Uplink spatial relation switch delay

Abstract

This application relates to devices and components, including apparatuses, systems, and methods, that provide an uplink spatial relation switch delay for an uplink spatial relation switch based at least in part on a path loss reference signal associated with the uplink spatial relation switch.

Description

Background Technology

[0001] The 3GPP network provides uplink spatial relationship handover that can be performed with user equipment (UE). Uplink spatial relationship handover allows the UE to change the spatial filters used for uplink signal transmission based on the uplink spatial relationship handover. Attached Figure Description

[0002] Figure 1 An exemplary system arrangement according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0003] Figure 2 A table showing exemplary triggering methods according to some implementation schemes is provided.

[0004] Figure 3 Exemplary uplink spatial relationship information elements are shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0005] Figure 4 A table of exemplary additional delay amounts for uplink spatial relationship switching delay is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0006] Figure 5 Another table shows exemplary additional delay amounts for uplink spatial relationship switching delay according to some implementation schemes.

[0007] Figure 6 An exemplary process for performing UL spatial relationship switching is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0008] Figure 7 Another exemplary process for performing UL spatial relationship switching is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0009] Figure 8 An exemplary process for performing UL spatial relationship switching is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0010] Figure 9 An exemplary process for determining a switching delay for UL spatial relationship switching, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0011] Figure 10 An exemplary spatial relationship switching delay timing diagram is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0012] Figure 11 An exemplary beamforming circuit according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0013] Figure 12 Exemplary user equipment according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0014] Figure 13An exemplary gNB according to some implementation schemes is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The following detailed description relates to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, specific details, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth for illustrative and non-limiting purposes to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples departing from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" means (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0016] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0017] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes the following: hardware components such as electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or grouped) or memories (shared, dedicated, or grouped), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable system-on-a-chip (SoCs)), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc. In some embodiments, a circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the said functions. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the functions (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0018] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" means, is part of, or includes the following: a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may also refer to an application processor, baseband processor, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit, single-core processor, dual-core processor, triple-core processor, quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional procedures).

[0019] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" can refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as buses, I / O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, etc.

[0020] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to equipment of a remote user that has radio communication capabilities and can describe network resources in a communication network. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can be considered synonymous and can be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Additionally, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can include any type of wireless / wired equipment or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0021] As used herein, the term "computer system" means any type of interconnected electronic device, computer device, or component thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to the various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing resources or network resources.

[0022] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to physical or virtual devices, physical or virtual components within a computing environment, or physical or virtual components within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power supply, input / output operations, port or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, databases and applications, units of workload, etc. "Hardware resource" can refer to computing, storage, or networking resources provided by physical hardware components. "Virtualized resource" can refer to computing, storage, or networking resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The terms "network resource" or "communication resource" can refer to resources that computer equipment / systems can access via a communication network. The term "system resource" can refer to any kind of shared entity providing services and can include computing or network resources. System resources can be considered as a coherent set of functions, network data objects, or services accessible through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

[0023] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium used for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices used for transmitting and receiving information.

[0024] As used in this article, the terms "instantiate" and "instantiate" refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to the concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0025] The term "connection" can mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0026] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as networked computers, network hardware, network equipment, network nodes, virtualized network functions, etc.

[0027] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual content of an information element, or the data element that contains that content. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0028] User equipment (UE) may be configured with a path loss reference signal (RS) (e.g., PathlossReferenceRS) to measure the reference signal power to determine the path loss of an uplink (UL) signal in order to determine the transmission power. For example, the UE may determine the path loss of the UL signal based on the measured reference signal power of the path loss RS. The UE may then determine the transmission power of the UL signal based on the determined path loss. Details of the UL signal power and path loss are provided in Sections 7.1.1, 7.2.1, and 7.3.1 of TS 38.213 (3GPP Organization Partners, (2020-09). 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Networks; NR; Physical Layer Procedures for Control (Revision 16) (3GPP TS 38.213 V.16.3.0)).

[0029] The UE can be configured with UL spatial relationship information for UL signals to determine the spatial filter used for UL signal transmission. For example, the UE can determine the spatial filter used for UL signal transmission based on UL spatial relationship information for UE signals.

[0030] The UL spatial relationship can be switched to change the beam used by the UE for UL signal transmission. Specifically, the UL spatial relationship can switch the UE to a different beam used for UL signal transmission. Figure 1 An exemplary system arrangement 100 according to some embodiments is shown. Specifically, system arrangement 100 illustrates possible UL spatial relationship switching according to embodiments herein.

[0031] System configuration 100 may include UE 102 and base station 104. UE 102 may include UE 1200 ( Figure 12 The base station 104 may include gNB 1300 (features). Figure 13 Features of UE 102. In some implementations, UE 102 and base station 104 may communicate via one or more beams. For example, UE 102 may transmit UL signals to base station 104 via one or more beams. UE 102 may be configured with a specific beam to communicate with base station 104 at a specific time.

[0032] Network arrangement 100 may also include a first beam 106 and a second beam 108. Although two beams are shown, it should be understood that one or more beams may be present for communication between UE 102 and base station 104, and these two beams are shown to illustrate an example of the operation of these beams. The first beam 106 and the second beam 108 may be used for communication between UE 102 and base station 104. UE 102 and / or base station 104 may be configured to utilize a specific beam for communication. For example, UE 102 may be configured to transmit UL signals via one of these beams (such as the first beam 106). A spatial relationship switching procedure may be implemented to switch the beam to be used by UE 102 and / or base station 104 for signal transmission. Specifically, a UL spatial relationship switching procedure may be implemented to switch the beam used by UE 102 for UL signals. UL spatial relationship switching can be triggered to reconfigure UE 102 from using one beam for UL signal transmission to using a different beam for UL signal transmission, such as reconfiguring UE 102 from using a first beam 106 for UL signal transmission to using a second beam 108 for UL signal transmission. Reconfiguring UE 102 from the first beam 106 to the second beam 108 may include changing UE 102 from using a spatial filter corresponding to the first beam 106 to using a spatial filter corresponding to the second beam 108.

[0033] The spatial relationship handover process may include a handover delay for the process to be completed. Specifically, a delay (e.g., a handover delay) may be implemented to provide time for determining the spatial filter to which the UL signal transmission will transition, time for completing the transition to the spatial filter, and / or time for configuring UE 102 and / or base station 104 for the spatial filter to which the UL signal transmission is transitioning. The methods described herein may define a handover delay for UL spatial relationship handover to switch the beam used by UE 102 to transmit UL signals to base station 104. While the provided examples illustrate beam switching for transmission from UE 102 to a single base station 104, it should be understood that in some instances, UL spatial relationship handover may allow UE 102 to switch between beams pointing to different base stations or transmit-receive points (TRPs).

[0034] Uplink spatial handover delay can be defined based on Section 8.12 of TS 38.133 (3GPP Organization Partners (2020-09), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Networks; NR; Requirements for Supporting Radio Resource Management (Revision 16) (3GPP TS38.133)). Section 8.12 specifies the TS 38.133 requirements for uplink spatial relationship information handover. These requirements apply to active spatial relationship handover associated with the downlink reference signal (DL-RS).

[0035] The requirements provided in Section 8.12 can be applied to UEs configured with one or more spatial relation configurations. UEs to which these requirements apply can operate on a serving cell with multiple radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) or can be independent new radios (NR). Section 8.12 can instruct a UE to complete the handover of an active spatial relation within a specific delay, wherein this delay can be defined as the handover delay described throughout this disclosure. Conditions for known spatial relations associated with DL-RS are specified in Section 8.12.2 of TS 38.133.

[0036] The uplink spatial relation handover delay requirement applies to UEs configured with one or more spatial relation configurations on the serving cell in MR-DC or standalone New Radio (NR). There is no requirement when a UE requests a handover to a spatial relation with the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo associated with the Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). When a UE requests a handover to a spatial relation with the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo associated with the Downlink Reference Signal (DLRS), the UE can complete the handover of the active spatial relation within the delay defined in Section 8.12.

[0037] For spatial relationships associated with DL-RS, the known conditions are as follows.

