Method and apparatus for beam-specific downlink / uplink operation in wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G communication system or a 6G communication system for supporting a higher data rate than a 4G communication system such as long term evolution (LTE). A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes receiving a configuration for at least one of a downlink (DL) reception or an uplink (UL) transmission, wherein the configuration information includes a beam identifier (ID) and a slot and symbol configuration for a corresponding beam ID among one or more beam IDs. The method further includes performing a DL operation or a UL operation according to the configuration information.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The disclosure relates to an electronic device and method regarding beam-specific DL / UL operation, and more particularly, to an electronic device and method of dynamically allocating different DL / UL operation for different beam links in a wireless network. BACKGROUND

[0002] The basic principle of New Radio (NR) in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is to support beam-specific operation for wireless communication between a gNode B (gNB) and a user equipment (UE). There are several components in the 5G (e.g., fifth generation) NR specification that can operate efficiently in a beam-specific manner; however, beam-specific operation is not currently allowed.

[0003] In addition, considering the evolution of wireless communication from one generation to another, technologies have been developed mainly for services targeting humans, such as voice calls, multimedia services, and data services. Since the commercialization of 5G (fifth generation) communication systems, it is expected that the number of connected devices will grow exponentially. Increasingly, these devices will be connected to communication networks. Examples of connected things can include vehicles, robots, dashboards, home appliances, displays, smart sensors connected to various infrastructures, construction machinery, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve in various form factors, such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and holographic devices. In order to provide various services by connecting hundreds of billions of devices and things in the 6G (sixth generation) era, there has been an ongoing effort to develop an improved 6G communication system. For these reasons, the 6G communication system is referred to as a beyond-5G system.

[0004] It is expected that the 6G communication system to be commercialized around 2030 will have a peak data rate of terahertz (1,000 giga) level bps and a radio latency of less than 100 μsec, so its rate will be 50 times that of the 5G communication system and its radio latency will be only 1 / 10.

[0005] To achieve such a high data rate and ultra-low latency, it has been considered to implement 6G communication systems in a terahertz band (e.g., 95 GHz to 3 THz bands). Since there is more severe path loss and atmospheric absorption in the terahertz band than in the mmWave band introduced in 5G, it is expected that the technologies capable of securing signal transmission distance, that is, coverage, will become more crucial. As major technologies to secure coverage, it is necessary to develop radio frequency (RF) elements, antennas, and new waveforms having better coverage than orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), beamforming, and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and multi-antenna transmission technologies such as large-scale antennas. In addition, there are ongoing discussions on new technologies for improving coverage of terahertz-band signals, such as metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs).

[0006] In addition, to improve spectral efficiency and overall network performance, the following technologies have been developed for 6G communication systems: a full-duplex technology for simultaneously using the same frequency resource for uplink transmission and downlink transmission at the same time; a network technology that comprehensively utilizes satellites, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and the like; an improved network structure for supporting mobile base stations and the like and enabling network operation optimization and automation and the like; a dynamic spectrum sharing technology via collision avoidance based on spectrum usage prediction; the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in wireless communication to improve overall network operation by developing 6G with the use of AI from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and a next-generation distributed computing technology for overcoming limitations in UE computing capability through ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources (such as mobile edge computing MEC, cloud, and the like) accessible on a network. In addition, by designing new protocols used in 6G communication systems, developing mechanisms for implementing a hardware-based secure environment and secure use of data, and developing technologies for maintaining privacy, it is attempted to strengthen connectivity between devices, optimize networks, promote softwareization of network entities, and increase openness of wireless communication.

[0007] It is expected that research and development of 6G communication systems including hyper-connectivity of person-to-machine (P2M) and machine-to-machine (M2M) will bring about the next hyper-connectivity experience. In particular, it is expected that services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile holograms, and digital replicas can be provided through 6G communication systems. In addition, services such as remote surgery for enhancing safety and reliability, industrial automation, and emergency response will be provided through 6G communication systems, so that these technologies can be applied to various fields such as industry, healthcare, automobiles, and home appliances. SUMMARY

[0008] [TECHNICAL PROBLEM]

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for full power UL MIMO operation in an advanced wireless communication system.

[0010] [Technical Solution]

[0011] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The UE includes a transceiver configured to communicate with a base station via a multi-beam operation. The UE further includes a processor configured to: receive, via the transceiver, configuration information for at least one of a downlink (DL) reception or an uplink (UL) transmission, wherein the configuration information includes a beam identifier (ID) and a slot and symbol configuration for a respective beam ID of one or more beam IDs; and control the transceiver to perform the DL operation or the UL operation according to the configuration information.

[0012] In another embodiment, a base station (BS) in a wireless communication system is provided. The BS includes a transceiver configured to communicate with at least one user equipment (UE) via a multi-beam operation. The BS further includes a processor operably coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to: transmit, via the transceiver, configuration information for at least one of a downlink (DL) reception or an uplink (UL) transmission, wherein the configuration information includes a beam identifier (ID) and a slot and symbol configuration for a respective beam ID of one or more beam IDs; and control the transceiver to perform the DL operation or the UL operation according to the configuration information.

[0013] In yet another embodiment, a method for beam-specific operation between a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes obtaining configuration information for at least one of a downlink (DL) reception or an uplink (UL) transmission, wherein the configuration information includes a beam identifier (ID) and a slot and symbol configuration for a respective beam ID of one or more beam IDs. The method further includes performing the DL operation or the UL operation according to the configuration information.

[0014] In yet another embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication is provided. The method includes receiving configuration information for at least one of a downlink (DL) reception or an uplink (UL) transmission, wherein the configuration information includes a beam identifier (ID) and a slot and symbol configuration for a respective beam ID of one or more beam IDs. The method further includes performing the DL operation or the UL operation according to the configuration information.

[0015] Other technical features are readily apparent to one skilled in the art in view of the drawings, description and claims.

[0016] [Advantages of Invention]

[0017] According to embodiments of the disclosure, beam-specific downlink operations or beam-specific uplink operations can be effectively performed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless network according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0019] Figure 2 An exemplary gNB according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0020] Figure 3 An exemplary UE according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0021] Figure 4A A high-level diagram of an OFDMA transmit path according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0022] Figure 4B A high-level diagram of an OFDMA receive path according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0023] Figure 5 An exemplary antenna according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0024] Figure 6 A network diagram for communicating with multiple terminals through different beams according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0025] Figure 7 A procedure for beam-specific downlink / uplink operations for a terminal according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0026] Figure 8 A procedure for beam-specific downlink / uplink operations for a base station according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0027] Figure 9 A procedure for beam-specific dynamic TDD operations for a terminal including multi-beam operations according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0028] Figure 10 A procedure for beam-specific dynamic TDD operations for a base station including multi-beam operations according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0029] Figure 11 An exemplary DL / UL configuration for beam-specific dynamic TDD operations according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0030] Figure 12 An exemplary DL / UL configuration for beam-specific dynamic TDD operations according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated; and

[0031] Figure 13 A process for preventing beam failure events in a beam-specific dynamic TDD operation is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Before undertaking the detailed description below, it can be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term “couple” and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms “transmit,” “receive,” and “communicate,” as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and / or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof, means to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have a property of, have relations with, have agreements with, or the like. The term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a “controller” can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functionality associated with any particular controller can be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase “at least one of” followed by a list of two or more items, means that any of the listed items can be employed by itself, or in combination with one or more of the listed items. For example, “at least one of A and B” means A, B, or A and B.

[0033] Additionally, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof. The phrase "computer readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer readable medium" includes any type of media capable of storing computer readable program code, such as solid state, optical, or magnetic media. The phrase "non-transitory computer readable medium" excludes media that has only transitory signals, but includes media that has non-transitory signals. The phrase "non-transitory computer readable medium" includes media where the computer readable program code resides permanently, semi-permanently, or transitorily (e.g., volatile or non-volatile storage media). The phrase "non-transitory computer readable medium" includes storage media such as non-erasable storage media, and media that stores data semi-permanently or transitorily (e.g., volatile or non-volatile storage media).

[0034] Throughout this patent document, other certain words and phrases used herein have been defined. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that such definitions apply to the

[0035] The foregoing discussion Figures 1 to 13 The various implementations of the principles of the present disclosure discussed below are just exemplary implementations, and the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any appropriate arrangement.

[0036] The following documents and standards descriptions are incorporated by reference into the disclosure herein as if fully set forth: 3GPP TS 36.211 v16.1.0, “E-UTRA, Physical channels and modulation”; 3GPP TS 36.212 v16.1.0, “E-UTRA, Multiplexing and Channel coding”; 3GPP TS 36.213 v16.1.0, “E-UTRA, Physical Layer Procedures”; 3GPP TS 36.321 v16.0.0, “E-UTRA, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification”; 3GPP TS 36.331 v16.0.0, “E-UTRA, Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification”; 3GPP TS 38.211 v16.1.0, “NR, Physical channels and modulation”; 3GPP TS 38.212 v16.1.0, “NR, Multiplexing and Channel coding”; 3GPP TS 38.213 v16.1.0, “NR, Physical Layer Procedures for Control”; 3GPP TS 38.214 v16.1.0, “NR, Physical Layer Procedures for Data”; 3GPP TS 38.215 v16.1.0, “NR, Physical Layer Measurements”; 3GPP TS 38.321 v16.0.0, “NR, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification”; 3GPP TS 38.331 v16.0.1, “NR, Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification”.

