Signaling for Uplink Beam Activation

Abstract

A configuration for configuring a UE to activate a subset of configured UL-TCI states. The apparatus receives a configuration of UL-TCI states and an activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. The apparatus receives DCI in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states. The apparatus transmits the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 953,173, filed on December 23, 2019, entitled "Signalling for Uplink Beam Activation", which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 966,928, filed on January 28, 2020, entitled "Signalling for Uplink Beam Activation" and U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 118,511, filed on December 10, 2020, entitled "Signalling for Uplink Beam Activation", which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0003] Background Technical Field

[0005] The present disclosure generally relates to communication systems, and more particularly to the configuration of signalling for uplink beam activation.

[0006] Introduction

[0007] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may employ a multiple - access technology that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple - access technologies include code - division multiple - access (CDMA) systems, time - division multiple - access (TDMA) systems, frequency - division multiple - access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency - division multiple - access (OFDMA) systems, single - carrier frequency - division multiple - access (SC - FDMA) systems, and time - division synchronous code - division multiple - access (TD - SCDMA) systems.

[0008] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on the 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There is a need for further improvement in 5G NR technology. These improvements can also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

[0009] Overview

[0010] A brief overview of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This overview is not an exhaustive survey of all contemplated aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0011] In one aspect of the present disclosure, methods, computer-readable media, and apparatuses are provided. The apparatus can be a device at a UE. The device can be a processor and / or a modem at the UE or the UE itself. The apparatus receives a configuration of an uplink (UL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) (UL-TCI) state and activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states; the apparatus receives downlink control information (DCI) in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states. The apparatus transmits the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

[0012] In one aspect of the present disclosure, methods, computer-readable media, and apparatuses are provided. The apparatus may be a device at a base station. The device may be a processor and / or a modem at the base station or the base station itself. The apparatus transmits to a user equipment (UE) a configuration of an uplink (UL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) (UL-TCI) state and an activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. The apparatus transmits downlink control information (DCI) to the UE in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states, where the DCI schedules the UL transmission. The apparatus receives a UL transmission from the UE, where the UL transmission is based on the one or more TCI states. The apparatus demodulates the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

[0013] To achieve the foregoing and related purposes, one or more aspects include the features that are fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to cover all such aspects and their equivalents. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0016] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0021] Figure 4 is a call flow diagram illustrating signaling for UL beam activation for a UE.

[0022] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example TCI state configuration for activating / deactivating UL-TCI states.

[0023] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method.

[0024] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware implementation of an exemplary device.

[0025] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method.

[0026] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware implementation of an exemplary device.

[0027] Detailed Description

[0028] The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0029] Certain aspects of a telecommunications system will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and methods. These apparatuses and methods will be described in detail below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0030] By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements can be implemented as a "processing system" that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors include: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a system on a chip (SoC), a baseband processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system can execute software. Software should be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0031] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the aforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0032] Figure 1 FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)). The base station 102 may include macro cells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). Macro cells include base stations. Small cells include femto cells, pico cells, and micro cells.

[0033] The base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as a next-generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with the core network 190 via a second backhaul link 184. In addition to other functions, the base station 102 may also perform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, radio access network information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC 160 or the core network 190) on a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The first backhaul link 132, the second backhaul link 184, and the third backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0034] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for its respective geographical coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographical coverage areas 110. For example, small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB) that can serve a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG). The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 can include an uplink (UL) (also known as the reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also known as the forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 can use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. These communication links can be through one or more carriers. For each carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction, the base station 102 / UE 104 can use a spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.). These carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers can be asymmetric with respect to the DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers can be allocated to the DL compared to the UL). The component carriers can include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier can be referred to as the primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carriers can be referred to as secondary cells (SCells).

[0035] Some UEs 104 can communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication links 158. The D2D communication links 158 can use the DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication links 158 can use one or more sidelink channels, such as the physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), the physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication can be through various wireless D2D communication systems, such as, by way of example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, LTE, or NR.

[0036] The wireless communication system may further include, for example, a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 in communication with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum or the like. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0037] The small cell 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may adopt NR and use the same unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, etc.) as that used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' adopting NR in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0038] The electromagnetic spectrum is generally subdivided into various classes, frequency bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating frequency bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a part of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz band." A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2. Although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz – 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the "millimeter wave" band, FR2 is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in various documents and articles.

[0039] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used herein, the term "sub-6 GHz," etc. may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Additionally, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used herein, the term "millimeter wave," etc. may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, or may be within the EHF band.

[0040] Whether it is a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 102 may include and / or be referred to as an eNB, a g Node B (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in the traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, at millimeter wave frequencies, and / or at near millimeter wave frequencies to communicate with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates at millimeter wave frequencies or near millimeter wave frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. The millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for path loss and short range. The base station 180 and the UE 104 may each include a plurality of antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays to facilitate beamforming.

