Improved beam management in cellular communication networks

Abstract

According to an exemplary aspect of the invention, a method is provided, the method comprising: determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels; determining whether a given signal type should inherit the spatial source of one anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set; and, if affirmatively determined, applying the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set to at least one signal of the given signal type.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The various example embodiments generally relate to cellular communication networks, and more specifically to beam management in such networks. Background Technology

[0002] Beam management can refer to a set of functions that can be used to enhance the operation of beam-based wireless communication systems. Beam management can be used, for example, in various cellular communication networks, such as those operating under 5G radio access technology. 5G radio access technology can also be called New Radio (NR) access technology. The 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) is developing standards for 5G / NR, and beam management is one of the topics discussed within 3GPP. According to the discussions, there is a need to provide improved methods, apparatus, and computer programs related to beam management. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The subject matter of the independent claims is provided according to several aspects. Several embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

[0004] The independent claims state the scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of the invention. Embodiments and features described in this specification that are not within the scope of the independent claims (if any) are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding the various embodiments of the invention.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising at least one processing core, at least one memory including computer program code, wherein at least one processor and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processing core, to cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels; determining whether a given signal type should inherit the spatial source of one anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set; and, if affirmatively determined, applying the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set to at least one signal of the given signal type.

[0006] The device in the first aspect may be a user equipment, or a mobile terminal portion of a relay, or a control device configured to control its functions when installed therein.

[0007] An embodiment of the first aspect may include at least one feature from the following bulleted list or any combination of the following features:

[0008] • At least one spatial source of the anchor control resource set in the anchor control resource set defines a transmission configuration indication state for a given signal type;

[0009] • Only a subset of all signal types inherits the spatial source of at least one anchor control resource set;

[0010] • When the device is configured and activated using at least one anchor control resource set, the spatial source of the anchor control resource set in at least one anchor control resource set is applied regardless of the scheduling offset;

[0011] • Regardless of whether the anchor control resource set in at least one anchor control resource set is the control resource set with the lowest identifier, the spatial source of the anchor control resource set in at least one anchor control resource set is applied;

[0012] • At least one anchor control resource set includes only one anchor control resource set, and the spatial source of the anchor control resource set is a single spatial source of the plurality of signal types;

[0013] • At least one anchor control resource set includes multiple anchor control resource sets in a cell, and the multiple anchor control resource sets have different priorities;

[0014] • Control resource set number 0 has the highest priority;

[0015] • Multiple control resource sets are grouped into multiple groups, and one control resource set in each group is assigned as the anchor control resource set of that group, and the other control resource sets in that group inherit the space source from the anchor control resource set assigned to that group;

[0016] Each group is associated with a different transmitting and receiving point;

[0017] • At least one memory and computer program code are also configured, together with at least one processing core, to cause the device to at least perform: determining a default beam based on whether at least one anchor control resource set is configured and activated when the scheduling offset is less than a threshold;

[0018] • At least one anchor control resource set is the control resource set of the serving cell, and the device is configured with an additional anchor control resource set of a non-serving cell, wherein the priority of the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell is lower than the highest priority anchor control resource set of the serving cell, but higher than the priority of any other anchor control resource set.

[0019] • The additional anchor control resource set of a non-serving cell is activated based on the activation command received from the non-serving cell;

[0020] • The device is a user equipment, or a mobile terminal part of a relay, or a control device configured to control its functions.

[0021] According to a second aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processing core, at least one memory including computer program code, wherein at least one processor and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processing core, to cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels; and transmitting downlink signals of the plurality of signal types and receiving uplink signals of the plurality of signal types according to the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set.

[0022] The second aspect of the device may be a base station, or a distributed unit part of a relay, or a control device configured to control its functions when installed therein.

[0023] The second aspect of the embodiments may include at least one feature from the following bulleted list or any combination of the following features:

[0024] • At least one spatial source of the anchor control resource set defines the transmission configuration indication state for a given signal type;

[0025] • Only a subset of all signal types inherits the spatial source of at least one anchor control resource set;

[0026] • At least one anchor control resource set includes only one anchor control resource set, and the spatial source of the anchor control resource set provides a single spatial source for the plurality of signal types;

[0027] • At least one anchor control resource set includes multiple anchor control resource sets in one cell of the device, the multiple anchor control resource sets having different priorities;

[0028] • Control resource set number 0 has the highest priority;

[0029] • The device is a distributed unit part of a base station or relay, or a control device configured to control its functions.

[0030] According to a third aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels; means for determining whether a given signal type should inherit the spatial source of one anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set; and means for applying the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set to at least one signal of a given signal type if the determination is affirmative.

[0031] The third aspect of the device may be a user equipment, or a mobile terminal portion of a relay, or a control device configured to control its functions when installed therein.

[0032] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided, comprising components for determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels; and components for transmitting downlink signals of the plurality of signal types according to the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set and for receiving uplink signals of the plurality of signal types according to the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set.

[0033] The fourth aspect of the device may be a base station, or a distributed unit part of a relay, or a control device configured to control its functions when installed therein.

[0034] According to a fifth aspect, a first method is provided, the first method comprising: determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels; determining whether a given signal type should inherit the spatial source of one anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set; and, if affirmatively determined, applying the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set to at least one signal of the given signal type.

[0035] The first method can be performed by a user equipment or a mobile terminal portion of a relay, or by a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0036] According to a sixth aspect, a second method is provided, the second method comprising determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels; and transmitting downlink signals of the plurality of signal types and receiving uplink signals of the plurality of signal types according to the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set.