[0037] Aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, by consideration of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure can also have other different embodiments and be practiced and carried out in various ways. Hence, the drawings and description are illustrative only and not restrictive. The present disclosure is illustrated schematically in the drawings in which:

[0038] Hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) are considered as duplex methods for DL and UL signaling.

[0039] Although the following exemplary descriptions and embodiments assume orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), the present disclosure can be extended to other OFDM-based transmission waveforms or multiple access schemes, such as filtered OFDM (F-OFDM).

[0040] The present disclosure encompasses several components that can be used in conjunction or combination with each other, or can operate as independent schemes.

[0041] To meet increasing demand with respect to wireless data traffic after deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a "beyond 4G network" or a "post LTE system."

[0042] The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in terahertz bands (e.g., 60 GHz bands) to be able to handle higher data rates beyond gigabits per second. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission coverage, beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques, and the like are discussed in 5G communication systems.

[0043] In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system network improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, a technology for coordination between cells, an interference mitigation and cancellation technology, and the like.

[0044] In 5G systems, hybrid frequency shift keying and quadrature amplitude modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) technique, filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and a sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed.

[0045] The following description Figures 1 to 4B Various implementations are described that implement and use orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques in a wireless communication system. Figures 1 to 3 The description of the following embodiments is not meant to imply that the described embodiments are the only ones that can be implemented. Different embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of the suitable arrangements.

[0046] Figure 1 An example wireless network according to embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 1 The illustrated implementation of the wireless network is for illustration only. Other implementations of the wireless network 100 can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0047] As Figure 1 illustrated, the wireless network includes a gNB 101, a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates with the gNB 102 and the gNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network.

[0048] The gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a first plurality of user equipment devices (UEs) within a coverage area 120 of the gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs includes a UE 111, which can be located in a small business (SB); a UE 112, which can be located in an enterprise (E); a UE 113, which can be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); a UE 114, which can be located in a first residence (R); a UE 115, which can be located in a second residence (R); and a UE 116, which can be a mobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wireless PDA, or the like. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a second plurality of UEs within a coverage area 125 of the gNB 103. The second plurality of UEs includes the UE 115 and the UE 116. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101 -103 can communicate with each other and with the UEs 111 -116 using 5G, LTE, LTE-A, WiMAX, WiFi, or other wireless communication techniques.

[0049] Depending on the network type, the term "base station" or "BS" can refer to any component (or collection of components) that provides wireless access to a network (or to a collection of networks) for remote terminals, such as a transmit point (TP), transmit-receive point (TRP), enhanced base station (eNodeB or eNB), 5G base station (gNB), macrocell, femtocell, WiFi access point (AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. A base station can provide wireless access to a pluralit of remote terminals, each in accordance with its own wireless communication protocol. To facilitate this, a base station can include one or more transceivers, each adapted to provide a particular wireless communication protocol. Similarly, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can refer to any component (or collection of components) that provides functionality of a remote terminal, such as a "mobile station," "subscriber station," "remote terminal," "wireless terminal," "receive point," or "user equipment." Depending on the network type, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can refer to any component (or collection of components) that provides functionality of a remote terminal, such as a "mobile station," "subscriber station," "remote terminal," "wireless terminal," "receive point," or "user equipment." To facilitate this, a UE can include one or more transceivers, each adapted to provide a particular wireless communication protocol.

[0050] Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas 120 and 125 as represented by coverage areas 120 and 125. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120 and 125, can have other shapes that do not appear to be circular / oval, depending upon the configuration of gNBs and variations in the radio environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

[0051] As described in more detail below, one or more of the gNBs 101, 102, and 103 include a two-dimensional (2D) antenna array as described in embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101, 102, and 103 support a codebook design and structure for transmitting, via a transceiver, a configuration for at least one of downlink (DL) reception or uplink (UL) transmission, where the configuration includes a beam identifier (ID) and a slot and symbol configuration for a respective beam ID of one or more beam IDs, and control the transceiver to perform a DL operation or UL operation in accordance with the configuration information.

[0052] As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-116 include circuitry, programing or a combination thereof, to obtain a configuration for at least one of downlink (DL) reception or uplink (UL) transmission, where the configuration includes a beam identifier (ID) and a slot and symbol configuration for a respective beam ID of the one or more beam IDs, and perform a DL operation or UL operation in accordance with the configuration information. In certain embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101-103 include circuitry, programing or a combination thereof, to facilitate communicating via beam specific operations, where one or more beams are configured in accordance with a symbol and slot configuration.

[0053] Although Figure 1 various changes can be made to Figure 1 the wireless network. For example, the wireless network can include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. In addition, gNB 101 can communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide those UEs access to network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102 and gNB 103 can communicate directly with network 130 and provide UEs access to network 130. Further, gNBs 101, 102 and / or 103 can provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks, via network 130.

[0054] Figure 2 An example gNB 102 according to embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 2 The illustrated embodiment of the gNB 102 is for illustration only, Figure 1 gNBs 101 and 103 can have the same or similar configuration. However, gNBs Figure 2 come in a wide variety of configurations, and

[0055] As Figure 2 illustrated, gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 205a-205n, multiple RF transceivers 210a-210n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry 215, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 220. gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 225, a memory 230, and a backhaul or network interface 235.

[0056] The RF transceivers 210a-210n receive input RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the network 100, from the antennas 205a-205n. The RF transceivers 210a-210n down-convert the input RF signals to generate IF or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals are sent to the RX processing circuitry 220, which generates processed baseband signals by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. The RX processing circuitry 220 transmits the processed baseband signals to the controller / processor 225 for further processing.

[0057] The TX processing circuitry 215 receives analog or digital data, such as voice data, web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data from the controller / processor 225. The TX processing circuitry 215 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband or IF signals. The RF transceivers 210a-210n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the TX processing circuitry 215 and up-convert the signals to RF signals that are transmitted via the antennas 205a-205n.

[0058] The controller / processor 225 can include one or more processors or other processing devices to manage the overall operation of the gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 225 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceivers 210a-210n, the RX processing circuitry 220, and the TX processing circuitry 215 in accordance with well-known principles. The controller / processor 225 can support additional functions as well, such as more advanced wireless communication functions. That is, the controller / processor 225 can perform blind interference sensing (BIS) procedures, such as by a BIS algorithm, and decode received signals with the interference signal subtracted. Any of a wide variety of other functions can be supported in the gNB 102 by the controller / processor 225. In some embodiments, the controller / processor 225 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0059] In certain embodiments, the controller / processor 225 can support beamforming or directional routing operations in which signals transmitted from multiple antennas 205a-205n are weighted differently to effectively steer the outgoing signals in a desired direction. Any of a wide variety of other functions can be supported in the gNB 102 by the controller / processor 225.

[0060] The controller / processor 225 is also capable of executing programs and other processes (such as an OS) stored in the memory 230. The controller / processor 225 can move data into or out of memory 230 as needed by the processes being executed.

[0061] The controller / processor 225 is also capable of supporting channel quality measurements and reporting for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described in embodiments of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the controller / processor 225 supports inter-entity communication, such as web RTC. The controller / processor 225 may move data into or out of the memory 230 as needed during execution.

[0062] The controller / processor 225 is also coupled to a backhaul or network interface 235. The backhaul or network interface 235 allows the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems via a backhaul connection or over a network. Interface 235 can support communication via any suitable wired or wireless connection. For example, when the gNB 102 is implemented as part of a cellular communication system (e.g., a system supporting 5G / NR, LTE, or LTE-A), interface 235 can allow the gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs via a wired or wireless backhaul connection. When the gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, interface 235 can allow the gNB 102 to communicate with a larger network (such as the Internet) via a wired or wireless local area network or via a wired or wireless connection. Interface 235 includes any suitable architecture that supports communication via wired or wireless connections (such as Ethernet or RF transceivers).

[0063] Memory 230 is coupled to controller / processor 225. A portion of memory 230 may include RAM, while another portion may include flash memory or other ROM. In some embodiments, multiple instructions, such as a BIS algorithm, are stored in memory 230. The multiple instructions are configured to cause controller / processor 225 to perform BIS processing and to decode the received signal after subtracting at least one interference signal determined by the BIS algorithm.

[0064] As described in more detail below, the transmit and receive paths of the gNB 102 (implemented using RF transceivers 210a-210n, TX processing circuitry 215, and / or RX processing circuitry 220) support aggregated communication with FDD and TDD cells.