[0038] A spatial relationship associated with a DL RS can be known if the following three conditions are met: First, during the time period of the last transmission of the DLRS resource used for the completion of a Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) measurement report for the target spatial relationship to the activated spatial relationship, the DLRS resource used for the L1-RSRP measurement is either in the target spatial relationship or quasi-co-located (QCLed) with the target spatial relationship having a quasi-cooperative location (QCL) type-D. Second, a spatial relationship handover command is received within 1280 milliseconds (ms) after the last transmission of the DLRS resource used for beam reporting or measurement. Third, the UE has sent at least one L1-RSRP report for the target spatial relationship before the spatial relationship handover command. 4) The DL RS configured with the spatial relationship remains detectable during the spatial relationship handover period. 5) The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the DL RS configured with the spatial relationship is greater than or equal to -3 dB. 6) The synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) associated with the spatial relationship (or the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) in some embodiments) remains detectable during the spatial relationship switching period. 7) The SNR of the SSB associated with the spatial relationship (or the CSI-RS in some embodiments) is greater than or equal to -3 dB. Otherwise, the spatial relationship is unknown.

[0039] Figure 2 Table 200 illustrates exemplary triggering methods according to some implementations. Uplink spatial relationship handover associated with the DL-RS used for uplink signaling can be triggered by Radio Resource Control (RRC), Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE), or Downlink Control Information (DCI), as shown in Table 200. The triggering method may depend on the physical layer channel. For example, the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) may have UL spatial relationship handover triggered via RRC. In other instances, the PUCCH may have UL spatial relationship handover triggered via MAC-CE. The Periodic Sound Reference Signal (P-SRS) channel may have UL spatial relationship handover triggered via RRC. The Half-Periodic Sound Reference Signal (P-SRS) channel may have UL relationship handover triggered via MAC-CE. The Aperiodic Sound Reference Signal (A-SRS) channel may have UL spatial relationship handover triggered via DCI. A signal may be provided via a triggering method for the channel to trigger the UL spatial relationship handover process.

[0040] Figure 3An exemplary UL spatial relation information element (IE) 300 according to some implementations is shown. The uplink spatial relation IE for PUCCH includes a PathlossReferenceRS-Id. Specifically, the UL spatial relation IE 300 may include a path loss reference signal identifier (PathlossReferenceRS-Id) 302 for PUCCH. The PathlossReferenceRS-Id 302 may be included in the UL spatial relation IE 300 along with other UL spatial relation information that can be used for UL spatial relation switching. Unless otherwise described, the parameters of the UL spatial relation IE may be similar to those described in PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo relative to TS 38.331 (3GPP Organization Partner (2020-09), 3rd Generation Partner Program; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Networks; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification (Rev. 16) (3GPP TS 38.331)).

[0041] Traditional definitions of known / unknown spatial relationships or delay requirements for switching spatial relationship information do not consider path loss measurements based on the PathlossReferenceRS-Id associated with the switching. The method described in this paper considers PathlossReferenceRS measurements during spatial relationship information switching.

[0042] For PUCCH, spatial relationship information switching can be triggered by RRC or MAC-CE. For example, spatial relationship information switching can be triggered by RRC or MAC-CE according to the triggering method described in Table 200. Changes to PUCCH spatial relationship information can also change the path loss reference signal (RS). For example, the path loss reference RS to be used by the UE to measure path loss can be updated along with the spatial relationship information switching. The path loss reference RS may have a different receive (RX) beam than the DL-RS associated with the UL spatial relationship information. The target path loss reference RS can be known or unknown. The target path loss reference RS may be newly activated and has not been previously measured. For example, the path loss reference RS being indicated to be changed can be the target path loss reference RS used to determine path loss measurement. The path loss corresponding to the target path loss reference RS can be known (such as information related to the target path loss reference RS that has been previously measured and stored by the UE) or unknown. In some implementations, the measurement of the target path loss reference RS that generates the stored path loss measurement may be required to be known for a certain period of time prior to triggering, while if the measurement occurred before that period, the path loss may be considered unknown. In some instances, the path loss measurement of the target path loss reference RS may be activated based on a triggering switch to the target path loss reference RS, and may not have been measured prior to the switch.

[0043] In the first case (referred to as Case 1), the target UL spatial relationship information and the path loss reference RS are in the same Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) chain (with Quasi-Cooperative Position (QCL) Type-D). For example, Case 1 can occur when the target UL spatial relationship information and the path loss reference RS are included in the same TCI chain. As used herein, the path loss reference RS can be in the same TCI chain as the target UL spatial relationship information with QCL Type-D. A QCL relationship is a relationship from one RS to another, more unidirectional. The TCI chain is used to indicate RSs QCLed with the same type. For example, CSI-RS1 is QCLed with CSI-RS3, CSI-RS3 is QCLed with CSI-RS4, CSI-RS4 is QCLed with SSB1, and CSI-RS1, CSI-RS3, CSI-RS4, and SSB1 are in the same TCI chain. Known definitions for Case 1 can be based on the target UL spatial relationship information. For example, the handover delay for UL spatial relationship handover under Case 1 can be defined based on the target UL spatial relationship information.

[0044] In the second case (referred to as Case 2), the target UL spatial relationship information and the path loss reference RS are not in the same TCI chain. For example, Case 2 can occur when the target UL spatial relationship information and the path loss reference RS are in different TCI chains. Known definitions for Case 2 can be based on the target UL spatial relationship information and the path loss reference RS. For example, the handover delay for UL spatial relationship handover in Case 2 can be defined based on the target UL spatial relationship information and the path loss reference RS.

[0045] In the first instance of Case 2 (referred to as Case 2a), the target UL spatial relationship and the path loss reference RS can be known. For example, Case 2a can occur when the target UL spatial relationship and the path loss corresponding to the path loss reference RS are known. In the second instance of Case 2 (referred to as Case 2b), the target UL spatial relationship can be unknown and the path loss reference RS can be known. For example, Case 2b can occur when the target UL spatial relationship is unknown and the path loss corresponding to the path loss reference RS is known. In the third instance of Case 2 (referred to as Case 2c), the target UL spatial relationship can be known and the path loss reference RS can be unknown. For example, Case 2c can occur when the target UL spatial relationship is known and the path loss corresponding to the path loss reference RS is unknown. In the fourth instance of Case 2 (referred to as Case 2d), the target UL spatial relationship and the path loss reference RS can be unknown. For example, Case 2d can occur when the target UL spatial relationship is unknown and the path loss corresponding to the path loss reference RS is unknown.

[0046] The UL spatial relationship information switching delay requirement may consider: whether the target UL spatial relationship and the path loss reference RS are in the same TCI chain; the unknown / known state of the target spatial relationship information; the unknown / known state of the path loss reference RS; and whether the path loss reference signal (PL-RS) is newly activated or previously measured. For example, the switching delay amount for UL spatial relationship switching based on UL spatial relationship information may be based on: whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target path loss reference RS are in the same TCI chain, whether the target spatial relationship is known or unknown, whether the path loss associated with the path loss reference RS is known or unknown, and / or whether the PL-RS is newly activated or previously measured.

[0047] The switching delay for UL spatial relationship switching can be equal to the set delay plus an additional delay. Figure 4 Table 400 illustrates exemplary additional delay amounts for uplink spatial relationship switching delays according to some implementation schemes. The additional delay amounts shown in Table 400 may be the additional delay amounts for Case 1.

[0048] Recall Scenario 1, where the target UL spatial relationship information and path loss reference RS are in the same TCI chain (with QCLType-D). In this case, the handover delay may include MAC CE decoding or RRC message processing delay plus an additional delay based on the conditions in Table 400. For example, the setting delay for the handover delay used for UL spatial relationship handover may include MAC CE decoding delay or RRC message processing delay. This setting delay may depend on the triggering method. For example, when the triggering method is RRC, the setting delay may include the RRC message processing delay, and when the triggering method is MAC-CE, the setting delay may include the MAC CE decoding delay.

[0049] The additional delay shown in Table 400 can be added to the set delay to generate the switching delay. For example, the switching delay can be equal to or greater than the set delay plus the additional delay shown in Table 400 for Case 1. The additional delay for the UL spatial relationship in Case 1 can be based on whether the UL spatial relationship is known or unknown, and / or whether the PL-RS was previously measured or activated.

