Wireless communication device, wireless communication node, method, medium, and program product

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a wireless communication device, a wireless communication node, a method, a medium, and a program product. Wherein, receiving, by a wireless communication device, a downlink control information (DCI) including an indication of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state from a wireless communication node; determining, by the wireless communication device, that the DCI is scrambled by a configured scheduling radio network temporary identifier (CS-RNTI); and transmitting, by the wireless communication device, an uplink channel carrying hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information corresponding to the DCI to the wireless communication node.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the original Chinese patent application entitled "System and Method for Initiating a HARQ-ACK Process via a Specific DCI for Beam Indication". The original application number is 202080107045.2, the PCT application number is PCT / CN2020 / 139107, the original application date is December 24, 2020, and the PCT international application entered the national phase on May 9, 2023. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for initiating a HARQ-ACK process via a specific DCI used for beam indication. Background Technology

[0003] The standards organization 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently in the process of specifying a new radio interface known as 5G New Radio (5G NR) and the next-generation packet core network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR will have three main components: the 5G Access Network (5G-AN), the 5G Core Network (5GC), and the User Equipment (UE). To facilitate the implementation of different data services and needs, the elements of 5GC (also known as network functions) have been simplified, some based on software and others on hardware, allowing them to be tuned as needed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to address problems related to one or more issues existing in the prior art, and to provide additional features that will become clear from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Exemplary systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are disclosed herein according to various embodiments. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not as limiting, and that it will be clear to those skilled in the art who read this disclosure that various modifications can be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

[0005] At least one aspect relates to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium. A wireless communication device can receive downlink control information (DCI) indicating the state of one or more beams from a wireless communication node. The wireless communication device can determine specific information, including Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information, based on the DCI. The wireless communication device can transmit an uplink channel carrying HARQ-ACK information to the wireless communication node.

[0006] In some embodiments, the specific information may further include at least one of the following: information regarding exclusion of data channels, information for disabling transport blocks (TBs), information regarding the signal to which at least one of one or more beam states is applied, or group information associated with at least one of one or more beam states. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine the specific information in response to determining that the DCI is scrambled with a specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). The specific RNTI may include a configuration scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI), a cell RNTI (C-RNTI), or a dedicated RNTI for beam state indication configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling or media access control element (MAC CE) signaling.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the Bandwidth Part (BWP) indicator field in the DCI is set to a specific value. The specific value may include "0" or an invalid value. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the New Data Indicator (NDI) field in the DCI is set to a specific value. The specific value may include "0".

[0008] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the Redundancy Value (RV) field in the DCI is set to a specific value. The specific value may include bit values ​​where each bit is either "0" or each bit is "1". At least one of the following may be applied: (i) when the RV field is set to a first value, the DCI can be used for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) release; (ii) when the RV field is set to a third value, at least one beam state of one or more beam states in the DCI can be applied to the DL signal; or (iii) when the RV field is set to a fourth value, at least one beam state of one or more beam states in the DCI can be applied to the UL signal.

[0009] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) field in the DCI is set to a specific value. At least one of the following may be applied: (i) the specific value includes a bit value of “26” or each of which is “1”, (ii) the Redundancy Value (RV) of the DCI is set to “1”, (iii) the New Data Indicator (NDI) field in the DCI indicates whether at least one of one or more beam states is applied to a downlink (DL) signal or an uplink (UL) signal, or (iv) all NDI fields in the DCI are set to the same value.

[0010] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) field in the DCI is set to a specific value. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the Time Domain Resource Allocation (TDRA) field in the DCI is set to a specific value. The specific value may include "-1" or empty.

[0011] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to HARQ (PDSCH to HARQ) feedback timing indicator field in the DCI is set to a specific value. The specific value may include "-1", an empty value, or an invalid value. At least one of the following may be applied: (i) the timing of the PDSCH to HARQ-ACK feedback is determined based on the minimum or maximum value among candidate values ​​in the pool; (ii) the timing of the PDSCH to HARQ-ACK feedback is determined based on candidate values ​​from the pool, wherein the candidate values ​​are associated with a specific index, a minimum index, or a maximum index; or (iii) the HARQ-ACK information is carried by the latest available PUCCH resource or the latest available uplink slot.

[0012] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the HARQ procedure number field in the DCI is set to a specific value. The specific value may include bit values ​​where each bit is "0". At least one of the following may be applied: (i) the specific value is associated with one of a plurality of applicable cases of at least one of one or more beam states in the DCI; (ii) when the HARQ procedure number field is set to a first specific value, at least one of one or more beam states in the DCI is applied to both downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) signals; (iii) when the HARQ procedure number field is set to a second specific value, at least one of one or more beam states in the DCI is applied to the DL signal; or (iv) when the HARQ procedure number field is set to a third specific value, at least one of one or more beam states in the DCI is applied to the UL signal. At least one of the first, second, or third specific values ​​may be configured by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or Media Access Control Element (MAC CE) signaling.

[0013] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that an antenna port field in the DCI is set to a specific value. If a single beam state is activated for a code point in the DCI via Media Access Control Element (MAC CE) signaling, the specific value may include bit values ​​where each bit is "1". In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that a non-downlink data field in the DCI exists or is set with a specific value.

[0014] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that a defined field in the DCI is set to a specific value, wherein the DCI includes at least one of DCI format 0_1, DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_1, or DCI format 1_2. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) field in the DCI is set to a specific value. A specific bit of the TCI field may be set to a first specific value.

[0015] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information in response to determining that the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) Resource Indicator (PRI) field in the DCI is set to a specific value. The PRI field may be set to "0", minimum index, maximum index, or an invalid value. The uplink channel can be determined based on a specific, minimum, or maximum index of the candidate PUCCH resources in the pool. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may receive an indication of a specific value from the wireless communication node via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or Media Access Control Element (MAC CE) signaling. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine specific information based on the DCI in response to the setting of Radio Resource Control (RRC) parameters.

