Transmitting Quasi-Co-Location Information in a Wireless System

Abstract

This application relates to signaling of quasi-co-location information in a wireless system. Specifically, methods, systems, and devices for signaling quasi-co-location information in mobile communication technologies are described. An exemplary method for wireless communication includes transmitting a signal from a first communication node to a second communication node according to a beam set, the beam set including a first subset of B beams selected from a beam pool, where B is a positive integer. In an example, the beams of the beam set include one or more channel property assumptions, one or more reference signals (RSs), one or more RS sets, one or more spatial relation states, one or more quasi-co-location (QCL) states, one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, one or more spatial domain filters, or one or more precoding filters.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a Chinese patent application with the application number "201980088791.9", the filing date of "January 10, 2019", and the title of "Transmitting Quasi-Co-Location Information by Signaling in a Wireless System". Technical Field

[0002] This document generally relates to wireless communication. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication technologies are driving the world towards an increasingly interconnected and networked society. The rapid development of wireless communication and technological progress have led to a greater demand for capacity and connectivity. Other aspects such as energy consumption, device cost, spectral efficiency, and latency are also important for meeting the requirements of various communication scenarios. Compared with existing wireless networks, next-generation systems and wireless communication technologies need to support more users and devices and support higher data rates, thus requiring user equipment to implement efficient methods and implementations for transmitting quasi-co-location information. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This document relates to methods, systems, and devices for generating sequences for reference signals in mobile communication technologies, including fifth-generation (5G) and New Radio (NR) communication systems.

[0005] In one exemplary aspect, a wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes transmitting a signal from a first communication node to a second communication node according to a beam set, the beam set including a first subset of B beams selected from a beam pool, where B is a positive integer.

[0006] In another exemplary aspect, a wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes receiving a signal from a second communication node through a first communication node according to a beam set, the beam set including a first subset of B beams selected from a beam pool, where B is a positive integer.

[0007] In yet another exemplary aspect, the above method is embodied in the form of processor-executable code and stored in a computer-readable program medium.

[0008] In yet another exemplary embodiment, a device configured or operable to perform the above method is disclosed.

[0009] The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail in the drawings, the description, and the claims. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010] Figure 1 is an example of a beam management framework for multi-panel and multi-TRP (transmission point) scenarios.

[0011] Figure 2Shows an example of a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) in wireless communication according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0012] Figure 3 Shows an exemplary framework for multi-level beam indication for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the case of multi-panel and multi-TRP.

[0013] Figure 4 Shows an example of beam determination for multi-slot PDSCH transmission.

[0014] Figure 5A and 5B Shows an example of mode indication for the downlink (DL) quasi-co-location (QCL) state for one PDSCH transmission.

[0015] Figure 6 Shows an example of determining a DL reference signal for accessing radio link quality.

[0016] Figure 7 Is a flowchart of an example of a wireless communication method.

[0017] Figure 8 Is a flowchart of another example of a wireless communication method.

[0018] Figure 9 Is a block diagram representation of a part of a device according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology. Detailed Description

[0019] With the increasing use of wide spectral resources and ultra-wide spectral resources, the significant propagation loss caused by extremely high frequencies becomes an obvious challenge. To mitigate this problem, antenna arrays and beamforming training techniques using a large number of MIMO (e.g., up to 1024 antenna elements per node) have been adopted to achieve beam alignment and obtain a sufficiently high antenna gain. To ensure a low implementation cost while still benefiting from the advantages provided by the antenna array, analog phase shifters are very attractive for implementing millimeter-wave beamforming, where the number of phases is limited and a constant modulus constraint is imposed on the antenna elements. Given a pre-specified beam pattern, beamforming training based on variable phase shifts attempts to identify the best pattern for subsequent data transmission, e.g., in the case of one transmission point (TRP) and one panel.

[0020] For Ultra 5G gNB (Base Station) and next-generation communications, multi-TRP and multi-panel scenarios should be considered, where the UE has multiple panels to cover the entire space and enhance the coverage. In the example, one panel for the TRP and the UE can have two TXRUs associated with cross-polarization. Therefore, to achieve high-level or multi-layer transmission, the TRP and the UE should attempt to use different beams generated from different panels, aiming to fully utilize the capabilities of each panel, including its associated TXRUs. Figure 1 An example of beam measurement and reporting is shown, where the UE has four side panels.

