Beam failure recovery in secondary cell activation

Abstract

Example embodiments relate to wireless communication devices, methods, and systems for beam failure recovery (BFR) in a cell activation procedure. According to an embodiment, a method for cell activation includes receiving, at a terminal device (UE), a first indication from a network to activate a cell configured for the UE, and in response to the first indication, triggering a beam information report for the cell.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The example embodiments described herein relate generally to communication techniques, and more particularly, to wireless communication devices, methods, and systems for beam failure recovery (BFR) in secondary cell activation procedures. BACKGROUND

[0002] Certain abbreviations that can be found in the specification and / or drawings include the following:

[0003] BFD beam failure detection

[0004] BFI beam failure instance

[0005] BFR beam failure recovery

[0006] CA carrier aggregation

[0007] DC dual connectivity

[0008] gNB 5G Node-B

[0009] MAC medium access control

[0010] MAC CE MAC control element

[0011] MCG master cell group

[0012] MIMO multiple input multiple output

[0013] NR new radio

[0014] PCell primary cell

[0015] PSCell primary secondary cell

[0016] RRC radio resource control

[0017] SCell secondary cell

[0018] SCG secondary cell group

[0019] SpCell special cell, i.e., PCell or PSCell

[0020] UE user equipment

[0021] 5G New Radio (NR) uses multiple frequency bands, which are in the range of a known first frequency range (FR1) below 7.125 GHz and a second frequency range (FR2) of about 24 GHz to 86 GHz. FR2, also known as millimeter wave, can support services requiring very high data rates and ultra-low latency due to its high frequency. However, millimeter wave has high path loss due to molecular absorption of electromagnetic waves, and thus cannot propagate over long distances. In addition, the antenna for millimeter wave is very small, and the area (aperture) for receiving radiant energy is insufficient.

[0022] Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and beamforming have been suggested to overcome the problems related to millimeter wave. Massive MIMO technology uses tens or hundreds of individual antennas arranged in an array, which greatly increases the antenna area for receiving radiant energy. When multiple antennas in an antenna array transmit the same signal at the same wavelength and phase, they create a narrow beam of radiation pointing in a specific direction. This is called beamforming, which can increase coverage and reduce interference because the radiation beam becomes narrower. SUMMARY

[0023] A brief summary of example embodiments is provided below to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of various embodiments. It should be noted that this summary is not intended to identify key features or essential elements of the embodiments, nor is it intended to define the scope of the embodiments, and that its sole purpose is to introduce some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

[0024] In a first aspect, an example embodiment of a method for cell activation is provided. The method can include receiving, at a terminal device (UE), a first indication from a network to activate a cell configured for the UE; and in response to the first indication, triggering a beam information report for the cell.

[0025] In a second aspect, an example embodiment of a method for cell activation is provided. The method can include transmitting, from a network (NW) to a terminal device (UE), a first indication to activate a cell configured for the UE; and receiving, from the UE, a beam failure recovery (BFR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) including a candidate reference signal (RS) identification for the cell. The candidate RS identification can include one of an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) for the cell, or an index of a SSB for the cell or an index of an RS included in a candidate RS list provided to the UE from the network. The BFR MAC CE can further include a second indication to indicate whether the SSB index or the candidate RS list index is used as the candidate RS identification. The method can further include decoding the candidate RS identification in the BFR MAC CE.