[0041] The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 104 in one or more transmission directions 182'. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or more reception directions 182". The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station 180 in one or more transmission directions. The base station 180 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more reception directions. The base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best reception and transmission directions for each of the base station 180 / UE 104. The transmission direction and the reception direction of the base station 180 may be the same or may be different. The transmission direction and the reception direction of the UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

[0042] The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may communicate with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that processes signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All User Internet Protocol (IP) packets are passed through the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area for a particular broadcast service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS-related charging information.

[0043] The core network 190 may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF) 194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may communicate with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is a control node that processes signaling between the UE 104 and the core network 190. Generally, the AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All User Internet Protocol (IP) packets are passed through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to IP services 197. The IP services 197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a Packet Switched (PS) Streaming (PSS) service, and / or other IP services.

[0044] The base station may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, Node B, eNB, access point, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), transmission reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or the core network 190 for the UE 104. Examples of the UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet device, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, a power meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a health care device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similar functional device. Some UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., a parking meter, a fuel pump, an oven, a vehicle, a heart monitor, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable term.

[0045] Referring again to Figure 1 , in some aspects, the UE 104 may be configured to activate a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. For example, the UE 104 may include a signaling component 198, which includes a UL beam activation component 199. The UE 104 receives a configuration of the UL-TCI states and an activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. The UE 104 receives DCI in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states of the TCI states. The UE 104 transmits the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

[0046] Referring again to Figure 1 , in some aspects, the base station 180 may be configured to configure the UE 104 to activate a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. For example, the base station 180 may include a signaling component 198, which includes a UL beam activation component 199. The base station 180 transmits a configuration of the UL-TCI states and an activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states to the UE 104. The base station 180 transmits DCI to the UE 104 in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states of the TCI states, the DCI scheduling the UL transmission. The base station 180 receives the UL transmission from the UE 104, the UL transmission being based on the one or more TCI states. The base station 180 demodulates the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

[0047] Although the following description may focus on 5G NR, the concepts described herein can be applied to other similar fields, such as LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, GSM, and other wireless technologies.

[0048] Figure 2A FIG. 200 is an illustration showing an example of a first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B FIG. 230 is an illustration showing an example of a DL channel within a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C FIG. 250 is an illustration showing an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D FIG. 280 is an illustration showing an example of a UL channel within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure can be frequency division duplex (FDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within that set of subcarriers are dedicated to DL or UL; or it can be time division duplex (TDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within that set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL. In the example provided by Figure 2A 、 2C the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly DL) and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 1 (both UL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F is for flexible use between DL / UL. Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having slot formats 1 and 28 respectively, any particular subframe can be configured with any one of the various available slot formats 0 - 61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are all DL and all UL respectively. The other slot formats 2 - 61 include a mixture of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format (dynamically configured by DCI, or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through the received slot format indicator (SFI). Note that the following description also applies to a 5G NR frame structure that is TDD.

[0049] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. The subframe may also include mini time slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, while for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on the DL may be cyclic prefix (CP) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission). The number of time slots within a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and numerology. For time slot configuration 0, different numerologies μ0 to 4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 time slots per subframe, respectively. For time slot configuration 1, different numerologies 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 time slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for time slot configuration 0 and numerology μ, there are 14 symbols per time slot and 2 μ time slots per subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are dependent on the numerology. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2 μ *15 kHz, where μ is the numerology set from 0 to 4. Thus, numerology μ = 0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, while numerology μ = 4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. Figures 2A - 2D An example is provided with time slot configuration 0 having 14 symbols per time slot and numerology μ = 2 and 4 time slots per subframe. The time slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs. Within a frame set, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) that are frequency division multiplexed (see Figure 2B ). Each BWP may have a specific numerology.

[0050] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also known as a physical RB (PRB)) that extends over 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0051] As Figure 2AAs explained, some REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RSs) for the UE. The RSs can include demodulation RSs (DM-RSs) for channel estimation at the UE (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs). The RSs can also include beam measurement RSs (BRSs), beam refinement RSs (BRRSs), and phase tracking RSs (PT-RSs).

[0052] Figure 2B Examples of various DL channels within a subframe of an explained frame are given. The PDCCH carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs), each CCE including 6 resource element groups (REGs), each REG including 12 consecutive REs in the OFDM symbols of an RB. The PDCCH within a BWP can be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). The UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates in a PDCCH search space (e.g., a common search space, a UE-specific search space) during PDCCH monitoring occasions on the CORESET, where the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats and different aggregation levels. Additional BWPs can be located at higher and / or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) can be in symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) can be in symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block (also referred to as an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH (such as system information blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0053] As in Figure 2CAs explained, some REs carry DM-RS for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible). The UE may transmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the previous or the previous two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is transmitted and depending on the particular PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit sounding reference signals (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of the subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the combs. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0054] Figure 2D Example of various UL channels within a subframe of an illustrative frame. The PUCCH may be located at the positions indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as a scheduling request, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information (ACK) / negative ACK (NACK) feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0055] Figure 3It is a block diagram of the base station 310 and the UE 350 in communication in the access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 can be provided to the controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes the radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, and the media access control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with the broadcast of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reports; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel priority differentiation.