[0016] In some embodiments, when the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) field in the DCI is set to a fourth specific value and the Redundancy Value (RV) field in the DCI is set to a fifth specific value, the wireless communication device can disable the transport block corresponding to the MCS field and the RV field, and determine specific information in response to the DCI. When two codeword transmissions are enabled with two transport blocks (TBs), the MCS field can be set to the fourth specific value and the RV field can be set to the fifth specific value for both TBs. At least one of the following can be applied: (i) when the Radio Resource Control (RRC) parameters are configured to enable separately indicated beam states for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) beam indication, the New Data Indicator (NDI) field of the DCI can be used to indicate whether at least one of one or more beam states is applied to the downlink (DL) signal or the uplink (UL) signal, or (ii) when the RRC parameters are configured for joint beam indication, at least one of one or more beam states can be applied to both the DL and UL signals.

[0017] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may be applied: (i) when the DCI includes more than one Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) field, the MCS fields may be set to the same value; (ii) when the DCI includes more than one Redundancy Value (RV) field, the RV fields may be set to the same value; or when the DCI includes more than one New Data Indicator (NDI) field, the NDI fields may be set to the same value. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine the signal to which at least one of one or more beam states is applied based on the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) field in the DCI. At least one of the following may be applied: (i) when a specific bit of the TCI field is set to a first value, at least one of one or more beam states may be applied to a downlink (DL) signal, or the process of determining specific information may be disabled for the DCI; or (ii) when a specific bit of the TCI field is set to a second value, at least one of one or more beam states may be applied to an uplink (UL) signal, or specific information may be determined based on the DCI.

[0018] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device can determine the signal to which at least one of one or more beam states is applied, based on the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) field in the DCI. The signal to which at least one of one or more beam states is applied can be determined based on Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or Media Access Control Element (MAC CE) signaling. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device can determine the beam states in the DCI based on the setting of Radio Resource Control (RRC) parameters or the satisfaction of conditions. These conditions may include at least one of one or more beam states being applied to an uplink signal, data channel transmission being excluded, or a transport block (TB) being disabled. Beam states may be applied for multiple time units after the DCI, or beam states may be applied for multiple time units after a HARQ-ACK transmission corresponding to the DCI. Each of the one or more beam states may include a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, a Quasi-Co-location (QCL) state, spatial relation information, a reference signal (RS), spatial filters, or precoding information.

[0019] At least one aspect relates to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium. A wireless communication node can transmit downlink control information (DCI) indicating the state of one or more beams to a wireless communication device. The wireless communication node can cause the wireless communication device to determine specific information, including Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information, based on the DCI. The wireless communication node can receive an uplink channel carrying HARQ-ACK information from the wireless communication device.

[0020] Some embodiments described herein allow the reuse of existing DCI fields, newly introduced DCIs, or RNTIs to directly respond to HARQ-ACK information indicated by a DCI with beam indication. Applicable channel / RS / group information associated with the beam state in the DCI (e.g., DL only, UL only, and both DL and UL, group information) can be determined together. Furthermore, a flexible approach to the timeline for beam state indication is proposed, taking into account different scenarios for beam indication (e.g., joint indication for both DL and UL, DL only, and UL only). Attached Figure Description

[0021] Various exemplary embodiments of this solution are described in detail below with reference to the figures or accompanying drawings. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only, and merely depict exemplary embodiments of this solution to aid the reader's understanding. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered as limitations on the breadth, scope, or applicability of this solution. It should be noted that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for clarity and ease of explanation.

[0022] Figure 1An example cellular communication network in which the techniques disclosed herein can be implemented according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 2 Block diagrams of example base station and user equipment apparatuses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown;

[0024] Figure 3 The diagram illustrates beam-based UL / DL transmission in the case of a single TRP and a single panel.

[0025] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates beam measurement and reporting in the case of multiple TRPs and in the case of a wireless communication device with four panels;

[0026] Figure 5 A flowchart of a wireless communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Figure 6 A diagram illustrating an example of an independent HARQ-ACK process corresponding to a DCI with beam status indication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 7 A diagram illustrating an example redesign of the TCI field for identifying a beam-specific DCI according to an example embodiment of this disclosure is shown; and

[0029] Figure 8 A diagram illustrating an example of configuring candidate beam states for joint and individual DL and UL beam indications according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrates various exemplary embodiments of this solution, enabling those skilled in the art to create and use it. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of this solution. Therefore, this solution is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Furthermore, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely an example method. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods or processes can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of this solution. Therefore, unless explicitly stated otherwise, those skilled in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an exemplary order, and this solution is not limited to the presented specific order or hierarchy.

[0031] 1. Mobile communication technology and environment

[0032] Figure 1An example wireless communication network and / or system 100 according to embodiments of this disclosure is illustrated, in which the technologies disclosed herein may be implemented. In the following discussion, wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as "network 100". Such an example network 100 includes base station 102 (hereinafter referred to as "BS102"; also referred to as a wireless communication node) and user equipment 104 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 104"; also referred to as a wireless communication device) capable of communicating with each other via communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 covering a geographic area 101. Figure 1 In this context, BS102 and UE 104 are included within the respective geographical boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating with its allocated bandwidth to provide sufficient radio coverage to its intended users.

[0033] For example, BS102 can operate with the allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to UE 104. BS102 and UE 104 can communicate via downlink radio frame 118 and uplink radio frame 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 can be further divided into subframes 120 / 127 that may include data symbols 122 / 128. In this disclosure, BS102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes" that can generally practice the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of this scheme, such communication nodes may be able to perform wireless and / or wired communication.

[0034] Figure 2 A block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) according to some embodiments of this solution is shown. System 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that do not need to be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, system 200 may be used in applications such as those described above. Figure 1 In wireless communication environments such as 100, data symbols are transmitted (e.g., sent and received).