[0037] The second method can be performed by the distributed unit portion of a base station or relay, or by a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0038] According to a seventh aspect of the invention, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided having a set of computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes a device to perform at least a first method. According to an eighth aspect of the invention, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided having a set of computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes a device to perform at least a second method.

[0039] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a computer program configured to perform a first method is provided. According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a computer program configured to perform a second method is provided. Attached Figure Description

[0040] Figure 1 An exemplary network scenario according to at least some embodiments is shown;

[0041] Figure 2 The process according to at least some embodiments is shown;

[0042] Figure 3 An example apparatus capable of supporting at least some of the embodiments is shown;

[0043] Figure 4 A flowchart of a first method according to at least some embodiments is shown;

[0044] Figure 5 A flowchart of a second method according to at least some embodiments is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0045] Embodiments of the present invention provide improvements, for example, to beam management procedures for cellular communication networks. According to embodiments of the invention, at least one anchor control resource set (CORESET) can be allocated for multiple signal types (such as certain downlink and uplink signals and channels), and the multiple signals can inherit the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET. The inherited spatial source can be associated with the current active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of at least one anchor CORESET. That is, it can be assumed that the multiple signal types and at least one anchor CORESET are quasi-co-located (QCL). Therefore, the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET can be applied for the multiple signal types. Thus, a simple and efficient beam management procedure with low overhead is provided, which, for example, enables improved intra-cell mobility.

[0046] Figure 1 An exemplary network scenario according to at least some embodiments is shown. Figure 1In an example scenario, a beam-based wireless communication system may exist, comprising a user equipment UE 110, one or more base stations BS 120, and core network element 130. UE 110 can connect to BS 120 via an air interface using beam 115. BS 120 may be a network entity that configures some or all of the control information for UE 110 and allocates resources to UE 110. In some example embodiments, BS 120 may refer to a Transmit and Receive Point (TRP), or may include multiple TRPs that may be co-located or not. Therefore, for example, if BS 120 is considered a TRP, then... Figure 1 It can demonstrate multiple TRP scenarios.

[0047] UE 110 may include, for example, a smartphone, cellular phone, machine-to-machine (M2M) node, machine-type communication (MTC) node, Internet of Things (IoT) node, automotive telemetry unit, laptop computer, tablet computer, or virtually any other suitable wireless terminal. Figure 1 In the example system, UE 110 can wirelessly communicate with the cell of BS 120 via at least one beam 115. BS 120 can be considered as the serving BS of UE 110, and the cell of BS 120 can be the serving cell of UE 110. The air interface between UE 110 and BS 120 can be configured according to the fact that both UE 110 and base station 120 are configured to support Radio Access Technology (RAT).

[0048] Examples of cellular RATs include Long Term Evolution (LTE) New Radio (NR), also known as fifth generation, 5G radio access technology, and MulteFire. For example, in the LTE context, a BS 120 may be referred to as an eNB, while in the NR context, a BS 120 may be referred to as a gNB. In any case, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any particular wireless technology. Rather, embodiments can be utilized in any beam-based wireless communication system.

[0049] BS 120 can connect to core network 130 directly or via at least one intermediate node through interface 125. Core network 110 can also connect to another network (…) via interface 135. Figure 1 (Not shown in the image) coupling, via which connectivity to other networks can be obtained, such as via the Global System for Internet (GSI). The BS 120 can also be connected via an inter-base station interface (...). Figure 1 (Not shown) is connected to at least one other BS, even in some embodiments where an inter-base station interface may not exist. BS 120 may be connected directly to core network 130 or to another core network, either via at least one intermediate node.

[0050] In some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, exemplary network scenarios may include a relay as an alternative or supplement to UE 110 and / or BS 120. For example, a relay may be used when operating on millimeter-wave frequencies. One example of a relay may be an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node. An IAB node may also be referred to as a self-backhaul relay. Another example of a relay may be an out-of-band relay. Typically, a relay node may include two parts:

[0051] 1) The Distributed Unit (DU) portion can facilitate the functionality of the BS 120 (such as a gNB). Therefore, in some example embodiments, the relayed DU portion can perform the tasks of the BS 120.

[0052] 2) The mobile terminal MT portion, which facilitates UE functions, namely, the backhaul link, which can be a communication link between a parent node (DU) (such as the DU portion of BS 120) and a relay (such as an IAB node). In some embodiments, the MT portion may also be referred to as IAB-UE, that is, the relay may partially correspond to the UE and perform the tasks of UE 110.

[0053] At least some exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to beam management. Generally, beam management can refer to a set of functions that help UE 110 set its receive RX and transmit TX beams for downlink reception and uplink transmission, respectively. Such a set of functions may include, for example, beam indication, beam measurement and reporting, beam recovery, and beam tracking and refinement.

[0054] Beam management can be particularly useful at higher carrier frequencies (such as above 6 GHz) because UEs operating at such frequencies typically have one or more antenna arrays or antenna modules for each digital input, and the transmit and receive beam patterns for each digital input are narrower than the omnidirectional beam patterns typically used below 6 GHz. However, exemplary embodiments of the invention can be applied to any beam-based wireless communication system, regardless of the carrier frequency used.

