Network-assisted PL-RS maintenance for inter-cell scenarios

Abstract

Techniques for performing UL TCI handover without delay due to pathloss measurements of an active TCI state list for UL transmissions. Prior to an UL transmission to a network node, a path loss measurement reference signal for the UL transmission is maintained to obtain a power control value. Further, an active TCI list for UL configuration should be aligned between the network and the UE by preconfiguration. The UE should prepare pathloss measurements based on the active TCI list. In some implementations, a UE provides feedback to a network as to which UL TCI states it is currently maintaining, based on a network request or when the UE is no longer able to maintain a PL-RS for a particular UL TCI state (i.e., the DL signal of the PL-RS is too weak to detect). The report may be provided, for example, via L1 feedback, UL MAC CE, or as an RRC message.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification relates to telecommunication systems. Background Art

[0002] A communication system may be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices. Signals may be carried on wired or wireless carriers.

[0003] An example of a cell communication system is an architecture standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The latest development in this field is generally referred to as LTE, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. UETRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is the air interface of the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile networks. In LTE, a base station or access point (AP) called an enhanced node AP (eNB) provides wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, a mobile device or mobile station is referred to as a user equipment (UE). LTE includes many improvements or developments.

[0004] For example, the global bandwidth shortage faced by wireless carriers has prompted people to consider using underutilized millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum for future broadband cell communication networks. For example, millimeter waves (or extremely high frequencies) can include a frequency range between 30 and 300 gigahertz (GHz). For example, radio waves in this band can have a wavelength of 10 to 1 mm, so it is called millimeter wave band or millimeter wave. In the next few years, the amount of wireless data may increase significantly. To meet this challenge, various technologies have been used, including obtaining more spectrum, having smaller cell sizes, and using improved technologies that can achieve more bits / s / Hz. One factor that can be used to obtain more spectrum is to move to higher frequencies, such as above 6GHz. For the fifth generation wireless system (5G), an access architecture for deploying cell radio equipment using mmWave radio spectrum has been proposed. Other example spectrums, such as cmWave radio spectrum (e.g., 3-30GHz) can also be used. Summary of the invention

[0005] According to an example implementation, a method includes receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, information from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the information indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a pool of downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator states. The method also associates, by the user equipment, each of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node among the plurality of network nodes; and wherein for each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the method further includes, before a subsequent uplink transmission to the network node, the other network node, and at least one of the additional network nodes from the plurality of networks, or a combination thereof, performing, by the user equipment, a path loss measurement to obtain a power control (PC) value.

[0006] According to an example implementation, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive, by at least a user equipment in a wireless network, information from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the information indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; for each of a plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with a respective network node among the plurality of network nodes, state, each active transmission configuration indicator state of a plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated by a user equipment with another network node within a plurality of network nodes; and wherein for each active uplink transmission configuration indicator state of a plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the another network node, the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to perform a path loss measurement by the user equipment to obtain a power control (PC) value at least before a subsequent uplink transmission to the network node, the another network node, and at least one of the additional network nodes from the plurality of network nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0007] According to an example implementation, an apparatus includes a component for receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, information from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the information indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a pool of downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator states. The apparatus also includes a component for associating, by the user equipment, each of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node among the plurality of network nodes; and wherein for each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the apparatus also includes a component for performing, by the user equipment, a path loss measurement to obtain a power control (PC) value prior to a subsequent uplink transmission to the network node, the other network node, and at least one of the additional network nodes from the plurality of networks, or a combination thereof.

[0008] According to an example implementation, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and stores executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to receive, by a user equipment in a wireless network, information from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the information indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; for each active transmission configuration indicator state in a plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with a corresponding network node among the plurality of network nodes; , by a user equipment, associating each of a plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node within a plurality of network nodes; and wherein for each of a plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to perform, by the user equipment, a path loss measurement to obtain a power control (PC) value at least prior to a subsequent uplink transmission to the network node, the other network node, and at least one of an additional network node from the plurality of network nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0009] According to an example implementation, a method includes sending, by a network node among a plurality of network nodes in a wireless network, to a user equipment served by a serving network node, a message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmissions within a pool of downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator states; wherein each of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node among the plurality of network nodes. The method also includes: wherein for each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the method also includes receiving an uplink transmission from the user equipment at a power based on a power control (PC) value, the PC value being obtained from a path loss measurement performed by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