[0056] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement the layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, modulation / demodulation of the physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM stream is space precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator 374 may be used to determine the encoding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals transmitted by the UE 350 and / or channel status feedback. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX modulates an RF carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0057] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives signals via its respective corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement the layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 350. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the UE 350, they may be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 356 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely transmitted by the base station 310, along with the reference signals. These soft decisions may be based on the channel estimates calculated by the channel estimator 358. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the original data and control signals transmitted by the base station 310 on the physical channel. These data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359 that implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0058] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program code and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using the ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0059] Similar to the functionality described in connection with DL transmissions performed by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) capture, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0060] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 358 from reference signals or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0061] UL transmissions are processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives signals via its respective corresponding antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the RX processor 370.

[0062] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program code and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using the ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0063] At least one of the TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform aspects associated with Figure 1 198 as combined therewith.

[0064] At least one of the TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller / processor 375 may be configured to perform aspects associated with Figure 1 198 as combined therewith.

[0065] To support multi-TRP in NR 5G, a unified TCI framework for UL and DL is desired. The TCI framework may specify the beams to be used for communication. In a wireless communication system (e.g., NR 5G), directional transmission is desired, and for efficient channel propagation, signals may be utilized to decode the channel on which transmission occurs. For the UL, the spatial relation information via RRC may specify the beam on which transmission is occurring, but may not specify the quasi co-location (QCL) attributes. Also, in the absence of UL-TCI, the signaling mechanism for the UE may be limited to the spatial relation information via RRC.

[0066] The UL-TCI can be used to indicate or enable which UL states are to be used for UL transmission, and the UL-TCI can be used to specify the QCL relationship for uplink transmission. Two antenna ports can have a QCL relationship if the properties of the channel for conveying symbols on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel for conveying symbols on another antenna port. A set of two QCL antenna ports can have a common set of QCL relationships (referred to as the same spatial filter), such as one or more of Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, or spatial Rx parameters. One or more of the UE / BS can utilize the QCL relationship of a pair of beams to infer per-beam information. For DL TCI, the UE can be configured with up to 64 candidate TCI states. For example, a first subset can be associated with a control resource set (CORESET) of the PDCCH, and a second subset can be associated with the PDSCH. When the default beam for SRS / PUCCH is not configured, the UE can determine the spatial relationship (default beam) for transmitting SRS / PUCCH based on the TCI state information. At least for UEs that support beam correspondence, if the spatial relationship information is not configured for dedicated SRS / PUCCH transmission, the UE can determine the default spatial relationship for dedicated SRS / PUCCH transmission.

[0067] The DL TCI activation framework can be based on DCI / MAC-CE. For a unified UL-DL framework, such a mechanism can also be extended to UL-TCI states, where each UL-TCI contains a source RS to indicate the UL transmit (Tx) beam for a target UL RS / channel. The source RS can be an SRS, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a CSI-RS, etc. The target UL RS / channel can be a PUCCH, an SRS, a physical random access channel (PRACH), or a PUSCH. The following table shows an example of UL-TCI states.

[0068]

[0069] Figure 4 is a call flow diagram 400 of the signaling between the UE 402 and the base station 404. The base station 404 can be configured to provide at least one cell. The UE 402 can be configured to communicate with the base station 404. For example, in Figure 1 context, the base station 404 can correspond to the base station 102 / 180, and correspondingly, the cell can include the geographical coverage area 110 where communication coverage is provided and / or the small cell 102' with the coverage area 110'. In addition, the UE 402 can correspond to at least the UE 104. In another example, in Figure 3In the context of, base station 404 may correspond to base station 310, and UE 402 may correspond to UE 350.

[0070] As Figure 4 illustrated, UE 402 receives an RRC signal 405 from base station 404 that configures one or more UL-TCI states. UE 402 also receives a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE) with an activation configuration 406 from base station 404, and the activation configuration 406 activates a subset of the configured UL-TCI states (i.e., the UL-TCI states configured by the RRC signal 405). For example, UE 402 may receive the activation configuration 406 (e.g., the activation configuration 500 described below with reference to Figure 5 ). The activation configuration 406 may include the TCI state identifier(s) of the UL-TCI state(s) to be activated for UL transmission. For example, the UL-TCI state(s) may initially be deactivated, and upon receiving the activation configuration, UE 402 may activate the specified UL-TCI state(s).

