Method and apparatus for uplink transmit beam selection procedure in a wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a communication method and system for a 5th-Generation (5G) communication system combined with Internet of Things (IoT) technology for supporting a higher data rate than a 4th-Generation (4G) system. The disclosure can be applied to intelligent services based on 5G communication technology and IoT-related technology, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes receiving configuration information including information on measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information on a beam report, receiving the measurement RS resources, measuring the measurement RS resources, determining a beam report based on the measured measurement RS resources, and transmitting the beam report, wherein the beam report includes: Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric, and additional information including a second metric.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to uplink transmit beam selection. BACKGROUND

[0002] To meet increasing wireless data traffic demands since the deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a "beyond 4G network" or a "post LTE system." The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (millimeter wave) bands, such as 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates beyond the 4G system. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed for use in the 5G communication system. In addition, the developments for the system network improvement, such as the advanced small cell, cloud radio access network (RAN), ultra-dense network, a device to device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation, and the like are under way for the 5G communication system. The hybrid FSK and QAM modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and a sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed for the 5G system.

[0003] The Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network where humans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internet of Things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange and process information without human intervention. The Internet of Everything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and the Big Data processing technology through connection with a cloud server, has emerged as a new paradigm for the IoT. As technology elements, such as "sensing technology", "wired / wireless communication and network infrastructure", "service interface technology", and "security technology" have been demanded for IoT implementation, a sensor network, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and the like have been researched. Such an IoT environment can provide intelligent Internet technology services that create a new value through collection and analysis of data generated from connected things. The IoT can be applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smart appliances, and advanced medical services, through convergence and combination of existing information technology (IT) and various industrial applications.

[0004] Accordingly, various attempts have been made to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such as a sensor network, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication can be implemented by beamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. Big data processing technology can also be considered as an example of convergence between the 5G technology and the IoT technology, through, for example, application of a cloud Radio Access Network (RAN). SUMMARY

[0005] TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0006] It is important to understand and correctly estimate a channel between a user equipment (UE) and a gNode B (gNB) for efficient and effective wireless communication. To correctly estimate a downlink (DL) channel condition, the gNB can transmit a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS) to the UE for DL channel measurement, and the UE can report (e.g., feedback) information (e.g., CSI) about the channel measurement to the gNB. Likewise, for uplink (UL), the UE can transmit a reference signal (e.g., SRS) to the gNB for UL channel measurement. With the DL and UL channel measurement, the gNB is able to select appropriate communication parameters to efficiently and effectively perform wireless data communication with the UE. For millimeter wave communication systems, the reference signal can correspond to a spatial beam, and the CSI can correspond to a beam report indicating a preferred spatial beam for communication. In such a beamforming system, a beam indication mechanism is needed in order to align the spatial beams at both the gNB and the UE.

[0007] SOLUTION

[0008] Embodiments of the disclosure provide methods and apparatuses for implementing uplink transmit beam selection.

[0009] In one embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes receiving configuration information including information about measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information about a beam report, receiving the measurement RS resources, measuring the measurement RS resources, determining a beam report based on the measured measurement RS resources, and transmitting the beam report, wherein the beam report includes Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric, and additional information including a second metric.

[0010] In another embodiment, a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes generating configuration information including information on measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information on a beam report, transmitting the configuration information, transmitting the measurement RS resources, and receiving an uplink transmission including the beam report, wherein the beam report includes Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric, and additional information including a second metric.

[0011] In another embodiment, a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The UE includes a transceiver, and a controller configured to receive configuration information including information on measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information on a beam report via the transceiver, receive the measurement RS resources via the transceiver, measure the measurement RS resources, determine the beam report based on the measured measurement RS resources, and transmit the beam report via the transceiver, wherein the beam report includes Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric, and additional information including a second metric.

[0012] In another embodiment, a base station in a wireless communication system is provided. The base station includes a transceiver, and a controller configured to generate configuration information including information on measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information on a beam report, transmit the configuration information via the transceiver, transmit the measurement RS resources via the transceiver, and receive an uplink transmission including the beam report via the transceiver, wherein the beam report includes Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric, and additional information including a second metric.

[0013] Other technical features can be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

[0014] Advantageous Effects

[0015] According to embodiments of the disclosure, uplink transmission beam selection in a wireless communication system can be more efficiently performed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent like parts:

[0017] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless network according to embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated;

[0018] Figure 2An exemplary gNB is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3 An exemplary UE is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4a A high level diagram of an OFDMA transmit path is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4b A high level diagram of an OFDMA receive path is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 5 A transmitter block diagram for PDSCH in a subframe is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 6 A receiver block diagram for PDSCH in a subframe is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 7 A transmitter block diagram for PUSCH in a subframe is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 8 A receiver block diagram for PUSCH in a subframe is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 9 An example multiplexing of two slices is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 10 Uplink multi-beam operation is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 11 Uplink multi-beam operation is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 12 Downlink multi-beam operation is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 13 A flow diagram of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report a beam report including UE recommendations is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 14 A flow diagram of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report a beam report including MPE conditions is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 15 A flow diagram of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report a beam indication is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 16 A flow diagram illustrating a UE configured to transmit UL measurement RS resources and receive beam indications is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 17 A flow diagram illustrating a UE configured to transmit UL measurement RS resources and receive beam indications is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 18 A flow diagram illustrating a method for operating a UE is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0036] Figure 19 A flow diagram illustrating a method for operating a BS is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Before undertaking the detailed description below, it can be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain terms and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term “coupled” and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms “transmit,” “receive,” and “communicate,” as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and / or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof, means any connection by itself, including, but not limited to, being included within, being interconnected with, containing, being contained within, joining with, being joined with, being coupled with, being coupled to, being in communication with, being cooperative with, being interlaced with, being adjacent to, being bound to or with, having, having a property of, having a relationship with, or having a relationship to. The term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functionality associated with any particular controller can be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase “at least one of” followed by a list of two or more items, means that any of the listed items can be utilized by itself, or in combination with one or more of the listed items. For example, the phrase “at least one of A, B and C” includes A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.

[0038] Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation on a suitable computer readable program code. The phrase "computer readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer readable medium" includes any type of media capable of being accessed by a computer, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type of memory. A "non-transitory" computer readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links. Non-transitory computer readable media include media where particular data is stored permanently such as on a read only memory chip or CD-ROM, as well as media where data is stored and changed but does not have a signal that is temporarily transmitted.

[0039] Definitions for other certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

[0040] The following discussion Figures 1 to 19 The various embodiments described herein for describing the principles of the present disclosure are merely examples and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

[0041] The following documents and standards descriptions are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure as if fully set forth herein: 3GPP TS 36.211 v16.5.0, “E-UTRA, Physical channels and modulation” (herein “REF 1”); 3GPP TS 36.212 v16.5.0, “E-UTRA, Multiplexing and Channel coding” (herein “REF 2”); 3GPP TS 36.213 v16.5.0, “E-UTRA, Physical Layer Procedures” (herein “REF 3”); 3GPP TS 36.321 v16.4.0, “E-UTRA, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification” (herein “REF 4”); 3GPP TS 36.331 v16.4.0, “E-UTRA, Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification” (herein “REF 5”); 3GPP TS 38.211 v16.5.0, “NR, Physical channels and modulation” (herein “REF 6”); 3GPP TS 38.212 v16.5.0, “NR, Multiplexing and Channel coding” (herein “REF 7”); 3GPP TS 38.213 v16.4.0, “NR, Physical Layer Procedures for Control” (herein “REF 8”); 3GPP TS 38.214 v16.4.0, “NR, Physical Layer Procedures for Data” (herein “REF 9”); 3GPP TS 38.215 v16.4.0, “NR, Physical Layer Measurements” (herein “REF 10”); 3GPP TS 38.321 v16.4.0, “NR, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification” (herein “REF 11”), and 3GPP TS 38.331 v16.4.1, “NR, Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification” (herein “REF 12”).

[0042] Aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure are readily apparent from the detailed description, simply by illustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present disclosure. The present disclosure is also capable of other and different embodiments and its several details can be modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive. The disclosure is shown by way of example, and not limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Hereinafter, for brevity, both FDD and TDD are considered as duplexing methods for both DL and UL signaling.

[0044] Although the exemplary description and embodiments that follow employ Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), the present disclosure can be extended to other OFDM-based transmission waveforms or multiple access schemes, such as Filtered OFDM (F-OFDM).

[0045] To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased since deployment of 4G communication systems and to enable various vertical applications, 5G / NR communication systems have been developed and are currently being deployed. The 5G / NR communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (millimeter wave) bands, e.g., 28 GHz or 60 GHz bands, as compared with the 4G communication system to enable implementation of a higher data rate. Alternatively, the 5G / NR communication system is considered to be implemented in lower frequency bands such as 6 GHz bands, to enable robust coverage and mobility support. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in 5G / NR communication systems.

[0046] Furthermore, in 5G / NR communication systems, the development of system network improvements is based on advanced small base stations, cloud radio access networks (RAN), ultra-density networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, mobile networks, cooperative communication, coordinated multipoint (CoMP), and receiver interference cancellation.

[0047] The discussion of 5G systems and associated frequency bands is for reference only, as some embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in 5G systems. However, this disclosure is not limited to 5G systems or associated frequency bands, and embodiments of this disclosure can be used in conjunction with any frequency band. For example, aspects of this disclosure can also be applied to 5G communication systems, 6G, or even higher deployments that can use terahertz (THz) frequency bands.

[0048] The following Figures 1 to 4b Various embodiments of communication technologies, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), are described in wireless communication systems. Figures 1 to 3 The description is not intended to imply any physical or architectural limitation on the ways in which different embodiments may be implemented. Different embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in any suitably arranged communication system. This disclosure covers several components that may be used in combination or in combination with each other or that may operate as independent solutions.

[0049] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless network according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 1 The illustrated embodiment of the wireless network is for illustrative purposes only. Other embodiments of the wireless network 100 may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, the wireless network includes gNB 101, gNB 102, and gNB 103. gNB 101 communicates with gNB 102 and gNB 103. gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network.

[0051] The gNBs 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a first plurality of user equipment units (UEs) located in a coverage area 120 of the gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs includes a UE 111, which can be located in a small business; a UE 112, which can be located in an enterprise (E); a UE 113, which can be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); a UE 114, which can be located in a first residence (R); a UE 115, which can be located in a second residence (R); and a UE 116, which can be a mobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wireless PDA, or the like. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a second plurality of UEs in a coverage area 125 of the gNB 103. The second plurality of UEs includes the UE 115 and the UE 116. In some embodiments, one or more of the eNBs 101-103 can communicate with each other and with the UEs 111-116 using 5G, LTE, LTE-A, WiMAX, WiFi, or other wireless communication techniques.

[0052] Depending on the network type, the term "base station" or "BS" can refer to any component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network, such as a transmit point (TP), transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced base station (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a WiFi access point (AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. Base stations can provide wireless access to the Internet or to telephone networks. A base station typically communicates with UEs over a licensed shared, or unlicensed wireless frequency band. A base station can be implemented as a standalone device that provides wireless access to a network, or it can be implemented as a device that is coupled to and confiigured to receive power from a wireline communication device, such as a modem, a set-top box, or another network node. A base station can also be configured to provide access to a core network, or it can be configured to provide access to a backbone network, such as the Internet. For the sake of convenience, the terms "BS" and "TRP" are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to a network infrastructure component that provides wireless access to remote terminals. In addition, depending on the network type, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can refer to any component such as a "mobile station," "subscriber station," "remote terminal," "wireless terminal," "receive point," or "user device." For the sake of convenience, the terms "user equipment" and "UE" are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to a remote wireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is mobile or generally considered fixed, such as a desktop computer or an automated teller machine.