[0055] The QCL indication function can be used for beam management. If the properties of the channel transmitting symbols via the first antenna port can be derived from the channel transmitting symbols via the second antenna port, then both antenna ports can be considered as QCL-enabled. Regarding downlink beam indication, the QCL indication function can be defined as follows. The principle for receiving a specific physical signal or physical channel can be that UE 110 is configured with, or UE 110 implicitly determines, a source / reference RS that UE 110 has previously received and measured, which defines how to set the UE 110's RX beam to receive the downlink (target) physical signal or channel to be received. To provide UE 110 with the QCL characteristics of the (to be received) target signal, the TCI framework can be used.

[0056] According to the TCI framework, UE 110 can be configured with multiple TCI states to provide UE 110 with multiple source RSs for determining QCL characteristics. Each TCI state may include, for example, one or two source RSs providing UE QCL type A, type B, type C and / or type D parameters, as follows:

[0057] • QCL Type A: {Doppler Shift, Doppler Spread, Average Delay, Delay Spread}

[0058] • QCL Type B: {Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread}

[0059] • QCL type C: {Doppler shift, average delay}

[0060] • QCL type D: {space Rx parameter}

[0061] The TCI state can be transmitted to UE 110 in downlink control messages. For example, downlink control messages may include configurations such as the QCL relationship between the downlink RS in a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) set and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port. For instance, UE 110 can be configured with multiple TCI state configurations, and each TCI state may include parameters for configuring the QCL relationship between one or two downlink reference signals. Furthermore, the TCI state of CORESET can be provided to UE 110 using Radio Resource Control (RRC) or Media Access Control (MAC) signaling.

[0062] When UE 110 moves within the cell of BS 120, a beam management procedure controlled by BS 120 can be executed to maintain the TX and RX beams of BS 120 aligned with the TX and RX beams of UE 110 over time. It can be assumed that the RX and TX beams of UE 110 are determined based on the downlink reference signal RS. Therefore, the TX beam of UE 110 can be determined using the TX / RX beam correspondence at UE 110. That is, UE 110 can use the RX beam used to receive certain downlink RS as its TX beam. Furthermore, in the downlink, UE 110 can use the same TX beam of BS 120 used for receiving uplink transmissions as the RX beam of BS 120; i.e., the same beam pair can be used for both downlink and uplink. However, in some example embodiments, due to maximum allowable transmission limitations at, for example, UE 110, UE 110 may need to transmit at lower transmission power in a specific direction (e.g., toward the human body), and therefore may need to use different beam pairs in the downlink and uplink (TX-RX beam pairs of UE 110 and BS 120).

[0063] However, various challenges exist related to beam management. Beam management should not result in high overhead and inefficiency for downlink and uplink beam tracking and switching functions, especially in high-mobility scenarios. Furthermore, the beam management process should not be complex, yet still enable fast and dynamic beam switching.

[0064] Therefore, embodiments of the present invention enable efficient beam management with low overhead. Separate signaling procedures for multiple signal types (such as for each downlink and uplink signal and channel) can be avoided. Furthermore, a single spatial source can be used for multiple signal types, thereby enabling simple procedures and fast and dynamic beam switching, which is particularly useful in high mobility scenarios. For example, some embodiments of the present invention facilitate improved intra-cell mobility. Embodiments of the present invention can be used at least in 5G / NR networks, where separate signaling procedures are currently used for each signal and channel.

[0065] According to embodiments of the present invention, at least one anchor CORESET can be used to reduce overhead and improve the efficiency of downlink and uplink beam tracking and handover functions. At least one anchor CORESET can be configured as, for example, a mobility anchor for UE 110. In some example embodiments, if a given signal type (signal / channel resource) is configured to inherit the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET, then multiple signal types including downlink and uplink signals and channels (such as PUCCH, SRS, and PUSCH in the uplink and CSI-RS, PDCCH, and PDSCH in the downlink) can inherit (i.e., follow) the spatial / QCL / TCL source of at least one anchor CORESET. The inherited spatial / QCL / TCI source can be the currently active TCI state of at least one anchor CORESET. That is, the inherited spatial / QCL / TCI source can define a TCI state for a given signal type.

[0066] The plurality of signal types may include downlink and uplink signals, and the channel may include all or various combinations of PUCCH, SRS, and PUSCH in the uplink and CSI-RS, PDCCH, and PDSCH in the downlink. For example, the plurality of signal types may include PUCCH, SRS, CSI-RS, and PDCCH. Alternatively, the plurality of signal types may include SRS, PUSCH, CSI-RS, and PDSCH. As another option, the plurality of signal types may include PUCCH, SRS, CSI-RS, and PDSCH.

[0067] In some example embodiments, for a given signal type, inherited spatial / QCL / TCI sources can be applied over multiple time slots. That is, when monitoring a particular CORESET is required, the spatial source (and QCL assumption) of at least one anchor CORESET can change between time slots without depending on the search spatial configuration. Furthermore, inherited spatial / QCL / TCI sources can be applied regardless of the TCI state of the lowest-identified CORESET, such as that monitored by UE 110 in the most recent time slot. Therefore, the spatial sources (and anchor QCL assumptions) for DL ​​and UL signals can be controlled. When UE 110 is configured and activated using at least one anchor CORESET, the inherited spatial / QCL / TCI sources can be applied independently, i.e., regardless of scheduling offsets.

[0068] Furthermore, in some example embodiments, multiple anchor CORESETs may exist in a serving cell of BS 120 (the serving cell of UE 110). In this case, CORESET number 0 (CORESET#0) may be associated with the serving cell of UE 110. The serving cell of UE 110 may have multiple TRPs, that is, multiple anchor CORESETs may exist for each serving cell of UE 110.

