0010] Figure 2BA block diagram of an exemplary C-plane protocol stack between a UE, an eNB, and an MME is shown. The exemplary protocol stack includes physical (PHY), medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and radio resource control (RRC) layers between the UE and the eNB. The PHY layer is concerned with how and what characteristics are used to transmit data through transport channels on the LTE radio interface. The MAC layer provides data transmission services on logical channels, maps logical channels to PHY transport channels, and reallocates PHY resources to support these services. The RLC layer provides error detection and / or correction, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly, reordering of data transmitted to or from upper layers. The PHY, MAC, and RLC layers perform the same functions for both the U-plane and the C-plane. The PDCP layer provides encryption / decryption and integrity protection for both the U-plane and the C-plane, as well as other functions for the U-plane, such as header compression. The exemplary protocol stack also includes non-access stratum (NAS) signaling between the UE and the MME.

[0011] Figure 2C A block diagram of an exemplary LTE radio interface protocol architecture from the perspective of the PHY layer is shown. The interface between the layers is provided by a service access point (SAP) which is provided by Figure 2C . The PHY layer interfaces with the MAC and RRC protocol layers described above. The PHY, MAC, and RRC are also referred to as layers 1-3 in the figure, respectively. The MAC provides different logical channels to the RLC protocol layer (also as described above), characterized by the type of information transmitted, while the PHY provides transport channels to the MAC, characterized by how the information is transmitted over the radio interface. In providing this transport service, the PHY performs various functions, including: error detection and correction; rate matching of coded transport channels and mapping of coded transport channels onto physical channels; power weighting, modulation, and demodulation of physical channels; transmit diversity; and beamforming multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna processing. The PHY layer also receives control information (e.g., commands) from the RRC and provides various information to the RRC, such as radio measurement results.

[0012] The RRC layer controls the communication between the UE and the eNB at the radio interface, as well as the mobility of the UE between cells in the E-UTRAN. After the UE is powered on, it will be in the RRC_IDLE state until an RRC connection is established with the network, at which time the UE will transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state (where data transfer can occur). The UE returns to RRC_IDLE after the connection with the network is released. In the RRC_IDLE state, the UE's radio is active on a discontinuous reception (DRX) schedule configured by the upper layers. During the DRX active period (also known as the "wake-up activation duration (On duration)"), the RRC_IDLE UE receives system information (SI) broadcast by the serving cell, performs measurements of neighboring cells to support cell reselection, and monitors paging from the EPC via the eNB on the paging channel on the PDCCH. The RRC_IDLE UE is known in the EPC and has an assigned IP address, but is unknown to the serving eNB (e.g., there is no stored context).

[0013] In general, a physical channel corresponds to a set of resource elements that carry information originating from a higher layer. The downlink (i.e., eNB to UE) physical channels provided by the LTE PHY include the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH), the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), the Relay Physical Downlink Control Channel (R-PDCCH), the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), the Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH), and the Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH). In addition, the LTE PHY downlink includes various reference signals, synchronization signals, and discovery signals.

[0014] The PBCH carries basic system information required by the UE to access the network. The PDSCH is the primary physical channel used for unicast DL data transmission but also for transmission of RAR (Random Access Response), certain system information blocks, and paging information. The PHICH carries HARQ feedback (e.g., ACK / NAK) for UL transmissions by the UE. Similarly, the PDCCH carries DL scheduling assignments (e.g., for PDSCH), UL resource grants (e.g., for PUSCH), channel quality feedback for UL channels (e.g., CSI), and other control information.

[0015] The uplink (i.e., UE to eNB) physical channels provided by the LTE PHY include the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). In addition, the LTE PHY uplink includes various reference signals, including: a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), which is sent to assist the eNB in ​​the reception of the associated PUCCH or PUSCH; and a sounding reference signal (SRS), which is not associated with any uplink channel.

[0016] PRACH is used for random access preamble transmission. PUSCH is the counterpart of PDSCH and is mainly used for individual UL data transmission. Similar to PDCCH, PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI for DL ​​channels, HARQ feedback for eNB DL transmission, and other control information.

[0017] The multiple access schemes for LTE PHY are based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) in the downlink and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) with a cyclic prefix in the uplink. To support transmissions in paired and unpaired spectrum, LTE PHY supports both Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) (including both full-duplex and half-duplex operations) and Time Division Duplexing (TDD). Figure 3A An exemplary radio frame structure ("Type 1") for LTE FDD downlink (DL) operation is shown. The DL radio frame has a fixed duration of 10 ms and includes 20 slots labeled from 0 to 19, each with a fixed duration of 0.5 ms. A 1-ms subframe includes two consecutive slots, where subframe i includes slots 2i and 2i+1. Each exemplary FDD DL slot includes N DL symb OFDM symbols, each of which includes N sc OFDM subcarriers. N DL symb Exemplary values ​​of N may be 7 (with normal CP) or 6 (with extended length CP) for a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15 kHz. sc The value of is configurable based on the available channel bandwidth. Since those skilled in the art are familiar with the principles of OFDM, further details are omitted in this specification.

[0018] like Figure 3AAs shown, the combination of a particular subcarrier in a particular symbol is called a resource element (RE). Each RE is used to transmit a specific number of bits depending on the type of modulation and / or bit mapping constellation used for that RE. For example, some REs may carry two bits using QPSK modulation, while other REs may carry four or six bits using 16-QAM or 64-QAM, respectively. The radio resources of the LTE PHY are also defined in terms of physical resource blocks (PRBs). A PRB is used for the duration of a slot (i.e., N DL symb symbols) spans N RB sc subcarriers, where N RB sc Typically 12 (with 15-kHz subcarrier bandwidth) or 24 (7.5-kHz bandwidth). DL symb symbols) spanning the same N RB sc The PRBs of N subcarriers are called PRB pairs. Therefore, the resources available in a subframe of LTE PHYDL include N DL RB PRB pairs, each of which consists of 2N DL symb ·N RB sc For normal CP and 15-KHz SCS, a PRB pair includes 168 REs.

[0019] An exemplary characteristic of PRBs is that consecutively numbered PRBs (e.g., PRB i and PRB i+1 ) includes a contiguous block of subcarriers. For example, in the case of normal CP and 15-KHz subcarrier bandwidth, PRB0 includes subcarriers 0 to 11, and PRB1 includes subcarriers 12 to 23. LTE PHY resources can also be defined in terms of virtual resource blocks (VRBs), which are the same size as PRBs but of localized or distributed type. Localized VRBs can be directly mapped to PRBs such that Corresponds to On the other hand, distributed VRBs may be mapped to non-contiguous PRBs according to various rules, as described in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.213 or otherwise known to those of ordinary skill in the art. However, the term "PRB" shall be used in this disclosure to refer to both physical and virtual resource blocks. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the term "PRB" will therefore be used to refer to a resource block for the duration of a subframe, i.e., a PRB pair.

[0020] Figure 3B Shown with Figure 3A An exemplary LTE FDD uplink (UL) radio frame is configured in a similar manner to the exemplary FDD DL radio frame shown. Using techniques consistent with the above DL description, each UL time slot includes N UL symb OFDM symbols, each of which includes N sc OFDM subcarriers.

[0021] As discussed above, LTE PHY is Figure 3A and Figure 3B As shown, various DL and UL physical channels are mapped to resources. For example, the PHICH carries HARQ feedback (e.g., ACK / NAK) for UL transmissions performed by the UE. Similarly, the PDCCH carries scheduling assignments, channel quality feedback (e.g., CSI) for UL channels, and other control information. Likewise, the PUCCH carries uplink control information, such as scheduling requests, CSI for downlink channels, HARQ feedback for eNB DL transmissions, and other control information. Both the PDCCH and the PUCCH can be sent on an aggregation of one or more consecutive control channel elements (CCEs), and the CCEs are mapped to physical resources based on resource element groups (REGs), each of which includes multiple REs. For example, a CCE may include nine (9) REGs, where each REG may include four (4) REs.

[0022] Figure 4 FIG. 4 shows an exemplary manner in which CCEs and REGs may be mapped to physical resources (eg, PRBs). Figure 4 As shown, the REGs including the CCEs of the PDCCH may be mapped into the first three symbols of the subframe, while the remaining symbols may be used for other physical channels, such as the PDSCH carrying user data. Figure 4 In the exemplary arrangement of , each of the REGs includes four REs, which are represented by small dashed rectangles. Figure 4 Two CCEs are shown, but the number of CCEs may vary depending on the required PDCCH capacity, which may be based on the number of users, amount of measurements and / or control signaling, etc. On the uplink, the PUCCH may be configured similarly.

[0023] In LTE, DL transmissions are dynamically scheduled, i.e., in each subframe, the base station sends control information indicating the terminals to which data is sent in the current downlink subframe and on which resource blocks the data is sent. This control signaling is usually sent in the first n OFDM symbols in each subframe and the number n (=1, 2, 3 or 4) is called the control format indicator (CFI) indicated by the PCFICH sent in the first symbol of the control region.

[0024] While LTE was primarily designed for user-to-user communications, 5G (also referred to as "NR") cellular networks are envisioned to support both high single-user data rates (e.g., 1 Gb / s) and massive machine-to-machine communications involving short burst transmissions from multiple different devices sharing a frequency bandwidth. The 5G radio standard (also referred to as "new radio" or "NR") currently targets a wide variety of data services, including eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband), URLLC (ultra-reliable low latency communications), and machine-type communications (MTC). These services may have different requirements and goals. For example, URLLC is designed to provide data services with extremely stringent error and latency requirements, such as 10 -5 The same or lower error probability and end-to-end latency of 1ms or less.

[0025] Similar to LTE, NR uses CP-OFDM (Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) in the downlink and CP-OFDM and DFT-spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink. In the time domain, the NR downlink and uplink physical resources are each organized into equal-sized subframes of 1 ms. The subframes are also divided into multiple slots of equal duration, where each slot includes multiple OFDM-based symbols. NR also shares various other features of LTE discussed above.

[0026] For NR Rel-16, it has been discussed to support multi-source transmission of PDSCH to UE. In this context, "source" can refer to beams, panels, transmit / receive points (TRPs), etc. For example, in order to support URLLC, it can be beneficial to send multiple versions of the transport block (TB) of data to the UE from different TRPs. This requires scheduling multiple PDSCHs to the same UE, which requires the UE to correctly decode multiple PDCCHs using the scheduling information for the corresponding PDSCHs. Multiple PDCCHs for a single UE can increase UE complexity and also consume more control channel resources, which reduces the flexibility for scheduling other UEs in the same time slot and / or increases the PDCCH blocking probability. These effects are undesirable. Summary of the invention

[0027] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide certain improvements to communications between a user equipment (UE) and a network node in a wireless communication network, such as by helping to overcome the exemplary problems described above.

[0028] Some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure include methods (e.g., processes) for communicating via multiple nodes in a wireless network. These exemplary methods may be performed by a user equipment (UE, e.g., a wireless device, an IoT device, a modem, etc., or a component thereof) communicating with one or more network nodes (e.g., a base station, a gNB, an en-gNB, etc., or a component thereof) in a wireless network (e.g., an E-UTRAN, a NG-RAN).

[0029] These exemplary methods may include receiving a plurality of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states from a wireless network. In some embodiments, the plurality of TCI states may be associated with one of: a respective plurality of nodes in the wireless network; or a respective plurality of beams associated with one or more nodes in the wireless network.

[0030] These exemplary methods may also include receiving scheduling information for a plurality of physical data channels carrying corresponding plurality of repetitions of data blocks via a single physical control channel. For example, the physical control channel may be a PDCCH, and the scheduling information may be a scheduling DCI, such as discussed above. In some embodiments, the plurality of physical data channels may be corresponding layers of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In other embodiments, each physical data channel may be a subset of all layers of the PDSCH.

[0031] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of resources for receiving one or more of the repetitions. The indicated resources may be in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layer. In some embodiments, the resources for at least two of the repetitions may be in the same symbol set in a time slot.

[0032] In other embodiments, the scheduling information may include an indicator of a first resource for receiving a first repetition of the repetitions. In such embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include receiving one or more offsets to be applied to the first resource to determine other resources for receiving remaining repetitions of the repetitions. In such embodiments, the other resources may be located in one of: one or more subsequent time slots relative to the first resource, or one or more subsequent symbols within the same time slot relative to the first resource.

[0033] In some embodiments, the indicated resources for at least two of the repetitions may completely overlap in frequency. In such embodiments, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following for each of the completely overlapping repetitions: a unique set of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports; DMRS ports from a unique code division multiplexing (CDM) group; and a unique data scrambling seed.

[0034] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of a mapping between multiple repetitions and multiple redundancy versions (RVs) of the data block.

[0035] These exemplary methods may also include assigning one or more of the TCI states to multiple repetitions. In some embodiments, the multiple TCI states are less than the multiple repetitions, and the multiple TCI states are assigned to the repetitions in a predefined order. In other embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of a mapping between one or more of the TCI states and the multiple repetitions. In such embodiments, the one or more TCI states are assigned to the repetitions based on the indicated mapping. In some of these embodiments, the indicator is included in a field with multiple code points, and the multiple TCI states are less than the multiple code points. In such embodiments, a first subset of code points can be associated with a separate TCI state, and a second subset of code points can be associated with a combination of separate TCI states.

[0036] In some embodiments, each TCI state includes one or more source reference signal (RS) pairs, wherein each source RS pair has a corresponding pair of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships with antenna ports for a DM-RS mapped to a specific physical data channel. In such embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include: for each of the plurality of TCI states, determining a channel parameter based on the source RS pair included in the particular TCI state.

[0037] These exemplary methods may also include: receiving multiple repetitions via multiple physical data channels based on the scheduling information and the assigned TCI state. In some embodiments, for each of the physical data channels, the operations may include the following: based on channel parameters (e.g., determined for the source RS pair), receiving a DM-RS mapped to the physical data channel; based on the received DM-RS, determining further channel parameters; and based on the further channel parameters, receiving the physical data channel.

[0038] Other exemplary embodiments include methods (e.g., processes) for communicating with a single user equipment (UE) via multiple physical data channels. These exemplary methods may be performed by one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, en-gNBs, etc. or components thereof) of a wireless network (e.g., NG-RAN, E-UTRAN).

[0039] These exemplary methods may include: sending a plurality of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states to the UE. In some embodiments, the plurality of TCI states may be associated with one of: a respective plurality of nodes in a wireless network; or a respective plurality of beams associated with one or more nodes in a wireless network.

[0040] These exemplary methods may also include assigning one or more of the TCI states to a plurality of repetitions of a data block to be carried by a corresponding plurality of physical data channels. In some embodiments, the plurality of TCI states may be less than the plurality of repetitions, and the plurality of TCI states may be assigned to the repetitions in a predefined order. The UE may also be aware of the predefined order and assign the TCI states to the repetitions in a corresponding manner.

[0041] These exemplary methods may also include: sending scheduling information for multiple physical data channels carrying corresponding multiple repetitions of data blocks via a single physical control channel. In some embodiments, the multiple physical data channels may be corresponding layers of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In other embodiments, each physical data channel may be a subset of all layers of the PDSCH.

[0042] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may further include an indicator for receiving one or more repetitions of the repetition. The indicated resources may be in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layer. In some embodiments, the resources for at least two repetitions of the repetition may be in the same symbol set in the time slot.

[0043] In other embodiments, the scheduling information may include an indicator of a first resource for receiving a first repetition of the repetitions. In such embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include sending one or more offsets to be applied to the first resource to determine other resources for receiving remaining repetitions of the repetitions. In such embodiments, the other resources may be located in one of: one or more subsequent time slots relative to the first resource, or one or more subsequent symbols within the same time slot relative to the first resource.

[0044] In some embodiments, the indicated resources for at least two of the repetitions may completely overlap in frequency. In such embodiments, the scheduling information may also include at least one of the following for each of the completely overlapping repetitions: a unique set of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports; DMRS ports from a unique code division multiplexing (CDM) group; and a unique data scrambling seed.

[0045] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of a mapping between multiple repetitions and multiple redundancy versions (RVs) of the data block.

[0046] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of a mapping between one or more of the TCI states and a plurality of repetitions. For example, the mapping may reflect and / or indicate the assignment of TCI states to repetitions. In some of these embodiments, the indicator is included in a field having a plurality of code points, the plurality of TCI states being less than the plurality of code points. In such embodiments, a first subset of code points may be associated with a single TCI state, and a second subset of code points may be associated with a combination of single TCI states.

[0047] In some embodiments, each TCI state may include one or more source reference signal (RS) pairs, wherein each source RS pair has a corresponding pair of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships with antenna ports for a DM-RS mapped to a specific physical data channel. In such embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include: for each TCI state in a plurality of TCI states, transmitting a source RS pair included in a particular TCI state.

[0048] These exemplary methods may also include sending multiple repetitions via multiple physical data channels based on the scheduling information and the assigned TCI state. In some embodiments, these operations may include sending corresponding DM-RS associated with the physical data channels to which they are mapped. This can facilitate the UE to receive the target RS (e.g., DM-RS) associated with a specific physical data channel using the source RS pair and QCL relationship.

[0049] Other exemplary embodiments include a wireless network including one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, CU / DUs, TRPs, controllers, etc.) and user equipment (UE, e.g., wireless devices, IoT devices, or components thereof, such as modems), which are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Other exemplary embodiments include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions, which, when executed by a processing circuit, configure such a wireless network or UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

[0050] These and other objects, features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent after reading the following detailed description in view of the accompanying drawings briefly described below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1 is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary architecture of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved-UTRAN (E-UTRAN) and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network as standardized by 3GPP.

[0052] Figure 2Ais a high-level block diagram of an exemplary E-UTRAN architecture in terms of its constituent components, protocols, and interfaces.

[0053] Figure 2B is a block diagram of exemplary protocol layers for the control plane portion of the radio (Uu) interface between a user equipment (UE) and an E-UTRAN.

[0054] Figure 2C is a block diagram of an exemplary LTE radio interface protocol architecture from the perspective of the PHY layer.

[0055] Figure 3A and Figure 3B are block diagrams of exemplary downlink and uplink LTE radio frame structures, respectively, for frequency division duplex (FDD) operation.

[0056] Figure 4 An exemplary manner in which CCEs and REGs may be mapped to physical resources is shown.

[0057] Figure 5 An exemplary time-frequency resource grid for an NR timeslot is shown.

[0058] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B Various exemplary NR timeslot configurations are shown.

[0059] Figure 7 A high-level view of the 5G network architecture is shown.

[0060] Figure 8 (which includes FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D ) shows four exemplary mappings of the front-loaded demodulation reference signal (DM-RS).

[0061] Figures 9 and 10 A flow chart of an exemplary operation scenario according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, in which the UE communicates with two gNBs that can provide PDSCH diversity transmission.