[0053] Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas 120 and 125, which are shown as approximately circular for the purposes of illustration and explanation only. It is clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120 and 125, can have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending upon the configuration of the gNBs and variations in the radio environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

[0054] As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-116 include circuitry, programing or a combination thereof, for receiving configuration information including information on measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information on beam reporting, receiving the measurement RS resources, measuring the measurement RS resources, determining a beam report based on the measured measurement RS resources, and transmitting the beam report, where the beam report includes: Ql (Il, Jl) pairs, where Il includes a first resource indicator and Jl includes a first beam metric; and additional information including a second metric. One or more of the gNBs 101-103 include circuitry, programing or a combination thereof, for generating configuration information including information on measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information on beam reporting, transmitting the configuration information, transmitting the measurement RS resources, and receiving an uplink transmission including a beam report, where the beam report includes: Ql (Il, Jl) pairs, where Il includes a first resource indicator and Jl includes a first beam metric; and additional information including a second metric.

[0055] Although Figure 1 various changes can be made to Figure 1 the wireless network. For example, the wireless network can include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. In addition, gNB 101 can communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide those UEs access to network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 can communicate directly with network 130 and provide UEs access to network 130. Further, gNBs 101, 102, and / or 103 can provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks.

[0056] Figure 2 An example gNB 102 according to embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 2 The embodiment of the gNB 102 illustrated is for illustration only and Figure 1 The gNBs 101 and 103 of FIG. 1 can have the same or similar configuration. However, gNBs have a wide variety of configurations depending on Figure 2 implementation of the gNBs.

[0057] like Figure 2 As shown, gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 205a to 205n, multiple RF transceivers 210a to 210n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry 215, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 220. gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 225, a memory 230, and a backhaul or network interface 235.

[0058] RF transceivers 210a to 210n receive incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by the UE in network 100, from antennas 205a to 205n. RF transceivers 210a to 210n down-convert the incoming RF signals to generate IF or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals are sent to RX processing circuitry 220, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. RX processing circuitry 220 sends the processed baseband signal to controller / processor 225 for further processing.

[0059] TX processing circuit 215 receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, network data, email, or interactive video game data) from controller / processor 225. TX processing circuit 215 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. RF transceivers 210a to 210n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from TX processing circuit 215 and up-convert the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal transmitted through antennas 205a to 205n.

[0060] The controller / processor 225 may include one or more processors or other processing devices that control all operations of the gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 225 may control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals via RF transceivers 210a to 210n, RX processing circuitry 220, and TX processing circuitry 215, according to known principles. The controller / processor 225 may also support additional functions, such as more advanced wireless communication capabilities.

[0061] For example, the controller / processor 225 can support beamforming or directional routing operations, where the outgoing signals from multiple antennas 205a to 205n are weighted differently to effectively direct the outgoing signals in the desired direction. The controller / processor 225 can also support any of a wide range of other functions within the gNB 102.

[0062] The controller / processor 225 is also capable of executing programs and other processes, such as an operating system, residing in the memory 230. The controller / processor 225 can move data into or out of the memory 230 as needed by the executing process.

[0063] The controller / processor 225 is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface 235. The backhaul or network interface 235 allows the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems over a backhaul connection or over a network. It will be appreciated that the interface 235 could be used to support communications with many different types of devices, depending on the embodiment of the gNB 102. For example, when the gNB 102 is embodied as part of a cellular communication system, such as a 5G, LTE, or LTE-A cellular communication system, the interface 235 can allow the gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs over a wired or wireless backhaul connection. When the gNB 102 is embodied as an access point, the interface 235 can allow the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices (e.g., other access points) over a wired or wireless local area network or over a wired or wireless connection to a larger network (e.g., the Internet). The interface 235 includes any suitable structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or RF transceiver.

[0064] The memory 230 is coupled to the controller / processor 225. Part of the memory 230 could include RAM, and another part of the memory 230 could include Flash memory or other ROM.

[0065] Although Figure 2 One example of a gNB 102 is shown, but Figure 2 Various changes can be made to Figure 2 The components shown in the gNB 102 can be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components can be added according to particular needs. As a specific example, an access point could include multiple interfaces 235, and the controller / processor 225 could support routing Figure 2 functions to route data between different network addresses. As another specific example, while shown as including a single instance of TX processing circuitry 215 and a single instance of RX processing circuitry 220, the gNB 102 can include multiple instances of each (such as one per RF transceiver).

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

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

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

[0069] The TX processing circuitry 315 receives analog or digital voice data from the microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as web browsing data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor 340. The TX processing circuitry 315 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuitry 315 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal to an RF signal that is transmitted via the antenna 305.

[0070] The processor 340 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 361 stored in the memory 360 in order to control the overall operation of the UE 116. For example, the processor 340 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceiver 310, the RX processing circuitry 325, and the TX processing circuitry 315 in accordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, the processor 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0071] Processor 340 is also capable of executing other processes and programs residing in memory 360, such as processes for: receiving configuration information including information about measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information about beam reports; receiving measurement RS resources; measuring the measurement RS resources; determining beam reports based on the measured measurement RS resources; and transmitting beam reports, wherein the beam reports include: Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric; and additional information including a second metric. Processor 340 may move data into or out of memory 360 as needed to perform processing. In some embodiments, processor 340 is configured to execute application program 362 based on OS 361 or in response to signals received from gNB or operator. Processor 340 is also coupled to I / O interface 345, which provides UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptop computers and handheld computers. I / O interface 345 is the communication path between these accessories and processor 340.

[0072] The processor 340 is also connected to the touchscreen 350 and the display 355. The operator of the UE 116 can use the touchscreen 350 to input data into the UE 116. The display 355 may be a liquid crystal display, a light-emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering text and / or at least limited graphics (such as from a website).

[0073] The memory 360 is coupled to the processor 340. A portion of the memory 360 may include random access memory (RAM), and another portion of the memory 360 may include flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM).

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

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

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

[0077] Figure 4a 400 and Figure 4b At least some of the components in 450 can be implemented in software, while other components can be implemented in configurable hardware or a mixture of software and configurable hardware. In particular, it should be noted that the FFT and IFFT blocks described in this disclosure can be implemented as configurable software algorithms, wherein the value of size N can be modified according to the implementation method.

[0078] Furthermore, while this disclosure pertains to embodiments implementing the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), these are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. It will be understood that in alternative embodiments of this disclosure, the FFT and IFFT functions can be readily replaced by Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) functions, respectively. It will be understood that for the DFT and IDFT functions, the value of the N variable can be any integer (i.e., 1, 4, 3, 4, etc.), while for the FFT and IFFT functions, the value of the N variable can be any integer raised to the power of two (i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).

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

[0080] The transmitted RF signal arrives at the UE 116 after passing through the wireless channel, and reverse operations to those at the gNB 102 are performed. Down-converter 455 down-converts the received signal to baseband frequency and remove cyclic prefix block 460 removes the cyclic prefix to produce the serial time domain baseband signal. The

[0081] Each of the gNBs 101-103 can implement a transmit path that is analogous to the transmit path (of gNB 102) described above and can implement a receive path that is analogous to the receive path (of gNB 102) described above. Similarly, each of the user devices 111-116 can implement a transmit path corresponding to the architecture for transmitting in the uplink to the gNBs 101-103 and can implement a receive path corresponding to the architecture for receiving in the downlink from the gNBs 101-103.

[0082] A communication system includes a downlink (DL) that conveys signals from transmission points such as base stations (BSs) or NodeBs to user equipments (UEs) and an uplink (UL) that conveys signals from UEs to reception points such as NodeBs. A UE, which is also commonly referred to as a terminal or a mobile station, can be fixed or mobile and can be a cellular phone, a personal computer device, or an automated device. An eNodeB, which is typically a fixed station, can also be referred to as an access point or other equivalent terminology. For an LTE system, a NodeB is often referred to as an eNodeB.

[0083] In a communication system such as an LTE system, a DL signal can include a data signal conveying information content, a control signal conveying a DL control information (DCI), and a reference signal (RS) also referred to as a pilot signal. An eNodeB transmits data information through a physical DL shared channel (PDSCH). An eNodeB transmits DCI through a physical DL control channel (PDCCH) or an enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH).

[0084] An eNodeB transmits acknowledgement information in a physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel (PHICH) in response to a data transport block (TB) transmission from a UE. An eNodeB transmits one or more of multiple types of RSs including a UE-common RS (CRS), a channel state information RS (CSI-RS), or a demodulation RS (DMRS). A CRS is transmitted over a DL system bandwidth (BW) and can be used by UEs to obtain a channel estimate to demodulate data or control information or to perform measurements. To reduce CRS overhead, an eNodeB can transmit a CSI-RS that has a smaller density in time and / or frequency than a CRS. A DMRS can be transmitted only in a BW of a corresponding PDSCH or EPDCCH and can be used by a UE to demodulate data or control information in the PDSCH or EPDCCH, respectively. A transmission time interval of a DL channel is referred to as a subframe and can have, for example, a duration of 1 millisecond.

[0085] The DL signals also include transmissions of logical channels carrying system control information. The BCCH is mapped to a transport channel called a broadcast channel (BCH) when the DL signals convey a master information block (MIB), or to a DL shared channel (DL-SCH) when the DL signals convey a system information block (SIB). Most system information is contained in different SIBs that are transmitted using the DL-SCH. The presence of system information on the DL-SCH in a subframe can be indicated by the transmission of a corresponding PDCCH conveying a code word with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI). Alternatively, scheduling information for SIB transmissions can be provided in an earlier SIB, and scheduling information for the first SIB (SIB-1) can be provided by the MIB.

[0086] DL resource allocation is performed in units of subframes and a set of physical resource blocks (PRBs). A transmission BW includes frequency resource units called resource blocks (RBs). Each RB includes N EPDCCH subcarriers or resource elements (REs), such as 12 REs. A unit of one RB on one subframe is called a PRB. Out of a total of REs for a PDSCH transmission BW, a UE can be allocated n s = (n s0 +y · N EPDCHH ) mod D RBs.

[0087] UL signals can include data signals conveying data information, control signals conveying UL control information (UCI), and UL RS. The UL RS includes DMRS and sounding RS (SRS). A UE transmits DMRS only in the BW of a respective PUSCH or PUCCH. The DMRS can be used by the eNodeB to demodulate data signals or UCI signals. A UE transmits SRS to provide UL CSI to the eNodeB. A UE transmits data information or UCI through a respective physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) or physical UL control channel (PUCCH). If a UE needs to transmit data information and UCI in the same UL subframe, the UE can multiplex both in the PUSCH. UCI includes hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information indicating correct (ACK) or incorrect (NACK) detection of data TBs in PDSCH or absence of PDCCH detection (DTX), scheduling request (SR) indicating whether a UE has data in the UE’s buffer, rank indicator (RI), and channel state information (CSI) enabling the eNodeB to perform link adaptation for PDSCH transmissions to the UE. HARQ-ACK information is also transmitted by a UE in response to detection of a PDCCH / EPDCCH indicating release of a PDSCH scheduled with semi-persistent scheduling.

[0088] A UL subframe consists of two time slots. Each time slot includes information for transmitting data, UCI, DMRS, or SRS. The symbol is RB. The frequency resource unit for the UL system BW is RB. The UE is allocated N. RB RB, total One RE is used to transmit BW. For PUCCH, N RB =1. The last subframe symbol can be used to multiplex SRS transmissions from one or more UEs. The number of subframe symbols available for data / UCI / DMRS transmissions is Wherein, if the last subframe symbol is used to transmit SRS, then N SRS =1; otherwise N SRS =0.

[0089] Figure 5 A transmitter block diagram 500 for PDSCH in a subframe is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 The embodiment of transmitter block diagram 500 shown is for illustrative purposes only. Figure 5 The one or more components shown may be implemented in a dedicated circuit configured to perform the function, or the one or more components may be implemented by one or more processors that execute instructions to perform the function. Figure 5 This disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of any particular implementation of the transmitter block diagram 500.

[0090] like Figure 5 As shown, information bit 510 is encoded by encoder 520 (such as a turbo encoder) and modulated by modulator 530, for example using quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation. Serial-to-parallel (S / P) converter 540 generates M modulation symbols, which are then provided to mapper 550 to map to REs selected by transmit BW selection unit 555 for the assigned PDSCH transmit BW. Unit 560 applies inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), and then parallel-to-serial (P / S) converter 570 serializes the output to create a time-domain signal, which is filtered by filter 580, and the signal is transmitted 590. Additional functions such as data scrambling, cyclic prefix insertion, time windowing, interleaving, and others are well known in the art and are not shown for simplicity.