[0026] In a third aspect, an example embodiment of a terminal device is provided. The terminal device can include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code can be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to perform: receiving a first indication from a network to activate a cell configured for the terminal device, and in response to the first indication, triggering a beam information report for the cell.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, an example embodiment of a network device is provided. The network device can include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code can be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device at least to perform: sending a first indication to a terminal device (UE) to activate a cell configured for the UE, receiving a beam failure recovery (BFR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) including candidate reference signal (RS) identifications for the cell from the UE, and decoding the candidate RS identifications in the BFR MAC CE. The candidate RS identifications can include one of an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) for the cell, or an index of an SSB for the cell, or an index of an RS included in a candidate RS list provided to the UE from a network. The BFR MAC CE can further include a second indication to indicate whether the SSB index or the candidate RS list index is used as the candidate RS identification.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, an example embodiment of an apparatus for cell activation is provided. The apparatus can include means for receiving a first indication from a network at a terminal device (UE) to activate a cell configured for the UE, and means for triggering a beam information report for the cell in response to the first indication.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, an example embodiment of an apparatus for cell activation is provided. The apparatus may include: means for sending a first indication from a network (NW) to a terminal device (UE) to activate a cell configured for the UE; means for receiving from the UE a beam failure recovery (BFR) media access control (MAC) control element (CE) including a candidate reference signal (RS) identifier for the cell; and means for decoding the candidate RS identifier in the BFR MAC CE. The candidate RS identifier may include an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) for the cell, or an index of an SSB for the cell, or an index of an RS included in a candidate RS list provided from the network to the UE. The BFR MAC CE may further include a second indication indicating whether the SSB index or the candidate RS list index is used as the candidate RS identifier.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, an example embodiment of a computer-readable medium is provided. Instructions are stored on the computer-readable medium. When executed by at least one processor of a device, the instructions cause the device to perform any of the methods described above. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] Figure 1 The illustration shows a schematic diagram of an example communication system in which embodiments of this application may be implemented.

[0033] Figure 2 The illustration shows a cell activation process according to some embodiments of this application.

[0034] Figure 3 The process for determining the conditions for triggering beam information reporting according to some embodiments of this application is illustrated.

[0035] Figure 4 Examples of beam failure recovery (BFR) media access control (MAC) control elements (CE) according to some embodiments of this application are illustrated.

[0036] Figure 5 The illustration shows a cell activation process according to some embodiments of this application.

[0037] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example communication system in which embodiments of the present application may be implemented is illustrated.

[0038] Throughout the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Repeated descriptions of the same elements will be omitted. Detailed Implementation

[0039] In the following description, some exemplary embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description includes specific details intended to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known circuits, technologies, and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the described concepts and features.

[0040] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any suitable entity or device that can provide a cell or coverage through which terminal devices can access a network or receive services. Examples of network devices can include base stations. As used herein, the term "base station" can refer to a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a gNB, a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Header (RRH), a relay, or a low-power node such as a pico or femtocell.

[0041] As used herein, the terms “terminal equipment” or “user equipment” (UE) refer to any entity or device that can wirelessly communicate with or with network equipment. Examples of terminal equipment may include mobile terminals (MT), subscriber stations (SS), portable subscriber stations (PSS), mobile stations (MS), or access terminals (AT), such as those mounted on vehicles and machines or electrical appliances with communication capabilities.

[0042] The term "comprising" and its variations should be understood as open-ended terms, meaning "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on". The term "one embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least another embodiment". Definitions relating to other terms will be described in the following description.

[0043] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example communication system 100 is illustrated, in which exemplary embodiments of this application can be implemented. (Reference) Figure 1 System 100 includes a terminal device or user equipment (UE) 110 that communicates with network devices such as base station 120. For convenience, gNB is described below as an example of a network device, but it should be understood that network devices are not limited thereto.

[0044] In some embodiments, UE 110 can operate in carrier aggregation (CA) mode. In CA mode, multiple component carriers (CCs) operated by gNB 120 can be aggregated into a wider bandwidth on UE 110 to achieve higher data rates. Figure 1The diagram illustrates a primary CC (PCC) 11 serving the primary cell (PCell) and a secondary CC (SCC) 12 serving the secondary cell (SCell). A PCell is the cell from which UE 110 performs the initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. Once an RRC connection is established, one or more SCells can be configured for UE 110. Configured SCells can be activated or deactivated as needed. For example, when a large amount of data needs to be transmitted to UE 110 or when a PCell is full, the network can activate one or more SCells to send downlink data to UE 110; when no more data needs to be transmitted to UE 110 or when a SCell has poor channel quality, the network can deactivate the SCell to save power. SCell activation / deactivation can be accomplished using Media Access Control (MAC CE) elements or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0045] The communication system 100 may further include network equipment such as base station 130, which in Figure 1 The term 120 and 130 is also referred to as gNB, but is not limited to this. It should be understood that base stations 120 and 130 can be of different types. For example, one or both of base stations 120 and 130 can be eNBs. In some embodiments, UE 110 can communicate with both gNB 120 and gNB 130 simultaneously in dual-connectivity mode. In this case, one of base stations 120 and 130 can operate as a primary NodeB, and the other can operate as a secondary NodeB. For convenience, gNB 120 is described herein as a primary NodeB (MgNB), and gNB 130 as a secondary NodeB (SgNB).