[0021] In addition, in 5G NR, analog beamforming is mainly introduced into mobile communications to ensure the robustness of high-frequency communications. To ensure performance, especially to support Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), a channel transmission should be performed using more than one Tx-Rx beam pair. In some embodiments, the following issues should be considered:

[0022] ο For downlink (DL) channel transmission and uplink (UL) channel transmission, the signaling associated with more than one Tx beam should be backward-forward compatible with the current architecture indicating one Tx beam and be flexibly used to combine any candidate pair, such as for channel tracking.

[0023] ο Beams can be transmitted simultaneously or separately at different time units, such as Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), depending on the UE's ability to support simultaneous transmission and the base station (e.g., gNB, eNB) configuration. For non-simultaneous transmission, the time pattern of a set of M Tx beams for UL / DL transmission should be considered together with N-time unit aggregation, where M and N are positive integers.

[0024] ο When the control channel is associated with more than one beam, the default beam determination for the data channel or radio link monitoring should be considered.

[0025] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system (e.g., LTE, 5G, or New Radio (NR) cellular network) including BS 120 and one or more user equipment (UE) 111, 112, and 113 is shown. In some embodiments, BS 220 transmits an indication of the mapping (241, 242, 243) to the UE, followed by subsequent communications (231, 232, 233) using the specified association. The UE can be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a mobile computer, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, a terminal, a mobile device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.

[0026] This document uses section headings and subheadings to facilitate easy understanding and is not used to limit the scope of the disclosed technologies and embodiments to certain sections. Thus, the embodiments disclosed in different sections can be used with each other. In addition, this document uses examples from the 3GPP New Radio (NR) network architecture and 5G protocols only to facilitate understanding, and the disclosed technologies and embodiments can be practiced in other wireless systems using communication protocols different from the 3GPP protocols.

[0027] Glossary of Terms for Embodiments of the Disclosed Technologies

[0028] In the figures, the description, and the claims of this document, the following terms are used. In some embodiments, a "beam" can be interpreted as a channel attribute assumption, a quasi-co-location (QCL) state, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a spatial relation state (also referred to as a spatial relation information state), a reference signal (RS), an RS set, a spatial filter, or a precoding matrix. For example,

[0029] ο A "Tx beam" can be a channel attribute assumption, a QCL state, an RS set, a TCI state, a spatial relation state, a DL / UL reference signal (e.g., a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a synchronization signal block (SSB) (also referred to as SS / PBCH), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS)), a Tx spatial filter, or a Tx precoding matrix.

[0030] ο An "Rx beam" can be a channel attribute assumption, a QCL state, an RS set, a TCI state, a spatial relation state, a spatial filter, an Rx spatial filter, or Rx precoding.

[0031] ο A "beam ID" can be interpreted as a channel attribute assumption index, a QCL state index, an RS set, a TCI state index, a spatial relation state index, a reference signaling index, a spatial filter index, or a precoding index.

[0032] In some embodiments, a spatial filter can be a UE-side filter or a gNB-side filter, and can also be referred to as a spatial domain filter.

[0033] In some embodiments, "spatial relation information" consists of one or more reference RSs and is used to represent the "spatial relation" between an oriented "RS or channel" and one or more reference RSs, where the "spatial relation" represents the same / quasi-co beam, the same spatial parameters, quasi-co spatial domain filters, or the same spatial domain filter.

[0034] In some embodiments, a "quasi - co - located (QCL) state" or "RS set" may include one or more reference RSs and their corresponding QCL - type parameters, where the QCL - type parameters include at least one of the following aspects or combinations: [1] Doppler spread, [2] Doppler shift, [3] delay spread, [4] average delay, [5] average gain, and [6] spatial parameters. In some additional embodiments, a "QCL state" may be interpreted as a "TCI state".

[0035] In some embodiments, link recovery is equivalent to beam recovery.

[0036] In some embodiments, a "time unit" may be a sub - symbol, symbol, time slot, sub - frame, frame, or transmission occasion.

[0037] In some embodiments, a "search space" may be a set of search spaces.

