Reference signals in active tci switching

Abstract

The technology discussed herein can facilitate the use of reference signals in active TCI switching. A user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message comprising an activation command indicating a target transmission configuration indication (TCI) state; decode the activation command within a decoding period, wherein the decoding period is a period of time allocated for the UE to decode the activation command; receive a TCI resource, wherein the TCI resource is a reference signal; perform time and frequency tracking associated with the target TCI state from the TCI resource; and switch to the target TCI state after performing time and frequency tracking.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless technology including new radio (NR) transmission configuration indication (TCI) state switching, including systems and methods for active TCI state switching according to a reference signal. BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile communications in next generation wireless communication systems, 5G or new radio (NR) networks, will provide ubiquitous connectivity and access to information and the ability to share data worldwide. The 5G network and network slicing will be a unified service-based framework with the goal of meeting a variety of and sometimes conflicting performance criteria. The 5G network will provide services to a wide range of highly heterogeneous application areas, ranging from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to massive machine type communications (mMTC), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and other communications. In general, NR will evolve based on the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced technology and additional enhanced radio access technologies (RATs) to enable seamless and faster wireless connectivity solutions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0003] Figure 1 is an example block diagram illustrating an example of a user equipment (UE) communicatively coupled to a network in accordance with various aspects described herein.

[0004] Figure 2 is a timing diagram for active transmission configuration indication (TCI) switching using an alternative reference signal for a known target TCI state in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

[0005] Figure 3 is a timing diagram for example active transmission configuration indication (TCI) switching using an alternative reference signal for a known target TCI state in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

[0006] Figure 4 is a timing diagram for example active transmission configuration indication (TCI) switching using an alternative reference signal for an unknown target TCI state in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

[0007] Figure 5 is a signal flow diagram outlining an example of active transmission configuration indication (TCI) switching using an alternative reference signal.

[0008] Figure 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of active transmission configuration indication (TCI) switching using an alternative reference signal.

[0009] Figure 7A flow diagram illustrating an example method of active transmission configuration indication (TCI) switching using an alternative reference signal.

[0010] Figure 8 An example of infrastructure equipment in accordance with the various aspects disclosed is shown.

[0011] Figure 9 An example of a user equipment (UE) platform in accordance with the various aspects disclosed is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize plant for unintended or unauthorized access, as well as unauthorized uses of the data. Additionally, users should be informed about how their personal identifiable information data is being used by a website, in ways that are easily understood and accessible.

[0013] 5G or NR networks can use transmission configuration indication (TCI) states to configure quasi co-location (QCLed) relationships between network resources such as reference signals (RSs) and antenna ports. A base station (BS) of the network and a user equipment (UE) can employ TCI state switching to utilize different resources from a serving cell. In some aspects, the TCI state switching protocol involves a preconfigured decoding and processing period, and a scheduled quiet period during which the UE does not need to receive DL data, but instead waits for synchronization signaling, such as a synchronization signal block (SSB), to be used for time and frequency (T / F) tracking as part of the TCI state switching procedure. The preconfigured decoding and processing period, which is not necessarily long, and the scheduled quiet period can result in increased TCI state switching latency and result in throughput loss during the TCI state switching period.

[0014] For example, a UE can receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message from a BS that includes an activation command indicating a target TCI state. The UE processes a first SSB after receiving the first SSB after the allocated decoding period. The UE then switches to the target TCI state after waiting for an SSB burst period. The quiet period associated with the TCI state switching procedure is based on the SSB burst periodicity (e.g., 160 ms) and the time allocated for switching the TCI state. Thus, the timing of the switching of the TCI state is determined based on the predetermined decoding period and the SSB periodicity. Similarly, the quiet period is determined by the SSB periodicity.

[0015] When the UE is able to decode the activation command before the allocated decoding period expires (e.g., in 1 ms) and receive the SSB before the designated SSB burst period expires (e.g., in 5 ms), the UE can switch the TCI state earlier. In this case, the TCI state switching procedure results in a delay because the UE can have switched the TCI state faster, and the UE and BS experience a reduction in throughput because the DL data can be received earlier if the TCI state switching period is completed faster.

[0016] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to utilizing different RSs in active TCI state switching. Mechanisms are presented to introduce RSs earlier in the TCI state switching procedure to provide T / F tracking information to the UE to allow the UE to complete the TCI state switching procedure faster.

[0017] In some aspects, the UE receives a TCI resource, which can be an SSB or a RS, after decoding the activation command. The RS can be, for example, a tracking reference signal (TRS), an aperiodic reference signal (AP RS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). The UE then performs T / F tracking associated with the target TCI state according to a first reception resource determined by which of the SSB or reference signal is received first, and the TCI resource is the first reception resource. Further, once the UE receives the first reception resource, the UE can process the resource and immediately start the T / F tracking without waiting for completion of the SSB burst period. In other aspects, the UE can be configured in a carrier aggregation (CA) mode with component carriers (CCs). The UE can receive the SSB and RS according to the component carriers, and use a first resource determined by which of the SSB or RS in the CCs is received first.

[0018] Additionally, when the UE decodes the activation command before the allocated decoding period expires, the UE can be configured to receive the TCI resource before the decoding period expires. In this case, the TCI resource can be an SSB. Thus, the UE does not have to wait for completion of the decoding period before receiving the TCI resource and starting the T / F tracking of the target TCI state according to the TCI resource.

[0019] According to the above aspects, when the activation command is decoded before the decoding period expires, and when the SSB or RS is received before the SSB burst period expires, the UE can complete the TCI state switching in a more efficient manner with less delay.

[0020] Other aspects and details of the present disclosure are further described below with respect to the drawings.

[0021] Figure 1An exemplary architecture of a wireless communication system 100 is shown including UEs 101a and 101b (collectively referred to as the“UEs 101”), a radio access network (RAN) 110, and a core network (CN) 120. A UE communicates with the CN 120 through the RAN 110. In aspects, the RAN 110 can be a Next Generation (NG) RAN or 5G RAN, an Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN), or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term“NG RAN” or like terms can refer to a RAN 110 that operates in an NR or 5G system 100, while the term“E-UTRAN” or like terms can refer to a RAN 110 that operates in an LTE or 4G system 100. The UEs 101 utilize connections (or channels) 102 and 104, respectively, with the RAN 110, each connection 102 and 104 comprising a physical communications interface or layer.

[0022] Alternatively or additionally, each of the UEs 101 can be configured with dual connectivity (DC) as multi-RAT or multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), where a multi-Rx / Tx capable UE can be configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes (e.g., 111a, 111b, 112, or other network nodes) capable of being connected via a non-ideal backhaul, for example, where one node provides NR access and the other node provides E-UTRA for LTE or NR access for 5G.