[0062] Fig.11 A flowchart of an exemplary method (eg, process) performed by a user equipment (UE, eg, a wireless device, an IoT device, etc.) according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0063] Fig.12 A flowchart of an exemplary method (e.g., process) performed by a wireless network including one or more nodes (e.g., base station, gNB, eNB, en-gNB, etc.) according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0064] Fig.13 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless device or UE according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] Fig.14 is a block diagram of an exemplary network node according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0066] Fig.15 is a block diagram of an exemplary network configured to provide over-the-top (OTT) data services between a host computer and a UE according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0067] Fig.16 Various exemplary arrangements showing PDSCH repetition based on slots, mini-slots, frequencies, and layers are shown according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided merely as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. In addition, various terms discussed below will be used throughout the application.

[0069] The term "network node" used herein may be any type of network node included in a radio network, and the network node may also include any of the following: a base station (BS), a radio base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), a g Node B (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), a Node B, a multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node (such as an MSR BS), a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a relay node, a donor node control relay, a radio access point (AP), a transmission point, a transmission node, a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., a mobile management entity (MME), a self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordination node, a positioning node, an MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., a third-party node, a node outside the current network), a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also include a test device. As used herein, the term "radio node" may be used to refer also to a wireless device (WD), such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

[0070] The term "radio network node" may refer to any type of network node, which may include any type of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, remote radio unit (RRU), remote radio head (RRH), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, etc.

[0071] In some embodiments, a TRP may be associated with a network node or a radio network node. In some embodiments, a multi-TRP scenario may include multiple TRPs associated with one or more network nodes.

[0072] Unless otherwise specified, the terms "wireless device" (or "WD" for short) and "user equipment" (or "UE" for short) are used interchangeably. A WD may be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD via radio signals, such as a wireless device (WD). A WD may also be a radio communication device, a target device, a device-to-device (D2D) WD, a machine type WD or a WD capable of machine-to-machine communication (M2M), a low-cost and / or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with a WD, a tablet computer, a mobile terminal, a smart phone, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a customer-prescribed equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a narrowband IoT (NB-IOT) device, an aerial device (e.g., a drone), a ProSe UE, a V2V UE, a V2X UE, etc.

[0073] Unless otherwise stated, the functions described herein as performed by a network node or UE may be distributed across multiple network nodes or UEs. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network nodes and UEs described herein are not limited to being performed by a single physical device and, in fact, may be distributed across multiple physical devices.

[0074] Unless otherwise specified, the term "time resource" may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of a length of time or a time interval or duration. In some embodiments, the term "time slot" is used to indicate a radio resource; however, it should be understood that the techniques described herein may be advantageously used with other types of radio resources, such as any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of a length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, mini-time slot, subframe, radio frame, transmission time interval (TTI), interleaving time, time resource number, etc.

[0075] Unless otherwise specified, the term "TTI" may correspond to any time period during which a physical channel may be encoded and interleaved for transmission (e.g., during a TTI). A physical channel may be decoded by a receiver during the same time period (T0) in which it was encoded. TTI may also be interchangeably referred to as short TTI (sTTI), transmission time, slot, subslot, microslot, short subframe (SSF), micro subframe, etc.

[0076] In some embodiments, a transmitter (e.g., a network node) and a receiver (e.g., a WD) may have a common predetermined understanding of (one or more) rules for determining which resources are arranged for transmission and / or reception of one or more physical channels. In some embodiments, such rules may be referred to as "mappings". In other embodiments, the term "mapping" may have other meanings.

[0077] Unless otherwise specified, the term "channel" may refer to a logical, transport, or physical channel. A channel may include one or more carriers and / or be arranged on one or more carriers, for example, multiple subcarriers. A channel that carries and / or is used to carry control signaling / control information may be considered a control channel, for example, if it is a physical layer channel and / or if it carries control plane information. Similarly, a channel that carries-and / or is used to carry-data signaling / user information may be considered a data channel (e.g., PDSCH), particularly if it is a physical layer channel and / or if it carries user plane (UP) information. A channel may be defined for a specific communication direction or for two complementary communication directions (e.g., UL and DL, or a side link in two directions), in which case it may be considered to have two component channels, one for each direction.

[0078] Although embodiments may be described below in the context of a downlink (DL) channel (e.g., PDSCH), it should be understood that the principles underlying such embodiments may also be applicable to other channels, such as other DL channels and / or certain uplink channels (e.g., PUSCH).

[0079] Although the term "cell" is used herein, it should be understood that (particularly with respect to 5GNR) beams may be used in place of cells, and as such, the concepts described herein apply equally to both cells and beams.

[0080] Although terminology from one or more specific wireless systems (e.g., LTE and / or NR) may be used herein, this should not be viewed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only those specific wireless systems. Other wireless systems, including Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from the principles and / or embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0081] As briefly mentioned above, for NR Rel-16, it has been discussed to support multi-source transmission of PDSCH to UE. In this context, the term "source" can refer to a beam, a panel, a transmit / receive point (TRP), etc. For example, to support URLLC, it can be beneficial to send multiple versions of a transport block (TB) to the UE from different TRPs, also known as "multi-TRP diversity". This requires scheduling multiple PDSCHs to the same UE. However, this increases UE complexity because the UE needs to correctly decode multiple PDCCHs in order to receive multiple PDSCHs to benefit from the multi-TRP diversity of the transmission. Multiple PDCCHs for a single UE also reduce the flexibility for scheduling other UEs in the same time slot and / or increase the PDCCH blocking probability. These issues are discussed in more detail below.

[0082] In Rel-15 NR, a UE may be configured with up to four carrier bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the downlink (DL), where a single DL carrier BWP is active at a given time. The UE may also be configured with up to four uplink (UL) carrier BWPs, where a single UL carrier BWP is active at a given time. If the UE is configured with a supplementary UL, the UE may be configured with up to four additional carrier BWPs in the supplementary UL, where a single supplementary UL carrier BWP is active at a given time.

[0083] Figure 5 An exemplary time-frequency resource grid for an NR time slot is shown. Figure 5 As shown, a resource block (RB) comprises a set of 12 consecutive OFDM subcarriers for the duration of a slot with 14 symbols. Like in LTE, a resource element (RE) comprises one subcarrier in a slot. Common RBs (CRBs) are numbered from 0 to the end of the system bandwidth. Each BWP configured for a UE has a common reference of CRB 0 so that a specifically configured BWP may start at a CRB greater than zero. In this way, a UE may be configured with a narrow BWP (e.g., 10 MHz) and a wide BWP (e.g., 100 MHz) each starting at a specific CRB, but only one BWP may be active for a UE at a given point in time.

[0084] Within a BWP, RBs are defined in the frequency domain and range from 0 to The SCS values ​​of NR are Δf = (15 × 2 μ )kHz, where μ∈(0,1,2,3,4) is called a "parameter set". The parameter set μ=0 (i.e., Δf=15kHz) provides the basic (or reference) SCS also used in LTE. μ ms, the slot length is inversely proportional to the SCS or parameter integration. For example, for Δf = 15kHz, there is one (1-ms) slot per subframe, and for Δf = 30kHz, there are two 0.5-ms slots per subframe, and so on. In addition, according to 2 μ ×180kHz, RB bandwidth is directly related to the parameter set.

[0085] The following Table 1 summarizes the supported NR parameter sets and associated parameters. Different DL and UL parameter sets can be configured by the network.

[0086] Table 1.

[0087]

[0088] An NR slot may include 14 OFDM symbols for a normal cyclic prefix and 12 symbols for an extended cyclic prefix. Fig. 6A An exemplary NR slot configuration including 14 symbols is shown, where the slot and symbol durations are denoted as T s and T symb . Additionally, NR includes Type-B scheduling, also known as “mini-slots”. These are shorter than slots, typically ranging from one symbol to up to fewer symbols than the number of symbols in a slot (e.g., 13 or 11), and can start at any symbol in the slot. Mini-slots can be used if the transmission duration of a slot is too long and / or the occurrence start of the next slot (slot alignment) is too late. Applications of mini-slots include unlicensed spectrum and latency-critical transmissions (e.g., URLLC). However, mini-slots are not service-specific and can also be used for eMBB or other services.

[0089] Figure 6B Another exemplary NR slot structure including 14 symbols is shown. In this arrangement, the PDCCH is restricted to a region containing a specific number of symbols and a specific number of subcarriers, referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). Figure 6BIn the exemplary structure shown, the first two symbols contain PDCCH, and each of the remaining 12 symbols contains a physical data channel (PDCH), i.e., PDSCH or PUSCH. However, depending on the specific CORESET configuration, the first two time slots may also carry PDSCH or other information as needed.

[0090] A CORESET includes multiple RBs (i.e., multiples of 12 REs) in the frequency domain and 1-3 OFDM symbols in the time domain, as further defined in 3GPP TS 38.211 §7.3.2.2. A CORESET is functionally similar to the control region in an LTE subframe, such as Figure 4 However, in NR, each REG includes all 12 REs of one OFDM symbol in an RB, while LTE REG only includes four REs, as shown in Figure 4 As shown in Figure 2. Like in LTE, the CORESET time domain size can be indicated by PCFICH. In LTE, the frequency bandwidth of the control region is fixed (i.e., for the total system bandwidth), however in NR, the frequency bandwidth of the CORESET is variable. The CORESET resources can be indicated to the UE via RRC signaling.

[0091] The smallest unit for defining a CORESET is a REG, which spans one PRB in frequency and one OFDM symbol in time. In addition to the PDCCH, each REG contains a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) to assist in the estimation of the radio channel on which the REG is transmitted. When transmitting the PDCCH, a precoder can be used to apply weights at the transmit antenna based on some knowledge of the radio channel before transmission. If the precoder used at the transmitter for the REG is not different, it is possible to improve the channel estimation performance at the UE by estimating the channel on multiple REGs that are similar in time and frequency. In order to assist the UE in channel estimation, multiple REGs can be grouped together to form a REG bundle, and the REG bundle size for the CORESET (i.e., 2, 3, or 6 REGs) can be indicated to the UE. The UE can assume that any precoder used for the transmission of the PDCCH is the same for all REGs in the REG bundle.

[0092] The NR control channel element (CCE) consists of six REGs. These REGs can be continuous or distributed in frequency. When the REGs are distributed in frequency, the CORESET is said to use an interleaved mapping of REGs to CCEs, while if the REGs are continuous in frequency, non-interleaved mapping is said to be used. Interleaving can provide frequency diversity. For situations where knowledge of the channel allows the use of precoders in specific parts of the spectrum to improve the SINR at the receiver, it is beneficial to not use interleaving.

[0093] Similar to LTE, NR data scheduling can be done dynamically on a per-slot basis. In each slot, the base station (e.g., gNB) sends downlink control information (DCI) over PDCCH, which indicates which UE is scheduled to receive data in that slot and which RBs will carry the data. The UE first detects and decodes the DCI, and, if the DCI includes DL scheduling information for the UE, receives the corresponding PDSCH based on the DL scheduling information. DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 are used to convey PDSCH scheduling.

[0094] Likewise, the DCI on the PDCCH may include an UL grant indicating which UE is scheduled to send data on the PUCCH in that slot and which RBs will carry the data. The UE first detects and decodes the DCI, and, if the DCI includes an uplink grant for the UE, sends the corresponding PUSCH on the resources indicated by the UL grant. DCI formats 0_0 and 0_1 are used to convey UL grants for the PUSCH, while other DCI formats (2_0, 2_1, 2_2, and 2_3) are used for other purposes, including transmission of slot format information, reserved resources, transmit power control information, etc.

[0095] The DCI includes a payload supplemented with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the payload data. Since the DCI is sent on the PDCCH received by multiple UEs, the identifier of the target UE needs to be included. In NR, this is done by scrambling the CRC with the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) assigned to the UE. Most commonly, the cell RNTI (C-RNTI) assigned to the target UE by the serving cell is used for this purpose.

[0096] The DCI payload is encoded and sent on the PDCCH along with an identifier-scrambled CRC. Given a previously configured search space, each UE attempts to detect the PDCCH addressed to it based on multiple hypotheses (also referred to as "candidates") in a process known as "blind decoding." PDCCH candidates can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs, where the number of CCEs is called the aggregation level (AL) of the PDCCH candidates. If more than one CCE is used, the information in the first CCE is retransmitted in the other CCEs. By changing the AL, the PDCCH can be made more robust or less robust for a specific payload size. In other words, PDCCH link adaptation can be performed by adjusting the AL. Depending on the AL, the PDCCH candidates can be located at multiple time-frequency positions in the CORESET.

[0097] After the UE decodes the DCI, it descrambles the CRC using the RNTI(s) assigned to it and / or associated with the specific PDCCH search space. In the event of a match, the UE considers the detected DCI as addressed to it and follows the instructions (e.g., scheduling information) in the DCI.

[0098] A hash function can be used to determine the CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH candidates that the UE must monitor within the search space set. The hashing is done differently for different UEs so that the CCEs used by the UEs are randomized, thereby reducing the probability of collision between multiple UEs for which their PDCCH messages are included in the CORESET. The monitoring periodicity is also configured for different PDCCH candidates. In any particular time slot, the UE can be configured to monitor multiple PDCCH candidates in multiple search spaces that can be mapped to one or more CORESETs. PDCCH candidates may need to be monitored multiple times within a time slot, once per time slot or once in multiple time slots.

[0099] The DCI may also include information about various timing offsets (e.g., in units of time slots or subframes) between the PDCCH and the PDSCH, PUSCH, HARQ, and / or CSI-RS. For example, the offset K0 represents the number of time slots between the PDCCH reception of the UE's PDSCH scheduling DCI (e.g., format 1_0 or 1_1) and the subsequent PDSCH transmission. Similarly, the offset K1 represents the number of time slots between the PDSCH transmission and the UE's responsive HARQ ACK / NACK transmission on the PUSCH. In addition, the offset K3 represents the number of time slots between the corresponding repetitions of the responsive ACK / NACK and the data on the PDSCH. In addition, the offset K2 represents the number of time slots between the PDCCH reception of the UE's PUSCH authorization DCI (e.g., format 0_0 or 0_1) and the subsequent PUSCH transmission. Each of these offsets may have a value of zero and a positive integer.

[0100] Finally, DCI format 0_1 ​​may also include a network request for UE reporting of channel state information (CSI) or channel quality information (CQI). Before sending the report, the UE receives and measures the CSI-RS sent by the network. The parameter aperiodicTriggeringOffset represents the integer number of time slots between the UE's reception of the DCI including the CSI request and the network's transmission of the CSI-RS. This parameter may have values ​​0-4.

[0101] In addition to the dynamic scheduling on a slot-by-slot basis discussed above, NR also supports semi-persistent scheduling in the DL. In this method, the network configures the periodicity of PDSCH transmissions via RRC and then controls the start and stop of transmissions via DCI in PDCCH. One advantage of this technique is the reduction of control signaling overhead on PDCCH.

[0102] NR also supports a similar feature on the UL, known as Configuration Grant (CG). Typically, CG Type 2 is similar to DL semi-persistent scheduling in the downlink (e.g., RRC plus DCI), while CG Type 1 is controlled only by RRC, including the start and stop of transmission.

[0103] Figure 7 A high-level view of a 5G network architecture is shown, including a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 799 and a 5G core (5GC) 798. The NG-RAN 799 may include a set of gNodeBs (gNBs) connected to the 5GC via one or more NG interfaces, such as gNBs 700, 750 connected via interfaces 702, 752, respectively. In addition, the gNBs may be connected to each other via one or more Xn interfaces, such as an Xn interface 740 between gNBs 700 and 750. With respect to the NR interface to the UE, each of the gNBs may support frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), or a combination thereof.

[0104] Figure 7 The NG RAN logical nodes shown (and described in TS 38.401 and TR 38.801) include a central (or centralized) unit (CU or gNB-CU) and one or more distributed (or decentralized) units (DU or gNB-DU). For example, Figure 7 The gNB 700 in FIG. 7 includes a gNB-CU 710 and gNB-DUs 720 and 730. A CU (e.g., gNB-CU 710) is a logical node that hosts higher layer protocols and performs various gNB functions, such as controlling the operation of the DU. Each DU is a logical node that hosts lower layer protocols and may include various subsets of gNB functions depending on the functional partitioning. As such, each of the CU and DU may include multiple circuits required to perform its respective functions, including processing circuits, transceiver circuits (e.g., for communications), and power supply circuits. Moreover, the terms "central unit" and "centralized unit" are used interchangeably herein, as are the terms "distributed unit" and "decentralized unit."

[0105] The gNB-CU is connected to the gNB-DU via respective F1 logical interfaces, such as interfaces 722 and 732 shown in FIG3 . The gNB-CU and the connected gNB-DU are visible only to other gNBs and the 5GC as a gNB, e.g., the F1 interface is not visible outside the gNB-CU. As briefly mentioned above, the CU may host higher layer protocols, such as, for example, F1 Application Part Protocol (F1-AP), Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP), GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), and Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocols. Conversely, the DU may host lower layer protocols, such as, for example, Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and Physical Layer (PHY) protocols.

[0106] However, other variations of the distribution of protocols between the CU and the DU may exist, such as hosting RRC, PDCP, and a portion of the RLC protocol in the CU (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ) functionality), while hosting the remainder of the RLC protocol in the DU along with the MAC and PHY. In some embodiments, the CU may host RRC and PDCP, where the PDCP is assumed to handle both UP traffic and CP traffic. However, other exemplary embodiments may use other protocol splitting by hosting certain protocols in the CU and certain other protocols in the DU. Exemplary embodiments may also locate centralized control plane protocols (e.g., PDCP-C and RRC) in different CUs with respect to centralized user plane protocols (e.g., PDCP-U).

[0107] Multiple signals may be sent from the same base station (e.g., gNB) from different antenna ports. These signals may have the same large-scale characteristics, for example in terms of Doppler shift / spread, average delay spread, or average delay. These antenna ports are then referred to as being "quasi-co-located" or "QCL". The network may signal to the UE that the two antenna ports are QCL. After the UE knows that the two antenna ports are QCL with respect to a certain parameter (Doppler spread), the UE may estimate the parameter based on one of the antenna ports and use the estimate when receiving the other antenna port. Typically, the first antenna port is represented by a measurement reference signal such as a CSI-RS (referred to as the "source RS"), and the second antenna port is a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (referred to as the "target RS").

[0108] For example, if antenna ports A and B are QCL with respect to average delay, the UE can estimate the average delay based on the signal received from antenna port A (source RS) and assume that the signal received from antenna port B (target RS) has the same average delay. This can be useful for demodulation because the UE can know the characteristics of the channel in advance when trying to measure the channel using DMRS.

[0109] Information about what assumptions can be made about the QCL is signaled from the network to the UE. In NR, the following four types of QCL relationships between the transmitted source RS and the transmitted target RS are defined:

[0110] Type A: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread};

[0111] Type B: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread};

[0112] Type C: {average delay, Doppler shift}; and

[0113] Type D: {Spatial Rx parameters}.