[0035] System 200 typically includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS202") and a user equipment 204 (hereinafter referred to as "UE204"). BS202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each module being coupled and interconnected with each other as needed via a data communication bus 220. UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each module being coupled and interconnected with each other as needed via a data communication bus 240. BS202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for data transmission as described herein.

[0036] As those skilled in the art will understand, system 200 may also include Figure 2 Any number of other modules besides those shown. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described according to their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software can depend on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Those skilled in the art can implement such functionality in a suitable manner for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure.

[0037] According to some embodiments, UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as "uplink" transceiver 230. Transceiver 230 includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-duplex manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as "downlink" transceiver 210. Transceiver 210 includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to downlink antenna 212 in a time-duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be time-coordinated such that the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to uplink antenna 232 for receiving transmissions on radio link 250 while the downlink transmitter is coupled to downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 can be time-coordinated, such that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 to receive transmissions on the wireless transmission link 250 while the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is tight time synchronization with a minimum guard time between variations in the duplex direction.

[0038] UE transceiver 230 and base transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with RF antenna arrangements 212 / 232 appropriately configured to support specific wireless communication protocols and modulation schemes. In some illustrative embodiments, UE transceiver 210 and base transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that this disclosure is not necessarily limited to application to specific standards and related protocols. Rather, UE transceiver 230 and base transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

[0039] According to various embodiments, for example, BS202 may be an evolved Node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femtocell, or a picocell. In some embodiments, UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user equipment, such as mobile phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, laptops, wearable computing devices, etc. Processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or implemented using a general-purpose processor, content-addressable memory, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this way, the processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, etc. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors coupled with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0040] Furthermore, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be directly embodied in the software modules, hardware, firmware, or any actual combination thereof executed by processor modules 214 and 236, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 can be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 can be coupled to processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that processor modules 210 and 230 can read information from and write information to memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 can also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, each of memory modules 216 and 234 may include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0041] Network communication module 218 typically refers to the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and / or other components of base station 202 that enable bidirectional communication between base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with network base station 202. For example, network communication module 218 may be configured to support Internet or WiMAX services. In a typical deployment, without limitation, network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface, allowing base station transceiver 210 to communicate with conventional Ethernet-based computer networks. In this way, network communication module 218 may include a physical interface for connecting to a computer network (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)). The terms “configured for,” “configured to,” and their variations, as used herein with respect to the specified operation or function, refer to devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, signals, etc., that are physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

[0042] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the "OSI model") defines the conceptual and logical layout of network communications used by systems open to interconnect and communicate with other systems (e.g., wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes). The model is divided into seven sub-components or layers, each representing a set of concepts providing services to the layers above and below it. The OSI model also defines logical networks and efficiently describes computer packet transmissions using different layer protocols. The OSI model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI model or the seven-layer model. In some embodiments, the first layer may be the physical layer. In some embodiments, the second layer may be the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, the third layer may be the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, the fourth layer may be the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, the fifth layer may be the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, the sixth layer may be the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer or the Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer is another layer.

[0043] 2. Systems and methods for initiating the HARQ-ACK process

[0044] Considering the overhead of wide or ultra-wide spectrum resources, the significant propagation loss caused by extremely high frequencies is a significant challenge. To address this, large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna arrays and beamforming training techniques, such as those with up to 1024 antenna elements per node, have been employed to achieve beam alignment and obtain sufficiently high antenna gain. To benefit from antenna arrays while maintaining low implementation costs, analog phase shifters have become very attractive for implementing mmWave beamforming, meaning the number of controllable phases is finite and constant modulus constraints are imposed on these antenna elements. Given a pre-specified beam pattern, the goal of variable phase-shift-based beamforming (BF) training is to identify the optimal pattern for subsequent data transmission in the case of a single transmission point (single TRP) and a single panel, such as... Figure 3 As shown. Figure 3 Figure 300 illustrates beam-based UL / DL transmission in the case of a single TRP and a single panel. The hash lobes represent the radiation patterns of the selected antennas used for transmission in the TRP and wireless communication devices 104 or 204.

[0045] refer to Figure 4 Figure 400 illustrates beam measurements and reporting in the case of multiple TRPs and in the case of wireless communication devices 104 or 204 having four panels. Typically, multiple TRPs and multiple panels can be considered for use beyond 5G gNBs (base stations) and next-generation communications. The use of multiple panels for wireless communication devices 104 or 204 allows for transmission / reception from various angles, thus enhancing coverage. Typically, the panels used for the TRP and wireless communication devices 104 or 204 can have two transceiver units (TXRUs) correspondingly associated with cross-polarization. Therefore, to achieve high RANK or multi-layer transmission, the TRP and wireless communication devices 104 or 204 can attempt to use different beams generated from different panels, also known as simultaneous transmission across multiple panels (STxMP). The goal is to fully utilize the capabilities of each panel, such as its associated TXRUs.

[0046] In 5G New Radio (NR), a mechanism based on downlink control information (DCI) beam indication (e.g., the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) in the DCI indicating that it is applied to downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) control and data channels) is used for dynamic beam switching. The current DCI format is based on DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2 for scheduling the Physical Downlink Scheduling Channel (PDSCH), and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgment (ACK) process is reported by wireless communication device 104 or 204 to wireless communication node 102 or 202 for PDSCH reception. Beam update requests relate to physical channel changes (e.g., movement, rotation, and congestion of wireless communication device 104 or 204), rather than to scheduling requests for DL ​​data (i.e., PDSCH). In other words, wireless communication device 104 or 204 initiates beam updates in response to PDSCH reception, not in response to the received DCI-based beam indication. This approach leads to certain drawbacks in the coupling between beam indication and PDSCH transmission.