[0071] In addition, UE 402 receives DCI 408 from base station 404 in the PDCCH that schedules UL transmission. DCI 408 may schedule UL transmission with one or more of the activated TCI states. DCI 408 schedules the transmission of at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH. For example, DCI 408 may schedule the transmission of SRS based on one or more of the activated TCI states. DCI 408 may include one or more code point values that indicate one or more of the activated TCI states. The code point value may represent a bitmap for indicating one or more of the activated TCI states. For example, DCI 408 may be resource-limited in the form of the number of bits that may be included in DCI 408. Thus, instead of including a bit sequence to specify the one or more TCI states, DCI 408 may include an encoded sequence (e.g., the code point value for specifying the one or more TCI states described below with reference to Figure 5 ), and the code point value may be within a set of one or more code point values that indicate the one or more TCI states. In one configuration, three bits may be used to specify the code point value (e.g., to indicate one of code point 0, code point 1,..., code point 7 described below with reference to Figure 5 ). In one configuration, UE 402 may have a mapping between the one or more activated TCI states and the set of code point values. In another configuration, UE 402 may separately receive the mapping between the one or more activated TCI states and the set of code point values from base station 404.

[0072] UE 402 may transmit at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH 410 to the base station 404 based on one or more TCI states in an activated subset of TCI states. For example, UE 402 may transmit at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH 410 (i.e., UL transmission 410) based on one or more TCI states in the activated TCI states indicated by DCI 408. In addition, UE 402 may transmit a UL transmission 410 having the same QCL attributes as the reference signals associated with each of the TCI states for the UL transmission 410. For example, the QCL attributes may include one or more port indicators, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial Tx parameters, or spatial receive (Rx) parameters. In one configuration, the reference signal may be one of SRS or a DL reference signal (RS). In addition, the reference signal may be associated with the panel identifier (ID) of UE 402 or the panel ID of the base station 404. For example, the panel ID may refer to the identifier of the antenna element or port definition. In one configuration, the DL RS may be one of a channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS), or a demodulation RS (DM-RS) for at least one of PDSCH or PDCCH, or a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) (SS / PBCH) block. Upon receiving the UL transmission 410, at 412, BS 404 may demodulate the received UL transmission based on one or more TCI states in an activated subset of TCI states.

[0073] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example TCI state activation configuration 500 for activating / deactivating UL-TCI states. For example, the TCI state activation configuration 500 may be similar to the activation configuration 406 received via MAC-CE (as described above with reference to Figure 4 ). The TCI state activation configuration 500 may include Oct (octet) 1, Oct 2, Oct 3,..., Oct N blocks. The Oct block may include one or more bits corresponding to the TCI states to be activated for the PDSCH of the serving cell for the UE-specific PDSCH MAC-CE (as described above with reference to Figure 4 ). For example, Oct 1 may define the format of these blocks (bit positions and lengths of sub-blocks). Oct 2, Oct 3,..., Oct N may include a serving cell ID (e.g., having a length of 5 bits), a bandwidth part ID (BWP ID) (e.g., having a length of 2 bits), and reserved bits (R). Oct 2 may include bits T0–T7, and Oct 3 may include bits T8-T15 Similarly, Oct N may include bit T (N-2)x8 -T (N-2)x8+7 The list (subset) of activated / deactivated TCI states in the TCI state activation configuration 500 may be configured by the bitmap represented by bits T0 - T (N-2)x8 For example, if a bit in a specific position is set to "1", it means it activates the TCI state mapped to that bit position. For example, if the bit is set to "0", it means it deactivates the TCI state mapped to that bit position. For example, if T4 = 1, it activates index 4. The list of bit positions set to "1" is assigned to a small table called a code point, and the maximum size of this code point can be 8. This means that up to 8-bit fields in the MAC-CE can be set to "1". The positions of the "1" bits are assigned to the code point in ascending order. For example, if fields T4, T10, T1l, T19, T25, T40, T45, and T50 are set to "1" and all other bits are set to "0", then the code point can be set as follows:

[0074] codepoint 0 = 4

[0075] codepoint 1 = 10

[0076] codepoint 2 = 11

[0077] codepoint 3 = 19

[0078] codepoint 4 = 25

[0079] codepoint 5 = 40

[0080] codepoint 6 = 45

[0081] codepoint 7 = 50

[0082] In one configuration, the TCI state in the DCI can be indicated using the code point value. For example, DCI 408 (as described above with reference to Figure 4 ) may include a code point value (e.g., 0 for code point 0, 1 for code point 1, etc.) to indicate the TCI state for the UL transmission 410. As described above in Figure 4 , DCI 408 may include 3 bits to specify the code point value (code point 0, code point 1... code point 7).

[0083] The activated UL-TCI states can be sequentially mapped to the scheduling DCI (e.g., as described above with reference to Figure 4The UL-TCI code points in the described DCI 408). Each UL-TCI state (T0-T (N-2)×8 ) may include a source RS to indicate the UL Tx beam for the target UL RS / channel. For target FR2 (frequency range 24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz), the unified TCI framework allows enhancements for multi-beam operation and can also be used for FR1 (frequency range < 7.225 GHz).