[0091] Figure 6 A receiver block diagram 600 for PDSCH in a subframe is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 The embodiment shown in Figure 600 is for illustrative purposes only. Figure 6One or more components shown can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the recited functions, or one or more components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the recited functions. Figure 6 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the diagram 600.

[0092] As Figure 6 shown, a filter 620 filters the received signal 610, a BW selector 635 selects REs 630 for the assigned reception BW, a unit 640 applies a fast Fourier transform (FFT), and a parallel-to-serial converter 650 serializes the output. Subsequently, a demodulator 660 coherently demodulates the data symbols by applying channel estimates obtained from DMRS or CRS (not shown), and a decoder 670, such as a turbo decoder, decodes the demodulated data to provide an estimate of the information data bits 680. Additional functions such as time windowing, cyclic prefix removal, de-scrambling, channel estimation, and de-interleaving are not shown for brevity.

[0093] Figure 7 A transmitter block diagram 700 for PUSCH in a subframe is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 7 The embodiment of the block diagram 700 shown in FIG. 7 is for illustration only. Figure 5 One or more components shown can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the recited functions, or one or more components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the recited functions. Figure 7 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the block diagram 700.

[0094] As Figure 7 shown, information data bits 710 are encoded by an encoder 720, such as a turbo encoder, and modulated by a modulator 730. A discrete Fourier transform (DFT) unit 740 applies a DFT to the modulated data bits, a transmit BW selection unit 755 selects REs 750 corresponding to the assigned PUSCH transmit BW, a unit 760 applies an IFFT, and, after cyclic prefix insertion (not shown), filtering is performed by a filter 770 and the signal is transmitted 780.

[0095] Figure 8 A receiver block diagram 800 for PUSCH in a subframe is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8 The embodiment of the block diagram 800 shown in FIG. 8 is for illustration only. Figure 8 One or more components shown can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the recited functions, or one or more components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the recited functions. Figure 8The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the block diagram 800.

[0096] As Figure 8 shown, a filter 820 filters the received signal 810. Subsequently, after removal of the cyclic prefix (not shown), a unit 830 applies an FFT, a receive BW selector 845 selects REs 840 corresponding to the assigned PUSCH receive BW, a unit 850 applies an inverse DFT (IDFT), a demodulator 860 coherently demodulates the data symbols by applying channel estimates obtained from DMRS (not shown), and a decoder 870, such as a turbo decoder, decodes the demodulated data to provide an estimate of the information data bits 880.

[0097] Figure 9 An example of a beam 900 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Figure 9 The embodiment of the beam 900 shown in FIG. 8 is for illustration only. Figure 9 One or more components shown can be implemented in specialized circuitry configured to perform the recited functions, or one or more components can be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the recited functions. Figure 9 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the beam 900.

[0098] 3GPP NR specifications support up to 32 CSI-RS antenna ports, which enables an eNB to be equipped with a large number of antenna elements, such as 64 or 128. In this case, multiple antenna elements are mapped onto one CSI-RS port. For mmWave bands, while the number of antenna elements can be large for a given form factor, the number of CSI-RS ports, which can correspond to the number of digital precoding ports, tends to be limited due to hardware constraints, such as the feasibility of installing a large number of ADCs / DACs at mmWave frequencies, as shown in FIG. 9. Figure 9 In this case, one CSI-RS port is mapped to a large number of antenna elements, which can be controlled by a set of analog phase shifters 901. One CSI-RS port can then correspond to one subarray that produces a narrow analog beam through analog beamforming 905. This analog beam can be configured to sweep a wider angular range (920) by changing the phase shifter set across symbols or subframes. The number of subarrays (equal to the number of RF chains) is the same as the number of CSI-RS ports N CSI-PORT . A digital beamforming unit 910 performs a linear combination of N CSI-PORT analog beams to further increase the precoding gain. While the analog beam is wideband (hence not frequency-selective), the digital precoding can be changed across frequency subbands or resource blocks. The receiver operation can be similarly conceived.

[0099] Since the above system utilizes multiple analog beams for transmission and reception (where one or a small number of analog beams are selected from a large number of analog beams, e.g., after a training duration - so as to be performed from time to time), the term “multi-beam operation” is used to refer to the overall system aspects. This includes, for illustration purposes, indicating an allocated DL or UL transmit (TX) beam (also referred to as “beam indication”), measuring at least one reference signal for computing and performing a beam report (also referred to as “beam measurement” and “beam report”, respectively), and receiving a DL or UL transmission via selecting a corresponding receive (RX) beam.

[0100] The above system is also applicable to higher frequency bands, such as > 52.6 GHz (also referred to as FR4). In this case, the system can employ only analog beams. Due to O2 absorption loss around 60 GHz frequencies (@ ~10 dB additional loss at 100 m distance), a larger number and sharper analog beams (hence a larger number of radiators in the array) will be required to compensate for the additional path loss.

[0101] In 3GPP NR specifications, multi-beam operation is designed mainly for a single transmission-reception point (TRP) and a single antenna panel. Hence, the specification supports beam indication of one TX beam, where the TX beam is associated with a reference RS. For DL beam indication and measurement, the reference RS can be NZP (non-zero power) CSI-RS and / or SSB (synchronization signal block, which includes primary synchronization signal, secondary synchronization signal, and PBCH). Here, DL beam indication is done via a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) field in DL-related DCI, which includes an index to one (and only one) allocated reference RS. A set of assumed or so-called TCI states is configured via higher layer (RRC) signaling, and a subset of these TCI states is selected / activated for the TCI field codepoint via MAC CE, if applicable. For UL beam indication and measurement, the reference RS can be NZP CSI-RS, SSB, and / or SRS. Here, UL beam indication is done via an SRS resource indicator (SRI) field in UL-related DCI, which links to one (and only one) reference RS. This linkage is configured via higher layer signaling using the SpatialRelationlnfo RRC parameter. Essentially, only one TX beam is indicated to the UE.

[0102] In 3GPP NR specifications, beam management is designed to share the same framework as CSI acquisition. However, this compromises the performance of beam management, especially for FR2. This is because beam management mainly operates with analog beams (a feature of FR2), which is different in paradigm from CSI acquisition (designed with FR1 in mind). As a result, beam management of 3GPP NR specifications becomes cumbersome and is less likely to keep up with more aggressive use cases that require a large number of beams and fast beam switching (e.g., higher frequency bands, high mobility, and / or a large number of narrower analog beams). Furthermore, 3GPP NR specifications are designed to accommodate many unknown or basic functions (e.g., a UE that is not capable of supporting beam correspondence). For flexibility, it creates many options. This becomes cumbersome for L1 control signaling, so multiple reconfigurations are performed via RRC signaling (high-layer configuration). While this avoids L1 control overhead, it causes high latency (if reconfigurations are performed sparsely) or imposes high usage of PDSCH (as RRC signaling consumes PDSCH resources).

[0103] In one example, when beam correspondence is utilized, UL beam selection can be performed via measurement of DL RS (CSI-RS and / or SSB) and CRI reporting and corresponding beam metrics (e.g., RSRP, SINR). That is, based on CRI / RSRP or CRI / SINR reporting from the UE, the network (NW) can assume that the UE performs UL transmission on PUSCH with the UL TX beam associated with one of the latest CRI reports (especially the one with the highest RSRP or / SINR). Likewise, the UE can assume that the NW is aware of the selection. Therefore, a separate UL beam indication (e.g., via SRI field or UL-TCI field in the corresponding UL grant) is not needed.

[0104] In 3GPP NR specifications, when beam correspondence is not utilized, UL beam selection can be performed via NW selection of UL TX beam and indication to the UE via UL grant (signaled via SRI field or UL-TCI field - essentially indicating the UL TCI state associated with the UL TX beam). This selection is enabled by measurement of SRS transmitted from the UE (configured by the NW).

[0105] In either case, when an event occurs that causes the UE to have to select a different (alternative) UL TX beam than what the NW expects, some additional mechanisms are needed to ensure (a) when the UE detects such an event, the UE has an alternative UL TX beam available, and the next UL TX beam indication can only be in a later time slot, and (b) the NW is aware of the UE’s decision. Several examples of such events are as follows.

[0106] In one example, such an event can occur due to so-called Maximum Permitted Exposure (MPE) regulations that limit UE transmit power in certain directions (especially in North America). That is, to prevent any excessive electromagnetic wave exposure on vulnerable soft tissue (e.g., brain tissue), the UE will avoid transmitting high-energy signals along some directions (e.g., towards the head). Unfortunately, such directions can correspond to the “best” UL TX beam (e.g., associated with the CRI with the highest reported RSRP / SINR, or associated with the SRS resource that yields the best measured SINR at the NW). When the “best” UL TX beam is not used for UL transmission, some loss in UL throughput (especially coverage) will occur.

[0107] In another example, such an event can occur due to hardware (HW) limitations at a UE equipped with multiple antenna panels, and in response to the event, the UE needs to select / switch antenna panels for UL transmission.

[0108] In yet another example, such an event can occur due to potential beam failure, and to avoid beam failure, the UE needs to select / switch antenna panels for UL transmission.

[0109] In another example, such an event can occur due to sudden changes in channel conditions (e.g., due to high speed, antenna / panel blockage, etc.) that can cause beam failure, and the UE needs to switch / change TX beam in order to continue UL transmission without interruption / failure or having to wait for the next UL TX beam update / indication.

[0110] Therefore, there is a need for an efficient design for enabling UL TX beam selection in order to avoid interruption (or beam failure), UL throughput loss, UL coverage loss, and HW-related issues that can occur due to the above events. In this disclosure, several exemplary embodiments are proposed for such a design.

[0111] In this disclosure, the term “activation” describes an operation in which the UE receives and decodes a signal from the network (or gNB) that signals a start time point. The start point can be a current or future time slot / subframe or symbol— either implicitly or explicitly indicated, or otherwise fixed or higher layer configured exact location. Upon successful decoding of the signal, the UE responds accordingly. The term “deactivation” describes an operation in which the UE receives and decodes a signal from the network (or gNB) that signals a stop time point. The stop point can be a current or future time slot / subframe or symbol— either implicitly or explicitly indicated, or otherwise fixed or higher layer configured exact location. Upon successful decoding of the signal, the UE responds accordingly.

[0112] The terms such as TCI, TCI state, SpatialRelationlnfo, target RS, reference RS, and other terms are used for illustration purposes and thus are not normative. Other terms referring to the same functionality can also be used.

[0113] A “reference RS” corresponds to a set of characteristics of a DL or UL TX beam such as direction, precoding / beamforming, number of ports, etc. For example, when a UE receives a reference RS index / ID in a DL assignment represented by a TCI state, the UE applies the known characteristics of the reference RS to the assigned DL transmission. In an alternative, the reference RS included in the TCI state is referred to as a source RS (e.g., to differentiate the RS included in the TCI state from the RS configured for beam measurement / reporting). The reference RS can be received and measured by the UE (in this case, the reference RS is a downlink signal such as NZP CSI-RS and / or SSB), where the measurement results are used to compute a beam report (in 3GPP NR specification, at least one L1-RSRP accompanies at least one CRI). When the NW / gNB receives the beam report, the NW can be better equipped with information to assign a specific DL TX beam to the UE. Alternatively, the reference RS can be transmitted by the UE (in this case, the reference RS is a downlink signal such as SRS). When the NW / gNB receives the reference RS, the NW / gNB can measure and compute the required information to assign a specific DL TX beam to the UE. This option is applicable when the correspondence of DL-UL beam pairs holds.

[0114] The reference RS can be dynamically triggered by the NW / gNB (e.g., via DCI in the case of aperiodic RS), pre-configured with specific time-domain behavior such as periodicity and offset in the case of periodic RS, or a combination of such pre-configuration and activation / deactivation in the case of semi-persistent RS.

[0115] Two types of frequency ranges (FR) are defined in 3GPP NR specification. The range below 6 GHz is referred to as frequency range 1 (FR1) and the mmWave range is referred to as frequency range 2 (FR2). Examples of the frequency ranges of FR1 and FR2 are shown in Table 1 below.