[0023] Alternatively or additionally, each of the UEs 101 can be configured in a CA mode, where multiple frequency bands are aggregated in CCs to increase data throughput between the UE 101 and the nodes 111a, 111b. For example, the UE 101a can communicate with the node 111a according to CCs in the CA mode. Further, the UE 101a can simultaneously communicate with the node 112 in the DC mode and additionally communicate with each of the nodes of the node 112 in the CA mode.

[0024] In this example, the connections 102 and 104 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, in aspect. The UEs 101 may, via the ProSe interface 105, directly exchange communication data. The ProSe interface 105 can alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface 105 and can comprise one or more logical channels.

[0025] The RAN 110 can include one or more access nodes or RAN nodes 111a and 111b (collectively referred to as“RAN nodes 111”) that enable the connections 102 and 104. As used herein, the term“access node,”“access point” or the like can describe equipment

[0026] In aspects where the system 100 is a 5G or NR system, the interface can be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 111 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC 120, between a RAN node 111 (e.g., gNB) connected to the 5GC 120 and an eNB, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC 120.

[0027] The RAN 110 is shown to be communicably coupled to a core network, in this aspect, the CN 120. The CN 120 can comprise a plurality of network elements 122 that are configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 101) connected to the CN 120 via the RAN 110.

[0028] Reference signals in active TCI switching

[0029] Figure 2 is a timing diagram 200 of active TCI switching using an alternative reference signal for a known target TCI state in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein. In some aspects, Figure 1 The wireless communication system 100 of supports TCI state switching. At 202, the UE 101 receives, from the BS 111, a PDSCH message carrying an activation command in a slot n. The activation command can be a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command or a radio resource control (RRC) activation command. The activation command can indicate a TCI state switch or a TCI state switch command. After receiving the PDSCH message from the BS 111, the UE 101 can receive, from the BS 111, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message indicating a target TCI state of a serving cell for which to make the TCI state switch.

[0030] In some aspects, the UE 101 has been configured with the necessary conditions to switch from the active TCI state to the target TCI state prior to receiving the PDSCH message. In this case, the target TCI state is a known target TCI state, which means that the UE 101 does not need to perform a signal received power (RSRP) measurement for the target TCI state prior to switching to the target TCI state. The target TCI state can be a known target TCI state if the reference signal (RS) used for the previous layer 1 (L1)-RSRP measurement for the active TCI state is the same RS used for the target TCI state. Alternatively, the target TCI state can be a known target TCI state if the RS used for the previous L1-RSRP measurement for the active TCI state is QCLed with the target TCI state. Additionally, the target TCI state is a known target TCI state when one or more of the following conditions are met. The TCI state switch command is received within a specified time period (e.g., 1280 ms) after the most recent transmission of the RS resource associated with the beam report or the L1-RSRP associated with the active TCI state. The UE 101 transmits an L1-RSRP report associated with the target TCI state prior to receiving the TCI state switch command. The target TCI state is detectable during the TCI state switch period. If an SSB associated with the target TCI state is detectable during the TCI switch period, and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the target TCI state is greater than or equal to -3 decibels (dB). Otherwise, the target TCI state is an unknown target TCI state. Figure 2 The TCI state switch depicted in the middle is for a known TCI state.

[0031] When the activation command is a MAC CE command, the UE 101 is assigned a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing period 204 (also referred to as T HARQ 204) for receiving the activation command or downlink (DL) data that can include the activation command from the BS 111 and for transmitting an acknowledgment by the UE 101. The time assigned for the UE 101 to decode the MAC CE activation command is represented by T DECODE_A 206a. T DECODE_A 206a occurs after T HARQ 204, and T DECODE_A 206a can be equal to which is the time for the UE 101 to decode the MAC CE activation command. If the activation command is an RRC activation command, the acknowledgment is not necessary, and the RRC decoding period TT DECODE_B 206b starts after the completion of the slot n. T DECODE_B 206b can be equal to T RRC_PROCESSINGwhich is the time for the UE 101 to decode the RRC activation command.

[0032] In some examples, T DECODE_A 206a and T DECODE_B 206b is the time period allocated for the UE 101 to decode the activation command. Such a decoding period can be, for example, 3 ms. The decoding period can be configured by the BS 111. Recall that while the UE 101 is allocated a decoding period for decoding the activation command (MAC CE or RRC), the UE 101 can be able to decode the activation command long before the decoding period expires.

[0033] In some aspects, the UE 101 can receive the PDCCH message according to the active TCI state during the time period defined by the slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A 206a (associated with the MAC CE activation command) or the slot n + T DECODE_B 206b (associated with the RRC activation command).

[0034] After T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b, the UE 101 receives a TCI resource, which can be a first SSB 218 or a first RS 210 from the BS 111. In some cases, the TCI resource is determined by first receiving which of the first SSB 218 or the first RS 210. The first RS 210 can be one of a TRS, a CSI-RS, an AP RS, and an AP RS CSI-RS, or other suitable RS. In some examples, the first RS 210 is not an SSB resource. When the first RS 210 is an AP RS, the BS 111 configures the AP RS resource and transmits the AP RS resource to the UE 101 prior to the active TCI state switch. When the UE 101 receives the activation command for the active TCI state switch, the BS 111 can schedule and transmit the associated AP RS for the target TCI for the UE 101.

[0035] The first SSB 218 or the first RS 210 can be QCLed with the target TCI state and provide the UE 101 with the T / F tracking information needed to use the target TCI state. The BS 111 can configure a SSB periodicity 220 associated with the SSB interval in which the BS 111 will transmit signaling of the SSB for the target TCI state. For example, the SSB periodicity 220 can be the time between when the BS 111 transmits the first SSB 218 and transmits the second SSB 222. The BS 111 can configure a RS periodicity 212 associated with the RS interval in which the BS 111 will transmit signaling of the RS for the target TCI state (when the RS can be aperiodic, for example, if the RS is an AP RS, then the BS 111 will not configure a RS periodicity 212). For example, the RS periodicity 212 can be the time between when the BS 111 transmits the first RS 210 and transmits the second RS 216. Further, the first SSB 218, the second SSB 222, the first RS 210, and the second RS 216 are QCLed with the target TCI state in QCL-TypeA, QCL-TypeB, QCL-TypeC, or QCL-TypeD. first RS 208 represents the time from completion of T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b to reception of the first RS 210. T first SSB 226 represents the time from completion of T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b to reception of the first SSB 218. Although Figure 2 the first RS 210 is depicted as arriving before the first SSB 218, it should be understood that the first SSB 218 can arrive before the first RS 210. Thus, when the first RS 210 arrives before the first SSB 218, the TCI resource is the first RS 210. Alternatively, when the SSB 218 arrives before the first RS 210, the TCI resource is the first SSB 218.