[0084] Figure 6 is a flowchart 600 of a wireless communication method. The method may be performed by a UE or a component of the UE (e.g., UE 104; device 702; cellular baseband processor 704, which may include a memory 360 and which may be the entire UE 350 or a component of the UE 350 (such as TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and / or controller / processor 359)). One or more of the illustrated operations may be omitted, transposed, or performed simultaneously. Optional aspects are illustrated with dashed lines. The method may allow the UE to activate a subset of the configured UL-TCI states.

[0085] At 602, the UE receives a configuration of UL-TCI states. For example, 602 may be performed by a configuration component 740 of device 702. In some aspects, the UE may receive the configuration of UL-TCI states in an RS. The UE may also receive an activation configuration to activate a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. In some aspects, the UE receives the activation configuration via a MAC-CE. For example, referring to Figure 4 、 Figure 5 , UE 402 may receive an activation configuration 406, 500 to activate a subset of the configured UL-TCI states from a base station 404 via a MAC-CE.

[0086] At 604, the UE receives DCI in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states. For example, 604 may be performed by a scheduling component 742 of device 702. The DCI schedules the transmission of at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH. For example, referring to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , UE 402 may receive DCI 408 having one or more of the activated TCI states for scheduling a UL transmission 410. For example, as described above in Figure 4 , the UL transmission 410 may be at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH. In some aspects, the DCI includes one or more code point values that indicate one or more of the activated TCI states. For example, as referred to above in Figure 4 and5 As described, the DCI 408 may include a code point value for indicating one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states.

[0087] In some aspects, such as at 606, the UE receives a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values. For example, 606 may be performed by the mapping component 744 of the device 702. The one or more code point values may be within the set of code point values.

[0088] At 608, the UE 608 transmits a UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states. For example, 608 may be performed by the uplink component 746 of the device 702. For example, as referred to above Figure 4 and 5 As described, the UE 402 may transmit a UL transmission 410 based on the one or more TCI states indicated by the DCI 408. In some aspects, the UL transmission is at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH. In some aspects, the UE may transmit a UL transmission having the same or similar QCL attributes as the reference signal associated with the one TCI state. For example, as referred to above Figure 4 and 5 As described, the UE 402 may transmit a UL transmission 410 having the same QCL attributes as the reference signal associated with each of the TCI states (i.e., the one or more TCI states for the UL transmission 410 indicated by the DCI 408). In some aspects, the reference signal is associated with the panel identifier (ID) of the UE. In some aspects, the QCL attributes include at least one of one or more port indications, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial Tx parameters, or spatial Rx parameters. In some aspects, the reference signal is one of SRS or DLRS. In some aspects, the DL RS is one of CSI-RS, DM-RS for at least one of PDSCH or PDCCH, or an SS / PBCH block.

[0089] Figure 7FIG. 700 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of the apparatus 702. The apparatus 702 is a UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 704 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 722 and one or more subscriber identity module (SIM) cards 720, an application processor 706 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 708 and a screen 710, a Bluetooth module 712, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module 714, a global positioning system (GPS) module 716, and a power supply 718. The cellular baseband processor 704 communicates with the UE 104 and / or the BS 102 / 180 via the cellular RF transceiver 722. The cellular baseband processor 704 may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The computer-readable medium / memory may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor 704 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor 704, causes the cellular baseband processor 704 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 704 when executing the software. The cellular baseband processor 704 further includes a receiving component 730, a communication manager 732, and a transmitting component 734. The communication manager 732 includes one or more of the illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 732 may be stored in the computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within the cellular baseband processor 704. The cellular baseband processor 704 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include a memory 360 and / or at least one of the following: a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359. In one configuration, the apparatus 702 may be a modem chip and include only the cellular baseband processor 704, and in another configuration, the apparatus 702 may be the entire UE (e.g., see Figure 3 of 350) and include the aforementioned additional modules of the apparatus 702.

[0090] The communication manager 732 includes a configuration component 740 configured to receive a configuration of the UL-TCI state, e.g., as described in connection with Figure 6 of 602. The communication manager 732 further includes a scheduling component 742 configured to receive DCI in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states, e.g., as described in connection with Figure 6 of 604. The communication manager 732 further includes a mapping component 744 configured to receive a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values, e.g., as described in connection with Figure 6 of 606. The communication manager 732 further includes an uplink component 746 configured to transmit a UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states, e.g., as described in connection withFigure 6 as described in 608.

[0091] The apparatus may include additional components that perform each block of the algorithms in the Figure 6 foregoing flowcharts. Thus, Figure 6 each block in the foregoing flowcharts may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. These components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0092] In one configuration, the apparatus 702 and in particular the cellular baseband processor 704 includes means for receiving a configuration of UL-TCI states and activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. The apparatus includes means for receiving DCI in a PDCCH that schedules a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states. The apparatus includes means for transmitting the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states. The apparatus further includes means for receiving a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values, the one or more code point values being within the set of code point values. The foregoing means may be one or more of the foregoing components in the apparatus 702 configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing means. As described above, the apparatus 702 may include a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359. Thus, in one configuration, the foregoing means may be the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing means.