[0114] QCL Type D was introduced to facilitate beam management with analog beamforming and is referred to as “spatial QCL.” There is currently no strict definition of spatial QCL, but it is understood that if two transmitted antenna ports are spatially QCL, the UE can receive them using the same Rx beam.

[0115] QCL Type D is the most relevant for beam management, but Type A QCL RS relationships also need to be communicated to the UEs, so they can estimate all relevant large-scale parameters. Typically, this can be done by having the UE configured with a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS, e.g., CSI-RS) for time / frequency offset estimation. In order to be able to use any QCL reference, the UE will have to receive it with a sufficiently good Signal-to-Interference-Noise Ratio (SINR). In many cases, this restricts the TRS for a specific UE to be sent in a specific beam and / or beam configuration.

[0116] To introduce dynamics in beam and TRP selection, the UE can be configured via RRC signaling with N transmission configuration indication (TCI) states, where N is up to 128 in frequency range 2 (FR2) and up to eight in FR1, depending on the UE capabilities. Each configured TCI state contains parameters for the QCL association between the source RS (e.g., CSI-RS or SS / PBCH) and the target RS (e.g., PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS port). The TCI state can also be used to convey QCL information for reception of CSI-RS. Each of the N states in the list of TCI states can be interpreted as a list of N possible beams sent from the network, or a list of N possible TRPs used by the network to communicate with the UE.

[0117] More specifically, each TCI state may include QCL information including one or two source DL RSs, where each source RS is associated with a QCL type. For example, two different CSI-RS {CSI-RS1, CSI-RS2} may be configured in the TCI state as {qcl-Type1, qcl-Type2} = {Type A, Type D}. The UE may interpret this TCI state as meaning that the UE can obtain Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread from CSI-RS1, and spatial Rx parameters (e.g., the RX beam used) from CSI-RS2. In the case where QCL type D is not applicable (e.g., low or mid-band operation), the TCI state contains only a single source RS.

[0118] In addition, a first list of available TCI states may be configured for PDSCH and a second list may be configured for PDCCH. The second list may contain pointers to a subset of TCI states configured for PDSCH, referred to as TCI state IDs. For UEs operating in FR1, the network then activates one TCI state for PDCCH (i.e., by providing TCI to the UE) and activates up to eight TCI states for PDSCH, depending on UE capabilities.

[0119] As an example, a UE is configured with four active TCI states from a list of 64 configured TCI states in total. Therefore, the other 60 configured TCI states are inactive and the UE does not need to be prepared to estimate large-scale parameters for those states. On the other hand, the UE continuously tracks and updates the large-scale parameters for those four active TCI states by performing measurements and analysis on the source RS indicated for each of the four active TCI states. Each DCI used for PDSCH scheduling includes a pointer to an active TCI for the scheduled UE. Based on the pointer, the UE knows which large-scale parameter estimate to use when performing PDSCH DMRS channel estimation and PDSCH demodulation.

[0120] Demodulation Reference Signals (DM-RS) facilitate the UE's coherent demodulation of physical layer data channels (e.g., PDSCH) and PDCCH. Each DM-RS is associated with one of these physical layer channels and, as such, is limited to the resource blocks that carry the associated physical layer channel. Each DM-RS is mapped on the allocated REs of the time-frequency grid so that the receiver can effectively handle time / frequency selective fading radio channels.

[0121] The mapping of DM-RS to RE is configurable in both the frequency domain and the time domain, where two mapping types in the frequency domain (configuration type 1 or type 2) and two mapping types in the time domain (mapping type A or type B) define the symbol position of the first DM-RS within the transmission interval. The DM-RS mapping in the time domain can also be single-symbol based or dual-symbol based (i.e., adjacent symbol pairs). In addition, the UE can be configured with one, two, three, or four single-symbol DM-RS and one or two dual-symbol DM-RS. In scenarios with low Doppler, it may be sufficient to configure only the front-load DM-RS (i.e., one single-symbol DM-RS or dual-symbol DM-RS), while additional DM-RS will be required in scenarios with high Doppler.

[0122] Figure 8 (which includes FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D ) shows four exemplary mappings of a front-loaded DM-RS with a type A time domain mapping, where the first DM-RS is in the third symbol of a slot with 14 symbols. More specifically, FIG. 8A to FIG. 8B The mapping of configuration type 1 for single-symbol and dual-symbol DM-RS is shown respectively. FIG. 8C to FIG. 8D The mapping of configuration type 2 for single-symbol and dual-symbol DM-RS is shown respectively. As shown in Figure 8, type 1 and type 2 differ in both the mapping structure and the number of supported DM-RS CDM groups. As shown by the different shading of DM-RS REs, type 1 supports two CDM groups (e.g., λ = 0, 1), and type 2 supports three CDM groups (e.g., λ = 0, 1, 2).

[0123] The type 1 mapping structure is sometimes referred to as a 2-comb structure, which has two CDM groups defined in the frequency domain by sets of subcarriers {0,2,4,...} and {1,3,5,...}. The comb mapping structure is used in conjunction with DFT-S-OFDM in NR UL because it facilitates low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) transmissions. In contrast, both type 1 and type 2 mappings are supported for CP-OFDM operation (e.g., in UL and DL).

[0124] DM-RS antenna ports are mapped to REs within only one CDM group. For single-symbol DM-RS, two antenna ports can be mapped to each CDM group, while for dual-symbol DM-RS, four antenna ports can be mapped to each CDM group. Therefore, the maximum number of DM-RS ports is four or eight for type 1 and six or twelve for type 2. An orthogonal cover code (OCC) of length two ([+1,+1],[+1,-1]) is used to separate antenna ports mapped on the same RE within a CDM group. When dual-symbol DM-RS is configured, OCC is applied in the frequency domain as well as the time domain.

[0125] In NR Rel-15, for parameter set index μ, PDSCH DM-RS sequence r(m), m=0,1,… at antenna port p j The mapping of and onto subcarrier k in OFDM symbol l is specified in 3GPP TS 38.211 according to the following formula:

[0126]

[0127]

[0128] k′=0,1

[0129]

[0130] n=0,1,...

[0131] in

[0132]

[0133] Indicates that when OCC is applied in the frequency domain w f (k′) and time domain w t (l′) in the CDM group Port p in j The following Tables 2-3 show the PDSCH DM-RS mapping parameters for configuration type 1 and type 2 respectively.

[0134] Table 2.

[0135]

[0136]

[0137] Table 3.

[0138]

[0139] The DCI also includes a bit field indicating which antenna ports (i.e., the number of data layers) are scheduled. For example, if port 1000 is indicated, the PDSCH is a single-layer transmission and the UE will use the DMRS defined by port 1000 to demodulate the PDSCH. The DCI value also indicates the number of CDM groups without data, which means that if 1 is indicated, the other CDM group contains data for the UE (PDSCH case), and if 2 is indicated, both CDM groups can contain DMRS ports and no data is mapped to the OFDM symbols containing the DMRS. The following Table 4 shows the bit field values ​​and corresponding configurations for DM-RS type 1 with a single frontload DM-RS (maxlength=1).

[0140]

[0141] Antenna port indicator table

[0142] For DMRS type 1, ports 1000, 1001, 1004, and 1005 are in CDM group λ=0, and ports 1002, 1003, 1006, and 1007 are in CDM group λ=1 (also shown in Table 2). In contrast, Table 5 shows a corresponding exemplary configuration for DMRS type 2. For DMRS type 2, ports 1000, 1001, 1006, and 1007 are in CDM group λ=0; ports 1002, 1003, 1008, and 1009 are in CDM group λ=1; and ports 1004, 1005, 1010, and 1011 are in CDM group λ=2 (also shown in Table 3).

[0143]

[0144]

[0145] QCL relationship with DMRS CDM group

[0146] Currently, the 3GPP NR specification includes the following restrictions: UEs may assume that PDSCH DM-RS within the same CDM group are quasi-co-located with respect to Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, average spread, and spatial Rx. In the case where a first UE is not scheduled on all DMRS ports within a CDM group, another UE may be scheduled simultaneously for the remaining ports of the CDM group. The first UE may then estimate the channel for the other UE, which is seen by the first UE as an interfering signal. That facilitates coherent interference suppression by the first UE.

[0147] Multi-TRP / Multi-Panel / Multi-Beam Extension

[0148] As mentioned above, multi-source transmission of PDSCH to UE has been considered for 3GPP NR Rel-16. This can be used, for example, to improve URLLC performance by sending multiple copies of PDSCH transport blocks (TBs) to UEs from different TRPs, also known as "multi-TRP diversity". In order to support this feature, it has been discussed to extend the TCI state of the Rel-15 pair from two source RSs with QCL type 1 and type 2 (e.g., TCI state = {qcl-Type1, qcl-Type2}) to an extended TCI state with two pairs of A and B or even three pairs of A, B, and C. These options can be expressed as:

[0149] TCI status = {{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2}} A ,{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2} B},as well as

[0150] TCI status = {{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2}} A ,{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2} B ,{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2} C}.

[0151] In the above, A, B, and C may represent three different TRPs, three different antenna panels at one gNB, or three different beams in the case of FR2 operation (also called “millimeter wave” or simply mmW).

[0152] As briefly mentioned above, URLLC aims to provide data services with extremely strict requirements on reliability and latency, such as data error probability and 10 -5or lower and 1ms end-to-end delay or lower. One technique to address such reliability requirements is to transmit multiple copies of a transport block to the UE in diversity from different TRPs. 3GPP Rel-16 supports multi-PDCCH scheduling, whereby multiple PDCCH transmissions are used to schedule multiple PDSCHs carrying transport blocks from different TRPs, respectively. However, this diversity increases UE complexity because the UE must correctly decode multiple PDCCHs (e.g., DCI) in order to receive multiple PDSCHs and thereby benefit from multi-TRP diversity transmissions. This places even greater demands on PDCCH reliability (e.g., reduced error rates), which is already problematic in some scenarios. The detection of multiple PDCCHs also increases UE complexity and consumes multiple PDCCH resources, thereby reducing the possibility of scheduling other UEs in the same time slot (e.g., increased PDCCH blocking probability). As such, there are various issues, problems, and / or difficulties associated with diversity transmission that need to be addressed to achieve the strict reliability requirements associated with URLLC and other services.

[0153] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may address these and other issues, problems, and / or difficulties by configuring a UE to receive multiple PDSCHs in the same OFDM symbol set of a time slot by a single DCI and / or PDCCH, wherein each of the multiple PDSCHs is a version (e.g., a repetition) of the same data payload. In addition, exemplary embodiments may configure TCI states for each PDSCH to support multi-source (e.g., multi-TRP) transmissions. In this way, PDSCH diversity caused by multi-TRP transmissions can be achieved even with a single PDCCH, which can increase reliability, reduce latency, reduce PDCCH blocking probability, and / or reduce UE complexity.

[0154] In the following description, "repetition" of a PDSCH or PUSCH generally refers to multiple copies of a data block (e.g., a transport block, TB) being sent in different frequency resources and / or different spatial resources (e.g., MIMO layers) within a single OFDM symbol during a time slot or in multiple OFDM symbols during one or more time slots. However, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure differ from conventional solutions at least in that they facilitate the transmission of multiple PDSCHs in a single OFDM symbol using non-overlapping frequency resources (e.g., REs or RBs) and / or non-overlapping spatial resources (e.g., layers).

[0155] In other words, certain embodiments facilitate a more generalized repetition of PDSCH or PUSCH, where multiple copies of a packet are sent in different frequency resources and / or different spatial resources (i.e., MIMO layers) and in a single transmission time instance, but possibly via configurations of transmissions in different time instances (different OFDM symbols in one or more time slots). The distinguishing feature from NR Release 15 is that multiple PDSCHs are sent in the same OFDM symbol (either non-overlapping (FDM) or overlapping (spatial repetition)).

[0156] In addition, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure differ from conventional solutions (e.g., NR Rel-15) at least in that each of the multiple repetitions (e.g., of a PDSCH) is associated with a source RS (or RS pair, when QCL type D is applicable), which can potentially be different for each PDSCH. This can facilitate sending different repetitions of data blocks from different sources (e.g., TRPs). For practical convenience, the following description will refer to this as assigning a TCI state to each PDSCH of the repetition.

[0157] In other words, certain embodiments facilitate repetition of PDSCH or PUSCH, where multiple copies of a packet are sent in different frequency resources and / or different spatial resources (or RS pairs, where QCL Type D is applicable), which can then potentially be different for each PDSCH. This allows repetition of packets by sending from different TRPs. This can actually be described as assigning a TCI state to each PDSCH. This is another exemplary distinguishing feature compared to conventional solutions (e.g., NR Rel-15).

[0158] TCI status is allocated based on PDSCH repetition

[0159] Various exemplary embodiments may assign TCI states to each PDSCH in various ways. In some embodiments, the TCI state for each PDSCH is configured via an RRC or MAC control element, for example, by having a MAC CE indicate a set with multiple active TCI states. For example, a MAC CE may indicate a set with two, four, or eight active TCI states, and each of the PDSCH repetitions may use the active states of the set in a predefined order (e.g., a cyclic order) that does not overlap with the predefined order associated with other PDSCH repetitions. As a more specific example, 2, 4, or 8 active TCI states selected by the MACCE in NR Rel-15 may also be used for PDSCH repetitions in a cyclic manner. For example, each PDSCH uses one of the activated TCI states in a predefined order.

[0160] Alternatively, in order to give the network scheduler more flexibility when selecting multiple resources (e.g., TRPs) to be used in PDSCH repetitions, the selected active TCI state can be indicated in the scheduling DCI for PDSCH repetitions. In other words, when scheduling a PDSCH with repetitions, the DCI can select between the activated TCI states. Table 6 below shows an exemplary arrangement in which the set of active states for PDSCH repetitions (e.g., TCI states 0-3) can be configured by RRC or MAC CE, but the allocation of individual active TCI states to individual PDSCH repetitions is provided by DCI on the PDCCH. In this example, a two-bit DCI field selects a table row with a specific allocation of four active TCI states to four DPSCH repetitions sent by four different sources (e.g., TRPs or beams). In other words, the contents of Table 6 (in italics) can be configured by RRC and / or MAC CE, and then the two-bit DCI field (as used in this example) selects the row in the table.

[0161] In the embodiment shown in Table 6 below, the scheduler can also dynamically select which TRPs involve repetitions by DCI values. This can be beneficial, for example, if certain TRPs are busy transmitting to other UEs. For example, DCI=00 involves four TRPs, each assigned a different active TCI state. Conversely, the scheduler can limit PDSCH repetitions by selecting the second row (e.g., where DCI=01) or the third row (e.g., where DCI=10), each of which involves only two TRPs, where each TRP is assigned two different active TCI states. It is also possible to configure rows in which only a single TRP is used, such as the fourth row indicating that only TCI state 0 is used for all repetitions. This row can be selected by DCI=11. It is also possible that the number of repetitions is greater than the number of columns in the configuration table (i.e., in this example, >4). Such embodiments can use wraparound or modulo operations on repetitions (e.g., repetition 4 uses the same TRP as repetition 0, etc.).

[0162] Table 6. Example of mapping TCI state values ​​to TCI states to be used for each PDSCH repetition, where the italic values ​​(TCI states) in the table are configured by RRC.

[0163]

[0164] In some embodiments, the time-domain repetition count may be encoded and conveyed via the TCI field in DCI instead of being semi-statically configured via the RRC parameter pdsch-AggregationFactor. For example, each RRC-configured candidate TCI state may be associated with a number of time-domain repetitions. In other embodiments, a separate RRC configuration parameter maps each code point of the TCI field in DCI to a repetition count and may additionally configure the mapping order of the activated TCI states to PDSCH repetitions, similar to the arrangement shown in (Error! Reference source not found.). In other embodiments, in addition to which TCT state candidates are mapped to which code points of the TCI field, the MAC CE TCI state activation message includes an indication of the repetition count associated with the code points of the TCI field in DCI.

[0165] In Rel-15 NR, the number of bits of the TCI field in DCI is 0 or 3, depending on whether the higher-layer parameter tci-PresentInDCI is enabled. Thus, a total of eight TCI code point values can be indicated with this three-bit field. According to 3GPP TS38.321, when two TCI states are activated, then these activated TCI fields are mapped to the first two TCI code point values (i.e., '000' and '001') of the TCI field in DCI. In such cases, the remaining six TCI code point values (i.e., '010', '011', '100', '101', '110', and '111') do not have any activated TCI states mapped to them. More generally, in NR Rel-15, if N < 8 TCI states are activated by the MAC CE, then 8 - N code point values will not have any active TCI states mapped to them.

[0166] Thus, in some exemplary embodiments, when N TCI states out of a maximum of M TCT states are activated (e.g., M = 8) and N < M, M - N unused code points can be used for multi-TRP repetitions of the PDSCH. For example, each PDSCH transmitted from a different TRP uses one of the activated TCI states in a predefined order. As in NR Rel-15, the first N code points are used for a single TRP transmission with a single TCI state. In this way, this embodiment facilitates a dynamic switch between single-TRP and multi-TRP transmissions with PDSCH diversity.

[0167] As briefly mentioned above, PDSCH repetitions can be mapped across different frequency resources (e.g., within a symbol) or across layers in the same frequency resources (e.g., spatial repetitions on the same RE). In some embodiments, time domain PDSCH repetitions may be configured, which may facilitate an even larger number of repetitions. In this case, the modulo or wraparound scheme discussed above may be used, so that a TRP is selected for each PDSCH cycle transmitted. For example, if a repetition of two is configured in the frequency domain and the time domain, then repetitions 0 and 1 are in the same first OFDM symbol set and repetitions 2 and 3 are in a second OFDM symbol set that occurs later, such as in the next available DL time slot.

[0168] In some embodiments, the DCI may also include information about whether PDSCH repetition (e.g., according to the resources configured by RRC for repetition) should be applicable. In the PDCCH region of a time slot, a specific PDCCH may be located in multiple places that differ based on whether the PDCCH is UE-specific or public and the aggregation level (AL) used. Each PDCCH carries a DCI and is identified by a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), which is implicitly encoded in the CRC annex of the DCI. In some embodiments, the PDCCH RNTI can be used to distinguish whether PDSCH repetition should be applicable. For example, if the PDCCH is associated with a cell RNTI (C-RNTI), repetition is not applicable, but if the PDCCH is associated with a modulation and coding scheme cell RNTI (MCS-C-RNTI), it is applicable according to the previous higher layer configuration.

[0169] To increase the reliability of data packets, the data payload can be encoded with different redundancy versions (RV). This is typically used in retransmissions in LTE and NR, where in each retransmission a different RV is used (e.g., RV=0, 1, 2, 3, etc.). In NR, it is possible to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH with time repetition based on the RRC parameters pdsch-AggregationFactor or pusch-AggregationFactor, respectively, for dynamic scheduling; and repK for PUSCH with UL configuration grant. In this case, the PxSCH is scheduled but sent in multiple adjacent time slots up to the number of repetitions as determined by the configured RRC parameters.