[0116]

Table 1

[0117] Frequency Range Designation Corresponding Frequency Range FR1 450MHz - 6000MHz FR2 24250MHz - 52600Mhz

[0118] The following embodiments are examples of DL multi-beam operation with DL beam indication after the network (NW) receives some transmission from the UE. In the first example embodiment, an aperiodic CSI-RS is transmitted by the NW and measured by the UE. While an aperiodic RS is used in both examples, a periodic or semi-persistent RS can also be used.

[0119] For millimeter wave (or FR2) or higher frequency bands (such as > 52.6 GHz or FR4) where multi-beam operation is particularly relevant, the transmit-receive procedure includes the receiver to select a receive (RX) beam for a given TX beam. For UL multi-beam operation, the gNB selects the UL RX beam for each UL TX beam (which corresponds to a reference RS). Thus, when UL RS (such as SRS and / or DMRS) is used as the reference RS, the NW / gNB triggers or configures the UE to transmit the UL RS (which is associated with the selection of the UL TX beam). Upon receiving and measuring the UL RS, the gNB selects the UL RX beam. Thus, the TX-RX beam pair is derived. The NW / gNB can perform this for all configured reference RS (for each reference RS or “beam sweeping”) and determine all TX-RX beam pairs associated with all reference RS configured to the UE. On the other hand, when DL RS (such as CSI-RS and / or SSB) is used as the reference RS (relevant when DL-UL beam correspondence or reciprocity holds), the NW / gNB transmits the RS to the UE (for UL and by interchanging, this corresponds to the UL RX beam). In response, the UE measures the reference RS (and in the process selects the UL TX beam) and reports the beam metrics associated with the quality of the reference RS. In this case, the UE determines the TX-RX beam pair for each configured (DL) reference RS. Thus, although the NW / gNB cannot obtain this knowledge, upon receiving an indication of the reference RS (thus the UL RX beam) from the NW / gNB, the UE can select the UL TX beam pair from the knowledge about all TX-RX beams.

[0120] In the present disclosure, the term “resource indicator” (also abbreviated as REI) is used to refer to an indicator of a RS resource used for signal / channel and / or interference measurement. The term is used for illustration purposes and thus can be replaced with any other term referring to the same functionality. Examples of REI include the aforementioned CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) and SSB resource indicator (SSB-RI). Any other RS can also be used for signal / channel and / or interference measurement such as DMRS.

[0121] In Figure 10 In one example shown, an UL multi-beam operation 1000 is shown. Figure 10 The embodiment of the UL multi-beam operation 1000 shown in Figure 10 The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the UL multi-beam operation 1000.

[0122] The UL multi-beam operation 1000 starts with the gNB / NW signaling aperiodic CSI-RS (AP-CSI-RS) trigger or indication to the UE (step 1001). The trigger or indication can be included in the DCI (UL-related or DL-related, signaled separately or together with aperiodic CSI request / trigger) and indicates the transmission of the AP-CSI-RS in the same (zero time offset) or later (>0 time offset) slot / subframe. Upon reception of the AP-CSI-RS transmitted by the gNB / NW (step 1002), the UE measures the AP-CSI-RS and, in turn, computes and reports the “beam metrics” (indicative of the quality of a particular TX beam hypothesis) (step 1003). An example of such beam report is the CSI-RS Resource Indicator (CRI) or SSB Resource Indicator (SSB-RI) coupled with its associated L1-RSRP / L1-RSRQ / L1-SINR / CQI. Upon reception of the beam report from the UE, the NW can use the beam report in order to select the UL TX beam for the UE and indicate the UL TX beam selection using the SRI field in the UL-related DCI (which carries the UL grant, such as DCI format 0_1 in NR) (step 1004). The SRI corresponds to the “target” SRS resource linked to the reference RS (in this case, the AP-CSI-RS) via the SpatialRelationlnfo configuration. Upon successful decoding of the UL-related DCI with the SRI, the UE performs the UL transmission (such as data transmission on PUSCH) through the UL TX beam associated with the SRI (step 1005).

[0123] In Figure 11 In another example shown, a UL multi-beam operation 1100 is shown. Figure 11 Embodiments of the UL multi-beam operation 1100 shown in Figure 11 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any specific embodiment of the UL multi-beam operation 1100.

[0124] The UL multi-beam operation 1100 starts with the gNB / NW signaling an aperiodic SRS (AP-SRS) trigger or request to the UE (step 1101). This trigger can be included in a DCI (either UL-related or DL-related). Upon receiving and decoding the AP-SRS trigger (step 1102), the UE transmits the AP-SRS to the gNB / NW (step 1103) so that the NW (or gNB) can measure the UL propagation channel and select a UL TX beam for the UE. The gNB / NW can then indicate the UL TX beam selection using the SRI field in the UL-related DCI (which carries the UL grant, such as DCI format 0_1 in NR) (step 1104). The SRI corresponds to the “target” SRS resource that is linked to a reference RS (in this case, the AP-SRS) via the SpatialRelationlnfo configuration. Upon successfully decoding the UL-related DCI with the SRI, the UE performs UL transmission (such as data transmission on PUSCH) through the UL TX beam associated with the SRI (step 1105).

[0125] In Figure 12 In another example shown, a DL multi-beam operation 1200 is shown. Figure 12 The embodiment of the DL multi-beam operation 1200 shown in Figure 12 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any specific embodiment of the DL multi-beam operation 1200.

[0126] In Figure 12In the example shown, where the UE is configured for measurement / reception of aperiodic CSI-RS (AP-CSI-RS) and reporting of aperiodic CSI (AP CSI), the DL multi-beam operation 1200 starts with the gNB / NW signaling a aperiodic CSI-RS (AP-CSI-RS) trigger or indication to the UE (step 1201). The trigger or indication can be included in a DCI (UL-related or DL-related, signaled separately or together with a aperiodic CSI request / trigger) and indicates the transmission of the AP-CSI-RS in the same (zero time offset) or later (>0 time offset) slot / subframe. Upon reception of the AP-CSI-RS transmitted by the gNB / NW (step 1202), the UE measures the AP-CSI-RS and, in turn, computes and reports the “beam metrics” (included in the CSI, indicating the quality of a specific TX beam hypothesis) (step 1203). Examples of such beam reports (supported in the 3GPP NR specification) are the CSI-RS Resource Indicator (CRI) or SSB Resource Indicator (SSB-RI) coupled with the associated L1-RSRP and / or L1-SINR. Upon reception of the beam report from the UE, the NW / gNB can use the beam report in order to select a DL TX beam for the UE and indicate the DL TX beam selection using the TCI field in a DL-related DCI (which carries a DL assignment, such as DCI format 1_1 in NR) (step 1204). The TCI state corresponds to the reference RS (in this case, the AP-CSI-RS) defined / configured via the TCI state definition (higher layers / RRC configuration, a subset of which is activated via MAC CE for DCI-based selection). Upon successful decoding of the DL-related DCI with the TCI field, the UE performs the DL reception (such as data transmission on PDSCH) through the DL TX beam associated with the TCI field (step 1205). In this example embodiment, only one DL TX beam is indicated to the UE.

[0127] In Figure 10 and Figure 11 In the above two example embodiments shown, only one UL TX beam is indicated to the UE. Figure 10 and Figure 11 The SRI used in the embodiments shown can also be replaced with UL-TCI, where a UL-TCI field can be introduced in the related UL-related DCI, in place of or in addition to the SRI field in the 3GPP NR specification.

[0128] Figure 10 The aperiodic CSI-RS (together with the associated aperiodic reporting) in the embodiments shown and the aperiodic SRS in the embodiments shown in Figure 1100 can be replaced with another time-domain behavior, such as semi-persistent (SP) or periodic (P).

[0129] In any of the embodiments or sub-embodiments or the following examples, the flowcharts are for illustration purposes. The present disclosure encompasses any possible variations of the flowcharts as long as including at least some components. Such components include UL TX beam indication indicating multiple UL TX beams and event-related UL TX beam switching from the indicated multiple UL TX beams.

[0130] In the rest of the present disclosure, the term “beam” can be associated with spatial transmission / reception of a resource signal (RS) from a “port”, “antenna port”, or “virtual antenna / port”. Likewise, the term “transmit (TX) beam” can be associated with spatial transmission of a resource signal (RS) or channel from a “port”, “antenna port”, or “virtual antenna / port”; and the term “receive (RX) beam” can be associated with spatial reception of a resource signal (RS) or channel from a “port”, “antenna port”, or “virtual antenna / port”. The spatial transmission / reception of a beam can be in three-dimensional (3D) space. In a beamformed wireless system, transmission and reception of wireless signals can be via multiple TX and multiple RX beams.

[0131] The present disclosure includes the following components for implementing an efficient design of UL TX beam selection procedure.

[0132] Component 1 - UE procedure for UL TX beam selection under assumed beam correspondence

[0133] In the first component, exemplary embodiments for UL TX beam selection are provided for the case where beam correspondence between DL and UL holds, where the selection / indication of UL TX beams for UL transmission is based on DL RS measurements and beam reporting.

[0134] UE Recommendation

[0135] In Figure 13 In one embodiment (I.1) shown, a flowchart of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report a beam report including UE recommendation 1300 is shown. Figure 13 The embodiment of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report a beam report including UE recommendation 1300 is shown is for illustration only. Figure 13 The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources 1300.

[0136] As Figure 13As shown, the UE is configured (by the NW / gNB) to measure (receive) P1 DL measurement RS resources (such as CSI-RS or SSB), where P1 ≥ 1. This configuration can be performed via higher layer (RRC) signaling. Optionally, the NW / gNB can dynamically signal / update a (sub)set of DL measurement RS resources via L1 or L2 DL control (PDCCH or MAC CE). The UE uses these resources to perform beam measurements along different beams or spatial directions (represented by beamforming / precoding operations performed at the NW / gNB transparently to the UE).

[0137] The UE is further configured (by the NW / gNB) to report a beam report, where the beam report includes Q1 resource indicators (I) or Q1 pairs of (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric), where Q1 ≤ P1. In one example, Q1 = 1. In one example, Q1 is configured via RRC and / or MAC CE. The beam metric can represent a link quality associated with a DL channel (or UL channel, as the beam correspondence holds). Examples of beam metrics include L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, CQI, or assumed BLER, or any other beam metric. The resource indicator indicates a DL measurement RS resource index from the P1 DL measurement RS resources. Examples of resource indicators include CRI (when the DL measurement RS is CSI-RS) and SSB-RI (when the DL measurement RS is SSB).

[0138] In one example, when the UE is equipped with X > 1 antenna panels, Q1 = X, and one resource indicator (I) or pair of (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric) is reported for each antenna panel. In one example, when the UE is equipped with X > 1 antenna panels, Q1 ≥ X, and at least one resource indicator (I) or pair of (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric) is reported for each antenna panel. The set of P1 DL measurement RS resources can be partitioned into X subsets, one subset for each antenna panel. Alternatively, the P1 DL measurement RS resources are a superset containing X subsets, one subset for each antenna panel. In one example, no information about the X panels is provided to the NW / gNB. In one example, information about the X panels is provided to the NW / gNB. For example, information about panel ID can be implicitly included / reported, e.g., from the resource indicator (I). Alternatively, information about panel ID can be explicitly included / reported, e.g., by including / reporting a panel ID in the beam report.

[0139] In addition to Q1 resource indicators (I) or Q1 pairs (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric) in the beam report, the UE recommendation for UL TX beam selection / indication (by the NW / gNB) can also be included. The time-domain behavior of this beam measurement and / or beam report can be configured as aperiodic (AP), semi-persistent (SP), or periodic (P). The time-domain behavior of the beam measurement RS can be configured as aperiodic (AP), semi-persistent (SP), or periodic (P).

[0140] The UE recommendation can be jointly reported with other components included in the beam report using a joint parameter (or indicator). For example, the UE recommendation can be jointly reported with at least one of the resource indicators. Alternatively, the UE recommendation can be jointly reported with at least one of the beam metrics. Alternatively, the UE recommendation can be jointly reported with at least one of (resource indicator, beam metric).