[0046] Similar to gNB 120, multiple CCs operated by gNB 130 (SgNB) can also be aggregated on UE110. Figure 1 The diagram shows PCC 21 serving the primary and secondary cell (PSCell) and SCC 22 serving the secondary cell (SCell). The serving cells of SgNB 130 can be collectively referred to as the secondary cell group (SCG), and the serving cells of MgNB 120 can be collectively referred to as the primary cell group (MCG). A PSCell is the primary cell for an SCG and is configured with a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). SCells of an SCG may or may not be configured with a PUCCH. PCells of an MCG and PSCells of an SCG can also be referred to as special cells (SpCells). Similar to SCells in an MCG, SCells of an SCG can also be activated or deactivated.

[0047] Regardless of whether the serving cell (including SpCell and SCell) operates in the FR1 or FR2 band, signal transmission and reception between UE110 and base stations 120 and 130 can be performed through beamforming as described above to increase coverage and improve spectral efficiency. UE110 can manage and control the beam through a beam management mechanism. Specifically, UE110 can monitor beam quality by detecting beam failure detection reference signals (BFD-RS), which can be synchronization signals and PBCH blocks (SSBs) or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS). If the BFD-RS associated with a beam has a quality lower than the configured value, UE110 determines a beam failure instance (BFI) indication and increments the BFI counter. When the number of consecutively detected BFIs exceeds the maximum value, UE110 declares a beam failure event and triggers a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure to configure a new serving beam for the SCell.

[0048] When an SCell is deactivated, UE 110 considers the SCell's BFR procedure to have completed successfully, cancels all triggered BFR procedures for the SCell, and sets the BFI counter to zero. During the period when the SCell is deactivated, the UE does not perform beam failure detection for the SCell. Then, when the SCell is activated, UE 110 will begin performing beam failure detection and monitoring the beam on the SCell. However, since no beam management is performed for the deactivated SCell, the SCell's serving beam may no longer be valid. On the other hand, UE 110 will not declare a beam failure until the number of BFI indications it receives from lower layers reaches its maximum value. This will take an unnecessarily long time, and from a system perspective, deactivating the SCell is not very meaningful.

[0049] Figure 2 The illustration shows a cell activation process 200 according to some embodiments of this application. Process 200 can be implemented at a terminal device such as UE 110. UE 110 can be configured with software or hardware modules for implementing process 200. By implementing process 200, fast beam synchronization can be achieved when the cell is activated, and unnecessary time spent receiving a maximum number of BFI indications can be avoided.

[0050] refer to Figure 2Process 200 may begin at step 210, where UE 110 receives an indication from the network to activate a cell configured for UE 110. The cell to be activated may be a SCell in an MCG or an SCG. If the SCell to be activated is from an MCG, the indication to activate the SCell may be received from MgNB 120; if the SCell to be activated is from an SCG, the indication to activate the SCell may be received from SgNB 130. The network may send the indication to UE 110 via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0051] In some embodiments, when the network configures a SCell for UE 110 via RRC signaling, the network may send an indication to UE 110 to activate the SCell. The network may implicitly or explicitly encode the indication in the SCell configuration sent to UE 110. For example, once the SCell is configured, the network may instruct UE 110 to activate the SCell. In some embodiments, the network may send an SCell activation MAC CE to UE 110 to activate the SCell already configured for UE 110.