[0010] According to an example implementation, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to send a message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool to a user equipment served by a serving network node, at least by a network node among multiple network nodes in a wireless network; wherein each of the multiple active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node among the multiple network nodes; and wherein for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the at least one memory and the computer program code are also configured to cause the apparatus to receive an uplink transmission from the user equipment at least at a power based on a power control (PC) value, the PC value being obtained from a path loss measurement performed by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

[0011] According to an example implementation, an apparatus includes a component for sending, by a network node among a plurality of network nodes in a wireless network, to a user equipment served by a serving network node, a message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a pool of downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator states; wherein each of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node among the plurality of network nodes. The apparatus also includes a component for the following operations: wherein for each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the another network node, the method also includes receiving an uplink transmission from the user equipment at a power based on a power control (PC) value, the PC value being obtained from a path loss measurement performed by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

[0012] According to an example implementation, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and stores executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to send a message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool to a user equipment served by a serving network node by a network node among multiple network nodes in a wireless network; wherein each of the multiple active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node among the multiple network nodes; and wherein for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the at least one memory and the computer program code are also configured to cause the device to receive an uplink transmission from the user equipment at least at a power based on a power control (PC) value, the PC value being obtained from a path loss measurement performed by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

[0013] The details of one or more examples of implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a digital communication network according to an example implementation.

[0015] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state activation and deactivation via a medium access control element (MAC CE).

[0016] Figure 3Ais a diagram illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvement according to an example implementation, wherein an active uplink (UL) TCI state is reused from an active downlink (DL) TCI state.

[0017] Figure 3B is a diagram illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvement according to an example implementation, wherein the active UL TCI state is set independently of the active DL TCI state.

[0018] Figure 3C is a diagram illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvement according to an example implementation, wherein the active UL TCI state is a subset of active DL and UL TCI lists with a path loss reference signal (PL-RS) maintenance indication.

[0019] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvement according to an example implementation, wherein a set of active TCI states up to the UE capabilities is indicated by a network node.

[0020] Figure 5 is a signaling diagram further illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvement according to an example implementation, wherein an active UL TCI state is reused from an active downlink (DL) TCI state.

[0021] Figure 6 is a signaling diagram further illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvements according to an example implementation, wherein the active UL TCI state is set independently of the active DL TCI state.

[0022] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram further illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvement according to an example implementation, wherein a path loss reference signal in a UL TCI state is solely indicated by a network node for path loss reference signal maintenance.

[0023] Figure 8 is a signaling diagram further illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvements according to an example implementation, wherein a user equipment (UE) selects or releases PL-RS measurements based on a PL-RS measurement status report.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a process for setting an active UL TCI state with time or frequency tracking and power control values ​​for UL transmissions to a network node based on path loss measurements according to an example implementation.

[0025] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating a process for scheduling UL transmissions from a UE using an active UL TCI state whose path loss measurements are maintained by the UE, according to an example implementation.

[0026] Fig.11 is a block diagram of a node or wireless station (eg, a base station / access point, a relay node, or a mobile station / user equipment) according to an example implementation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes, and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways except as described below.

[0028] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" used herein also include plural forms. It should also be understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0029] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a digital communication system such as wireless network 130 according to an example implementation. Figure 1 In a wireless network 130, user equipment 131, 132 and 133 (which may also be referred to as mobile stations (MS) or user equipment (UE)) can be connected to (and communicate with) a base station (BS) 134, which may also be referred to as an access point (AP), an enhanced Node B (eNB), a gNB (which may be a 5G base station), or a network node. At least a portion of the functionality of an access point (AP), a base station (BS), or an (e) Node B (eNB) may also be performed by any node, server, or host operably coupled to a transceiver (such as a remote radio head). BS (or AP) 134 provides wireless coverage within a cell 136, including user equipment 131, 132, and 133. Although only three user equipment are shown as being connected or attached to BS 134, any number of user equipment may be provided. BS 134 is also connected to a core network 150 via an interface 151. This is just one simple example of a wireless network, and other wireless networks may also be used.

[0030] User equipment (user terminal, user equipment (UE)) may refer to a portable computing device, including wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile station (MS), mobile phone, cell phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld, equipment using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement equipment, etc.), laptop and / or touch screen computer, tablet, tablet phone, game console, notebook computer, vehicle and multimedia device, as examples. It should be understood that a user equipment may also be an almost exclusively uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or camcorder that loads images or video clips to a network.

[0031] In LTE (as an example), the core network 150 may be referred to as an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include a mobility management entity (MME) (which may handle or assist with mobility / serving cell changes of user equipment between BSs), one or more gateways (which may forward data and control signals between the BSs and a packet data network or the Internet), and other control functions or blocks.