[0141] Alternatively, the UE recommendation can be reported separately (independently) from other components in the beam report using a separate parameter (or indicator). The reporting configuration can be joint (one configuration) or separate (two configurations), one for the UE recommendation and the other for other components in the beam report.

[0142] Alternatively, the reporting of the UE recommendation and other components in the beam report is decoupled, i.e., one report for the UE recommendation and another report for other components in the beam report. The reporting configuration can be joint (one configuration) or separate (two configurations), one for the UE recommendation and the other for other components in the beam report.

[0143] It should be noted that the UE recommendation can not be limited to any specific event (such as MPE), it is rather generic and thus applicable to any event of interest of the UE, such as MPE mitigation, fast panel selection, fast beam switching, avoiding beam failure (as described above).

[0144] In one sub-embodiment (I.1.1), the content of the UE recommendation is determined (or configured) according to at least one of the following examples.

[0145] In one example (I.1.1.1), the UE recommendation includes Q2 additional (beam) resource indicators. In one example, Q2 is fixed, e.g., Q2 = 1. In one example, Q2 is configured. In one example, Q2 is reported by the UE, e.g., as part of the beam report (i.e., UE recommendation). In one example, the UE can report a Q2 value of zero, while in another example, the UE can report a non-zero (positive) value of Q2. In another example, the UE can be configured with a maximum value of Q2 (v), and the UE can report any Q2 value such that Q2 e {1, 2,..., v} or {0, 1, 2,..., v}.

[0146] In one example (I.1.1.2), the UE recommendation includes Q2 additional pairs of (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric). In one example, Q2 is fixed, e.g., Q2 = 1. In one example, Q2 is configured. In one example, Q2 is reported by the UE, e.g., as part of the beam report (i.e., UE recommendation). In one example, the UE can report a Q2 value of zero, while in another example, the UE can report a non-zero (positive) value of Q2. In another example, the UE can be configured with a maximum value of Q2 (v), and the UE can report any Q2 value such that Q2 e {1, 2,..., v} or {0, 1, 2,..., v}.

[0147] In one example (I.1.1.3), the UE recommendation includes an ID, where the ID can be associated with a subset of the P1 DL measurement RS resources. In one example, the set of P1 DL measurement RS resources can be partitioned into X subsets, and the x-th subset includes M x DL measurement RS resources such that the ID (e.g., subset ID) indicates one of the X subsets. In one example, the P1 DL measurement RS resources are a superset containing X sets, and the x-th set includes M x DL measurement RS resources such that the ID (e.g., set ID) indicates one of the X sets. In one example, the ID can be associated with an antenna panel of the UE equipped with multiple antenna panels (e.g., panel ID).

[0148] In one example (I.1.1.4), the UE recommendation includes an ID and Q2 additional (beam) resource indicators, where the ID is according to the description in example I.1.3, and the Q2 additional (beam) resource indicators are according to the description in example I.1.1. In one example, the Q2 additional (beam) resource indicators can be associated with (dependent on or derived from or based on) the ID. In one example, the Q2 additional (beam) resource indicators can be independent of the ID.

[0149] In one example (I.1.1.5), the UE recommendation includes an ID and Q2 additional pairs of (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric), where the ID is according to the description in example I.1.3, and the Q2 additional pairs of (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric) are according to the description in example I.1.2.

[0150] In one sub-example (I.1.2), the UE recommendation included in the beam report (i.e., reported by the UE) can be determined (or configured) according to at least one of the following examples.

[0151] In one example (I.1.2.1), the UE recommendation can always be included in the beam report (i.e., reported by the UE).

[0152] In one example (I.1.2.2), the UE recommendation can always be included in the beam report (i.e., reported by the UE) when a condition is met, where for example, the condition is that the UE is equipped with multiple antenna panels, or the UE includes this report (UE recommendation) as part of its UE capability, or the UE can detect an event of interest.

[0153] In one example (I.1.2.3), the reporting of the UE recommendation can be configured (turned on / off), e.g., via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI. When configured (turned on), the UE recommendation is always included in the beam report.

[0154] In one example (I.1.2.4), the UE decides (can freely decide) whether to include the UE recommendation in the beam report, i.e., the UE can or can not include the UE recommendation in the beam report. Such decision can be made, for example, based on an event of interest. In one example, the beam report (with or without the UE recommendation) is reported via a one-part UCI (similar to the WB CSI report in Rel-15 NR, the UE can append a fixed number of zeros to ensure the payload remains the same regardless of whether the UE recommendation is reported or not). In one example, the beam report (with or without the UE recommendation) is reported via a two-part UCI, where the 1st part UCI includes the information of whether the UE recommendation is reported or not. If the information indicates that the UE recommendation is reported, then it is reported via the 2nd part UCI.

[0155] In one example (I.1.2.5), the capability of the reporting of the UE recommendation is reported by the UE (e.g., via UE capability reporting or as part of the UL transmission). Depending on the reported UE capability, the NW / gNB can configure (or trigger) the reporting of the UE recommendation via RRC and / or MAC CE (and / or DCI). The UE reports the UE recommendation according to the configuration / trigger from the NW / gNB.

[0156] Upon receiving the beam report, the NW / gNB configures / indicates a UL TX beam indication (which can be the same as the DL TX beam indication as the beam correspondence holds) to the UE for UL transmission, where the beam indication indicates (A) a message, or (B) N≥1 UL TX beams, or (C) both the message and N≥1 UL TX beams. The beam indication can be via DL-TCI or UL-TCI or J-TCI (Joint-TCI) or other functionally equivalent entities, such as SpatialRelationInfo or SRI indicated via DCI and / or MAC CE and / or RRC. In one example, N=1. In one example, N=2.

[0157] In one sub-embodiment (I.1.3), when the beam report does not include UE recommendation, the beam indication is determined (or configured) according to at least one of the following examples.

[0158] In one example (I.1.3.1), when Q1=1 resource indicator is included in the beam report, the beam indicator can only indicate (A) a message, where the message corresponds to an ACK message indicating that N=1 UL TX beams correspond to the Q1 resource indicators included in the beam report. Some details of the ACK message can be according to the details described in embodiment I.4.

[0159] In one example (I.1.3.2), when Q1=1 resource indicator is included in the beam report, the beam indicator can indicate (A) a message or (B) N≥1 UL TX beams, where for (A), the message corresponds to an ACK message indicating that N=1 UL TX beams correspond to the Q1 resource indicators included in the beam report, and for (B), the N≥1 UL TX beams are based on the P1 DL measurement RS resources measured by the UE. Some details of the ACK message can be according to the details described in embodiment I.4.

[0160] In one example (I.1.3.3), the beam indication can only indicate (B) N≥1 UL TX beams, where the N≥1 UL TX beams are based on the P1 DL measurement RS resources measured by the UE.

[0161] In one sub-embodiment (I.1.4), when the beam report includes UE recommendation, the NW / gNB can confirm to the UE whether it follows the UE recommendation or not, and accordingly determines (or configures) the beam indication according to at least one of the following examples. Some details of the ACK message can be according to the details described in embodiment I.4.

[0162] In one example (I.1.4.1), the NW / gNB follows the UE recommendation and the beam indication includes (A) an ACK message to the UE. In this case, the NW / gNB can not indicate (B) N≥1 UL TX beams. Alternatively, the NW / gNB can indicate (B) N≥1 UL TX beams. Alternatively, whether the NW / gNB indicates (B) N≥1 UL TX beams can depend on the UE recommendation. For example, when the UE recommendation includes Q2=1 additional (beam) resource indicator (see examples I.1.1.1 and I.1.1.2), the NW / gNB does not indicate (B).

[0163] In one example (I.1.4.2), the NW / gNB does not follow the UE recommendation, it does not send an ACK message to the UE, or sends a NACK / NULL message to the UE. The NW / gNB indicates includes a beam indication of (B) N≥1 UL TX beams. The beam indication can be based on the Q1 resource indicators included in the beam report. Alternatively, the beam indication can be based on the Q1 resource indicators included in the beam report and, if included in the UE recommendation, also on the Q2 resource indicators.

[0164] In one example, the ACK message included in the beam indication is only signaled by the NW / gNB when the UE provides (reports) the UE recommendation.

[0165] In one sub-embodiment (I.1.5), the signaling of the ACK (or NACK / NULL) message to the UE is determined (or configured) according to at least one of the following examples. Some details of the ACK message can be according to the details described in embodiment I.4.

[0166] In one example (I.1.5.1), the signaling of the ACK message is via a dedicated (separate) parameter or field. The dedicated parameter or field can be indicated via a DCI, where the DCI can be a UL-DCI (scheduling a UL grant), or a DL-DCI (scheduling a DL transmission), or a separate DCI for beam (TCI state) indication (UL-TCI-DCI or DL-TCI-DCI or TCI-DCI). Alternatively, the dedicated parameter or field can be indicated via a channel instead of a DCI (e.g., PDSCH or MAC CE). In one example, the dedicated field corresponds to a 1-bit indication, where a bit value of 0 indicates the ACK message (and optionally, 1 indicates the NACK / NULL message), or vice versa, i.e., 1 indicates the ACK message (and optionally, 0 indicates the NACK / NULL message). In one example, the dedicated parameter can take one of a value v0 indicating the ACK message (and optionally, a value v1 indicating the NACK / NULL message).

[0167] In one example (I.1.5.2), the signaling of the ACK message is joint with a parameter or field, which can be indicated via DCI or a channel other than DCI, as described above. In one example, the field corresponds to a B-bit indication, where when the B-bit indication is equal to a fixed bit sequence b0b 1... b B-1 , it indicates the ACK message. In one example, the fixed bit sequence is all zeros, i.e., b0b 1... b B-1 = 00...0. In one example, the fixed bit sequence is all ones, i.e., b0b 1... b B-1 = 11...1. For example, when B = 3, i.e., a 3-bit indication is used for beam indication, the codepoint 000 (or 111) can be used to indicate the ACK message. The remaining bit sequence values can be used to indicate other DL or UL related parameters (such as N ≥ 1 UL TX beam indication when the ACK message is not signaled by the gNB / NW).

[0168] In one example (I.1.5.3), the signaling of the ACK (or NACK / NULL) message to the UE is configured (turned on / off) via RRC and / or MAC CE. When configured (turned on), the signaling is performed according to at least one of the examples I.1.5.1 and I.1.5.2. Some details of the ACK message can be according to the details described in example I.4.

[0169] In one example, the field (codepoint) value or parameter value of the ACK (or NULL / NACK) message is reserved and cannot be used for other purposes, whether the UE is configured to report the ACK (or NULL) / NACK) message or not.

[0170] In one example, when configured (turned on), the field (codepoint) value or parameter value of the ACK (or NULL / NACK) message is used to indicate the ACK (or NULL / NACK) message, and when otherwise (turned off), it is used to indicate other DL or UL related parameters (such as N ≥ 1 UL TX beam indication when the ACK message is not signaled by the gNB / NW).

[0171] In one sub-example (I.1.6), the UE provides two sets of reports, provided by the same report or separately in two different reports, where;

[0172] - the first report (sub-report) is a beam report that includes resource indicators and possibly beam metrics, without reflecting the UE’s recommendation.

[0173] - the second report (sub-report) is a beam report that includes resource indicators and possibly beam metrics, reflecting the UE’s recommendation.

[0174] In one example, the UE is configured / triggered via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI to report this behavior. When configured, the UE provides two reports (sub-reports), otherwise it provides one report (first report). In one example, the configuration and / or triggering is UE-specific, in another example, the configuration and / or triggering is UE-group specific, and in another example, the configuration and / or triggering is cell-specific.

[0175] In one sub-embodiment (I.1.7), the UE is configured to report the UE recommendation as described above (and elsewhere in this disclosure), where its reporting is limited. At least one of the following examples or a combination of multiple of the following examples is used (or configured) as the limitation.

[0176] In one example (I.1.7.1), the limitation is on the resource type. For beam reporting (including Q1 resource indicators or Q1 resource indicators and beam metrics pair), the resource type can be CSI-RS or SSB. However, for the UE recommendation, it can be according to at least one of the following examples.