[0065] although Figure 2 An example of gNB 102 is shown, but it is possible to modify it. Figure 2 Various changes can be made. For example, gNB 102 can include any number of Figure 2Each of the components shown. As a particular example, an access point can include multiple interfaces 235, and the controller / processor 225 can support routing functions to route data between different network addresses. As another particular example, although shown to include a single TX processing circuit 215 example and a single RX processing circuit 220 example, a gNB 102 can include multiple TX processing circuit 215 examples and multiple RX processing circuit 220 examples (such as one example per RF transceiver). Additionally, Figure 2 The various components in the gNB 102 can be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and other components can be added in accordance with a particular

[0066] Figure 3 An example UE 116 according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 3 The implementation of the UE 116 shown is for illustration only, Figure 1 The UEs 111-115 can have the same or similar configuration. However, UEs have a wide variety of configurations and Figure 3 The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of a UE.

[0067] As Figure 3 As shown, the UE 116 includes an antenna 305, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 310, TX processing circuitry 315, a microphone 320, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 325. The UE 116 also includes a speaker 330, a processor 340, an input / output (I / O) interface (IF) 345, a touchscreen 350 (or keyboard), a display 355, and a memory 360. The memory 360 includes an operating system (OS) 361 and one or more applications 362.

[0068] The RF transceiver 310 receives, from the antenna 305, an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the network 100. The RF transceiver 310 down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent to the RX processing circuitry 325, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuitry 325 transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker 330 (such as for voice data) or to the processor 340 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

[0069] The TX processing circuitry 315 receives analog or digital voice data from the microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor 340. The TX processing circuitry 315 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuitry 315 and up-converts it to RF frequencies indicated by the frequency tuning signals from the TX processing circuitry 315. The RF transceiver 310 then transmits the up-converted RF signals through the antenna 305.

[0070] The processor 340 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 361 stored in the memory 360 in order to control the overall operation of the UE 116. For example, the processor 340 can be responsible for

[0071] The processor 340 is also capable of executing the other processes and programs stored in the memory 360 such as the process for UL transmission on the uplink. The processor 340 can move data into or out of the memory 360 as required by the processes executing on the processor 340. In some embodiments, the processor 340 is configured to execute the applications 362 based on the OS 361 or in response to

[0072] The processor 340 is also coupled to the touchscreen 350 and the display 355. The touchscreen 350 allows the operator of the UE 116 to enter data into the UE 116. The display 355 can be a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering text and / or at least limited graphics, such as from web sites.

[0073] The memory 360 is coupled to the processor 340. Portions of the memory 360 can include a random access memory (RAM) comprising a volatile memory unit and a read-only memory (ROM). The memory 360 can also include a permanent storage device, such as a flash memory, a solid state drive, or other storage device.

[0074] Although Figure 3 Various changes can be made to the UE 116 Figure 3 For example, Figure 3The various components can be combined, further subdivided, or omitted, and additional components can be added as needed. As a specific example, processor 340 can be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Furthermore, although... Figure 3 The UE 116 is shown configured as a mobile phone or smartphone, but the UE can be configured to operate as other types of mobile or fixed devices.

[0075] Figure 4A This is the upper-level diagram of the transmit path circuit. For example, the transmit path circuit can be used for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication. Figure 4B This is a diagram of the upper layer of the receive path circuitry. For example, the receive path circuitry can be used in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication. Figure 4A and Figure 4B In the context of downlink communication, the transmitting path circuitry can be implemented in the base station (gNB) 102 or a relay station, and the receiving path circuitry can be implemented in the user equipment (e.g., Figure 1 The user equipment 116) is implemented in the base station. In other examples, for uplink communication, the receive path circuit 450 may be implemented in the base station (e.g., Figure 1 This can be implemented in a gNB 102 or a relay station, and the transmission path circuit can be implemented in the user equipment (e.g., Figure 1 Implemented in user equipment 116).

[0076] The transmit path circuit 400 includes a channel coding and modulation block 405, a serial-to-parallel (S to P) block 410, an N-size inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block 415, a parallel-to-serial (P to S) block 420, a cyclic prefix addition block 425, and an up-converter (UC) 430. The receive path circuit 450 includes a down-converter (DC) 455, a cyclic prefix removal block 460, a serial-to-parallel (S to P) block 465, an N-size fast Fourier transform (FFT) block 470, a parallel-to-serial (P to S) block 475, and a channel decoding and demodulation block 480.

[0077] Figure 4A and 4B At least some components can be implemented in software, while others can be implemented using configurable hardware or a combination of software and configurable hardware. In particular, it should be noted that the FFT and IFFT blocks described in this disclosure can be implemented as configurable software algorithms, wherein the value of the size N can be modified according to the implementation method.

[0078] Additionally, although the present disclosure relates to implementations that implement a fast Fourier transform and an inverse fast Fourier transform, this is merely illustrative and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. It can be appreciated that in alternative implementations of the present disclosure, the fast Fourier transform function and the inverse fast Fourier transform function can be replaced by a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) function and an inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) function, respectively. It can be appreciated that for the DFT and IDFT functions, the value of the variable N can be any integer (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), while for the FFT and IFFT functions, the value of the variable N can be any integer that is a power of 2 (i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).

[0079] In transmit path circuitry 400, channel coding and modulation block 405 receives a set of information bits, applies coding (e.g., LDPC coding) and modulation (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)) on the input bits to generate a sequence of frequency domain modulation symbols. A serial-to-parallel block 410 converts (i.e., de-multiplexes) the serial modulated symbols to parallel data to produce N parallel symbol streams where N is the IFFT / FFT size used in the BS 102 and UE 116. An N-point IFFT block 415 then performs an IFFT operation on the N parallel symbol streams to generate time domain output signals. A parallel-to-serial block 420 converts (i.e., multiplexes) the parallel time domain output symbols from the N-point IFFT block 415 to produce a serial time domain signal. A cyclic prefix block 425 then inserts a cyclic prefix to the time domain signal. Finally, an up-converter 430 modulates (i.e., up-converts) the output of the cyclic prefix block 425 to an RF frequency for transmission via a wireless channel. The signal can also be filtered at baseband before conversion to the RF frequency.

[0080] The transmitted RF signal arrives at the UE 116 after passing through the wireless channel and reverse operations to those at the BS 102 are performed. A down-converter 455 down-converts the received signal to baseband frequency and a remove cyclic prefix block 460 removes the cyclic prefix to generate a serial time domain baseband signal. A serial-to-parallel block 465 converts the time domain baseband signal to parallel time domain signals. An N-point FFT block 470 then performs an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel frequency domain signals. A parallel-to-serial block 475 converts the parallel frequency domain signals to a sequence of modulated data symbols. The modulated symbols are decoded and demodulated by a channel decoding and demodulation block 480 to recover the original input data stream.

[0081] Each of gNBs 101 to 103 can implement a transmit path that is analogous to transmitting in the downlink to user equipment 111 to 116 and can implement a receive path that is analogous to receiving in the uplink from user equipment 111 to 116. Similarly, each of user equipment 111 to 116 can implement a transmit path corresponding to the architecture for transmitting in the uplink to gNBs 101 to 103 and can implement a receive path corresponding to the architecture for receiving in the downlink from gNBs 101 to 103.

[0082] Use cases for 5G communication systems have been identified and described. These use cases can be roughly classified into three different groups. In one example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) is identified to meet high bit / s requirements while latency and reliability requirements are less stringent. In another example, ultra-reliable and low latency (URLL) is identified to have less stringent requirements on bit / s. In yet another example, massive machine type communication (mMTC) is identified to have a number of devices that can be as high as 100,000 to 1 million / km 2 However, the requirements on reliability / throughput / latency can be less stringent. This case can also involve power efficiency requirements as battery consumption can be minimized.

[0083] A communication system includes a downlink (DL) that conveys signals from transmission points such as base stations (BSs) or NodeBs to user equipment (UEs) and an uplink (UL) that conveys signals from UEs to reception points such as NodeBs. A UE, which is also commonly referred to as a terminal or a mobile station, can be fixed or mobile and can be a cellular phone, a personal computer device, or an automated device. An eNodeB, which is generally a fixed station, can also be referred to as an access point or other equivalent terminology. For an LTE system, a NodeB is often referred to as an eNodeB.

[0084] In a communication system such as an LTE system, DL signals can include data signals conveying information content, control signals conveying DL control information (DCI), and reference signals (RS) that are also known as pilot signals. An eNodeB transmits data information through a physical DL shared channel (PDSCH). An eNodeB transmits DCI through a physical DL control channel (PDCCH) or an enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH).

[0085] An eNodeB transmits acknowledgement information in response to a data transmission block (TB) transmission from a UE in a physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel (PHICH). The eNodeB transmits one or more of multiple types of RS including a UE-common RS (CRS), a channel state information (CSI) reference signal RS (CSI-RS), or a demodulation RS (DMRS). The CRS is transmitted over a DL system bandwidth (BW) and can be used by UEs to obtain a channel estimate to demodulate data or control information or to perform measurements. To reduce CRS overhead, the eNodeB can transmit the CSI-RS with a smaller time and / or frequency domain density than the CRS. The DMRS can be transmitted only in the BW of a corresponding PDSCH or EPDCCH and can be used by a UE to demodulate data or control information in the PDSCH or EPDCCH, respectively. The transmission time interval for DL channels is referred to as a subframe and can have a duration of, for example, 1 millisecond.