[0036] The UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the TCI resource. The time from reception of the first RS 210 until processing of the first RS 210 is represented as T RS proc 214. The time from reception of the first SSB 218 until processing of the first SSB 218 is represented as T SSB proc 224. For example, T RS proc 214 and T SSB proc224may each be 2 ms. When the UE 101 performs T / F tracking according to the TCI resource and the first RS 210 is received before the first SSB 218, the TCI switch to the target TCI state is completed after T RS proc 214. In contrast, when the UE 101 performs T / F tracking according to the TCI resource and the first SSB 218 is received before the first RS 210, the TCI switch to the target TCI state is completed after T SSB proc 224. In some aspects, no other TCI resource is received when the UE 101 receives the first reception resource. That is, when the UE 101 receives the first SSB 218 before the first RS 210, the UE 101 can not receive the first SSB 218 and the BS 111 can not transmit the first SSB 218. Alternatively, when the UE 101 receives the first RS 210 before the first SSB 218, the UE 101 can not receive the first RS 210 and the BS 111 can not transmit the first RS 210.

[0037] In some aspects, the UE 101 is configured to communicate with the BS 111 in a CA mode with multiple CCs. Accordingly, the UE 101 can receive multiple SSBs or multiple RSs from the BS 111 according to the multiple CCs. Further, the multiple CCs can be of the same frequency band or can be common beam management (CBM). In this aspect, the first reception resource is determined by one of the multiple SSBs or one of the multiple RSs that is first received from the multiple CCs, and the TCI signaling is the first reception resource. For example, the first SSB 218 is the first arriving SSB from the multiple SSBs received from the multiple CCs, or the first RS 210 is the first arriving RS from the multiple RSs received from the multiple CCs. In some cases, the TCI signaling is determined by one of the multiple reference signals that is first received from the multiple CCs.

[0038] When the activation command is a MAC CE activation command and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the first reception resource, the UE 101 can receive a PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after a time defined by:

[0039] slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A 206a + TO k *(min(T first SSB 226, T first RS 208) + T proc) / NR slot length

[0040] where T0 k 1 if the target TCI state is in the active TCI state list of PDSCH, otherwise 0. T proc is the processing time of the first reception resource, e.g., T RS proc 214 or T SSB proc 224. min(T first SSB 226, T first RS 208) is determined by first receiving which one of the first RS 210 or the first SSB 218. The NR slot length is associated with the length of a slot. Further, the scheduled quiet period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A 206a until slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A 206a + T0 k *(min(T first SSB 226, T first RS 208) + T proc ) / NR slot length. During the scheduled quiet period for the known target TCI state, the UE 101 does not need to receive DL data.

[0041] In some cases, the activation command is a MAC CE activation command, and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the TCI resource, where the TCI resource is a reference signal, the UE 101 can receive a PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after a time defined by:

[0042] slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A 206a + T0 k *(T first RS 208) + T RS proc 214) / NR slot length

[0043] where the scheduled quiet period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A 206a until slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A206a + TO k *(T first RS 208 + T RS proc 214) / NR slot length.

[0044] When the activation command is an RRC activation command and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the first reception resource, the UE 101 can receive the PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after a time defined by:

[0045] slot n + (T DECODE_B 206a + TO k *(min(T first SSB 226, T first RS 208) + T proc )) / NR slot length

[0046] Further, the scheduled arranged muting period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + (T DECODE_A 206a / NR slot length DECODE_B 206b + TO k *(min(T first SSB 226, T first RS 208) + T proc )) / NR slot length

[0047] In some cases, the activation command is an RRC activation command and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the TCI resource, where the TCI resource is a reference signal, the UE 101 can receive the PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after a time defined by:

[0048] slot n + (T DECODE_B 206a + TO k *(T first RS 208 + T RS proc 214)) / NR slot length where the scheduled arranged muting period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + (T DECODE_A 206a / NR slot length DECODE_B 206b + TO k *(Tfirst RS 208 + T RS proc 214)) / NR slot length.

[0049] According to the known target TCI state aspects described above, the UE 101 can complete the TCI state switch in an efficient manner, with minimized delay during the TCI state switch, thereby minimizing throughput loss.

[0050] Figure 3 is an exemplary active TCI switch timing diagram 300 using alternative reference signals for known target TCI states according to the various aspects disclosed herein. The timing diagram 300 describes the occurrence of additional or alternative operations during T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b and alternative features of the first SSB 218.

[0051] In some aspects, T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b is a decoding period for the UE 101 to decode the activation command, where the decoding period is preconfigured, such as 3 ms. The UE 101 can decode the activation command prior to T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b expires. In this case, the UE 101 can be configured to receive the first SSB 218 from the BS 111 prior to T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b completes. Thus, the first SSB 218 is received prior to the first RS 210. In this aspect, the first reception resource is the first SSB 218. Figure 3 In the example shown, the UE 101 performs T / F tracking according to the first reception resource, and the first reception resource is the first SSB 218. Thus, the UE 101 can receive the first SSB 218 prior to T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b completes, and the TCI switch delay is reduced and the communication throughput is improved. In an alternative aspect, the UE 101 receives the first RS 210 from the BS 111 prior to T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b completes, and the first RS 210 is received prior to the first SSB 218. In this aspect, the first reception resource is the first RS 210.

[0052] Figure 4is a timing diagram 400 of an exemplary active TCI switching using alternative reference signals for unknown target TCI states according to the various aspects disclosed herein. The timing diagram 400 describes additional or alternative operations or features with respect to L1-RSRP measurements, T first RS 208 and T first SSB 226.

[0053] The timing diagram 400 illustrates an example in which the target TCI state is conditionally unknown, and thus the target TCI state is an unknown target TCI state. To complete the TCI state switching procedure with the unknown target TCI state, the UE 101 determines the relevant beam information associated with the target TCI state. The UE 101 completes the T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b, the UE 101 can perform L1-RSRP beam measurements for the target TCI to determine a receive (Rx) beam associated with the target TCI. The time period for the UE 101 to perform the L1-RSRP beam measurements is T L1-RSRP 402. After T L1-RSRP 402, the UE 101 determines the Rx beam associated with the target TCI, which is QCLed with the first RS 210 or the first SSB 218.

[0054] The UE 101 can receive the first RS 210 or the first SSB 218 after T L1-RSRP 402. In this example, T first RS 208 represents the time from completing T L1-RSRP 402 to receiving the first RS 210, and T first SSB 226 represents the time from completing T L1-RSRP 402 to receiving the first SSB 218.

