Beam failure detection and recovery with carrier aggregation

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for wireless communications. In one aspect of the disclosure, a user equipment (UE) detects a beam failure of a first beam for a first component carrier (CC) based on a link quality associated with the first beam for the first CC. The first CC and a second CC are within a same group of CCs. The UE initiates one or more beam failure recovery operations associated with any CCs within the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC based on a determination of a beam failure of a second beam for the second CC. The determination is based on detecting the beam failure for the first CC and based on the first CC and the second CC being within the same group of CCs.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 365,891, filed July 1, 2021, entitled “BEAM FAILURE DETECTION AND RECOVERY WITH CARRIER AGGREGATION,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 048,007, filed July 3, 2020, entitled “BEAM FAILURE DETECTION AND RECOVERY WITH CARRIER AGGREGATION,” the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The various aspects of this disclosure generally relate to wireless communication systems, and more specifically, to beam fault detection and beam fault recovery in wireless communication systems that support carrier aggregation. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, and broadcasting. Wireless multiple access communication systems can include multiple base stations or network access nodes, each supporting communication with multiple communication devices (which may otherwise be referred to as user equipment (UE)). These systems are able to support communication with multiple UEs by sharing available system resources such as time, frequency, and power. Examples of these multiple access systems include fourth-generation (4G) systems (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems) and fifth-generation (5G) systems (which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems). These systems can employ technologies such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or Discrete Fourier Transform Extended Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM).

[0005] 5G NR communication systems can support wireless communication in higher frequency bands than other types of wireless communication systems. For example, 5G NR communication systems can support wireless communication in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band. In such higher frequency bands, wireless communication may be more likely to experience interference. For example, the antenna beams used for communication at higher frequencies may experience blockage due to the movement of other objects between the two wireless communication devices, the movement of the wireless communication devices, or reflections of the antenna beams. If the wireless channel between the two wireless communication devices changes, or if one or both wireless communication devices move, the antenna beams used for communication between the two wireless communication devices may no longer be aligned, and the wireless communication devices need to perform beam fault detection and beam fault recovery to re-establish the wireless connection. If the wireless communication devices support carrier aggregation (CA) in the higher communication range, re-establishing the wireless connection may involve many operations on multiple antenna beams in multiple component carriers (CCs), which increases power consumption at the wireless communication devices. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following outlines some aspects of this disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the techniques discussed. This disclosure is not an extensive summary of all intended features of this disclosure, nor is it intended to identify key or essential elements of all aspects of this disclosure, nor to describe the scope of any or all aspects of this disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of this disclosure in a general form as a prelude to the specific embodiments presented later.

[0007] An innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for performing wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method includes: detecting a beam fault for a first beam of a first CC based on link quality associated with a first beam of a plurality of beams for a first CC among a plurality of component carriers (CCs). The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs. At least the first CC and a second CC among the plurality of CCs are located in the same group of CCs. The method further includes: detecting a beam fault for the first beam of the first CC among the plurality of beams based on link quality associated with the first beam of the first CC among the plurality of component carriers (CCs). The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with the second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs. At least the first CC and a second CC among the plurality of CCs are located in the same group of CCs. The method further includes: initiating one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more CCs located in the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, based on determining a beam fault for a second beam of the second CC among the plurality of beams. The determination is based on the detection of the beam fault for the first CC and on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located in the same group of CCs.

[0008] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a UE. The UE includes at least one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to: detect a beam fault for a first beam of a plurality of beams associated with a first beam of a plurality of component carriers (CCs). The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs. At least the first CC and a second CC of the plurality of CCs are located within the same set of CCs. The at least one processor is further configured to: initiate one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more CCs located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, based on the determination of a beam fault for a second beam of the plurality of beams associated with the second CC. The determination is based on the detection of the beam fault for the first CC and on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same set of CCs.

[0009] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus configured for wireless communication. The apparatus includes: a unit for detecting a beam fault for a first beam of a plurality of beams associated with a first beam of a plurality of beams for a first beam of a plurality of component carriers (CCs). The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs. At least the first CC and the second CC of the plurality of CCs are located within the same set of CCs. The apparatus further includes: a unit for initiating one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more of the plurality of CCs located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, based on the determination of a beam fault for a second beam of the plurality of beams associated with the second CC. The determination is based on the detection of the beam fault for the first CC and on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same set of CCs.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: detecting a beam fault for a first beam of a plurality of beams of a first beam of a plurality of component carriers (CCs) for the first CC based on link quality associated with the first beam of a plurality of beams of a first beam of a first CC. The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs. At least the first CC and the second CC of the plurality of CCs are located within the same set of CCs. The operations further include: initiating one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more CCs of the plurality of CCs located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, based on the determination of a beam fault for a second beam of the second CC among the plurality of beams. The determination is based on the detection of the beam fault for the first CC and on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same set of CCs.

[0011] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for performing wireless communication by a wireless communication device. The method includes periodically transmitting a beam fault recovery reference signal (BFR RS) on at least two of a plurality of beams targeting one or more component carriers (CCs). The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a user equipment (UE) via the plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs are located within the same set of CCs as a first CC and a second CC among the plurality of CCs. The at least two beams include a first beam and a second beam among the plurality of beams. The method includes receiving an indicator of the second beam from the UE. The method further includes switching, based on receiving the indicator, communication with the UE from the first beam targeting the first CC to communication with the UE on a second beam targeting the first CC. The method further includes switching from the first beam targeting the first CC to the second beam based on the first CC and switching, based on the first CC and the second CC being located within the same set of CCs, communication with the UE from a third beam targeting the second CC among the plurality of beams to a fourth beam targeting the second CC among the plurality of beams.

[0012] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. The wireless communication device includes at least one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code, which, when executed by the processor, is configured to periodically transmit a beam fault recovery reference signal (BFR RS) on at least two of a plurality of beams for one or more component carriers (CCs), the plurality of beams being used for wireless communication with a user equipment (UE) via the plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs are located within the same set of CCs as a first CC and a second CC among the plurality of CCs. The at least two beams include a first beam and a second beam among the plurality of beams. The at least one processor is configured to receive an indicator of the second beam from the UE. The at least one processor is also configured to switch communication with the UE from the first beam for the first CC to the second beam for the first CC based on receiving the indicator. The at least one processor is further configured to: switch from the first beam to the second beam based on the first CC and switch from communicating with the UE on a third beam for the second CC in the plurality of beams to communicating with the UE on a fourth beam for the second CC in the plurality of beams based on the first CC and the second CC being located in the same group of CCs.

[0013] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus configured for wireless communication. The apparatus includes: a unit for periodically transmitting beam fault recovery reference signals (BFR RS) on at least two of a plurality of beams for one or more component carriers (CCs), the plurality of beams being used for wireless communication with a user equipment (UE) via the plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs are located within the same set of CCs as a first CC and a second CC among the plurality of CCs. The at least two beams include a first beam and a second beam among the plurality of beams. The apparatus includes: a unit for receiving an indicator of the second beam from the UE. The apparatus further includes: a unit for switching communication with the UE from the first beam for the first CC to the second beam for the first CC based on receiving the indicator. The device further includes a unit for switching from the first beam to the second beam based on the first CC and for switching from communicating with the UE on a third beam for the second CC in the plurality of beams to communicating with the UE on a fourth beam for the second CC in the plurality of beams based on the first CC and the second CC being located in the same group of CCs.

[0014] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: periodically transmitting beam fault recovery reference signals (BFR RS) on at least two of a plurality of beams for one or more component carriers (CCs). The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a user equipment (UE) via the plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs are located within the same set of CCs as a first CC and a second CC among the plurality of CCs. The at least two beams include a first beam and a second beam among the plurality of beams. The operation includes: receiving an indicator of the second beam from the UE. The operation further includes: switching communication with the UE from the first beam for the first CC to the second beam for the first CC based on receiving the indicator. The operation further includes: switching from the first beam to the second beam based on the first CC and switching from communicating with the UE on a third beam for the second CC in the plurality of beams to communicating with the UE on a fourth beam for the second CC in the plurality of beams based on the first CC and the second CC being located in the same group of CCs.

[0015] Other aspects, features, and embodiments of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of specific exemplary embodiments thereof. While features of this disclosure may be described with respect to the specific embodiments and drawings described below, all embodiments of this disclosure may include one or more of the advantageous features described herein. That is, while one or more embodiments may be described as having specific advantageous features, one or more such features may also be used in accordance with various embodiments of this disclosure described herein. Similarly, while exemplary embodiments may be described below as implementations of devices, systems, or methods, such exemplary embodiments may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods. Attached Figure Description

[0016] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of this disclosure can be achieved by referring to the following figures. In the figures, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Furthermore, various components of the same type can be distinguished by a dash following the reference numeral and a second reference numeral used to differentiate between similar components. If only the first reference numeral is used in the specification, this specification applies to any of the similar components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second reference numeral.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system based on some aspects.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating examples of base stations and user equipment (UEs) based on some aspects.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a ladder diagram illustrating an example of performing beam fault detection (BFD) according to some aspects.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system that supports beam fault recovery (BFR) in some aspects.

[0021] Figure 5 This is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system supporting BFD and BFR with carrier aggregation (CA) according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an example process for supporting a BFD of a CC based on a BFD of another CC within the same component quantity carrier (CC) according to some aspects.

[0023] Figure 7This is a flowchart illustrating an example process for supporting a BFR of a CC based on a BFR of another CC within the same set of CCs, according to some aspects.

[0024] Figure 8 This is a block diagram of an example UE that supports BFD of a CC based on BFD of another CC within the same set of CCs.

[0025] Figure 9 This is a block diagram of an example wireless communication device that supports a BFR of a CC based on a BFR of another CC within the same CC group, based on some aspects.

[0026] The same reference numerals and names in the various figures indicate the same elements. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The various aspects of this disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any particular structure or function given throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will understand that the scope of this disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of this disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of this disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement an apparatus or method of practice. Furthermore, the scope of this disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method practiced using other structures, functions, or structures and functions that complement or replace the various aspects of this disclosure set forth herein. Any aspect of this disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0028] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, or channels based on frequency (or wavelength). In fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR), two initial operating bands have been designated as frequency range names FR1 (410MHz-7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz-52.6GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as the intermediate frequency band (IF). Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “Sub-6 GHz” band. Similar naming issues sometimes arise regarding FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to in documents and articles as the “millimeter wave” band / spectrum, although this differs from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30GHz-300 GHz) designated as a “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In light of the foregoing, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that the terms "sub-6GHz" and the like (if used herein) can broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6GHz, can be located within FR1, or can include intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that the terms "millimeter wave" and the like (if used herein) can broadly refer to frequencies that can include intermediate frequency band frequencies, can be located within FR2, or can be located within the EHF band.

[0029] This disclosure provides systems, apparatus, methods, and computer-readable media for beam fault detection (BFD) and beam fault recovery (BFR) in wireless communication systems that support carrier aggregation (CA), particularly in higher frequency bands such as FR2 or millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands. For illustration, a user equipment (UE) and a wireless communication device may each use multiple corresponding beams to wirelessly communicate via multiple CCs within the same component carrier (CC). Multiple sets of CCs may include multiple or all CCs in the same frequency band (e.g., a millimeter-wave band), a subset of CCs in a specific frequency band, or CCs spanning multiple pre-selected frequency bands. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device is a second UE, and the wireless communication includes sidelink (SL) communication between the UE and the second UE. In some other embodiments, the wireless communication device is a base station, and the wireless communication includes downlink (DL) communication from the base station to the UE, or uplink (UL) communication from the UE to the base station.

[0030] The UE and wireless communication device can be configured to detect beam faults for one of a plurality of CCs, and to automatically determine beam faults for one or more other CCs (e.g., CCs in a millimeter-wave band) within the same group of CCs. For example, the wireless communication device can be configured to periodically transmit a beam fault detection reference signal (BFD RS) on one or more beams for a first CC. The UE can receive the BFD RS on at least a first beam for the first CC, and based on the BFD RS measurement, the UE can detect a fault in the first beam for the first CC. As used herein, "beam fault" or "beam failure" can refer to a situation where the UE determines that the signal strength of a message received on the beam no longer meets a threshold. In this case, the UE can determine that another beam is preferred for enabling communication between the UE and the wireless communication device. Additionally, the UE can determine a fault in a second beam for a second CC based on the detection of a fault in the first beam for the first CC and based on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are within the same group of CCs. Therefore, the UE can detect a beam fault in one of the CCs within a group of CCs, and based on the detected fault, the UE can determine a fault in one or more other beams for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs, without needing to perform corresponding performance measurements for the one or more other beams. A wireless communication device can perform similar operations. For example, the UE can periodically transmit BFD RS to the wireless communication device on one or more beams of a second CC or another CC within the same group of CCs, and the wireless communication device can detect a beam fault for the second CC and automatically determine a beam fault for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs. In some implementations, the UE can transmit BFD RS to the wireless communication device on one or more beams for the second CC (or other CCs) while simultaneously monitoring BFD RS from the wireless communication device on one or more beams for the first CC. Alternatively, the UE can monitor BFD RS from the wireless communication device on one or more beams for the first CC during some time periods, and the UE can transmit BFD RS to the wireless communication device on one or more beams for the first CC during other time periods, such that the UE is configured to receive and transmit BFD RS according to different schedules.

[0031] After detecting a fault in the first beam used for the first CC, the UE can monitor the Beam Fault Recovery Reference Signal (BFR RS) from the wireless communication device. The UE can identify the strongest beam associated with the received BFR RS and can switch communication with the wireless communication device from the first beam used for the first CC to the strongest beam used for the first CC (the third beam). The UE can also switch communication with the wireless communication device from the second beam used for the second CC to the fourth beam used for the second CC based on the switch of the beam used for the first CC. Therefore, the UE can switch beams in one CC within a group of CCs based on measurements of the BFR RS, and based on this switch, the UE can switch one or more beams used for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs without performing corresponding measurements of the BFR RS. Furthermore, the UE can send an indicator about the third beam to the wireless communication device, and the wireless communication device can switch the beam used for communication with the UE for the first CC based on this indicator, and can switch the beam used for communication with the UE for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs based on the switch for the first CC. In some implementations, the UE may periodically transmit BFR RS to the wireless communication device on one or more corresponding beams for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs, and the wireless communication device may switch beams in a manner similar to that described above for the UE.