[0038] Exemplary embodiments of signaling quasi - co - located (QCL) information

[0039] Example 1: Signaling for combining multiple beams for one or more transmissions. In some embodiments, in order to combine multiple beams (e.g., QCL state, transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, spatial relation state, or spatial relation information (SRI)) for one or more transmissions (e.g., PDSCH, PDCCH, PUSCH, or PUCCH) into a beam set, at least one of the following mechanisms should be used:

[0040] Option 1: As Figure 3 shown, a bitmap can be used to activate N beams from a candidate pool (step - a), and then one or more beams can be combined to form a beam set (step - b). In one example, the candidate beam pool can be RRC - configured or generated according to one or more RS sets (e.g., SRS resource sets). In another example, when the beam is a TCI state or a QCL state, a QCL assumption for CSI - RS used for tracking is determined based on the N beams. In yet another example, step - a and step - b can be carried by one MAC CE command, where one bit in the MAC CE command is used to indicate whether a field associated with step - b exists. In yet another example, step - a and step - b can be carried by two separate MAC CE commands, but the MAC CE command for step - b is based on the beams activated by the MAC CE command for step - a. In yet another example, at least one code point in step - b is reserved as not associated with any of the N beams, which will be used for not combining any further beam cases.

[0041] Option 2: A bitmap can be used to activate N beams from a candidate pool (step - a), and then one or more explicit IDs can be provided from a candidate RRC pool to be associated with each of the N beams (step - b). In one example, one of the N beams and one or more beams indicated by its associated explicit ID are interpreted as a beam set. In another example, step - a and step - b can be carried by a MAC CE command, where one bit in the MAC CE command is used to indicate whether the field associated with step - b exists. In yet another example, step - a and step - b are carried by two separate MAC CE commands, but the MAC CE command for step - b is based on the beams activated by the MAC CE command for step - a.

[0042] Option 3: Combine multiple beams using explicit IDs as a beam set.

[0043] Option 4: Multiple (e.g., M) bitmaps can be used, each bitmap activating Ni beams from one or more candidate beam pools, where i = 0, 1, 2, …, M - 1 (step - a), and then a combination of one or more IDs is provided for a set (step - b). In one example, in step - b, one or more IDs can be selected separately from the individual beam pools generated by the M bitmaps. In another example, in step - b, one or more IDs can be selected from any of the beam pools generated by the M bitmaps.

[0044] In some embodiments, for PDSCH transmission, Figure 3 The following three - step process of the QCL indication shown can be summarized as follows:

[0045] Step - 1: Configure or re - configure multiple QCL states (or called TCI states) via RRC signaling.

[0046] Step - 2: Activate or de - activate QCL states, and combine one or more activated QCL states into a set of a DCI code point via step - a and step - b respectively.

[0047] Step - a: Activate or de - activate QCL states via a bitmap

[0048] Step - b: Combine the QCL states that have been activated in step - a into a set, where, as Figure 3 shown, a code point '11' is reserved to not be associated with any of the N beams, which is used to not combine any further beam situations. In the example, for the case indicating either QCL - 00 or QCL - 01 after step - b, DMRS port group 2 cannot be used.

[0049] Step - 3: Indicate a QCL state ID, which is renumbered after step - b in phase - 2 for assisting PDSCH demodulation.

[0050] Example 2: Beam pattern indication for DL and UL signals. In some embodiments, to combine multiple beams (also referred to as QCL states, TCI states, spatial relation states, or SRIs) for one or more transmissions, the one or more transmissions have at least one or more of the following characteristics:

[0051] Characteristic 1: Simultaneous multi - beam transmission.

[0052] In some embodiments, a data channel (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH) includes more than one port group. Thus, each port group is associated with a Tx beam (e.g., QCL state or TCI state) respectively. From the perspective of transmitting a data channel, more than one Tx beam is transmitted simultaneously.

[0053] Characteristic 2: Each beam in a set of multiple beams is transmitted once in an ordered manner, which includes at least one of a control resource set (CORESET), PDSCH, PUSCH, semi - persistent scheduling (SPS) - PUSCH, PUCCH, semi - persistent (SP), or periodic PUCCH.

[0054] In some embodiments, a set of multiple beams and their corresponding time - domain patterns are configured for one transmission. Once one transmission is initialized, the beams of each time - domain unit are determined in the aforementioned ordered manner.

[0055] In some embodiments, the set {Tx beam - 1, Tx beam - 2} is configured for a 2 - slot aggregated transmission (e.g., PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH). In this case, Tx beam - 1 is used for the first - slot transmission, and Tx beam - 2 is used for the second - slot transmission.

[0056] Characteristic 3: Determine (or select) the beam to be used for one transmission (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH) or one transmission in a given time unit from a set according to the PDCCH or CORESET scheduling one transmission, a given time unit of one transmission, an index of one transmission occasion, or a DMRS port - group index.