[0055] When the activation command is a MAC CE activation command and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the first reception resource when the target TCI state is unknown, the UE 101 can receive a PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after a time defined by:

[0056] slot n + T HARQ 204 + T DECODE_A 206a + T L1-RSRP 402 + TO k *(min(T first SSB 226, T first RS 208) + Tproc ) / NR slot length

[0057] In addition, the scheduled arrangement of the quiet period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + T HARQ 204+T DECODE_A 206a until slot n + T HARQ 204+T DECODE_A 206a+T L1-RSRP 402+TO k *(min(T first SSB 226,T first RS 208)+T proc ) / NR slot length. During the scheduled arrangement of the quiet period for the known target TCI state, the UE 101 does not need to receive DL data.

[0058] In some cases, the activation command is a MAC CE activation command, and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the TCI resource, where the TCI resource is a reference signal, the UE 101 can receive a PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after a time defined by:

[0059] slot n + T HARQ 204+T DECODE_A 206a+T L1-RSRP 402+TO k *(T first RS 208+T RS proc 214) / NR slot length

[0060] where the scheduled arrangement of the quiet period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + T HARQ 204+T DECODE_A 206a until slot n + T HARQ 204+T DECODE_A 206a+T L1-RSRP 402+TO k *(T first RS 208+T RS proc 214) / NR slot length.

[0061] When the activation command is an RRC activation command and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the first reception resource at the time the target TCI state is unknown, the UE 101 can receive the PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after the time defined by:

[0062] slot n + (T DECODE_B 206b / NR slot length) + T L1-RSRP 402+TO k *(min(T first SSB 226,T first RS 208) + T proc ) / NR slot length

[0063] Further, the scheduled arranged muting period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + (T DECODE_B 206b / NR slot length) until slot n + (T DECODE_B 206b / NR slot length) + T L1-RSRP 402+TO k *(min(T first SSB 226,T first RS 208) + T proc ) / NR slot length.

[0064] In some cases, the activation command is an RRC activation command and the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on a TCI resource, where the TCI resource is a reference signal, the UE 101 can receive the PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the target TCI state after the time defined by:

[0065] slot n + (T DECODE_B 206b / NR slot length) + T L1-RSRP 402+TO k *(T first RS 208 + T RS proc 214) / NR slot length

[0066] Further, the scheduled arranged muting period for the known target TCI state is from slot n + (T DECODE_A 206a / NR slot length) until slot n + (T DECODE_B206b / NR slot length) + T L1-RSRP 402 + TO k *(T first RS 208 + T RS proc 214) / NR slot length.

[0067] In an alternative aspect, the UE 101 can receive the first reception resource during T L1-RSRP In this example, the UE 101 receives the first CSI-RS 404 associated with the target TCI state during the L1-RSRP measurement, and the first CSI-RS 404 is the first reception resource for the active TCI switching. The first CSI-RS 404 provides the UE 101 with the T / F tracking information needed to use the target TCI state. The time from when the first CSI-RS 404 is received until when the first CSI-RS 404 is processed is T CSI-RS proc 408, and the TCI state switching procedure can be completed at T CSI-RS proc 408. When the UE 101 performs T / F tracking from the first reception resource (e.g., CSI-RS), then T L1-RSRP 402 + TO k *(min(T first SSB 226, T first RS 208) + T proc ) is replaced with T L1-RSRP 402 + TO k *T CSI-RS proc 408.

[0068] In an alternative aspect, the first RS 210 is an AP RS. In this case, the BS 111 configures the AP RS resource and transmits the AP RS resource to the UE 101 prior to the active TCI state switch. Subsequently, the BS 111 configures the AP RS. When the UE 101 receives the activation command for the active TCI state switch, the BS 111 schedules and transmits the associated AP RS for the target TCI to the UE 101. The UE 101 can then use the associated AP RS to perform the L1-RSRP measurement for the target TCI state. The BS 111 can also indicate to the UE 101 whether the UE 101 should perform the L1-RSRP based on the SSB or RS (e.g., AP RS, AP CSI, or SSB) QCLed with the target TCI prior to the active TCI state switch. In addition, the AP CSI for L1-RSRP is QCLed (e.g., QCLed Type D) with the SSB for L1-RSRP. Thus, when the first RS 210 is an AP RS, the UE 101 can perform the L1-RSRP measurement according to the AP RS or according to the SSB. As such, the T L1-RSRP 402Based on T L1-RSRP AP RS or T L1-RSRP SSB which one is first completed or indicated by the BS 111 can be denoted as T L1-RSRP AP RS the time period to complete the RSRP measurement according to the AP RS or denoted as T L1-RSRP SSB the time period to complete the RSRP measurement according to the SSB. In this case, the UE 101 can receive the PDCCH message from the BS 111 according to the TCI state after the time defined by the above formulas for the MAC CE activation command and the RRC activation command, where T L1-RSRP is replaced by min(T L1-RSRP AP RS , T L1-RSRP SSB ). The same replacement applies to the scheduled on-duration period in this case.

[0069] According to the above aspects, the UE 101 can complete the TCI state switch for the unknown target TCI state in an efficient manner when the activation command is decoded prior to the expiration of the decoding period.

[0070] Figure 5 is a signal flow diagram 500 outlining an example of active TCI switching using an alternative reference signal.

[0071] The signal flow diagram 500 shows the BS 111 indicating a TCI state switch command to the UE 101 at 502. The TCI state switch command can be indicated in an RRC message. The BS 111 indicates an RS (e.g., a TRS or an AP RS) associated with the target TCI state in the RRC message, another RRC message, layer 1 (L1) downlink control information (DCI) signaling, or other indication type at 504. It should be noted that the BS 111 can indicate the TCI state switch command and the RS in any order. In this case, the RS is similar to the first reception resource or the TCI resource in any of Figure 2 to Figure 4 . At 506, the BS 111 can activate the RS by transmitting an activation command, e.g., a MAC CE activation command or an RRC activation command, another MAC CE or RRC message, or L1 DCI signaling. Activating the RS can include indicating to the UE 101 that the UE 101 can use the RS for T / F tracking associated with the target TCI state. Figure 2

[0072] The UE 101 decodes the activation command at 508. When the UE 101 completes decoding the activation command at 508, which can be similar to the T Figure 2 and Figure 4 of the T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b), the UE 101 performs T / F tracking on the RS at 510 and switches to the target TCI state at 512 upon completion of the T / F tracking. Thus, the UE 101 does not perform T / F tracking on other resources except for the RS associated with the target TCI state and completes the active TCI state switching procedure with minimal delay. In some cases, prior to the activation command, the UE 101 does not monitor the RS associated with the target TCI state but only monitors the RS associated with the active TCI state. After switching to the target TCI state, the UE 101 can receive a PDCCH on the target TCI state at 514.