[0032] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some aspects, this disclosure provides for automatically determining a beam fault for one or more CCs within a group of CCs (e.g., CCs within the same frequency band or CCs spanning multiple frequency bands) based on the detection of a beam fault for one CC within the same group of CCs. For example, a UE can detect a beam fault for a first CC based on measurements of BFD RS from a wireless communication device, and the UE can determine a beam fault for a second CC within the same group of CCs based on the detection of a beam fault for the first CC. Furthermore, this disclosure provides for automatic recovery from beam faults in one or more CCs within the same group of CCs based on recovery from a beam fault for one CC within the same group of CCs. For example, a UE can determine, based on measurements of BFR RS received from a wireless communication device, whether to switch from communicating with the wireless communication device on a first beam via the first CC to communicating with the wireless communication device on a third beam via the first CC. The UE can also switch communication with the wireless communication device from a second beam used for a second CC within the same group of CCs to a fourth beam used for the second CC based on switching the beam used for the first CC. Therefore, the wireless communication device according to this disclosure can be configured to automatically detect beam faults and switch beams for one or more other CCs based on the detected fault and beam switching performed for one CC within the same group of CCs. This reduces the amount of signal measurement and processing at the wireless communication device compared to detecting beam faults based on corresponding reference signal measurements and switching beams for each CC within the same group of CCs. Reducing the amount of signal measurement and processing lowers power consumption at the wireless communication device. The systems and techniques of this disclosure may be particularly advantageous for reducing power consumption at UEs communicating via SL using CA at higher frequencies (e.g., millimeter-wave bands).

[0033] This disclosure generally relates to providing or participating in licensed shared access between two or more wireless communication systems (also referred to as wireless communication networks). In various embodiments, the technologies and apparatus described can be used in wireless communication networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, 5th Generation (5G) or New Radio (NR) networks (sometimes referred to as “5G NR” networks, systems, devices), and other communication networks. As described herein, the terms “network” and “system” are used interchangeably.

[0034] CDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) and CDMA2000. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and Low Code Rate (LCR). CDMA2000 encompasses the IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards.

[0035] TDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). 3GPP defines the standard for the Radio Access Network (RAN) (also referred to as GERAN) for GSM EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution). GERAN is the radio component of GSM or GSM EDGE, together with the network that combines base stations (e.g., Ater and Abis interfaces, etc.) and base station controllers (e.g., interfaces, etc.). The Radio Access Network represents the component of a GSM network through which telephone calls and packet data are routed from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Internet to the subscriber's mobile phone (also referred to as the user terminal or user equipment (UE)) and from the subscriber's mobile phone to the PSTN and the Internet. A mobile phone operator's network may include one or more GERANs, which, in the case of UMTS or GSM networks, may be coupled with the UTRAN. Furthermore, an operator's network may include one or more LTE networks, or one or more other networks. Different network types may use different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) and Radio Access Networks (RANs).

[0036] OFDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, and flash-OFDM. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). In particular, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a UMTS version using E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS, and LTE are described in documents provided by an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), while cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). These different radio technologies and standards are either known or under development. For example, 3GPP is a collaboration among a group of telecommunications associations that aims to define globally applicable third-generation (3G) mobile phone specifications. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project aimed at improving the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone standard. 3GPP can define specifications for next-generation mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. This disclosure may refer to LTE, 4G, 5G, or NR technologies in certain aspects; however, this specification is not intended to be limited to any particular technology or application, and one or more aspects described with reference to one technology may be understood to be applicable to another technology. In fact, one or more aspects of this disclosure relate to sharing access to the radio spectrum between networks using different radio access technologies or a set of radio air interfaces.

[0037] 5G networks consider the use of a unified OFDM-based air interface to enable different deployments, different spectrums, and different services and devices. To achieve these goals, in addition to developing new radio technologies for 5G NR networks, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered. 5G NR will be able to extend to provide coverage (1) to ultra-high densities (e.g., ~1M nodes / km). 2 (1) Massive Internet of Things (IoT) with ultra-low complexity (e.g., ~10 s bits / second), ultra-low energy (e.g., battery life of ~10 years or more), and deep coverage with the ability to reach challenging locations; (2) said coverage includes mission-critical controls with robust security to protect sensitive personal, financial or confidential information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ~99.9999% reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ~1 ms), and users with a wide range of mobility or lack of mobility; and (3) said coverage has enhanced mobile broadband, including extremely high capacity (e.g., ~10 Tbps / km). 2 Extreme data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rates, 100+Mbps user experience rates) and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimization.

[0038] 5G NR devices, networks, and systems can be implemented using optimized OFDM-based waveform characteristics. These characteristics can include scalable digital schemes and transmission time intervals (TTIs); a general, flexible framework for efficiently multiplexing services and characteristics through dynamic, low-latency time-division duplex (TDD) or frequency-division duplex (FDD) designs; and advanced radio technologies such as massive MIMO, robust millimeter-wave (mmWave) transmission, advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility. The scalability of digital schemes in 5G NR, along with the expansion of subcarrier spacing, can effectively address different services operating across different spectrums and deployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments of FDD / TDD implementations below 3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur at 15 kHz, for example, exceeding bandwidths of 1, 5, 10, 20 MHz. For other various outdoor and small-cell coverage deployments of TDD above 3 GHz, subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz may occur over bandwidths of 80 or 100 MHz. For various other indoor broadband implementations using TDD in the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, subcarrier spacing may occur at 60 kHz over a 160 MHz bandwidth. Finally, for various deployments using millimeter-wave components for TDD transmission at 28 GHz, a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz may occur over a 500 MHz bandwidth.

[0039] 5G NR's scalable digital schemes facilitate scalable TTIs to meet diverse latency and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTIs can be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTIs can be used for higher spectral efficiency. Efficient multiplexing of long and short TTIs allows transmissions to begin at symbol boundaries. 5G NR also considers self-contained integrated subframe designs that contain uplink or downlink scheduling information, data, and acknowledgments within the same subframe. These self-contained integrated subframes support communication in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum, and adaptive uplink or downlink can be flexibly configured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink and downlink to meet current service demands.

[0040] For clarity, certain aspects of the apparatus and technology may be described below with reference to example 5G NR implementations or in a 5G-centric manner, and 5G terminology may be used as illustrative examples in the sections described below; however, this description is not intended to be limited to 5G applications.

[0041] Furthermore, it should be understood that, in operation, wireless communication networks adapted according to the concepts herein may operate using any combination of licensed or unlicensed spectrum, depending on load and availability. Therefore, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein can be applied to other communication systems and applications besides the specific examples provided.

[0042] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system according to some aspects. The wireless communication system may include a wireless network 100. The wireless network 100 may, for example, include a 5G wireless network. As those skilled in the art will understand, Figure 1 The components appearing in this may have corresponding counterparts in other network deployments (including, for example, cellular network deployments and non-cellular network deployments (e.g., device-to-device, point-to-point, or self-organizing network deployments)).

[0043] exist Figure 1 The wireless network 100 shown includes multiple base stations 105 and other network entities. Base stations can be stations communicating with UEs and can be referred to as evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (gNB), access points, etc. Each base station 105 can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to the specific geographic coverage area of ​​a base station or a base station subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In the implementation of the wireless network 100 herein, base stations 105 can be associated with the same operator or different operators (e.g., the wireless network 100 may include multiple operator wireless networks). Furthermore, in the implementation of the wireless network 100 herein, base stations 105 can use one or more frequencies (e.g., one or more bands of licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or combinations thereof) from the same frequencies as neighboring cells to provide wireless communication. In some examples, each base station 105 or UE 115 can be operated by more than one network operating entity. In some other examples, each base station 105 and UE 115 can be operated by a single network operating entity.

[0044] Base stations can provide communication coverage for macro cells, small cells (e.g., pico cells or femto cells), or other types of cells. Macro cells typically cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and can allow unrestricted access for UEs with service subscriptions to network providers. Small cells, such as pico cells, will typically cover a relatively small geographic area and can allow unrestricted access for UEs with service subscriptions to network providers. Small cells, such as femto cells, will also typically cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, can provide restricted access for UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs for users in a home, etc.). A base station used for a macro cell can be referred to as a macro base station. A base station used for a small cell can be referred to as a small cell base station, pico base station, femto base station, or home base station. Figure 1 In the example shown, base stations 105d and 105e are conventional macro base stations, while base stations 105a-105c are macro base stations enabled with one of 3D, full-dimensional (FD), or massive MIMO. Base stations 105a-105c utilize their higher-dimensional MIMO capabilities to increase coverage and capacity using 3D beamforming, whichever is better between elevation and azimuth beamforming. Base station 105f is a small cell base station, which can be a home node or a portable access point. A base station can support one or more cells, such as two cells, three cells, four cells, etc.

[0045] Wireless Network 100 can support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, base stations can have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations can be roughly aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, base stations can have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations can be misaligned in time. In some scenarios, the network can be enabled or configured to handle dynamic switching between synchronous and asynchronous operations.

[0046] UE 115 is distributed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE can be stationary or mobile. It should be recognized that although mobile devices are generally referred to as User Equipment (UE) in standards and specifications published by 3GPP, such devices may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as mobile station (MS), subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, radio unit, remote unit, mobile device, radio device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal (AT), mobile terminal, radio terminal, remote terminal, mobile phone, terminal, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term. Within this document, a “mobile” device or UE does not necessarily need to have the capability for mobility, and may be stationary. Some non-limiting examples of mobile devices (such as implementations that may include one or more of a plurality of UE 115) include mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, laptop computers, personal computers (PCs), notebook computers, netbooks, smartbooks, tablet computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Mobile devices can also be “Internet of Things” (IoT) or “Internet of Everything” (IoE) devices, such as automobiles or other vehicles, satellite radio units, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, logistics controllers, drones, multi-wing aircraft, quadcopters, smart energy or security devices, solar panels or solar arrays, municipal lighting, water supply or other infrastructure; industrial automation and enterprise equipment; consumer and wearable devices, such as glasses, wearable cameras, smartwatches, health or fitness trackers, mammalian implantable devices, posture tracking devices, medical devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, or game consoles; and digital home or smart home devices, such as home audio, video and multimedia equipment, appliances, sensors, vending machines, smart lighting, home security systems, or smart meters. In one aspect, the UE can be a device that includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In another aspect, the UE 115 can be a device that does not include a UICC. In some aspects, a UE that does not include a UICC can be referred to as an IoE device. Figure 1 The UEs 115a-115d shown in the embodiments are examples of mobile smartphone-type devices accessing the wireless network 100. The UE may be a machine specifically configured for connected communications (including machine-type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), etc.). Figure 1 The UE 115e-115k shown is an example of various machines configured for accessing communications on the 5G network 100.

[0047] Mobile devices (such as UE 115) may be able to communicate with any type of base station (whether macro base station, pico base station, femto base station, relay, etc.). Figure 1 In this context, a communication link (represented by a lightning bolt) indicates a wireless transmission between the UE and a serving base station (which is designated to serve the UE on the downlink or uplink), or a desired transmission between base stations, and a backhaul transmission between base stations. Backhaul communication between base stations of the wireless network 100 can occur using wired or wireless communication links.

[0048] In the operation of the 5G network 100, base stations 105a-105c use 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial technologies, such as Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP) or multiple connections, to provide services to UEs 115a and UE 115b. Macro base station 105d performs backhaul communication with base stations 105a-105c and small cell base station 105f. Macro base station 105d also transmits multicast services subscribed to and received by UEs 115c and UE 115d. These multicast services may include mobile TV or streaming video, or may include other services for providing community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber Alerts or Grey Alerts.

[0049] The wireless network 100 of this implementation supports mission-critical communication with highly reliable and redundant links for mission-critical devices, such as UE 115e as a drone. Redundant communication links with UE 115e include those from macro base stations 105d and 105e, and small cell base station 105f. Other machine-type devices, such as UE 115f (thermometer), UE 115g (smart meter), and UE 115h (wearable device), can communicate via the wireless network 100 either directly with base stations (e.g., small cell base station 105f and macro base station 105e) or, in a multi-hop configuration, with another user equipment that relays its information to the network; for example, UE 115f transmits temperature measurement information to a smart meter, and then UE 115g reports it to the network via small cell base station 105f. The 5G network 100 can provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD or FDD communication, for example in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) mesh network between UEs 115i-115k communicating with macro base station 105e.

[0050] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a base station 105 and a UE 115 according to some aspects. The base station 105 and the UE 115 can be... Figure 1 This refers to any base station and any UE in the network. For restricted association scenarios (as mentioned above), base station 105 can be... Figure 1The small cell base station 105f and UE 115 can be UE 115c or 115d operating within the service area of ​​base station 105f, and will be included in the list of accessible UEs for small cell base station 105f in order to access it. Furthermore, base station 105 can be some other type of base station. For example... Figure 2 As shown, base station 105 may be equipped with antennas 234a to 234t, and UE 115 may be equipped with antennas 252a to 252r to facilitate wireless communication.