[0086] DL signals also include transmissions of a logical channel carrying system control information. The BCCH is mapped to either a transport channel referred to as a broadcast channel (BCH) when the DL signals convey a master information block (MIB) or to a DL shared channel (DL-SCH) when the DL signals convey a system information block (SIB). Most system information is included in different SIBs that are transmitted using the DL-SCH. The presence of system information on a DL-SCH in a subframe can be indicated by transmitting a corresponding PDCCH conveying a codeword with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled with a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI). Optionally, scheduling information for SIB transmissions can be provided in an earlier SIB and scheduling information for a first SIB (SIB-1) can be provided by the MIB.

[0087] DL resource allocation is performed in units of subframes and physical resource blocks (PRBs). A transmission BW includes frequency resource units referred to as resource blocks (RBs). Each RB includes subcarriers or resource elements (REs), such as 12 REs. A unit of one RB on one subframe is referred to as a PRB. A UE can be allocated M PDSCH RBs of a total of

[0088] The UL signals can include data signals conveying data information, control signals conveying UL control information (UCI), and UL RS. The UL RS includes DMRS and sounding RS (SRS). The UE transmits the DMRS only in the BW of the corresponding PUSCH or PUCCH. The eNodeB can use the DMRS to demodulate the data signals or the UCI signals. The UE transmits the SRS to provide the eNodeB with the UL CSI. The UE transmits the data information or the UCI through a respective physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) or physical UL control channel (PUCCH). If the UE needs to transmit data information and UCI in the same UL subframe, the UE can multiplex both in the PUSCH. The UCI includes: hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information to indicate correct (acknowledgement (ACK)) or incorrect (negative acknowledgement (NACK)) detection of a data TB in a PDSCH, or absence of PDCCH detection (DTX); scheduling request to indicate whether the UE has data in its buffer; rank indicator (RI); and channel state information (CSI) to enable the eNodeB to perform link adaptation for PDSCH transmissions to the UE. The HARQ-ACK information is also transmitted by the UE in response to detection of a PDCCH / EPDCCH indicating release of a semi-persistent scheduled PDSCH.

[0089] The UL subframe includes two slots. Each slot includes symbols for transmitting data information, UCI, DMRS, or SRS. The frequency resource unit of the UL system BW is an RB. A UE is allocated N RBs of a total of RB REs for the transmission BW. For PUCCH, N RB = 1. The last subframe symbol can be used for multiplexing for SRS transmission from one or more UEs. The number of subframe symbols available for data / UCI / DMRS transmission is where N SRS = 1 if the last subframe symbol is used for transmitting SRS, otherwise N SRS = 0.

[0090] As the operating bands in NR become higher, UEs are evolving to accommodate multiple antenna arrays 525 or panels to enhance aspects of multi-beam operation, such as coverage enhancement, beam failure event minimization, fast beam switching, etc. Depending on the hardware architecture, each panel on the UE 116 can perform multi-beam operation in a de-coupled manner, enabling the UE 116 to simultaneously conduct DL / UL operations through multiple beam links, each corresponding to a sufficiently reliable channel to independently communicate with the gNB 102. Previous NR specifications only allowed multiple panels on the UE 116 to be used for single panel selection to simultaneously conduct DL reception or UL transmission in TDD operation.

[0091] Figure 5 An example antenna block 500 according to embodiments of the disclosure is shown. Figure 5 The illustrated embodiment of the antenna 500 is for illustration only. Figure 5 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the antenna 500. In certain embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 102 or UEs 116 include the antenna 500. For example, one or more of the antenna 205 and its associated system or the antenna 305 and its associated system can be configured the same as the antenna 500.

[0092] Rel. 14 LTE and Rel. 15 NR support up to 32 CSI-RS antenna ports, which enables the eNB to be equipped with a large number of antenna elements (e.g., 64 or 128). In this case, multiple antenna elements are mapped onto one CSI-RS port. For mmWave bands, although the number of antenna elements can be more for a given form factor, the number of CSI-RS ports that can correspond to the number of digital precoding ports tends to be limited due to hardware constraints (e.g., feasibility of installing a large number of ADCs / DACs at mmWave frequencies).

[0093] In Figure 5 In the illustrated example, the antenna 500 includes analog phase shifters 505, analog beamformers (BFs) 510, hybrid BFs 515, digital BFs 520, and one or more antenna arrays 525. In this case, one CSI-RS port is mapped onto a large number of antenna elements in the antenna array 525, which can be controlled by the analog phase shifter bank 505. One CSI-RS port can then correspond to one sub-array that produces a narrow analog beam through analog beamforming by the analog BF 510. This analog beam can be configured to sweep a wider angular range 530 by traversing the phase shifter bank 505 through the symbol or subframe. The number of sub-arrays (equal to the number of RF chains) is the same as the number of CSI-RS ports N CSI-PORT CSI-PORT ​Linear combining is performed on the analog beams to further increase the precoding gain. While the analog beams are wideband (hence not frequency-selective), the digital precoding can vary over frequency subbands or resource blocks.

[0094] As the above system utilizes multiple analog beams for transmission and reception (wherein one or a small number of analog beams are selected from a larger number of beams to be performed from time to time, e.g., after a training duration), the term “multi-beam operation” is used to refer to the overall system aspects. This includes, for illustration purposes, indicating the allocated DL or UL transmission (TX) beam (also referred to as “beam indication”), measuring at least one reference signal for computing and performing beam reporting (also referred to as “beam measurement” and “beam reporting”, respectively), and receiving DL or UL transmissions via selection of a corresponding receive (RX) beam.

[0095] Additionally, the antenna 500 system can also be applicable to higher frequency bands, e.g., greater than 52.6 GHz (also referred to as FR4). In this case, the system can only use analog beams. Due to the O2 absorption loss near 60 GHz frequencies (@100 m distance additional loss of about 10 decibels (dB)), a larger number and sharper analog beams (hence a larger number of radiators in the array) will be needed to compensate for the additional path loss.

[0096] An antenna port is defined such that a channel over which a symbol is transmitted on an antenna port can be inferred from a channel over which another symbol is transmitted on the same antenna port. Two antenna ports are said to be quasi co-located (QCLed) if the large scale properties of the channel over which a symbol is transmitted on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel over which a symbol is transmitted on the other antenna port. The large scale properties include one or more of delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and spatial Rx parameters.

[0097] A UE can be configured by a list of up to M Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states within the higher layer parameter PDSCH-Config for reception of PDSCH in a serving cell, where M depends on the UE capability maxNumberConfiguredTCIstatesPerCC. Each TCI-State includes parameters for configuring a QCL relationship between one or two downlink reference signals and the DMRS ports of PDSCH, the DMRS ports of the corresponding PDCCH, or the CSI-RS ports of a CSI-RS resource. The quasi co-location relationship is configured by the higher layer parameter qcl-Type1 for the first DL RS and qcl-Type2 (if configured) for the second DL RS. For the case of two DL RSs, the QCL types should be different regardless of whether the reference is to the same DL RS or different DL RSs. The quasi co-location type corresponding to each DL RS is given by the higher layer parameter qcl-Type in QCL-Info and can take one of the following values:

[0098] - 'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}

[0099] - 'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}

[0100] - 'QCL-TypeC': {Doppler shift, average delay}

[0101] - 'QCL-TypeD': {spatial Rx parameter}

[0102] A UE receives a MAC-CE activation command to map up to N (such as N = 8) TCI states to codepoints of the DCI field 'Transmission Configuration Indication'. When the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE activation command is transmitted in slot n, the mapping between the indicated TCI states and the codepoints of the DCI field 'Transmission Configuration Indication' should be applied after the MAC-CE application time (e.g., starting from the first slot after slot where slot is the number of slots per subframe for subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration μ), is applied.

[0103] As the operating bands in NR become higher, UEs are evolving to accommodate multiple antenna arrays 525 or panels (each capable of transmitting via one analog beam (e.g., analog BF 510)) to enhance aspects of multi-beam operation, such as coverage enhancement, beam failure event minimization, fast beam switching, etc. By leveraging the capability of multiple panels, the UE 116 is able to obtain various diversity gains, which come from dynamically selecting the panel that has the best quality in terms of the performance aspect that the system is optimizing. For example, in 3GPP 5G NR Rel-17, new features were identified and specified under the unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) framework to facilitate selection of UL beams / panels for UEs equipped with multiple panels in order to mitigate UL coverage loss from several aspects, such as the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) issue with respect to the UE 116.

[0104] For example, a beam corresponds to a spatial transmit / receive filter used by the UE 116 and / or the gNB 102. In one example, a beam can correspond to a spatial receive filter used by the UE 116 to receive a reference signal, such as a SS / physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a synchronization signal block (SSB), and / or a CSI-RS, etc. In another example, a beam can correspond to a spatial transmit filter used by the UE 116 to transmit a reference signal, such as an UL sounding reference signal (SRS), etc.