[0047] First, the PDSCH acknowledgment information (e.g., ACK) and negative acknowledgment (NACK) reported by wireless communication devices 104 or 204 do not clearly indicate whether the DCI scheduling the PDSCH is successfully decoding. In fact, the NACK is interpreted by wireless communication node 102 or 202 as indicating that the PDSCH decoding was unsuccessful. However, failure can occur when the DCI is successfully decoded and the PDSCH decoding fails, or due to the failure of the DCI decoding. For the former, from the beam update perspective, DCI retransmission may not be necessary. However, for the latter, DCI retransmission may be required. The event requesting DL data (e.g., PDSCH) transmission may not occur simultaneously with the beam update event. When these two are coupled together, the gNB may have to transmit useless / pseudo PDSCH only to indicate a new beam, or the system may still have to wait for PDSCH transmission while beam updating is in progress.

[0048] To provide a common / separate DL and UL beam indication framework and reliable support for DCI retransmission, the DCI format can be refined or redesigned for direct HARQ-ACK initiation, rather than simply based on the standard DCI format 1_1 / 1_2 used for PDSCH transmission. Several issues need to be considered and addressed when refining or redesigning the DCI format. First, to directly initiate HARQ-ACK procedures, existing fields can be reused, a new Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) corresponding to the DCI format can be introduced, and / or new fields can be introduced into the DCI format. Furthermore, considering separate beam indication for DL ​​and UL channels / reference signals (RS) (e.g., due to the effects of Maximum Power Exposure to Humans (MPE)), the applicability of the DCI can extend to both DL and UL, or only DL and only UL. In the case of multiple transmission points (multiple TRPs), the applicability of the indicated beam states should be considered, for example, applied to one or all of the serving TRPs.

[0049] Second, candidate DCI code points for beam indication can be designed to be compatible with both DL and UL, and only DL and only UL. The Media Access Control Element (MAC-CE) and Radio Resource Control (RRC) pools for candidate beam states can be fully considered, for example, a common RRC pool for both DL and UL, and multiple separate MAC-CE activation pools for DL ​​and UL. Third, the applicable timing for the beam state indicated by DCI can be fully considered. Specifically, two potential scenarios are considered, for example, DCI with scheduled PDSCH or DCI without scheduled PDSCH (e.g., directly initiating a HARQ-ACK procedure as discussed further in detail herein). Furthermore, backward compatibility for Rel-15 / Rel-16 beam state indication is considered, for example, DCI formats 1_1 / 1_2 applied only to scheduled PDSCH transmissions.

[0050] Note that, as used herein, "beam state" may be equivalent to or may include quasi-co-located (QCL) state, Transmit Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, spatial relation (also known as spatial relation information), reference signal (RS), spatial filter, or precoding. Furthermore, "beam state" may be referred to as "beam" herein. Additionally, "Tx beam" is equivalent to or may include QCL state, TCI state, spatial relation state, DL reference signal, UL reference signal, Tx spatial filter, or Tx precoding. "Rx beam" is equivalent to or may include QCL state, TCI state, spatial relation state, spatial filter, Rx spatial filter, or Rx precoding. "Beam ID" is equivalent to or may include QCL state index, TCI state index, spatial relation state index, reference signal index, spatial filter index, or precoding index. Spatial filters (also referred to herein as spatial domain filters) may be located on the wireless communication device side or on the wireless communication node side.

[0051] As used herein, “spatial relation information” may include one or more reference RSs and is used to represent the same or quasi-common “spatial relation” between a target “RS or channel” and one or more reference RSs. The term “spatial relation” refers to beams, spatial parameters, or spatial domain filters.

[0052] As used herein, a “QCL ​​state” may include one or more reference RSs and their corresponding QCL type parameters. QCL type parameters may include Doppler spread, Doppler shift, delay spread, average delay, average gain, spatial parameters, or combinations thereof. As used herein, a “TCI state” is equivalent to or may include a “QCL ​​state”. Furthermore, QCL type D is equivalent to or may include spatial parameters or spatial Rx parameters. Note that, as used herein, RS includes Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Synchronization Block (SSB) (also known as SS / PBCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), or combinations thereof.

[0053] RS includes at least a DL reference signal and a UL reference signal. As used herein, DL RS includes at least CSI-RS, SSB, and DMRS (e.g., DL DMRS). As used herein, UL RS includes at least SRS, DMRS (e.g., UL DMRS), and PRACH. As used herein, "UL signal" can be PUCCH, PUSCH, or SRS. As used herein, "DL signal" can be PDCCH, PDSCH, or CSI-RS. Note that in this patent, "time unit" can be a sub-symbol, symbol, time slot, subframe, frame, or transmission timing.

[0054] Power control parameters include target power (also known as P0), path loss RS, path loss scaling factor (also known as α), or closed-loop procedure. As used herein, path loss can be coupling loss. Furthermore, by definition, “HARQ-ACK” is equivalent to HARQ, ACK-NACK, UL-ACK, or acknowledgment information used for transmission. As used herein, “DCI” is equivalent to “PDCCH”. Additionally, “DCI” can include TCI indication commands, UE-specific DCI, group common DCI, DCI-scheduled PUSCH / PDSCH, or DCI without scheduled PUSCH / PDSCH. The term “DCI” is used herein to refer to “beam-specific DCI,” “beam-indicating DCI,” or “TCI-indicating DCI (if not specifically described).”

[0055] As used herein, “unapplicable value” is equivalent to “unconfigured / activated value,” “deactivated value,” “undefined value,” or “reserved value.” As used herein, the term “group information” is equivalent to (or may refer to) “CORESET pool,” “TRP,” “information on grouping one or more reference signals,” “resource set,” “panel,” “subarray,” “antenna group,” “antenna port group,” “group of antenna ports,” “beam group,” “transmitting entity / unit,” or “receiving entity / unit.” Furthermore, “group information” can represent the UE panel and some features associated with the UE panel. “Group information” can be equivalent to (or may refer to) “group status” or “group ID.” As used herein, all “0”s in a field are equivalent to the value 0, and are equivalent to each bit of the field being set to 0. Similarly, all “1”s in a field are equivalent to the maximum candidate value of the field, and are equivalent to each bit of the field being set to 1.