[0052] Upon receiving an instruction to activate the SCell, the UE 110 can activate the SCell by applying normal SCell operations, such as the transmission of a probe reference signal (SRS) on the SCell, the CSI report of the SCell, and the activation of the DL / UL bandwidth portion (BWP) of the SCell.

[0053] refer to Figure 2 In step S220, in response to the indication to activate the SCell, UE 110 can trigger a beam information report for the activated SCell. In this embodiment, UE 110 can directly report the beam information of the SCell to the network when the SCell is activated, without needing to receive the number of BFI indications before reporting the beam information of the SCell. Therefore, the network can quickly synchronize the beam configuration for the activated SCell with UE 110, and can avoid unnecessary long times for detecting the number of BFI indications.

[0054] In some embodiments, UE 110 may trigger a beam information report for an activated SCell under certain specific conditions in response to SCell activation. Figure 3 The illustration shows a process 300 for determining conditions that trigger beam information reporting according to some embodiments of this application, and process 300 can be implemented, for example, at UE 110. It should be understood that... Figure 3The steps shown are described as examples, and UE 110 is not required to perform all steps or perform them in the order described.

[0055] refer to Figure 3 In step 310, UE 110 can determine whether it has received an instruction from the network to perform beam information reporting for the active cell. For example, when the network configures a SCell for UE 110 via RRC signaling, it can instruct UE 110 to activate the SCell and perform beam information reporting for the activated SCell. As another example, when the network sends an SCell activation command to UE 110 via the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE, it can instruct UE 110 to perform beam information reporting for the activated SCell. For example, for each SCell to be activated based on the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE, this instruction can be implicit, or it can be explicitly indicated in the MAC CE. The network can also provide in the BFR configuration for UE 110 that beam information reporting should be performed for SCell activation. When the network detects that the downlink beam for the SCell may have failed via, for example, an unresponsive scheduling command, an SRS signal, etc., the network can trigger beam information reporting for the UE. If UE 110 determines in step 310 that it has received an instruction from the network to perform a beam information report, then it can trigger a beam information report for the active SCell. For example, if UE 110 determines in step 310 that it has received an instruction from the network to perform a beam information report, then it can trigger a beam information report for the active SCell even if UE 110 determines that the SCell was active before receiving the instruction.

[0056] In some embodiments, the network may configure the indication to perform beam information reporting on a per-cell, per-cell-group, or per-UE basis. If the indication is configured on a per-cell basis, UE 110 will trigger beam information reporting for the specified cell when it is activated; if the indication is configured on a per-cell-group basis, UE 110 will trigger beam information reporting for each cell in the specified cell group (e.g., MCG or SCG) when the cell is activated, unless the activation cannot be applied to cells such as SpCell; if the indication is configured on a per-UE basis, UE 110 will trigger beam information reporting for each serving cell of UE 110 when the cell is activated, unless the activation cannot be applied to serving cells such as SpCell.

[0057] In step 320, UE 110 can determine whether the cell to be activated was in a deactivated state before its activation. The SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE received from the network may include one or four octets, where the first octet may include seven C fields (Ci) and one reserved field (R), and each of the remaining three octets may include eight C fields (Ci). The Ci field may be set to 1 to indicate that the SCell with SCell index i will be activated, or set to 0 to indicate that the SCell will be deactivated. The UE may receive the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE for the activated SCell when the SCell is already activated. In this case, UE 110 may unnecessarily trigger beam information reporting for the already activated SCell. To avoid unnecessary beam information reporting, in step 320, UE 110 determines whether the cell to be activated was in a deactivated state before its activation. If so, then UE 110 will trigger beam information reporting for SCell activation. Otherwise, UE 110 will not trigger beam information reporting for SCell activation.