[0105] A beam training and measurement procedure can include, for example, a procedure in which the gNB 102 configures the UE 116 by a set of reference signal (RS) resources (such as SSB resources and / or CSI-RS resources) and a configuration for reporting settings, such that the UE can report beam quality metric measurements, such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR), etc., each of which can be, for example, an L-1 measurement or a filtered L-3 measurement. In one example, the UE 116 and / or the gNB 102 can repeatedly transmit a reference signal (RS), such as a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a CSI-RS or an SRS, multiple times at multiple occasions using the same spatial transmit filter, such that the gNB 102 and / or the UE 116 can receive the RS by different spatial receive filters, respectively. To facilitate beam sweeping and identifying candidate / best beams based on quality metrics, such as L1 / L3 RSRP or SINR. In one example, selecting different spatial receive filters and / or quality metrics and / or selection procedures can be per-UE / gNB implementation.

[0106] The beam indication procedure can include, for example, a procedure in which the gNB 102 can indicate to the UE 116 to transmit the uplink channel (and / or the second uplink signal) using the same spatial filter as used for receiving the (first) reference signal. In another example, the gNB 102 can indicate to the UE 116 to receive the downlink channel (and / or the second downlink signal) using the same spatial filter as used for receiving the (first) reference signal. Such indication can be, for example, a DCI and / or a MAC-CE, and / or RRC signaling.

[0107] In one example, an antenna panel or simple panel can refer to an antenna array 525 or an antenna sub-array connected to one or more RF chains. In one example, a panel can be referred to as a transmit-receive entity (TRE), which can virtualize multiple physical panels into a single virtual panel based on transparent UE / gNB implementations such as MIMO diversity schemes.

[0108] In previous NR configurations, such as up to Release 17 (Rel-17 NR), multiple panels on a UE have been mainly used for simultaneous DL reception or single panel selection for UL transmission, which can correspond to some limited capabilities of what the multiple panels on a UE can do. Depending on the hardware architecture, as an example, each panel on the UE 116 can be capable of performing multi-beam operation in a decoupled manner, such that the UE 116 can perform DL and UL operations simultaneously via multiple beam links, each corresponding to a sufficiently reliable channel to independently communicate with the gNB 102. Here, multiple beam links can be associated with one or more boards. For example, each beam link can have a different associated panel. Thus, it is expected that more features of multi-beam operation will be specified in future standard releases to leverage the capabilities of UEs with many panels to further improve the performance of multi-beam UEs.

[0109] In addition to multi-beam operation, dynamic TDD is one of the key features of NR, which allows a time slot or one or more portions of a time slot to be dynamically allocated to uplink or downlink as part of a scheduler decision. In contrast to LTE systems in which the partitioning between DL and UL resources in the time domain is determined semi-statically, dynamic TDD can provide more flexible / dynamic DL and UL resource allocation in a time slot or portions of multiple time slots, and thus it can improve several aspects such as load balancing between DL and UL resources, UL coverage, power saving issues, etc.

[0110] In NR, three different signaling mechanisms for dynamic TDD that provide information to a UE about whether resources are for uplink or downlink transmission are: 1) dynamic signaling for scheduled UEs; 2) semi-static signaling using RRC; 3) dynamic slot format indication. A combination of these three mechanisms is also supported. To date, all signaling mechanisms for dynamic TDD can support either “cell-specific” or “UE-specific” DL / UL resource allocation. For example, in the current NR standard, one or more UEs in a cell can be configured with the same DL / UL slot pattern, which can include DL, UL, and / or flexible slots. Then, for the flexible slots (if configured), the DL / UL symbol pattern can be allocated differently for each UE in a UE-specific manner. In certain examples, allocation of DL / UL resources in a “beam-specific” manner can not be supported, where different DL / UL resources can be allocated for each different beam link. This limits the degrees of freedom associated with multi-beam links that can have different DL / UL directions, which can be independent or partially independent from each other.

[0111] Figure 6 A network diagram for communicating with multiple terminals through different beams is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 The embodiment of the network 600 shown in FIG. 6 is for illustration only. Other embodiments can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0112] In Figure 6 In the example shown, the UE 116 is depicted as a moving vehicle, while the UE 114 and the UE 115 are shown as mobile devices. Additionally, the UE 116, the UE 115, and the UE 114 are associated with the gNB 102, which is capable of providing possibly different DL / UL configuration information for different beams. Other embodiments can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0113] The gNBs 102 and the UEs 114 use beam pairs 605 for DL / UL operations between them. Here, the term "beam pair" can refer to a DL TX / RX beam, an UL TX / RX beam, or a DL TX / RX and an UL TX / RX beam, which can be indicated by the gNB 102, for example, during multi-beam operations. If beam correspondence holds, the DL TX / RX beam can be the same as the UL RX / TX beam. In this case, a "beam pair" can be determined by a DL TX / RX beam or an UL RX / TX beam. If beam correspondence does not hold, the DL TX / RX beam can be different from the UL RX / TX beam, and thus, for the case where beam correspondence does not hold, a "beam pair" can include a DL TX / RX and an UL TX / RX beam for DL and UL operations, respectively. In one example, a beam pair can refer to a spatial receive filter used by a corresponding UE for receiving a downlink reference signal (such as an SSB or a CSI-RS) indicated by the gNB 102, while a spatial transmit filter used by the gNB 102 for transmitting the downlink reference signal can be transparent to the corresponding UE. In another example, a beam pair can refer to a spatial transmit filter used by a corresponding UE for transmitting an uplink reference signal (such as an SRS) indicated by the gNB 102, while a spatial receive filter used by the gNB 102 for receiving the uplink reference signal can be transparent to the corresponding UE. The gNBs 102 and the UEs 115 use beam pairs 610 for DL / UL operations between them. In addition, the gNBs 102 and the UEs 116 use beam pairs 615 and beam pairs 620 for DL / UL operations between them. Here, the DL / UL operations can be performed differently according to DL / UL configuration information associated with each of the beam pairs 605, 610, 615, and 620, respectively. Thus, for the UE 116 in the present example, different DL / UL operations can be performed according to the DL / UL configuration associated with each of the beam pairs 615 and 620, respectively. In Figure 6 In the illustrated example, the maximum number of beam pairs configured for a UE is two, but in other cases, there can be more than two beams.

[0114] Figure 7 A procedure for beam-specific downlink / uplink operations for a UE according to an embodiment of the disclosure is shown. While this flow diagram describes a series of sequential steps, unless explicitly stated, no inference should be drawn from this sequence regarding specific order of execution, performance, or performance order of steps, or portions thereof, as some steps can occur in different order and / or concurrently with each other, or with some steps being performed concurrently, rather than sequentially. The procedure shown in the illustrated example is implemented by, for example, a transmitter chain in a UE. The procedure 700 can be implemented by, for example, the UEs 114, 115, and 116 in the network 600.

[0115] At operation 705, a UE, such as UE 116, is configured with one or more beam IDs for DL reception and / or UL transmission. Although UE 116 is used in examples herein, any of UEs 111-115 can be equally applicable. Thereafter, a beam ID can be referred to as a parameter or element that indicates a DL beam, a UL beam, or both, such as TCI for DL, SRI for UL in current standards, or DL / UL TCI using a unified TCI framework (currently discussed / developed in Rel-17), or any other variant for beam indication. For example, the unified TCI framework can include indices that correspond to a DL beam, a UL beam, and / or a panel ID, respectively. That is, in the example, an index in the unified TCI framework can be used to indicate a beam ID that specifies a DL beam, a UL beam, and / or a panel ID. Note that the term “beam ID” is used for illustration purposes and is thus not normative. In one example, a beam ID can be an ID that corresponds to a DL / UL reference signal (RS) resource, such as a synchronization signal block (SSB) resource ID (SSBRI), or a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), or a SRS resource indicator (SRI). In another example, a beam ID can also include an ID for a corresponding set of reference signal resources, such as a CSI-RS resource set ID or a SRS resource set ID. In yet another example, a beam ID can also include an ID, such as a physical cell ID (PCI) and / or a global cell ID (GCI), and / or a transmission reception point (TRP) ID, etc. The UE 116 can be configured with any default beam.

[0116] At operation 710, the UE 116 receives DL / UL configuration information associated with the configured beam ID(s). If multiple beam IDs are configured, the DL / UL configuration information associated with each of the configured beam IDs can be different, and thus, for the case that the UE 116 is configured with multiple beam IDs, multiple DL / UL configuration information can be provided to the UE 116.

[0117] At operation 715, the UE performs downlink and / or uplink operations. The UE 116 performs the downlink or uplink operations according to the configuration information associated with the configured beam ID(s).

[0118] Figure 8A procedure for beam-specific downlink / uplink operation for a gNB according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. While this flowchart describes a sequence of steps, unless specifically stated, no inference should be drawn from this sequence as to required or necessary sequence for performing the steps, or performing the steps in the order shown, or as to order of performing the steps or portions thereof, or as to performing the steps simultaneously, or with partial concurrence. The procedure shown in the illustrated example is implemented by, for example, a transmitter chain in a gNB. The beam-specific downlink / uplink operation can include three operations, as shown. Figure 8 The procedure 800 can be implemented by, for example, the gNB 102 in the network 600.