[0057] In some embodiments, one or more time slots for one transmission are grouped into R sets, where R is a positive integer, and each of the R sets is associated with an index of a beam in a beam set respectively.

[0058] In some embodiments, as Figure 4As shown, time slot - 0 and time slot - 1 are grouped into a set - A, and time slot - 2 and time slot - 3 are grouped into a set - B, where set - A and set - B are associated with the second element and the first element of the beam set respectively. When a channel is scheduled with a beam set {beam - 7, beam - 9} and transmitted in time slots - 1 and - 2, the channel in time slot - 1 is transmitted using beam - 9, and the channel in time slot - 2 is transmitted using beam - 7.

[0059] In some embodiments, when N time units or transmission opportunities are associated with a set of M beams, where N and M are positive integers, the beam (e.g., QCL state, TCI state, spatial relation state, or SRI) for the time unit or transmission instance index j is determined according to {N, M, and j} or {M and j}. Further, j = 0 is the first time unit or transmission opportunity to be scheduled, or the first time unit or transmission opportunity after or from a given time, which is determined by the resource allocation information for transmission.

[0060] In one example, in the Figure 5A context, the beam index x(j) = QCL_State i (floor(j / N * M)), where QCL_State i represents the set of QCL states to be indicated or configured. As shown, a QCL pattern using this formula is indicated for a PDSCH transmission i, where the QCL_State i to be indicated is {QCL - 1, QCL - 6}.

[0061] In another example, in the Figure 5B context, the beam index x(j) = QCL_State i (j mod M), where QCL_State i represents the set of QCL states to be indicated or configured. As shown, a QCL pattern using this formula is indicated for a PDSCH transmission i, where the QCL_State i to be indicated is {QCL - 1, QCL - 6}. Additionally, a QCL state can be associated with one or more corresponding MCSs, which will maintain the performance under a given transmission beam.

[0062] Example 3: Beam determination for DL control channels and link monitoring. In some embodiments, and to ensure the robustness of the control channel or its corresponding data channel, multiple QCL states (e.g., beam or TCI state) can be configured and / or combined for a CORESET based on MAC CE signaling.

[0063] In some embodiments, the time domain pattern of a CORESET monitored by a UE is determined according to the search space set associated with the CORESET, given that no time domain information or parameters are explicitly configured for the CORESET.

[0064] In some embodiments, and from the perspective of the UE, at least one of the following rules regarding associating multiple QCL states with time units or monitoring the timing of PDCCH in a CORESET should be used:

[0065] ο Multiple QCL states are associated with respective time units or the timing of monitoring PDCCH in an orderly manner. In one example, the timing of monitoring PDCCH is determined according to a monitoring search space set associated with the CORESET.

[0066] ο A search space set can be associated with at least one beam among multiple beams. In one example, multiple search space sets can be grouped into N search space set groups, and each search space set group is associated with at least one beam among multiple beams.

[0067] In some embodiments, for the process of link recovery or radio link monitoring, at least one of the following aspects should be supported:

[0068] ο The radio link quality should be measured according to the DL RS associated with the element or the main element of the multi-beam set with the highest ID or the lowest ID.

[0069] ο The radio link quality according to the DL RS associated with all elements of the multi-beam set should be accessed. For example, if there are two or more RS indices in a QCL state, the RS of QCL-Type-D (e.g., spatial parameters) is used to access the radio link quality.

[0070] ο When the maximum number of QCL states or DL RS to be monitored is T (e.g., according to UE capabilities or predefined thresholds), the radio link quality is accessed according to the QCL state with higher priority. Consider the following example:

[0071] In one example, the number of QCL states is determined according to all CORESETs within a cell or BWP.

[0072] In another example, and based on each CORESET, only one QCL state with the lowest or highest ID (which can be the local ID in the CORESET or the ID in the candidate pool configured for the CORESET) is selected.

[0073] In yet another example, the CORESET with a lower or higher ID has a higher priority.

[0074] In another example, a CORESET with a shorter period and its associated set of search spaces has a higher priority.