[0170] In some embodiments, each PDSCH repetition may also carry a different redundancy version (RV) of data including a transport block (TB) when mapped to different frequency resources in the same OFDM symbol set. The mapping between RV and PDSCH repetition / TRP may be indicated, for example, by a field in the DCI. Table 7 below shows an exemplary arrangement in which a two-bit DCI value indicates one of four mappings between an RV and a separate PDSCH repetition.

[0171] Table 7. Example of mapping the indicated redundancy version values ​​to the RV to be used for each PDSCH repetition, where the italic values ​​(TCI state) in the table are configured by RRC.

[0172]

[0173] Although the above discussion is based on dynamically scheduled PDSCH where each transmission has an associated scheduling DCI, similar techniques can be applied to semi-persistently scheduled (SPS) PDSCH where each transmission does not have an associated DCI. For example, the UE can receive PDSCH on RRC configured resources after receiving a DCI with a CRC scrambled by the CS-RNTI to activate SPS resources. In this way, the contents of the TCI state table can be configured by the RRC IE, and subsequent activation TCIs can select the table row that applies to the PDSCH corresponding to the DL SPS process.

[0174] Frequency resource allocation

[0175] In order to support frequency division multiplexing (FDM), multi-TRP PDSH transmission, multiple frequency resources must be allocated and / or defined, with one frequency resource repeated per PDSCH. Such allocation facilitates TCI state cycling, or more accurately, cycling of the source RS for the QCL relationship between the source RS and each PDSCHDMRS. In some embodiments, multiple (e.g., N>1) resources with a fixed size (e.g., the number of PRBs and / or the number of OFDM symbols per resource) can be preconfigured using higher layer signaling via RRC and / or MAC CE. Subsequently, the DCI that triggers the PDSCH repetition transmission can initiate or trigger the use of these preconfigured resources.

[0176] In other embodiments, the DCI may include scheduling of a single primary PDSCH resource plus an indication of repetition of additional N-1 PDSCHs in the same OFDM symbol as the primary PDSCH. For example, the arrangement or location of the resources for these additional (one or more) PDSCHs may be indicated relative to the primary PDSCH resource, for example, using a frequency offset measured per RB, precoding RB group (PRG), or RB group (RBG). The indication of the relative offset for each PDSCH may be configured by a higher layer, such as an RRC or MAC CE. In some variants, the relative offset value may depend on the scheduling bandwidth of the primary PDSCH in the frequency domain, the bandwidth of the carrier, and / or the bandwidth of the BWP containing the primary resource.

[0177] In some embodiments, the network (e.g., serving gNB) may configure multiple UEs with the same offset value and schedule the multiple UEs using primary PDSCH resources that are adjacent in the frequency domain. In this way, the frequency domain PDSCH repetition resources for each UE may be arranged in a comb pattern so that PDSCH repetitions for multiple UEs may be scheduled using non-overlapping PDSCH combs. This may facilitate preferred and / or optimal (e.g., full) use of available frequency resources while providing frequency diversity for each scheduled UE.

[0178] In other embodiments, virtual RB (VRB) allocations may be used, and multiple PDSCH repetitions may always be allocated in VRBs following the VRB allocations for the primary PDSCH resources. In these embodiments, frequency diversity may be achieved by configuring a VRB-to-PRB mapping of the PDSCH distributed across frequencies. The VRB-to-PRB mapping may be pre-configured via RRC, indicated in the DCI from a set of RRC-configured candidates using a DCI VRB-to-PRB indicator field, or encoded in a TCI state. The VRB-to-PRB mapping may also be PDCCH-specific and depend on the actual resource allocation of the PDSCH so that each repeated PDSCH may always be mapped to a continuous PRB.

[0179] In some embodiments, the relative offset can be represented by a TCI state indicator provided in the DCI, thereby facilitating the scheduler to dynamically select a value N. Each TCI state can be configured with one or more resource allocation offset values ​​offset#n. Table 8 below shows an exemplary variation of Table 6 above, where the TCI state indicator value in the DCI is also mapped to a specific offset for the corresponding PDSCH repetition. As in Table 6, DCI=00 implies transmission from four different TRPs and at three different offset values ​​relative to the primary PDSCH (which can be configured by higher layers). On the other hand, if the TCI state DCI indicates '01' or '10', then only two TRPs are used and the second PDSCH is sent at offset#1 relative to the primary PDSCH.

[0180] Alternatively, higher layers can directly configure the exact resource allocation for all repetitions and map it to such a table (Table 8) without the relative offset from the primary PDSCH.

[0181] In some embodiments, if the frequency offset of a PDSCH repetition falls outside the allocated BWP, the repetition may be dropped.Alternatively, a modulo method may be used to wrap the PDSCH repetitions around to resources in the lower end of the BWP.

[0182] Table 8. Example of mapping TCI states and resource allocation offset values ​​to TCI states to be used for each PDSCH repetition, where the italic values ​​in the table are configured by RRC.

[0183]

[0184] Semi-persistent transmission of PDSCH

[0185] The above-described embodiments using relative frequency offsets may also be applicable to SPS PDSCHs according to similar principles (e.g., each transmission does not have an associated DCI). For example, the UE may receive PDSCH on RRC-configured DL-SPS resources after activating pre-configured DL-SPS resources with a DCI having a CRC scrambled by the CS-RNTI. The contents of the TCI state and offset table (e.g., Table 8) may be configured via RRC IE, and subsequent activation DCIs may select table rows that apply to the SPS PDSCH.

[0186] Support for spatial repetition of PDSCH

[0187] Other exemplary embodiments may configure PDSCH transmissions on resources that overlap in the frequency domain but do not overlap in the spatial domain. This may be efficient in terms of bandwidth used at the expense of increased UE receiver complexity required to support multi-layer reception (including inter-layer interference cancellation). Even so, for large data blocks, frequency multiplexing of multiple PDSCH repetitions may not be possible, in which case spatial repetition of the PDSCH is the only possibility. In some embodiments, PDSCH repetitions may be configured in both the frequency domain and the spatial domain, for example, N=4 repetitions in two different frequency resources, where each frequency resource carries two spatial repetitions of the PDSCH.

[0188] In such embodiments where at least two of the N PDSCH repetitions in a time slot or the same scheduled OFDM symbol set are allocated to the same frequency resource, the selection of DMRS ports per PDSCH is different so that they are orthogonal, which ensures good performance of channel estimation. In other words, the DMRS ports for each PDSCH can be configured to be orthogonal to other PDSCH repetitions that overlap in the frequency domain, which promotes good channel estimation performance. DMRS allocation to PDSCH can be accomplished in a variety of ways, as described below.

[0189] In some embodiments, a different set of DMRS ports may be configured for each TCI state. This may be accomplished by higher layer signaling, such as by including the DMRS ports in the TCI configuration performed, for example, by RRC or MAC CE. In order to comply with the NR Rel-15 requirement that all ports in a CDM group must QCL with each other, different TCI states may be associated with DMRS ports of different CDM groups. For example, if DMRS type 1 is configured, TCI_state#0 may use DMRS ports 1000 and 1001, while TCI_state#1 may use DMRS ports 1002 and 1003. If rank 1 is scheduled by PDSCH, the first port of each TCI_state (e.g., ports 1000 and 1002) may be used. On the other hand, if rank 2 is scheduled by PDSCH, two ports from the associated CDM group may be used.

[0190] In other embodiments, different sets of DMRS ports may be configured for each PDSCH repetition. For example, assume that each repetition can be identified with a sequence number (e.g., based on a frequency resource allocation configuration). In such cases, between PDSCH repetitions in overlapping resources, the PDSCH with the lowest number may be configured to use DMRS ports from the first CDM group, the PDSCH with the second lowest number may be configured to use DMRS ports from the second CDM group, and so on. In another variant, if two PDSCHs have the same TCI state (e.g., sent from the same TRP), then the DMRS ports are selected from the same CDM group (because they are QCL), and PDSCHs with different TCI states may use DMRS ports from the next CDM group.

[0191] As an illustrative example, consider the transmission of four overlapping PDSCHs sent in pairs from two TRPs configured with DMRS type 1. The first two PDSCHs may use the same TCI state and may therefore be assigned DMRS ports 1000 and 1001 (CDM group λ=0), while the third and fourth PDSCHs may use another TCI state and may therefore be assigned DMRS ports 1002 and 1003 (CDM group λ=1).

[0192] More general rules may also be defined, such as for (one or more) PDSCHs with the same TCI state, the DMRS port number increases with the CDM group, and the DMRS port of the next TCI state is assigned to the next CDM group. Such rules may facilitate support for two TRPs configured with DMRS type 1 (two CDM groups) and three TRPs configured with DMRS type 2 (three CDM groups).

[0193] Data Scrambling

[0194] In other embodiments, when multiple PDSCH repetitions overlap on frequency resources, different scrambling can be configured for each PDSCH. This can provide performance benefits, such as seen in LTE and NR for dual codeword (CW) transmissions in one PDSCH. Different scrambling can be configured by defining a different scrambling initialization seed for each CW. In Rel-15, the initialization seed used to generate the scrambling is defined by:

[0195] c_init=2 15 *n_RNTI+2 14 *q+n_ID,

[0196] Where n_RNTI is the RNTI for the scheduled PDSCH, q is the CW index {0,1}, and n_ID is the UE-specific RRC configured value. To implement per-PDSCH scrambling in overlapping situations, the above relationship can be modified as follows:

[0197] c_init=2 15 *n_RNTI+2 14 *q+n_ID+2 10 *N,

[0198] Wherein, N=0,1,2,... is an identifier repeated for a specific PDSCH. In some embodiments, N may be incremented for each overlapping PDSCH in a given resource, where N=0 is reused again for the lowest numbered PDSCH in the next frequency resource with overlapping PDSCH. In other embodiments, N may be sequentially incremented (e.g., without being reset to zero) for all PDSCHs transmitted in the same OFDM symbol set or the same time slot.

[0199] In variations of these embodiments, each repetition copy of the PDSCH may be configured to be associated with an n_ID value that is configured, for example, separately by the RRC as a general configuration applicable to PDSCH repetitions for any involved TRP. Alternatively, different n_ID values ​​may be indirectly associated with scheduled repetitions by being configured to be associated with a TCI state or QCL source.

[0200] Similar to PUSCH transmission

[0201] Although the above description focuses on PDSCH repetitions, the principles described may also apply to PUSCH repetitions with certain appropriate modifications. For example, PUSCH TCI states are not defined in Rel-15, but such features may be introduced in the future. Alternatively, the SRS Resource Indication (SRI) may achieve the same effect as the TCI states for PDSCH. For example, an SRI cycle may be used across PUSCH transmissions in a manner similar to the TCI state cycle discussed above, where the same data blocks (with different RVs as required) are carried in each PUSCH repetition. In addition, each SRI may indicate a specific UE antenna panel that may be transmitted separately, thereby providing spatial diversity in the PUSCH repetitions.

[0202] In addition, the DMRS port selection and data scrambling selection for PUSCH can be based on the same principles as discussed above for PDSCH. Even so, for PUSCH, there is no requirement that DMRS ports within the same CDM group must belong to the same SRI (i.e., the same panel). Therefore, for PUSCH, DMRS ports can be linearly allocated without regard to (e.g., independent of) CDM groups.

[0203] In a PUSCH repetition embodiment, it may be beneficial to allocate frequency domain resources for PUSCH repetitions in consecutive blocks (e.g., consecutive PRBs) of OFDM symbols. In such cases, it may not be necessary to explicitly signal the per-repetition frequency resource offset for PDSCH. Instead, the offset between two adjacent repetitions of PUSCH may be implied from the number of PRBs used for a single repetition of PUSCH.

[0204] For semi-persistent UL scheduling, two types of UL Configuration Grant (CG) are provided in Rel-15. Type 2 CG is very similar to DL SPS, whereby the UE can send PUSCH on RRC configured resources after DCI activation of UL CG resources with CRC scrambled by CS-RNTI. As such, the embodiments described above for DL ​​SPS can be applied for use with type 2 UL CG. For example, the contents of the SRI status table can be configured by an RRC IE, after which the activation DCI selects the table row that applies to SPS PUSCH.

[0205] In contrast, for Type 1 UL CG, PUSCH transmission can be configured only by RRC; no activation DCI is involved. Thus, all configurations of PUSCH repetitions should be provided via RRC. For example, the RRC configuration of Type 1 UL CG provides a sequence of SRI states (e.g., a row similar to the TCI states shown in Table 6) for use.

[0206] Configurable repeat mode

[0207] Configurable repeat mode

[0208] In other embodiments, multiple repetition patterns may be configured by RRC, where each pattern indicates the time and / or frequency resources, spatial relationship (or TRP or TCI state), RV and / or DMRS port for subsequent PDSCH (or PUSCH) repetitions scheduled by DCI. For K PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmissions, the repetition pattern may include K-1 states {(t2, f2, s2, v2, d2), …, (t K ,f K ,s K , v K , d K)}, each state is associated with a PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmission instance. k , f k ) represents the time and frequency resources for the kth transmission, and the tuple (s k , v k , d k ) represents the TCI state, RV and DMRS port associated with the kth transmission, respectively. The DMRS port can be configured as an index in the first column of Table 4 or Table 5. In a similar manner as described with reference to the various tables, the time and frequency resources, spatial relationship (or TCI state), RV version, and / or DMRS port used for the first PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmission can be indicated by a bit field in the DCI for scheduling PDSCH / PUSCH repetitions. The repetition mode to be used can be dynamically selected from the configured multiple repetition modes and can also be indicated to the UE using a bit field in the scheduling DCI.

[0209] In some embodiments, (t k ,f k ) may represent the time and frequency offsets relative to the time and frequency resources used for the first PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmission or more generally for the (k-1)th PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmission, respectively. The time resource offset may be based on a time slot, a mini-time slot, or an OFDM symbol, and the frequency offset may be based on an RB, a precoding RB group (PRG), or an RBG. Condition t k =t k-1 indicates that the kth and (k-1)th transmissions use the same time resource. Similarly, if f k =f k-1 , then the kth and (k-1)th transmissions use the same frequency resource. If t k =t k-1 And f k =f k-1 , but s k ≠s k-1 , then the kth and (k-1)th transmissions are in the same time and frequency resource, but from different spatial resources (e.g., TRPs or panels). In some embodiments, (t k ,f k ,s k ,v k ,d k ) may be predefined or implicitly related and / or linked to other parameters.

[0210] Fig. 9An exemplary operational scenario is shown in which a UE communicates with two gNBs that can provide PDSCH diversity transmission according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, the resources for PDSCH repetition do not overlap in frequency. The UE can be configured by gNB1 (e.g., activated by a MAC CE) to actively track multiple TCI states. The UE begins tracking these multiple TCI states by performing measurements on the associated RS for each TCI state. Note that the RS associated with a TCI state is sent from the same gNB as the PDSCH associated with the same TCI state.

[0211] The UE then receives DCI that schedules multiple PDSCHs in one time slot, e.g., in the same OFDM symbol set. The UE then receives these multiple PDSCHs (typically containing the same data block, optionally with different RVs) according to the different active TCI states associated with each PDSCH repetition. In this way, different repetitions can be Fig. 9 Different TRP transmissions for gNB1 and gNB2 are shown in the figure.

[0212] Fig.10 Another exemplary operational scenario in which a UE communicates with two gNBs that can provide PDSCH diversity transmission according to other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In this scenario, the resources used for PDSCH repetition overlap in frequency, but do not overlap in space, creating a multi-layer MIMO transmission of two PDSCHs. Each PDSCH may contain more than one layer. In some embodiments, the UE may signal support for this PDSCH repetition mode for layered PDSCHs before the network configures the UE in this manner.

[0213] Various embodiments of the present disclosure, including the embodiments described above, can be implemented within the framework of one or more 3GPP TSG RAN specifications (e.g., multi-TRP operation in NR Rel.16). The following description shows how certain aspects and / or enhancements related to these embodiments can be specified and / or standardized in an exemplary manner (e.g., based on recommendations and / or observations). However, these and other aspects and / or enhancements can be specified and / or standardized in other suitable manners, such as in 3GPP specifications and / or in other specifications or standards.

[0214] Category 1: Multi-TRP scheduling based on multiple PDCCHs

[0215] In this operation mode, multiple PDCCHs can be received in a timeslot and each PDCCH schedules one PDSCH. Generally, Rel-15 NR can be reused in principle, including the configuration of the TCI state for each CORESET and the DMRS scrambling for PDSCH. Therefore, not many specification changes are envisioned for this operation mode.

[0216] In multi-PDCCH scheduling, there will be implementation-based semi-dynamic coordination between schedulers of different TRPs. The complexity of this coordination can be simple through semi-static to semi-dynamic resource reservation, depending on the bounds of backhaul latency. Due to various deployment conditions, it is difficult to make assumptions for RAN1 specification guidance on what kind of scheduler coordination will be used.

[0217] Therefore, it is better to focus on what is expected by the UE, what scheduling scenarios the UE should be prepared to handle, and what scheduling combinations the UE can ignore in its implementation to limit complexity. Therefore, it is recommended that RAN1 focus on the requirements for the UE and reach a consensus on what scheduling conditions the UE is not required to support.

[0218] suggestion : One PDSCH is scheduled for each PDCCH for UEs supporting multiple PDCCH reception (at least for eMBB), and Rel.16 UEs are not expected to be scheduled in the following cases:

[0219] Partially overlapping PDSCH in time and frequency domain resource allocation

[0220] More than one PDSCH with DMRS in the same CDM group for overlapping PDSCH resource allocations

[0221] The aggregate number of layers for all PDSCHs across overlapping time-frequency resources is greater than the maximum number of layers supported / configured by the UE

[0222] The aggregate number of CWs across all PDSCHs in the overlapping time-frequency resources is greater than two

[0223] This means that when overlapping PDSCH scheduling occurs, at most one CW is supported per PDSCH, and thus only ranks 1-4 need to be supported per PDSCH in this multi-PDCCH case.

[0224] With regard to monitoring and receiving multiple PDCCHs, it has to be shown that there are issues regarding search space capacity or blocking, since the gain of multi-TRP transmission is only visible at low load and therefore the need for the required PDCCH capacity is low. In the case where TRP PDCCH is expected to be configured, configuration of multiple CORESETs (with separate TCI states) is already supported.

[0225] i. Antenna port indicator table

[0226] To support multi-TRP transmission, the DMRS ports sent from one TRP must belong to the same CDM group. Therefore, the antenna port table must be able to indicate a flexible number of layers within a CDM group per TRP.