[0051] At base station 105, transmit processor 220 can receive data from data source 212 and control information from controller 240. The control information may be for Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH), Physical Hybrid ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request) Indicator Channel (PHICH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (EPDCCH), or MTC Physical Downlink Control Channel (MPDCCH), etc. The data may be for PDSCH, etc. Transmit processor 220 can process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information separately to obtain data symbols and control symbols. Furthermore, transmit processor 220 can generate reference symbols, for example, for primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and cell-specific reference signal. Transmit (TX) Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) processor 230 can perform spatial processing (if applicable) on data symbols, control symbols, or reference symbols, and can provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 232a to 232t. For example, spatial processing performed on data symbols, control symbols, or reference symbols may include precoding. Each modulator 232 may (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) process its respective output symbol stream to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may additionally or alternatively process the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. For example, to process the output sample stream, each modulator 232 may convert the output sample stream into an analog, amplified, filtered, and up-converted output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signal from modulators 232a to 232t may be transmitted via antennas 234a to 234t, respectively.

[0052] At UE 115, antennas 252a to 252r can receive downlink signals from base station 105 and can provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a to 254r respectively. Each demodulator 254 can adjust the corresponding received signal to obtain an input sample. For example, to adjust the corresponding received signal, each demodulator 254 can filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize the corresponding received signal to obtain an input sample. Each demodulator 254 can further process the input sample (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. MIMO detector 256 can obtain received symbols from demodulators 254a to 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide the detected symbols. Receiver processor 258 can process the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 115 to data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to controller 280. For example, to process the detected symbols, receive processor 258 can demodulate, deinterleave, and decode the detected symbols.

[0053] On the uplink, at UE 115, the transmitting processor 264 can receive and process data from data source 262 (e.g., for the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)) and control information from controller 280 (e.g., for the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)). Furthermore, the transmitting processor 264 can generate reference symbols for reference signals. Symbols from the transmitting processor 264 can be pre-coded (if applicable) by the TX MIMO processor 266, further processed by modulators 254a to 254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to base station 105. At base station 105, the uplink signal from UE 115 can be received by antenna 234, processed by demodulator 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by receiving processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 115. The receiver processor 238 can provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller 240.

[0054] Controllers 240 and 280 can respectively direct operations at base station 105 and UE 115. Controller 240 and / or other processors and modules at base station 105, and / or controller 280 and / or other processors and modules at UE 115, can perform or direct the execution of various processes used in the techniques described herein, such as performing or directing operations at... Figure 6 and Figure 7The execution shown herein, and / or other processes used in the techniques described herein. Memory 242 and 282 may store data and program code for base station 105 and UE 115, respectively. Scheduler 244 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink or uplink.

[0055] In some cases, UE 115 and base station 105 may operate in a shared radio frequency spectrum band, which may include licensed or unlicensed (e.g., contention-based) spectrum. In the unlicensed frequency portion of the shared radio frequency spectrum band, UE 115 or base station 105 may conventionally perform a medium sensing process to compete for spectrum access. For example, UE 115 or base station 105 may perform a Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) process, such as a Free Channel Assessment (CCA), before communication to determine if a shared channel is available. CCA may include an energy detection process to determine if any other active transmissions are present. For example, the device may infer that a change in the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of a power meter indicates that the channel is occupied. Specifically, a signal power concentrated in a certain bandwidth and exceeding a predetermined noise floor may indicate another wireless transmitter. In some implementations, CCA may include the detection of a specific sequence indicating channel usage. For example, another device may transmit a specific preamble before transmitting a data sequence. In some cases, the LBT process may include the radio node adjusting its own backoff window as a proxy for collisions, based on the energy detected on the channel or the acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK or NACK) feedback of packets it transmits.

[0056] Figure 3 Ladder diagram 300 illustrates an example of BFD execution according to some aspects. Ladder diagram 300 illustrates operations performed by UE 115 and wireless communication device 302. In some embodiments, wireless communication device 302 includes or corresponds to another UE, and UE 115 and wireless communication device 302 communicate via side-link (SL) communication. In some other embodiments, wireless communication device 302 includes or corresponds to a base station (e.g., Figure 1 and Figure 2 The base station 105), and the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 302 communicate via DL communication and UL communication.

[0057] At 310, the wireless communication device 302 periodically transmits BFD RS to the UE 115. For example, the wireless communication device 302 can be configured to periodically transmit BFD RS to the UE 115 (and other UEs), such as at a first time, a second time, and an i-th time (where i is any integer). If the wireless communication device 302 communicates with the UE 115 using a single transmit (TX) beam, then the wireless communication device 302 transmits BFD RS on that single TX beam. Alternatively, if the wireless communication device 302 communicates with the UE 115 on multiple TX beams, then the wireless communication device 302 can transmit BFD RS on some or all of the multiple TX beams.

[0058] At 312, UE 115 receives BFD RSs and maintains a count of BFD RSs received that meet a first threshold signal strength (e.g., Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP)). For example, UE 115 may measure the signal strength associated with each BFD RS and may count the number of “strong” BFD RSs associated with signal strengths that meet the first threshold. The count may be maintained for a specific time period. In some implementations, the first threshold and the duration of the specific time period are indicated by messaging from the network entity to UE 115. In some other implementations, the first threshold and the duration of the specific time period may be pre-programmed at UE 115. If UE 115 receives messages and signals from wireless communication device 302 on a single receive (RX) beam, then UE 115 receives BFD RSs on that single RX beam. Alternatively, if UE 115 receives messages and signals from wireless communication device 302 on multiple RX beams, then UE 115 may receive BFD RSs on some or all of the multiple RX beams. In such an implementation, UE 115 can maintain a count of received BFD RSs that meet a first threshold for each beam.

[0059] At 314, UE 115 can compare the count of received BFD RSs with a second threshold. The second threshold can indicate the minimum number of “strong” BFD RSs to be received during a specific time period in order to continue communicating with wireless communication device 302 using the appropriate beam. In some embodiments, the second threshold is indicated via a message transmission from the network entity to UE 115. In some other embodiments, the second threshold can be pre-programmed at UE 115.

[0060] At 316, if the comparison fails, UE 115 can detect a beam fault in the beam used to receive BFD RS. For example, if the count of BFD RS received on a specific beam within a specific time period fails to meet a second threshold, UE 115 can detect a beam fault in that specific beam. A beam fault may not indicate a complete failure of the beam; instead, it may indicate that the beam is not providing sufficient signal strength to continue communication with wireless communication device 302.

[0061] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system 400 supporting BFR according to some aspects. BFR may include switching one or more communication beams based on the detection of a beam fault. For example, it may be based on reference... Figure 3 The described BFD detection is used to perform the BFR described in the reference wireless communication system 400.

[0062] The wireless communication system 400 includes a UE 115 and a wireless communication device 402. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 402 includes or corresponds to another UE, and the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 402 communicate via SL communication. In some other embodiments, the wireless communication device 402 includes or corresponds to a base station (e.g., Figure 1 and Figure 2 The base station 105), and the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 402 communicate via DL communication and UL communication.

[0063] To achieve BFR, wireless communication device 402 can periodically transmit BFRRS on multiple beams (TX beams), and UE 115 can perform beam scanning to receive BFRRS on multiple beams (RX beams). For example, as Figure 4As shown, wireless communication device 402 can transmit BFR RS on a first beam 416, a second beam 418, a third beam 420, and an Mth beam 422 (where M is any positive integer), and UE 115 can receive BFR RS on a first beam 410, a second beam 412, and an Nth beam 414 (where N is any positive integer). N and M can have the same or different values, such that UE 115 and wireless communication device 402 use the same number of beams or different numbers of beams for receiving and transmitting, respectively. The number of beams (also called antenna beams) supported by each device can be based on the antenna array (or antenna panel) of the respective device. For example, UE 115 may include an antenna array configured to generate three beams, and wireless communication device 402 may include an antenna array configured to generate four beams. Although UE 115 is shown as using three beams and wireless communication device 402 is shown as using four beams, in other embodiments, UE 115 may use fewer or more than three beams and wireless communication device 402 may use fewer or more than four beams.

[0064] UE 115 can attempt to receive BFR RS using beams 410-412 and determine the strongest beam. For example, UE 115 can measure the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) associated with each beam in beams 410-412 and determine the strongest beam based on the best associated SNR. Based on determining the strongest beam, UE 115 can send an indicator of the strongest beam and the corresponding BFR RS transmission to wireless communication device 402, enabling UE 115 and wireless communication device 402 to use the TX-RX beam pair with the best SNR for future communication. For example, UE 115 can switch from using the beam associated with a detected beam failure to using the strongest beam identified based on the received BFR RS, and wireless communication device 402 can switch from using the beam associated with a beam failure at UE 115 to using the beam associated with the best SNR at UE 115. In some implementations, the indicator of the strongest beam is a random access channel (RACH) preamble sent by UE 115 to wireless communication device 402 in resources (e.g., frequency resources) associated with the BFR RS received on the strongest beam.

[0065] In some implementations, the wireless communication device 402 includes or corresponds to a second UE, and the wireless communication device 402 may configure UE 115 to use Sidelink Cross-Link Contention-Free Random Access (SL-CFRA) resources for BFR purposes. Alternatively, the base station may configure UE 115 and the wireless communication device 402 (the second UE) to use SL-CFRA resources for BFR purposes. If SL-CFRA resources are configured for BFR, the wireless communication device 402 periodically transmits a list of BFR RSs, slCandidateBeamRsList. Each BFR RS in slCandidateBeamRsList is transmitted on a corresponding beam. The beam used for the BFR RS may include one or more beams used for transmitting BFR RSs, as referenced. Figure 3 The beam used to receive BFR RS may be different from the beam used to transmit BFD RS. The BFR RS in slCandidateBeamRsList may include SL Synchronization Signal Block (SL SSB) or SL Channel State Information Reference Signal (SL CSI-RS). UE 115 monitors the BFR RS in slCandidateBeamRsList. For example, UE 115 may use multiple beams to perform beam scanning to receive BFR RS. The beam used to receive BFR RS may be the same as or different from the beam used to receive BFD RS, as shown in the reference. Figure 3As described above. If UE 115 detects an SL SSB or SL CSI-RS in slCandidateBeamRsList whose RSRP meets a threshold (“rsrpThresholdSSB / CSI-RS”), UE 115 can select an SL SSB or SL CSI-RS with an RSRP greater than the threshold, and if configured for the selected SL SSB or SL CSI-RS, select a RACH preamble (for CSI-RS, UE 115 can trace back to a quasi-co-located (QCL) SSB). UE 115 can determine the SLRACH location associated with the selected SSB or CSI-RS to send the RACH preamble to wireless communication device 402. If CSI-RS is selected, UE 115 can use the ra-OccasionList or RACH location corresponding to the SSB (on slCandidateBeamRsList) of the quasi-co-located (QCL) SSB of the selected CSI-RS. When UE 115 sends the SL RACH preamble, UE 115 can initiate a BFR timer. In response to UE 115 sending the SL RACH preamble, BFR can be successfully completed by the wireless communication device 402 sending a Physical Side Link Control Channel (PSCCH) scrambled with the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) or some other information to UE 115. Upon receiving the PSCCH, UE 115 can stop the BFR timer. Alternatively, if UE 115 does not receive the PSCCH from the wireless communication device 402 before the BFR timer expires, UE 115 can initiate one or more BFR operations using resources different from the SL-CFRA resources or without configuring SL-CFRA resources.

[0066] In some implementations, the wireless communication device 402 includes or corresponds to a second UE, and the wireless communication device 402 (or base station) has not configured UE 115 to use SL-CFRA resources for BFR purposes, or UE 115 may have detected a failure to perform BFR using SL-CFRA resources. In such implementations, the wireless communication device 402 periodically transmits SL SSBs. SL SSBs can be transmitted for discovery and SL link establishment purposes, such as during the initial side crosslink access procedure, and can be transmitted by the wireless communication device 402 using TX beam scanning. UE 115 can monitor SL SSBs and determine Tx-Rx beam pairs. For example, UE 115 can perform RX beam scanning to receive SL SSBs. UE 115 can measure the RSRP associated with each received SL SSB and can select the appropriate beam, and transmit the SLRACH preamble to the wireless communication device 402 using the selected beam in the time and frequency resources corresponding to the SL SSB associated with the highest RSRP. The SL RACH preamble can be one of multiple SL RACH preambles and can be selected based on groups. For example, the set of all preambles can be divided into two groups, and UE 115 can select an SL RACH preamble from the first group to indicate that the corresponding SL RACH transmission is for BFR purposes. When UE 115 sends the SL RACH preamble, UE 115 can initiate a BFR timer. In response to UE 115 sending the SL RACH preamble, BFR can be successfully completed by the wireless communication device 402 sending a PSCCH scrambled based on C-RNTI or some other information to UE 115. In response to receiving the PSCCH, UE 115 can stop the BFR timer. Alternatively, if UE 115 does not receive a PSCCH from the wireless communication device 402 before the BFR timer expires, UE 115 can determine a sidelink radio link failure (RLF).

[0067] Figure 5 This is a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 500 supporting BFD and BFR with CA according to some aspects of this disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communication system 500 may implement various aspects of the wireless network 100. The wireless communication system 500 includes a UE 115 and a wireless communication device 550. Although one UE 115 and one wireless communication device 550 are shown, in some other embodiments, the wireless communication system 500 may generally include multiple UEs 115 and may include more than one wireless communication device 550 of the same or different types.

[0068] UE 115 may include various components (e.g., architecture, hardware components) for performing one or more of the functions described herein. For example, these components may include one or more processors 502 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "processor 502"), one or more memory devices 504 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "memory 504"), one or more transmitters 506 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "transmitter 506"), one or more receivers 508 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "receiver 508"), and one or more antenna arrays (hereinafter collectively referred to as "antenna array 510"). Processor 502 may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory 504 to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, processor 502 includes or corresponds to one or more of receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, and controller 280, and memory 504 includes or corresponds to memory 282.

[0069] In some implementations, memory 504 may be configured to store link quality 512, BFD RS count 514, one or more thresholds 516, CC count 518, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement 520. Link quality 512 may be a measurement indicating the quality of the communication link between UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 via a specific beam of UE 115. BFD RS count 514 may include a count of BFD RS received during a time period associated with signal strength meeting a specific threshold. Threshold 516 may include thresholds for BFD and BFR, such as a signal strength threshold, a threshold number of BFD RS, other thresholds, or combinations thereof. CC count 518 may include a count of CCs supported for wireless communication with wireless communication device 550 during a time period. SNR measurement 520 may indicate an SNR measurement associated with BFR RS received at UE 115.