[0119] At operation 805, the gNB 102 configures a UE, such as the UE 116, with one or more beam IDs for DL transmission and / or UL reception. The gNB 102 can configure the UE with any default beam.

[0120] At operation 810, the gNB 102 provides DL / UL configuration information associated with the configured beam IDs. If the gNB 102 configures multiple beam IDs for the UE 116, the DL / UL configuration information associated with each of the configured beam IDs for the UE 116 can be different. Thus, for the case where the gNB 102 configures multiple beam IDs for the UE 116 (e.g., the case where the gNB 102 configures the UE 116 using the beam pairs 615 and 620 in the network 600), the gNB 102 can provide multiple DL / UL configuration information.

[0121] At operation 815, the gNB 102 performs downlink and / or uplink operation for the UE 116. For example, the gNB 102 performs the downlink operation or the uplink operation according to the configuration information associated with the configured beam IDs.

[0122] Figure 9 A procedure for beam-specific dynamic TDD operation for a UE including multi-beam operation according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. While this flowchart describes a sequence of steps, unless specifically stated, no inference should be drawn from this sequence as to required or necessary sequence for performing the steps, or performing the steps in the order shown, or as to order of performing the steps or portions thereof, or as to performing the steps simultaneously, or with partial concurrence. The procedure shown in the illustrated example is implemented by, for example, a transmitter chain in a UE. In the particular embodiment of the beam-specific downlink / uplink operation, four operations can be included, as shown. Figure 9 The procedure 900 can be implemented by, for example, the UEs 114, 115, and 116 in the network 600.

[0123] At operation 905, a UE (e.g., UE 116) performs a multi-beam operation. For example, the multi-beam processing can be one or a series of processes including beam sweeping, beam measurement, beam reporting, and / or beam indication. At operation 910, the UE is configured with one or more beam IDs for DL reception and / or UL transmission. At operation 915, the UE 116 receives a DL / UL slot / symbol configuration associated with the configured beam ID(s). If multiple beam IDs are configured, the DL / UL slot / symbol configuration associated with each of the configured beam IDs can be different, and thus, for the case where the UE 116 is configured with multiple beam IDs, the UE 116 can be provided with multiple DL / UL slot / symbol configurations. At operation 920, the UE 116 performs downlink and / or uplink operation(s) according to the DL / UL slot / symbol configuration associated with the configured beam ID(s).

[0124] Figure 10 A procedure for beam-specific dynamic TDD operation for gNBs including multi-beam operation is shown in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. While this flowchart presents a series of sequential steps, unless explicitly stated, no order to the sequence should be inferred, and no order of execution should be inferred, from the sequence, unless explicitly stated, or the steps are described in an order that is exclusive of intermediate or intervening steps, or the execution of steps. The procedure shown in the illustrated example is implemented by, for example, a transmitter chain in a gNB. The beam-specific downlink / uplink operation can include four operations, as shown. Figure 10 The procedure 1000 can be accomplished by, for example, a gNB 102 in the network 600.

[0125] At operation 1005, the gNB 102 performs a multi-beam operation. For example, the multi-beam operation can be a procedure or series of procedures that can include beam training, beam measurement, beam reporting, and / or beam indication. At operation 1010, the gNB 102 configures the UE 116 with one or more beam IDs for DL transmission and / or UL reception. At operation 1015, the gNB 102 provides the UE 116 with a DL / UL slot / symbol configuration associated with the configured beam ID(s). If the gNB 102 configures the UE 116 with multiple beam IDs, the DL / UL slot / symbol configuration associated with each of the configured beam IDs for the UE 116 can be different. Thus, for cases when the gNB 102 configures the UE 116 with multiple beam IDs, such as when the gNB 102 configures the UE 116 with the beam pairs 615 and 620 in the network 600, the gNB 102 can provide multiple DL / UL slot / symbol configurations. At operation 1020, the gNB 102 performs downlink and / or uplink operations with the UE 116 in accordance with the DL / UL slot / symbol configuration associated with the configured beam ID(s).

[0126] Figure 11 An exemplary DL / UL configuration for beam-specific dynamic TDD operation is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 11 The embodiment of the DL / UL configuration 1100 shown in FIG. 11 is for illustration only. Other embodiments can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0127] In certain embodiments, within a flexible slot that is neither exclusively allocated as DL nor exclusively allocated as UL, the UE 116 is provided with a DL / UL symbol pattern associated with the configured beam ID, such as Figure 7 operation 710 in FIG. 7 and Figure 9 operation 10 in FIG. 1. In certain embodiments, within a flexible slot that is neither exclusively allocated as DL nor exclusively allocated as UL, the gNB 102 provides the UE 116 with a DL / UL symbol pattern(s) associated with the configured beam ID, such as Figure 8 operation 810 in FIG. 8 and Figure 10 operation 1015 in FIG. 10.

[0128] Figure 11An example is described below: In a flexible time slot that is neither specifically assigned to DL nor UL, UE 116 obtains or is provided by gNB 102 with a DL / UL symbol mode associated with a configured beam ID. As shown in DL / UL time slot / symbol configuration 1100, UE 116 can be provided with DL / UL time slot mode 1105 that can be provided by gNB 102. For example, DL / UL time slot mode 1105 can be provided using the parameter TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon in TS 38.213 / 38.331, which is an element configuring cell-specific or UE-specific DL / UL TDD configuration. Time slots can be assigned as DL, UL, and flexible time slots. For example, time slots can be assigned as DL time slot 1115, UL time slot 1120, and flexible time slot 1125. For each flexible time slot 1125, UE 116 may be provided, or gNB 102 may provide, a DL / UL symbol pattern associated with the configured beam ID to UE 116. For example, within flexible time slot 1130, symbols may be assigned as DL, UL, and flexible symbols respectively. That is, symbols within flexible time slot 1130 may be assigned as DL symbol 1135, UL symbol 1140, and flexible symbol 1145. In some implementations, the DL / UL symbol pattern may differ depending on the configured beam ID. Therefore, when UE 116 is configured with multiple beam IDs, multiple DL / UL symbol patterns may be provided within the same flexible time slot 1125. Figure 11 The order in which DL time slots / symbols, UL time slots / symbols, and flexible time slots / symbols are assigned shown is for illustrative purposes only, and other implementations of assigning DL time slots / symbols, UL time slots / symbols, and flexible time slots / symbols differently may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0129] In one example, the DL / UL symbol pattern 1110 associated with the configured beam ID can be provided using a variant of the parameter TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated in TS38.213 / 38.331. As a specific example, the DL / UL symbol pattern 1110 with the configured beam ID can be provided by TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig-TciState in the following example, which illustrates several updated information elements (IEs). In the following example, tci-StateId (underlined) in TDD-UL-DL-SlotConfig-TciState is used as an example to indicate the configured beam ID; for simplicity, it is assumed that a unified TCI framework including DL / UL TX / RX beams and / or panel IDs has been developed; however, other beam indicators may also be used. Figure 11In the illustrated example, TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated-TciState can be used to provide the DL / UL symbol pattern associated with the configured beam ID for a few slots (e.g., flexible slots 1125). Additionally, in the illustrated example, TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated can be used to provide the DL / UL symbol pattern associated with each of a plurality of configured beam IDs for a few slots (e.g., flexible slots 1125). Here, maxNrofTDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated-TciState can be used to provide the number of the plurality of configured beam IDs. An example algorithm can be as shown in Table 1 below: Figure 11

[0130] [Table 1]

[0131]

[0132]

[0133] For example, if maxNrofTDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated-TciState is configured as 3, three different DL / UL symbol patterns can be configured, and each symbol pattern is associated with a respective beam ID. An example of the three symbol patterns is shown in Table 2.

[0134] [Table 2]

[0135] For DL / UL symbol pattern allocation in flexible slots for each beam ID, for example, TCI

[0136] TCI-State 1 D D D D F F F F U U U U U U TCI-State 2 U U U U U U U U D D D D D D TCI-Srate 3 D U D U D U D U D U D U D U

[0137] The UE 116 or gNB 102 performs downlink and / or uplink operations in accordance with the configuration information associated with the configured beam ID, which can correspond to operations 715, 815, 920, or 1020. For example, for the above cases, the UE 116 or gNB 102 receives / transmits data in accordance with the provided DL / UL slot / symbol pattern associated with the configured beam ID. In other words, the UE 116 or gNB 102 receives / transmits data using the DL RX and / or UL TX beam specified by the configured beam ID or using the DL TX and / or UL RX beam, in synchronization with / according to the provided DL / UL slot / symbol pattern associated with the configured beam ID.

[0138] ​In one example, if the UE is operating with a first beam / space filter / reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS) that does not have associated configuration information (such as UL / DL TDD pattern), in one option, the UE can perform downlink and / or uplink operation according to configuration information (such as UL / DL TDD pattern) associated with a second beam / space filter / reference signal (e.g., SSB) that has a QCL relationship assumption with the first beam / space filter / reference signal. In another option, the UE can perform downlink and / or uplink operation according to a predetermined rule or based on fixed and / or default configuration information (such as UL / DL TDD pattern) (e.g., configuration information (such as UL / DL TDD pattern) associated with a fixed / default beam or a reference configuration information (such as a reference UL / DL TDD pattern)).