[0058] In step 330, UE 110 can determine whether the first active downlink (DL) bandwidth portion (BWP) of the cell to be activated is in a non-dormant state, or is not a dormant BWP, or is a non-dormant BWP. If the first active DL BWP of the cell is a dormant BWP, the network can be instructed not to perform data transmission scheduling on the cell, so UE 110 does not need to rush to report the beam information of the cell to the network. For example, if the first active DL BWP of the cell to be activated is a dormant BWP, UE 110 may not trigger the cell to report beam information to the network. Instead, UE 110 can perform beam failure detection for the cell. When multiple BFI indications are received and a beam failure event is declared for the cell, UE 110 will report the beam information of the cell to the network. On the other hand, if the first active DL BWP of the cell to be activated is not a dormant BWP or is not a non-dormant BWP, UE 110 can trigger a beam information report for the cell to be activated to achieve fast beam synchronization of the cell.

[0059] In step 340, UE 110 can determine whether a reference signal for beam failure detection (BFD RS) is configured on the cell to be activated. In some cases, the cell to be activated may share a beam with a second cell (PCell, PSCell, or SCell). If the BFD RS for beam detection is configured on the second cell and the second cell is active and not in a beam failure state, then UE 110 will not trigger a beam information report for the activated cell. On the other hand, if the BFD RS is configured on the cell to be activated, then UE 110 will trigger beam information when the cell is activated.

[0060] It is understood that UE 110 may not execute all steps 310 to 340. If any or more of the above conditions are determined, then UE 110 may trigger a beam information report for the cell to be activated. For example, if the first active DL BWP of the cell to be activated is a dormant BWP, and the network wants to quickly move the cell from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP immediately after cell activation, then the network may send an explicit indication to UE 110 to trigger a beam information report in the cell activation MAC CE. In response to the explicit indication, UE 110 will trigger a beam information report for the cell even if the first active DL BWP of the cell is a dormant BWP.

[0061] When UE 110 triggers a beam information report for the active cell, UE 110 can report the beam information of the active cell by sending a BFR MAC CE to the network used to activate the cell via a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure. For example, in response to or during cell activation, UE 110 can trigger a BFR for the active cell. In another example, based on the triggered BFR, beam failure information can be reported by sending a BFR MAC CE to the network. In yet another example, if UE 110 determines that at least one BFR has been triggered and not canceled, and if it determines that UL-SCH resources are unavailable for new transmissions to transmit the BFR MAC CE to the network, then UE 110 can trigger a scheduling request procedure for beam failure recovery. Figure 4 Examples of BFR MAC CEs according to some embodiments of this application are illustrated. References Figure 4 A BFR MAC CE can include a bitmap of one or four octets (one octet in...). Figure 4 (shown in the image) and the BFR information octet of the SCell indicated in the bitmap.

[0062] The Ci field in the bitmap indicates the beam failure detection status and the presence of the BFR information octet for the SCell with SCell index i or serving cell index i (e.g., ServCellIndex). If the Ci field is set to 1, it indicates that the SCell with index i experienced a beam failure, and the SCell's BFR information octet is present or may be present. If the Ci field is set to 0, it indicates that the SCell with index i did not experience a beam failure, and the SCell's BFR information octet is not present. The BFR information octets are contained in ascending order based on SCell index i, and each octet includes a candidate beam availability indicator (AC) and a candidate RS identifier (ID) (if available). The AC field indicates the presence of the candidate RS ID field in that octet. If the AC field is set to 1, the candidate RS ID field is present; otherwise, the R bit is present instead. R indicates a reserved bit.

[0063] When an SCell is deactivated, active beam management is not required for that SCell. Then, when the SCell is activated, the serving beam for that SCell may no longer be valid, and the network may not be able to provide UE 110 with the correct list of candidate beam RS IDs associated with UE 110's location within the cell when the cell is activated. Given this fact, UE 110 can consider all synchronization signals and PBCH blocks (SSBs) of the activated SCell as candidate beams for that SCell. In some embodiments, the candidate RS ID field in the BFR MAC CE can be selected only from the SSBs of the activated SCell that have a reference signal received power (RSRP) above a threshold, and the list of candidate beam RS IDs provided to UE 110 by the network can be ignored. In some other embodiments, the candidate RS ID field in the BFR MAC CE can be selected from either the SSBs with a reference signal received power (RSRP) above a threshold or from the list of candidate RS IDs provided by the network for the activated SCell. In the latter case, the BFR MAC CE may further include an indicator, such as the R bit in the BFR information octet, to indicate which of the candidate RS IDs in the SCell's SSB or the network-provided list of candidate RS IDs to use as the candidate RS ID in the BFR MAC CE, enabling the network to successfully decode.