[0050] As shown in Table 400, when the UL spatial relationship is known and the PL-RS has been previously measured or activated, the additional delay may not be applicable (e.g., the additional delay may be equal to 0). When the UL spatial relationship is known and the PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the additional delay may be equal to the time of the target PL-RS measurement (e.g., the PL-RS measurement / activation delay), where the PL-RS measurement / activation delay may be defined as 5*T. TargetPL-RS +2ms. T TargetPL-RS This can be the period of the target PL-RS. When the UL spatial relationship is unknown and the PL-RS has been previously measured or activated, the additional delay can be equal to the time of the RX beam refinement used for the target UL spatial relationship (e.g., RX beam refinement delay), where the RX beam refinement delay can be defined as T. L1-RSRP T L1-RSRP This can be the time for L1-RSRP measurement of the SSB or CSI-RS associated with the target UL spatial relationship. In some embodiments, when the UL spatial relationship is unknown and the PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the additional delay may be equal to the time used for RX beamfinding plus the time used for the target PL-RS measurement. In other embodiments, when the UL spatial relationship is unknown and the PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the additional delay may be the larger of the time used for RX beamfinding or the time used for the target PL-RS measurement. Therefore, when the UL spatial relationship is unknown and the PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the additional delay (e.g., combined delay) may be defined as max{T} L1-RSRP 5*T TargetPL-RS +2ms}; or TL1-RSRP ±5*T TargetPL-RS +2ms.

[0051] Figure 5 Another table 500 shows exemplary additional delay amounts for uplink spatial relationship switching delays according to some implementation schemes. The additional delay amounts shown in Table 500 may be the additional delay amounts of Case 5.

[0052] Recall scenario 2, where the target UL spatial relationship information and the path loss reference RS are not in the same TCI chain (with QCLType-D). In this case, the handover delay may include the MAC CE decoding or RRC message processing delay plus an additional delay based on the conditions in Table 500. For example, the setting delay for the handover delay used for UL spatial relationship handover may include the MAC CE decoding delay or the RRC message processing delay. This setting delay may depend on the triggering method. For example, when the triggering method is RRC, the setting delay may include the RRC message processing delay, and when the triggering method is MAC-CE, the setting delay may include the MAC CE decoding delay.

[0053] The additional delays shown in Table 500 can be added to the set delay to generate a switching delay. For example, the switching delay can be equal to or greater than the set delay plus the additional delays shown in Table 500 for Case 2. The additional delay for the UL spatial relationship in Case 2 can be based on whether the UL spatial relationship is known or unknown, whether the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is known or unknown, and / or whether the PL-RS was previously measured or activated.

[0054] As shown in Table 500, when the UL spatial relationship is known, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is known, and the PL-RS has been previously measured or activated, the additional delay may not be applicable (e.g., the additional delay may be equal to 0). When the UL spatial relationship is known, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is unknown, and the PL-RS has been previously measured or activated, the additional delay may be equal to the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS (e.g., the RX beam refinement delay for the PL-RS), where the RX beam refinement delay for the PL-RS can be defined as T. L1-RSRP-PL-RS Given that the UL spatial relationships are known, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is known, and the PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the additional delay can be equal to the time of the target PL-RS measurement (e.g., PL-RS measurement / activation delay), where the PL-RS measurement / activation delay can be defined as 5*T. TargetPL-RS+2ms. When the UL spatial relationship is known, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is unknown, and the PL-RS is not measured or activated, the additional delay can be equal to the RX beam refinement time for the target PL-RS and the target PL-RS time. When the UL spatial relationship is unknown, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is known, and the PL-RS has been previously measured or activated, the additional delay can be equal to the RX beam refinement time for the target UL spatial relationship (e.g., RX beam refinement delay), where the RX beam refinement delay for the UL spatial relationship can be defined as T. L1-RSRP-UL-SpRel When the UL spatial relationship is unknown, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is unknown, and the PL-RS has been previously measured or activated, the additional delay can be equal to the time of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship and the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS. When the UL spatial relationship is unknown, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is known, and the PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the additional delay can be equal to the time of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship, the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS, and the time of measurement for the target PL-RS. When the UL spatial relationship is unknown, the path loss corresponding to the PL-RS is unknown, and the PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the additional delay can be equal to the time of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship, the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS, and the time of measurement for the target PL-RS.

[0055] When the delay needs to consider multiple components, it can be based on the maximum value of each component, the sum of each of the components, or a combination of the sum and the maximum value. Specifically, when the additional delay includes more than one component of the time for RX beamfinding for the target PL-RS, the time for RX beamfinding for the UL spatial relationship, and the time for the target PL-RS measurement, the additional delay can be equal to the sum of these components or the maximum of these components. For example, when the additional delay is equal to the time for RX beamfinding for the target PL-RS and the time for the target PL-RS measurement, the additional delay can be equal to the sum of the time for RX beamfinding for the target PL-RS and the time for the target PL-RS measurement, or equal to the larger of the time for RX beamfinding for the target PL-RS and the time for the target PL-RS measurement. When the additional delay is equal to the time for RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship and the time for target PL-RS measurement, the additional delay may be equal to the sum of the time for RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship and the time for target PL-RS measurement, or equal to the greater of the time for RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship and the time for target PL-RS measurement.

[0056] When the additional delay is equal to the time of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship and the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS, the additional delay may be equal to the sum of the times of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship and the times of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS, or equal to the larger of the times of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship and the times of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS. When the additional delay is equal to the time of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship, the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS, and the time of measurement for the target PL-RS, the additional delay may be equal to the sum of the times of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship, the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS, and the times of measurement for the target PL-RS, or equal to the largest of the times of RX beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship, the time of RX beam refinement for the target PL-RS, and the times of measurement for the target PL-RS.

[0057] Figure 6 An exemplary process 600 for performing a UL spatial relationship switch is illustrated according to some embodiments. Process 600 may be performed by a UE (such as UE 102 or UE 1200). Figure 12 )) or its components (e.g., baseband processor circuit 1204A) Figure 12 )) Execution. Process 600 can be executed as part of a UL spatial relationship switching operation.

[0058] Process 600 may include identifying a trigger in 602. Specifically, in 602, the UE may identify a trigger for UL spatial relationship switching. This trigger may be received by the UE via RRC or MAC-CE, as per Table 200 ( Figure 2 The trigger may include communication received via RRC or MAC-CE instructing the UL spatial relationship switch to be performed by the UE. In some embodiments, this communication may include UL spatial relationship information elements (such as UL spatial relationship IE 300) with updated UL spatial relationship information and / or updated path loss reference RS. Figure 3 The triggering method (e.g., reception via RRC or MAC-CE) may depend on the PHY channel, as described with respect to Table 200.

[0059] Process 600 may include determining the state of PL-RS information for a target PL-RS in 604. Specifically, the UE may determine the state of PL-RS information for a target PL-RS for UL spatial relationship switching. Determining the state of the PL-RS information may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated, and / or determining whether the target PL-RS is known. In some embodiments, a characteristic that can be used to determine whether the target PL-RS is known may include path loss corresponding to the PL-RS. The determination of the state of the PL-RS information for the target PL-RS may be performed based on the identification of the trigger in 602. The operations performed to determine the state of the PL-RS information may depend on whether Case 1 or Case 2 is being implemented. For example, in a Case 1 implementation, in some embodiments, determining the state of the PL-RS may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated. In a Case 2 implementation, in some embodiments, determining the state of the PL-RS may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated, and determining whether the target PL-RS is known. The UE may be configured for the case to be implemented.

[0060] Process 600 may include determining in 606 whether the target UL spatial relationship is known. Specifically, the UE may determine whether the target UL spatial relationship is known for a UL spatial relationship switch. The determination of whether the target UL spatial relationship is known may be performed based on the identification of the trigger in 602.

[0061] Process 600 may include determining in 608 whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain. Specifically, the UE may determine whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain. For example, in some instances, the UE may determine that the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain. In other instances, the UE may determine that the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in different TCI chains.