[0227] The Rel-15 table for DMRS type 1 supports scheduling of these layers (L1, L2) in the first and second CDM groups, respectively:

[0228] For a single DMRS symbol, (L1, L2) = (1, 0), (2, 0), (0, 1), (0, 2)

[0229] For dual DMRS symbols, (L1, L2) = (1, 0), (2, 0), (3, 0), (4, 0), (0, 1), (0, 2), (0, 3), (0, 4)

[0230] Therefore, there is no need to update the antenna port table for multi-PDCCH scheduling in case of DMRS type 1. PDCCH can flexibly indicate 1-4 layers from those contained in any CDM group.

[0231] Note that when DMRS ports from the second CDM group are indicated by a PDCCH using the Rel-15 antenna port indication table (e.g., rank 2 scheduled with ports 2,3), then the associated PDSCH cannot be mapped to the 1st CDM group (because both CDM groups are indicated "without data" in the current table). However, selection of a CDM group by PDCCH only occurs when a TRP is sent, and the semi-dynamic coordination scheduler can then instead indicate that the TRP should use DMRS in the first CMD group (e.g., ports 0,1). Therefore, the Rel-15 antenna port indication table can be used unchanged, wherein the second CDM group is used only when the first CDM group is also used for DMRS.

[0232] The Rel-15 table for DMRS type 2 supports scheduling of these layers (L1, L2, L3) in the first, second and third CDM groups respectively:

[0233] For a single DMRS symbol, (L1, L2, L3) = (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1), (2, 0, 0), (0, 2, 0), (0, 0, 2)

[0234] For dual DMRS symbols, (L1, L2, L3) = (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1), (2, 0, 0), (0, 2, 0), (0, 0, 2), (3, 0, 0), (0, 3, 0), (0, 0, 3), (4, 0, 0), (0, 4, 0), (0, 0, 4)

[0235] Therefore, in case of DMRS type 2, there is no need to update the antenna port table for multi-PDCCH scheduling. PDCCH can flexibly indicate 1-4 from any CDM group and be included in the CDM group.

[0236] Recommendation: For multi-PDCCH operation, the Rel-15 antenna port indication table can be reused without modification.

[0237] ii.PDSCH rate matching

[0238] PDSCH rate matching is important for multi-TRP scheduling because semi-static RS and channel configurations in more than one TRP must be considered. For example, in the multiple PDCCH method, the UE may receive multiple PDCCHs scheduling PDSCHs in some time slots, which indicate different PDSCH resource mapping information. In this case, whether and how the UE should perform PDSCH resource mapping (i.e., PDSCH rate matching) is an open question because NR Rel-15 only specifies the reception of a single PDDCH that simultaneously schedules a single PDSCH. Moreover, different TRPs have different configurations of TRS and LTE CRS (when applicable). Therefore, it is recommended to:

[0239] Recommendation: Support a mechanism to extend PDSCH resource mapping around multiple reserved resources from different gNBs, i.e., configured CORESET, ZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet and lte-CRS-ToMatchAround, which includes dynamic resource mapping around detected PDCCH.

[0240] Category 2: Multi-TRP scheduling based on a single PDCCH

[0241] i. Codeword to layer mapping and number of CWs

[0242] An open question for discussion is whether to maintain the Rel-15 codeword to layer mapping also when deploying multiple TRP transmissions with a single PDSCH, or whether there is a benefit in considering the specification changes in the mapping. In NR, a single CW is mapped to up to 4 layers, and therefore there are two options in Rel-16 for considering CW to TRP mapping, namely,

[0243] • Option 1 (new mapping): For scheduled PDSCH, one separate CW sent for each TRP.

[0244] Option 2 (Rel-15 mapping): For the scheduled PDSCH, one CW is sent and mapped across all TRPs.

[0245] In option 1, since different MCSs can be assigned to different CWs, each mapped to a TRP, it has the potential benefit of better link adaptation when the path loss difference to different TRPs is quite large. In the case of a decoding error on one CW, only that CW needs to be retransmitted. The disadvantage is that in order to support more than two TRPs, there are large specifications that need to be changed because each CW is associated with a HARQ-ACK. In addition, the current CW to layer mapping needs to be extended to support two CWs for 2, 3 and 4 layers, and the issue of semi-static or dynamic switching between Rel-15 and Rel-16 codewords to layer mapping needs to be solved. In addition, two CWs mean an overhead for an additional CRC compared to a single CW.

[0246] For option 2, it can be supported with the existing Rel-15 CW to layer mapping and therefore does not require specification changes. Therefore, each layer is associated with a specific TRP by using a DMRS CDM group. Up to three TRPs can be supported with a single PDCCH and a single PDSCH by using all three CDM groups and extended TCI states (see section 2.2.2). The disadvantage may be that, since a single CW and therefore a single MCS is used, when the path loss differences to multiple TRPs are large, link adaptation may not be as good as using separate MCSs per TRP. However, this is not an operating point for NC-JT anyway, since if the path loss differences are large, it is better to send all layers from the best TRP.

[0247] As already observed in the discussion of multiple TRPs in Rel.15, option 2 slightly outperforms option 1. Similar results are also observed by additional companies, such as in 3GPP Tdoc R1-1900731 for NC-JT in indoor scenarios (see Figure 3 of [8]). One reason is that in order for NC-JT to perform better than DPS, the UE should be at the cell edge and have path loss comparable to two TRPs, and in this case, link adaptation based on per-TRP does not provide benefit. Another reason is that link adaptation based on multiple MCS is more sensitive to CSI feedback delay and error compared to the single MCS approach. A slightly higher retransmission probability is also observed for option 1. Similar results are shown in 3GPP Tdoc R1-1900731, where for single TRP MIMO, a single CW performs better than two CWs for ranks up to 4.

[0248] Table 9. NC-JT performance comparison between the new (Option 1) CW to layer mapping and Rel-15's (Option 2) CW to layer mapping.

[0249]

[0250] In indoor scenarios, NC-JT with option 2 (single CW) slightly outperforms NC-JT with option 1 (two CWs). Considering that option 2 slightly outperforms option 1 in the most promising indoor NC-JT scenarios and does not require any changes to the existing CW to layer mapping, there is no reason to change the mapping in Rel-16. In addition, if there is a strong desire to perform per-TRP MCS adaptation depending on the deployment in certain scenarios, a multi-PDCCH approach can be used.

[0251] Recommendation: RAN1 concluded that there is no change in CW to layer mapping and number of CWs per transmission rank in Rel-16.

[0252] ii. Extended TCI status

[0253] To support multiple TRP transmissions with a single PDCCH, the DMRS ports sent from each TRP must belong to the same CDM group. Since there are two and three CDM groups for DMRS types 1 and 2, respectively, up to three TRP transmissions can be supported. The TCI state then needs to be extended to include multiple source RSs per QCL type. The following recommendations are made:

[0254] The TCI state may be configured with one, two or three source RS pairs for QCL when the UE is configured for DMRS types 1 and 2, respectively, and source RS pair λ may be used to derive QCL characteristics for the DMRS ports of CDM group λ.

[0255] For DMRS type 1, the TCI state may be configured to include: {{qcl-Type 1, qcl-Type 2} for each of the two CDM groups, respectively λ＝0 , {qcl-Type 1, qcl-Type 2} λ＝1}

[0256] For DMRS type 2, the TCI state may be configured to include: {{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2} for each of the three CDM groups, respectively λ＝0 ,{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2} λ＝1 ,{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2} λ＝2}.

[0257] Therefore, some TCI states have a single source RS pair as in Rel-15 (or a single RS if QCL type D is not applicable) and are used for DPS, while some other states have two or three source RS pairs and are used for NC-JT scheduling.

[0258] In Rel-15, there are up to eight (8) active TCI states for a DPS that can support up to 8 different TRPs (which should be sufficient for most deployments). With extended TCI states, there are more combinations since there is the possibility to select two or three TRPs per TCI state. Therefore, it needs to be considered whether allowing more (extended) TCI states than 8 would be beneficial for Rel-16. Note, however, that the number of TRS or SSBs tracked simultaneously can remain the same as in Rel-15, and the introduction of extended TCI states should not extend the need for tracking.

[0259] suggestion : Study whether it is beneficial to increase the number of bits in the DCI used to select the active TCI state in order to accommodate more transmission hypotheses (without increasing the maximum number of active tracked QCL source RSs).

[0260] iii. Antenna port indicator table

[0261] To support multi-TRP transmission with a single PDCCH, the DMRS ports sent from each TRP must belong to the same CDM group. Therefore, the antenna port table must be able to indicate a flexible number of layers within a CDM group per TRP.

[0262] The Rel-15 table for DMRS type 1 supports scheduling of these layers (L1, L2) in the first and second CDM groups, respectively:

[0263] For a single DMRS symbol, (L1, L2) = (1, 0), (2, 0), (0, 1), (0, 2), (1, 1), (2, 1), (2, 2), and

[0264] For dual DMRS symbols, (L1, L2) = (1, 0), (2, 0), (3, 0), (4, 0), (0, 1), (0, 2), (0, 3), (0, 4), (1, 1), (2, 1), (2, 2).

[0265] Here, it can be seen that (1,2) is lost, i.e. the ability to schedule one layer from the first TRP and two layers from the second TRP. Although this can be supported at the cost of one additional extended TCI status code point in the DCI, where the two pairs of source RSs for the two TRPs are swapped to effectively support (2,1) and (1,2), in practice, a solution based on this configuration, which may be quite common, can be avoided by adding a row in the antenna port indication table. Therefore, in the case of DMRS type 1, the antenna port table needs to be updated slightly.

[0266] suggestion : Add a row to the DMRS type 1 antenna port indication table using ports 0, 2, 3 to allow scheduling of (1, 2) layers in two CDM groups respectively.

[0267] PDCCH can flexibly indicate 1-4 from any CDM group and be included in the CDM group, thus supporting DPS with up to rank 4. DPS for ranks 5-8 can also be supported by configuring additional TCI states with a single source RS pair participating in the TRP.

[0268] A further optimization of the antenna port indexing could be to also add the (3,1) and (1,3) states to the table, but this is a rather asymmetric layer distribution and the benefit is less obvious, the gain needs to be demonstrated by evaluation.

[0269] The Rel-15 table for DMRS type 2 supports scheduling of these layers (L1, L2, L3) in the first, second and third CDM groups (i.e., first, second and third TRPs), respectively:

[0270] For a single DMRS symbol, (L1, L2, L3) = (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1), (2, 0, 0), (0, 2, 0), (0, 0, 2), (1, 1, 0), (2, 1, 0), (0, 1, 2), (2, 2, 0).

[0271] For dual DMRS symbols, (L1, L2, L3) = (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1), (2, 0, 0), (0, 2, 0), (0, 0, 2), (3, 0, 0), (0, 3, 0), (0, 0, 3), (4, 0, 0), (0, 4, 0), (0, 0, 4), (1, 1, 0), (2, 1, 0), (0, 1, 2), (2, 2, 0).

[0272] Here, it can be seen that the layer distribution is biased towards the first and second TRP / source QCL and to have more flexibility in selecting the TRP set, additional active TCI states have to be configured. This can be avoided by adding some more states to the antenna port index table and since there are some reserved states, these additional most likely transmission hypotheses can be added.

[0273] suggestion : Add a row to the DMRS type 2 antenna port indication table for PDSCH with:

[0274] a. Allow scheduling of ports 0, 2, and 4 at the (1,1,1) layer;

[0275] b. Allow scheduling of ports 0,2 of the (1,1,0) layer;

[0276] c. Allow scheduling of ports 0,4 of the (1,0,1) layer;

[0277] d. Allow ports 0, 2, and 3 of the (1, 2, 0) layer to be scheduled.

[0278] Category 3: CSI framework extensions

[0279] In previous meetings, proposals for extensions of the CSI framework for multiple TRPs / panels were made by some companies, where the NR Rel-15 CSI framework was used as a starting point and possible extensions were considered. For example, the gNB could enable the UE to be configured with two CSI reporting settings, where

[0280] A report setting can be used for DPS, and

[0281] A second reporting setup may be used for NC-JT.

[0282] By using the Rel-15 framework, the gNB can therefore obtain a single TRP and NC-JT CSI in two CSI reports corresponding to the two CSI reporting settings and then dynamically decide whether to use DPS or NC-JT for PDSCH transmission.

[0283] For a measurement set with 3 TRPs, this means three single TRP CSIs, each associated with one TRP, and three NC-JT CSIs, each associated with a pair of TRPs, assuming NC-JT is on two TRPs. Each of the NC-JT CSIs will include a pair of (RI, PMI, CQI) if two CWs are used, or a pair of (RI, PMI) and a single CQI if a single CW is used. This CSI feedback has almost 9x feedback overhead compared to CSI transmitted for a single TRP, so there is a strong motivation for overhead reduction enhancements. Therefore, more efficient CSI feedback with low feedback overhead for multiple TRPs should be studied.

[0284] If configured to support dynamic switching between single-TRP transmission and multi-TRP transmission, the Rel-15 CSI feedback framework directly applied to the multi-TRP scenario may cause large CSI feedback overhead.

[0285] A possible Rel-16 enhancement to the CSI framework is to specify a method where the UE takes an even larger active part in the hypothesis selection, similar to the use of CRI for beam selection in the current Rel.15 framework, but extended to multiple TRP transmission hypotheses. By letting the UE select the preferred transmission hypothesis (i.e., a set of multiple TRPs in this context), overhead can be reduced because the UE is removing "bad" hypotheses before sending feedback (i.e., rather than blindly reporting all hypotheses).

[0286] Therefore, it is proposed to study further multiple hypothesis types for CSI feedback for multiple TRP / panel transmissions in NR with down-selection of the hypothesis at the UE side. An example of such feedback is that the UE selects a subset from the configured number of TRPs for data transmission. For example, the gNB may configure the UE with N>1 NZP CSI-RS resources in the resource setup for channel measurement, where each of the N NZP CSI-RS resources is associated with one TRP. Then, in the corresponding CSI report, the UE may select a subset M of the NZP CSI-RS resources for channel measurement, where M <N。

[0287] It would be useful for discussions on CSI enhancements to start as quickly as possible to enable evaluation, however, for the most upcoming meetings, agreement on the details could be slightly deprioritized as details of multi-TRP / panel PDSCH transmissions such as the number of TRPs / panels supported, extensions of the TCI framework for multiple TRPs / panels, antenna port indication, etc. need to be agreed upon before it is possible to accurately specify the CSI feedback framework to support these.

[0288] suggestion : For CSI feedback, study UE-assisted multi / single TRP hypothesis selection feedback, where the UE decides single or multi-TRP transmission based on measurement results and indicates the preferred hypothesis to the network.

[0289] In Rel-16 NR-MIMO, the details of multi-TRP / panel PDSCH need to be agreed upon before deciding whether CSI framework enhancement and details are needed.

[0290] Category 4: Reliability / Robustness Specific Extensions

[0291] From a multi-TRP perspective, the basic principle to increase the reliability and robustness of the transmitted data packets is to send multiple copies of the same data payload so that the UE can combine them in an "instant retransmission" manner. Each "copy" is then associated with a different active TCI state (assuming PDSCH is used for the following discussion). The open question for RAN1 is then how to specify the resources for each "copy" and how to determine which TCI state is used for which "copy".

[0292] In 3GPP Tdoc R1-1900731, an analysis of several different strategies to achieve the diversity advantage of multiple TRPs is discussed, and it is concluded that repetition in time and frequency is beneficial for URLLC applications. In 3GPP Tdoc R1-1901116, a study of the impact of the number of TRPs used to achieve robustness is discussed, and it is shown that even 4 TRPs have significant benefits over 2 TRPs in the case of uneven received power distribution between 4 TRPs (as low as 9dB difference between best and worst TRPs).

[0293] It should then be noted that the repetition functionality already exists in Rel-15, using the higher layer parameter pdsch-AggregationFactor, where each PDSCH is sent with a cycle of a predefined RV and a single layer PDSCH is restricted. This principle can be extended to also include TCI states. Thus, when the UE is configured for such robust operation, the PDCCH can trigger a PDSCH transmission set, where each PDSCH can use a different TCI state than the activated TCI state set in a predefined manner.

[0294] suggestion : One DCI may trigger repetition of PDSCH transmissions with the same payload, where each PDSCH may be configured with a different TCI state from the active TCI state set.

[0295] In Rel-15, these multiple PDSCHs are sent in different time slots and using a single layer, but to reduce latency, in Rel-16, it should be possible to trigger multiple such PDSCHs in the same time slot (using type B scheduling, i.e., mini-slot based repetition), in the same OFDM symbol set via FDM (frequency based repetition), or in overlapping resources (SDM or layer based repetition). How similar the repetition "pattern" should be and how it should be configured (e.g., via RRC or via RRC+DCI) can be further studied and discussed. Fig.16 Various exemplary arrangements showing PDSCH repetition based on slots, mini-slots, frequency, and layers are shown.

[0296] As in Rel-15, the DCI that triggers the "first" PDSCH contains the necessary information about resource and antenna port allocation, number of layers for PDSCH, etc., and then the same payload is repeated in each of the PDSCH repetition resources configured by higher layers, except for the RV and TCI states that can be exchanged.

[0297] Note that the PDSCH repetition options can be combined with, for example, both mini-slot based and frequency based. Furthermore, the Rel-15 single layer restriction on PDSCH can be removed to further give the possibility to reduce latency by increasing the spectral efficiency of transmissions on PDSCH.

[0298] Therefore, if the UE supports four-layer reception, the resources for each PDSCH can be configured to overlap (through RRC) and then the DCI triggers two PDSCHs with two layers each. The same data payload is sent in two PDSCHs, but from different TRP / TCI states / CDM groups.

[0299] RRC configures resources for repetition (time slot aggregation) as in Rel.15, and DCI schedules one PDSCH. It may be further studied what DCI may indicate, for example, whether the DCI may choose between overlapping or non-overlapping resources, the number of repetitions, which TCI states should be used per PDSCH, etc.

[0300] suggestion : Higher layers configure the UE with possible resource locations for each repetition of PDSCH, including repetition locations in time (e.g., single or multiple slots or mini-slots) and frequency (e.g., non-overlapping or overlapping). FFS: Whether and how the DCI can dynamically select between these higher layer configured repetition resources and associated TCI states.

[0301] For PDCCH robustness, a similar approach to PDSCH can be adopted, where the same DCI is repeated across multiple CORESETs because each CORESET is configured with a separate TCT state. Note that PDCCH repetition and PDSCH repetition as discussed above can be configured independently based on need. For PDSCH repetition to be enabled, only a single DCI needs to be received, and whether this DCI is also repeated by using multiple PDCCHs in different CORESETs is a separate discussion.

[0302] suggestion : A UE may be configured with search space repetition sets across N>1 CORESETs, where the same search space is repeated in each CORESET. For a given PDCCH candidate with a given DCI size, in one search space / CORESET, there is a corresponding candidate in each search space in the N repetition sets. All corresponding candidates have the same DCI size and aggregation level.