[0056] refer to Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Method 500 may include a wireless communication node 102 or 202 transmitting downlink control information (DCI) indicating the state of one or more beams, and a wireless communication device 104 or 204 receiving the downlink control information (DCI) (step 502). Method 500 may include the wireless communication node 102 or 202 causing the wireless communication device 104 or 204 to determine, based on the DCI, specific information, or including hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information, and the wireless communication device 104 or 204 determining, based on the DCI that the specific information is determined (step 504). Method 500 may include the wireless communication device 104 or 204 transmitting an uplink channel carrying HARQ-ACK information, and the wireless communication node 102 or 202 receiving the uplink channel (step 506). Various embodiments and corresponding implementations of method 500 will be further discussed below.

[0057] Wireless communication device 104 or 204 can receive a DCI indicating the status of one or more beams from wireless communication node 102 or 202. The DCI may include beam status indications (e.g., TCI indications in the DCI) for updating DL and / or UL beam states. The DCI may trigger a HARQ-ACK process on the wireless communication device side, causing wireless communication device 104 or 204 to send an ACK / NACK to wireless communication node 102 or 202. The applicable timing for the update can be determined based on the HARQ-ACK report to wireless communication node 102 or 202. The DCI format may be based on an existing DCI format (e.g., DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 for scheduling PDSCH).

[0058] According to at least a first embodiment, DCI can be enabled to initiate / trigger a HARQ-ACK process or non-PDSCH transmission via a new RNTI or specific values ​​for some existing or newly introduced fields in the DCI. Wireless communication device 104 or 204 can determine at least one of the following in various ways: HARQ-ACK information associated with DCI, non-PDSCH transmission, or disabled transport block (TB); and applicable channel / RS / group information (e.g., DL only, UL only, and both DL and UL, group information) associated with the beam state in the DCI. Specifically, HARQ-ACK information can be indicated in the DCI in various ways. In some implementations, when the DCI is successfully received, the HARQ-ACK information is set to ACK (e.g., 1); otherwise, the HARQ-ACK information is set to NACK (e.g., 0).

[0059] In some implementations, the DCI can be scrambled using a specific RNTI. The specific RNTI can include CS-RNTI or C-RNTI. The specific RNTI can be a dedicated RNTI used for beam status indication. The dedicated RNTI can be configured by RRC or MAC-CE. In some implementations, the Bandwidth Part (BWP) indicator field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value." For example, the BWP indicator field in the DCI can be set to "0" or an unapplicable value. That is, the specific value can be "0" or unapplicable. In some implementations, the New Data Indicator (NDI) field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value." For example, the New Data Indicator field in the DCI format for an enabled transport block can be set to "0." That is, the specific value can be "0."

[0060] In some implementations, the Redundancy Version (RV) field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value." For example, the RV field can be set to all "0"s or all "1"s. That is, a specific value can be all "0"s or all "1"s. Furthermore, when the RV field is set to a first value (e.g., "00"), the DCI can be used for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) release. When the RV field is set to a second value (e.g., "01"), the beam state in the DCI can be applied to both the DL and UL signals. When the RV field is set to a third value (e.g., "10"), the beam state in the DCI can be applied to the DL signal. When the RV field is set to a fourth value (e.g., "11"), the beam state in the DCI can be applied to the UL signal. For example, the DCI can be scrambled using CS-RNTI, and the RV field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value" (e.g., one of the first, second, third, or fourth values ​​mentioned above). Wireless communication node 102 or 202 can generate HARQ-ACK information associated with DCI and determine the applicable range of beam state in DCI based on RV field.

[0061] In some implementations, the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value". For example, the MCS field can be set to all "1"s or 26. That is, the specific value can be all "1"s or 26. Currently, when the MCS field is set to 26, the corresponding MCS is practically useless in practice. It is currently proposed to use the specific value 26 as a flag to indicate individual HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI. In other words, the value "26" is assumed to be a value that cannot be applied to determine the MCS of a PDSCH transmission. The MCS field can be set to 26, and the RV field can be set to 1. That is, the specific value of the MCS field can be 26, and the value of the RV field can be 1. Typically, there are various combinations of the MCS, NDI, and RV fields for the TB corresponding to the PDSCH transmission (e.g., up to 2 TBs can be scheduled for PDSCH by the DCI). In order to schedule a single TB for the DCI, when the MCS field is set to 26 and the RV field is set to 1, the corresponding TB can be disabled, and the HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI can be determined by the wireless communication device 104 or 204. Furthermore, the NDI field can further indicate DL only or UL only. If multiple NDI fields exist in the DCI, wireless communication nodes 102 or 202 can set the same value for all NDI fields.

[0062] In some implementations, the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value". For example, the FDRA field can be set to all "1s" (e.g., by wireless communication nodes 102 or 202). That is, a specific value can be all "1s". In some implementations, for DCI formats 0_0, 0_1, and / or 0_2, the FDRA field can be set to all "0s", meaning that for FDRA type 2 with μ = 1, a specific value can be all "0s". Otherwise, the FDRA field can be set to all "1s", meaning that a specific value can be set to all "1s". In some implementations, for DCI formats 1_0, 1_1, and / or 1_2, the FDRA field can be set to all "0s", meaning that for FDRA type 0 or dynamic switch, a specific value can be set to all "0s". For FDRA type 1, the FDRA field can be set to all "1s". That is, a specific value can be all "1s". Specific values ​​in the FDRA field can be values ​​that cannot be applied to determine the frequency resources of the PDSCH.