[0062] Process 600 may include determining in 610 whether to perform a PL measurement. The UE may determine whether to perform a PL measurement on the target PL-RS based on the status of the PL-RS information for the target PL-RS. For example, if the UE determines that the target PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, the UE may determine to perform a PL measurement on the target PL-RS.

[0063] Process 600 may include determining in 612 whether to perform receive beam refinement. Specifically, the UE may determine whether to perform receive beam refinement based on whether the target UL spatial relationship is known and / or whether the PL-RS is known. For example, if the UE determines that the target UL space is unknown, the UE may determine to perform receive beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship. If the UE determines that the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in different TCIs, the UE may determine whether the PL-RS is known and may determine to perform receive beam refinement for the target PL-RS.

[0064] Process 600 may include performing a UL spatial relationship handover within a handover delay in 614. Specifically, the UE may complete the UL spatial relationship handover within the handover delay. For example, the UE may switch to a different beam for UL communication at the end of the handover delay. The handover delay may depend on the state of the PL-RS information, whether the target UL spatial relationship is known, and whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain, as described throughout this disclosure.

[0065] Switching delay may include, for example, regarding Figure 4 and Figure 5 The description includes the set delay and additional delay. For example, when a trigger is received via MAC-CE in 602, the UE can determine that the set delay is equal to the MAC-CE decoding delay, and when a trigger is received via RRC in 602, the UE can determine that the set delay is equal to the RRC message processing delay. The UE can determine the additional delay according to Table 400 for Case 1 and Table 500 for Case 2. The UE can add the set delay and the additional delay to generate the handover delay.

[0066] In some implementations, the UE can send commands to the connected node B (such as gNB 1300). Figure 13 The Node B provides an indication of the determined handover delay. Therefore, the Node B may be aware of the handover delay for the UE. The Node B can be configured with the handover delay indicated by the UE and can schedule communication with the UE based on the handover delay. For example, the Node B can schedule a UL spatial relationship handover to be completed at the end of the handover delay. In other embodiments, the indication of the determined handover delay provided by the UE to the Node B can be omitted.

[0067] Figure 7 Another exemplary process 700 for performing a UL spatial relationship switch is shown according to some embodiments. Process 700 may be performed by a UE (such as UE 1200). Figure 12 )) Execution. Process 700 can be executed as part of a UL spatial relationship switching operation.

[0068] Procedure 700 may include identifying a trigger in 702. Specifically, in 702, the UE may identify a trigger for UL spatial relationship switching. This trigger may be received by the UE via RRC or MAC-CE, as per Table 200 ( Figure 2 The trigger may include communication received via RRC or MAC-CE instructing the UL spatial relationship switch to be performed by the UE. In some embodiments, this communication may include UL spatial relationship information elements (such as UL spatial relationship IE 300) with updated UL spatial relationship information and / or updated path loss reference RS. Figure 3 The triggering method (e.g., reception via RRC or MAC-CE) may depend on the PHY channel, as described with respect to Table 200.

[0069] Process 700 may include determining in 704 whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are included in the same TCI chain. Specifically, the UE may determine whether the UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are included in the same TCI chain. The determination of whether the UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain may be performed based on the identification of the trigger in 702. The UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS may be indicated in the UL spatial relationship information element identified in 702. Based on whether the UL spatial relationship and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain, the UE may determine whether to apply Case 1 or Case 2. Specifically, when the UL spatial relationship and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain, the UE may determine to apply Case 1, and when the UL spatial relationship and the target PL-RS are in different TCI chains, the UE may determine to apply Case 2.

[0070] Process 700 may include determining the state of PL-RS information for a target PL-RS in 706. Specifically, the UE may determine the state of PL-RS information for a target PL-RS for UL spatial relationship switching. Determining the state of the PL-RS information may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated, and / or determining whether the target PL-RS is known. In some embodiments, characteristics that may be used to determine whether the target PL-RS is known may include path loss corresponding to the PL-RS. The determination of the state of the PL-RS information for the target PL-RS may be performed based on the identification of the trigger in 702. The operations performed to determine the state of the PL-RS information may depend on whether Case 1 or Case 2 is being implemented. For example, in a Case 1 implementation, in some embodiments, determining the state of the PL-RS may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated. In a Case 2 implementation, in some embodiments, determining the state of the PL-RS may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated, and determining whether the target PL-RS is known. Whether to execute 706, and whether to implement the Case 1 or Case 2 process associated with 706, may depend on whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are included in the same TCI chain as determined in 704.

[0071] Process 700 may include determining in 708 whether the target UL spatial relationship is known. Specifically, the UE may determine whether the target UL spatial relationship is known for UL spatial relationship switching. The determination of whether the target UL spatial relationship is known may be performed based on the identification of the trigger in 702. Whether 708 is performed may depend on determining in 704 whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are included in the same TCI chain.

[0072] Procedure 700 may include performing a UL spatial relationship handover within a handover delay in 710. Specifically, the UE may complete the UL spatial relationship handover within the handover delay. For example, the UE may switch to a different beam for UL communication within the handover delay.

[0073] The switching delay can be used for UL spatial relationship switching. The switching delay can be based on the determined state of the PL-RS information for the target PL-RS in 706 and whether the target UL spatial relationship is known in 708. In some embodiments, the switching delay can be further based on whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are included in the same TCI chain, as determined in 704. The switching delay can be based on Table 400 (… Figure 4 ) or Table 500 ( Figure 5 Specifically, when implementing scenario 1, the switching delay can be determined according to Table 400, and when implementing scenario 2, the switching delay can be determined according to Table 500.

[0074] Switching delay may include, for example, regarding Figure 4 and Figure 5 The description includes the initial delay and additional delay. For example, when a trigger is received via MAC-CE in 702, the initial delay will be equal to the MAC-CE decoding delay, and when a trigger is received via RRC in 702, the initial delay will be equal to the RRC message processing delay. The additional delay can be determined according to Table 400 for Case 1 and Table 500 for Case 2. The UE can add the initial delay and the additional delay to generate the handover delay.

[0075] Figure 8 An exemplary process 800 for performing a UL spatial relationship switch is illustrated according to some embodiments. Process 800 may be performed by a UE (such as UE 1200). Figure 12 )) Execution. Process 800 can be executed as part of a UL spatial relationship switching operation.

[0076] Process 800 may include identifying a trigger in 802. Specifically, in 802, the UE may identify a trigger for UL spatial relationship switching. This trigger may be received by the UE via RRC or MAC-CE, as per Table 200 ( Figure 2 The trigger may include communication received via RRC or MAC-CE instructing the UL spatial relationship switch to be performed by the UE. In some embodiments, this communication may include UL spatial relationship information elements (such as UL spatial relationship IE 300) with updated UL spatial relationship information and / or updated path loss reference RS. Figure 3 The triggering method (e.g., reception via RRC or MAC-CE) may depend on the PHY channel, as described with respect to Table 200.

[0077] Process 800 may include determining the state of PL-RS information for a target PL-RS in 804. Specifically, the UE may determine the state of PL-RS information for a target PL-RS for UL spatial relationship switching. Determining the state of the PL-RS information may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated, and / or determining whether the target PL-RS is known. In some embodiments, a characteristic that can be used to determine whether the target PL-RS is known may include path loss corresponding to the PL-RS. The determination of the state of the PL-RS information for the target PL-RS may be performed based on the identification of the trigger in 802. The operations performed to determine the state of the PL-RS information may depend on whether Case 1 or Case 2 is being implemented. For example, in a Case 1 implementation, in some embodiments, determining the state of the PL-RS may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated. In a Case 2 implementation, in some embodiments, determining the state of the PL-RS may include determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated, and determining whether the value of the target PL-RS is known. The UE may be configured for the case to be implemented.

[0078] Process 800 may include determining in 806 whether the target UL spatial relationship is known. Specifically, the UE may determine whether the target UL spatial relationship is known for the UL spatial relationship switch. The determination of whether the target UL spatial relationship is known may be performed based on the identification of the trigger in 802. The determination of whether the target UL spatial relationship is known may include determining whether the UE has already stored UL spatial relationship information for the target UL spatial relationship.