[0303] Through this repetition, the UE can perform soft combining of the N PDCCH candidates to improve DCI detection reliability.

[0304] in conclusion

[0305] The above discussion identifies various recommendations that are outlined below:

[0306] Recommendation 1 : One PDSCH is scheduled for each PDCCH for UEs supporting multiple PDCCH reception (at least for eMBB), and Rel.16 UEs are not expected to be scheduled in the following cases:

[0307] Partially overlapping PDSCH in time and frequency domain resource allocation

[0308] More than one PDSCH with DMRS in the same CDM group for overlapping PDSCH resource allocations

[0309] The aggregate number of layers for all PDSCHs across overlapping time-frequency resources is greater than the maximum number of layers supported / configured by the UE

[0310] The aggregate number of CWs across all PDSCHs in the overlapping time-frequency resources is greater than two

[0311] Recommendation 2 : Support for mechanisms to extend PDSCH resource mapping around multiple reserved resources from different gNBs, i.e., configured CORESET, ZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet and lte-CRS-ToMatchAround, including dynamic resource mapping around detected PDCCH

[0312] Recommendation 3 : RAN1 concluded that there is no change in CW to layer mapping and number of CWs per transmission rank in Rel-16.

[0313] Recommendation 4 : The TCI state may be configured with one, two or three source RS pairs for QCL when the UE is configured for DMRS types 1 and 2, respectively, and source RS pair λ may be used to derive the QCL characteristics for the DMRS ports of CDM group λ.

[0314] For DMRS type 1, the TCI state may be configured to include: {{qcl-Type 1, qcl-Type2}λ=0, {qcl-Type 1, qcl-Type2}λ=1} for each of the two CDM groups, respectively

[0315] For DMRS type 2, the TCI state may be configured to include: {{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2}λ=0,{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2}λ=1,{qcl-Type1,qcl-Type2}λ=2} for each of the three CDM groups, respectively

[0316] Recommendation 5 : Study whether it is beneficial to increase the number of bits in the DCI used to select the active TCI state in order to accommodate more transmission hypotheses (without increasing the maximum number of active tracked QCL source RSs).

[0317] Recommendation 6 : Add a row to the DMRS type 1 antenna port indication table using ports 0,2,3 to allow scheduling of (1,2) layers in two CDM groups respectively.

[0318] Recommendation 7 : Add a row to the DMRS type 2 antenna port indication table for PDSCH with:

[0319] Allow scheduling of ports 0, 2, and 4 at the (1, 1, 1) layer

[0320] Allow scheduling of ports 0,2 of the (1,1,0) layer

[0321] Allow scheduling of ports 0,4 at layer (1,0,1)

[0322] Allow scheduling of ports 0, 2, and 3 at the (1, 2, 0) layer

[0323] Recommendation 8: For CSI feedback, study UE-assisted multi / single TRP hypothesis selection feedback, where the UE decides single or multi-TRP transmission based on measurement results and indicates the preferred hypothesis to the network

[0324] Recommendation 9 : One DCI may trigger repetition of PDSCH transmissions with the same payload, where each PDSCH may be configured with a different TCI state from the active TCI state set.

[0325] Recommendation 10 : Higher layers configure the UE with possible resource locations for each repetition of PDSCH, including repetition locations in time (e.g., single or multiple slots or mini-slots) and frequency (e.g., non-overlapping or overlapping). FFS: Whether and how the DCI can dynamically select between these higher layer configured repetition resources and associated TCI states.

[0326] Recommendation 11 : A UE may be configured with search space repetition sets across N>1 CORESETs, where the same search space is repeated in each CORESET. For a given PDCCH candidate with a given DCI size, in one search space / CORESET, there is a corresponding candidate in each search space in the N repetition sets. All corresponding candidates have the same DCI size and aggregation level.

[0327] The embodiments described above can refer to Figure 11 to Figure 12 It is further shown that Figure 10 to Figure 11 Exemplary methods (eg, processes) performed by a UE and a network node are depicted, respectively. In other words, various features of the operations described below correspond to the various embodiments described above.

[0328] In particular, Fig.11 A flowchart of an exemplary method (e.g., process) for communicating via multiple nodes in a wireless network according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The exemplary method may be performed by a user equipment (UE, e.g., wireless device, IoT device, modem, etc., or components thereof) communicating with one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations, gNBs, en-gNBs, etc., or components thereof) in a wireless network (RAN, e.g., NG-RAN). For example, Fig.11 The exemplary method shown may be implemented in a UE configured as described herein with reference to other figures. Fig.11 The exemplary methods shown can be combined with other exemplary methods described herein (e.g., Fig.12 ) work together to provide the various exemplary benefits described herein. Fig.11Certain blocks are shown in a particular order, but the operations of the exemplary methods may be performed in a different order than shown and may be combined and / or separated into blocks having different functions than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

[0329] An exemplary method may include operations of block 1110, wherein the UE may receive a plurality of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states from a wireless network. In some embodiments, the plurality of TCI states may be associated with one of: a respective plurality of nodes in the wireless network; or a respective plurality of beams associated with one or more nodes in the wireless network.

[0330] The exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1120, wherein the UE may receive scheduling information for a plurality of physical data channels carrying corresponding plurality of repetitions of data blocks via a single physical control channel. For example, the physical control channel may be a PDCCH, and the scheduling information may be a scheduling DCI, such as discussed above. In some embodiments, the plurality of physical data channels may be corresponding layers of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In other embodiments, each physical data channel may be a subset of all layers of the PDSCH.

[0331] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of resources for receiving one or more of the repetitions. The indicated resources may be in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layer. In some embodiments, the resources for at least two of the repetitions may be in the same symbol set in a time slot.

[0332] In other embodiments, the scheduling information may include an indicator of a first resource for a first repetition in reception. In such embodiments, the exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1230, wherein the UE may receive one or more offsets to be applied to the first resource to determine other resources for receiving remaining repetitions in the repetition. In such embodiments, the other resources may be located relative to the first resource in one of: one or more subsequent time slots, or one or more subsequent symbols within the same time slot.

[0333] In some embodiments, the indicated resources for at least two of the repetitions may completely overlap in frequency. In such embodiments, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following for each of the completely overlapping repetitions: a unique set of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports; DMRS ports from a unique code division multiplexing (CDM) group; and a unique data scrambling seed.

[0334] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of a mapping between multiple repetitions and multiple redundancy versions (RVs) of the data block.

[0335] The exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1140, wherein the UE may assign one or more of the TCI states to the multiple repetitions. In some embodiments, the multiple TCI states are less than the multiple repetitions, and the multiple TCI states are assigned to the repetitions in a predefined order. As an illustrative example, each physical data channel (carrying the corresponding repetition) may be sent by a different TRP using one of the activated TCI states (the TCI states provided to the UE in block 1110) in a predefined order. The UE may also be aware of the predefined order and assign the TCI states to the repetitions in a corresponding manner.

[0336] In other embodiments, the scheduling information may further include an indicator of a mapping between one or more of the TCI states and a plurality of repetitions. In such embodiments, the one or more TCI states are assigned to the repetitions based on the indicated mapping. In some of these embodiments, the indicator is included in a field having a plurality of code points, the plurality of TCI states being less than the plurality of code points. In such embodiments, a first subset of code points may be associated with a single TCI state, and a second subset of code points may be associated with a combination of the single TCI states.

[0337] In some embodiments, each TCI state includes one or more source reference signal (RS) pairs, wherein each source RS pair has a corresponding quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship pair with an antenna port for a DM-RS that is mapped to a specific physical data channel. For example, the QCL relationship pair may include any of the QCL relationship types AD discussed above. In such embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include the operation of block 1150, in which, for each of the plurality of TCI states, the UE may determine a channel parameter based on the source RS pair included in the particular TCI state.

[0338] The exemplary method may also include the operation of box 1160, in which the UE may receive multiple repetitions via multiple physical data channels based on the scheduling information and the assigned TCI state. In some embodiments, the operation of box 1160 may include the operation of subboxes 1161-1163 for each of the physical data channels. In subbox 1161, the UE may receive a DM-RS mapped to the physical data channel based on channel parameters (e.g., determined for the source RS pair in box 1150). In this way, the UE can receive a target RS, such as a DM-RS, using the source RS pair and the QCL relationship. In subbox 1162, the UE may determine further channel parameters based on the received DM-RS. In subbox 1163, the UE may receive a physical data channel based on further channel parameters.

[0339] in addition, Fig.12An exemplary method (e.g., process) for communicating with a single user equipment (UE) via multiple physical data channels according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The exemplary method may be performed by one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, en-gNBs, etc. or components thereof) of a wireless network (e.g., NG-RAN, E-UTRAN). For example, Fig.12 The illustrated exemplary method may be implemented in one or more network nodes of a wireless network configured as described herein with reference to other figures. Fig.12 The exemplary methods shown can be combined with other exemplary methods described herein (e.g., Fig.11 ) are used together to provide various exemplary benefits and / or advantages. Although Fig.12 Certain blocks are shown in a particular order, but the operations of the exemplary methods may be performed in a different order than shown and may be combined and / or separated into blocks having different functions than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

[0340] An exemplary method may include operations of block 1210, wherein the wireless network may send a plurality of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states to the UE. In some embodiments, the plurality of TCI states may be associated with one of: a respective plurality of nodes in the wireless network; or a respective plurality of beams associated with one or more nodes in the wireless network.

[0341] The exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1220, wherein the wireless network may assign one or more of the TCI states to multiple repetitions of a data block to be carried by a corresponding plurality of physical data channels. In some embodiments, the plurality of TCI states may be less than the plurality of repetitions, and the plurality of TCI states may be assigned to the repetitions in a predefined order. As an illustrative example, each physical data channel (carrying the corresponding repetition) may be sent by a different TRP using one of the activated TCI states (the TCI states provided to the UE in block 1210) in a predefined order. The UE may also be aware of the predefined order and assign the TCI states to the repetitions in a corresponding manner.

[0342] The exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1230, in which the wireless network may send scheduling information for multiple physical data channels carrying corresponding multiple repetitions of the data block via a single physical control channel. For example, as discussed above, the physical control channel may be a PDCCH, and the scheduling information may be a scheduling DCI. In some embodiments, the multiple physical data channels may be corresponding layers of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In other embodiments, each physical data channel may be a subset of all layers of the PDSCH.

[0343] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may further include an indicator of resources for receiving one or more of the repetitions. The indicated resources may be in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layer. In some embodiments, the resources for at least two of the repetitions may be in the same symbol set in a time slot.

[0344] In other embodiments, the scheduling information may include an indicator of a first resource for receiving a first repetition in the repetitions. In such embodiments, the exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1240, in which the wireless network may send one or more offsets to be applied to the first resource to determine other resources for receiving remaining repetitions in the repetitions. In such embodiments, the other resources may be located in one of: one or more subsequent time slots relative to the first resource, or one or more subsequent symbols relative to the first resource within the same time slot.

[0345] In some embodiments, the indicated resources for at least two of the repetitions may completely overlap in frequency. In such embodiments, the scheduling information may also include at least one of the following for each of the completely overlapping repetitions: a unique set of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports; DMRS ports from a unique code division multiplexing (CDM) group; and a unique data scrambling seed.

[0346] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of a mapping between multiple repetitions and multiple redundancy versions (RVs) of the data block.

[0347] In some embodiments, the scheduling information may also include an indicator of a mapping between one or more of the TCI states and a plurality of repetitions. For example, in block 1220, the mapping may reflect and / or indicate the assignment of TCI states to repetitions. In some of these embodiments, the indicator is included in a field having a plurality of code points, the plurality of TCI states being less than the plurality of code points. In such embodiments, a first subset of code points may be associated with a single TCI state, and a second subset of code points may be associated with a combination of the single TCI states.

[0348] In some embodiments, each TCI state includes one or more source reference signal (RS) pairs, wherein each source RS pair has a corresponding quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship pair with an antenna port for a DM-RS that is mapped to a specific physical data channel. For example, the QCL relationship pair may include any of the QCL relationship types AD discussed above. In such embodiments, these exemplary methods may also include the operation of block 1250, in which the wireless network may send a source RS pair included in a particular TCI state for each of the plurality of TCI states.

[0349] The exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1260, where the wireless network may send multiple repetitions via multiple physical data channels based on the scheduling information and the assigned TCI state. In some embodiments, the operation of block 1260 may include the operation of sub-block 1261, where the wireless network may send corresponding DM-RS associated with the physical data channels to which they are mapped. This may facilitate the UE to receive the target RS (e.g., DM-RS) associated with a particular physical data channel using the source RS pair and the QCL relationship.

[0350] Although various embodiments are described above in terms of methods, techniques, and / or processes, a person of ordinary skill will readily appreciate that such methods, techniques, and / or processes may be implemented through various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, computer program products, and the like.

[0351] Fig.13 A block diagram of an exemplary wireless device or user equipment (UE) 1300 (referred to herein as "UE 1300") according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (including the embodiments described above with reference to other figures) is shown. For example, UE 1300 can be configured to perform operations corresponding to one or more of the exemplary methods described herein by executing instructions stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0352] UE 1300 may include a processor 1310 (also referred to as a "processing circuit") that may be operably connected to a program memory 1320 and / or a data memory 1330 via a bus 1370, which may include a parallel address and data bus, a serial port, or other methods and / or structures known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Program memory 1320 may store software codes, programs, and / or instructions (collectively shown as Fig.131321), the software code, program, and / or instructions, when executed by the processor 1310, can configure and / or facilitate the UE 1300 to perform various operations, including operations corresponding to the various exemplary methods described herein. As part of or in addition to such operations, the execution of such instructions can configure and / or facilitate the UE 1300 to communicate using one or more wired or wireless communication protocols, including one or more wireless communication protocols standardized by 3GPP, 3GPP2, or IEEE, such as protocols commonly referred to as 5G / NR, LTE, LTE-A, UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 1xRTT, CDMA2000, 802.11WiFi, HDMI, USB, Firewire, etc., or any other current or future protocol that can be used in conjunction with the radio transceiver 1340, the user interface 1350, and / or the control interface 1360.

[0353] As another example, the processor 1310 may execute program code stored in the program memory 1320, which corresponds to MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP (e.g., for NR and / or LTE). As a further example, the processor 1310 may execute program code stored in the program memory 1320, which together with the radio transceiver 1340 implements corresponding PHY layer protocols, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA). As another example, the processor 1310 may execute program code stored in the program memory 1320, which together with the radio transceiver 1340 implements device-to-device (D2D) communication with other compatible devices and / or UEs.

[0354] The program memory 1320 may also include software codes executed by the processing UE 1310 to control the functions of the UE 1300, including configuring and controlling various components, such as the radio transceiver 1340, the user interface 1350, and / or the control interface 1360. The program memory 1320 may also include one or more applications and / or modules, including computer executable instructions that implement any exemplary method described herein. Such software codes may be specified or written using any known or future developed programming language, such as, for example, Java, C++, C, Objective C, HTML, XHTML, machine code, and assembler, as long as, for example, the desired functionality defined by the implemented method steps is retained. In addition, or as an alternative, the program memory 1320 may include an external storage arrangement (not shown) remote from the UE 1300, from which instructions may be downloaded to the program memory 1320 located within the UE 1300 or removably coupled to the UE 1300, so as to enable the execution of such instructions.

[0355] The data memory 1330 may include a memory area for the processor 1310 to store variables used in protocols, configurations, controls, and other functions of the UE 1300, including operations corresponding to or including any exemplary method described herein. Moreover, the program memory 1320 and / or the data memory 1330 may include a non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory), a volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), or a combination thereof. In addition, the data memory 1330 may include a memory slot through which a removable memory card (e.g., SD card, memory stick, compact flash, etc.) having one or more formats may be inserted and removed.

[0356] Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that processor 1310 may include multiple individual processors (including, for example, multi-core processors), each of which implements a portion of the functionality described above. In such cases, multiple individual processors may be commonly connected to program memory 1320 and data memory 1330 or individually connected to multiple individual program memories and / or data memories. More generally, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various protocols and other functions of UE 1300 may be implemented in many different computer arrangements, including different combinations of hardware and software, including but not limited to application processors, signal processors, general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, fixed and / or programmable digital circuits, analog baseband circuits, radio frequency circuits, software, firmware, and middleware.

[0357] The radio transceiver 1340 may include radio frequency transmitter and / or receiver functionality that facilitates the UE 1300 to communicate with other devices supporting similar wireless communication standards and / or protocols. In some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver 1340 includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that enable the UE 1300 to communicate according to various protocols and / or methods proposed for standardization by 3GPP and / or other standards bodies. For example, such functionality may cooperate with the processor 1310 to implement a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technology, such as described herein with respect to other figures.

[0358] In some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver 1340 includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that can facilitate the UE 1300 to communicate with various LTE, LTE-Evolution (LTE-A), and / or NR networks in accordance with standards promulgated by 3GPP. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the radio transceiver 1340 includes circuits, firmware, etc. required for the UE 1300 to communicate with various NR, NR-U, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-LAA, UMTS, and / or GSM / EDGE networks also in accordance with 3GPP standards. In some embodiments, the radio transceiver 1340 may include circuits to support D2D communications between the UE 1300 and other compatible devices.

[0359] In some embodiments, radio transceiver 1340 includes circuits, firmware, etc. required for UE 1300 to communicate with various CDMA2000 networks according to 3GPP2 standards. In some embodiments, radio transceiver 1340 may be able to communicate using radio technology operating in unlicensed bands, such as IEEE802.11WiFi operating with frequencies in the region of 2.4, 5.6, and / or 60GHz. In some embodiments, radio transceiver 1340 may include a transceiver capable of wired communication, such as by using IEEE 802.3 Ethernet technology. Functions specific to each of these embodiments may be coupled to and / or controlled by other circuits in UE 1300, such as processor 1310 that executes program codes stored in program memory 1320 and / or supported by data memory 1330 in conjunction with data memory 1330.