[0177] • In one example, for the UE recommendation (including Q2 resource indicators or Q2 resource indicators and beam metrics pair), the resource type can be CSI-RS or SSB.

[0178] • In one example, for the UE recommendation (including Q2 resource indicators or Q2 resource indicators and beam metrics pair), the resource type can be CSI-RS.

[0179] • In one example, for the UE recommendation (including Q2 resource indicators or Q2 resource indicators and beam metrics pair), the resource type can be SSB.

[0180] In one example (I.1.7.2), the limitation is based on the value of Q1. At least one of the following examples can be used.

[0181] • In one example, the UE recommendation can only be reported when Q1 = 1, i.e., the reporting of one resource indicator (e.g., CRI or SSBRI) or a pair of resource indicator and beam metrics (e.g., CRI / SSB-RI + RSRP / SINR) is configured. The UE recommendation can include the CRI / SSB-RI (or CRI / SSBRI + RSRP / SINR) associated with (or QCLed to) the UL TX beam, even if this UL TX beam does not correspond to the beam with the largest RSRP / SINR, it should still use this UL TX beam.

[0182] • In one example, the UE recommendation can only be reported when Q1 = 2, i.e., one or two resource indicators (e.g., CRI or SSBRI) or one or two pairs of resource indicators and beam metrics (e.g., CRI / SSB-RI+RSRP / SINR) reporting are configured. The UE recommendation can include CRI / SSB-RI (or CRI / SSBRI+RSRP / SINR) associated with (or QCLed to) the UL TX beam, even if this UL TX beam does not correspond to the beam with the largest RSRP / SINR, should be used.

[0183] • In one example, the UE recommendation can only be reported when Q1 = 1 or 2, i.e., one or two resource indicators (e.g., CRI or SSBRI) or one or two pairs of resource indicators and beam metrics (e.g., CRI / SSB-RI+RSRP / SINR) reporting are configured. The UE recommendation can include CRI / SSB-RI (or CRI / SSBRI+RSRP / SINR) associated with (or QCLed to) the UL TX beam, even if this UL TX beam does not correspond to the beam with the largest RSRP / SINR, should be used.

[0184] In one example (I.1.7.3), the beam reporting including Q1 beams reporting remains the same whether or not the UE recommendation is reported, as it is used for DL and / or UL (e.g., beam indication for DL reception and / or UL transmission). However, when reported, the UE recommendation is only used for UL (e.g., beam indication for UL transmission).

[0185] Reporting MPE Condition

[0186] In Figure 14 In one embodiment (I.2) illustrated, a flowchart of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report beam reports including MPE conditions 1400 is shown. Figure 14 The embodiment of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report beam reports including MPE conditions 1400 is for illustration only. Figure 14 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources 1400.

[0187] As Figure 14 illustrated, a UE is configured (by the NW / gNB) to measure (receive) P1 DL measurement RS resources (such as CSI-RS or SSB), where P1 > 1, and the details about the measurement are described in embodiment I.1.

[0188] The UE is further configured (by the NW / gNB) to report a beam report, where the beam report includes Q1 resource indicators (I) or Q1 (I, J) pairs = (resource indicator, beam metric), where Q1 < P1, and the resource indicators and beam metrics are according to the examples described in embodiment I.1. In addition to the Q1 resource indicators (I) or Q1 paired (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric), the beam report can also include information about the MPE condition. The time-domain behavior of this beam measurement and / or beam report can be configured to be aperiodic (AP), semi-persistent (SP), or periodic (P). The time-domain behavior of the beam measurement RS can be configured to be aperiodic (AP), semi-persistent (SP), or periodic (P).

[0189] The MPE condition can be jointly reported with other components included in the beam report using a joint parameter (or indicator). For example, the MPE condition can be jointly reported with at least one of the resource indicators. Alternatively, the MPE condition can be jointly reported with at least one of the beam metrics. Alternatively, the MPE condition can be jointly reported with at least one of the pairs (resource indicator, beam metric).

[0190] Alternatively, the MPE condition can be reported separately (independently) from other components in the beam report using a separate parameter (or indicator). The reporting configuration can be joint (one configuration) or separate (two configurations), one for the MPE condition and the other for the other components in the beam report.

[0191] Alternatively, the reporting of the MPE condition and the other components in the beam report are decoupled, i.e., one report for the MPE recommendation and another report for the other components in the beam report. The reporting configuration can be joint (one configuration) or separate (two configurations), one for the MPE condition and the other for the other components in the beam report.

[0192] In one example, when the UE is equipped with X > 1 antenna panels, Q1 = X, and one resource indicator (I) or pair (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric) is reported for each antenna panel. In one example, when the UE is equipped with X > 1 antenna panels, Q1 ≥ X, and at least one resource indicator (I) or pair (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric) is reported for each antenna panel. The set of P1 DL measurement RS resources can be partitioned into X subsets, one subset for each antenna panel. Alternatively, the P1 DL measurement RS resources are a superset containing X subsets, one subset for each antenna panel. In one example, no information about the X panels is provided to the NW / gNB. In one example, information about the X panels is provided to the NW / gNB. For example, information about panel ID can be included / reported implicitly, e.g., from the resource indicator (I). Alternatively, information about panel ID can be included / reported explicitly, e.g., by including / reporting panel ID in the beam report.

[0193] For X > 1 antenna panels at the UE, the MPE condition can be reported separately for each panel. Alternatively, the MPE condition can be reported for one of the X panels (e.g., the panel with the worst MPE problem), and the MPE condition can also optionally include the corresponding panel ID. Alternatively, the MPE condition can be reported for all panels with MPE problems. If no MPE problem is detected, the UE does not report the MPE condition, otherwise the UE reports the MPE condition for all panels with MPE problems, and can also optionally report the corresponding panel ID.

[0194] For X > 1 subsets (or sets) of DL measurement RS resources, the MPE condition can be reported separately for each subset (or set). Alternatively, the MPE condition can be reported for one of the X subsets (or sets) (e.g., the subset or set with the worst MPE problem), and the MPE condition can also optionally include the corresponding subset (or set) ID. Alternatively, the MPE condition can be reported for all subsets (or sets) with MPE problems. If no MPE problem is detected, the UE does not report the MPE condition, otherwise the UE reports the MPE condition for all subsets (or sets) with MPE problems, and can also optionally report the corresponding subset (or set) ID.

[0195] In one sub-embodiment (I.2.1), the content or information conveyed by the MPE condition is determined (or configured) according to at least one of the following examples.

[0196] In one example (I.2.1.1), the information indicates whether the UE has detected an MPE problem. For example, the information can be conveyed via a 1-bit field, where a field value of 0 (or 1) indicates that no MPE problem has been detected, and a field value of 1 (or 0) indicates that an MPE problem has been detected.

[0197] In one example (I.2.1.2), the information indicates whether the UE has detected an MPE problem. For example, the information can be passed via parameters, where a parameter value of v0 indicates that no MPE problem has been detected, and a parameter value of v1 indicates that an MPE problem has been detected.

[0198] In one example (I.2.1.3), the information includes the value of the MPE. For example, the information can be conveyed via an M-bit field. When M=1, a 1-bit field indicates one of two values ​​{m0, m1}, where both values ​​map to the (maximum or minimum) MPE value, or one of them maps to the state "No MPE problem detected" and the other to the state "MPE detected and the corresponding (maximum or minimum) MPE value". When M=2, a 2-bit field indicates one of four values ​​{m0, m1, m2, m3}, where all values ​​map to the (maximum or minimum) MPE value, or one of them maps to the state "No MPE problem detected" and the rest to the state "MPE detected and the corresponding (maximum or minimum) MPE value". Typically, the M-bit field indicates 2... M Values ​​{m0,m1,...,m M-1 One of the following sets of values ​​{m0, m1, ..., m}, where all values ​​are mapped to (maximum or minimum) MPE values, or one of them is mapped to the state "No MPE problem detected" and the rest are mapped to the state "MPE detected and the corresponding (maximum or minimum) MPE value". M-1 The maximum value of MPE can be fixed or configured, for example, via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI. Alternatively, the maximum value of MPE is configured, for example, via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI, and the set of values ​​{m0, m1, ..., m} is defined. M-1 The maximum value configured is used to determine the MP value. In one example, the set of MP values ​​corresponds to the (maximum or minimum) power headroom (PHR), virtual PHR, power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR), or UL duty cycle value. In one example, PHR or virtual PHR is defined as the difference between the maximum available transmit power (e.g., Pc,max) and the desired transmit power.

[0199] In one example (I.2.1.4), the information comprises a value of MPE. For example, the information can be conveyed via a parameter taking a value from a set of M values. When M = 2, the parameter indicates one of two values {m0, m1} where both values map to a (maximum or minimum) MPE value, or one of them maps to a state “no MPE problem detected” and the other maps to a state “MPE detected with a corresponding (maximum or minimum) MPE value”. When M = 4, the parameter indicates one of four values {m0, m1, m2, m3} where all values map to a (maximum or minimum) MPE value, or one of them maps to a state “no MPE problem detected” and the rest map to a state “MPE detected with a corresponding (maximum or minimum) MPE value”. In general, the parameter indicates one of M values {m0, m1,..., m M-1} where all values map to a (maximum or minimum) MPE value, or one of them maps to a state “no MPE problem detected” and the rest map to a state “MPE detected with a corresponding (maximum or minimum) MPE value”. The set of values {m0, m1,..., m M-1} can be fixed or configured, e.g., via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI. Alternatively, a maximum value of MPE is configured, e.g., via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI, and the set of values {m0, m1,..., m M-1} is determined based on the configured maximum value. In one example, the set of values of MP corresponds to a (maximum or minimum) power headroom (PHR) or a virtual PHR or a power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR) or an UL duty cycle value. In one example, the PHR or virtual PHR is defined as a difference between a maximum available transmit power (e.g., Pc,max) and a required transmit power.

[0200] In one sub-example (I.2.2), the reporting of MPE conditions is determined (or configured) according to at least one of the following examples.

[0201] In one example (I.2.2.1), the MPE conditions can always be included in the beam report (i.e., reported by the UE).

[0202] In one example (I.2.2.2), the MPE conditions can always be included in the beam report (i.e., reported by the UE) when a condition is met, where for example, the condition is that the UE is equipped with multiple antenna panels, or the UE includes this report (UE recommendation) as part of its UE capability, or the UE can detect an event of interest.

[0203] In one example (I.2.2.3), the reporting of MPE condition is configured (and / or triggered) via RRC and / or MAC CE. When configured (or triggered), the UE always reports the MPE condition, otherwise, the UE does not report the MPE condition. The UE can also be configured with a maximum value of MPE. In one example, the configuration and / or triggering is UE-specific, in another example, the configuration and / or triggering is UE-group specific, in another example, the configuration and / or triggering is cell-specific.

[0204] In one example (I.2.2.4), the reporting of MPE condition is reported by the UE without any configuration / triggering from the NW (i.e., the UE can initiate such reporting).

[0205] In one example (I.2.2.5), the capability of reporting of MPE condition is reported by the UE (e.g., via UE capability reporting or as part of UL transmission). Depending on the reported UE capability, the NW / gNB can configure (or trigger) the reporting of MPE condition via RRC and / or MAC CE (and / or DCI). The UE reports the MPE condition according to the configuration / triggering from the NW / gNB.

[0206] In one example (I.2.2.6), the UE decides (can freely decide) whether or not to include the MPE condition in the beam report, i.e., the UE can or can not include the MPE condition in the beam report. For example, such decision can be made based on events of interest. In one example, the beam report (with or without MPE condition) is reported via single-part UCI (similar to WB CSI reporting in Rel-15 NR, the UE can append a fixed number of zeros to ensure the payload remains the same regardless of whether or not the UE reports the MPE condition). In one example, the beam report (with or without MPE condition) is reported via two-part UCI, where the 1st part UCI includes information of whether or not the UE reports the MPE condition. If the information indicates that the MPE condition is being reported, then it is reported via the 2nd part UCI.