[0069] In some example embodiments, the plurality of anchor CORESETs can be configured with a priority order, meaning that the plurality of anchor CORESETs can have different priorities. For example, CORESET#0 can have the highest priority among the plurality of anchor CORESETs. The plurality of anchor CORESETs can be configured by a network such as BS 120 using higher-layer parameters in a specific priority order. That is, the different priorities of the plurality of anchor CORESETs can be based on indications received by UE 110 from the network, such as higher-layer parameters. Therefore, multiple transport and receive point TRP connections and multiple active beampup pair links (one beampup pair link for one TRP, a second beampup pair link for another TRP) can be supported for the UE.

[0070] In some example implementations, an indicator such as “anchor CORESET PriorityOrder” can have a length of K elements. Each element can define a value associated with a priority order, which defines how the multiple anchor CORESETs are ordered. For example, in the case of three anchor CORESETs K=3, anchor CORESET PriorityOrder=[1,3,2] indicates that anchor CORESET#1 has the highest priority, anchor CORESET#2 has the third highest priority, and anchor CORESET#3 has the second highest priority.

[0071] For example, if UE 110 uses an antenna panel to measure non-serving cells, priority ranking is beneficial. In this case, UE 110 may need to use at least one antenna panel to monitor the serving cell and the anchor CORESET with the highest priority. Furthermore, if UE 110 is configured in a connected mode with discontinuous DRX reception, UE 110 can perform monitoring or transmission operations during the inactive period of the DRX cycle and only assume the highest priority anchor CORESET. Therefore, for example, when DRX is configured, priority can be used to achieve efficient operation of UE 110.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the BS 120 cell can be a multi-TRP supported cell based on multiple downlink control information (DCI). In this case, multiple CORESETs can be grouped into multiple groups, and each group can be assigned a value with parameters such as an index, for example, the higher-layer parameter CORESETpoolIndex. If an anchor CORESET is configured for a group, other CORESETs within the group can inherit spatial sources from the anchor CORESET of the group. These other CORESETs within the group may not be assigned as anchor CORESETs. That is, if multiple CORESETs are grouped into multiple groups, and one CORESET in each group is assigned as the anchor CORESET of that group, other CORESETs in that group can inherit spatial sources from the assigned anchor CORESET of that group.

[0073] CORESET grouping can assign (multiple) CORESETs to different TRPs. One of the CORESETs for each TRP can be an anchor CORESET, and all other CORESETs can inherit spatial sources from the anchor CORESETs in the same group, thus providing low overhead and efficiency when the network needs to be updated (e.g., beam switching) only to anchor CORESETs and other CORESETs in the same group will follow the anchor CORESETs. That is, each group can be associated with different TRPs.

[0074] In some example embodiments, UE 110 may be configured by the network with additional anchor cores for non-serving cells, for example, for inter-cell multiple TRP connections and / or mobility. In this case, the priority of the additional anchor core for the non-serving cell can be configured or set / predefined as any other anchor core that has a higher priority than the highest priority anchor core for the serving cell. In some embodiments, if there is no anchor core for the serving cell, the additional anchor core for the non-serving cell cannot be configured; that is, the anchor core for the serving cell needs to be configured to utilize the additional anchor cores in the non-serving cell.

[0075] After the non-serving cell explicitly activates multiple additional anchor cores of the non-serving cell, when UE 110 counts the control channel element (CCE) and / or channel estimation budget, UE 110 may consider the priority of the multiple additional anchor cores of the non-serving cell and determine which cores and associated search space sets to discard if the budget exceeds the set limit within the time slot. In other words, the multiple additional configured cores of the non-serving cell may remain reserved until UE 110 receives an activation command from the non-serving cell, i.e., the multiple additional configured cores of the non-serving cell are activated by the non-serving cell. Upon activation, the multiple anchor cores with the lowest priority may be discarded.

[0076] In some example implementations, when the scheduling offset is less than a threshold (such as timeDurationForQCL), the determination of the default beam may depend on whether at least one anchor CORESET is configured and activated. If at least one anchor CORESET is configured and activated, UE 110 may determine the active TCI state of at least one anchor CORESET as the default beam. However, if at least one anchor CORESET is not configured and activated, UE 110 may determine the CORESET with the lowest identifier as the default beam.

[0077] The default beam can refer to the symbol of the default configuration when the UE 110 receives the PDCCH on another beam but has no time to switch to a specific receive beam. Therefore, for multi-TRP scenarios with multiple default beams, this operation is enabled.

[0078] Figure 2 The process according to at least some embodiments is illustrated. On the vertical axis, arranged from left to right are... Figure 1 UE 110 and BS 120. Time progresses from top to bottom.

[0079] In optional step 210, BS 120 may select / assign at least one CORESET as at least one anchor CORESET. If an anchor CORESET is selected / assigned, the spatial source of the anchor CORESET may be a single spatial source for multiple signal types, such as PUCCH, SRS, and PUSCH in the uplink and CSI-RS, PDCCH, and PDSCH in the downlink. If multiple anchor CORESETs are selected / assigned by BS 120, for example, in one cell of BS 120, each of the multiple CORESETs may define a spatial source for the multiple signal types. The multiple anchor CORESETs may have different priorities. For example, CORESET number 0 (CORESET#0) may have the highest priority.

[0080] In some example embodiments, multiple CORESETs can be grouped into multiple groups by BS 120, and one CORESET in each group can be assigned as the anchor CORESET of that group, and other CORESETs in that group can inherit space sources from the assigned anchor CORESET of that group.