[0075] In another example, in each round, each CORESET selects only up to S QCL states with lower local IDs, where S is a positive integer. If the number of QCL states or DL RSs is not exceeded, the next round is executed. In Figure 6 the example shown, there are three CORESETs, and the maximum number of DL-RSs to be accessed for radio link quality is 3. In the first round, in the order starting from the lowest CORESET ID, only one RS is selected from the candidate QCL states with the lowest local ID of one CORESET, namely DL RS-6, DL RS-1, and DL RS-1. Considering that the same DL RS is selected, in the first round, DL RS-6 and DL RS-1 are selected in order. In the second round, in the order of the lowest CORESET ID, only one RS is selected from the remaining part of the QCL states with the lowest local ID of one CORESET, namely DL RS-7 and DL RS-2 are selected in order. Finally, since only 3 DL-RSs are used to access the radio quality, DL-RS-6, DL-RS-1, and DL-RS-7 are selected.

[0076] In another example, lower IDs of QCL states within a BWP or cell have a higher priority.

[0077] Example 4: Beam determination for DL data channels with scheduling offset. In some embodiments, when multiple QCL states (e.g., beam or TCI states) can be configured and / or combined for a CORESET, one or more of the multiple QCL states are determined to be the QCL states for PDSCHs with a scheduling offset < threshold.

[0078] In some embodiments, the state with a specific ID or the primary state of multiple QCL states is used for PDCCH reception in a CORESET. In one example, other elements or all elements of the multiple QCL states are used as the default QCL assumption for PDSCHs with a scheduling offset < threshold or scheduled by DCI format 0_0. In another example, if TCI does not exist in the DCI, other elements or all elements of the multiple QCL states are used for the scheduled PDSCH. In another example, the state with a specific ID can be the state with the lowest ID, the highest ID, or a specific ID.

[0079] In some embodiments, the QCL state of a CORESET for determining the QCL assumption of a PDSCH with a scheduling offset < threshold shall satisfy at least one of the following rules:

[0080] ο If there is at least one CORESET that has a configured TCI state and a set of search spaces monitored in the latest time slot, the corresponding CORESET shall be one of those configured with the TCI state (excluding the CORESET with CSS or CORESET #0).

[0081] ο If there is at least one CORESET that has a common search space to be monitored in the latest time slot, the corresponding CORESET shall be one of those configured with the common search space.

[0082] ο If there is at least one CORESET that has a UE-specific search space to be monitored in the latest time slot, the corresponding CORESET shall be one of those configured with the UE-specific search space.

[0083] In some embodiments, the QCL state of a CORESET (the CORESET is a CORESET with a set of search spaces monitored in the latest time slot) for determining the QCL assumption of a PDSCH with a scheduling offset < threshold shall be determined based on at least one of the following rules:

[0084] ο A CORESET with a TCI state has priority over a CORESET without a configured TCI state.

[0085] ο A CORESET excluding CORESET #0 has priority over CORESET #0.

[0086] ο A CORESET with a set of common search spaces has priority over a CORESET with a set of UE-specific search spaces.

[0087] ο A CORESET with a set of UE-specific search spaces has priority over a CORESET with a set of common search spaces.

[0088] Example 5: Beam determination for UL data channels. In some embodiments, multiple spatial relation states may be configured for SPS-PUSCH or PUCCH (e.g., also referred to as beam or quasi-common spatial relation states).

[0089] In some embodiments, the multiple spatial relation states are associated with the time unit or transmission occasion of SPS-PUSCH or PUCCH in an ordered manner.

[0090] In some embodiments, the spatial relation or spatial filter of a PUSCH transmission scheduled by DCI format 1_0 is determined according to all spatial relation states or all spatial relation states except for a specific state of the PUCCH. In one example, the PUCCH is a bandwidth part (BWP) or a PUCCH resource within the cell having the lowest or highest resource ID. In another example, the PUCCH resource comes from a PUCCH resource set associated with a CORESET group, a time unit group, a transmission occasion group, or a DMRS port group. In yet another example, the PUCCH is a PUCCH resource associated with DCI format 1_0 or associated with a search space or CORESET of DCI format 1_0. In yet another example, the specific state can be a state with the lowest ID, the highest ID, or a specific ID. In yet another example, DCI format 1_0 is a default DCI format for scheduling PUSCH.

[0091] Exemplary methods of the disclosed technology

[0092] Embodiments of the disclosed technology advantageously result in ultra-reliable and low-latency communication in existing and emerging cellular communication systems.

[0093] Figure 7 An example of a wireless communication method 700 for signaling QCL information is shown. Method 700 includes, in step 710, sending a signal from a first communication node to a second communication node according to a beam set, the beam set including a first subset of B beams selected from a beam pool, where B is a positive integer. In some embodiments, the beams of the beam set include one or more channel property assumptions, one or more reference signals (RSs), one or more RS sets, one or more spatial relation states, one or more QCL states, one or more TCI states, one or more spatial domain filters, or one or more precoding filters.