[0070] Transmitter 506 is configured to transmit reference signals, control information, and data to one or more other devices, and receiver 508 is configured to receive reference signals, synchronization signals, control information, and data from one or more other devices. For example, transmitter 506 may transmit signaling, control information, and data to wireless communication device 550, and receiver 508 may receive signaling, control information, and data from wireless communication device 550. In some embodiments, transmitter 506 and receiver 508 may be integrated into one or more transceivers. Additionally or alternatively, transmitter 506 or receiver 508 may include or correspond to a reference signal. Figure 2 One or more components of the UE 115 described.

[0071] Antenna array 510 may include multiple antenna elements configured to perform wireless communication with other devices, such as wireless communication device 550. In some embodiments, antenna array 510 may be configured to perform wireless communication using different beams (also referred to as antenna beams). Beams may include Tx beams and Rx beams. For illustration, antenna array 510 may include multiple independent sets (or subsets) of antenna elements (or multiple separate antenna arrays), and each set of antenna elements of antenna array 510 may be configured to communicate using a different corresponding beam that may have a corresponding direction different from the other beams. For example, a first set of antenna elements of antenna array 510 may be configured to communicate via a first beam having a first direction, and a second set of antenna elements of antenna array 510 may be configured to communicate via a second beam having a second direction. In other embodiments, antenna array 510 may be configured to communicate via more than two beams. Alternatively, one or more sets of antenna elements of antenna array 510 may be configured to generate multiple beams concurrently, for example, using multiple radio frequency (RF) chains of UE 115. Each individual set (or subset) of antenna elements may include multiple antenna elements, such as two antenna elements, four antenna elements, ten antenna elements, twenty antenna elements, or any other number of antenna elements greater than two. Although described as an antenna array, in other embodiments, antenna array 510 may include or correspond to multiple antenna panels, and each antenna panel may be configured to communicate using a different corresponding beam.

[0072] Wireless communication device 550 may include various components (e.g., architecture, hardware components) for performing one or more of the functions described herein. For example, these components may include one or more processors 552 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "processor 552"), one or more memory devices 554 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "memory 554"), one or more transmitters 556 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "transmitter 556"), one or more receivers 558 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "receiver 558"), and one or more antenna arrays (hereinafter collectively referred to as "antenna array 559"). Processor 552 may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory 554 to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, processor 552 includes or corresponds to one or more of receiver processor 238, transmitter processor 220, and controller 240, and memory 554 includes or corresponds to memory 242. Alternatively, processor 552 may include or correspond to one or more of receiver processor 258, transmitter processor 264, and controller 280, and memory 554 may include or correspond to memory 282.

[0073] Transmitter 556 is configured to transmit reference signals, synchronization signals, control information, and data to one or more other devices, and receiver 558 is configured to receive reference signals, control information, and data from one or more other devices. For example, transmitter 556 may transmit signaling, control information, and data to UE 115, and receiver 558 may receive signaling, control information, and data from UE 115. In some embodiments, transmitter 556 and receiver 558 may be integrated into one or more transceivers. Additionally or alternatively, transmitter 556 or receiver 558 may include or correspond to reference signals. Figure 2 One or more components of the described base station 105.

[0074] Antenna array 559 may include multiple antenna elements configured to perform wireless communication with other devices, such as UE 115. In some embodiments, antenna array 559 may be configured to perform wireless communication using different beams (also referred to as antenna beams). The beams may include Tx beams and Rx beams. For illustration, antenna array 559 may include multiple independent sets (or subsets) of antenna elements (or multiple separate antenna arrays), and each set of antenna elements of antenna array 559 may be configured to communicate using a different corresponding beam that may have a corresponding direction different from the other beams. For example, a first set of antenna elements of antenna array 559 may be configured to communicate via a first beam having a first direction, and a second set of antenna elements of antenna array 559 may be configured to communicate via a second beam having a second direction. In other embodiments, antenna array 559 may be configured to communicate via more than two beams. Alternatively, one or more sets of antenna elements of antenna array 559 may be configured to generate multiple beams concurrently, for example, using multiple RF chains of wireless communication device 550. Each individual set (or subset) of antenna elements may include multiple antenna elements, such as two antenna elements, four antenna elements, ten antenna elements, twenty antenna elements, or any other number of antenna elements greater than two. Although described as an antenna array, in other embodiments, antenna array 559 may include or correspond to multiple antenna panels, and each antenna panel may be configured to communicate using a different corresponding beam.

[0075] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 550 may include or correspond to a second UE 115. In such embodiments, the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 550 may be configured to communicate using one or more side-link (SL) communications. In some other embodiments, the wireless communication device 550 may include or correspond to a base station, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 2Base station 105. In such an implementation, wireless communication device 550 may be configured to send one or more DL communications to UE 115, and UE 115 may be configured to send one or more UL communications to wireless communication device 550.

[0076] In some implementations, the wireless communication system 500 implements a 5G NR network. For example, the wireless communication system 500 may include multiple 5G-capable UEs 115 and multiple 5G-capable base stations 105, such as UEs and base stations configured to operate according to 5G NR network protocols defined by 3GPP. In some implementations, the wireless communication system 500 is configured to support wireless communication in the millimeter-wave band or other high frequencies, such as wireless communication between the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 550. Narrower directional beams can be used to perform such communication compared to communication in the sub-6GHz band. In some such implementations, the wireless communication system 500 is configured to support communication channels (CA) in the millimeter-wave band or other high frequencies. For example, the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 550 may communicate via multiple communication channels (CC) within the millimeter-wave band.

[0077] During operation of the wireless communication system 500, the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 550 can communicate using a CA. For example, the UE 115 and the wireless communication device 550 can be configured to communicate via multiple (two or more) CCs. Some or all of the multiple CCs may be located within the same group of CCs. In some embodiments, the CC group may be all or a subset of CCs within a specific frequency band. For example, as a non-limiting example, some or all of the multiple CCs may be located in the range of approximately 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz, such as within FR2, millimeter wave bands, or other high-frequency bands. In other embodiments, the CC group may include CCs spanning multiple frequency bands. As a non-limiting example, one or more of the multiple CCs may be located within another frequency band (e.g., a sub-6 GHz band).

[0078] To enable communication between UE 115 and wireless communication device 550, UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 can form a communication link. Forming a communication link may include determining multiple beam pairs for wireless communication via multiple CCs. For example, UE 115 may determine multiple corresponding beams for wireless communication with wireless communication device 550 via multiple CCs, and wireless communication device 550 may determine multiple corresponding beams for wireless communication with UE 115 via multiple CCs. For illustration, UE 115 may determine N beams (where N is any positive integer) for wireless communication, and wireless communication device 550 may determine M beams (where M is any positive integer) for wireless communication. In some examples, the UE may determine N beams for each of the multiple CCs, such that the corresponding N beams for a given CC are CC-specific. In some other examples, the N beams may be the total number of beams, and the N beams may be shared among the multiple CCs. In such an example, each of the multiple CCs can be associated with the same set of N beams, and can use one or more of the N beams used by another CC. Similarly, the M beams can be CC-specific or can be shared among the multiple CCs. In some implementations, M and N can be the same number, such that UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 use the same number of beams for wireless communication. In such implementations, each of the N beams can have a one-to-one correspondence with a corresponding beam in the M beams. In some other implementations, M and N are different numbers, such that UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 use different numbers of beams for wireless communication, so that the beams do not have a one-to-one correspondence.

[0079] The determination of the beam to be used for wireless communication can be performed by a single device. For example, wireless communication device 550 can transmit reference signals on multiple beams, and UE 115 can receive reference signals on multiple beams, such as by performing beam scanning. UE 115 can measure the signal strength associated with each of the received reference signals, and UE 115 can select any beam associated with a signal strength that satisfies one of thresholds 516 for use when performing wireless communication with wireless communication device 550. UE 115 can send an indicator to wireless communication device 550 indicating which received reference signals are associated with the selected beam, and wireless communication device 550 can select the beam associated with the indicated reference signal for performing wireless communication with UE 115. This process can be performed for each of a plurality of CCs, such that UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 each select one or more beams for each CC to perform wireless communication, such as one or more beams from N beams and one or more beams from M beams respectively. In some other embodiments, UE 115 may transmit reference signals, and wireless communication device 550 may select beams in a manner similar to that described above for UE 115. In some other embodiments, UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 may each transmit reference signals via different CCs, and UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 may each select beams for some of these CCs based on these reference signals and indicate these selections to another device, as described above.

[0080] Beam determination for multiple CCs can be performed during the establishment of a communication link between UE 115 and wireless communication device 550. For example, if wireless communication device 550 is a UE, the determination and selection of beams at UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 can be part of the process of establishing SL communication between UE 115 and wireless communication device 550. Alternatively, if wireless communication device 550 is a base station, the determination and selection of beams at UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 can be part of the process of establishing DL communication, UL communication, or both between UE 115 and wireless communication device 550.

[0081] To enable BFD, at least one of UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 can transmit BFD RS. For example, wireless communication device 550 can periodically transmit BFD RS 570 on one or more TX beams for one or more CCs. UE 115 can receive BFD RS 570 on one or more RX beams for one or more CCs based on a BFD procedure initiated at UE 115. As an example, UE 115 can receive BFD RS on a first beam for a first CC. The BFD procedure can be performed periodically or based on a triggering event, such as detecting an error in the number of threshold values ​​in the decoded message or some other triggering event.

[0082] As part of the BFD process, UE 115 can determine the link quality 512 associated with the first beam used for the first CC. The link quality 512 can be based on the signal strength associated with the BFDRS received on the first beam used for the first CC during the time period. For example, by referring to the above... Figure 3 In a similar manner, UE 115 can measure the signal strength associated with received BFD RSs and can maintain a BFD RS count 514 of BFD RSs received during that time period that are associated with signal strengths satisfying (greater than or equal to) a first threshold in threshold 516. The first threshold may be a threshold signal strength. In some embodiments, the received signal strength may include or correspond to an RSRP measurement of the received BFD RSs. After updating the BFD RS count 514, UE 115 can compare the BFD RS count 514 with a second threshold in threshold 516. The second threshold may be a threshold number of BFD RSs received with signal strengths satisfying the first threshold. If the BFD RS count 514 satisfies the second threshold, UE 115 can determine that the connection with the wireless communication device 550 using the first beam for the first CC is strong enough for UE 115 to continue wireless communication with the wireless communication device 550 using the first beam. However, if the BFD RS count 514 fails to satisfy the second threshold, UE 115 can detect a beam failure of the first beam for the first CC.

[0083] Due to the similarity between CCs at high frequencies, such as in millimeter-wave bands, a beam fault for one CC can be associated with a beam fault for another CC within the same group of CCs. For example, if two CCs are located within the same group of CCs (e.g., within the same frequency band), their channel propagation characteristics can be similar enough that the channel conditions of one CC may be substantially similar to those of the other CC. Therefore, based on the detection of a beam fault in the first beam for the first CC, UE 115 can automatically determine beam faults in one or more beams for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs. For example, UE 115 can determine a beam fault in the second beam for the second CC among multiple CCs based on the detection of a beam fault for the first CC and the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same group of CCs. Similarly, beam faults in other CCs within the same group of CCs can be determined, enabling UE 115 to automatically determine beam faults in other CCs without receiving BFD RS on the corresponding beam of the corresponding CC and measuring the signal strength of the BFD RS. Automatically determining beam faults in this manner can reduce power consumption at UE 115 compared to receiving BFD RS on one or more beams in each of multiple CCs and measuring the signal strength of the corresponding beam to determine the beam fault of the corresponding CC.

[0084] In some implementations, the same beam is used for each of the multiple CCs. For example, the first beam used for the first CC may be the same as the second beam used for the second CC. In some other implementations, different beams are used for different CCs. For example, each of the multiple beams may be a corresponding CC among the multiple CCs used for communication between UE 115 and wireless communication device 550.

[0085] Although described above as UE 115 performing BFD, in other embodiments, wireless communication device 550 may perform BFD. For example, UE 115 may transmit BFD RS 578, and wireless communication device 550 may determine whether a beam fault has occurred based on the number of received BFD RSs meeting a threshold. Alternatively, each of UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 may transmit BFD RS and determine BFD. In some embodiments, BFD RS may be transmitted concurrently by different devices via different CCs. For example, before a beam fault is detected at UE 115, UE 115 may transmit BFD RS 578 to wireless communication device 550 on a second beam via a second CC during the same time period that wireless communication device 550 transmits BFD RS 570 on the corresponding beam via a first CC. In such embodiments, each CC may be reserved for communication in a specific direction, such as from UE 115 to wireless communication device 550, or from wireless communication device 550 to UE 115, and the two CCs associated with different communication directions may be referred to as a “bidirectional CC” or a “bidirectional CC pair”. In some other implementations, multiple devices may transmit BFD RS via the same CC. For example, before a beam fault is detected at UE 115, UE 115 may transmit BFD RS 578 to the wireless communication device via the first CC on the first beam during a different time period than when the wireless communication device transmits BFD RS 570 via the first CC on the corresponding beam. In such an example, BFD RS reception and BFD RS transmission may be performed via the same one or more CCs according to different schedules.

[0086] In some implementations, the device can change which CC is used to transmit or receive the corresponding BFD RS. For example, UE 115 can monitor BFD RS 570 via the first CC on at least a first beam during a first time period. Monitoring BFD RS 570 can enable the detection of beam failures on the first beam used by the first CC, as described above. Additionally, UE 115 can switch from receiving BFD RS 570 via the first CC on at least the first beam to transmitting BFD RS 578 via the first CC on one or more other beams during a second time period after the first time period. The switch from monitoring BFD RS 570 to transmitting BFD RS 578 can be scheduled. For example, UE 115 can stop monitoring BFD RS 570 and initiate the transmission of BFD RS 578 based on a predetermined BFD RS scheduling or mode.