[0139] Figure 12 An example DL / UL configuration for beam-specific dynamic TDD operation is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Figure 12 The embodiment of the DL / UL configuration 1200 shown in FIG. 12 is for illustration only. Other embodiments can be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0140] In certain embodiments, the UE 116 can be provided or the gNB 102 can provide the UE 116 with a DL / UL slot pattern associated with a configured beam ID, which can be performed in operation 710, 810, 915, or 1015. Figure 12 An example of the UE 116 obtaining or being provided by the gNB 102 with a DL / UL slot pattern associated with a configured beam ID is shown. As shown in the DL / UL slot configuration 1200, for example, using a variant of the parameter TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, the UE 116 can be provided with a DL / UL slot pattern 1205 associated with a configured beam ID, which can be provided by the gNB 102.

[0141] In certain embodiments, the slots can be respectively allocated as DL, UL, and flexible slots. For example, the slots can be allocated as DL slots 1210, UL slots 1215, and flexible slots 1220. For each flexible slot 1220, the UE 116 can be provided or the gNB 102 can provide the UE 116 with a DL / UL symbol pattern associated with a configured beam ID. Here, the DL / UL slot pattern 1205 can be different according to the configured beam ID, and thus multiple DL / UL slot patterns can be provided when the UE 116 is configured with multiple beam IDs. Figure 12The order of allocating DL slots, UL slots, and flexible slots shown in the middle is for illustration only, and other implementations of allocating DL slots, UL slots, and flexible slots differently can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0142] In one example, the DL / UL slot pattern 1205 associated with the configured beam ID can be provided by the gNB 102, e.g., using a variant of the parameter TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon in TS 38.213 / 38.331. Note that although this example is given based on the parameter TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, the present disclosure implementations are not limited to the cell-specific case.

[0143] Specifically, in the following example, the DL / UL slot pattern 1205 with the configured beam ID can be provided using TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon-TciState. In this example, the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon-TciState can be configured per DL / UL slot pattern 1205. Figure 12 In the example shown, assuming a unified TCI framework including DL / UL TX / RX beam and / or panel ID is developed, the TCI-StateId in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon-TciState is used as an example of the configured beam ID, but other beam indicators can also be used. In the following example, the DL / UL slot pattern 1205 associated with each of a selected number of beam IDs can be provided using TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon. In this example, the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon can be configured per DL / UL slot pattern 1205. Figure 12 In the example shown, the number of multiple configured beam IDs can be provided using maxNrofTDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon-TciState. An example algorithm can be as shown in Table 3 below:

[0144] [Table 3]

[0145]

[0146]

[0147] For example, if maxNrofTDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated-TciState is configured as “3”, three different DL / UL slot / symbol patterns can be configured, and each slot / symbol pattern is associated with a corresponding beam ID. Table 4 shows an example of three slot / symbol patterns.

[0148] [Table 4]

[0149] An example of DL / UL symbol pattern allocation for each beam ID, e.g., TCI

[0150] TCI-State1 D D D F F U U U U U TCI-State2 D U D U D U D U D U TCI-State3 U U U U U U D D D D

[0151] In one example, the "TCI" or "TCI_state" (and the corresponding element) in the above RRC information element can refer to a SS / PBCH block (SSB) such as a cell-specific reference signal used for configuring a common (cell-specific) UL / DL TDD pattern, such that "TCIStateID" can be replaced by "SSBRI" or the like. In another example, the "TCI" or "TCIstate" (and the corresponding element) in the above RRC information element can refer to a common DL RS that is commonly configured to all UEs. Such common configuration can be explicitly indicated to all UEs or can be implicitly achieved through gNB implementation.

[0152] The UE 116 or gNB 102 performs downlink and / or uplink operations according to the configuration information associated with the configured beam ID, which can be performed in operations 715, 815, 920, or 1020. For example, the UE 116 or gNB 102 receives / transmits data according to the provided DL / UL slot / symbol pattern 1205 associated with the configured beam ID. In other words, the UE 116 or gNB 102 receives / transmits data using the DL RX and / or UL TX beam specified by the configured beam ID or using the DL TX and / or UL RX beam, synchronously / according to the provided DL / UL slot / symbol pattern associated with the configured beam ID.

[0153] In one example, if the UE 116 is operating with a first beam / space filter / reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS) that does not have associated configuration information such as UL / DL TDD slot pattern 1205, in one option, the UE 116 performs downlink and / or uplink operations according to configuration information such as UL / DL TDD pattern associated with a second beam / space filter / reference signal (e.g., SSB) that has a QCL relationship assumption with the first beam / space filter / reference signal. In another option, the UE 116 performs downlink and / or uplink operations according to a predetermined rule or based on fixed and / or default configuration information such as UL / DL TDD pattern (such as configuration information such as UL / DL TDD pattern associated with a fixed / default beam) or reference configuration information (e.g., reference UL / DL TDD pattern).

[0154] In certain implementations, the gNB 102 configures a number of two or more cell-specific TDD DL / UL patterns (e.g., TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon) that apply to all UEs within a serving cell, where each TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon is associated with a SS / PBCH block (SSB) configured for the cell. When a UE 116 operates with a SSB and / or with another reference signal (RS) that is QCL (e.g., QCL Type-D) with the SSB, then the UE 116 applies the corresponding TDD DL / UL pattern TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon. In this case, the UE 116 operates with any UE-specific TDD DL / UL pattern (including any beam-UE-specific TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated-TCIstate, which is shown in the above RRC example) based on the corresponding TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon as the reference cell-specific TDD DL / UL pattern.

[0155] In certain implementations, the UE 116 can be dynamically triggered, e.g., in an aperiodic or semi-persistent manner, or the gNB 102 can dynamically trigger the UE 116, via low layer control signaling (L1 or L2, i.e., DCI or MAC CE) to be configured with a DL / UL direction associated with a configured beam ID. For example, the gNB 102 can trigger the UE 116 via DCI or MAC CE to change the current DL / UL direction. Here, the information needed to trigger via DCI or MAC CE can include a pair (beam ID, DL / UL direction change indicator). The DL / UL direction change indicator can be a single-bit indicator. Indirect association can be used for the DL / UL direction change.

[0156] In one example, a beam-specific UL / DL TDD pattern that configures a DL / UL direction associated with a set of one or more configured beam IDs can be used in group common signaling, such as a DCI format 2_0 that makes a slot format indication. For example, a group common DCI format 2_0 can indicate a group of UL / DL TDD patterns, where each pattern within the group corresponds to an UL / DL TDD pattern associated with a beam ID. Once a UE receives and decodes such an indication in a DCI format 2_0, the UE applies the UL / DL TDD pattern associated with the operating beam ID in the indicated group of patterns.

[0157] Method for reducing beam failure events.

[0158] For UEs configured with different TDD slot / symbol patterns, each of which is associated with a configured beam ID, a mechanism can be used to prevent beam failure events by allowing the UE to report the quality of other beam links via another beam link in order for the gNB to be aware of the status of the beam link in advance of potentially initiating a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure for the beam link. In one example, the UE 116 can be configured to report the RSRP, RSRQ, SINR of the DL RS (e.g., beam failure detection resources) for the beam link via another beam link. In another example, the UE 116 can be configured with a scheduling request ID for BFR, which can be defined similarly to clause 9.2.4 of TS 38.213, so the UE 116 can perform PUCCH transmission using a beam link other than the beam link whose quality becomes less than a threshold for beam failure detection to request BFR processing for the BFR detection beam link.

[0159] Figure 13 A procedure for preventing beam failure events in beam-specific dynamic TDD operation according to embodiments of the disclosure is shown. While this flowchart describes a sequence of steps, unless specifically stated, no order to these sequences should be inferred, except that where explicitly claimed. The process shown in the illustrated example is implemented by, for example, a transmitter chain in a UE. In the particular embodiment of beam-specific downlink / uplink operation, four operations can be included, as shown. The procedure 1300 can be implemented by, for example, the UEs 114, 115, and 116 in the network 600. Figure 13 The procedure 1300 can be implemented by, for example, the UEs 114, 115, and 116 in the network 600.

[0160] At operation 1305, the UE 116 is configured to measure the RSRP of the DL RS for one or more IDs. The UE 116 measures the RSRP of the DL RS for one or more beam IDs, such as the failureDetectionResources in clause 6 of TS 38.213, to detect whether a beam failure event occurs.

[0161] At operation 1310, the UE 116 checks whether the measured RSRP of each configured beam ID is less than a configured threshold. Here, the threshold can be configured by using, for example, RSRP-ThresholdSSB BFR and / or powerControlOffsetSS as described in TS 38.213, clause 6. Alternatively, the threshold can be configured by a default threshold. If the UE 116 determines that the RSRP is greater than or equal to ((>)) the threshold, the UE 116 returns to operation 1305 to measure the RSRP of the DL RS for one or more IDs again. If the UE 116 determines that the RSRP is less than (<) the threshold, the UE 116 proceeds to operation 1315.