[0073] Figure 6 A flow diagram illustrating an example method 600 of active TCI switching using an alternative reference signal. The example method 600 can be performed, for example, by the UE 101 of Figure 1 to Figure 5 .

[0074] At 602, the method includes receiving an activation command indicating a target TCI state. Figure 2 At 202, Figure 3 At 202, Figure 4 At 202, and Figure 5 At 506, some aspects correspond to act 602.

[0075] ​At 604, the method includes decoding the activation command. Figure 2 to Figure 4 of T DECODE_A 206a or T DECODE_B 206b, and Figure 5 At 508, some aspects correspond to act 604.

[0076] At 606, the method includes receiving a TCI resource that can be an SSB or an RS. Figure 2 to Figure 4 of a first RS 210 and a first SSB 218, and Figure 5 At 504, some aspects correspond to act 606.

[0077] At 608, the method includes performing T / F tracking associated with the target TCI state according to the TCI resource. Figure 2 to Figure 4 of a first RS 210, T RS proc 214, a first SSB 218, and T SSB proc 224, and Figure 5 At 510, some aspects correspond to act 608.

[0078] At 610, the method includes switching to the target TCI state after performing the T / F tracking associated with the target TCI state. Figure 2 to Figure 4 In some aspects, the method further includes receiving a PDCCH message using the target TCI state. Figure 5 The acts described at 512 correspond to some aspects of act 610.

[0079] At 612, the method includes receiving a PDCCH message using the target TCI state. Figure 2 to Figure 4 In some aspects, the method further includes receiving a PDCCH message using the target TCI state. Figure 5 The acts described at 514 correspond to some aspects of act 612.

[0080] Figure 7 A flow diagram of an example method 700 showing active TCI switching using alternative reference signals is shown. The example method 700 can be performed, for example, by a BS 111. Figure 1 to Figure 5 of T

[0081] At 702, the method includes transmitting an activation command associated with a target TCI state. Figure 2 At 202, Figure 3 At 202, Figure 4 At 202, and Figure 5 At 506, some aspects correspond to act 702.

[0082] At 704, the method includes transmitting a TCI resource that can be an SSB or an RS. Figure 2 to Figure 4 of a first RS 210 and a first SSB 218, andFigure 5 Some aspects correspond to action 606 at 504.

[0083] At 706, the method includes transmitting a PDCCH message with a target TCI state. Figure 2 to Figure 4 and Figure 5 The actions described at 514 correspond to some aspects of action 612.

[0084] Figure 8 An example of infrastructure equipment 800 in accordance with various aspects is shown. The infrastructure equipment 800 (or “system 800”) can be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node such as Figure 1 BS 111 of FIG. 1, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, system 800 can be implemented in or by a UE such as UE 101.

[0085] The system 800 includes application circuitry 805, baseband circuitry 810, one or more radio front end modules (RFEMs) 815, memory circuitry 820 (including a memory interface), power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 825, power control circuitry 830, network controller circuitry 835, a network interface connector 840, satellite positioning circuitry 845, and user interface 850. In some aspects, the device 800 can include additional elements such as, for example, memory / storage, display, camera, sensor, or input / output (I / O) interface. In other aspects, different or additional elements can be included.

[0086] Application circuitry 805 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), processing circuitry, cache memory, and one or more of the following: low-dropout regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C, or Universal Programmable Serial Interface modules, real-time clocks (RTCs), timer-counters (including interval timers and watchdog timers), general-purpose input / output (I / O or IO), memory card controllers such as Secure Digital (SD) Multimedia Card (MMC) or similar products, Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces, Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) interfaces, and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access ports. The processor (or core) of application circuitry 805 may be coupled to or may include memory / storage elements, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage elements to enable various applications or operating systems to run on system 800. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit, which may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0087] The processor of application circuit 805 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPU), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC machine (ARM) processors, one or more Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some aspects, application circuit 805 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operation according to various aspects of this document. As an example, the processor of application circuit 805 may include one or more processor, Processor; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or Processors; ARM-based processors licensed by ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors provided by Cavium™, Inc. MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as MIPS Warrior P-class processors; and the like. In some aspects, the system 800 can not utilize application circuitry 805, but can include a dedicated processor / controller for handling IP data received from the EPC or 5GC, for example.

[0088] The user interface 850 can include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the system 800 or a peripheral component interface designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the system 800. The user interface can include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a speaker or other audio emitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, headphones, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface can include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, etc.

[0089] Figure 8 The illustrated components can communicate with one another through interface circuits, which can include any number of buses and / or interconnects (IX) technologies, such as industry standard architecture (ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX can be a proprietary bus, e.g., used in a SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems can include, for example, I2C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interfaces, power bus, and the like.

[0090] Figure 9 An example of a platform 900 (or “device 900”) in accordance with various aspects is illustrated in shown. In aspects, computer platform 900 can be suitable for use as Figure 1 a UE 101 of FIG. 1, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 900 can include any combination of the components shown in the example. The components of platform 900 can be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform 900, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. Figure 9 The block diagram of FIG. 9 is intended to show a high level view of components of the computer platform 900. However, some of the components shown can be omitted in some embodiments, additional components can be present, and different arrangements of the components can occur in other embodiments.

[0091] Application circuitry 905 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: LDO, interrupt controller, serial interface (such as SPI), I2C or general programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-counter (including interval timers and watchdog timers), general-purpose I / O, memory card controller (such as SDMMC or similar controller), USB interface, MIPI interface, and JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of application circuitry 905 may be coupled to or may include memory / storage elements, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage elements to enable various applications or operating systems to run on system 900. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be on-chip memory circuitry that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0092] For example, the processor of application circuit 905 may include a general-purpose or special-purpose processor, such as one purchased from [unclear - possibly a specific manufacturer or supplier]. Inc., Cupertino, CA, A-series processors (e.g., the A13 Bionic) or any other such processor. The processor used in Application Circuit 905 can also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Inc.'s kernel processor, from Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM Processor, Texas Instruments Open Multimedia ApplicationsPlatform(OMAP) TM Processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some specific implementations, the application circuitry 905 may be part of a system-on-a-chip (SoC), where the application circuitry 905 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package.

[0093] The baseband circuitry or processor 910 can be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module including two or more integrated circuits attached to a circuit board or heat spreader. In addition, the baseband circuitry or processor 910 can be implemented using a system on a chip (SoC) that includes one or more integrated circuits and / or other hardware components, such as radio frequency (RF) performance components.