[0063] In some implementations, the Time Domain Resource Allocation (TDRA) field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value". For example, the TDRA field can be set to "-1" or empty. That is, a specific value can be set to "-1" or empty. In some implementations, the PDSCH-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value". For example, the PDSCH-HARQ_feedback timing indicator field can be set to "-1", empty, or an unapplicable value. That is, a specific value can be "-1", empty, or unapplicable. In this case, the wireless communication device 104 or 204 can determine the value of the PDSCH-HARQ_feedback timing used to determine the HARQ-ACK information based on the minimum or maximum value among the candidate values ​​in the pool. The value of the PDSCH-HARQ_feedback timing used to determine the HARQ-ACK information can be determined based on candidate values ​​from the pool. Candidate values ​​can be associated with a specific index, a minimum index, or a maximum index. The HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI can be carried by the latest available PUCCH resource or the latest available UL timeslot.

[0064] In some implementations, the HARQ process number field in the DCI can be set to a "specific value." For example, the HARQ process number field can be set to all "0"s. That is, a specific value can be all "0". A specific value can be associated with one of the applicable conditions for the indicated beam state (e.g., DL only, UL only, and both DL and UL). When the HARQ process number field is set to a first value (e.g., 1), the beam state in the DCI can be applied to both DL and UL signals. When the HARQ process number field is set to a second value (e.g., 2), the beam state in the DCI can be applied to the DL signal. When the HARQ process number field is set to a third value (e.g., 3), the beam state in the DCI can be applied to the UL signal. The first, second, or third value can be configured by the RRC.

[0065] In some implementations, the antenna port(s) fields in the DCI can be set to "specific values". For example, the antenna port(s) fields in the DCI can be set to all "1s". That is, specific values ​​can be all "1s", for example, by reusing reserved bits. If the MAC-CE activates only a single TCI state, the antenna port(s) fields in the DCI can be set to "specific values". In some implementations, non-DL data fields in the DCI can be indicated (or used). For example, if non-DL data fields in the DCI are indicated, wireless communication device 104 or 204 can determine at least one of the following associated with the DCI: HARQ-ACK information, non-PDSCH transmission, or disabled transport block (TB). For example, non-DL data fields can be introduced or used for DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_1 or DCI format 1_2.

[0066] In some implementations, new fields in the DCI can be set to "specific values". For example, if a new field in the DCI is set to a "specific value", wireless communication device 104 or 204 can determine at least one of the following associated with the DCI: HARQ-ACK information, non-PDSCH transmission, or disabled transport block (TB). The new field can be introduced for DCI format 1_1 or DCI format 1_2. The new field can be named "non-DL data field" or "direct HARQ-ACK feedback field". In some implementations, the TCI field can be set to a "specific value". For example, a specific bit in the TCI field (e.g., the most significant bit (MSB)) can be set to a "specific value", and (multiple) other bits can be used to indicate the activation of the beam state / TCI state for DL / UL signals.

[0067] In some implementations, the PUCCH Resource Indicator (PRI) field can be set to a "specific value". For example, the PRI field can be set to "0", minimum index, maximum index, or an unapplicable value. That is, a specific value can be "0", minimum index, maximum index, or unapplicable. In this case, wireless communication device 104 or 204 can determine the PUCCH used to carry HARQ-ACK information based on the minimum or maximum value of the candidate PUCCH resources in the pool.

[0068] In some implementations, when the beam state is activated by the MAC-CE command, the beam state can also be configured to have an applicable range, such as DL only, UL only, or both DL and UL, or it can correspond to HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI carrying the beam state, non-PDSCH transmission, or disabled transport block (TB).

[0069] In some implementations, the RRC parameter can be set such that wireless communication device 104 or 204 can determine at least one of the following: HARQ-ACK information associated with DCI, non-PDSCH transmission, or disabled transport block (TB), and applicable channel / RS / group information (e.g., DL only, UL only, and both DL and UL, group information) associated with beam states in DCI. For example, the specific values ​​discussed above can be configured via RRC or MAC-CE. For example, the specific values ​​discussed above can be multiple inapplicable values ​​or multiple reserved values. To distinguish between DCI formats used only for beam indication and DCI formats used for scheduling PDSCH, a new field named "Non-DL Data Field" can be introduced for ordinary DCI formats (e.g., DCI format 1_1 and DCI format 1_2). When the new field is set to 1, there is no PDSCH to be scheduled by the DCI, and the beam state indicated in the DCI can be applied to UL only. Otherwise, if the new field is set to 0, there is a PDSCH scheduled by the DCI, and the beam state indicated in the DCI can be applied to DL only. In this case, the DCI can be scrambled using C-RNTI.

[0070] refer to Figure 6 Figure 600 illustrates an example of an independent HARQ-ACK process corresponding to a DCI with beam state indication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Wireless communication device 104 or 204 can receive an indication for updating time slot nK. xThe DCI is the beam state (e.g., TCI state / code point) of the DL / UL signal beam. In this case, a new field named "Non-DL Data Field" can be set to "1", and the wireless communication device 104 or 204 can directly respond to the DCI reception by reporting HARQ-ACK information to the wireless communication node 102 or 202. The corresponding HARQ-ACK information bits can be reported by the PUCCH resource in time slot n, where K x Configured by RRC parameters or indicated by DCI. K after transmitting HARQ-ACK information. y Each time slot indicates the beam state, which is then applied accordingly to the DL signal, UL signaling, or both DL and UL signals.