[0087] Alternatively, the switch from monitoring BFD RS 570 to transmitting BFD RS 578 can be based on a triggering event. As a non-limiting example, the triggering event could be a change in the number of CCs used to perform wireless communication with the wireless communication device 550. For example, UE 115 can determine a CC count 518 at the beginning of a first time period, representing the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs used for wireless communication, and UE 115 can determine a second CC count 518 at the beginning of a second time period, representing the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs used for wireless communication. UE 115 can stop monitoring BFD RS 570 and initiate the transmission of BFD RS 578 based on the second CC count 518 being less than the CC count 518. In this way, if the number of CCs used for wireless communication between UE 115 and the wireless communication device 550 decreases during the operation of the wireless communication system 500, UE 115 can change which CCs are used to transmit or receive BFD RS. In at least some embodiments, the wireless communication device 550 can perform similar operations. Additionally or alternatively, although the above description is based on the BFD RS570 received on the first beam for the first CC to detect a beam fault, in other embodiments, the UE 115 may use one or more other beams for one or more other CCs to receive the BFD RS 570 to detect a beam fault, and the UE 115 may determine the beam fault of the first beam for the first CC based on the detection of a beam fault for one or more other CCs and based on the fact that the first CC and one or more other CCs are located in the same group of CCs.

[0088] After detecting a beam fault in the first beam for the first CC and determining a beam fault in the second beam for the second CC, UE 115 can perform one or more BFR operations associated with any one or more CCs within the same group of CCs as the first and second CCs. Due to the similarity between CCs at high frequencies, such as in millimeter-wave bands, if the CC group includes some or all of the CCs in the millimeter-wave band, beam recovery for one CC indicates beam recovery for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs. Beam recovery may include: identifying different beams to be used for wireless communication for a specific CC based on BFR RS, and switching from communicating using the beam associated with the beam fault to performing wireless communication for the specific CC using the identified beam. Such beam switching may also be performed for other CCs within the same group of CCs without receiving or performing corresponding measurements of the BFR RS for the other CCs.

[0089] For illustration, the wireless communication device 550 can periodically transmit multiple BFR RSs, such as a first BFR RS 572 and an Mth BFR RS 574 (where M is any positive integer), on at least two beams for each of one or more CCs. Each BFR RS can be transmitted via different beams for one CC or for multiple CCs. For example, the wireless communication device 550 can transmit the first BFR RS 572 on one beam for one CC, and the wireless communication device 550 can transmit the Mth BFR RS 574 on another beam for the same CC or another CC. One or more CCs via which BFR RS 572-574 are transmitted are located within the same set of CCs (e.g., a millimeter-wave band) as the first and second CCs described above. For example, the wireless communication device 550 can transmit BFR RS 572-574 on multiple beams for each of one or more CCs within the same set of CCs, as shown in the reference. Figure 4 Described.

[0090] In some implementations, BFR RS 572-574 may include or correspond to an SLSSB or SL CSI-RS indicated by the BFR RS list. For example, wireless communication device 550 may include or correspond to a second UE, and wireless communication device 550 (or base station) may configure UE 115 to use SL-CFRA resources for BFR purposes. This may include the wireless communication device sending a BFR RS list (slCandidateBeamRsList) to UE 115, as referenced above. Figure 4 Alternatively, the wireless communication device 550 (or base station) may not configure the UE 115 to use SL-CFRA resources for BFR purposes, and BFRRS 572-574 may include or correspond to SL SSBs transmitted for discovery and SL link establishment. For example, the wireless communication device 550 may transmit SL SSBs during the initial side crosslink access procedure, as described above. Figure 4 As described. In other embodiments, as a non-limiting example, wireless communication device 550 may include or correspond to a base station, and BFR RS 572-574 may include or correspond to other types of messages, such as DL SSB or DL ​​CSI-RS.

[0091] UE 115 can monitor BFR RS572-574 on each of at least two beams used for each of one or more CCs. For example, UE 115 can monitor BFR RS 572-574 based on the detection of a beam fault in the first beam used for a first CC. UE 115 can use N beams (where N is any positive integer) to perform beam scanning to monitor BFR RS 572-574 for each of one or more CCs, as referenced. Figure 4 Described. For example, UE 115 may perform a beam scan using N beams for one of the one or more CCs, and subsequently perform a corresponding beam scan using N beams for each of the remaining one or more CCs. UE 115 may receive BFR RS 572-574 and may determine metrics associated with BFR RS 572-574 on at least two beams to determine the “strongest” beam among the at least two beams for the corresponding CC. For example, UE 115 may determine an SNR measurement 520 associated with the BFR RS received on at least two beams, and UE 115 may identify the strongest beam among the at least two beams associated with the highest SNR in the SNR measurement 520 for the corresponding CC.

[0092] UE 115 can switch communication with wireless communication device 550 from a first beam used for the first CC to a third beam used for the first CC based on BFR RS 572-574. For example, UE 115 can switch communication from the first beam used for the first CC to the third beam used for the first CC based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam (based on SNR measurement 520). UE 115 can also determine, based on the handover for the first CC, which beam should be switched for communication with wireless communication device 550 for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs. For example, UE 115 can switch communication with wireless communication device 550 from a second beam used for the second CC to a fourth beam used for the second CC based on the handover from the first beam used for the first CC to the third beam used for the first CC and based on the first CC and the second CC being in the same group of CCs. Therefore, UE 115 can perform BFR and determine which beam to switch to for other CCs without receiving or performing measurements of the BFR RS for other CCs.

[0093] In some implementations, UE 115 may receive BFR RS 572-574 via the same CC that UE 115 detects a beam fault and subsequently performs a BFR. For example, UE 115 may receive BFR RS 572-574 via one or more CCs that include a first CC, for which a beam fault in the first beam is identified and a handover to the third beam for communication with the wireless communication device 550 is performed. The one or more CCs may alternatively include a second CC, or the one or more CCs may include both the first CC and the second CC. Alternatively, UE 115 may receive BFR RS 572-574 via a different CC than that for which UE 115 detects a beam fault and subsequently performs a BFR. For example, UE 115 may receive BFR RS 572-574 via one or more CCs that do not include the first CC, for which a beam fault is identified and a handover to the third beam is performed. Alternatively, BFDRS 570 may be transmitted and received via the same CC as BFR RS 572-574. For example, UE 115 may receive BFD RS 570 and BFR RS 572-574 via at least a first CC. Alternatively, BFD RS 570 and BFR RS 572-574 may be transmitted and received via different CCs. For example, UE 115 may receive BFD RS 570 via a first CC, and UE 115 may receive BFR RS 572-574 via one or more other CCs within the same set of CCs as the first CC.

[0094] After determining that the UE 115 is switching from the first beam to the third beam for the first CC, the UE 115 may send a beam indicator 576 to the wireless communication device 550. The beam indicator 576 may indicate a specific BFR RS associated with the strongest beam identified at the UE 115. Receiving the beam indicator 576 enables the wireless communication device 550 to switch communication beams. For example, the wireless communication device 550 may switch from communicating with the UE 115 on a beam used for the first CC to communicating with the UE 115 on a specific beam associated with the BFR RS indicated by the beam indicator 576 for the first CC. In a manner similar to that described above for the UE 115, the wireless communication device 550 may also switch beams used for communication via one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs based on switching the beam used for the first CC.

[0095] In some implementations, beam indicator 576 includes or corresponds to a RACH preamble transmitted by UE 115 in one or more resources (e.g., time or frequency resources) associated with the received BFR RS used to identify the strongest beam. Wireless communication device 550 can receive the RACH preamble and can identify a specific beam for transmitting the BFR RS associated with the resource in which the RACH preamble is received, such that wireless communication device 550 can switch to communicating with UE 115 on a specific beam used for the first CC. In some implementations, UE 115 can transmit the RACH preamble, and wireless communication device 550 can transmit BFR RS 572-574 via the same one or more CCs. For example, wireless communication device 550 can transmit BFR RS 572-574 via at least a first CC, a second CC, or both, and UE 115 can transmit the RACH preamble via at least a first CC, a second CC, or both. Alternatively, UE 115 may transmit the RACH preamble via one or more CCs that are different from the one or more CCs used by wireless communication device 550 to transmit BFR RS 572-574. For example, wireless communication device 550 may transmit BFR RS 572-574 via at least a first CC, a second CC, or both, as described above, and UE 115 may transmit the RACH preamble via another CC located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC.

[0096] In some other embodiments, beam indicator 576 includes or corresponds to a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE) message. The MAC-CE message may indicate the BFR RS associated with the strongest beam identified at UE 115. UE 115 may send the MAC-CE message to wireless communication device 550 on the same CC (such as at least the first CC, the second CC, or both) as the BFR RS 572-574 sent by wireless communication device 550. In some embodiments, UE 115 may send the MAC-CE message via a CC that is not in the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC. For example, as a non-limiting example, the first CC and the second CC may be included in a set of CCs within the millimeter-wave band, and UE 115 may send the MAC-CE message via different CCs within the sub-6GHz band.

[0097] Although described above as UE 115 performing BFR, in other embodiments, wireless communication device 550 may perform BFR. For example, UE 115 may transmit BFR RS on at least two beams for a first CC or a plurality of CCs including the first CC, and wireless communication device 550 may determine, based on the BFR RS, the beam to switch to for communication with UE 115 via the first CC. For example, UE 115 may transmit BFR RS including a first BFR RS 580 and an Nth BFR RS 582 (where N is any positive integer) on the corresponding beam for the first CC, and wireless communication device 550 may measure the SNR associated with BFR RS 580-582 to identify the strongest beam for the first CC at wireless communication device 550. As a non-limiting example, BFR RS 580-582 may include or correspond to SL SSB or SL CSI-RS. Subsequently, wireless communication device 550 may switch to communicating with UE 115 on the strongest beam for the first CC. Alternatively, each of UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 may transmit BFR RS and perform BFR. In some embodiments, BFR RS may be transmitted concurrently by different devices via different CCs. For example, wireless communication device 550 may periodically transmit BFR RS 572-574 on multiple beams used for at least a first CC, a second CC, or both, and UE 115 may periodically transmit BFR RS 580-582 to wireless communication device 550 on multiple beams used for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC during the same time period. In some other embodiments, BFR RS may be transmitted by different devices via the same one or more CCs. For example, wireless communication device 550 may periodically transmit BFR RS 572 on multiple beams used for at least a first CC, a second CC, or both, and UE 115 may periodically transmit BFR RS 580-582 on multiple beams used for at least a first CC, a second CC, or both at different times.

[0098] In some implementations, the device can change which CC is used to transmit or receive the corresponding BFR RS. For example, UE 115 may monitor BFR RS 572-574 via at least a first CC on at least a first beam during a first time period. Additionally, UE 115 may switch from receiving BFR RS 572-574 via at least a first CC to transmitting BFR RS 580-582 via at least a first CC during a second time period after the first time period. The switch from monitoring BFR RS 572-574 to transmitting BFR RS 582-584 can be scheduled or based on a triggering event, as described above with respect to BFD RS. In at least some implementations, wireless communication device 550 may perform similar operations, such as changing from transmitting BFR RS 572-574 via at least a first CC during a first time period to monitoring BFR RS 580-582 via at least a first CC during a second time period. Alternatively, BFR RS 572-574 and BFR RS 580-582 can be sent via different CCs during each time period, instead of sending BFR RS 572-574 or BFR RS580-582 during each time period.

[0099] For reference Figure 5The present disclosure provides techniques for BFD and BFR for wireless communication systems supporting CA in higher frequency bands (e.g., millimeter-wave bands), which reduce power consumption at the wireless communication device. For example, UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple CCs located within the same group of CCs (e.g., a group of CCs within the millimeter-wave band). Due to the similarity between CCs at higher frequencies, BFD and BFR can be performed for one CC based on a reference signal, and based on the performance of BFD and BFR, BFD and BFR can be automatically performed for other CCs within the same group of CCs. For example, UE 115 can detect a beam fault for a first beam for a first CC based on BFD RS 570, and UE 115 can determine a beam fault for a second beam for a second CC based on determining a beam fault for the first CC and based on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same group of CCs. UE 115 can also determine whether to switch communication with wireless communication device 550 from the first beam used for the first CC to the third beam used for the first CC based on the detection of a beam fault in the first beam used for the first CC. Furthermore, UE 115 can switch communication with wireless communication device 550 from the second beam used for the second CC to the fourth beam used for the second CC based on the switch for the first CC and the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same group of CCs. Therefore, based on performing BFD and BFR for one CC, UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 can perform BFD and BFR for other CCs in the same group of CCs without receiving or performing measurements of corresponding reference signals in the other CCs. This reduces power consumption at UE 115 and wireless communication device 550 compared to receiving corresponding reference signals via each CC and performing signal measurements on the reference signals in each CC to perform BFD and BFR for each CC. This reduction in power consumption may be particularly advantageous for UEs that use SL communication to communicate via multiple CCs in higher frequency bands to perform BFD and BFR on SL.

[0100] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an example process 600 that supports a BFD of a CC based on a BFD of another CC within the same set of CCs, according to some aspects. The operation of process 600 can be performed by a UE (e.g., as referenced above). Figure 1-5 The UE 115 described or referenced Figure 8 The UE described above can perform this operation. For example, the example operation of procedure 600 (also referred to as a “box”) can enable UE 115 to determine the BFD for a CC based on the BFD for another CC within the same group of CCs (e.g., a group of CCs in the millimeter wave band or other high frequency bands, or a group of CCs spanning multiple such bands).

[0101] In block 602, UE 115 determines multiple beams for wireless communication with a second wireless communication device via multiple CCs. At least the first CC and the second CC are located within the same set of CCs. For example, UE 115 may determine multiple beams generated by antenna array 510 for wireless communication with wireless communication device 550. In block 604, UE 115 determines the link quality associated with a first beam of the multiple beams used for the first CC. For example, UE 115 may determine the link quality 512 based on receiving BFD RS 570 on the first beam used for the first CC.