[0094] In some embodiments, and in the context of method 700, PUSCH transmission is performed according to one or more beams in the beam set of the PUCCH resource. In one example, the PUCCH resource includes a bandwidth part (BWP) or the lowest or highest resource ID within the cell. In another example, the PUCCH resource comes from a PUCCH resource set associated with a CORESET group or a resource element group. In yet another example, the PUSCH transmission is scheduled by a DCI format 1_0. In yet another example, the PUCCH resource is associated with DCI format 1_0 or associated with a search space or CORESET of DCI format 1_0.

[0095] Figure 8 An example of another wireless communication method 800 for signaling QCL information is shown. The example includes being similar toFigure 7 Some of the features and / or steps shown and described above. At least some of these features and / or steps may not be described separately in this section.

[0096] Method 800 includes, at step 810, receiving signals from a first communication node and a second communication node according to a beam set, the beam set including a first subset of B beams selected from a beam pool, where B is a positive integer.

[0097] In some embodiments, methods 700 and 800 may further include the steps of: selecting a second subset of beams from the beam pool based on a bitmap, and combining one or more second subsets of the beams to generate a first subset of B beams.

[0098] In some embodiments, methods 700 and 800 may further include the steps of: selecting a second subset of beams from the beam pool based on a bitmap, combining one or more second subsets of the beams and a first subset of B beams to generate a beam set, and determining a QCL assumption of a CSI-RS resource for tracking according to one or more beams from the second subset of the beams.

[0099] In some embodiments, the selection and combination are based on a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) command. In one example, one or more fields related to the combination are determined based on the value of a flag field in the MAC CE command. In one example, one code point of the command related to the combination is reserved as blank or not associated with any of the beams in one or more second subsets of the beams.

[0100] In some embodiments, the selection is based on a first Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) command, the combination is based on a second MAC CE command different from the first MAC CE command, and the second MAC CE command is based on one or more second subsets of the beams selected by the first MAC CE command. In one example, one code point of the command related to the combination is reserved as blank, or not associated with any of the beams in one or more second subsets of the beams or any of the beams in the beam pool.

[0101] In some embodiments, and in the context of methods 700 and 800, each beam of a beam set can be selected from a beam pool based on an explicit identification of each beam. In other embodiments, the beam set includes M beams, and one beam in the beam set is sequentially associated with E corresponding resource elements of a signal, where the signal includes E×M resource elements, and E and M are positive integers. In other embodiments, the resource elements of the signal are grouped into S sets associated with the beam set, and S and M are positive integers. In one example, one or more beams associated with the j-th set among the S sets are determined based on at least one or more of j, M, and S. In another example, the j-th set among the S sets is associated with the floor(j / N×M)-th beam of the beam set, where floor(x) is a function that returns the largest integer less than the real number x. In yet another example, the j-th set among the S sets is associated with the (j % M)-th beam of the beam group, where % is the modulo function.

[0102] In some embodiments, the beam set includes M beams, and the beam set is associated with N resource elements of a signal, where M and N are positive integers. In one example, one or more beams associated with the j-th resource element among the N resource elements are determined based on at least one or more of j, M, and N. In another example, the j-th resource element among the N resource elements is associated with the floor(j / N×M)-th beam of the beam set, where floor(x) is a function that returns the largest integer less than the real number x. In yet another example, the j-th resource element among the N resource elements is associated with the (j % M)-th beam of the beam group, where % is the modulo function.

[0103] In some embodiments, the signal is a Control Resource Set (CORESET), a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), or a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).

[0104] In some embodiments, the resource elements of the signal are a transmission occasion, a Reference Signal (RS) port, an RS port group, an RS resource, an RS resource set, a search space, a time unit, or a frequency resource.

[0105] In some embodiments, the beam set is determined based on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that schedules the signal, a Control Resource Set (CORESET) that schedules the signal, an index of at least one time unit of the signal, an index of at least one resource element of the signal, or an index of a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) port group.