[0079] Procedure 800 may include performing a PL measurement for the target PL-RS in 808. Specifically, the UE may have determined that the state of the PL-RS information may have indicated that the target PL-RS was not previously measured or activated in 804. Based on the fact that the target PL-RS was not previously measured or activated, the UE performs a PL measurement of the target PL-RS to determine the PL of the target PL-RS. The PL measurement may be performed within the handover delay.

[0080] Process 800 may include performing a UL spatial relationship handover within a handover delay in 810. Specifically, the UE may perform a UL spatial relationship handover within a handover delay associated with the UL spatial relationship handover. The handover delay may be based on the determined state of the PL-RS information for the target PL-RS in 804 and whether the target UL spatial relationship is known in 806. The handover delay may be based on Table 400 ( Figure 4 ) or Table 500 ( Figure 5 Specifically, in implementation case 1, the switching delay can be determined according to Table 400, and in implementation case 2, the switching delay can be determined according to Table 500.

[0081] Switching delay may include, for example, regarding Figure 4 and Figure 5 The description includes the set delay and additional delay. For example, when a trigger is received in 802 via MAC-CE, the set delay may be equal to the MAC-CE decoding delay, and when a trigger is received in 802 via RRC, the set delay may be equal to the RRC message processing delay. The additional delay can be determined according to Table 400 for Case 1 and Table 500 for Case 2. The set delay and the additional delay can be added together to produce the switching delay.

[0082] Figure 9 An exemplary process 900 for determining a switching delay for UL spatial relationship switching, according to some embodiments, is shown. Process 900 may be provided by a gNB (such as gNB 1300). Figure 13 )) Execution. Process 900 can be executed as part of a UL spatial relationship switching operation.

[0083] Process 900 may include identifying the status of the PL-RS information and an indication of whether the target UL spatial relationship is known in 902. Specifically, the gNB may identify the UE (such as UE 1200) for which the UL spatial relationship handover is to be performed. Figure 12 The status of the PL-RS information (which can be triggered by the gNB providing a trigger to the UE) and an indication of whether the UE is aware of the target UL spatial relationship. In some implementations, identifying the status of the PL-RS information and the indication of whether the target UL spatial relationship is known may include determining, based on the stored gNB information, whether the UE previously measured or activated the target PL-RS, whether the UE is aware of the target PL-RS, and / or whether the target UL spatial relationship is known to the UE.

[0084] Process 900 may include determining in 904 whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain. Specifically, the gNB may determine whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same chain.

[0085] Process 900 may include determining the handover delay in 906. Specifically, the gNB may determine the expected handover delay corresponding to the UL spatial relationship handover to be performed by the UE. The gNB may determine the handover delay based on the status of the PL-RS information, whether the target UL spatial relationship is known, and / or whether the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS are in the same TCI chain. The handover delay may be determined by the gNB according to Table 400 ( Figure 4 ) or Table 500 ( Figure 5 Specifically, in implementation scenario 1, the switching delay can be determined according to Table 400, and in implementation scenario 2, the switching delay can be determined according to Table 500.

[0086] Switching delay may include, for example, regarding Figure 4 and Figure 5 The description includes the set delay and additional delay. For example, when a trigger is received in 802 via MAC-CE, the set delay may be equal to the MAC-CE decoding delay, and when a trigger is received in 802 via RRC, the set delay may be equal to the RRC message processing delay. The additional delay can be determined by the gNB according to Table 400 for Case 1 and Table 500 for Case 2. The set delay and the additional delay can be added to produce the handover delay.

[0087] Process 900 may include scheduling transmissions with the UE in 908. Specifically, the gNB may schedule transmissions with the UE based on the handover delay determined in 906. In some implementations, the gNB may avoid scheduling transmissions during the handover delay and may schedule transmissions with the UE only after the handover delay has expired.

[0088] Figure 10 An exemplary spatial relationship switching delay timing diagram 1000 according to some embodiments is shown. Specifically, Figure 1000 shows an exemplary UL spatial relationship switching trigger point 1002 and a UL spatial relationship switching delay 1004. Figure 1000 also shows a time period 1006 for determining whether a characteristic is known. In some embodiments, time period 1006 may be omitted.

[0089] Timing diagram 1000 illustrates the time defined by known conditions. For example, timing diagram 1000 shows an example of a time period used to perform UL spatial relationship information switching (including trigger signals). Timing diagram 1000 shows exemplary signaling between gNB 1008 shown at the bottom of the line diagram and UE 1010 shown at the top of the line diagram. Lines pointing upwards indicate signals transmitted from gNB 1008 to UE 1010, and lines pointing downwards indicate signals transmitted from UE 1010 to gNB 1008. gNB 1008 may include one or more features of gNB 1300. UE 1010 may include one or more features of UE 1200.

[0090] The gNB 1008 can transmit DL-RS or RS QCLed with DL-RS. Specifically, timing diagram 1000 shows an example of the last transmission 1012 of DL-RS or RS QCLed with DL-RS before the UL spatial relationship information switch. The target spatial relationship can be associated with DL-RS. DL-RS may include SSB or CSI-RS.

[0091] UE 1010 can detect the last transmission received from gNB 1008 1012. UE 1010 can measure the received power of DL-RS or RS QCLed with DL-RS. UE 1010 can transmit a DL-RS or RS QCLed with DL-RS report 1014 indicating the received power.

[0092] gNB 1008 can transmit a UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 to UE 1010. In some embodiments, the UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 may include UL spatial relationship IE 300 ( Figure 3 The UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 instructs the UE 1010 to perform a UL spatial relationship switch to a different beam. The gNB 1008 may transmit the UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 at a set time after the last transmission 1012 of the DL-RS or RS QCLed with the DL-RS. In some embodiments, the set time for transmitting the UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 after the last transmission 1008 is 1280 ms or less.

[0093] UE 1010 can identify the trigger for UL spatial relationship switching at trigger point 1002. For example, UE 1010 may have already triggered the switch at trigger point 1002 according to 602 ( Figure 6 ), 702 Figure 7 ) or 802 Figure 8 The UE 1010 can identify the UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 as a trigger. The UE 1010 may have already received the UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 at the trigger point 1002, where the communication indicates that the UL spatial relationship switching is to be performed by the UE 1010.

[0094] The switching delay 1004 is based on the trigger received at trigger point 1002. For example, the switching delay 1004 may be based at least in part on information included in the UL spatial relationship switching signal 1016. The switching delay 1004 may be determined according to 608 ( Figure 6 ), 710 Figure 7 ) or 808 Figure 8The handover delay 1004 is determined based on information related to the trigger received at trigger point 1002. In some embodiments, UE 1010 may avoid completing the UL spatial relationship handover until the handover delay 1004 has expired. For example, UE 1010 may complete the handover to a different beam for UL communication based on the UL spatial relationship handover at the time the handover delay 1004 is completed. In some instances, UE 1010 may continue to transmit communication during the handover delay 1004 using the beam that was used before the UL spatial relationship handover. UE 1010 may switch to a different beam for communication transmission when the handover delay 1004 expires. In other embodiments, UE 1010 may complete the handover as quickly as possible. Specifically, UE may perform the UL spatial relationship handover once it has the information required to perform it.

[0095] In the illustrated embodiment, timing diagram 1000 includes a time period 1006 equal to the set time after the transmission of the UL spatial relationship information switching signal 1016 following the last transmission 1012. The spatial relationship information switching may be the starting point of time period 1006. In some embodiments, time period 1006 can be used to determine the status of PL-RS information for a target PL-RS and / or to determine whether the target UL spatial relationship is known. For example, to determine that the value of the target PL-RS is known and / or the target UL spatial relationship is known, the value and / or the target UL spatial relationship may have already been acquired during time period 1006. Known conditions can be determined by reviewing up to 1280 ms from the UL spatial relationship information switching command. For example, known conditions can be determined by reviewing up to 1280 ms from the UL spatial relationship information switching signal. If the value and / or the target UL spatial relationship was acquired before time period 1006, it can be determined that the value and / or the target UL spatial relationship is unknown because it was acquired before time period 1006.