[0094] The platform 900 can also include interface circuitry (not shown) that is used to connect external devices with the platform 900. The interface circuitry can be coupled with one or more interfaces, which are also referred to as ports. External devices that are coupled to the platform 900 using the interface circuitry include the sensor circuitry 921, the electro-mechanical component (EMC) 922, and the removable memory device coupled to the removable memory circuitry 923.

[0095] The battery 930 can power the platform 900, although in some examples the platform 900 can be mounted in a fixed location, and can have a power supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery 930 can be a lithium ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 930 can be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0096] While the method is illustrated and described above as a series of acts or events, it will be understood that the ordering of such acts or events can not be limiting. For example, some acts can be performed in different order, and / or some acts can be performed concurrently, with other acts or events being performed at the same or different time. In addition, not all illustrated acts can be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the disclosure herein. Additionally, one or more of the acts illustrated can be combined or integrated with other acts or events. In some embodiments, the method illustrated above can be implemented using instructions stored in memory that is executable by a computer or processing device. Many other embodiments and variations are possible based on the teachings contained herein.

[0097] As employed herein, the term "processor" can refer to substantially any computing processing unit or device comprising single-core processors; single-processors with software multithread execution capability; multi- core processors; multi-core processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits, digital signal processors, field programmable gate arrays, programmable logic controller, complex programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein and / or process data. Processors can utilize nano- scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance performance of mobile devices. Processors can also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0098] Embodiments (aspects) can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including instructions that, when performed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.) cause the machine to perform acts of the method, or a device or system for concurrent communication with multiple communication technologies according to aspects and examples described herein.

[0099] Embodiment 1 is a user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message comprising an activation command indicating a target transmission configuration indication (TCI) state; decode the activation command within a decoding period, wherein the decoding period is a period of time allocated for the UE to decode the activation command; receive a TCI resource, wherein the TCI resource is a reference signal; perform time and frequency tracking associated with the target TCI state according to the TCI resource; and switch to the target TCI state after performing time and frequency tracking.

[0100] Embodiment 2 includes the subject matter of Embodiment 1, wherein the reference signal is not a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0101] Embodiment 3 includes the subject matter of Embodiment 1, wherein the activation command is a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command.

[0102] Embodiment 4 includes the subject matter of Embodiment 1, wherein the activation command is a radio resource control (RRC) activation command.

[0103] Example 5 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the TCI resource is received after decoding the activation command and before expiration of the decoding period, and the TCI resource is a reference signal or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0104] Example 6 includes the subject matter of Example 1, further configured to, after decoding the activation command: perform a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the target TCI state; and receive the TCI resource after decoding the activation command and in accordance with the RSRP measurement.

[0105] Example 7 includes the subject matter of Example 6, further configured to determine a best receive (Rx) beam for use with the target TCI state based on the RSRP measurement.

[0106] Example 8 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-7, further configured to receive a plurality of TCI resources in accordance with a plurality of component carriers (CCs), wherein the plurality of CCs are of a same frequency band or are common beam management (CBM); and the TCI resource is determined by one of the plurality of TCI resources received first among the plurality of CCs.

[0107] Example 9 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-7, wherein the reference signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS) or an aperiodic reference signal (AP RS).

[0108] Example 10 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein which of the reference signal or synchronization signal block (SSB) is determined first to receive the TCI resource is the reference signal or SSB.

[0109] Example 11 includes the subject matter of Example 10, wherein the UE is further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message in accordance with the target TCI state after a time defined by: where T HARQ corresponds to timing between a downlink (DL) data transmission and an acknowledgment; corresponds to the decoding period; TO k is 1 when the target TCI state is in a list of active TCI states for PDSCH, otherwise 0; T first SSB is associated with a time of reception of the SSB; T first TRS is associated with a time of reception of the reference signal; min(T first SSB , first RS) is determined by which of the reference signals or SSBs is received first; T proc is associated with T first according to which of the reference signals or SSBs is received first SSB is associated with the processing time or T first RS is associated with the processing time of the RSRP measurement of the target TCI state; and NR slot length is associated with a slot length.

[0110] Example 12 includes the subject matter of Example 11, further configured to, after decoding the activation command: perform a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the target TCI state; and receive the TCI resource after decoding the activation command and in accordance with the RSRP measurement.

[0111] Example 13 includes the subject matter of Example 12, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message after slot in accordance with the target TCI state, where T L1-RSRP is associated with a time of performing the RSRP measurement.

[0112] Example 14 includes the subject matter of Example 12, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message after slot in accordance with the target TCI state, where T L1-RSRP AP RS is associated with a time of completing the RSRP measurement in accordance with an aperiodic resource signal (AP RS); and T L1-RSRP SSB is associated with a time of completing the RSRP measurement in accordance with an SSB.

[0113] Example 15 includes the subject matter of Example 10, where the UE is further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message after a time defined by: slot n + (T RRC_PROCESSING / NR slot length) + TO k *(min(T first SSB ,T first RS ) + T proc ) / NR slot length, where T RRC_PROCESSING corresponds to the decoding period; TO k is 1 if the target TCI state is in an active TCI state list for PDSCH, otherwise 0; and Tfirst SSB associated with the reception time of the SSB; T first TRS associated with the reception time of the reference signal; min(T first SSB ,T first RS determined by which of the reference signal or SSB is received first; T proc associated with T first SSB processing time or T first RS processing time according to which of the reference signal or SSB is received first; and NR slot length is associated with a slot length.

[0114] Example 16 includes the subject matter of Example 15, further configured to, after decoding the activation command: perform a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the target TCI state; and receive the TCI resource after decoding the activation command and according to the RSRP measurement.

[0115] Example 17 includes the subject matter of Example 16, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message according to the target TCI state after slot n + (T RRC_PROCESSING / NR slot length) + T L1-RSRP + TO k *(min(T first SSB ,T first RS + T proc ) / NR slot length, where T L1-RSRP is associated with a time to perform the RSRP measurement.

[0116] Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 16, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message according to the target TCI state after slot n + (T RRC_PROCESSING / NR slot length) + min(T L1-RSRP AP RS ,T L1-RSRP SSB + T k + TO first *(min(T SSB first ,T RS + T proc ) / NR slot length, where TL1-RSRP AP RS associated with a time of completing RSRP measurement according to an aperiodic resource signal (AP RS); and L1-RSRP SSB associated with a time of completing RSRP measurement according to an SSB.