[0102] In block 606, UE 115 detects a beam fault in the first beam used for the first CC based on the link quality associated with the first beam used for the first CC. For example, UE 115 may determine a beam fault in the first beam used for the first CC based on link quality 512. In block 608, UE 115 determines a beam fault in the second beam used for the second CC among a plurality of beams based on the detection of a beam fault in the first CC and based on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same group of CCs. For example, UE 115 may determine a beam fault in the second beam used for the second CC based on the detected beam fault in the first beam used for the first CC and based on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located within the same group of CCs.

[0103] In some embodiments, the first beam used for the first CC is the same as the second beam used for the second CC. In some other embodiments, each of the plurality of beams is for a corresponding CC among a plurality of CCs used for communication between the UE and the second wireless communication device. Additionally or alternatively, the same set of CCs may be included in a frequency band (e.g., FR2 or mmWave band) ranging from approximately 24.25 GHz to approximately 52.6 GHz. The CC set may include some or all of the CCs within the frequency band. Alternatively, the CC set may include CCs spanning multiple frequency bands. Additionally or alternatively, the second wireless communication device may include a second UE, and the plurality of beams may be used for sidelink communication between the UE and the second UE.

[0104] In some implementations, determining the link quality associated with the first beam for the first CC includes receiving BFD RS from the second wireless communication device via the first CC on the first beam and determining the number of received BFD RS associated with a signal strength that meets a first threshold during a time period. For example, UE 115 may receive BFD RS 570 from wireless communication device 550 and determine a BFD RS count 514 based on the BFD RS 570 associated with a signal strength that meets the first threshold in threshold 516. In some such implementations, detecting a beam fault for the first beam for the first CC based on link quality includes detecting a beam fault for the first beam for the first CC based on the determined number of received BFD RS failing to meet a second threshold during a time period. For example, UE 115 may detect a beam fault for the first beam for the first CC based on the BFD RS count 514 failing to meet the second threshold in threshold 516 during a time period. In some such implementations, process 60 may further include transmitting BFD RS to the second wireless communication device via the second CC on the second beam during a time period, via one or more beams for the first CC during another time period, or a combination thereof. For example, UE115 may transmit BFD RS 578 to wireless communication device 550 via a second CC on a second beam during a time period, via one or more beams for a first CC during another time period, via one or more beams for one or more other CCs within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, or a combination thereof.

[0105] In some implementations, process 600 may include: initiating one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more of a plurality of CCs located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, based on detecting a beam fault for a first beam for a first CC, determining a beam fault for a second beam for a second CC, or both.

[0106] In some embodiments, process 600 further includes: monitoring BFD RS from a second wireless communication device via a first CC on at least a first beam during a first time period, and transmitting BFD RS to the second wireless communication device via the first CC on one or more other beams during a second time period after the first time period. Detection of beam faults in the first beam used for the first CC is based on monitoring. For example, UE 115 may monitor BFD RS 570 via the first CC on at least a first beam during the first time period, and UE 115 may transmit BFD RS 578 via the first CC on one or more other beams during the second time period. In some such embodiments, the first time period and the second time period may be based on a predetermined BFD RS schedule, and process 600 may further include stopping BFD RS monitoring before the start of the second time period and initiating BFD RS transmission during the second time period based on the predetermined BFD RS schedule. Alternatively, process 600 may further include: determining a first number of CCs included in a plurality of CCs at the start of the first time period, determining a second number of CCs included in a plurality of CCs at the start of the second time period, and stopping BFD RS monitoring and initiating BFD RS transmission based on the second number of CCs being less than the first number of CCs. For example, UE 115 can determine a CC count 518 for the CC used for wireless communication at the beginning of a first time period, UE 115 can determine a second CC count 518 for the CC used for wireless communication at the beginning of a second time period, and UE 115 can stop monitoring BFD RS 570 and initiate the transmission of BFD RS 578 based on the second CC count 518 being less than the CC count 518.

[0107] In some embodiments, process 600 may further include receiving a BFR RS from a second wireless communication device on each of at least two of a plurality of beams used for one or more of a plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs may be located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, and the at least two beams may include a third and a fourth beam of a plurality of beams. For example, UE 115 may receive BFR RS 572-574 from wireless communication device 550 on each of at least two beams used for one or more CCs. Process 600 may further include: switching communication with the second wireless communication device from a first beam used for the first CC to a third beam used for the first CC based on the BFR RS; and switching communication with the second wireless communication device from a second beam used for the second CC to a fourth beam used for the second CC based on the switch from the first beam to the third beam for the first CC and based on the first CC and the second CC being located within the same set of CCs. In some such embodiments, process 600 further includes: based on detecting a beam fault in a first beam for a first CC, monitoring BFR RS on each of at least two beams for one or more CCs, determining the SNR associated with the BFR RS received on each of the at least two beams, and identifying the strongest beam among the at least two beams associated with the highest SNR. For example, UE 115 may determine SNR measurement 520 based on BFR RS 572-574, and may identify the strongest beam based on SNR measurement 520. In some such embodiments, process 600 further includes: based on identifying a third beam as the strongest beam, determining to switch from communication on the first beam for the first CC to communication on the third beam for the first CC. In some such embodiments, process 600 further includes: based on identifying a third beam as the strongest beam, determining to switch from communication on the second beam for the second CC to communication on the fourth beam for the second CC.

[0108] In some embodiments where the switch from communication on a first beam used for the first CC to communication on a third beam used for the first CC is based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam, process 600 may further include: transmitting a RACH preamble to the second wireless communication device on the third beam in resources associated with the received BFR RS, based on the identification of the third beam as the strongest beam. For example, beam indicator 576 may include the RACH preamble. In some such embodiments, the RACH preamble may be transmitted via a third CC among a plurality of CCs. The third CC may be located within the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC. Alternatively, process 600 may further include transmitting a MAC-CE message to the second wireless communication device via a fourth CC among a plurality of CCs. The MAC-CE message may indicate the BFR RS received on the third beam based on the identification of the third beam as the strongest beam. The fourth CC may be within a different group of CCs than the first CC and the second CC. For example, beam indicator 576 may include MAC-CE and may be transmitted via a fourth CC that is not within the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC.

[0109] In some embodiments where a beam fault is detected in the first beam used for the first CC, and a monitoring BFR RS occurs on each of at least two beams used for one or more CCs, the one or more CCs include the first CC, the second CC, or both. Alternatively, the one or more CCs may be different from the first CC, the second CC, or both. In some such embodiments, process 600 may further include transmitting a RACH preamble to a second wireless communication device via a third CC among the plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs may be different from the third CC. For example, beam indicator 576 may include a RACH preamble and may be transmitted via a CC different from the CCs via which BFR RS 572-574 is transmitted.

[0110] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating an example process 700 that supports a BFR for a CC based on a BFR for another CC within the same set of CCs, according to some aspects. The operation of process 700 can be performed by a wireless communication device (e.g., as described above). Figure 1 and Figure 2 The base station described is 105, and the above is for reference. Figure 5 The wireless communication device described is referenced in 550 or above. Figure 9 The wireless communication device described herein may be used to perform this operation. For example, the example operation of process 700 may enable the wireless communication device 550 to perform a BFR for a CC based on a BFR for another CC within the same CC group (e.g., millimeter wave band or other high frequency).

[0111] In block 702, wireless communication device 550 determines multiple beams for wireless communication with the UE via multiple CCs. At least a first CC and a second CC are located within the same group of CCs. For example, wireless communication device 550 may determine multiple beams generated by antenna array 559 for wireless communication with the UE 115. In block 704, wireless communication device 550 periodically transmits BFR RS on at least two beams of the multiple beams for one or more CCs. The one or more CCs are the same CC group as the first CC and the second CC, and the at least two beams include the first beam and the second beam of the multiple beams. For example, wireless communication device 550 may transmit BFR RS 572 to the UE 115 on at least two beams for one or more CCs.

[0112] In block 706, wireless communication device 550 receives an indicator for the second beam from the UE. For example, wireless communication device 550 may receive beam indicator 576 from UE 115. In block 708, wireless communication device 550 switches from communicating with the UE on a first beam for the first CC to communicating with the UE on a second beam for the first CC based on receiving the indicator. In block 710, wireless communication device 550 switches from communicating with the UE on a third beam for the second CC among multiple beams based on switching from the first beam to the second beam for the first CC, and switches from communicating with the UE on a fourth beam for the second CC among multiple beams based on the first CC and the second CC being in the same group of CCs.

[0113] In some embodiments, the first beam used for the first CC is the same as the third beam used for the second CC, and the second beam used for the first CC is the same as the fourth beam used for the second CC. In some other embodiments, each of the plurality of beams is used for a corresponding CC among the plurality of CCs for communication between the wireless communication device and the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the same set of CCs may be included in a frequency band ranging from approximately 24.25 GHz to approximately 52.6 GHz. A CC set may include some or all of the CCs located within a frequency band. Alternatively, a CC set may include CCs spanning multiple frequency bands. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device may include a second UE, and the plurality of beams may be used for sidelink communication between the second UE and the UE.

[0114] In some embodiments, process 700 may further include periodically transmitting BFD RS to the UE on a first beam for the first CC before receiving the indicator of the second beam. For example, wireless communication device 550 may periodically transmit BFD RS 570 on the first beam for the first CC before receiving the beam indicator 576. In some such embodiments, one or more CCs may include the first CC. For example, wireless communication device 550 may transmit BFR RS 572-574 via at least one CC that is the same as BFD RS 570. Alternatively, one or more CCs may be different from the first CC. For example, wireless communication device 550 may transmit BFR RS 572-574 via a CC that is different from BFD RS 570.

[0115] In some implementations, the indicator for receiving the second beam may include receiving a RACH preamble from the UE in resources associated with the second beam. For example, beam indicator 576 may include or correspond to a RACH preamble received in time and frequency resources associated with BFRRS transmission on the second beam. In some such implementations, the RACH preamble may be received via a fifth beam of a plurality of beams for a third CC of a plurality of CCs. The third CC may be located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC. In some such implementations, one or more CCs may be different from the third CC. For example, wireless communication device 550 may receive beam indicator 576 via a CC different from the CCs via which BFR RS 572-574 is transmitted.

[0116] In some implementations, the indicator for receiving the second beam may include receiving a MAC-CE message from the UE via a fourth CC among a plurality of CCs. The MAC-CE message may indicate the second beam, and the fourth CC may be located in a different set of CCs than the first and second CCs. For example, beam indicator 576 may include or correspond to a MAC CE received by wireless communication device 550 via a CC not in the same set of CCs as the first and second CCs. As a particular example, the MAC CE may be received via a CC in the sub-6 GHz band, and the first and second CCs may be in the millimeter-wave band.

[0117] Figure 8 This is a block diagram of an example UE 800 that supports BFD for a single CC based on BFD for another CC within the same set of CCs. The UE 800 can be configured to perform BFD including references... Figure 6The described procedure 600 operates by determining a BFD for a CC based on a BFD for another CC within the same set of CCs (e.g., millimeter-wave bands or other high frequencies). In some implementations, UE 800 includes a reference... Figure 2 or Figure 5 The UE 115 illustrates and describes the structure, hardware, and components. For example, UE 800 includes a controller 280 that operates to execute logical or computer instructions stored in memory 282, and components for controlling UE 800 to provide the features and functions of UE 800. Under the control of controller 280, UE 800 transmits and receives signals via wireless radio equipment 801a-r and antenna 252a-r. Wireless radio equipment 801a-r includes various components and hardware, such as... Figure 2 As shown in the figure for UE 115, it includes modulator and demodulator 254a-r, MIMO detector 256, receiver processor 258, transmitter processor 264 and TX MIMO processor 266.

[0118] As shown in the figure, memory 282 may include beam selection logic 802, link quality logic 803, beam fault detection logic 804, and beam fault recovery logic 805. Beam selection logic 802 may be configured to determine multiple beams for multiple control centers (CCs) for wireless communication with a wireless communication device. Link quality logic 803 may be configured to determine the link quality of one or more beams for the multiple CCs based on received BFD RS. Beam fault detection logic 804 may be configured to detect a first beam fault for a first beam for a first CC based on the link quality associated with the first beam, and to determine beam faults for one or more other CCs within the same group of CCs as the first CC based on the detected beam fault for the first CC and the fact that other CCs are located within the same group of CCs as the first CC. Beam fault recovery logic 805 can be configured to switch communication with a wireless communication device from the first beam used for the first CC to a different beam used for the first CC based on a detected beam fault in the first beam used for the first CC; and to determine, based on the switching of the beam used for the first CC and based on the fact that one or more other CCs are located within the same set of CCs as the first CC, to switch communication with a wireless communication device from one or more beams used for one or more other CCs to one or more different beams used for one or more other CCs. UE 800 can obtain this information from one or more network entities (e.g., Figure 1 and Figure 2 Base station 105 Figure 5 Wireless communication device 550, another UE, or such Figure 9The wireless communication device shown receives or sends signals to itself.

[0119] In some implementations, UE 800 can be configured to perform Figure 6 The process is described in block 600. For illustration, UE 800 can execute, under the control of controller 280, beam selection logic 802, link quality logic 803, beam fault detection logic 804, and beam fault recovery logic 805 stored in memory 282. The execution environment of beam selection logic 802 provides the functionality to perform at least the operations in block 602. The execution environment of link quality logic 803 provides the functionality to perform at least the operations in block 604. The execution environment of beam fault detection logic 804 provides the functionality to perform at least the operations in blocks 606 and 608.