[0096] In other embodiments, time period 1006 may be omitted, and these determinations may not determine the time at which the value and / or the target UL spatial relationship is acquired. In other embodiments, in 604 ( Figure 6 ), 706 Figure 7 ) or 804 Figure 8 The determination of the status of PL-RS information in ) and in 606 ( Figure 6 ), 708 Figure 7 ) or 806 Figure 8In a UE performing the determination of whether a target UL spatial relationship is known, the UE can determine whether the network configuration associated with the UE is the same when the values ​​of the target PL-RS and / or the target UL spatial relationship are acquired and when the UL spatial relationship is triggered. If the UE determines that the network configuration is the same in time, the UE can consider the value and / or the target UL spatial relationship to determine whether they are known. If the UE determines that the network configuration is different in time, the UE can determine that the value and / or the target UL spatial relationship is unknown due to the difference in network configuration.

[0097] Figure 11 An exemplary beamforming circuit 1100 according to some embodiments is shown. The beamforming circuit 1100 may include a first antenna panel (i.e., panel 1 1104) and a second antenna panel (i.e., panel 2 1108). Each antenna panel may include multiple antenna elements. Other embodiments may include other numbers of antenna panels.

[0098] The digital beamforming (BF) component 1128 can be derived from, for example, a baseband processor (such as, for example...) Figure 12 The baseband processor 1204 receives the input baseband (BB) signal. The digital BF component 1128 can rely on complex weights to precode the BB signal and provide the beamformed BB signal to the parallel radio frequency (RF) chain 1120 / 1124.

[0099] Each RF chain 1120 / 1124 may include a digital-to-analog converter that converts the BB signal into the analog domain; a mixer that mixes the baseband signal into an RF signal; and a power amplifier that amplifies the RF signal for transmission.

[0100] RF signals can be provided to analog beamforming components 1112 / 1116, which can further apply beamforming by providing a phase shift in the analog domain. The RF signals can then be provided to antenna panels 1104 / 1108 for transmission.

[0101] In some implementations, beamforming may be performed only in the digital domain or only in the analog domain, instead of the hybrid beamforming shown herein.

[0102] In various implementations, control circuitry residing in the baseband processor can provide BF weights to the analog / digital BF components to provide a transmit beam at the corresponding antenna panel. These BF weights can be determined by the control circuitry to provide directional allocation of the serving cell as described herein. In some implementations, the BF components and antenna panels can operate together to provide a dynamic phased array capable of guiding the beam in a desired direction.

[0103] Figure 12An exemplary UE 1200 according to some implementations is shown. UE 1200 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, computer, tablet, industrial wireless sensors (e.g., microphones, carbon dioxide sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, thermometers, motion sensors, accelerometers, laser scanners, fluid level sensors, inventory sensors, voltmeters / ammeters, actuators, etc.), video surveillance / monitoring devices (e.g., cameras, camcorders, etc.), wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches), and loosely coupled IoT devices. In some implementations, UE 1200 can be a RedCap UE or an NR-Light UE.

[0104] UE 1200 may include a processor 1204, RF interface circuitry 1208, memory / storage device 1212, user interface circuitry 1216, sensor 1220, drive circuitry 1222, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1224, antenna structure 1226, and battery 1228. Components of UE 1200 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 12 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 1200. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other specific implementations.

[0105] The components of UE 1200 can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1232, which can represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extended), transmission line, trace, optical connector, etc., that allows various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0106] Processor 1204 may include processor circuitry, such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB) 1204A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 1204B, and graphics processing unit circuitry (GPU) 1204C. Processor 1204 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage device 1212) to cause UE 1200 to perform the operations described herein.

[0107] In some implementations, the baseband processor circuit 1204A can access the communication protocol stack 1236 in the memory / storage device 1212 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor circuit 1204A can access the communication protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, and PDU layers; and control plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and non-access layers. In some implementations, PHY layer operation may additionally / optionally be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1208.

[0108] The baseband processor circuit 1204A can generate or process baseband signals or waveforms carrying information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some implementations, the waveforms used for NR can be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0109] Memory / storage device 1212 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, including instructions (e.g., communication protocol stack 1236) that can be executed by one or more processors in processor 1204 to cause UE 1200 to perform the various operations described herein. Memory / storage device 1212 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout UE 1200. In some embodiments, some memory / storage devices in memory / storage device 1212 may be located on processor 1204 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage devices 1212 may be located external to processor 1204 but accessible via a memory interface. Memory / storage device 1212 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0110] The RF interface circuit 1208 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 1200 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 1208 may include various components arranged in the transmission or reception path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, control circuitry, etc.

[0111] In the receiving path, the RFEM can receive the radiated signal from the air interface via antenna structure 1226 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). This signal can be provided to the receiver of the transceiver, which downconverts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 1204.

[0112] In the transmission path, the transceiver's transmitter upconverts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM amplifies the RF signal using a power amplifier before it is radiated across the air interface via antenna 1226.

[0113] In various implementations, the RF interface circuit 1208 can be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0114] Antenna 1226 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves for propagation through the air and to convert received radio waves back into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged in one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1226 may have omnidirectional, directional, or combinations thereof antenna panels to enable beamforming and multiple-input / multiple-output communication. Antenna 1226 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, etc. Antenna 1226 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band included in FR1 or FR2.

[0115] In some implementations, UE 1200 may include beamforming circuitry 1100. Figure 11 The beamforming circuit 1100 can be used to communicate with the UE 1200. In some embodiments, components of the UE 1200 and the beamforming circuit can be shared. For example, the UE's antenna 1226 may include panel 1 1104 and panel 2 1108 of the beamforming circuit 1100.

[0116] User interface circuitry 1216 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable users to interact with UE 1200. User interface circuitry 1216 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, particularly including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), wherein the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by the operation of UE 1200.

[0117] Sensor 1220 may include devices, modules, or subsystems intended to detect events or changes in their environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to other devices, modules, subsystems, etc. Examples of such sensors include, in particular: inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) including triaxial accelerometers, triaxial gyroscopes, or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless aperture sensors); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors, etc.); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other similar audio capture devices; etc.

[0118] The driving circuit 1222 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1200. The driving circuit 1222 may include various drivers that allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may exist within or be connected to the UE 1200. For example, the driving circuit 1222 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device; a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface; a sensor driver for acquiring sensor readings of the sensor circuit 1220 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 1220; a driver for acquiring actuator positions of electromechanical components or controlling and allowing access to electromechanical components; a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device; and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0119] The PMIC 1224 manages the power supplied to various components of the UE 1200. Specifically, relative to the processor 1204, the PMIC 1224 controls power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0120] In some implementations, the PMIC 1224 can control or otherwise become part of various power-saving mechanisms of the UE 1200. For example, if the platform UE is in the RRC_Connected state, where it remains connected to the RAN node as it anticipates receiving traffic soon, it can enter a state known as Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the UE 1200 can power down for short intervals to save power. If there is no data traffic activity over a longer period, the UE 1200 can transition to the RRC_Idle state, where it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The UE 1200 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, in which it periodically wakes up again to listen to the network and then power down again. The UE 1200 may not receive data in this state; to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power-saving modes can allow the device to be unable to use the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to several hours). During this period, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will result in significant latency, which is assumed to be acceptable.

[0121] Battery 1228 can power UE 1200, but in some examples, UE 1200 may be mounted in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the mains. Battery 1228 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, battery 1228 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0122] Figure 13 An exemplary next-generation node B (gNB) 1300 according to some embodiments is shown. The gNB 1300 may include a processor 1304, an RF interface circuit 1308, a core network (CN) interface circuit 1312, a memory / storage circuit 1316, and an antenna structure 1326.

[0123] The gNB 1300 components can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1228.

[0124] The processor 1304, RF interface circuit 1308, memory / storage circuit 1316 (including communication protocol stack 1210), antenna structure 1326, and interconnect 1228 are similar to those in the reference. Figure 12 Similar named elements are shown and described.

[0125] The CN interface circuit 1312 may provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5G core network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol (such as Carrier Ethernet) or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity may be provided to / from the gNB 1300 via fiber optic or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 1312 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 1312 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0126] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0127] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. Similarly, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0128] Example

[0129] Further exemplary implementations are provided in the following sections.