[0081] In optional step 220, BS 120 can configure UE 110 by transmitting a configuration to UE 110 indicating at least one anchor CORESET selected / assigned by BS 120. If BS 120 selected / assigned multiple anchor CORESETs in step 210, BS 120 can also transmit an indication to UE 110 of different priorities for the multiple anchor CORESETs. Alternatively or anneally, if the multiple CORESETs are grouped into multiple groups, BS 120 can transmit an indication of the groups and indicate which CORESET in each group is assigned as the anchor CORESET for that group.

[0082] In step 230, UE 110 may determine at least one anchor CORESET from a plurality of CORESETs, wherein the at least one anchor CORESET may define a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, including different downlink and uplink signals and channels. In some example embodiments, UE 110 may determine at least one anchor CORESET based, for example, a configuration received from BS 120 in step 220. Alternatively, the at least one anchor CORESET may be fixed, for example, defined in a standard such as a 3GPP standard specification, and UE 110 may determine at least one anchor CORESET based on a standard, such as CORESET#0.

[0083] UE 110 can also determine whether a given signal type (such as PUCCH, SRS, or PUSCH for uplink signal transmission and CSI-RS, PDCCH, or PDSCH for downlink signal reception) should inherit (i.e., follow) at least one anchor CORESET spatial source. That is, only a subset of one or more of all signal types can inherit at least one anchor CORESET spatial source. Therefore, if, for example, a given signal type is one of said signal types, UE 110 can determine that the signal type will inherit at least one anchor CORESET spatial source, i.e., make a positive determination.

[0084] In a given context, UE 110 can apply a spatial source for at least one anchor CORESET to a given signal type. For example, UE 110 can determine the active TCI state of at least one anchor CORESET and apply the active TCT state of the anchor CORESET to a given signal type. That is, the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET can define a TCI state for a given signal type. The inherited spatial source can be, for example, the current active TCI state of at least one anchor CORESET. UE 110 can determine the active TCI state of at least one anchor CORESET based on at least one anchor CORESET because one of the parameters of the at least one anchor CORESET is the active TCI. Furthermore, a set of signals associated with a particular anchor CORESET can be used to determine the spatial source of said set of signals as the TCI state of the anchor CORESET in question.

[0085] However, in the case of a negative determination, UE 110 can decide not to apply at least one anchor CORESET's spatial source for a given signal type, because all possible signal types may not inherit the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET. For example, some signal types may not be configured to always inherit the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET. For example, some signal types may be configured individually to inherit the spatial source from at least one anchor CORESET, i.e., TCI states.

[0086] If at least one anchor coreet comprises multiple anchor coreets with different priorities within a cell, UE 110 can first check whether the spatial source of the anchor coreet with the highest priority can be applied to a given signal type. If not, UE 110 can check whether the spatial source of the anchor coreet with the second highest priority can be applied to a given signal type, and so on. For example, UE 110 can determine whether the spatial source of the anchor coreet with the highest priority can be applied by checking what the anchor coreet is from the signal / channel configuration.

[0087] In step 240, when it is determined that a given signal type will inherit at least one anchor CORESET spatial source, UE 110 may apply at least one anchor CORESET spatial source for the given signal type. For example, in the case of uplink signal transmission to BS 120 (such as PUCCH, SRS, PUSCH), UE 110 can adjust its transmission parameters by taking into account the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET.

[0088] In the case of downlink signal reception from BS 120 (such as CSI-RS, PDCCH, PDSCH), UE 110 can assume that at least one anchor CORESET and the given signal are transmitted by the same TRP with the same spatial filter applied. Therefore, UE 110 can assume that at least one anchor CORESET and the signal of the given signal type will experience similar channel conditions and have similar channel characteristics. Therefore, UE 110 can apply channel attributes of at least one anchor CORESET, such as Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, and / or (multiple) spatial RX parameters, to detect the given signal.

[0089] Similarly, BS 120 can transmit downlink signals of the multiple signal types and receive uplink signals of the multiple signal types based on at least one anchor CORESET. For example, BS 120 can form its receive beam based on the spatial source of at least one anchor CORESET for receiving uplink signals associated with at least one anchor CORESET. That is, both UE 110 and BS 120 can treat the signals of the multiple signal types and at least one anchor CORESET as QCL-enabled.

[0090] In some example implementations, such as in the third GPP standard specification TS 38.331, new RRC messages can be introduced for each downlink and uplink. When explicitly configured, these RRC messages indicate from which CORESET the spatial source for reception and transmission (the active TCI state of a given CORESET) should be inherited.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the behavior of UE 110 may be captured in, for example, the third GPP standard specification TS 38.213 and / or 38.214, which explicitly configures the CORESET from which the inherited spatial source is derived. UE 110 determines and applies the inherited spatial source (the active TCI state of the given CORESET) for uplink signal transmission (PUCCH, SRS, PUSCH) and for downlink signal reception (CSI-RS, PDCCH, PDSCH).

[0092] Figure 3 An example apparatus capable of supporting at least some embodiments is illustrated. The illustrated device is 300, which may include, for example, UE 110 or BS 120. Device 300 includes a processor 310, which may include, for example, a single-core or multi-core processor, wherein a single-core processor includes one processing core, and a multi-core processor includes multiple processing cores. Processor 310 typically includes a control device. Processor 310 may include more than one processor. Processor 310 may be a control device. Processing cores may include, for example, a Cortex-A8 processing core manufactured by ARM Holdings or a Steamroller processing core manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices Corporation. Processor 310 may include at least one Qualcomm Snapdragon and / or Intel Atom processor. Processor 310 may include at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Processor 310 may include at least one field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Processor 310 may be a component for performing method steps in device 300. Processor 310 may be configured to perform actions at least partially by computer instructions.