[0064] In some embodiments, if the serving beam for the activated SCell is still valid, the serving beam is preferably included as a candidate RS ID in the BFR MAC CE and provided to the network. If the network receives the serving beam, it can continue to schedule the activated SCell on the serving beam. If the serving beam becomes invalid and the network receives a new candidate beam for the activated SCell, the network will use the new candidate beam to update the SCell's serving beam and then schedule the SCell on the new beam.

[0065] In some embodiments, if a beam information report is triggered, UE110 can ignore any scheduling authorization from the active SCell before the BFR MAC CE has been sent. Since the BFR MAC CE has been sent, the network learns from the BFR MAC CE when the SCell will become available again, and UE110 can operate based on the scheduling authorization from the active SCell.

[0066] Figure 5 The illustration shows a cell activation process 400 according to some embodiments of this application. Process 400 can be implemented in, for example... Figure 1 This is implemented at the network devices shown in gNB 120 and 130. The network devices can be configured with software or hardware modules for implementing procedure 400. Through the implementation of procedure 400, fast beam synchronization can be achieved between the UE and the network device when activating a cell for the UE, and unnecessary time spent receiving multiple BFI indications can be avoided. (Refer to...) Figure 2 The details of processes 200 and 400 shown are obvious from the description above. This article will briefly describe process 400.

[0067] refer to Figure 5 In step 410, the network sends an indication to UE 110 to activate a cell, such as a SCell configured for the UE. As described above, the indication can be sent to UE 110 via MAC CE in the cell activation command or via RRC signaling in the cell configuration.

[0068] In step 420, the network receives the BFR MAC CE of the active cell from UE 110. In some embodiments, the BFR MACCE may include... Figure 4The fields shown are described. Specifically, the BFR MAC CE may include a candidate RS ID for the active cell. In some embodiments, the candidate RS ID may include an index of the cell's SSB. In some embodiments, the candidate RS ID may include either an SSB index or an index of an RS selected from a list of candidate RSs provided by the network to the UE 110, and the BFR MAC CE may further include an index indicator to indicate which of the SSB index and the RS index selected from the list of RSs provided by the network is used in the BFR MAC CE.

[0069] In step 430, the network can decode the BFR MAC CE. Specifically, the network can determine the index space indicated by the index indicator and successfully decode the candidate RS ID in the BFR MAC CE. As described above, the BFR MAC CE can initiate a BFR procedure for the active cell.

[0070] In some embodiments, before or during step 410 when sending the indication to activate the cell, the network may further send an indication to the UE 110 to trigger a beam information report for cell activation. As described above, the indication to trigger the beam information report may be sent in the UE 110's cell activation command, cell configuration, or BFR configuration.

[0071] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example communication system 500 in which embodiments of this application may be implemented is illustrated. Figure 6 As shown, the communication system 500 may include a user equipment (UE) 510, which may be implemented as the UE 110 described above; a network device 520, which may be implemented as the gNB 120 described above; and a network device 530, which may be implemented as the gNB 130 described above. Since the network device 530 may include structural blocks substantially the same as those of the network device 520, Figure 6 Only blocks from network device 520 are shown, while blocks from network device 530 are shown in... Figure 6 Not shown in the image.