[0032] The various example implementations may be applied to various wireless technologies, wireless networks (such as LTE, LTE-a, 5G (New Radio or NR), cmWave and / or mmWave band networks), or any other wireless network or use case. LTE, 5G, cmWave, and mmWave band networks are provided only as illustrative examples, and the various example implementations may be applied to any wireless technology / wireless network. The various example implementations may also be applied to a variety of different applications, services, or use cases, such as, for example, ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), Internet of Things (IoT), time-sensitive communications (TSC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (MMTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-device, etc. Each of these use cases or UE types may have its own set of requirements.

[0033] It is generally accepted that path loss maintenance is a condition of the 'active' transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for uplink (UL) transmissions. In fact, in current RAN1 and RAN2 specifications, there is no distinguishable definition of 'active' TCI for UL or related behavior. In contrast, the definition and behavior of active downlink (DL) TCI is known.

[0034] For DL ​​or UL Media Access Control Element (MAC-CE) and Downlink Control Information (DCI) switching, a list of active TCI states can be used to trigger TCI switching for DL ​​or UL. If the TCI state is active, the user equipment / device (UE) is configured to perform time or frequency tracking of the source reference signal (RS). Such DL MAC-CE active states have been defined. A comparison of the currently captured DL and UL switching statements is as follows.

[0035] If the target TCI state is unknown, then after receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carrying a MAC-CE activation command in time slot n, the UE shall be able to receive a UE-dedicated physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) / PDSCH with the target TCI state of the serving cell, on which channel, in time slot

[0036]

[0037] The TCI state switch occurs in the first time slot thereafter.

[0038] For a single UL TCI state switch or a joint TCI state switch for Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or semi-persistent / aperiodic / periodic Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), when beamCorrespondenceWithoutUL-BeamSweeping is set to 1, when a PDSCH carrying a MAC-CE activation command is received in slot n on the serving cell. If the target TCI state is known, then

[0039] οUE should be able to

[0040] n+T HARQ +3ms+NM*(T first_target-PL-RS +4* Ttarget_PL-RS +2ms)

[0041] An uplink signal with a target TCI state is sent in.

[0042] If the target TCI status is unknown, then

[0043] οUE should be able to

[0044] n+T HARQ +3ms+T L1-RSRP +T first_target-PL-RS +4*T target_PL-RS +2ms

[0045] An uplink signal with a target TCI state is sent in.

[0046] If the UE does not maintain the target PL-RS, NM=1, otherwise NM=0.

[0047] The TCI switch command may be given as a separate TCI for DL ​​or UL, respectively, or as a joint TCI state, which includes a set of DL and UL TCI states. The UE manages the active TCI state for the UL, which may be indicated by a separate UL TCI or a UL TCI contained in the joint TCI.

[0048] There are currently issues with the active TCI states for the UL. For example, the UE behavior regarding how the UE can manage active UL TCI or active joint TCI may not be clear enough compared to the existing active DL TCI. For the DL case, if the target TCI state is in the active TCI state list in the PDSCH / PDCCH, the UE can track time or frequency synchronization on the resource RS. When the DL TCI is indicated, the UE can immediately demodulate the PDCCH / PDSCH based on the synchronization information. In RAN1 and RAN2, the UE should track time or frequency synchronization when the DL case explicitly specifies maxNumberActiveTCI-PerBWP in the tci-statePDSCH. In another example, in unified TCI frame operation, there may be multiple joint TCI (DL / UL) states or multiple separate DL or UL TCIs, and up to 8 active TCI states can be activated, but according to the current specification, only 4 PL-RS can be maintained. There is a mismatch between the number of active TCI states and the number of PL-RS maintained.

[0049] For UL transmission, RAN4 mainly discussed path loss measurement. However, basic conditions for active UL TCI may still be missing: for example, the UE should maintain time or frequency synchronization with the source RS for UL transmission. The UE may not be able to send PUCCH / PUSCH / SRS independently of DL synchronization. maxNumberActiveTCI-PerBWP may refer to the activated TCI state per BWP per carrier component (CC) with UE synchronization for DL ​​and UL.

[0050] It is understandable that the basic conditions for the active TCI for UL may be missing: the current specification may not specify conditions for the active TCI list for UL switching.The UE should maintain time or frequency synchronization with the source RS (SRS) in the UL TCI to enable UL transmission.