[0071] In some embodiments, the HARQ procedure number field can be reused to identify a beam-specific DCI. Several bits are available to indicate the HARQ procedure number used to schedule PDSCHs in a common DCI format (e.g., DCI format 1_1 or DCI format 1_2). For example, the HARQ procedure number field can also be reused for other purposes when an immediate HARQ-ACK procedure for DCI reception is present. Specific values ​​for the HARQ procedure number used to indicate beam status can be configured by the RRC. The advantage of configuring the HARQ procedure number by the RRC is compatibility with existing functionality for multiple configurations used for UL license type 2PUSCH or for SPS PDSCH (e.g., for URLLC). In some implementations, if the HARQ procedure number field is set to a first value (e.g., "01"), the beam status in the DCI can be applied to both the DL signal and the UL signal. If the HARQ procedure number field is set to a second value (e.g., "10"), the beam status in the DCI can be applied to the DL signal. If the HARQ process number field is set to a third value (e.g., "11"), the beam state in the DCI can be applied to the UL signal.

[0072] The following is a list of the various fields of DCI format 1_1 used to schedule PDSCH transmissions, and the number of bits associated with these fields.

[0073]

[0074]

[0075] When the DCI is scrambled with CS-RNTI, the HARQ procedure number field in the DCI can indicate the same value as provided by the RRC parameter corresponding to the DCI indication, and the conditions in Table 1 are met. The HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI can be determined directly in response to the DCI. In some implementations, one HARQ procedure can be associated with DL-only mode, while another HARQ procedure can be associated with UL-only mode.

[0076]

[0077] Table 1. Conditions for initiating a HARQ-ACK procedure directly against a DCI with beam indication.

[0078] In some implementations, the MCS for PDSCH retransmissions can be reduced when the MCS is set to a high value (e.g., high-order modulation and high target code rate). The network can disable the TB for PDSCH retransmissions using a high MCS value and a specific RV value. In some implementations, when the MCS field in the DCI is set to a first specific value (e.g., 26) and the RV field is set to a second specific value (e.g., 1; for reference, for PDSCH retransmissions, the RV field value is set to "0", "2", "3", "1", so when RV is set to "1", this indicates a fourth transmission for the same PDSCH / TB), the TB corresponding to the MCS and RV fields can be disabled, and the wireless communication device 104 or 204 can directly respond to the DCI to determine the HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI. When two-codeword transmission is enabled, for example, 2TB is used for PDSCH transmission, and when the MCS field is set to a first specific value and the RV field is set to a second specific value for both TBs, the wireless communication device 104 or 204 can directly respond to the DCI to determine the HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI. In this case, there is no TB to be transmitted. When the RRC parameters are configured to enable separate DL and UL beam indications, the NDI field can further indicate DL only or UL only. If there is more than one NDI field in the DCI, all NDI fields will be set to the same value.

[0079] The following list describes the fields and corresponding bits of DCI format 1_1 used to schedule PDSCH transmissions.

[0080]

[0081] For each TB, there can be a set of MCS, NDI, and RV fields. Since there is a separate HARQ-ACK process directly responding to the DCI with beam indication, PDSCH transmission is not expected. Therefore, the "not applicable" values ​​for the MCS and RV fields can be used to disable the TB, for example, to disable PDSCH transmission. For the 2TB case, both the corresponding MCS and RV fields should be configured with "not applicable" values. When the RRC parameters are configured to enable separate DL and UL beam indication, the NDI field can further indicate whether the indicated beam state is applied to DL only or UL only. For example, values ​​"1" and "0" can correspond to DL only and UL only, respectively. When the RRC parameters are configured for joint beam indication, the NDI field can be retained, and the beam state indicated in the DCI (e.g., TCI state / TCI code point) can be applied to both DL and UL.

[0082] The beam status (also known as the TCI status) can be indicated by the TCI field in the DCI, and there are 3 bits for the TCI field. Considering the redesign of this TCI field, in the absence of DL data transmission or the applicability of the beam status in the DCI (e.g., DL only, UL only, and both DL and UL), the MSB field in the TCI field can be used to indicate a separate HARQ procedure. If separate DL and UL beam indication is enabled, the MSB of the field can be used in conjunction to indicate whether the beam status (or TCI status or TCI code point) is to be applied to DL only or UL only. Otherwise, if separate DL and UL beam indication is disabled, all bits of the TCI field can be used to indicate the TCI status, regardless of the MSB or LSB. When the MSB is set to a first value (e.g., 0), the TCI status can be applied to DL only, and there is no separate HARQ procedure for the DCI (e.g., the existing HARQ-ACK procedure for PDSCH still exists, scheduled by the DCI). When the MSB is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the TCI state can be applied to UL only, and there is independent HARQ-ACK information associated with the DCI. Multiple other bits in the TCI state can be used to indicate candidate TCI states.

[0083] Now for reference Figure 7Figure 700 illustrates an example redesign of the TCI field for identifying beam-specific DCIs according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. In this example, up to four beam states can be activated at the MAC level by MAC-CE when individual beam indication is enabled. The MSB field is used to indicate the presence of an independent HARQ process and / or the applicable range of beam states. Small circles (horizontal hashes) represent various beam states. Small circles surrounded by an outer circle (dashed circle) represent active beam states at the MAC level.

[0084] In some embodiments, when beam states(s) from a pool configured by RRC are activated by a MAC-CE command, the beam states can also be configured to have an applicable range, such as DL only, UL only, or both DL and UL, or can correspond to HARQ-ACK information associated with a DCI carrying beam states, non-PDSCH transmission, or a disabled transport block (TB). When a DCI is scrambled with CS-RNTI and the NDI field indicates a specific value (e.g., 1), the DCI is used for beam indication utilizing independent HARQ-ACK information (e.g., no DL data transmission). When a beam state is activated by a MAC-CE command, the beam state can also be configured to have an applicable range, such as DL only, UL only, or both DL and UL.