[0207] In one sub-example (I.2.3), in addition to Q1 resource indicators (I) or Q1 pairs of (I, J) = (resource indicator, beam metric) and MPE condition, the beam report can also include UE recommendation (by the NW / gNB) for UL TX beam selection / indication, where the details on UE recommendation are as described in example I.1. Furthermore, the MPE condition and UE recommendation can be reported jointly or separately.

[0208] Upon receiving the beam report, the NW / gNB configures / indicates UL TX beam indication (which can be the same as DL TX beam indication as the beam correspondence holds) to the UE for UL transmission, where the beam indication indicates N≥1 UL TX beams. The beam indication can be via DL-TCI or UL-TCI or J-TCI (Joint-TCI) or other functionally equivalent entities, such as SpatialRelationInfo or SRI indicated via DCI and / or MAC CE and / or RRC. In one example, N=1. In one example, N=2. Further, the beam indication can include a message (such as ACK or NACK / NULL), where the details about the message are as described in embodiments I.1 and / or I.4.

[0209] In one sub-embodiment (I.2.4), the UE provides two sets of reports, provided by the same report or in two different reports separately, where;

[0210] - the first report (sub-report) is a beam report including resource indicators and possibly beam metrics without reflecting MPE conditions.

[0211] - the second report (sub-report) is a beam report including resource indicators and possibly beam metrics reflecting MPE conditions. For example, the reported resource indicators take into account MPE effects. The beam metrics include MPE effects.

[0212] In one example, this behavior can be configured / triggered to the UE via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI. When configured, the UE provides two reports (sub-reports), otherwise it provides one report (the first report). In one example, the configuration and / or triggering is UE-specific, in another example, the configuration and / or triggering is UE-group-specific, in another example, the configuration and / or triggering is cell-specific.

[0213] Beam Indication for UE

[0214] In Figure 15 In one embodiment (I.3) shown, a flowchart of a UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report beam indication 1500 is shown. Figure 15 The embodiment of the UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources and report beam indication 1500 shown is for illustration. Variations are possible. Figure 15 The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the UE configured to measure DL measurement RS resources 1500.

[0215] As Figure 15As shown, the UE is configured (by the NW / gNB) to measure (receive) P1 DL measurement RS resources (such as CSI-RS or SSB), where P1 ≥ 1, and details about the measurement are described in embodiment I.1. The UE is further configured to report / indicate beam indication for UL TX beam (to the NW / gNB), where the beam indication can include Q1 resource indicators or TCI states (or SpatialRelationlnfo). In one example, Q1 = 1. In one example, Q1 is configured via RRC and / or MAC CE. In one example, the UE does not report associated beam metrics (such as L1-RSRP or L1-SINR or CQI). In one example, the UE also reports associated beam metrics (such as L1-RSRP or L1-SINR or CQI). Details about the beam metrics are as described in embodiments I.1 and I.2.

[0216] In one example, the resource indicator can correspond to CRI (indicating CRI-RS resource index) or SSBRI (indicating SSB / PBCH resource index), and the corresponding reporting of the beam indication can be configured via the higher layer parameter ReportQuantity set to “cri” or “ssb-Index”. In one example, the TCI state can correspond to UL-TCI or DL-TCI or J-TCI, or SpatialRelationlnfo (including state ID and CSI-RS or SSB / PBCH resource index), and the corresponding reporting of the beam indication can be configured via the higher layer parameter ReportQuantity set to “tci” or “ul-tci” or “dl-tci” or “SpatialRelationlnfo”.

[0217] In one example, the resource indicator can correspond to panel ID (or set ID or subset ID), and the corresponding reporting of the beam indication can be configured via the higher layer parameter ReportQuantity = “panel ID” or “set ID” or “subset ID”. Details about the panel ID (or set ID or subset ID) are as described in embodiments I.1 and I.2.

[0218] In one example, the resource indicator can correspond to CRI and panel ID (or set ID or subset ID), and the corresponding reporting of the beam indication can be configured via the higher layer parameter ReportQuantity = “cri-panel ID” or “ssb-Index-panel ID” (or “cri-set ID” or “ssb-Index-set ID” or “cri-subset ID” or “ssb-Index-subset ID”). Details on the panel ID (or set ID or subset ID) are as described in embodiments I.1 and I.2.

[0219] It should be noted that there is no NW / gNB beam indication. Thus, the UL grant scheduling the UL transmission can be sent in the triggering phase or immediately after the UE reports / indicates the beam indication. It should also be noted that the delay of the UL TX beam indication can be reduced as the NW / gNB beam indication imposing additional delay is replaced by / merged with the beam reporting step (see embodiments I.1 and I.2).

[0220] In one example, the UL TX beam indication as described above can be configured via (implicit or explicit) parameters or fields, which can be configured via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI. In one example, the configuration is UE-specific, in another example, the configuration is UE group-specific, in another example, the configuration is cell-specific.

[0221] In one example, if the UE does not support beam indication, the UE does not provide beam indication even if configured to provide beam indication and provides the beam indication in the UL grant from the gNB.

[0222] In one example, if the UE does not report beam indication, the beam indication is provided in the UL grant from the gNB even if configured to provide beam indication.

[0223] In one example, the beam indication is provided in the UL grant from the gNB before the UE provides the beam indication.

[0224] In another example, the beam indication is not provided in the UL grant from the gNB before the UE provides the beam indication, with the assumption that the beam indication follows the beam of the SSB indicated by the latest RACH procedure.

[0225] In one sub-embodiment (I.3.1), the UE is configured to select / indicate / report beam indications indicating Q1 indicators, where each indicator indicates a panel (and / or beam pair) from a set of configured panels and / or beam pairs. The set of panels and / or beam pairs can be configured via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI. In one example, Q1 = 1. In one example, Q1 is configured via RRC and / or MAC CE.

[0226] In one sub-embodiment (I.3.2), the UE is configured with a preferred beam per panel, and the UE is further configured to select / report / indicate beam indications indicating panel IDs using the preferred beam of the panel (as indicated by the network).

[0227] In one embodiment (I.4) as an extension of embodiment I.3, the UE is configured to report / indicate beam indications (to the NW / gNB) based on beam measurements (as detailed in the present disclosure), where the beam indications can be joint across DL and UL or two separate beam indications for DL and UL, or DL only, or UL only. When the beam indications are joint, the beam indications indicate one or more joint DL / UL TCI states, where each joint DL / UL TCI state indicates a beam (associated with a source RS) that acts as a receive beam for receiving DL control (PDCCH) and / or data (PDSCH) channels and as a transmit beam for transmitting UL control (PUCCH) and / or data (PUSCH) channels. When the beam indications are separate, the beam indications indicate separate TCI states for DL and UL, i.e., one or more DL TCI states and one or more UL TCI states, where each DL TCI state indicates a beam (associated with a source RS) that acts as a receive beam for receiving DL control (PDCCH) and / or data (PDSCH) channels, and each UL TCI state indicates a beam (associated with a source RS) that acts as a transmit beam for transmitting UL control (PUCCH) and / or data (PUSCH) channels. When the beam indications are DL only, then the beam indications indicate one or more DL TCI states, where each DL TCI state indicates a beam (associated with a source RS) that acts as a receive beam for receiving DL control (PDCCH) and / or data (PDSCH) channels. When the beam indications are UL only, then the beam indications indicate one or more UL TCI states, where each UL TCI state indicates a beam (associated with a source RS) that acts as a transmit beam for transmitting UL control (PUCCH) and / or data (PUSCH) channels.

[0228] In one example, the NW / gNB does not send (transmit) any acknowledgement or message such as ACK or NACK in response to the beam indication from the UE. In this case, the NW / gNB assumes that the UE can use the receive beam (via the beam indication report) to receive the DL transmission or use the transmit beam (via the beam indication report) to transmit the UL transmission, possibly after a duration from the sending of the beam indication, where the duration can be fixed or configured or reported by the UE (e.g., together with the beam indication or via a separate report).

[0229] In one example, the NW / gNB sends (transmits) an acknowledgement or message such as ACK or NACK in response to the beam indication from the UE. The acknowledgement can be sent by the gNB using a gNB beam, which can be determined based on at least one of the following examples.

[0230] • In one example, the gNB beam is the same as the beam (or one of the beams) indicated by the UE.

[0231] • In one example, the gNB beam is determined based on the beam (or one of the beams) indicated by the UE. This determination can be implicit (without additional signaling) or explicit (with additional signaling).

[0232] • In one example, the gNB beam is the original / earlier beam used by the gNB previously (in an earlier slot). The new beam (indicated by the UE) is applied after a delay from the ACK or NACK response. The delay can depend on one or more of the following: numerology (smallest UL / DL numerology), UE capability, higher layer configuration, etc.

[0233] In this case, the UE waits to receive the acknowledgement or message sent by the gNB / NW. Once the message is received by the UE, the UE can use the receive beam (via the beam indication report) to receive the DL transmission or use the transmit beam (via the beam indication report) to transmit the UL transmission, possibly after a duration from the sending of the beam indication, where the duration can be fixed or configured or reported by the UE (e.g., together with the beam indication or via a separate report). If such a message is not received by the UE, the UE does not use the receive or transmit beam via the beam indication report and continues to use the previous beam (old beam), which can be the latest beam used by the UE for DL and / or UL, or it can be a default beam.

[0234] The confirmation or message from the gNB / NW can be dynamically signaled (e.g., via DCI or MAC CE). When it is via DCI, the DCI can be DL-DCI with or without DL assignment (e.g., DCI formats 1_0, 1_1, and 1_2 in NR), or UL-DCI with or without UL grant (e.g., formats 0_0, 0_1, and 0_2 in NR), or other DCI formats in NR (e.g., formats 2_0, 2_1, 2_2, and 2_3), or a dedicated DCI for conveying this confirmation or message. In one example, the DCI format and / or MAC CE includes a one-bit flag, where one logical level (e.g., logical “1”) indicates that beam indication is received from the UE, and the other logical level (e.g., logical “0”) indicates that no beam indication is received from the UE. In one example, the confirmation or message (e.g., a one-bit flag) is sent only when the gNB receives beam indication from the UE (i.e., ACK confirmation), and is not sent when the gNB does not receive beam indication from the UE (i.e., no NACK confirmation).

[0235] Alternatively, the DL resources and channels for the confirmation or message from the NW can be pre-configured to the UE, e.g., along with the configuration of beam indication from the UE. The duration or minimum time between the time slot of the beam indication reported by the UE and the time slot of the confirmation sent by the NW can be fixed (thus no signaling is needed), or can be signaled. When signaled, it can be via RRC or MAC CE, or DCI.

[0236] Examples of gNB confirmation can also be used to transmit a message in response to the beam report or beam indication from the UE, as previously described in this disclosure.

[0237] In one example, the beam indication of the UE can correspond to the beam or TCI state associated with source RS from a non-serving cell or a serving cell or a combination of serving and non-serving cells (e.g., when the UE reports multiple beams in the beam indication).

[0238] In one example, the beam indication of the UE can correspond to the beam or TCI state associated with source RS associated with a single UE antenna panel or multiple UE antenna panels (e.g., when the UE reports beams in multiple beam indications).

[0239] Some details of the ACK message can be according to the details described in embodiment I.1.

[0240] In one embodiment (I.5), the UE reports the beam indication as described in embodiments I.4 and I.5 without any configuration / trigger from the NW, i.e., the UE can initiate / trigger such reporting (in an aperiodic manner) based on an event of interest detected by the UE (e.g., when a MPE condition is detected). The details of the beam indication reported by the UE are as described in embodiments I.3 and I.4. In particular, the gNB acknowledgement in response to the UE-initiated beam indication reported by the UE is in accordance with at least one of the examples in embodiment I.4.

[0241] Component 2 - UE procedure for UL TX beam selection under assumption of no beam correspondence

[0242] In a second component, exemplary embodiments for UL TX beam selection are provided for the case where the beam correspondence between DL and UL does not hold, where the selection / indication of the UL TX beam for UL transmission is based on UL RS measurements.

[0243] In Figure 16 In one embodiment (II.1) shown, a flowchart of a UE configured to transmit UL measurement RS resources and receive beam indication 1600 is shown. Figure 16 The embodiments of the UE configured to transmit UL measurement RS resources 1600 and report beam indication shown are for illustration only. Figure 16 The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the UE configured to measure UL measurement RS resources 1600.