[0360] The user interface 1350 may take various forms depending on the specific embodiment of the UE 1300, or may be completely absent from the UE 1300. In some embodiments, the user interface 1350 may include a microphone, a speaker, a slide button, a depressible button, a display, a touch screen display, a mechanical or virtual keypad, a mechanical or virtual keyboard, and / or any other user interface features typically found on a mobile phone. In other embodiments, the UE 1300 may include a tablet computing device, including a larger touch screen display. In such embodiments, one or more of the mechanical features of the user interface 1350 may be replaced by comparable or functionally equivalent virtual user interface features (e.g., virtual keypads, virtual buttons, etc.) implemented using a touch screen display. In other embodiments, the UE 1300 may be a digital computing device, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a workstation, etc., including a mechanical keyboard that may be integrated, detachable, or detachable depending on a specific exemplary embodiment. Such a digital computing device may also include a touch screen display. Many exemplary embodiments of the UE 1300 with a touch screen display are capable of receiving user input, such as input related to the exemplary methods described herein or otherwise known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0361] In some embodiments, UE 1300 may include an orientation sensor that can be used in various ways through the features and functions of UE 1300. For example, UE 1300 can use the output of the orientation sensor to determine when a user has changed the physical orientation of the touch screen display of UE 1300. The indication signal from the orientation sensor can be used for any application executed on UE 1300, so that the application can automatically change the orientation of the screen display (e.g., from portrait to landscape) when the indication signal indicates an approximately 90-degree change in the physical orientation of the device. In this exemplary manner, the application can maintain the screen display in a manner that can be read by the user, regardless of the physical orientation of the device. In addition, the output of the orientation sensor can be used in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0362] The control interface 1360 of the UE 1300 may take various forms depending on the particular exemplary embodiment of the UE 1300 and the particular interface requirements of other devices with which the UE 1300 is intended to communicate and / or control. For example, the control interface 1360 may include an RS-232 interface, an RS-4135 interface, a USB interface, an HDMI interface, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE ("FireWire") interface, an I 2C interface, PCMCIA interface, etc. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the control interface 1360 may include an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interface such as described above. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the control interface 1360 may include an analog interface circuit, including, for example, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and / or analog-to-digital converters (ADCs).

[0363] One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the above list of features, interfaces, and radio frequency communication standards is exemplary only and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, UE 1300 may include more than Fig.13 1300, including, for example, video and / or still image cameras, microphones, media players and / or recorders, etc. Moreover, the radio transceiver 1340 may include circuits required to communicate using additional radio frequency communication standards, including Bluetooth, GPS, and / or others. In addition, the processor 1310 may execute software code stored in the program memory 1320 to control such additional functions. For example, the direction speed and / or position estimate output from the GPS receiver may be used in any application executed on the UE 1300, including any program code corresponding to and / or implementing any exemplary embodiment (e.g., method) described herein.

[0364] Fig.14 A block diagram of an exemplary network node 1400 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (including the embodiments described above with reference to other figures) is shown. For example, the exemplary network node 1400 may be configured to perform operations corresponding to one or more of the exemplary methods described herein by executing instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. In some exemplary embodiments, the network node 1400 may include a base station, an eNB, a gNB, or one or more components thereof. For example, according to the NR gNB architecture specified by 3GPP, the network node 1400 may be configured as a central unit (CU) and one or more distributed units (DUs). More generally, the functions of the network node 1400 may be distributed across various physical devices and / or functional units, modules, etc.

[0365] Network node 1400 may include a processor 1410 (also referred to as a "processing circuit") operably connected to a program memory 1420 and a data memory 1430 via a bus 1470, which may include a parallel address and data bus, a serial port, or other methods and / or structures known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0366] Program memory 1420 may store software codes, programs, and / or instructions (collectively shown as Fig.14The computer program product 1421 in the embodiment of the present invention may be a computer program product 1421 in the embodiment of the present invention, which software code, program, and / or instruction, when executed by the processor 1410, may configure and / or facilitate the network node 1400 to perform various operations, including operations corresponding to the various exemplary methods described herein. As part of such operations and / or in addition to such operations, the program memory 1420 may also include software code executed by the processor 1410, which may configure and / or facilitate the network node 1400 to communicate with one or more other UEs or network nodes using other protocols or protocol layers, such as one or more of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for LTE, LTE-A, and / or NR, or any other higher layer (e.g., NAS) protocol used in conjunction with the radio network interface 1440 and / or the core network interface 1450. By way of example, the core network interface 1450 may include an S1 or NG interface, and the radio network interface 1440 may include a Uu interface as standardized by 3GPP. The program memory 1420 may also include software code that is executed by the processor 1410 to control the functionality of the network node 1400 , including configuring and controlling various components, such as the radio network interface 1440 , and the core network interface 1450 .

[0367] The data memory 1430 may include a memory area for the processor 1410 to store variables used in the protocols, configurations, controls, and other functions of the network node 1400. Thus, the program memory 1420 and the data memory 1430 may include non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, hard disk, etc.), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), network-based (e.g., "cloud") storage, or a combination thereof. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the processor 1410 may include a plurality of separate processors (not shown), each of which implements a portion of the functions described above. In such cases, the plurality of separate processors may be connected to the program memory 1420 and the data memory 1430 in common or to a plurality of separate program memories and / or data memories individually. More generally, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various protocols and other functions of the network node 1400 may be implemented in many different combinations of hardware and software, including but not limited to application processors, signal processors, general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, fixed digital circuits, programmable digital circuits, analog baseband circuits, radio frequency circuits, software, firmware, and middleware.

[0368] The radio network interface 1440 may include a transmitter, a receiver, a signal processor, an ASIC, an antenna, a beamforming unit, and other circuits that enable the network node 1400 to communicate with other devices, such as multiple compatible user equipment (UE) in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the interface 1440 may also enable the network node 1400 to communicate with compatible satellites of a satellite communication network. In some exemplary embodiments, the radio network interface 1440 may include various protocols or protocol layers, such as PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and / or RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for LTE, LTE-A, LTE-LAA, NR, NR-U, etc.; improvements thereto, such as described herein above; or any other higher layer protocol used in conjunction with the radio network interface 1440. According to further exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the radio network interface 1440 may include a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technology. In some embodiments, the functionality of such a PHY layer may be provided in cooperation by the radio network interface 1440 and the processor 1410 (including program code in the memory 1420).

[0369] The core network interface 1450 may include a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits that enable the network node 1400 to communicate with other devices in the core network, such as, in some embodiments, a circuit switching (CS) and / or a packet switching core (PS) network. In some embodiments, the core network interface 1450 may include an S1 interface standardized by 3GPP. In some embodiments, the core network interface 1450 may include an NG interface standardized by 3GPP. In some exemplary embodiments, the core network interface 1450 may include one or more interfaces to one or more AMFs, SMFs, SGWs, MMEs, SGSNs, GGSNs, and other physical devices, including functions found in GERAN, UTRAN, EPCs, 5GCs, and CDMA2000 core networks known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, these one or more interfaces may be multiplexed together on a single physical interface. In some embodiments, the lower layers of the core network interface 1450 may include one or more of the following: asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), Internet Protocol (IP) over Ethernet, SDH over fiber, T1 / E1 / PDH over copper wire, microwave radio, or other wired or wireless transmission technologies known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0370] In some embodiments, the network node 1400 may include hardware and / or software that configures and / or facilitates the network node 1400 to communicate with other network nodes in a RAN (also referred to as a "radio network"), such as with other eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, en-gNBs, IAB nodes, etc. Such hardware and / or software may be part of the radio network interface 1440 and / or the core network interface 1450, or it may be a separate functional unit (not shown). For example, such hardware and / or software may configure and / or facilitate the network node 1400 to communicate with other RAN nodes via an X2 or Xn interface as standardized by 3GPP.

[0371] The OA&M interface 1460 may include transmitters, receivers, and other circuits that enable the network node 1400 to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for operation, management, and maintenance of the network node 1400 or other network devices operatively connected thereto. The lower layers of the OA&M interface 1460 may include one or more of the following: asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), Internet Protocol (IP) over Ethernet, SDH over fiber, T1 / E1 / PDH over copper wire, microwave radio, or other wired or wireless transmission technologies known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, in some embodiments, one or more of the radio network interface 1440, the core network interface 1450, and the OA&M interface 1460 may be multiplexed together on a single physical interface, such as the examples listed above.

[0372] Fig.15 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication network configured to provide over-the-top (OTT) data services between a host computer and a user equipment (UE) according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. UE 1510 can communicate with a radio access network (RAN, also referred to as a "wireless network") 1530 via a radio interface 1520, which can be based on the protocols described above, including, for example, LTE, LTE-A, and 5G / NR. For example, UE 1510 can be configured and / or arranged as shown in the other figures discussed above.

[0373] The RAN 1530 may include one or more terrestrial network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, controllers, etc.) operable in a licensed frequency band, and one or more network nodes operable in an unlicensed spectrum (using, for example, LAA or NR-U technology), such as the 2.4-GHz band and / or the 5-GHz band. In such cases, the network nodes including the RAN 1530 may operate cooperatively using the licensed and unlicensed spectrum. In some embodiments, the RAN 1530 may include or be capable of communicating with one or more satellites including a satellite access network.

[0374] The RAN 1530 may also communicate with the core network 1540 according to the various protocols and interfaces described above. For example, one or more devices (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, etc.) including the RAN 1530 may communicate with the core network 1540 via the core network interface 1550 described above. In some exemplary embodiments, the RAN 1530 and the core network 1540 may be configured and / or arranged as shown in the other figures discussed above. For example, the eNBs including the E-UTRAN 1530 may communicate with the EPC core network 1540 via the S1 interface. As another example, the ng-eNBs and gNBs including the NG-RAN 1530 may communicate with the 5GC core network 1530 via the NG interface.

[0375] The core network 1540 can also communicate with external packet data networks according to various protocols and interfaces known to those skilled in the art. Fig.15 1550. Many other devices and / or networks may also connect and communicate via the Internet 1550, such as an exemplary host computer 1560. In some exemplary embodiments, the host computer 1560 may communicate with the UE 1510 using the Internet 1550, the core network 1540, and the RAN 1530 as middleware. The host computer 1560 may be a server (e.g., an application server) under the ownership and / or control of the service provider. The host computer 1560 may be operated by the OTT service provider or by another entity on behalf of the service provider.

[0376] For example, the host computer 1560 may provide over-the-top (OTT) packet data services to the UE 1510 using the facilities of the core network 1540 and the RAN 1530, which may be unaware of the routing of outgoing / incoming communications to / from the host computer 1560. Similarly, the host computer 1560 may be unaware of the routing of transmissions from the host computer to the UE, e.g., the routing of transmissions through the RAN 1530. Various OTT services may be used Fig.15 The exemplary configurations shown provide, including, for example, streaming (one-way) audio and / or video from a host computer to a UE, interactive (one-way) audio and / or video between a host computer and a UE, interactive messaging or social networking, interactive virtual or augmented reality, and the like.

[0377] Fig.15The exemplary network shown may also include measurement procedures and / or sensors that monitor network performance metrics, including data rate, latency, and other factors improved by the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. The exemplary network may also include functionality for reconfiguring links between endpoints (e.g., a host computer and a UE) in response to changes in measurement results. Such procedures and functions are known and practiced; if the network hides or abstracts the radio interface from the OTT service provider, the measurements can be facilitated by dedicated signaling between the UE and the host computer.

[0378] The exemplary embodiments described herein provide effective techniques for ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) by configuring a UE, such as UE 1510, to send and / or receive multiple versions of a data block on a separate physical data channel (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH). In this way, PDSCH diversity can be achieved by transmitting multiple TRPs to a single UE even if only a single PDCCH is used to convey the configuration of multiple transmissions and / or receptions of a data block. This can increase reliability, reduce latency, reduce PDCCH blocking probability, and / or reduce UE complexity. When used in a NR UE (e.g., UE 1510) and a gNB (e.g., a gNB including RAN 1530), the exemplary embodiments described herein can provide various improvements, benefits, and / or performance that facilitate the use of data services (e.g., URLLC) with strict performance requirements. Therefore, this improves the performance of these services as experienced by OTT service providers and end users, including more consistent data throughput and lower latency without excessive UE power consumption or other reductions in user experience.

[0379] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the present disclosure. In view of the teachings herein, various modifications and variations of the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to design multiple systems, arrangements, and programs that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure and may therefore be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Various exemplary embodiments may be used in conjunction with each other and interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0380] As used herein, the term unit may have the conventional meaning in the field of electronic devices, electrical equipment, and / or electronic equipment, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, output, and / or display functions, etc., such as those described herein.

[0381] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include a plurality of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via a processing circuit, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and other digital hardware, which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit may be configured to execute program codes stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit may be used to cause the corresponding functional unit to perform the corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0382] As described herein, equipment and / or devices can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module including such a chip or chipset; however, this does not exclude the possibility that the function of the equipment or device is implemented as a software module rather than the hardware implemented as an implementation, and the software module is such as a computer program or a computer program product, including an executable software code portion for executing or running on a processor. In addition, the function of the equipment or device can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. Equipment or devices can also be considered as components of multiple equipment and / or devices, whether they cooperate or are independent of each other in function. In addition, equipment and devices can be implemented in a distributed manner throughout the system, as long as the function of the equipment or device is retained. Such and similar principles are considered to be known to technicians.

[0383] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. It will also be understood that, unless explicitly defined as such herein, the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense.

[0384] Additionally, in some instances, certain terms (e.g., "data" and "information") used in this disclosure (including the specification and drawings) may be used synonymously. It should be understood that although these terms (and / or other terms that may be synonymous with each other) may be used synonymously herein, there may be instances when such words may be intended to be used non-synonymously. Moreover, to the extent that prior art knowledge has not been expressly incorporated herein by reference above, it is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety. All disclosures cited are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0385] Embodiments of the techniques and devices described herein also include, but are not limited to, the following examples:

[0386] 1. A method for receiving multiple channels, such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein each channel carries a version of the same data payload, but is optionally sent by different sources (such as a transmission reception point (TRP)) in a wireless communication network in different frequency resources and / or different spatial resources, optionally comprising one or more of the following:

[0387] receiving, such as via a network node, from a network a plurality of indicators associated with a respective plurality of transmission sources, such as a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state, or an indication of a plurality of indicators;

[0388] For one or more of the multiple transmission sources,

[0389] determining a channel parameter based on receiving one or more source reference signals (RS) identified by an indicator or via an indication of a plurality of indicators associated with a plurality of transmission sources;

[0390] receiving configuration information for a plurality of PDSCHs via one or more channels, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); and

[0391] Based on the determined channel parameters, a plurality of PDSCHs are received from a plurality of transmission sources according to the configuration information.

[0392] 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein each of the source RSs is associated with a different physical data channel among a plurality of physical data channels.

[0393] 3. A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the configuration information identifies resources for receiving at least a portion of multiple physical data channels (e.g., PDSCH), and wherein the identified resources are in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layer.

[0394] 4. The method of embodiment 3, wherein resources used for at least two of the physical data channels (eg, PDSCHs) do not overlap in at least one of the following dimensions: frequency and spatial layers.

[0395] 5. The method according to any one of embodiments 3 to 4, wherein resources used for at least two of the physical data channels (eg, PDSCHs) completely overlap in frequency.

[0396] 6. The method of embodiment 5, wherein the configuration information for a fully overlapping physical data channel (e.g., PDSCH) further includes at least one of:

[0397] A unique set of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports for each overlapping physical data channel (e.g., PDSCH);

[0398] DMRS ports from different CDM groups for each overlapping physical data channel (eg, PDSCH); and

[0399] Unique data scrambling seed for each overlapping physical data channel (eg, PDSCH).

[0400] 7. The method of any one of embodiments 3 to 6, wherein:

[0401] The configuration information identifies resources for receiving a first physical data channel among a plurality of physical data channels (eg, PDSCH); and

[0402] The method further includes receiving, via higher layer signaling, identification of resources for receiving remaining physical data channels of a plurality of physical data channels (eg, PDSCH).

[0403] 8. The method according to embodiment 7 further includes: determining that the number of physical data channels (e.g., PDSCHs) includes multiple based on the identified resources used to receive the first physical data channel among the multiple physical data channels.

[0404] 9. A method according to any one of embodiments 3 to 8, wherein the identified resources for receiving multiple physical data channels (e.g., PDSCH) include time resources located within one of the following: multiple time slots, and multiple non-overlapping OFDM symbols within the time slots.

[0405] 10. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein multiple physical data channels (eg, PDSCHs) carry different redundancy versions (RVs) of a single data block.

[0406] 11. A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the received configuration information includes information that associates at least a portion of multiple TCI states with multiple PDSCHs.

[0407] 12. The method of embodiment 11, wherein:

[0408] The received configuration information includes information to associate a first TCI state among a plurality of TCI states with a first physical data channel among a plurality of physical data channels (e.g., PDSCH);

[0409] as well as

[0410] The method also includes: for other physical data channels in multiple physical data channels (eg, PDSCH), selecting other TCI states in multiple TCI states according to a predetermined rule.

[0411] 13. The method of embodiment 12, wherein:

[0412] The information associating multiple TCI states with multiple physical data channels (e.g., PDSCHs) includes: a field having multiple code points;

[0413] Each code point associated with one of the TCI states; and

[0414] The subset of the plurality of code points is used to associate a first TCI state of a plurality of TCI states with a first physical data channel of a plurality of physical data channels (eg, PDSCH).

[0415] 14. The method according to any one of embodiments 11 to 13 further includes: receiving a control message to activate at least a subset of multiple TCI states, wherein the channel parameters are determined only for the activated subset of TCI states.

[0416] 15. The method of embodiment 14, wherein the received configuration information includes information associating a further subset of the activated subset of TCI states with multiple physical data channels (eg, PDSCHs).

[0417] 16. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 15, wherein at least two of the physical data channels (eg, PDSCHs) are located in the same OFDM symbol set in a time slot.

[0418] 17. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein the source RS for each physical data channel (eg, PDSCH) is different.

[0419] 18. A method for transmitting multiple channels (such as a physical uplink shared channel (PDSCH)) to a wireless communication network (e.g., to a network node such as a user equipment), wherein each channel carries a version of the same data payload, but is optionally transmitted by different sources (such as a transmission reception point (TRP)) in different frequency resources and / or in different spatial resources, optionally comprising one or more of the following:

[0420] receiving from a network a plurality of resource indicators associated with a respective plurality of transmission resources or an indication of a plurality of resource indicators associated with a respective plurality of transmission resources;

[0421] determining, for one or more of a plurality of transmission resources, a channel parameter based on transmitting one or more source reference signals (RS) identified by a resource indicator associated with the transmission resource;

[0422] Receiving configuration information for multiple physical channels (eg, PUSCH), for example, via a single physical downlink control channel (eg, PDCCH); and

[0423] Based on the determined channel parameters, multiple physical channels (eg, PUSCH) are sent using multiple transmission resources according to the configuration information.

[0424] 19. The method of embodiment 18, wherein each of the source RSs is associated with a different physical channel among a plurality of physical channels (eg, PUSCH).

[0425] 20. A method according to any one of embodiments 18 to 19, wherein the configuration information identifies resources for sending at least a portion of multiple physical channels (e.g., PUSCH), and wherein the identified resources are in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layer.

[0426] 21. The method of embodiment 20, wherein resources used for at least two of the PUSCHs do not overlap in at least one of the following dimensions: frequency, and spatial layer.

[0427] 22. The method according to any one of embodiments 20 to 21, wherein resources used for at least two of the physical channels (eg, PUSCH) completely overlap in frequency.