[0093] Figure 8 is a flowchart 800 of a wireless communication method. The method may be performed by a base station or a component of a base station (e.g., base station 102 / 180; apparatus 902; baseband unit 904, which may include a memory 376 and which may be the entire base station 310 or a component of the base station 310 (such as a TX processor 316, an RX processor 370, and / or a controller / processor 375)). One or more of the illustrated operations may be omitted, transposed, or performed simultaneously. Optional aspects are illustrated with dashed lines. The method may allow the base station to configure the UE to activate a subset of the configured UL-TCI states.

[0094] At 802, the base station transmits to the UE an activation configuration for activating a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. For example, 802 may be performed by a configuration component 940 of the apparatus 902. For example, as referenced Figure 4 and 5As described, the BS 404 may transmit the activation configuration 406 / 500 to the UE 402. The BS may also transmit to the UE the activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. For example, referring to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the UE may transmit the activation configuration 406, 500 for activating a subset of the configured UL-TCI states to the UE 402 via MAC-CE. In some aspects, the configuration of the UL-TCI state and the activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states may be received via RRC signal and MAC-CE, respectively.

[0095] At 804, the base station transmits DCI to the UE in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states. For example, 804 may be performed by the scheduling component 942 of the device 902. The DCI may schedule a UL transmission. The DCI schedules the transmission of at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH. For example, referring to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the BS 404 may transmit DCI 408 having one or more of the activated TCI states to the UE402 for scheduling the UL transmission 410. For example, as described above in Figure 4 , the UL transmission 410 may be at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH. In some aspects, the DCI may include one or more code point values that indicate one or more of the activated TCI states. For example, as referred to above in Figure 4 and 5 described, the DCI 408 may include code point values for indicating one or more of the activated TCI states.

[0096] In some aspects, for example, at 806, the base station transmits a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values. For example, 806 may be performed by the mapping component 944 of the device 902. The one or more code point values may be within the set of code point values.

[0097] At 808, the base station receives a UL transmission from the UE. For example, 808 may be performed by the uplink component 946 of the device 902. The UL transmission may be based on the one or more TCI states. For example, as referred to above in Figure 4 and Figure 5As described, BS 404 may receive UL transmission 410 based on one or more TCI states indicated by DCI 408. In some aspects, the UL transmission may be at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH. In some aspects, the UL transmission is associated with a QCL attribute that is the same as or similar to a reference signal associated with a TCI state (e.g., one or more TCI states indicated by DCI 408 for UL transmission 410). In some aspects, the reference signal may be associated with the panel ID of the UE. In some aspects, the QCL attribute includes at least one of one or more port indicators, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial Tx parameter, or spatial Rx parameter. In one configuration, the reference signal is one of SRS or DL RS. In some aspects, the DL RS is one of CSI-RS, DM-RS for at least one of PDSCH or PDCCH, or SS / PBCH block.

[0098] At 810, the base station demodulates the UL transmission. For example, 810 may be performed by demodulation component 948 of device 902. The base station may demodulate the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states. For example, as described with reference to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , at 412, BS404 may demodulate UL transmission 410 received from UE 402 based on one or more TCI states in a subset of the activated TCI states.

[0099] Figure 9 FIG. 900 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of device 902. Device 902 is a BS and includes a baseband unit 904. The baseband unit 904 may communicate with UE 104 via a cellular RF transceiver 922. The baseband unit 904 may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The baseband unit 904 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit 904, causes the baseband unit 904 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the baseband unit 904 when executing the software. The baseband unit 904 further includes a receiving component 930, a communication manager 932, and a transmission component 934. The communication manager 932 includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 932 may be stored in the computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within the baseband unit 904. The baseband unit 904 may be a component of BS 310 and may include memory 376 and / or at least one of the following: TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller / processor 375.

[0100] The communication manager 932 includes a configuration component 940 that transmits to the UE an activation configuration that activates a subset of the configured UL-TCI states, e.g., as described in 802 in conjunction with Figure 8 . The communication manager 932 further includes a scheduling component 942 that transmits DCI to the UE in a PDCCH that schedules a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states, e.g., as described in 804 in conjunction with Figure 8 . The communication manager 932 further includes a mapping component 944 that transmits a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values, e.g., as described in 806 in conjunction with Figure 8 . The communication manager 932 further includes an uplink component 946 that receives a UL transmission from the UE, e.g., as described in 808 in conjunction with Figure 8 . The communication manager 932 further includes a demodulation component 948 that demodulates the UL transmission, e.g., as described in 810 in conjunction with Figure 8 .