[0120] Figure 9 This is a block diagram of an example wireless communication device 900 that supports a BFR for a CC based on some aspects of a BFR for another CC within a set of CCs. The wireless communication device 900 can be configured to perform actions including references... Figure 7 The described process blocks operate to perform a BFR for a CC based on a BFR for another CC within the same set of CCs (e.g., a CC in the millimeter-wave band or other high-frequency bands). In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 900 includes a reference... Figure 1 and Figure 2 Base station 105 Figures 1-5 UE 115, or Figure 5 The structure, hardware, and components shown and described in the wireless communication device 550. For example, if the wireless communication device 900 includes or corresponds to a UE, the wireless communication device 900 may include a controller 280 that operates to execute logical or computer instructions stored in a memory 282, and components for controlling the wireless communication device 900 to provide the features and functions of the wireless communication device 900. Under the control of the controller 280, the wireless communication device 900 transmits and receives signals via a wireless radio device 901a-r and an antenna 252a-r. The wireless radio device 901a-r includes various components and hardware, such as... Figure 2 As shown for UE 115, it includes modulators and demodulators 254a-r, MIMO detector 256, receiver processor 258, transmitter processor 264, and TX MIMO processor 266. Alternatively, if the wireless communication device 900 includes or corresponds to a base station, the wireless communication device 900 may include, as referenced... Figure 2 The components of the base station 105 are described.

[0121] As shown in the figure, memory 282 may include beam selection logic 902, reference signal generation logic 903, beam fault recovery logic 904, and beam fault detection logic 905. Beam selection logic 902 may be configured to determine multiple beams for multiple control centers (CCs) for wireless communication with the UE. Reference signal generation logic 903 may be configured to generate reference signals, such as BFD RS and BFR RS, for periodic transmission. Beam fault recovery logic 904 may be configured to switch communication with the UE from a first beam for the first CC to a second beam for the first CC based on receiving a beam indicator from the UE, and to switch communication with the UE from via one or more beams for one or more other CCs to via one or more different beams for one or more other CCs based on switching the beam for the first CC and based on one or more other CCs being in the same group of CCs as the first CC. Beam fault detection logic 905 can be configured to: detect a first beam fault for a beam for a CC based on the link quality associated with a beam; and determine beam faults for other CCs based on the detected beam fault for the first CC and based on the fact that one or more other CCs within the same set of CCs as the first CC are located within the same set of CCs as the first CC. Wireless communication device 900 can obtain information from one or more UEs (e.g., ...). Figures 1-5 UE 115 or Figure 8 The UE 800 receives signals or sends signals to it.

[0122] In some implementations, the wireless communication device 900 can be configured to perform Figure 7 The process is described in block 700. For illustration, the wireless communication device 900 can execute, under the control of the controller 280, beam selection logic 902, reference signal generation logic 903, beam fault recovery logic 904, and beam fault detection logic 905 stored in memory 282. The execution environment of beam selection logic 902 provides the functionality to perform at least the operations in block 702. The execution environment of reference signal generation logic 903 provides the functionality to perform at least the operations in block 704. Wireless radio devices 901a-r and antennas 252a-r provide the functionality to perform at least the operations in block 706. The execution environment of beam fault recovery logic 904 provides the functionality to perform at least the operations in blocks 708 and 710.

[0123] Note, reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 One or more boxes (or operations) described may be combined with one or more boxes (or operations) described with reference to another figure. For example, Figure 6 One or more boxes (or operations) can be combined with Figure 7A combination of one or more boxes (or actions). As another example, with... Figure 6 or Figure 7 One or more associated boxes can be combined with Figure 2 or Figure 5 A combination of one or more related boxes (or operations). Additionally or alternatively, see above for reference. Figures 1-8 One or more operations described can be compared with the reference Figure 9 The described combination of one or more operations.

[0124] In some aspects, techniques for implementing BFD and BFR for one or more CCs based on BFD and BFR for one CC within the same set of CCs may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects of one or more other processes or devices described below or in conjunction with other parts of this document. In some aspects, implementing BFD for one or more CCs based on BFD for one CC within the same set of CCs may include: means configured to determine multiple beams for wireless communication with a second wireless communication device via multiple CCs. At least a first CC and a second CC among the multiple CCs may be within the same set of CCs. The means may also be configured to determine the link quality associated with a first beam for the first CC among the multiple beams. The means may be configured to detect a beam fault for the first beam for the first CC based on the link quality associated with the first beam for the first CC. The means may also be configured to determine a beam fault for a second beam for the second CC among the multiple beams based on the detection of a beam fault for the first CC and based on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are within the same set of CCs. In some embodiments, the means includes a wireless device, such as a UE. In some embodiments, the device may include at least one processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to perform the operations described herein with respect to a wireless device. In some other embodiments, the apparatus may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, and the program code may be executed by a computer to cause the computer to perform the operations described herein with reference to a wireless device. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more units configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0125] In the first aspect, the first beam for the first CC is the same as the second beam for the second CC.

[0126] In the second aspect, each of the multiple beams is directed to a corresponding CC among the multiple CCs used for communication between the UE and the second wireless communication device.

[0127] In the third aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to second aspects, the same set of CCs is included in a frequency band ranging from approximately 24.25 GHz to approximately 52.6 GHz.

[0128] In the fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the second wireless communication device includes a second UE, and multiple beams are used for side link communication between the UE and the second UE.

[0129] In the fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, determining the link quality associated with the first beam of the first CC includes: receiving BFD RS from the second wireless communication device via the first CC on the first beam, and determining the number of received BFD RS associated with a signal strength that meets a first threshold during a time period.

[0130] In the sixth aspect, in combination with the fifth aspect, detecting a beam fault for the first beam used for the first CC based on link quality includes: detecting a beam fault for the first beam used for the first CC based on the fact that the determined number of received BFD RSs fails to meet a second threshold during a time period.

[0131] In the seventh aspect, in combination with one or more of the fifth to sixth aspects, the device transmits BFD RS to a second wireless communication device via a second CC on a second beam during a time period, via one or more beams for a first CC during another time period, or a combination thereof.

[0132] In the eighth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the device initiates one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more of a plurality of CCs within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, based on detecting a beam fault for a first beam for the first CC, determining a beam fault for a second beam for the second CC, or both.

[0133] In the ninth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, the device monitors BFD RS from the second wireless communication device via a first CC on at least a first beam during a first time period. Detection of beam faults in the first beam used for the first CC is based on monitoring. The device also transmits BFD RS to the second wireless communication device via the first CC on one or more other beams during a second time period following the first time period.

[0134] In the tenth aspect, in conjunction with the ninth aspect, the first time period and the second time period are based on a predetermined BFD RS schedule, and the device stops monitoring BFD RS before the start of the second time period, and initiates BFD RS transmission during the second time period based on the predetermined BFD RS schedule.

[0135] In the eleventh aspect, in combination with one or more aspects of the ninth to tenth aspects, the device determines a first number of CCs included in a plurality of CCs at the beginning of a first time period, determines a second number of CCs included in a plurality of CCs at the beginning of a second time period, and stops monitoring BFD RS and initiates BFD RS transmission based on the fact that the second number of CCs is less than the first number of CCs.

[0136] In the twelfth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eleventh aspects, the device receives a BFR RS from the second wireless communication device on each of at least two of a plurality of beams for one or more of a plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs are in the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, and the at least two beams include a third beam and a fourth beam among the plurality of beams. The device also switches communication with the second wireless communication device from a first beam for the first CC to a third beam for the first CC based on the BFR RS, and switches communication with the second wireless communication device from a second beam for the second CC to a fourth beam for the second CC based on the switch from the first beam to the third beam for the first CC and based on the first CC and the second CC being in the same group of CCs.

[0137] In the thirteenth aspect, in combination with the twelfth aspect, the apparatus monitors the BFR RS on each of at least two beams for one or more CCs based on the detection of a beam fault in the first beam for the first CC, determines the SNR associated with the BFR RS received on each of the at least two beams, and identifies the strongest beam among the at least two beams associated with the highest SNR.

[0138] In the fourteenth aspect, in conjunction with the thirteenth aspect, the device determines to switch from communication on the first beam used for the first CC to communication on the third beam used for the first CC based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam.

[0139] In the fifteenth aspect, in combination with the fourteenth aspect, the device determines whether to switch from communication on the second beam used for the second CC to communication on the fourth beam used for the second CC based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam.

[0140] In the sixteenth aspect, in combination with one or more aspects of the fourteenth to fifteenth aspects, the device transmits a RACH preamble to a second wireless communication device on the third beam in resources associated with the received BFR RS, based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam.

[0141] In the seventeenth aspect, in conjunction with the sixteenth aspect, the RACH preamble is transmitted via the third CC of a plurality of CCs. The third CC is located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC.

[0142] In the eighteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more aspects of the fourteenth to fifteenth aspects, the device transmits a MAC-CE message to the second wireless communication device via a fourth CC of a plurality of CCs. The MAC-CE message indicates the BFR RS received on the third beam based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam. The fourth CC is located in a different set of CCs than the first and second CCs.

[0143] In the nineteenth aspect, in combination with one or more aspects from the twelfth to the eighteenth aspects, one or more CCs include a first CC, a second CC, or both.

[0144] In the twentieth aspect, in combination with one or more aspects from the twelfth to the eighteenth aspects, one or more CCs are CCs different from the first CC, the second CC, or both.

[0145] In the twenty-first aspect, in conjunction with the twentieth aspect, the device transmits a RACH preamble to a second wireless communication device via a third CC among a plurality of CCs. One or more CCs are different from the third CC.

[0146] In some aspects, an apparatus (e.g., a wireless communication device) configured for wireless communication is configured to determine multiple beams for wireless communication with a UE via multiple CCs. At least a first CC and a second CC are located within the same group of CCs. The apparatus is also configured to periodically transmit BFR RS on at least two beams of the multiple beams for one or more of the multiple CCs. The one or more CCs are located within the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, and the at least two beams include the first beam and the second beam of the multiple beams. The apparatus is configured to receive an indicator of the second beam from the UE. The apparatus is also configured to, based on receiving the indicator, switch from communicating with the UE on a first beam for the first CC to communicating with the UE on a second beam for the first CC. The apparatus is further configured to: switch from communicating with the first beam to communicating with the second beam based on the first CC and based on the first CC and the second CC being within the same group of CCs, switch from communicating with the UE on a third beam of the multiple beams for the second CC to communicating with the UE on a fourth beam of the multiple beams for the second CC. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a wireless device, such as a UE or a base station. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include at least one processor and memory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to perform the operations described herein with respect to the wireless device. In some other embodiments, the apparatus may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium on which program code is recorded, and the program code may be executed by a computer to cause the computer to perform the operations described herein with reference to the wireless device. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more units configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0147] In the twenty-second aspect, the first beam for the first CC is the same as the third beam for the second CC, and the second beam for the first CC is the same as the fourth beam for the second CC.

[0148] In aspect twenty-three, each of the multiple beams is directed to a corresponding CC among the multiple CCs used for communication between the wireless communication device and the UE.

[0149] In the twenty-fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more aspects of the twenty-second to twenty-third aspects, the same set of CCs is included in a frequency band ranging from approximately 24.25 GHz to approximately 52.6 GHz.

[0150] In aspect 25, either alone or in combination with one or more aspects 22 to 24, the wireless communication device includes a second UE, and multiple beams are used for side link communication between the second UE and the UE.

[0151] In the twenty-sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the twenty-second to twenty-fifth aspects, the device periodically transmits BFD RS to the UE on the first beam for the first CC before receiving the indicator of the second beam.

[0152] In the twenty-seventh aspect, in conjunction with the twenty-sixth aspect, one or more CCs include the first CC.

[0153] In the twenty-eighth aspect, in conjunction with the twenty-sixth aspect, one or more CCs are CCs different from the first CC.

[0154] In aspect 29, either alone or in combination with one or more aspects 22 to 28, the indicator for receiving the second beam includes receiving a RACH preamble from the UE in a resource associated with the second beam.

[0155] In the thirtieth aspect, in conjunction with the twenty-ninth aspect, the RACH preamble is received via a fifth beam of a plurality of beams, specifically for the third CC among a plurality of CCs. The third CC is located within the same set of CCs as the first and second CCs.

[0156] In the thirty-first aspect, in conjunction with the thirtieth aspect, one or more CCs are CCs that are different from the third CC.

[0157] In aspect thirty-two, either alone or in combination with one or more aspects from twenty-two to twenty-eight, the indicator for receiving the second beam includes receiving a MAC-CE message from the UE via a fourth CC among a plurality of CCs. The MAC-CE message indicates the second beam. The fourth CC is located within a different set of CCs than the first and second CCs.

[0158] In a thirty-third aspect, an apparatus (such as a UE) configured for wireless communication is configured to detect a beam fault in a first beam of a first CC based on link quality associated with a first beam of a plurality of beams of a first CC. The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs. At least the first CC and the second CC of the plurality of CCs are within the same set of CCs. The apparatus is further configured to initiate one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more CCs within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, based on the determination of a beam fault in a second beam of the plurality of beams of a second CC. The determination is based on the detection of a beam fault in the first CC and on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are within the same set of CCs. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a wireless device, such as a UE or a base station. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include at least one processor and memory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to perform the operations described herein with respect to a wireless device. In some other embodiments, the apparatus may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium on which program code is recorded, and the program code is executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform the operations described herein with reference to a wireless device. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more units configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0159] In the thirty-fourth aspect, in conjunction with the thirty-third aspect, the first beam for the first CC is the same as the second beam for the second CC.

[0160] In aspect thirty-five, and in combination with one or more aspects of aspect thirty-three or thirty-four, the second wireless communication device includes a second UE. Multiple beams are used for side-link communication between the device and the second UE.

[0161] In the thirty-sixth aspect, in combination with one or more of the thirty-third to thirty-fifth aspects, determining the link quality associated with the first beam for the first CC includes receiving BFD RS from the second wireless communication device via the first CC on the first beam, and determining the number of received BFD RS associated with a signal strength that meets a first threshold during a time period. Detecting a beam fault for the first beam for the first CC based on link quality includes detecting a beam fault for the first beam for the first CC based on the determined number of received BFD RS failing to meet a second threshold during the time period.