[0093] A processor may include, or be configured as, one or more circuit systems configured to perform phases of the methods according to embodiments described herein. As used herein, the term “circuit system” may refer to one or more of the following: (a) a hardware circuit implementation only, such as an implementation only in analog and / or digital circuit systems; and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as, as applicable: (i) a combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware; and (ii) any portion of (multiple) hardware processors (including (multiple) digital signal processors), software, and (multiple) memories having software that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions; and (c) (multiple) hardware circuitry and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or portions thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when the software is not required to operate.

[0094] This definition of circuit system applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuit system also covers only the implementation of hardware circuitry or a processor (or processors) or a portion thereof and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, and if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuit system also covers baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0095] Device 300 may include memory 320. Memory 320 may include random access memory and / or permanent memory. Memory 320 may include at least one RAM chip. For example, memory 320 may include solid-state, magnetic, optical, and / or holographic memory. Memory 320 may be at least partially accessible by processor 310. Memory 320 may be partially included in processor 310. Memory 320 may be a component for storing information. Memory 320 may include computer instructions configured to be executed by processor 310. When computer instructions configured to cause processor 310 to perform certain actions are stored in memory 320, and device 300 is generally configured to operate using computer instructions from memory 320 at the direction of processor 310, processor 310 and / or at least one of its processing cores may be considered configured to perform said specific actions. Memory 320 may be at least partially included in processor 310. Memory 320 may be at least partially external to device 300, but accessible by device 300.

[0096] Device 300 may include a transmitter 330. Device 300 may include a receiver 340. Transmitter 330 and receiver 340 may be configured to transmit and receive information according to at least one cellular or non-cellular standard, respectively. Transmitter 330 may include more than one transmitter. Receiver 340 may include more than one receiver. Transmitter 330 and / or receiver 340 may be configured to operate, for example, according to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or 5G / NR standards.

[0097] Device 300 may include a near field communication (NFC) transceiver 350. The NFC transceiver 350 may support at least one NFC technology, such as Bluetooth, Wibree, or similar technologies.

[0098] Device 300 may include a user interface (UI) 360. UI 360 may include at least one of a display, keyboard, touchscreen, vibrator that sends signals to the user by causing device 300 to vibrate, speaker, and microphone. The user can operate device 300 via UI 360, for example, to accept incoming phone calls, initiate phone or video calls, browse the internet, manage digital files stored in memory 320 or digital files in the cloud accessible via transmitter 330 and receiver 340 or via NFC transceiver 350, and / or play games.

[0099] Device 300 may include or be configured to accept a subscriber identity module 370. Subscriber identity module 370 may include, for example, a subscriber identity module SIM card that can be installed in device 300. Subscriber identity module 370 may include subscription information identifying a user of device 300. Subscriber identity module 370 may include password information that can be used to verify the identity of the user of device 300 and / or facilitate the encryption of transmitted information and billing of the user of device 300 for communications implemented via device 300.

[0100] Processor 310 may be equipped with a transmitter arranged to output information from processor 310 to other devices included in device 300 via electrical leads within device 300. Such a transmitter may include a serial bus transmitter arranged to output information to memory 320 for storage, for example, via at least one electrical lead. Alternatively, the transmitter may include a parallel bus transmitter. Similarly, processor 310 may include a receiver arranged to receive information from other devices included in device 300 via electrical leads within device 300. Such a receiver may include a serial bus receiver arranged to receive information from receiver 340, for example, via at least one electrical lead, for processing within processor 310. Alternatively, the receiver may include a parallel bus receiver.

[0101] Device 300 may include Figure 3 Other devices not shown. For example, when device 300 includes a smartphone, it may include at least one digital camera. Some devices 300 may include a rear camera and a front camera, wherein the rear camera can be used for digital photography and for video calling. Device 300 may include a fingerprint sensor arranged to at least partially authenticate the user of device 300. In some embodiments, device 300 lacks the at least one of the devices. For example, some devices 300 may lack an NFC transceiver 350 and / or a user identification module 370.

[0102] Processor 310, memory 320, transmitter 330, receiver 340, NFC transceiver 350, UI 360, and / or user identification module 370 can be interconnected in a variety of different ways via electrical leads within device 300. For example, each of the devices can be individually connected to a main bus within device 300 to allow the devices to exchange information. However, as those skilled in the art will understand, this is merely an example, and various ways of interconnecting at least two of the devices can be chosen according to embodiments without departing from the scope of the embodiments.

[0103] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a first method according to at least some embodiments. The stages of the first method shown can be performed by the UE 110 or the MT portion of the relay, or by a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0104] The first method may include: in step 410, determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels. The first method may further include: in step 420, determining whether a given signal type should inherit the spatial source of one anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set. Finally, the first method may include: in step 430, if affirmatively determined, applying the spatial source of at least one anchor control resource set to at least one signal of the given signal type.

[0105] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a second method according to at least some embodiments. The stages of the second method shown may be performed by the BS 120 or the DU portion of the relay, or by a control device configured to potentially control its function when installed therein.

[0106] The second method may include: in step 510, determining at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels. The second method may further include: in step 520, transmitting downlink signals of the plurality of signal types and receiving uplink signals of the plurality of signal types according to the spatial sources of the at least one anchor control resource set.