[0130] Example 1 may include one or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to: identify a trigger for uplink (UL) spatial relation handover; determine, at least in part, the state of PL-RS information for a target path loss reference signal (PL-RS) based on the trigger for the UL spatial relation handover; determine, at least in part, whether a target UL spatial relation is known based on the trigger for the UL spatial relation handover; and perform the UL spatial relation handover within a handover delay, the handover delay being at least in part based on the state of the PL-RS information and whether the target UL relation is known.

[0131] Example 2 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 1, wherein determining the state of the PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated.

[0132] Example 3 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 1 or Example 2, wherein determining the state of the PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS is known.

[0133] Example 4 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 1 or Example 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, also cause the UE to determine, based on the state of the PL-RS information, whether to perform a path loss (PL) measurement for the target PL-RS.

[0134] Example 5 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 4, wherein determining whether to perform the PL measurement for the target PL-RS includes determining to perform the PL measurement for the target PL-RS, and wherein the UE will perform the PL measurement within the handover delay.

[0135] Example 6 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 1, wherein determining whether the target UL spatial relationship is known includes determining whether UL spatial relationship information related to the UL spatial relationship has been stored by the UE.

[0136] Example 7 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the UE to determine whether to perform receive (Rx) beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship based on whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

[0137] Example 8 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the UE to determine that the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS for switching the UL spatial relationship are in different Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) chains, and wherein the switching delay includes the time for receiving beam refinement of the target PL-RS based on the determination that the PL-RS is unknown.

[0138] Example 9 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, also cause the UE to determine that the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS for switching the UL spatial relationship are in the same Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) chain.

[0139] Example 10 may include a user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory for storing uplink (UL) spatial relation and path loss reference signal (PL-RS) information associated with the UE, and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitry being configured to: determine, at least in part, based on a trigger for UL spatial relation handover, that target UL spatial relation information and target PL-RS for UL spatial relation handover are in different Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) chains; determine, at least in part, based on the trigger, the state of PL-RS information for the target PL-RS; and perform the UL spatial relation handover within a handover delay, the handover delay being at least in part based on the target UL spatial relation information and the target PL-RS in different TCI chains and the state of the PL-RS information.

[0140] Example 11 may include the UE described in Example 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine whether a target UL spatial relationship is known, at least in part, based on the triggering of the switching of the UL spatial relationship, wherein the switching delay is also determined at least in part based on whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

[0141] Example 12 may include the UE described in Example 11, wherein determining the state of the target PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated.

[0142] Example 13 may include the UE described in Example 11 or Example 12, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the state of the PL-RS information for the target PL-RS, to perform a path loss (PL) measurement; and, based on the determination to perform the PL measurement, to perform the PL measurement within the handover delay.

[0143] Example 14 may include the UE described in Example 13, wherein the handover delay includes the time for the PL measurement of the target PL-RS.

[0144] Example 15 may include the UE described in Example 11 or Example 12, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine whether to perform receive (Rx) beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship based on whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

[0145] Example 16 may include the UE described in Example 15, wherein determining whether to perform the Rx beam refinement includes determining to perform the Rx beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship, and wherein the UE will perform the Rx beam refinement within the handover delay.

[0146] Example 17 may include a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying a trigger for uplink (UL) spatial relation handover; in response to identifying the trigger, determining a state of target path loss reference signal (PL-RS) information associated with the UE; in response to identifying the trigger, determining whether a target UL spatial relation is known; and performing the UL spatial relation handover within a handover delay, the handover delay being at least in part based on the state of the PL-RS and whether the target UL spatial relation is known.

[0147] Example 18 may include the method of Example 17, wherein determining the state of the target PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS corresponding to the target PL-RS information was previously measured or activated.

[0148] Example 19 may include the method described in Example 17, wherein determining the state of the target PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS corresponding to the PL-RS information is known.

[0149] Example 20 may include the method described in Example 18 or Example 19, and further includes: performing a path loss (PL) measurement for the target PL-RS based on the determination that the target PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated, or the determination that the target PL-RS is unknown.

[0150] Example 21 may include one or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a next-generation nodeB (gNB) to perform the following operations: identify the status of PL-RS information of a target path loss reference signal (PL-RS) for uplink (UL) spatial relation handover for a user equipment (UE) received from the UE and an indication of whether the target UL spatial relation is known; determine a handover delay for the UL spatial relation handover for the UE based on the indication; and schedule one or more transmissions with the UE based on the handover delay.

[0151] Example 22 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 21, wherein the indication indicates whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated by the UE, and wherein determining the handover delay includes determining the handover delay based on whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated by the UE.

[0152] Example 23 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 21, wherein the indication indicates whether the target PL-RS is known to the UE, and wherein determining the handover delay includes determining the handover delay based on whether the target PL-RS is known to the UE.

[0153] Example 24 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in any one of Examples 21 to 23, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the gNB to determine whether target UL spatial relationship information and target PL-RS are in the same Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) chain in relation to the UL spatial relationship handover for the UE, and wherein the handover delay is further determined based on the target UL spatial relationship information and whether the target PL-RS is in the same TCI chain.

[0154] Example 25 may include one or more computer-readable media according to any one of Examples 21 to 23, wherein determining the switching delay includes determining the switching delay as equal to the time for decoding a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) processing delay plus an additional delay based on the indication.

[0155] Example 26 may include one or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the user equipment (UE) to: identify a trigger for uplink (UL) spatial relation handover; determine the state of PL-RS information for a target path loss reference signal (PL-RS); determine whether a target UL spatial relation is known; and, based on the state of the PL-RS information and whether the target UL spatial relation is known, determine a handover delay for the UL spatial relation handover.

[0156] Example 27 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 26, wherein determining the state of the PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated.

[0157] Example 28 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 26, wherein determining the state of the PL-RS information includes determining whether the value of the target PL-RS is known.

[0158] Example 29 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 26, wherein determining the switching delay includes determining that the switching delay is equal to a set delay plus an additional delay, wherein the additional delay depends on the state of the PL-RS information and whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

[0159] Example 30 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 29, wherein the additional delay includes time for receive beam refinement of the target UL spatial relationship in response to the determination that the target UL spatial relationship is unknown.

[0160] Example 31 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 29, wherein the additional delay includes time for measuring the target PL-RS in response to a determination that the target PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated.

[0161] Example 32 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 29, wherein the target UL spatial relationship information and the target PL-RS for switching the UL spatial relationship are in different Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) chains, and wherein the additional delay includes the time for receiving beamfinding of the target PL-RS in response to a determination that the value of the target PL-RS is unknown.

[0162] Example 33 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 29, wherein the triggering is provided via Radio Resource Control (RRC), and wherein the setting delay includes an RRC message processing delay.

[0163] Example 34 may include one or more computer-readable media as described in Example 29, wherein the trigger is provided via a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the setting delay includes a MAC CE decoding delay.

[0164] Example 35 may include a user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory for storing uplink (UL) spatial relation and path loss reference signal (PL-RS) information associated with the UE, and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitry being configured to: determine, based on a trigger for UL spatial relation switching, whether target UL spatial relation information and target PL-RS for UL spatial relation switching are included in the same Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) chain; and determine, based on whether the target UL spatial relation information and target PL-RS are included in the same TCI chain, a switching delay for the UL spatial relation switching.

[0165] Example 36 may include the UE described in Example 35, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine the state of the target PL-RS information based on the trigger for the UL spatial relationship switching, and to determine whether the target UL spatial relationship is known based on the trigger for the UL spatial relationship switching, wherein the switching delay is further determined based on the state of the target PL-RS information and whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

[0166] Example 37 may include the UE described in Example 36, wherein determining the state of the target PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated.

[0167] Example 38 may include the UE described in Example 36, wherein determining the state of the target PL-RS information includes determining whether the value of the target PL-RS is known.

[0168] Example 39 may include the UE described in Example 36, wherein determining the handover delay includes determining that the handover delay is equal to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message processing delay or the Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) decoding delay plus an additional time, wherein the additional time includes a time for determining the target PL-RS measurement in response to the target PL-RS not being previously measured or activated, a time for determining the receive beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship in response to the target UL spatial relationship being unknown, or a time for determining the receive beamfinding for the target PL-RS in response to the value of the target PL-RS being unknown.