[0106] In some embodiments, method 800 further includes the step of performing a recovery or monitoring process according to one or more CORESETs, wherein each of the one or more CORESETs is associated with its corresponding beam set. In one example, method 800 further includes measuring radio link quality according to one beam in the beam set, wherein one beam includes the highest index or one beam includes the lowest index or one beam is the primary element of the beam set. In another example, method 800 further includes measuring radio link quality according to each beam in one or more beam sets of one or more CORESETs. In yet another example, radio link quality is measured according to one or more beams in the beam set of one or more CORESETs and the maximum number of beams to be measured, wherein (a) for each CORESET, only one beam with the lowest or highest beam ID is selected to determine the radio link quality, wherein the lowest or highest beam ID is the local ID in the relevant CORESET or the ID in the beam pool, (b) one CORESET with a lower or higher CORESET ID has a higher priority, or (c) one CORESET with a search space having a shorter period has a higher priority.

[0107] In some embodiments, in the context of method 800, PDSCH reception with a scheduling offset less than a threshold is performed according to at least one beam of a CORESET having a configured TCI state and having a set of monitored search spaces in the latest time slot. In other embodiments, PDSCH reception with a scheduling offset less than a threshold is performed according to at least one beam of a CORESET configured with a common search space to be monitored in the latest time slot. In yet another embodiment, PDSCH reception with a scheduling offset less than a threshold is performed according to at least one beam of a CORESET configured with a UE-specific search space to be monitored in the latest time slot. In yet another embodiment, PDSCH reception with a scheduling offset less than a threshold is performed according to at least one beam of a CORESET, and wherein the execution is determined based on at least one of the following rules: (i) a CORESET with a TCI state has a higher priority than another CORESET without a configured TCI state, (ii) a CORESET that does not include CORESET#0 has a higher priority than CORESET#0, (iii) a CORESET with a set of common search spaces has a higher priority than another CORESET with a UE-specific search space, or (iv) a CORESET with a set of UE-specific search spaces has a higher priority than another CORESET with a common search space.

[0108] In some embodiments, a radio resource control (RRC) message is used to configure a beam pool. In other embodiments, the beam pool is based on one or more reference signal (RS) resources or RS resource sets. For example, one or more RS resource sets include sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets.

[0109] Implementation of the disclosed technology

[0110] Figure 9 is a block diagram representation of a portion of an apparatus in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. An apparatus 905, such as a base station or a wireless device (or UE), may include a processor electronics 910, such as a microprocessor, that implements one or more of the technologies presented in this document. The apparatus 905 may include transceiver electronics 915 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals via one or more communication interfaces (e.g., antenna 920). The apparatus 905 may include other communication interfaces for sending and receiving data. The apparatus 905 may include one or more memories (not explicitly shown) configured to store information such as data and / or instructions. In some embodiments, the processor electronics 910 may include at least a portion of the transceiver electronics 915. In some embodiments, at least some of the disclosed technologies, modules, or functions are implemented using the apparatus 905.

[0111] It is intended that the specification, together with the drawings, be considered only exemplary, where exemplary means an example and does not mean an ideal or preferred embodiment unless otherwise stated. As used herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the use of "or" is intended to include "and / or".

[0112] Some embodiments described herein are described in the general context of methods or processes that may be implemented in one embodiment by a computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium and including computer-executable instructions, such as program code, that a computer executes in a networked environment. The computer-readable medium may include removable and non-removable storage devices, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), etc. Thus, the computer-readable medium may include non-transitory storage media. In general, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer or processor-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code for performing the steps of the methods disclosed herein. A particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents an example of the corresponding actions for implementing the functions described in these steps or processes.

[0113] Some disclosed embodiments may be implemented as a device or module using hardware circuitry, software, or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuitry implementation may include discrete analog and / or digital components, which may be integrated, for example, as part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and / or may be implemented as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. Some embodiments may additionally or alternatively include a digital signal processor (DSP), which is a specialized microprocessor having an architecture optimized for the operational requirements of digital signal processing associated with the disclosed functionality of the present application. Similarly, the various components or sub-components within each module may be implemented in software, hardware, or firmware. Connectivity between modules and / or components within a module may be provided using any of the connection methods and media known in the art, including but not limited to communication over the Internet, wired or wireless networks using appropriate protocols.

[0114] Although this document contains many details, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention or of an invention that may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments in this document may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although the features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, in some cases one or more features from a claimed combination may be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or a variation of a sub-combination. Similarly, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve a desired result.