[0107] It should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the specific structures, process steps, or materials disclosed herein, but extend to their equivalents that will be recognized by those skilled in the art. It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0108] Throughout this specification, references to an embodiment or an embodiment indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one implementation. Therefore, the appearance of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" throughout various places in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Where numerical values ​​are referenced using terms such as, for example, approximately or substantially, precise numerical values ​​are also disclosed.

[0109] As used herein, for convenience, multiple items, structural elements, constituent elements, and / or materials may be presented in a general list. However, these lists should be interpreted as each member being individually identified as a separate and unique member. Therefore, no individual member of such a list should be construed as being factually equivalent to any other member of the same list solely based on their performance within a common group (without any indication to the contrary). Furthermore, various embodiments and examples, as well as alternatives to their various components, may be referenced herein. It should be understood that such embodiments, examples, and alternatives should not be construed as de facto equivalents of each other, but should be considered as independent and autonomous representations.

[0110] In an example embodiment, an apparatus such as UE 110 or BS 120 may include components for performing the above embodiments and any combination thereof.

[0111] In an example embodiment, a computer program may be configured to generate a method according to the above embodiments and any combination thereof. In an example embodiment, a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be configured to control a processor to perform processes including the above embodiments and any combination thereof.

[0112] In an example embodiment, an apparatus such as UE 110 or BS 120 may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform at least the embodiments described above and any combination thereof.

[0113] Furthermore, in one or more embodiments, the described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner. Numerous specific details, such as examples of length, width, shape, etc., have been provided in the foregoing description to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more specific details or using other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations have not been shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of the invention.

[0114] While the examples above illustrate the principles of embodiments in one or more specific applications, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications can be made to the form, use, and details of the implementation without exercising inventive capabilities and without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not limited except as defined by the following claims.

[0115] In this document, the verbs “comprising” and “including” are used as open-ended restrictions, neither excluding nor requiring the presence of any unlisted features. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the features described in the dependent claims may be freely combined with each other. Furthermore, it should be understood that the use of “a” or “an” (i.e., the singular form) in this document does not exclude the plural form.

[0116] Industrial applicability

[0117] At least some of these embodiments have industrial applications in cellular communication networks, such as in 3GPP networks using beamforming.

[0118] List of acronyms

[0119] 3GPP Third Generation Partner Program

[0120] BS base station

[0121] CORESET Control Resource Set

[0122] CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal DMRS demodulation reference signal

[0123] GSM Global Mobile Communication System

[0124] IAB Integration Access and Backhaul

[0125] IoT (Internet of Things)

[0126] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0127] M2M (Machine to Machine)

[0128] MAC Media Access Control

[0129] NFC (Near Field Communication)

[0130] NR New Radio

[0131] PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel)

[0132] PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel QCL Quasi-co-located

[0133] RAN (Radio Access Network)

[0134] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0135] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0136] SRS Detection Reference Signal

[0137] SS synchronization signal

[0138] TCI Transport Configuration Indicator

[0139] TRP Transmit and Receive Points

[0140] UE User Equipment

[0141] UI (User Interface)

[0142] WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

[0143] List of reference numerals

[0144] 110 User equipment 115 Beam 120 base station 125、135 Wired interface 130 Core Network 210-240 Figure 2 Steps in the process 300-370 Figure 3 The structure of the device 410-430 Figure 4 The first method in the stage 510-520 Figure 5 The second method in the stage

Claims

1. An apparatus for communication, comprising at least one processing core, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one processing core and the computer program code being configured, together with the at least one processing core, to cause the apparatus to perform at least: - Determine at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels, wherein the at least one anchor control resource set is a control resource set of a serving cell, and the apparatus is configured with additional anchor control resource sets for non-serving cells, the additional anchor control resource sets of the non-serving cells having a priority lower than the highest priority anchor control resource set of the serving cell, but higher than the priority of any other anchor control resource set, wherein the plurality of control resource sets are grouped into a plurality of groups, each of the plurality of groups being associated with a different transmission receiving point, and one control resource set in each of the plurality of groups being assigned as the anchor control resource set for the group, and other control resource sets in the group inherit the spatial source from the anchor control resource set assigned to the group; - Activate the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell based on the activation command received from the non-serving cell; - Determine the spatial source of an anchor control resource set to be inherited by a given signal type from the at least one anchor control resource set, wherein only a subset of all signal types inherit the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set; as well as - Apply the at least one anchor control resource set to the spatial source for at least one signal of the given signal type.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set defines a transmission configuration indication state for the given signal type.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein when the apparatus is configured and activated using the at least one anchor control resource set, the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set is applied regardless of the scheduling offset.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the spatial source of the anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set is applied regardless of whether the anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set is the control resource set with the lowest identifier.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the at least one anchor control resource set comprises only one anchor control resource set, and the spatial source of the one anchor control resource set is a single spatial source of the plurality of signal types.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the at least one anchor control resource set comprises a plurality of anchor control resource sets in a cell, the plurality of anchor control resource sets having different priorities.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein control resource set number 0 has the highest priority.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processing core, to cause the apparatus to perform at least: - When the scheduling offset is less than a threshold, the default beam is determined based on whether the at least one anchor control resource set is configured and activated.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment, or a mobile terminal portion of a relay, or a control device configured to control its functions.