[0428] 23. The method of embodiment 22, wherein the configuration information for a fully overlapping physical channel (e.g., PUSCH) further comprises at least one of:

[0429] A unique set of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports for each overlapping physical channel (e.g., PUSCH);

[0430] DMRS ports from different CDM groups for each overlapping physical channel (eg, PUSCH); and

[0431] Unique data scrambling seed for each overlapping physical channel (eg, PUSCH).

[0432] 24. The method of any one of embodiments 20 to 23, wherein:

[0433] The configuration information identifies resources used to transmit a first physical channel among a plurality of physical channels (eg, PUSCH); and / or

[0434] The method further includes receiving, via higher layer signaling, identification of resources for transmitting remaining physical channels of a plurality of physical channels (eg, PUSCH).

[0435] 25. The method according to embodiment 24 also includes: determining that the number of physical channels (e.g., PUSCH) includes multiple based on the identified resources used to send the first physical data channel among multiple physical data channels.

[0436] 26. A method according to any one of embodiments 20 to 25, wherein the identified resources for sending multiple physical channels (e.g., PUSCH) include time resources located within one of the following: multiple time slots, and multiple non-overlapping OFDM symbols within the time slots.

[0437] 27. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 26, wherein multiple physical channels (eg, PUSCH) carry different redundancy versions (RVs) of a single data block.

[0438] 28. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 27, wherein the received configuration information includes information associating at least a portion of the plurality of resource indicators with a plurality of physical channels (eg, PUSCH).

[0439] 29. The method of embodiment 28, wherein:

[0440] The received configuration information includes information that associates a first resource indicator among the plurality of resource indicators with a first physical channel among the plurality of physical channels (eg, PUSCH); and / or

[0441] The method further includes: for other physical channels in a plurality of physical channels (eg, PUSCH), selecting other resource indicators in a plurality of resource indicators according to a predetermined rule.

[0442] 30. The method of embodiment 29, wherein:

[0443] The information associating multiple resource indicators with multiple physical channels (eg, PUSCH) includes: a field having multiple code points; and / or

[0444] each code point associated with one of the resource indicators; and / or

[0445] The subset of the plurality of code points is used to correlate a first resource indicator of the plurality of resource indicators with a first physical channel of the plurality of physical channels (eg, PUSCH).

[0446] 31. The method according to any one of embodiments 28 to 30 further includes: receiving a control message to activate at least a subset of multiple resource indicators, optionally wherein the channel parameters are determined only for the activated subset of resource indicators.

[0447] 32. The method of embodiment 31, wherein the received configuration information includes information to associate a further subset of the activated subset of resource indicators with a plurality of PUSCHs.

[0448] 33. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 32, wherein at least two of the physical channels (eg, PUSCH) are located in the same OFDM symbol set in a time slot.

[0449] 34. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 33, wherein the source RS for each physical channel (eg, PUSCH) is different.

[0450] 35. A method, for example, for transmitting multiple physical channels (e.g., PDSCH) to a single user equipment (UE), wherein each physical channel carries a version of the same data payload but is transmitted by a different source in a wireless communication network, the method comprising one or more of the following:

[0451] sending a plurality of indicators or indications of a plurality of indicators associated with respective plurality of transmission sources to a UE, for example, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state;

[0452] For each of a plurality of transmission sources, transmitting one or more source reference signals (RS) identified by an indicator (e.g., a TCI state associated with the transmission source);

[0453] For example, sending configuration information for multiple physical data channels (eg, PDSCH to be sent to the UE) to the UE via a single physical channel (eg, (PDCCH)); and

[0454] A plurality of physical data channels (eg, PDSCHs) are transmitted from a plurality of transmission sources according to configuration information.

[0455] 36. A method, for example, for receiving multiple physical channels (e.g., PUSCH) from a single user equipment (UE), wherein each physical channel (e.g., PUSCH) carries a version of the same data payload but is sent using different resources, the method comprising one or more of the following:

[0456] sending an indication of a plurality of resource indicators associated with a corresponding plurality of transmission resources to a UE;

[0457] determining, for each of a plurality of transmission resources, a channel parameter based on receiving one or more source reference signals (RS) identified by a resource indicator associated with the particular transmission resource;

[0458] For example, sending configuration information for multiple physical data channels (eg, PUSCHs to be sent to the UE) to the UE via a single physical channel (eg, PDCCH); and

[0459] Based on the determined channel parameters, multiple physical data channels (eg, PUSCHs) are received using multiple transmission resources according to the configuration information.

[0460] 37. A user equipment (UE), for example, configured to receive multiple physical channels (e.g., PDSCHs), wherein each physical channel (e.g., PDSCH) carries a version of the same data payload but is sent by a different source in a wireless communication network, the UE comprising one or more of the following:

[0461] communications circuitry configured to communicate with a wireless communications network; and

[0462] A processing circuit is operably associated with the communication circuit and is configured to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of exemplary embodiments 1 to 17.

[0463] 38. A user equipment (UE), for example, configured to transmit multiple physical channels, for example, a physical uplink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein each physical channel (e.g., PUSCH) carries a version of the same data payload but is transmitted using different resources, the UE comprising:

[0464] communications circuitry configured to communicate with a wireless communications network; and

[0465] A processing circuit operatively associated with the communication circuit and configured to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of exemplary embodiments 18 to 34.

[0466] 39. A radio access network (RAN), for example, arranged to transmit multiple physical channels, for example, physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs), to a single user equipment (UE), wherein each physical channel (for example, PDSCH) carries a version of the same data payload but is transmitted by a different source in the RAN, the RAN comprising:

[0467] a communication circuit configured to communicate with the UE; and

[0468] A processing circuit operably associated with a communication circuit and configured to perform operations corresponding to the method according to embodiment 35.

[0469] 40. A radio access network (RAN), for example arranged to receive multiple physical channels, for example physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs), from a single user equipment (UE), wherein each physical channel (e.g., PUSCH) carries a version of the same data payload but is sent using different resources, the RAN comprising:

[0470] a communication circuit configured to communicate with the UE; and

[0471] A processing circuit operably associated with a communication circuit and configured to perform operations corresponding to the method described according to embodiment 36.

[0472] 41. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a user equipment (UE), configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to the method of any one of exemplary embodiments 1 to 34.

[0473] 42. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor comprising a radio access network (RAN), configure the RAN to perform operations corresponding to the method of any one of exemplary embodiments 35 to 36.

[0474] In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, the following examples, which are divided into Group A ("receive") and Group B ("send"). Although "TCI" and "SRI" are referred to below, these are only examples and may also be different indicators, as recognized by those skilled in the art.

[0475] Group A

[0476] A UE, optionally configured by a network to receive multiple PDSCHs (or other similar channels), wherein each of the multiple PDSCHs is (or includes) a repetition of the same data payload, and wherein, optionally, the DMRS (or other similar reference signal) for each PDSCH is a QCL with a configured source RS or source RS pair. One or more of the following features may further apply:

[0477] Wherein, at least two of the PDSCHs are located in the same OFDM symbol set in the time slot

[0478] Where the source RS(s) for each PDSCH are different

[0479] Where the configuration is received via a DCI message (or other downlink message)

[0480] · Among them, the configuration is received by RRC message

[0481] Wherein the configuration includes resource allocation for each of the plurality of PDSCHs

[0482] Wherein the configuration further comprises repetition in time over multiple time slots and / or multiple transmissions within a time slot in non-overlapping OFDM symbols (covering the mini-slot repetition case)

[0483] At least two PDSCHs do not overlap in frequency (FDM)

[0484] At least two PDSCHs completely overlap in frequency (spatial duplication)

[0485] o In this case, each of the overlapping PDSCHs is configured with a unique set of (one or more) DMRS ports (to maintain orthogonality of the DMRS ports)

[0486] In this case, each of the overlapping PDSCHs is configured with a DMRS port from a different CDM group.

[0487] In this case, each of the overlapping PDSCHs is configured with a unique data scrambling seed.

[0488] Each PDSCH uses a different RV code

[0489] Wherein, the source RS(s) for each PDSCH are obtained by associating each PDSCH with a TCI state from a TCI state set

[0490] o Wherein, for each PDSCH, different TCI states are selected from the set in a cyclic manner

[0491] o Wherein the TCI state for one PDSCH is given by the DCI state, and the TCI for another PDSCH from the TCI state set is given by a predetermined rule

[0492] o Wherein a subset of code point values ​​in the TCI field in the DCI is used to indicate the TCI state for one PDSCH, and another PDSCH from the TCI state set is given by a predetermined rule

[0493] Each TCI state in the set is an active TCI state activated by a MAC CE.

[0494] Among them, the TCI state set is configured by high-level signaling between the network and the UE

[0495] Wherein the TCI state set is configured by higher layer signaling between the network and the UE, and wherein the DCI further down selects which TCI state is used for transmission

[0496] The frequency resources occupied by each PDSCH are configured by high-level signaling between the network and the UE.

[0497] o Wherein, frequency resources can be configured to overlap

[0498] The number of PDSCHs in a time slot is determined by the DCI.

[0499] o Wherein the resource allocation for only one PDSCH is indicated in the DCI and the resource allocation for the remaining PDSCHs in the time slot is determined and preconfigured by higher layer signaling

[0500] o Wherein the number for (one or more) PDSCHs is implicit, depending on one or more of the scheduled BW of the PDSCH indicated by the DCI, the carrier bandwidth, and the bandwidth of the bandwidth part

[0501] Where the number of PDSCH transmissions in repetition and the associated time and frequency resources, TCI state or TRP, redundancy version, and DMRS port are jointly configured by RRC and dynamically indicated in the DCI

[0502] Group B

[0503] A UE, optionally configured by a network to transmit multiple PUSCHs (or other similar channels), wherein, optionally, each of the multiple PUSCHs is (or includes) a repetition of the same data payload, and optionally, wherein the DMRS (or other reference signal) for each PUSCH has a spatial relationship with a source RS. Optionally, one or more of the following features may also apply:

[0504] Wherein, at least two of the PUSCHs are located in the same OFDM symbol set in the time slot

[0505] · Among them, the source RS for each PUSCH is different

[0506] Where the configuration is received via a DCI message (or other downlink message)

[0507] · Among them, the configuration is received by RRC message

[0508] Wherein the configuration includes resource allocation for each of a plurality of PUSCHs

[0509] Wherein the configuration further comprises repetition in time over multiple time slots and / or multiple transmissions within a time slot in non-overlapping OFDM symbols (covering the mini-slot repetition case)

[0510] At least two PUSCHs do not overlap in frequency (FDM)

[0511] Where at least two PUSCHs completely overlap in frequency (spatial duplication),

[0512] One or more of the following may apply:

[0513] o In this case, each of the overlapping PUSCHs is configured with a unique set of (one or more) DMRS ports (to maintain orthogonality of the DMRS ports)

[0514] In this case, each of the overlapping PUSCHs is configured with a DMRS port from a different CDM group.

[0515] o In this case, each of the overlapping PUSCHs is configured with a unique data scrambling seed

[0516] Each PUSCH uses a different RV code

[0517] Wherein the source RS for each PUSCH is obtained by associating each PUSCH with an SRI from an SRI set, one or more of the following may apply:

[0518] o Wherein, for each PUSCH, different SRIs are selected from the set in a cyclic manner

[0519] o Wherein the SRI for one PUSCH is given by the DCI, and the SRI for another PUSCH from the SRI state set is given by a predetermined rule

[0520] Among them, the SRI state set is configured by high-level signaling between the network and the UE

[0521] Where the SRI set is configured by higher layer signaling between the network and the UE, and where the DCI further down selects which SRI is used for transmission

[0522] The frequency resources occupied by each PUSCH are configured by high-level signaling between the network and the UE.

[0523] o Wherein, frequency resources can be configured to overlap

[0524] The number of PUSCHs in a time slot is determined by the DCI.

[0525] o Wherein, resource allocation for only one PUSCH is indicated in the DCI and resource allocation for the remaining PUSCHs in the time slot is determined and preconfigured by higher layer signaling

[0526] o Where the number of PUSCH(s) is implicit, depending on the scheduled BW of the PUSCH indicated by the DCI

Claims

1. A method for communicating via a plurality of nodes in a wireless network, performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: Receiving a plurality of transmission configuration indication TCI states; receiving, via a single physical control channel, scheduling information for a plurality of physical data channels carrying respective plurality of repetitions of a data block; assigning one or more of the TCI states to the plurality of repetitions; as well as receiving the plurality of repetitions via the plurality of physical data channels based on the scheduling information and the assigned TCI states, in, The scheduling information also includes an indicator of a resource for receiving one or more of the repetitions; and The indicated resources are in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layers, Wherein, resources used for at least two of the repetitions are in a symbol set in a given time slot.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of TCI states is less than the plurality of repeats; and The plurality of TCI states are assigned to the repetitions in a predefined order.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduling information further includes an indicator of a mapping between one or more of the TCI states and the plurality of repetitions; as well as The one or more TCI states are assigned to the repetition based on the indicated mapping.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The indicator is included in a field having a plurality of code points, the plurality of TCI states being less than the plurality of code points; The first subset of code points is associated with a single TCI state; and The second subset of code points is associated with combinations of separate TCI states.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduling information includes an indicator for receiving a first resource of a first repetition of the repetitions; as well as The method also includes receiving one or more offsets to be applied to the first resource to determine other resources for receiving remaining ones of the repetitions.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The other resources are located in one of: one or more subsequent time slots relative to the first resource, or one or more subsequent symbols relative to the first resource within the same time slot.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The indicated resources for at least two of the repetitions completely overlap in frequency; and The scheduling information also includes at least one of the following items for each of the completely overlapping repetitions: A unique demodulation reference signal DMRS port set; DMRS ports from a unique code division multiplexing (CDM) group; and Unique data scrambling seed.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The scheduling information further includes an indicator of a mapping between the plurality of repetitions and a plurality of redundancy versions RV of the data block.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: Each TCI state includes one or more source reference signal RS pairs; Each source RS pair has a corresponding quasi-co-located QCL relationship pair with antenna ports for a demodulation reference signal DM-RS, the DM-RS being mapped to a specific physical data channel; The method further includes determining, for each of the plurality of TCI states, a channel parameter based on a source RS pair included in a specific TCI state.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Receiving the plurality of repetitions via the plurality of physical data channels further comprises, for each of the physical data channels: Based on the channel parameters, receiving a DM-RS mapped to the physical data channel; Based on the received DM-RS, determining further channel parameters; and Based on the further channel parameter, the physical data channel is received.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and 10, wherein: The plurality of TCI states are associated with one of: A corresponding plurality of nodes in the wireless network; or A respective plurality of beams associated with one or more nodes in the wireless network.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and 10, wherein: One of the following applies: The plurality of physical data channels are corresponding layers of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH; or Each physical data channel is a subset of all layers of the PDSCH.

13. A method performed by one or more nodes in a wireless network for communicating with a single user equipment (UE) via multiple physical data channels, the method comprising: Sending a plurality of transmission configuration indication TCI states to the UE; assigning one or more of the TCI states to a plurality of repetitions of a data block to be carried by a corresponding plurality of physical data channels; sending scheduling information for the plurality of physical data channels carrying the corresponding plurality of repetitions to the UE via a single physical control channel; and sending the plurality of repetitions via the plurality of physical data channels based on the scheduling information and the assigned TCI states, in, The scheduling information also includes an indicator of a resource for receiving one or more of the repetitions; and The indicated resources are in at least one of the following dimensions: time, frequency, and spatial layers, Wherein, resources used for at least two of the repetitions are in a symbol set in a given time slot.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The plurality of TCI states is less than the plurality of repeats; and The plurality of TCI states are assigned to the repetitions in a predefined order.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein: The scheduling information also includes an indicator of a mapping between one or more of the TCI states and the plurality of repetitions; and The one or more TCI states are assigned to the repetitions according to the mapping.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The indicator is included in a field having a plurality of code points, the plurality of TCI states being less than the plurality of code points; The first subset of code points is associated with a single TCI state; and The second subset of code points is associated with combinations of separate TCI states.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The scheduling information includes an indicator for receiving a first resource of a first repetition of the repetitions; as well as The method also includes sending one or more offsets to be applied to the first resource to determine other resources for receiving remaining ones of the repetitions.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The other resources are located in one of: one or more subsequent time slots relative to the first resource, or one or more subsequent symbols relative to the first resource within the same time slot.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein: The indicated resources for at least two of the repetitions completely overlap in frequency; and The scheduling information also includes at least one of the following items for each of the completely overlapping repetitions: A unique demodulation reference signal DMRS port set; DMRS ports from a unique code division multiplexing (CDM) group; and Unique data scrambling seed.

20. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein: The scheduling information further includes an indicator of a mapping between the plurality of repetitions and a plurality of redundancy versions RV of the data block.

21. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein: Each TCI state includes one or more source reference signal RS pairs; Each source RS pair has a corresponding quasi-co-located QCL relationship pair with antenna ports for a demodulation reference signal DM-RS, the DM-RS being mapped to a specific physical data channel; The method further includes: for each of the plurality of TCI states, transmitting the source RS pair included in a specific TCI state; and Transmitting the plurality of repetitions via the plurality of physical data channels further comprises transmitting respective DM-RSs associated with the physical data channels to which they are mapped.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein: The plurality of TCI states are associated with one of: A corresponding plurality of nodes in the wireless network; or A respective plurality of beams associated with one or more nodes in the wireless network.

23. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein: One of the following applies: The plurality of physical data channels are corresponding layers of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH; or Each physical data channel is a subset of all layers of the PDSCH.

24. A user equipment UE, configured to communicate via a plurality of nodes in a wireless network, the UE comprising: a radio transceiver circuit configured to communicate with the plurality of nodes; as well as A processing circuit operatively coupled to the radio transceiver circuit, wherein the processing circuit and the radio transceiver circuit are configured to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

25. A user equipment UE, configured to communicate via a plurality of nodes in a wireless network, the UE comprising: processor, and A memory, the memory being coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the UE to be further arranged to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processing circuit of a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate via multiple nodes in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

27. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processing circuit of a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate via a plurality of nodes in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

28. One or more nodes in a wireless network, the wireless network being configured to communicate with a single user equipment (UE) via a plurality of physical shared channels, the one or more nodes comprising: a radio network interface circuit configured to communicate with the UE; as well as A processing circuit operatively coupled to the radio network interface circuit, wherein the processing circuit and the radio network interface circuit are configured to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 13 to 23.

29. One or more nodes in a wireless network, the wireless network being configured to communicate with a single user equipment (UE) via a plurality of physical shared channels, the one or more nodes comprising: processor, and A memory, the memory being coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the one or more nodes to be further arranged to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 13 to 23.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processing circuit of one or more nodes in a wireless network configured to communicate with a single user equipment UE via multiple physical shared channels, configure the one or more nodes to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 13 to 23.

31. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processing circuit of one or more nodes in a wireless network configured to communicate with a single user equipment (UE) via multiple physical shared channels, configure the one or more nodes to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any one of claims 13 to 23.

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