[0162] In the thirty-seventh aspect, in combination with the thirty-sixth aspect, the device is further configured to transmit BFD RS to a second wireless communication device via a second CC on a second beam during a time period, via one or more beams targeting a first CC during another time period, or a combination thereof.

[0163] In aspect thirty-eight, in combination with one or more aspects thirty-three to thirty-seven, the apparatus is further configured to: monitor BFD RS from the second wireless communication device via a first CC on at least a first beam during a first time period. Detection of beam faults in the first beam used for the first CC is based on monitoring. The apparatus is also configured to: transmit BFD RS to the second wireless communication device via the first CC on one or more other beams during a second time period following the first time period.

[0164] In the thirty-ninth aspect, in combination with the thirty-eighth aspect, the apparatus is further configured to: stop monitoring BFD RS and initiate BFD RS transmission based on the fact that the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs at the beginning of the second time period is less than the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs at the beginning of the first time period, or based on a predetermined BFD RS schedule associated with the BFD RS transmission performed by the second wireless communication device.

[0165] In the fortieth aspect, in combination with one or more aspects from the thirty-third to the thirty-ninth aspects, the device is further configured to: receive BFR RS from the second wireless communication device on each of at least two of a plurality of beams targeting one or more of a plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs are located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC. The at least two beams include a third beam and a fourth beam among the plurality of beams. The device is further configured to: switch communication with the second wireless communication device from a first beam targeting the first CC to a third beam targeting the first CC based on the BFRRS. The device is further configured to: switch from the first beam to the third beam based on the first CC and switch communication with the second wireless communication device from a second beam targeting the second CC to a fourth beam targeting the second CC based on the first CC and the first CC and the second CC being in the same set of CCs.

[0166] In the forty-first aspect, in conjunction with the forty-fifth aspect, the device is further configured to: based on identifying the third beam as the strongest of at least two beams, transmit a RACH preamble to the second wireless communication device on the third beam in resources associated with the received BFR RS. The RACH preamble is transmitted via a third CC among a plurality of CCs. The third CC is in the same group of CCs as the first CC and the second CC.

[0167] In aspect 42, in combination with one or more aspects 40 and 41, the device is further configured to transmit a MAC-CE message to a second wireless communication device via a fourth CC of a plurality of CCs. The MAC-CE message indicates the BFR RS received on the third beam based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam among at least two beams. The fourth CC is located in a different CC group than the first and second CCs.

[0168] In aspect forty-third, an apparatus configured for wireless communication is configured to periodically transmit BFR RS on at least two beams of a plurality of beams for one or more of a plurality of CCs. The plurality of beams are used for wireless communication with a UE via the plurality of CCs. The one or more CCs are located within the same set of CCs as a first CC and a second CC of the plurality of CCs. The at least two beams include a first beam and a second beam of the plurality of beams. The apparatus is further configured to receive an indicator for a second beam from the UE. The apparatus is configured to switch communication with the UE from a first beam for the first CC to a second beam for the first CC based on the received indicator. The apparatus is further configured to switch communication with the UE from a first beam for the first CC to a second beam for the first CC based on the switch from the first beam to the second beam and from a third beam for the second CC to a fourth beam for the second CC based on the first CC and the first CC and the second CC being located within the same set of CCs. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a wireless device, such as a UE or a base station. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include at least one processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to perform the operations described herein with respect to a wireless device. In some other embodiments, the apparatus may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, and the program code may be executed by a computer to cause the computer to perform the operations described herein with reference to a wireless device. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more units configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0169] In aspect 44, in combination with aspect 43, the first beam for the first CC is the same as the third beam for the second CC, and the second beam for the first CC is the same as the fourth beam for the second CC.

[0170] In aspect 45, in combination with one or more aspects 43 or 44, the apparatus is further configured to periodically transmit BFD RS to the UE on the first beam for the first CC before receiving the indicator of the second beam.

[0171] In aspect 46, in combination with one or more aspects 43 to 45, the indicator for receiving the second beam includes receiving a RACH preamble from the UE in a resource associated with the second beam.

[0172] In aspect 47, in combination with one or more aspects 43 to 46, the indicator for receiving the second beam includes: receiving a MAC-CE message from the UE via a fourth CC among a plurality of CCs. The MAC-CE message indicates the second beam. The fourth CC is located in a different CC group than the first CC and the second CC.

[0173] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0174] This article is about Figure 1-9 The described functional blocks and modules may include processors, electronic devices, hardware devices, electronic components, logic circuits, memory, software code, firmware code, and so on, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the features discussed herein may be implemented via dedicated processor circuitry, via executable instructions, or a combination thereof.

[0175] Those skilled in the art will further understand that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functional aspects. Whether this functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as deviating from the scope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will also readily recognize that the order or combination of components, methods, or interactions described herein is merely illustrative, and that components, methods, or interactions of various aspects of this disclosure can be combined or performed in ways different from those shown and described herein.

[0176] The various illustrative logics, logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. The interchangeability of hardware and software has been largely described in terms of functionality, and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether this functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the system as a whole.

[0177] Hardware and data processing means for implementing the various illustrative logics, logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed using general-purpose single-chip or multi-chip processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some embodiments, the processor can be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some embodiments, specific processes and methods can be performed by circuitry specific to a given function.

[0178] In one or more aspects, the described functionality can be implemented using hardware, digital electronic circuits, computer software, firmware (including the structures disclosed herein and their equivalents), or any combination thereof. Embodiments of the subject matter described herein can also be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer storage medium, for execution by a data processing apparatus or for controlling the operation of a data processing apparatus.

[0179] If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted through a computer-readable medium. The processes of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein can be implemented in a processor-executable software module that can reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, wherein the communication media includes any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection can be appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include compact optical discs (CDs), laser optical discs, optical discs, digital versatile optical discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, wherein disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operation of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of code and instructions on a machine-readable and computer-readable medium that may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0180] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but are to be given the widest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0181] In addition, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the terms “upper” and “lower” are sometimes used for the convenience of describing the drawings and indicate relative positions corresponding to the orientation of the drawings on a properly oriented page, and may not reflect the proper orientation of any implemented device.

[0182] Some features described in the context of individual embodiments in this specification may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments. Furthermore, although features may be described above as functioning in certain combinations and even initially claimed in this way, one or more features from the claimed combination may be removed from the combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may be for sub-combinations or variations thereof.

[0183] Similarly, although operations are shown in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be construed as requiring these operations to be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or all of the shown operations, in order to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the drawings may schematically illustrate one or more example processes in the form of flowcharts. However, other operations not shown may be incorporated into the schematically shown example processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the shown operations. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the above embodiments should not be construed as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. Additionally, some other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims may be performed in a different order and still achieve the desired result.

[0184] As used herein, including in the claims, the term "or" when used in a list of two or more items means that any one of the listed items may be used alone, or any combination of two or more of the listed items may be used. For example, if a composition is described as containing component A, B, or C, the composition may contain only A; only B; only C; a combination of A and B; a combination of A and C; a combination of B and C; or a combination of A, B, and C. Furthermore, as used herein, including in the claims, "or" in a list of items beginning with "at least one" indicates a separate list, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or any combination of any of these items. As understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, the term "substantially" is defined as mostly, but not necessarily entirely, of the specified content (and includes the specified content; for example, substantially 90 degrees includes 90 degrees, and substantially parallel includes parallel). In any disclosed implementation, the term “substantially” may be replaced by “[percentage]” within the specified content, wherein the percentage includes 0.1%, 1%, 5%, or 10%.

[0185] The prior description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for performing wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: The link quality associated with the first beam of multiple beams of the first CC in a plurality of component carriers (CCs) is determined in the following manner: On the first beam, a beam fault detection reference signal (BFD RS) is received from the second wireless communication device via the first CC. Determine the number of received BFD RSs associated with the signal strength that meets the first threshold during the time period; A beam fault for the first beam of the first CC is detected based on the link quality associated with the first beam of the first beam of the first CC among the plurality of CCs, the plurality of beams being used for wireless communication with the second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs, at least the first CC and the second CC being located within the same group of CCs, wherein detecting the beam fault for the first beam of the first CC based on the link quality includes: detecting the beam fault for the first beam of the first CC based on the determination that the number of received BFD RSs during the time period fails to meet the second threshold; and Based on determining a beam fault in the second beam of the plurality of beams for the second CC, initiate one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more CCs in the plurality of CCs within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, the determination being based on the detection of the beam fault for the first CC and based on the first CC and the second CC being located within the same set of CCs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first beam for the first CC is the same as the second beam for the second CC.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The second wireless communication device includes a second UE, and wherein the plurality of beams are used for side link communication between the UE and the second UE.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: BFD RS is transmitted to the second wireless communication device via the second CC on the second beam during the said time period, and via one or more beams or a combination thereof targeting the first CC during another time period.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: During a first time period, a beam fault detection reference signal (BFD RS) from the second wireless communication device is monitored via the first CC on at least the first beam, wherein the detection of the beam fault for the first beam against the first CC is based on the monitoring; and During a second time period following the first time period, BFD RS is transmitted to the second wireless communication device via the first CC on one or more other beams.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: Based on the fact that the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs at the beginning of the second time period is less than the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs at the beginning of the first time period, or based on a predetermined BFD RS schedule associated with the transmission of BFD RS by the second wireless communication device, monitoring of the BFD RS is stopped and the transmission of the BFD RS is initiated.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A beam fault recovery reference signal (BFR RS) is received from the second wireless communication device on each of at least two of the plurality of beams for one or more of the plurality of CCs, wherein the one or more CCs are located in the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, and the at least two beams include a third beam and a fourth beam of the plurality of beams. Based on the BFR RS, communication with the second wireless communication device is switched from the first beam targeting the first CC to the third beam targeting the first CC. as well as Based on the switching from the first beam to the third beam for the first CC and based on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located in the same group of CCs, the switching from communicating with the second wireless communication device on the second beam for the second CC to communicating with the second wireless communication device on the fourth beam for the second CC.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam among the at least two beams, a random access channel (RACH) preamble is transmitted to the second wireless communication device on the third beam in resources associated with the received BFR RS, wherein the RACH preamble is transmitted via a third CC among the plurality of CCs, the third CC being located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: The second wireless communication device sends a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE) message via a fourth CC of the plurality of CCs. The MAC-CE message indicates the BFR RS received on the third beam based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam among the at least two beams. The fourth CC is located in a different set of CCs than the first CC and the second CC.

10. A user equipment (UE), comprising: At least one processor; as well as A memory, coupled to the at least one processor, stores processor-readable code configured to: The link quality associated with the first beam of multiple beams of the first CC in a plurality of component carriers (CCs) is determined in the following manner: On the first beam, a beam fault detection reference signal (BFD RS) is received from the second wireless communication device via the first CC. Determine the number of received BFD RSs associated with the signal strength that meets the first threshold during the time period; A beam fault for the first beam of the first CC is detected based on the link quality associated with the first beam of the first beam of the first CC among the plurality of CCs, the plurality of beams being used for wireless communication with the second wireless communication device via the plurality of CCs, and at least the first CC and the second CC of the plurality of CCs being located within the same group of CCs, wherein detecting the beam fault for the first beam of the first CC based on the link quality includes: detecting the beam fault for the first beam of the first CC based on the determination that the number of received BFD RSs fails to meet the second threshold during the time period; and Based on determining a beam fault in the second beam of the plurality of beams for the second CC, initiate one or more beam fault recovery operations associated with any one or more CCs in the plurality of CCs within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, the determination being based on the detection of the beam fault for the first CC and based on the first CC and the second CC being located within the same set of CCs.

11. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The first beam for the first CC is the same as the second beam for the second CC.

12. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The second wireless communication device includes a second UE, and wherein the plurality of beams are for sidelink communication between the UE and the second UE.

13. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to transmit BFD RS to the second wireless communication device via the second CC on the second beam during the time period, and via one or more beams or a combination thereof targeting the first CC during another time period.

14. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: During a first time period, a beam fault detection reference signal (BFD RS) from the second wireless communication device is monitored via the first CC on at least the first beam, wherein the detection of the beam fault for the first beam against the first CC is based on the monitoring; and During a second time period following the first time period, BFD RS is transmitted to the second wireless communication device via the first CC on one or more other beams.

15. The UE according to claim 14, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: stop monitoring the BFD RS and initiate the transmission of the BFD RS based on the fact that the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs at the beginning of the second time period is less than the number of CCs included in the plurality of CCs at the beginning of the first time period, or based on a predetermined BFD RS schedule associated with the transmission of the BFD RS by the second wireless communication device.

16. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: A beam fault recovery reference signal (BFR RS) is received from the second wireless communication device on each of at least two of the plurality of beams for one or more of the plurality of CCs, wherein the one or more CCs are located in the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC, and the at least two beams include a third beam and a fourth beam of the plurality of beams. Based on the BFR RS, communication with the second wireless communication device is switched from the first beam targeting the first CC to the third beam targeting the first CC. as well as Based on the switching from the first beam to the third beam for the first CC and based on the fact that the first CC and the second CC are located in the same group of CCs, the switching from communicating with the second wireless communication device on the second beam for the second CC to communicating with the second wireless communication device on the fourth beam for the second CC.

17. The UE according to claim 16, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam among the at least two beams, transmit a random access channel (RACH) preamble to the second wireless communication device on the third beam in resources associated with the received BFR RS, wherein the RACH preamble is transmitted via a third CC among the plurality of CCs, the third CC being located within the same set of CCs as the first CC and the second CC.

18. The UE according to claim 16, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to send a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE) message to the second wireless communication device via a fourth CC of the plurality of CCs, the MAC-CE message indicating the BFR RS received on the third beam based on identifying the third beam as the strongest beam among the at least two beams, and wherein the fourth CC is located in a different set of CCs than the first CC and the second CC.

Images