[0244] As Figure 16 As shown, the UE is configured (by the NW / gNB) to transmit P2 UL measurement RS resources (such as SRS), where P2 > 1. This configuration can be performed via higher layer (RRC) signaling. Optionally, the NW / gNB can dynamically signal / update (a subset of) the SRS resources via L1 or L2 DL control (PDCCH or MAC CE). The UE uses these resources to enable the NW / gNB to perform UL channel measurements. For example, the NW / gNB can use these P2 SRS resources to measure UL channel conditions along different spatial directions (represented by precoding operations performed at the UE which are transparent to the NW / gNB). The time-domain behavior of the transmission of the UL measurement RS resources can be configured to be aperiodic (AP), semi-persistent (SP), or periodic (P).

[0245] The UE first transmits the MPE condition and then transmits the UL measurement RS resource. The MPE condition can be determined at the UE before transmitting the UL measurement RS resource, and the precoding operation on the RS resource can be determined based on the MPE condition. Details about the MPE condition can be as described in embodiment I.2 or as described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63 / 042,154 filed on June 22, 2020 (including that the MPE condition report can be turned on / off via RRC and / or MAC and / or DCI, or initiated by the UE, or it is subject to the possibility of UE capability reporting).

[0246] The NW / gNB measures (receives) the MPE condition and the UL measurement RS resource, and determines the UL TX beam indication to the UE for UL transmission, where the beam indication can indicate N≥1 UL TX beams. The beam indication can be via UL-TCI or other functionally equivalent entities, such as SpatialRelationInfo or SRI indicated via DCI and / or MAC CE and / or RRC. In one example, N=1. In one example, N=2. Further, the beam indication can include a message (such as ACK or NACK / NULL), where details about the message are as described in embodiment I.1 or I.2.

[0247] In one sub-embodiment (II.1.1), when the UE is equipped with X>1 antenna panels, the MPE condition corresponds to one of the X panels, and in this case the corresponding panel ID can also be included in the MPE. Alternatively, the MPE condition can be reported for each panel. In one example, the NW / gNB is provided information about the X panels. The NW / gNB can use this information to select / configure a subset or all of the X panels for UL measurement RS transmission.

[0248] In one sub-embodiment (II.1.2), the set of P2 UL measurement RS resources can be partitioned into X subsets (e.g., one subset for each antenna panel or angular range). Information about the subsets can be provided to the UE, e.g., as part of the configuration configuring the UL measurement RS resources.

[0249] In one sub-embodiment (II.1.3), the P2 UL measurement RS resources are a superset containing X sets (e.g., one set for each antenna panel or angular range). Information about the sets can be provided to the UE, e.g., as part of the configuration configuring the UL measurement RS resources.

[0250] In one sub-embodiment (II.1.4), the transmission of the UL measurement RS resources includes an MPE effect, e.g., the transmission power of these resources is reduced by a certain amount when an MPE issue is detected. In this case, the MPE effect is implicit in the UL measurement RS resources. In one example, this behavior can be configured to the UE via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI. When configured, the UE applies the power reduction, otherwise it does not.

[0251] In Figure 17 In one embodiment (II.2) illustrated, a flowchart of a UE configured to transmit UL measurement RS resources and receive a beam indication 1700 is shown. Figure 17 The embodiment of the UE configured to transmit UL measurement RS resources and receive a beam indication 1700 illustrated is for illustration only. Figure 17 The scope of the disclosure is not limited to any particular implementation of the UE configured to measure UL measurement RS resources 1700.

[0252] As Figure 17 As illustrated, a UE is configured (by the NW / gNB) to transmit P2 UL measurement RS resources (such as SRS) with P2≥1, the details of which RS transmission are described in embodiment II.1. The UE transmits the UL measurement RS resources according to the configuration. The NW / gNB measures (receives) the UL measurement RS resources and determines an UL TX beam indication to the UE for UL transmission, where the beam indication indicates N≥1 UL TX beams, the details of which beam indication are described in embodiment II.1. If there is no MPE issue, the UE transmits the UL transmission with the UL TX beam indication beam indication. Otherwise (when an MPE issue is detected at the UE or a change in the MPE condition is detected at the UE), the UE transmits a reselection request to the NW / gNB.

[0253] In one example, the reselection request can be transmitted via a UE-initiated mechanism, thus it is not accompanied by (or linked with) any other report.

[0254] In another example, the UE can report a preferred SRI (or UL-TCI) along with the reselection request. In one example, the preferred SRI (or UL-TCI) indicates a 2nd (alternative) UL TX beam. In one example, such “UL-TCI / SRI reporting” can be configured via RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI, e.g., when the UE can be configured with a “MPE” or “UE-initiated” mode indicating a UE-initiated mechanism.

[0255] In another example, the UE first transmits the reselection request, e.g., via a “pre-notification message”, and then transmits the “UL-TCI / SRI”.

[0256] Any of the above-described variations may be used independently or in combination with at least one other variation.

[0257] Figure 18 A flowchart is shown of a method 1800 for operating a user equipment (UE) that can be performed by a UE (such as UE 116) according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 18 The embodiments of method 1800 shown are for illustrative purposes only. Figure 18 This disclosure is not intended to limit the scope to any particular implementation.

[0258] like Figure 18 As shown, method 1800 begins at step 1802. In step 1802, the UE (e.g., as...) Figure 1 (As shown in 111 to 116) receive configuration information, which includes information about measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information about beam reporting.

[0259] In step 1804, the UE receives measurement RS resources.

[0260] In step 1806, the UE measures the measurement RS resource.

[0261] In step 1808, the UE determines the beam report based on the measured measurement RS resources.

[0262] In step 1810, the UE transmits a beam report, which includes: Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric, and additional information including a second metric.

[0263] In one embodiment, the measurement RS resource includes at least one of a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

[0264] In one embodiment, the first beam metric is either Level 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) or Level 1 Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (L1-SINR).

[0265] In one embodiment, the additional information includes Q2 (I2, J2) pairs; I2 includes a second resource indicator and J2 includes a second beam metric; the Q2 (I2, J2) pairs are determined based on whether the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit is met; and the second metric is the second beam metric.

[0266] In one embodiment, at least one of Q1 and Q2 is non-zero.

[0267] In one embodiment, the second metric is power headroom (PHR).

[0268] In one embodiment, the second metric is (1) determined from whether a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit is satisfied, and (2) one of a plurality of values, one of the plurality of values indicating that the MPE limit is satisfied and each remaining value of the plurality of values indicating an MPE value for which the MPE limit is not satisfied.

[0269] In one embodiment, the UE determines whether the beam report includes additional information, the beam report is based on two-part uplink control information (UCI) including UCI part 1 and UCI part 2, UCI part 1 includes Q1 (I1, J1) pairs and an indicator indicating whether the additional information is included in the beam report, and UCI part 2 includes the additional information when the indicator indicates that the additional information is included in the beam report.

[0270] Figure 19 A flow chart illustrating another method 1900 that can be performed by a base station (BS), such as BS 102, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 19 Embodiments of the method 1900 shown in FIG. 19 are for illustration only. Figure 19 The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular embodiments.

[0271] As shown in FIG. 19, the method 1900 begins at step 1902. In step 1902, the BS (e.g., 101-103 as shown in FIG. 1) generates configuration information including information about measurement reference signal (RS) resources and information about a beam report. Figure 19 Figure 1 In step 1904, the BS transmits the configuration information.

[0272] In step 1906, the BS transmits the measurement RS resources.

[0273] In step 1908, the BS receives an uplink transmission including a beam report, where the beam report includes: Q1 (I1, J1) pairs, where I1 includes a first resource indicator and J1 includes a first beam metric, and additional information including a second metric.

[0274] In one embodiment, the measurement RS resources include at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0275] In one embodiment, the first beam metric is a 1st-level reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) or a 1st-level signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (L1-SINR).

[0276] In one embodiment, the first beam metric is a 1st-level reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) or a 1st-level signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (L1-SINR).

[0277] ​In one embodiment, the additional information includes Q2 (I2, J2) pairs; I2 includes a second resource indicator and J2 includes a second beam metric; the Q2 (I2, J2) pairs are determined based on whether a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit is satisfied; and the second metric is the second beam metric.

[0278] In one embodiment, at least one of Q1 and Q2 is non-zero.

[0279] In one embodiment, the second metric is a power headroom (PHR).

[0280] In one embodiment, the second metric is (1) determined based on whether a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit is satisfied, and (2) takes a value from a plurality of values, one of the plurality of values indicating that the MPE limit is satisfied, and each remaining value of the plurality of values indicating an MPE value for which the MPE limit is not satisfied.

[0281] In one embodiment, the beam report is based on two-part uplink control information (UCI) including UCI part 1 and UCI part 2, UCI part 1 including Q1 (I1, J1) pairs and an indicator indicating whether additional information is included in the beam report, and UCI part 2 including the additional information when the indicator indicates that the additional information is included in the beam report.

[0282] The above flowcharts illustrate exemplary methods that can be implemented in accordance with the principles of the disclosure, and various changes can be made to the methods illustrated in the flowcharts herein. For example, although illustrated as a series of steps, various steps in each figure can overlap, occur in parallel, occur in a different order, or occur multiple times. In another example, steps can be omitted or replaced by other steps.

[0283] While this disclosure has been described with example embodiments, the person of ordinary skill in the art can think of various changes and modifications. This disclosure is intended to cover such changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims. None of the description in this application should be read in the limitations of any specific element, step, or function as such an element, step or function must include in the claims. The scope of the patent subject matter is not to be limited by any explicit element, step, or function recited in the description.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: Receive configuration information from the base station, the configuration information including information about reference signal RS resources related to the maximum permissible exposure MPE and information about MPE reports; as well as Transmit an MPE report to the base station. The MPE report includes: A 1-bit field indicating whether to report the maximum power reduction (P-MPR) value for power management under MPE conditions. A two-digit field indicating the P-MPR value as one of the four predetermined P-MPR values, and Resource indicators associated with beams identified based on information about the RS resources.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The RS resources include at least one of the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The base station transmits capability information instructing the UE to support the MPE report.

4. A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: Transmit configuration information to the user equipment (UE), the configuration information including information about reference signal (RS) resources related to the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) and information about the MPE report; as well as Receive MPE report from the UE. The MPE report includes: A 1-bit field indicating whether to report the maximum power reduction (P-MPR) value for power management under MPE conditions. A two-digit field indicating the P-MPR value as one of the four predetermined P-MPR values, and Resource indicators associated with beams identified based on information about the RS resources.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The RS resources include at least one of the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising: The UE receives capability information indicating that it supports the MPE report.

7. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: transceiver; as well as The controller is configured as follows: The transceiver receives configuration information from the base station, including information about reference signal (RS) resources related to the maximum permissible maximum exposure (MPE) and information about MPE reports. The transceiver transmits an MPE report to the base station. The MPE report includes: A 1-bit field indicating whether to report the maximum power reduction (P-MPR) value for power management under MPE conditions. A two-digit field indicating the P-MPR value as one of the four predetermined P-MPR values, and Resource indicators associated with beams identified based on information about the RS resources.

8. The UE as claimed in claim 7, wherein, The RS resources include at least one of the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

9. The UE as claimed in claim 7, wherein, The controller is also configured to transmit capability information indicating that the UE supports the MPE report to the base station via the transceiver.

10. A base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: transceiver; as well as The controller is configured as follows: The transceiver transmits configuration information to the user equipment (UE), including information about reference signal (RS) resources related to the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) and information about the MPE report. Receive MPE report from UE via the transceiver. The MPE report includes: A 1-bit field indicating whether to report the maximum power reduction (P-MPR) value for power management under MPE conditions. A two-digit field indicating the P-MPR value as one of the four predetermined P-MPR values, and Resource indicators associated with beams identified based on information about the RS resources.

11. The base station as claimed in claim 10, wherein, The RS resources include at least one of the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

12. The base station as described in claim 10, wherein, The controller is also configured to receive capability information from the UE via the transceiver, indicating that the UE supports the MPE report.

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