[0085] Now for reference Figure 8 Figure 800 illustrates an example of configuring candidate beam states for joint and individual DL and UL beam indications according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. At the RRC level, multiple beam states to be configured (e.g., TCI states, each represented by a circle). At the MAC level, one or more states are activated using a flag (surrounded by an outer dashed circle), e.g., DL only, UL only, or both DL and UL. Figure 8 In this context, each flag is indicated by a different hash. Beam status can be indicated by the TCI field in the DCI, and if the status is only related to UL transmission, there is no DL data transmission and a separate HARQ-ACK message associated with DCI reception.

[0086] In some embodiments, two candidate schemes for the timeline used for beam status indication may be considered or employed. In a first option (denoted as "Option 1" or "Mode 1"), the indicated beam status may be applied X time units after the DCI. In a second option (denoted as "Option 2" or "Mode 2"), the indicated beam status may be applied X time units after the HARQ-ACK corresponding to the DCI. An RRC parameter may be introduced to determine whether Mode 1 or Mode 2 is applied. For example, when the RRC parameter is set to Mode 1, the Mode 1 function described above is applied; otherwise, Mode 2 is applied. Mode 2 is applied when the independent HARQ-ACK procedure directly responds to the DCI being initiated; otherwise, Mode 1 is applied.

[0087] Furthermore, mode 1 is applied when the beam state is applied only to UL or when there is no DL data scheduled by DCI; otherwise, mode 2 is applied. Considering that when the beam state is applied only to UL or when there is no DL data or transport block (TB) scheduled by DCI, the beam state can be applied quickly to UL, for example, immediately after DCI by X time units. When wireless communication node 102 or 202 receives HARQ-ACK using the new beam indicated by the beam state, beam updates for UL can be successfully performed. Otherwise, wireless communication node 102 or 202 can still retransmit DCI to update the beam state again via the original DL beam (note that in this case, the DL beam remains unchanged). Support for mode 1 and / or mode 2, and the minimum value of X corresponding to different modes, can depend on the signaling capabilities of the wireless communication device.

[0088] The various embodiments described above and in the claims can be implemented as computer code instructions executed by one or more processors of wireless communication device (or UE) 104 or 204 or wireless communication node 102 or 202. A computer-readable medium can store the computer code instructions.

[0089] While various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented as examples only and not as limitations. Similarly, various figures may depict exemplary architectures or configurations, provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand exemplary features and functionality of the present solution. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the solution is not limited to the illustrated exemplary architectures or configurations, but can be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. Furthermore, as those skilled in the art will understand, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of this disclosure should not be limited by any of the illustrative embodiments described above.

[0090] It should also be understood that any reference to elements in this document using names such as "first," "second," etc., generally does not restrict the number or order of these elements. Rather, these names may be used as a convenient means of distinguishing two or more elements or instances of a single element. Therefore, references to the first element and the second element do not imply that only two elements can be used, or that the first element must somehow precede the second element.

[0091] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different methods and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced in the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0092] Those skilled in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, processors, components, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of both), firmware, various forms of program or design code in conjunction with instructions (which, for convenience, may be referred to herein as "software" or "software module"), or any combination of these technologies. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of these technologies depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not depart from the scope of this disclosure.

[0093] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein can be implemented within or executed by integrated circuits (ICs), which may include general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, or any combination thereof. Logic blocks, modules, and circuits may also include antennas and / or transceivers for communication with various components within a network or device. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein.

[0094] If implemented in software, these functions can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, encompassing any medium capable of transferring a computer program or code from one place to another. A storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer.

[0095] In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements used to perform the related functions described herein. Furthermore, for the purposes of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, two or more modules can be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according to embodiments of this solution.

[0096] Furthermore, in embodiments of this solution, memory or other storage devices and communication components may be employed. It should be understood that, for clarity, embodiments of this solution have been described above with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable functional distribution among different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains can be used without departing from this solution. For example, functions illustrated as being performed by a separate processing logic element or controller may be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, references to specific functional units are merely references to the appropriate manner of providing the described functions and do not represent a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0097] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for a wireless communication device, comprising: The wireless communication device receives downlink control information (DCI) from the wireless communication node, including an indication of the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status, wherein the DCI triggers the transmission of the Non-Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). The wireless communication device determines one or more signals by which the TCI state is applied based on the TCI field in the DCI and the Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling from the wireless communication node. According to the non-PDSCH transmission: The wireless communication device determines that the DCI is scrambled by the Configuration Scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier CS-RNTI, the Redundancy Value RV field in the DCI is set to a bit value of "1" for each bit, and the New Data Indicator (NDI) field in the DCI is set to the value "0". The wireless communication device determines the HARQ-ACK information based on the DCI. as well as The wireless communication device sends an uplink channel carrying the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the DCI to the wireless communication node.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising: The wireless communication device determines that the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in the DCI is set to a bit value of "1" for each bit.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising: The wireless communication device determines that the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) field in the DCI is set to a specific value.

4. A method for a wireless communication node, comprising: Downlink control information (DCI) including an indication of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status is sent from a wireless communication node to a wireless communication device. The DCI triggers a non-physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission. The DCI is scrambled by a configuration scheduling radio network temporary identifier (CS-RNTI). According to the non-PDSCH transmission, the redundancy value (RV) field in the DCI is set to a bit value of "1" for each bit, and the new data indicator (NDI) field in the DCI is set to the value "0". The wireless communication node sends Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling to the wireless communication device, the RRC signaling indicating one or more signals applied to the TCI state according to the TCI field in the DCI; and The wireless communication node receives an uplink channel from the wireless communication device carrying HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the DCI, wherein the HARQ-ACK information is determined according to the DCI, and wherein the uplink channel carrying the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the DCI is received according to the non-PDSCH transmission.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in the DCI is set to a bit value of "1" for each bit.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) field in the DCI is set to a specific value.

7. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. A wireless communication node, comprising: At least one processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

9. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 4 to 6.

10. A computer program product comprising computer-readable program medium code stored thereon, the computer-readable program medium code causing the processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or claims 4 to 6 when executed by a processor.

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