[0101] The device may include additional components that perform each block of the algorithms in the foregoing flowcharts of Figure 8 . Thus, Figure 8 each block in the foregoing flowcharts of

[0102] may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. These components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the processes / algorithms, implemented by a processor configured to perform the processes / algorithms, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0102] In one configuration, the device 902 and particularly the baseband unit 904 includes means for transmitting to the UE a configuration of UL-TCI states and activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states. The device includes means for transmitting DCI to the UE in a PDCCH that schedules a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states, the DCI scheduling the UL transmission. The device includes means for receiving the UL transmission from the UE, the UL transmission being based on the one or more TCI states. The device includes means for demodulating the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states. The device further includes means for transmitting a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values, the one or more code point values being within the set of code point values. The foregoing means may be one or more of the foregoing components in the device 902 configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing means. As described above, the device 902 may include a TX processor 316, an RX processor 370, and a controller / processor 375. Thus, in one configuration, the foregoing means may be the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing means.

[0103] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the various blocks in the disclosed process / flowchart is illustrative of example approaches. It should be understood that based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of the various blocks in these process / flowcharts can be rearranged. Additionally, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The appended method claims present the elements of the various blocks in an exemplary order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0104] The following examples are merely illustrative and can be combined with aspects of other embodiments or teachings described herein without limitation.

[0105] Aspect 1 is a method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: receiving a configuration of UL-TCI states and activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states; receiving DCI in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states; and transmitting the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

[0106] In aspect 2, the method of aspect 1 further comprises: the UL transmission is at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH.

[0107] In example 3, the method of aspect 1 or 2 further comprises: the configuration and activation of the UL-TCI states are received via an RRC signal and a MAC-CE, respectively.

[0108] In aspect 4, the method of any one of aspects 1-3 further comprises: transmitting the UL transmission includes transmitting a UL transmission having QCL attributes similar to the reference signal associated with the one or more TCI states.

[0109] In aspect 5, the method of any one of aspects 1-4 further comprises: the reference signal is further associated with the panel ID of the UE.

[0110] In aspect 6, the method of any one of aspects 1-5 further comprises: the QCL attributes include at least one of one or more port indicators, Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial Tx parameters, or spatial Rx parameters.

[0111] In aspect 7, the method of any one of aspects 1-6 further comprises: the reference signal is one of SRS or DL RS.

[0112] In aspect 8, the method of any one of aspects 1-7 further comprises: the DL RS is one of CSI-RS, DM-RS for at least one of PDSCH or PDCCH, or an SS / PBCH block.

[0113] In aspect 9, the method of any one of aspects 1-8 further comprises: the DCI includes one or more code point values that indicate one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states.

[0114] In aspect 10, the method of any one of aspects 1-9 further comprises: receiving a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values, and the one or more code point values are within the set of code point values.

[0115] Aspect 11 is a device that includes one or more processors and one or more memories in electronic communication with the one or more processors, and the one or more memories store instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause a system or device to implement the method in any one of aspects 1-10.

[0116] Aspect 12 is a system or device that includes means for implementing the method in any one of aspects 1-10 or implementing the device in any one of aspects 1-10.

[0117] Aspect 13 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to implement the method in any one of aspects 1-10.

[0118] Aspect 14 is a method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: transmitting a configuration of a UL-TCI state and activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states to a UE; transmitting DCI to the UE in a PDCCH scheduling a UL transmission having one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states, the DCI scheduling the UL transmission; receiving the UL transmission from the UE, the UL transmission being based on the one or more TCI states; and demodulating the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

[0119] In aspect 15, the method of aspect 14 further comprises: the UL transmission is at least one of SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, or PRACH.

[0120] In example 16, the method of aspect 14 or 15 further comprises: the configuration and activation of the UL-TCI state are received via an RRC signal and a MAC-CE, respectively.

[0121] In aspect 17, the method of any one of aspects 14-16 further comprises: the UL transmission is associated with QCL attributes similar to the reference signals associated with the one or more TCI states.

[0122] In aspect 18, the method of any of aspects 14 - 17 further comprises: the reference signal is further associated with the UE's panel ID.

[0123] In aspect 19, the method of any of aspects 14 - 18 further comprises: the QCL attribute includes at least one of one or more port indications, Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial Tx parameter, or spatial Rx parameter.

[0124] In aspect 20, the method of any of aspects 14 - 19 further comprises: the reference signal is one of SRS or DL RS.

[0125] In aspect 21, the method of any of aspects 14 - 20 further comprises: the DL RS is one of CSI - RS, DM - RS for at least one of PDSCH or PDCCH, or SS / PBCH block.

[0126] In aspect 22, the method of any of aspects 14 - 21 further comprises: the DCI includes one or more code point values that indicate one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states.

[0127] In aspect 23, the method of any of aspects 14 - 22 further comprises: transmitting a mapping between the activated TCI state and a set of code point values, and the one or more code point values are within the set of code point values.

[0128] Aspect 24 is a device that includes one or more processors and one or more memories in electronic communication with the one or more processors, and the one or more memories store instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause a system or device to implement the method of any of aspects 14 - 23.