10. An apparatus for communication, comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one processing core and the computer program code being configured, together with the at least one processing core, to cause the apparatus to perform at least: - Determine at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels, wherein the device provides a cell, and the cell of the device communicates with a user equipment as a serving cell, the at least one anchor control resource set is the control resource set of the serving cell, and the user equipment is configured with an additional anchor control resource set for a non-serving cell, the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell having a priority lower than the highest priority anchor control resource set of the serving cell, but higher than the priority of any other anchor control resource set, wherein the plurality of control resource sets are grouped into a plurality of groups, each of the plurality of groups being associated with a different transmit / receive point, and one control resource set in each of the plurality of groups being assigned as the anchor control resource set for the group, and other control resource sets in the group inherit a spatial source from the anchor control resource set assigned to the group, wherein the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell is activated based on an activation command sent from the non-serving cell; and - Based on the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set, transmit downlink signals of the plurality of signal types and receive uplink signals of the plurality of signal types, wherein only a subset of all signal types inherits the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set defines a transmission configuration indication state for a given signal type.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the at least one anchor control resource set comprises only one anchor control resource set, and the spatial source of the one anchor control resource set provides a single spatial source for the plurality of signal types.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the at least one anchor control resource set comprises a plurality of anchor control resource sets in a cell of the apparatus, the plurality of anchor control resource sets having different priorities.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein control resource set number 0 has the highest priority.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the apparatus is a base station, or a distributed unit portion of a relay, or a control device configured to control its functions.

16. An apparatus for communication, comprising: - Components for determining at least one anchor control resource set among multiple control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for multiple signal types, the multiple signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels, wherein the at least one anchor control resource set is the control resource set of the serving cell, and the apparatus is configured with additional anchor control resource sets for non-serving cells, the additional anchor control resource sets of the non-serving cells having a priority lower than the highest priority anchor control resource set of the serving cell, but higher than the priority of any other anchor control resource set, wherein the multiple control resource sets are grouped into multiple groups, each of the multiple groups is associated with a different transmission receiving point, and one control resource set in each of the multiple groups is assigned as the anchor control resource set for the group, and other control resource sets in the group inherit the spatial source from the anchor control resource set assigned to the group; - A component for activating the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell based on an activation command received from the non-serving cell; - A component for determining which spatial source of an anchor control resource set should be inherited by a given signal type from the at least one anchor control resource set, wherein only a subset of all signal types inherits the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set; and - A component for applying the at least one anchor control resource set to the space source for at least one signal of the given signal type.

17. A means for communication, comprising: - Components for determining at least one anchor control resource set among multiple control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for multiple signal types, the multiple signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels, wherein the means provides a cell, and the cell of the means communicates with a user equipment as a serving cell, the at least one anchor control resource set is the control resource set of the serving cell, and the user equipment is configured with an additional anchor control resource set for a non-serving cell, the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell having a priority lower than the highest priority anchor control resource set of the serving cell, but higher than the priority of any other anchor control resource set, wherein the multiple control resource sets are grouped into multiple groups, each of the multiple groups is associated with a different transmission receiving point, and one control resource set in each of the multiple groups is assigned as the anchor control resource set for the group, and other control resource sets in the group inherit a spatial source from the anchor control resource set assigned to the group, wherein the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell is activated based on an activation command sent from the non-serving cell; as well as - A component for transmitting downlink signals of the plurality of signal types and receiving uplink signals of the plurality of signal types according to the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set, wherein only a subset of all signal types inherits the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set.

18. A method of communication, comprising: - Determine at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels, wherein the at least one anchor control resource set is a control resource set of a serving cell, and the apparatus performing the method is configured with additional anchor control resource sets of non-serving cells, the additional anchor control resource sets of the non-serving cells having a priority lower than the highest priority anchor control resource set of the serving cell, but higher than the priority of any other anchor control resource set, wherein the plurality of control resource sets are grouped into a plurality of groups, each of the plurality of groups being associated with a different transmission receiving point, and one control resource set in each of the plurality of groups being assigned as the anchor control resource set for the group, and other control resource sets in the group inherit the spatial source from the anchor control resource set assigned to the group; - Activate the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell based on the activation command received from the non-serving cell; - Determine the spatial source of an anchor control resource set to be inherited by a given signal type from the at least one anchor control resource set, wherein only a subset of all signal types inherit the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set; as well as - Apply the at least one anchor control resource set to the spatial source for at least one signal of the given signal type.

19. A method of communication, comprising: - Determine at least one anchor control resource set among a plurality of control resource sets, wherein each anchor control resource set in the at least one anchor control resource set defines a spatial source for a plurality of signal types, the plurality of signal types including different downlink and uplink signals and channels, wherein an apparatus performing the method provides a cell, and the cell of the apparatus communicates with a user equipment as a serving cell, the at least one anchor control resource set is the control resource set of the serving cell, and the user equipment is configured with an additional anchor control resource set for a non-serving cell, the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell having a priority lower than the highest priority anchor control resource set of the serving cell, but higher than the priority of any other anchor control resource set, wherein the plurality of control resource sets are grouped into a plurality of groups, each of the plurality of groups being associated with a different transmission receiving point, and one control resource set in each of the plurality of groups being assigned as the anchor control resource set for the group, and other control resource sets in the group inherit a spatial source from the anchor control resource set assigned to the group, wherein the additional anchor control resource set of the non-serving cell is activated based on an activation command sent from the non-serving cell; as well as - Based on the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set, transmit downlink signals of the plurality of signal types and receive uplink signals of the plurality of signal types, wherein only a subset of all signal types inherits the spatial source of the at least one anchor control resource set.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a set of computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the set of computer-readable instructions causing a device to perform at least the method according to claim 18 or claim 19 when executed by at least one processor.

21. A computer program product configured to perform the method according to claim 18 or claim 19.

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