[0051] As mentioned above, the active UL TCI state may have more conditions than the active DL TCI state. In fact, no active UL TCI state with PL-RS measurement maintenance is defined in any of the RAN1 / 2 specifications. RAN1 / 2 only has an active TCI state for tci-statePDSCH, and up to eight active TCI states can be configured based on UE capabilities. In addition, for all PUSCH / PUCH / SRS transmissions, the UE may not expect to maintain more than four path loss estimates for each serving cell.

[0052] It may be assumed that some of the active TCI states for DL ​​may be reused for the active TCI for UL, for example, there may be four active UL TCI states that are a subset of the eight active DL TCI states. However, in some implementations, some assume that at least one of the four active UL TCI states may not be included in the eight active DL TCI states. It should be noted that the number of UL and DL TCI states mentioned is only an example and does not limit the number of active UL and DL TCI states.

[0053] Assuming the maintained path loss reference signal (PL-RS) is an active UL TCI condition, there are at least three issues:

[0054] • The network may not have enough information about which PL-RS is maintained by the UE, so the network does not know which UL TCI state associated with the PL-RS can be used for UL transmission. PL-RS maintenance is still a UE choice, which becomes crucial in UL scheduling by the network.

[0055] • The UE may not have enough information about which TCI(s) in the 8 active TCI state lists can be used for UL transmission. The UE may also not have enough information about which PL-RS should be maintained.

[0056] If the UE does not maintain PL-RS in the eight active TCI states, the network cannot schedule UL transmission immediately or the network experiences UL switching delay due to the PL-RS five-sample measurement delay.

[0057] PL-RS measurement is a prerequisite for enabling UL transmission, but it is not clear whether the five samples of the PL-RS period are critical for path loss measurement. For example, in DCI-based UL TCI switching, the activation of UL TCI can be faster than MAC-CE based switching. In CR DCI-based TCI switching, it is not clear whether the active TCI list in DL TCI state switching is the same as the active TCI list in UL TCI state, and furthermore, it is not clear what the UE behavior for active UL TCI should be. Due to PL-RS maintenance in UL, the active TCI list in DL and UL cases may look different.

[0058] Figure 2 200 is a diagram illustrating unified TCI state activation and deactivation via MAC-CE. The unified TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE is identified by a MAC subheader with an extended logical channel identifier (eLCID), which is an identifier for identifying a MAC CE. It may have a variable size including the following fields:

[0059] Serving Cell ID: This field indicates the identity of the serving cell to which the MAC CE applies. The length of this field is 5 bits.

[0060] simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList1, simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList2, simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList3 or

[0061] part of simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList4; this MAC CE applies to the set simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList1,

[0062] All serving cells in simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList2, simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList3 or simultaneousU-TCI-UpdateList4;

[0063] DL BWP ID: This field indicates the DL BWP to which the MAC CE applies as the code point of the DCI bandwidth part indicator field. The length of the DL BWP ID field is 2 bits;

[0064] UL BWP ID: This field indicates the UL BWP to which the code point of the DCI bandwidth part indicator field in the MAC CE applies. The length of the UL BWP ID field is 2 bits;

[0065] Pi field: This field indicates whether each TCI code point has multiple TCI states or a single TCI state. If the Pi field is set to 1, it may indicate that the i-th TCI code point includes a DL TCI state and a UL TCI state. If the Pi field is set to 0,

[0066] It may indicate that the i-th TCI code point includes only the DL TCI state or the UL TCI state;

[0067] D / U: This field indicates whether the TCI State ID in the same octet is for joint / downlink or uplink TCI state. If this field is set to 1, the TCI State ID in the same octet is for joint / downlink. If this field is set to 0, the TCI State ID in the same octet is for uplink;

[0068] TCI State ID: This field indicates the TCI state identified by TCI-StateId. If D / U is set to 1, the 7-bit length of TCI state ID, i.e., TCI-StateId. If D / U is set to 0, the most significant bit of the TCI state ID is regarded as a reserved bit, and the remaining 6 bits indicate the UL-TCIState-Id. In one example, the maximum number of activated TCI states can be 16;

[0069] R: Reserved bit, set to 0.