[0129] Aspect 25 is a system or device that includes means for implementing the method of any of aspects 14 - 23 or implementing the device of any of aspects 14 - 23.

[0130] Aspect 26 is a non - transient computer - readable medium storing instructions that are executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to implement the method of any of aspects 14 - 23.

[0131] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, where the singular form of an element is recited unless specifically stated otherwise, and does not mean "one and only one" but "one or more". Terms such as "if", "when", and "while" are to be construed to mean "under the condition that", rather than implying a direct temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases (e.g., "when...") do not imply an immediate action in response to or during the occurrence of an action, but only imply that an action will occur when the condition is met, without requiring a specific or immediate time constraint for the action to occur. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" need not be construed as superior or better than other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some / a certain" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C", "one or more of A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", "one or more of A, B, and C", and "any combination of A, B, C, or any thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple A's, multiple B's, or multiple C's. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C", "one or more of A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", "one or more of A, B, and C", and "any combination of A, B, C, or any thereof" can be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. Elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are presently known or later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art as all structural and functional equivalents are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. Furthermore, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, whether or not such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. The terms "module", "mechanism", "element", "device", etc. may not be a substitute for the term "apparatus". Thus, no claim element should be construed as a means-plus-function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for...".

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: Receiving a configuration of an uplink (UL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) (UL-TCI) state and an activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states; Receiving downlink control information (DCI) in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling a UL transmission having one or more of the activated TCI states; And Transmitting the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the UL transmission is at least one of a sounding reference signal (SRS), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical random access channel (PRACH).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration of the UL-TCI state and the activation are received via a radio resource control (RRC) signal and a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE), respectively.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the UL transmission includes transmitting the UL transmission having quasi co-location (QCL) attributes similar to a reference signal associated with the one or more TCI states.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the reference signal is further associated with a panel identifier (ID) of the UE.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the QCL attributes include at least one of one or more port indications, Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial transmission (Tx) parameters, or spatial reception (Rx) parameters.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the reference signal is one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) is one of a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (RS) (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) for at least one of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the DCI includes one or more code point values indicating the one or more of the activated TCI states.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Receiving a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code point values, the one or more code point values being within the set of code point values.

11. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: A memory; And At least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: Receive a configuration of an uplink (UL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) (UL-TCI) state and an activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states; Receive downlink control information (DCI) in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling a UL transmission having one or more TCI states in an activated TCI state; and Transmit the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the UL transmission is at least one of a sounding reference signal (SRS), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical random access channel (PRACH).

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the configuration and the activation of the UL-TCI state are received via a radio resource control (RRC) signal and a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE), respectively.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Transmit the UL transmission having quasi co-location (QCL) attributes similar to a reference signal associated with the one or more TCI states.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the QCL attributes include at least one of one or more port indicators, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial transmit (Tx) parameters, or spatial receive (Rx) parameters.

16. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the DCI includes one or more code point values indicating the one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Receive a mapping between the activated TCI state and a set of code point values, the one or more code point values being within the set of code point values.

18. A method for wireless communication at a base station (BS), comprising: Transmit to a user equipment (UE) a configuration of an uplink (UL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) (UL-TCI) state and an activation of a subset of the configured UL-TCI states; Transmit to the UE downlink control information (DCI) in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling a UL transmission having one or more TCI states in an activated TCI state, the DCI scheduling the UL transmission; Receive the UL transmission from the UE, the UL transmission being based on the one or more TCI states; and Demodulate the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the UL transmission is at least one of a sounding reference signal (SRS), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical random access channel (PRACH).

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the configuration and the activation of the UL-TCI state are received via a radio resource control (RRC) signal and a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE), respectively.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein the UL transmission is associated with a quasi - co - location (QCL) attribute similar to a reference signal associated with the one or more TCI states.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the reference signal is further associated with a panel identifier ID of the UE.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the QCL attribute comprises at least one of one or more port indications, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, delay spread, spatial transmit (Tx) parameters, or spatial receive (Rx) parameters.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the reference signal is one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS).

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) is one of a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI - RS), a demodulation reference signal (DM - RS) for at least one of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block.

26. The method according to claim 18, wherein the DCI comprises one or more code - point values that indicate the one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising: transmitting a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code - point values, wherein the one or more code - point values are within the set of code - point values.

28. An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station (BS), comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: transmit to a user equipment (UE) a configuration of an uplink (UL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) (UL - TCI) state and an activation of a subset of the configured UL - TCI states; transmit in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling a UL transmission to the UE a downlink control information (DCI) that schedules the UL transmission, the DCI having one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states; receive the UL transmission from the UE, the UL transmission being based on the one or more TCI states; and demodulate the UL transmission based on the one or more TCI states.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the DCI comprises one or more code - point values that indicate the one or more TCI states among the activated TCI states.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit a mapping between the activated TCI states and a set of code - point values, wherein the one or more code - point values are within the set of code - point values.

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