[0169] Example 40 may include the UE described in Example 36, wherein determining the handover delay includes determining that the handover delay is equal to the greater of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message processing delay or the Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) decoding delay plus the sum of the time for determining the receive beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship in response to the unknown target UL spatial relationship and the time for measuring the target PL-RS, or the greater of the time for determining the receive beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship in response to the unknown target UL spatial relationship and the time for measuring the target PL-RS.

[0170] Example 41 may include the UE described in Example 36, wherein determining the handover delay includes determining that the handover delay is equal to the greater of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message processing delay or the Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) decoding delay plus the sum of the time for determining the receive beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship in response to the unknown target UL spatial relationship and the time for measuring the target PL-RS, or the greater of the time for determining the receive beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship in response to the unknown target UL spatial relationship and the time for measuring the target PL-RS.

[0171] Example 42 may include the UE described in Example 36, wherein determining the handover delay includes determining that the handover delay is equal to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message processing delay or the Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) decoding delay plus the sum of the time for determining the receive beamfinding of the target PL-RS in response to the unknown value of the target PL-RS and the receive beamfinding time for the target UL spatial relationship, or ... The sum of the time for measuring the target PL-RS and the time for receiving beam refinement of the target UL spatial relationship, or the greater of the time for receiving beam refinement of the target PL-RS and the time for measuring the target PL-RS in response to the unknown value of the target PL-RS and the fact that the target PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated; the greater of the time for receiving beam refinement of the target PL-RS and the time for receiving beam refinement of the target UL spatial relationship in response to the unknown value of the target PL-RS and the fact that the target UL spatial relationship is unknown; or the greater of the time for receiving beam refinement of the target PL-RS and the time for measuring the target PL-RS and the time for receiving beam refinement of the target UL spatial relationship in response to the unknown value of the target PL-RS and the fact that the target PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated and the target UL spatial relationship is unknown.

[0172] Example 43 may include a method of operating user equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying a trigger for uplink (UL) spatial relation handover; in response to identifying the trigger, determining a state of target path loss reference signal (PL-RS) information associated with the UE; in response to identifying the trigger, determining whether a target UL spatial relation is known; and determining a handover delay for the UL spatial relation handover based on the state of the target PL-RS information and whether the target UL spatial relation is known.

[0173] Example 44 may include the method of Example 43, wherein determining the switching delay includes determining that the switching delay is equal to a set delay plus an additional delay, wherein the additional delay depends on the state of the target PL-RS information and whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

[0174] Example 45 may include the method of Example 44, wherein in response to the determination that the target UL spatial relationship is unknown, the additional delay includes the time for receiving beam refinement for the target UL spatial relationship.

[0175] Example 46 may include the method of Example 44, wherein the additional delay includes time for measuring the target PL-RS in response to a determination that the target PL-RS has not been previously measured or activated.

[0176] Example 47 may include the method of Example 44, wherein in response to the determination that the value of the target PL-RS is unknown, the additional delay includes time for receiving beam refinement of the target PL-RS.

[0177] Example 48 may include a method comprising performing the operations according to any one of Examples 1 to 47.

[0178] Example 49 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements according to any one of Examples 1 to 47.

[0179] Example 50 may include the signal, or a portion thereof, described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 47.

[0180] Example 51 may include datagrams, information elements, packets, frames, segments, PDUs or messages, or parts or components thereof, as described or otherwise in this disclosure, as described in any of Examples 1 to 47.

[0181] Example 52 may include a data-encoded signal, or a portion or component thereof, described or otherwise in connection with any of Examples 1 to 47, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0182] Example 53 may include signals encoded as datagrams, IEs, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages, or portions or components thereof, as described or otherwise in this disclosure, as described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 47.

[0183] Example 54 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform any of the methods, techniques, or processes described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 47, or a portion thereof.

[0184] Example 55 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0185] Example 56 may include methods for communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0186] Example 57 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0187] Example 58 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0188] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the examples above may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be derived from practice of various embodiments.

[0189] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the disclosure is fully understood. This disclosure is intended to render the following claims as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to perform the following operations: Identify triggers used for uplink (UL) spatial relationship switching; Determine the state of the PL-RS information for the target path loss reference signal (PL-RS) used for the UL spatial relationship switching; and The UL spatial relationship switching is performed within a switching delay, which is at least in part based on the state of the PL-RS information.

2. The one or more computer-readable media according to claim 1, wherein determining the state of the PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS is known.

3. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the trigger for the switching of the UL spatial relationship includes a Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE).

4. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to: Determine whether the target UL spatial relationship is known for the UL spatial relationship switching, wherein the switching delay is at least in part based on whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein determining whether the target UL spatial relationship is known includes determining whether UL spatial relationship information related to the UL spatial relationship has been stored by the UE.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the UE to determine whether to perform receive (Rx) beamfinding for the target UL spatial relationship based on whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

7. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein determining the state of the PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated.

8. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the UE to determine, based on the state of the PL-RS information, whether to perform a path loss (PL) measurement for the target PL-RS.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein determining whether to perform the PL measurement for the target PL-RS includes determining to perform the PL measurement for the target PL-RS, and wherein the UE will perform the PL measurement within the handover delay.

10. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: A memory for storing path loss reference signal (PL-RS) information; One or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being used for: Identify triggers used for uplink (UL) spatial relationship switching; Whether the target PL-RS is known is determined at least in part based on the PL-RS information; The switching delay for the UL spatial relationship switching is determined at least in part based on whether the target PL-RS is known; as well as The UL spatial relationship switching is performed within the determined switching delay.

11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the trigger for the UL spatial relationship switching includes a Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE).

12. The UE according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Determine whether the target UL spatial relationship is known for the UL spatial relationship switching, wherein the switching delay is at least in part based on whether the target UL spatial relationship is known.

13. The UE of claim 12, wherein determining whether the target UL spatial relationship is known includes determining whether UL spatial relationship information related to the UL spatial relationship has been stored by the UE.

14. The UE of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein determining whether the target PL-RS is known includes determining whether the target PL-RS has been previously measured or activated.

15. The UE of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the one or more processors determine whether to perform a path loss (PL) measurement for the target PL-RS based on the PL-RS information.

16. The UE of claim 15, wherein determining whether to perform the PL measurement for the target PL-RS includes determining to perform the PL measurement for the target PL-RS, and wherein the UE will perform the PL measurement within the handover delay.

17. A method, the method comprising: The status of the PL-RS information for the target path loss reference signal (PL-RS) used for uplink (UL) spatial relationship handover is determined by the user equipment (UE); The handover delay for the UL spatial relationship handover is determined by the UE based at least in part on the state of the PL-RS information; as well as The UE performs the UL spatial relationship handover within the determined handover delay.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the state of the PL-RS information includes determining whether the target PL-RS is known.

19. The method of claim 17 or claim 18, further comprising the UE identifying a Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) for triggering the UL spatial relationship switching.

20. The method of claim 17 or claim 18, further comprising determining by the UE whether a target UL spatial relationship is known for a UL spatial relationship handover, wherein the handover delay is at least in part based on whether the target UL relationship is known.

21. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a base station to perform the following operations: Indication of the status of PL-RS information for target path loss reference signal (PL-RS) for uplink (UL) spatial relationship handover of user equipment (UE); The handover delay for the UL spatial relationship handover of the UE is determined based on the indication of the state in the PL-RS information; and One or more transmissions with the UE are scheduled based on the handover delay.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the indication of the state of the PL-RS information indicates whether the target PL-RS is known to the UE, and wherein determining the handover delay includes determining the handover delay based at least in part on whether the target PL-RS is known to the UE.

23. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 21 or claim 22, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the base station to transmit a Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) to the UE to trigger the UL spatial relationship handover.

24. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 21 or claim 22, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the base station to recognize an indication of whether a target space UL relationship is known for switching of the UL relationship, wherein the switching delay is at least in part based on whether the target space UL relationship is known.

25. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 21 or claim 22, wherein the indication of the state of the PL-RS information indicates whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated by the UE, and wherein determining the handover delay includes determining the handover delay based at least in part on whether the target PL-RS was previously measured or activated by the UE.

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