[0162] At operation 1315, the UE checks for beam failure. That is, the UE 116 checks whether there is another available beam link for which beam failure does not occur. Here, the "beam link for which beam failure does not occur" can refer to a case where the measured RSRP corresponding to the beam link is not less than the configured threshold. If the UE 116 determines that there is no beam link for which beam failure does not occur, the UE 116 proceeds to operation 1320. If the UE 116 determines that there is a beam link for which beam failure does not occur, the UE 116 proceeds to operation 1325.

[0163] At operation 1320, the UE 116 reports a beam failure event of a beam ID for which the measured RSRP is less than the threshold, identified at operation 1310, to the gNB 102 via UL transmission using another available beam link. Here, the UE 116 can report via, for example, a scheduling request, such as PUCCH transmission using the available beam link for which beam failure does not occur.

[0164] At operation 1325, if no available beam link is identified at operation 1315, the UE 116 performs a regular link recovery procedure. The regular link recovery procedure can be the same as or similar to the procedure in TS 38.214, clause 6.

[0165] Self-interference measurement section

[0166] For UEs to be configured with different TDD slot / symbol patterns, each of which is associated with a configured beam ID, measuring self-interference at the UE (i.e., interference measured at a DL receive panel by a signal transmitted from an UL transmit panel) can be a key criterion to determine the multiple beam-specific DL and UL slot / symbol configuration capabilities at the UE. In certain implementations, to enable the UE to measure self-interference between different panels with different beams, the UE can be configured to transmit UL RS (e.g., SRS) on one or more panels with UL beams and measure UL RS (i.e., self-interference) on another panel with DL beams, e.g., on the same time-frequency resources, and can also be configured to report the corresponding interference amounts. In this configuration, the gNB 102 can collect the interference amounts regarding the relationship between the DL and UL panels with DL and UL beams, and can allocate multiple DL and UL slot / symbol configurations in a manner that can minimize self-interference, each of which is associated with a different beam ID.

[0167] In one example, the gNB 102 can configure the UE 116 to transmit UL RS at a panel with UL beams (i.e., corresponding to a beam ID) and measure UL RS (self-interference) at another panel with DL beams (i.e., corresponding to another beam ID), and configure the UE 116 to report the corresponding self-interference in a subsequent UL transmission. The interval for the subsequent UL transmission can be configured or fixed. In one example, the subsequent UL transmission can be trigger-based, i.e., the UL transmission is performed only when an event is met.

[0168] In one example, the gNB 102 can configure the UE 116 to periodically transmit UL RS on a panel with UL beams (i.e., corresponding to a beam ID) for a period of time and measure UL RS (self-interference) by scanning all (or a portion of) the DL beams on other panels one by one, and configure the UE 116 to report all or a portion of the corresponding self-interference in a subsequent UL transmission. In one example, only one representative self-interference value (e.g., the maximum self-interference value in the scan measurements) can be configured to be reported. The interval for the subsequent UL transmission can be configured or fixed. In one example, the subsequent UL transmission can be trigger-based, i.e., the UL transmission is performed only when an event is met.

[0169] In one example, the gNB 102 can configure the UE 116 to receive DL RS at a panel with a DL beam (i.e., corresponding to a beam ID) and transmit UL RS at another panel with a UL beam (i.e., corresponding to another beam ID), and configure the UE 116 to measure RSRP of both (or either) DL RS and UL RS at the panel with the DL beam (or other value obtained by using both RSRPs, such as RSRP of DL RS with UL RSRP removed). The gNB 102 can configure the UE 116 to report the corresponding RSRP (or other value) in a subsequent UL transmission. The interval for the subsequent UL transmission can be configured or fixed. In one example, the subsequent UL transmission can be trigger-based, i.e., the UL transmission is performed only when an event is met.

[0170] In one example, the gNB 102 can configure the UE 116 to periodically receive DL RS at a panel with a DL beam (i.e., corresponding to a beam ID) and transmit UL RS by scanning all (or partial) UL beams at other panels one by one for each period, and configure the UE 116 to measure RSRP of both (or either) DL RS and UL RS (or other value obtained by using both RSRPs, such as RSRP of DL RS relative to RSRP of UL RS for each period). The gNB 102 can configure the UE 116 to report all or partial of the corresponding RSRP (or other value) in a subsequent UL transmission. In one example, only one representative RSRP value (e.g., the maximum RSRP value among the measurements by scanning) can be configured to report. The interval for the subsequent UL transmission can be configured or fixed. In one example, the subsequent UL transmission can be trigger-based, i.e., the UL transmission is performed only when an event is met.

[0171] While the present disclosure has been described with respect to exemplary implementations, one skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications can be made thereto. It is therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims. None of the description in this application should be read in any manner which would limit any subsequent claim constructing such claim to any specific combination of features unless the claim itself so limits it.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: a transceiver; and at least one processor configured to: obtain configuration information for time division duplex (TDD), wherein the configuration information comprises first information about a slot pattern indicating one or more downlink (DL) slots, one or more uplink (UL) slots, and one or more flexible slots, second information about a symbol pattern for the one or more flexible slots, and third information about a number of one or more transmission configuration indication (TCI) states for a TDD slot configuration, and perform, via the transceiver, a DL operation or a UL operation according to the configuration information, wherein, in a case that the number of one or more TCI states for a TDD slot configuration is N, N different symbol patterns for each of the one or more flexible slots are respectively associated with N different TCI state identifiers (IDs). 2.The UE of claim 1, wherein the slot pattern is configured on a cell-specific or UE-specific basis.

3. The UE of claim 1, wherein, to perform the DL operation or the UL operation, the at least one processor is configured to: in a case that a first reference signal is not associated with the configuration information, perform, via the transceiver, the DL operation or the UL operation according to configuration information associated with a second reference signal having a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship assumption with the first reference signal. 4.The UE of claim 1, wherein each of the symbol patterns is associated with a slot index and a TCI state ID. 5.A base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: a transceiver; and at least one processor configured to: transmit, via the transceiver, configuration information for time division duplex (TDD), wherein the configuration information comprises first information about a slot pattern indicating one or more downlink (DL) slots, one or more uplink (UL) slots, and one or more flexible slots, second information about a symbol pattern for the one or more flexible slots, and third information about a number of one or more transmission configuration indication (TCI) states for a TDD slot configuration, and perform, via the transceiver, a DL operation or a UL operation according to the configuration information, wherein, in a case that the number of one or more TCI states for a TDD slot configuration is N, N different symbol patterns for each of the one or more flexible slots are respectively associated with N different TCI state identifiers (IDs). 6.The base station of claim 5, wherein the slot pattern is configured on a cell-specific or UE-specific basis.

7. The base station of claim 5, wherein, to perform the DL operation or the UL operation, the at least one processor is configured to: in a case that a first reference signal is not associated with the configuration information, perform, via the transceiver, the DL operation or the UL operation according to configuration information associated with a second reference signal having a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship assumption with the first reference signal. 8.The base station of claim 5, wherein Each of the symbol patterns is associated with a slot index and a TCI state ID. 9.A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication, the method comprising: obtaining configuration information for time division duplex (TDD), wherein the configuration information comprises first information about a slot pattern indicating one or more downlink (DL) slots, one or more uplink (UL) slots, and one or more flexible slots, second information about symbol patterns for the one or more flexible slots, and third information about a number of one or more transmission configuration indication (TCI) states for a TDD slot configuration, and performing a DL operation or a UL operation according to the configuration information, wherein, in a case that the number of the one or more TCI states for the TDD slot configuration is N, N different symbol patterns for each of the one or more flexible slots are respectively associated with N different TCI state identifiers (IDs). 10.The method of claim 9, wherein, the slot pattern is configured on a cell-specific or UE-specific basis.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein, performing the DL operation or the UL operation comprises: in a case that a first reference signal is not associated with the configuration information, performing the DL operation or the UL operation according to configuration information associated with a second reference signal having a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship assumption with the first reference signal. 12.The method of claim 9, wherein Each of the symbol patterns is associated with a slot index and a TCI state ID. 13.A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication, the method comprising: transmitting configuration information for time division duplex (TDD), wherein the configuration information comprises first information about a slot pattern indicating one or more downlink (DL) slots, one or more uplink (UL) slots, and one or more flexible slots, second information about symbol patterns for the one or more flexible slots, and third information about a number of one or more transmission configuration indication (TCI) states for a TDD slot configuration, and performing a DL operation or a UL operation according to the configuration information, wherein, in a case that the number of the one or more TCI states for the TDD slot configuration is N, N different symbol patterns for each of the one or more flexible slots are respectively associated with N different TCI state identifiers (IDs). 14.The method of claim 13, wherein the slot pattern is configured on a cell-specific or UE-specific basis, and wherein, each of the symbol patterns is associated with a slot index and a TCI state ID.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, performing the DL operation or the UL operation comprises: in a case that a first reference signal is not associated with the configuration information, performing the DL operation or the UL operation according to configuration information associated with a second reference signal having a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship assumption with the first reference signal.

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