[0115] Only some embodiments and examples have been described, and other embodiments, enhancements, and variations may be implemented based on what is described and illustrated in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: According to a beam set, a first communication node receives a signal from a second communication node, wherein, the beam set includes a first subset of B beams, B is a positive integer and the B beams are activated based on a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) command, wherein, each beam of the first subset is selected from a beam pool configured via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, wherein, the beam set includes M beams, M is a positive integer, wherein, resource elements of the signal are grouped into S sets associated with the beam set, S is a positive integer, wherein, a beam associated with the j-th set of the S sets in the beam set is determined according to at least one or more of j, M, and S, wherein, the j-th set of the S sets is associated with the (j % M)-th beam of the beam set, where % is a modulo function.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, beams of the beam set include one or more spatial relation states, and the spatial relation states include one or more Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) states or one or more Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, one beam in the beam set is sequentially associated with E corresponding resource elements of the signal, the signal includes E × M resource elements, where E and M are positive integers.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the beam set is associated with N resource elements of the signal, where N is a positive integer.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, one beam associated with the j-th resource element among the N resource elements is determined according to at least one or more of j, M, and N.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein, the j-th resource element among the N resource elements is associated with the (j % M)-th beam of the beam set, where % is a modulo function.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the signal is a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, resource elements of the signal are transmission opportunities.

9. A wireless communication method, comprising: Transmitting a signal from a first communication node to a second communication node according to a beam set, wherein, the beam set includes a first subset of B beams, B is a positive integer and the B beams are activated based on a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) command, wherein, each beam of the first subset is selected from a beam pool configured via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, wherein, the beam set includes M beams, M is a positive integer, wherein, resource elements of the signal are grouped into S sets associated with the beam set, S is a positive integer, wherein, a beam associated with the j-th set of the S sets in the beam set is determined according to at least one or more of j, M, and S, wherein, the j-th set of the S sets is associated with the (j % M)-th beam of the beam set, where % is a modulo function.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The beams of the beam set include one or more spatial relation states, and the spatial relation states include one or more quasi - co - located (QCL) states or one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein, One beam in the beam set is sequentially associated with E corresponding resource elements of the signal, and the signal includes E×M resource elements, where E and M are positive integers.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The beam set is associated with N resource elements of the signal, where N is a positive integer.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, One beam associated with the j - th resource element among the N resource elements is determined according to at least one or more of j, M, and N.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The j - th resource element among the N resource elements is associated with the (j % M) - th beam of the beam set, where % is the modulo function.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The signal is a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

16. A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to: Receive a signal according to a beam set, wherein, The beam set includes a first subset of B beams, B is a positive integer and the B beams are activated based on a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) command, wherein each beam of the first subset is selected from a beam pool configured via a radio resource control (RRC) message, wherein the beam set includes M beams, M is a positive integer, wherein the resource elements of the signal are grouped into S sets associated with the beam set, S is a positive integer, wherein a beam associated with the j - th set among the S sets in the beam set is determined according to at least one or more of j, M, and S, wherein the j - th set among the S sets is associated with the (j % M) - th beam of the beam set, where % is the modulo function.

17. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein, The beams of the beam set include one or more spatial relation states, and the spatial relation states include one or more quasi - co - located (QCL) states or one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states.

18. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein, One beam in the beam set is sequentially associated with E corresponding resource elements of the signal, and the signal includes E×M resource elements, where E and M are positive integers.

19. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein, The beam set is associated with N resource elements of the signal, where N is a positive integer.

20. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein, The signal is a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

21. A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to: Transmit a signal according to a beam set, wherein, The beam set includes a first subset of B beams, where B is a positive integer and the B beams are activated based on a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) command. Each beam of the first subset is selected from a beam pool configured via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. The beam set includes M beams, where M is a positive integer. Resource elements of the signal are grouped into S sets associated with the beam set, where S is a positive integer. Beams in the beam set associated with the j-th set of the S sets are determined based on at least one or more of j, M, and S. The j-th set of the S sets is associated with the (j % M)-th beam of the beam set, where % is the modulo function.

22. The communication device according to claim 21. Wherein, Beams of the beam set include one or more spatial relation states, and the spatial relation states include one or more Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) states or one or more Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states.

23. The communication device according to claim 21. Wherein, One beam in the beam set is sequentially associated with E corresponding resource elements of the signal, and the signal includes E×M resource elements, where E and M are positive integers.

24. The communication device according to claim 21. Wherein, The beam set is associated with N resource elements of the signal, where N is a positive integer.

25. The communication device according to claim 21. Wherein, The signal is a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

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