[0117] Example 19 is a base station (BS) comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: transmit a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message comprising an activation command indicating a target transmission configuration indication (TCI) state; transmit a TCI resource, wherein the TCI resource is a reference signal after generating the activation command, wherein the TCI resource is for a user equipment (UE) in performing time and frequency tracking associated with the target TCI state; and determine a time at which the UE can receive a PDCCH with the target TCI state based on the TCI resource.

[0118] Example 20 includes the subject matter of Example 19, wherein the reference signal is not a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0119] Example 21 includes the subject matter of Example 19, wherein the activation command is a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command.

[0120] Example 22 includes the subject matter of Example 19, wherein the activation command is a radio resource control (RRC) activation command.

[0121] Example 23 includes the subject matter of Example 19, wherein the TCI resource is transmitted during a decoding period associated with the activation command for the UE, and the TCI resource is the reference signal or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0122] Example 24 includes the subject matter of Example 19, wherein the TCI resource is transmitted according to a reference signal periodicity.

[0123] Example 25 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 19-24, further configured to transmit a plurality of TCI resources according to a plurality of component carriers (CCs), wherein the plurality of CCs are of a same frequency band or are common beam management (CBM).

[0124] Example 26 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 19-24, wherein the reference signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS) or an aperiodic reference signal (AP RS).

[0125] Example 27 is a user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: receive a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state switch command for switching to a target TCI state; receive a reference signal associated with the target TCI state; receive an activation command associated with the reference signal; perform time and frequency tracking on the reference signal; and switch to the target TCI state after performing the time and frequency tracking.

[0126] Example 28 includes the subject matter of Example 27, wherein the TCI state switch command is received in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0127] Example 29 includes the subject matter of Example 28, wherein the reference signal is received in the RRC message.

[0128] Example 30 includes the subject matter of Example 27, wherein the reference signal is received in a layer 1 (L1) downlink control indication (DCI).

[0129] Example 31 includes the subject matter of Example 27, wherein the activation command is a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command or a radio resource control (RRC) activation command.

[0130] Example 32 is a base station (BS) comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: transmit a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state switch command for a target TCI state; transmit a reference signal associated with the target TCI state; transmit an activation command associated with the reference signal; and transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message in accordance with the target TCI state.

[0131] Example 33 includes the subject matter of Example 32, wherein the TCI state switch command is transmitted in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0132] Example 34 includes the subject matter of Example 33, wherein the reference signal is transmitted in the RRC message.

[0133] Example 35 includes the subject matter of Example 32, wherein the reference signal is transmitted in a layer 1 (L1) downlink control indication (DCI).

[0134] Example 36 includes the subject matter of Example 32, wherein the activation command is a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command or a radio resource control (RRC) activation command.

[0135] A non-volatile or non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause performance of any of the actions or combinations of actions substantially as described herein in embodiments 1-36 and in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

[0136] A method substantially as described herein with reference to any of the combinations substantially as described herein in embodiments 1-36 and in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

[0137] A wireless device configured to perform any of the actions or combinations of actions substantially as described herein in embodiments 1-36 and in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

[0138] An integrated circuit configured to perform any of the actions or combinations of actions substantially as described herein in embodiments 1-36 and in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

[0139] An apparatus configured to perform any of the actions or combinations of actions substantially as described herein in embodiments 1-36 and in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

[0140] A baseband processor configured to perform any of the actions or combinations of actions substantially as described herein in embodiments 1-36 and in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

[0141] Furthermore, various aspects or features described herein can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROM, card, stick, key drive, etc.). Additionally, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine- readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instruction(s) and / or data. Additionally, a computer program product can include a computer readable medium having one or more instructions or codes operable to cause a computer to perform the functions described herein.

[0142] Communication media embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport media. The term "modulated data signal" or signal refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

[0143] Exemplary storage media can be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage media. In the alternative, the storage media can be integral to the processor. In yet another alternative, the processor and the storage media can be combined as an ASIC. Additionally, in some aspects, the processor and the storage media can reside in an ASIC.

[0144] In this regard, while specific implementations have been described in connection with aspects described herein, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, additions, modifications, substitutions, and deletions can be made to those implementations without departing from the intended scope of the disclosed subject matter. That is, the disclosed subject matter is not intended to be limited to particular implementations described herein, which should be considered as illustrative only. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter should not be considered limited to any particular, single implementation, but rather should be considered broadly, as encompassing all implementations falling within the scope of the appended claims, and any equivalents thereof.

[0145] In particular regard to various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe certain aspects, structures, materials, and / or components are intended to be interpreted under a broadest reasonable interpretation given the functions described, and equivalent structures. Additionally, although a particular feature can have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature can be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as can be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Other features, objects, and / or advantages of the disclosed subject matter can be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

[0146] The disclosure is described with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the various figures. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and the disclosure can be embodied in various forms, not just the specifically described ones. As used herein, the terms “component,” “system,” “interface,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and / or firmware. For example, a component can be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller, or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet, and / or a user equipment (e.g., a mobile phone, etc.) with a processor device contained therein. An application running on a server and the server also can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and a component can be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. A set of elements or a set of other components can be described herein, in which the term “set” can be interpreted as “one or more” of the elements.

[0147] Furthermore, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon, such as with a module, for example. The components can communicate via local and / or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and / or across a network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or similar network with other systems via the signal).

[0148] As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, in which the electric or electronic circuitry can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors can be internal or external to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components, without mechanical parts; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein, to execute software and / or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, the functionality of the electronic components.

[0149] As used herein, the term "circuitry" can refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), or associated memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some aspects, circuitry can be implemented in, or functions associated with circuitry can be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some aspects, circuitry can include logic components that can operate at least partially in hardware.

[0150] Use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Moreover, use of the term "an" or "the" preceding an element or intervention is not intended to convey a limitation on the number of such elements or interventions unless otherwise indicated or clearly contradicted by context. Additionally, the use of the term "including" or "comprising" in the description or the claims should not be construed to mean "consisting only of" or "consisting exclusively of." Furthermore, the use of the term "or" in the discussion of any two or more items is intended to mean that the items can be used individually or in any combination.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message, the PDSCH message comprising an activation command indicating a target transmission configuration indication (TCI) state; decode the activation command within a decode period, wherein the decode period is a period of time allocated for the UE to decode the activation command; receive a TCI resource, wherein the TCI resource is a reference signal received after decoding the activation command and before expiration of the decode period; perform time and frequency tracking associated with the target TCI state from the TCI resource; and switch to the target TCI state after performing time and frequency tracking.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the reference signal is not a synchronization signal block (SSB).

3. The UE of claim 1, wherein the activation command is a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the activation command is a radio resource control (RRC) activation command.