[0072] refer to Figure 6UE 510 may include one or more processors 511, one or more memories 512, and one or more transceivers 513, which are interconnected via one or more buses 514. The one or more buses 514 may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fibers, optics, or other optical communication devices. Each of the one or more transceivers 513 may include a receiver and a transmitter connected to one or more antennas 516, such as one or more massive MIMO antenna arrays. UE 510 may wirelessly communicate with network devices 520 and 530 via one or more antennas 516. For example, UE 510 may communicate simultaneously with network devices 520 and 530 in a dual-connectivity mode as described above. The one or more memories 512 may include computer program code 515. The one or more memories 512 and computer program code 515 may be configured to, when executed by one or more processors 511, cause user equipment 510 to perform processes and steps related to UE 110 as described above.

[0073] Network device 520 may include one or more processors 521, one or more memories 522, one or more transceivers 523, and one or more network interfaces 527, which are interconnected via one or more buses 524. The one or more buses 524 may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fibers, optics, or other optical communication devices. Each of the one or more transceivers 523 may include a receiver and a transmitter connected to one or more antennas 526, such as one or more massive MIMO antenna arrays. Network device 520 may operate as a primary base station for UE 510 and wirelessly communicate with UE 510 via one or more antennas 526. One or more network interfaces 527 may provide a wired or wireless communication link through which network device 520 communicates with network device 530 or other network entities / functions. For example, one or more network interfaces 527 may provide an Xn link for communication with network device 530. One or more memories 522 may include computer program code 525. One or more memories 522 and computer program code 525 may be configured to cause network device 520 to perform processes and steps related to gNB 120 as described above, when executed by one or more processors 521.

[0074] As described above, network device 530 may include the same structural blocks as network device 520. Network device 530 may be configured to perform substantially the same processes or steps as network device 520, except that network device 520 may operate as the primary base station of UE 510, while network device 530 may operate as the secondary base station of UE 510.

[0075] The one or more processors 511, 521 discussed above can be any suitable type for a local technology network, and can include one or more processors such as general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), processor-based multi-core processor architectures, and special-purpose processors such as those developed based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The one or more processors 511, 521 can be configured to control other elements of the UE / network device and cooperate with them to implement the processes described above.

[0076] One or more memories 512, 522 may include at least one type of storage medium, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM) or cache. Non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, etc. Furthermore, one or more memories 512, 522 may include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or equipment, or any combination thereof.

[0077] Understandable. Figures 2-3 The blocks in sections 5-6 can be implemented in various ways, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, one or more blocks may be implemented using software and / or firmware, for example, machine-executable instructions stored in a storage medium. In addition to or in lieu of machine-executable instructions, Figures 2-3 Some or all of the blocks in 5-6 can be implemented at least partially by one or more hardware logic components. For example, but not limited to, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip (SoCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc.

[0078] Some exemplary embodiments also provide computer program code or instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a device or apparatus to perform the processes described above. The computer program code for performing the processes of the exemplary embodiments can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The computer program code may be provided to one or more processors or controllers of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that, when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the implementation of the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0079] Some exemplary embodiments also provide a computer program product or computer-readable medium storing computer program code or instructions. A computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that may contain or store a program used or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium can be, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0080] Furthermore, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that these operations be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or requiring that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the foregoing discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific embodiments. Certain features described in individual embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0081] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as examples of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method for cell activation, comprising: At the terminal device (UE), a first instruction is received from the network to activate the cell configured for the UE; as well as In response to the first indication, a beam information report for the cell is triggered to send a candidate reference signal (RS) identifier associated with a candidate beam for the cell to the network. The candidate RS identifier is included in a Beam Failure Recovery (BFR) Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), wherein: The candidate RS identifier includes an index for the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) of the cell, or The candidate RS identifier includes one of the following indices: an index for the SSB of the cell and an index of an RS included in the candidate RS list provided to the UE from the network, and the BFR MAC CE further includes a second indication to indicate whether the index of the SSB or the index of the RS in the candidate RS list is used as the candidate RS identifier; Triggering beam information reporting for the cell includes triggering beam information reporting for the cell when the following conditions are met: The UE has received a third instruction from the network to perform a beam information report for cell activation; Wherein, if the UE has received the third instruction from the network to perform a beam information report for the cell activation, the UE triggers a beam information report for the cell, even if the first active DL BWP of the cell to be activated is in a dormant state.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, The beam information report is performed by the beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure for the cell.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The cell is configured as a secondary cell (SCell) for carrier aggregation (CA) on the UE.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first indication is configured in at least one of a cell activation command or a cell configuration received from the network, and The third instruction is configured in at least one of a cell activation command, cell configuration, or BFR configuration received from the network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The third indication is configured on a per-cell basis, per-cell-group basis, or per-UE basis.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, The UE operates according to the scheduling from the cell after sending the BFR MAC CE.