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the TCI resource is received after decoding the activation command and before expiration of the decode period, and the TCI resource is the reference signal or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

6. The UE of claim 1, further configured to, after decoding the activation command: perform a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the target TCI state; and receive the TCI resource from the RSRP measurement after decoding the activation command.

7. The UE of claim 6, further configured to determine a best receive (Rx) beam for use with the target TCI state based on the RSRP measurement.

8. The UE of any one of claims 1-7, further configured to receive a plurality of TCI resources from a plurality of component carriers (CCs), wherein the plurality of CCs belong to a same frequency band or belong to a common beam management (CBM); and the TCI resource is determined from a TCI resource of the plurality of TCI resources received first in the plurality of CCs.

9. The UE of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the reference signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS) or an aperiodic reference signal (AP RS).

10. The UE of claim 1, wherein the TCI resource is the reference signal or a synchronization signal block (SSB) determined from which of the reference signal or SSB is received first.

11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message from the target TCI state after a time defined by: NR slot length.

12. The UE of claim 11, further configured to, after decoding the activation command: where T HARQ corresponding to the timing between downlink, DL, data transmission and acknowledgement; corresponding to the decoding period; TO k 1 if the target TCI state is in the active TCI state list for PDSCH, otherwise 0; T firstSSB associated with a reception time of the SSB; T firstTRS associated with a time of receipt of the reference signal; min(T firstSSB ,T firstRS ) is determined according to which of the reference signals or SSBs is received first. T proc According to which of the reference signals or SSBs is received first, the T firstSSB processing time or the T firstRS processing time is associated; and ​ ​ performing a reference signal received power, RSRP, measurement associated with the target TCI state; and receiving the TCI resource after decoding the activation command according to the RSRP measurement.

13. The UE of claim 12, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, message according to the target TCI state after: where T L1-RSRP associated with a time at which the RSRP measurement is performed.

14. The UE of claim 12, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, message according to the target TCI state after: where T L1-RSRPAPRS is associated with a time of completing the RSRP measurement according to the aperiodic resource signal AP RS; and T L1-RSRPSSB associated with the time to complete RSRP measurements from SSBs.

15. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE is further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, message according to the target TCI state after a time defined by: Slot n + (T RRC_PROCESSING / NR slot length) + TO k *(min(T firstSSB ,T firstRS )+T proc ) / NR slot length wherein T RRC_PROCESSING corresponding to said decoding period; TO k 1 if the target TCI state is in the active TCI state list for PDSCH, otherwise 0; T firstSSB associated with a reception time of the SSB; T firstTRS associated with a time of receipt of the reference signal; min(T firstSSB ,T firstRS ) is determined according to which of the reference signals or SSBs is received first. T proc According to which of the reference signals or SSBs is received first, the T firstSSB processing time or the T firstRS processing time; and NR slot length is associated with a slot length.

16. The UE of claim 15, further configured to, after decoding the activation command: performing a reference signal received power, RSRP, measurement associated with the target TCI state; and receiving the TCI resource after decoding the activation command according to the RSRP measurement.

17. The UE of claim 16, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, message according to the target TCI state after: Slot n + (T RRC_PROCESSING / NR slot length)+T L1-RSRP +TO k *(min(T firstSSB ,T firstRS )+T proc ) / NRslot length where T L1-RSRP associated with a time at which the RSRP measurement is performed.

18. The UE of claim 16, further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, message according to the target TCI state after: slot n + (T RRC_PROCESSING / NR slot length) + min(T L1-RSRPAPRS ,T L1-RSRPSSB )+T k *(min(T firstSSB ,T firstRS )+T proc ) / NR slot length where T L1-RSRPAPRS is associated with a time of completing the RSRP measurement according to the aperiodic resource signal AP RS; and T L1-RSRPSSB associated with the time to complete RSRP measurements from SSBs.

19. A base station, BS, comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: transmit a physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, message, the PDSCH message including an activation command indicating a target transmission configuration indication, TCI, state; transmit a TCI resource, wherein the TCI resource is a reference signal after the activation command is generated, wherein the TCI resource is used by a user equipment, UE, to perform time and frequency tracking associated with the target TCI state, wherein the TCI resource is received by the UE after the UE decodes the activation command and before an end of a decoding period assigned to the UE for decoding the activation command; and determine a time at which the UE can receive a PDCCH message with the target TCI state based on the TCI resource.

20. The BS of claim 19, wherein the reference signal is not a synchronization signal block, SSB.

21. The BS of claim 19, wherein the activation command is a medium access control control element, MAC CE, activation command.

22. The BS of claim 19, wherein the activation command is a radio resource control, RRC, activation command.

23. The BS of claim 19, wherein the TCI resource is transmitted during a decoding period for a user equipment, UE, associated with the activation command, and the TCI resource is the reference signal or a synchronization signal block, SSB.

24. The BS of claim 19, wherein the TCI resource is transmitted according to a reference signal periodicity.

25. The BS of any one of claims 19-24, further configured to transmit a plurality of TCI resources according to a plurality of component carriers (CCs), wherein the plurality of CCs belong to a same frequency band or belong to a common beam management (CBM).

26. The BS of any one of claims 19-24, wherein the reference signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS) or an aperiodic reference signal (AP RS).

27. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: receive a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state switch command to switch to a target TCI state; decode the TCI state switch command within a decoding period, wherein the decoding period is a period of time allocated for the UE to decode the TCI state switch command; receive a reference signal associated with the target TCI state, wherein the reference signal is received after decoding the TCI state switch command and before expiration of the decoding period; perform time and frequency tracking on the reference signal; and switch to the target TCI state after performing the time and frequency tracking.

28. The UE of claim 27, wherein the TCI state switch command is received in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

29. The UE of claim 28, wherein the reference signal is received in the RRC message.

30. The UE of claim 27, wherein the reference signal is received in a layer 1 (Ll) downlink control indication (DCI).

31. The UE of claim 27, wherein the TCI state switch command is a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command or a radio resource control (RRC) activation command.

32. A base station (BS), comprising: a memory interface; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the memory interface and configured to: transmit a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state switch command for a target TCI state; transmit a reference signal associated with the target TCI state, wherein the reference signal is received by a user equipment (UE) after the UE decodes the TCI state switch command and before expiration of a decoding period allocated to the UE for decoding the TCI state switch command; and transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message according to the target TCI state.

33. The BS of claim 32, wherein the TCI state switch command is transmitted in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

34. The BS of claim 33, wherein the reference signal is transmitted in the RRC message.

35. The BS of claim 32, wherein the reference signal is transmitted in a layer 1 (Ll) downlink control indication (DCI). ​ 36. The BS of claim 32, wherein the TCI state switch command is a medium access control control element (MAC CE) activation command or a radio resource control (RRC) activation command.

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