7. A terminal device (UE), comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the terminal device to execute at least: Receive a first instruction from the network to activate the cell configured for the terminal device; as well as In response to the first indication, a beam information report for the cell is triggered to send a candidate reference signal (RS) identifier associated with a candidate beam for the cell to the network. The candidate RS identifier is included in a Beam Failure Recovery (BFR) Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), wherein: The candidate RS identifier includes an index for the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) of the cell, or The candidate RS identifier includes one of the following indices: an index for the SSB of the cell and an index of an RS included in the candidate RS list provided to the UE from the network, and the BFR MAC CE further includes a second indication to indicate whether the index of the SSB or the index of the RS in the candidate RS list is used as the candidate RS identifier; Specifically, the terminal device triggers a beam information report for the cell when the following conditions are determined: The terminal device has received a third instruction from the network to perform a beam information report for the cell activation; Wherein, if the terminal device has received the third instruction from the network to perform a beam information report for the cell activation, the terminal device triggers a beam information report for the cell, even if the first active DL BWP of the cell to be activated is in a dormant state.

8. The terminal device as described in claim 7, wherein, The beam information report is performed through the beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure for the cell.

9. The terminal device as described in claim 7, wherein, The cell is configured as a secondary cell (SCell) for carrier aggregation (CA) on the terminal device.

10. The terminal device as described in claim 7, wherein, The first indication is configured in at least one of a cell activation command or a cell configuration received from the network, and The third indication is configured in at least one of the cell activation command, the cell configuration, or the BFR configuration received from the network.

11. The terminal device as described in claim 7, wherein, The second instruction is configured on a per-cell basis, per-cell group basis, or per-UE basis.

12. The terminal device as claimed in claim 7, wherein, After sending the BFR MAC CE, the terminal device operates according to the scheduling from the cell.

13. A device for cell activation, comprising: A means for receiving a first instruction from a network at a terminal device (UE) to activate a cell configured for the UE; A means for triggering a beam information report for the cell in response to the first indication, to send to the network a candidate reference signal (RS) identifier associated with a candidate beam for the cell, wherein the candidate RS identifier is included in a beam failure recovery (BFR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein: The candidate RS identifier includes an index for the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) of the cell, or The candidate RS identifier includes one of the following indices: an index for the SSB of the cell and an index of an RS included in the candidate RS list provided to the UE from the network, and the BFR MAC CE further includes a second indication to indicate whether the index of the SSB or the index of the RS in the candidate RS list is used as the candidate RS identifier; A means for determining whether the UE has received a third instruction from the network to perform a beam information report for cell activation; A device for determining whether a cell to be activated is in a deactivated state before its activation; A means for determining whether the first active downlink (DL) bandwidth portion (BWP) of the cell to be activated is in a non-dormant state; A means for determining whether a reference signal for beam failure detection (BFD RS) is configured on the cell to be activated; and In the case that the UE has received the third instruction from the network to perform a beam information report for cell activation, the means for the UE to trigger a beam information report for the cell is provided, even if the first active DL BWP of the cell to be activated is in a dormant state.

14. The device as claimed in claim 13, wherein, The beam information report is performed by the beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure of the cell.

15. The device as claimed in claim 13, wherein, The cell is configured as a secondary cell (SCell) for carrier aggregation (CA) on the UE.

16. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions causing the device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-6 when executed by at least one processor of the device.

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