[0070] Another technical issue is how to perform UL TCI switching without delays due to path loss measurements. If the path loss measurement is not ready in the previous stage of the UL transmission trigger, it may be inevitable to leave more time for its measurement, but this is not desirable for network operation. Alternatively, a reasonable solution is to set up an active TCI list for the UL. This can be a list of active TCIs that the UE maintains ready for TCI switching. In addition, the active TCI list for UL configuration can be aligned between the network and the UE by pre-configuration. The UE should prepare path loss measurements based on the active TCI list. In some implementations, based on a network request or when the UE is no longer able to maintain the PL-RS for a specific UL TCI state (i.e., the DL signal of the PL-RS is too weak to detect), the UE can provide feedback to the network about which path loss reference signals in the UL TCI state are currently being maintained. For example, the report can be provided via any of the following: Layer 1 (L1) feedback, UL MAC CE, or RRC message.

[0071] This is Figure 4 The process 400 is illustrated in FIG. 410 . At 410 , a pool of TCI states is sent to a UE via RRC signaling. At 430 , the UE receives up to eight activation states via a MAC command 420 . At 450 , the UE receives the indicated TCI state via a DCI 440 .

[0072] For a specific UL TCI state, the network may configure an active UL TCI configuration of four beyond the current maximum limit, but configure the UE's maintained PL-RS capability to be less than four. For all PUSCH / PUCH / SRS transmissions, the UE may not maintain more than four path loss estimates per serving cell, despite the UE being configured with a greater number of PL-RS in the active UL TC. Additional time (T first_target -PL-RS+4*T target_PL-RS +2ms) to perform PL-RS measurements as follows:

[0073] If the target TCI status is known, then

[0074] οUE should be able to

[0075] n+T HARQ +3ms+NM*(T first_target-PL-RS +4*T target_PL-RS +2ns)

[0076] An uplink signal with a target TCI state is sent in.

[0077] If the target TCI status is unknown, then

[0078] οUE should be able to

[0079] n+T HARQ +3ms+T L1-RSRP +T first_target-PL-RS +4*T target_PL-RS +2ms

[0080] An uplink signal with a target TCI state is sent in.

[0081] If the UE does not maintain the target PL-RS, NM=1, otherwise NM=0.

[0082] Therefore, the condition of "maintaining PL-RS" can mean that the path loss measurement state is completed using M samples of PL-RS. Therefore, the UE has determined the power control (PC) value for UL transmission, where:

[0083] The M samples are determined by the measurement scenario.

[0084] In the present disclosure, it can be asserted that the maintained PL-RS is a necessary condition for the "valid TCI list for UL", some of which can be described with the following examples.

[0085] The first aspect for enabling the active TCI list for UL is to reuse the legacy active TCI list. The active UL TCI list refers to the legacy active TCI list, which also means reusing the active DL TCI list for UL. Figure 3A The middle picture shows 300.

[0086] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating one aspect of the claimed improvement according to an example implementation, wherein more active UL TCI state sets than a current maximum are indicated by a network node.

[0087] In this case, the number of PL-RS maintained can be up to 8, while the current maximum allowed is 4 PL-RS. Therefore, the UE can track time or frequency synchronization tracking of DL and UL behavior, and up to eight PL-RS associated with the resource RS in the UL TCI can be maintained if indicated in the UL TCI list. In this way, the network can use the active UL TCI list to trigger any UL transmission immediately without delay. In some implementations, an active UL TCI list of PL-RS can be defined, which is a subset of the complete active UL TCI list. There may be certain rules for how the UE determines the active UL TCI list of PL RS. For example:

[0088] UL TCI can be in the complete active UL TCI list, and / or

[0089] The UL TCI may be among the lowest N (eg, 4) active UL TCIs (IDs generated in the MAC), and / or

[0090] • At least one UL TCI state may have a source RS of a serving cell and another UL TCI state may have a source RS of a non-serving cell.

[0091] In some alternative implementations, upon activating the UL TCI state, the gNB may individually indicate which PL-RS in the UL TCI state (up to N, up to Rel-16, N=4) the UE should maintain for path loss measurements.

[0092] Figure 5 It is further illustrated as Figure 3B A signalling diagram of the first aspect is shown.

[0093] At 501, the UE and the serving gNB are in connected mode.

[0094] At 502, the serving gNB sends a radio resource control (RRC) configuration including a DL / UL / joint TCI state pool.

[0095] At 503, the serving gNB sends a MAC command including a list of active TCI states.

[0096] At 504, the UE maintains all PL RSs listed in the active TCI state.

[0097] At 505 and 506, the serving gNB and the non-serving gNB each transmit an identifier of the PL-RS to maintain the PL-RS.

[0098] At 507, the UE determines a power control (PC) value in the active TCI state.

[0099] At 508, the serving gNB sends a DCI command indicating the target UL TCI state.

[0100] At 509, the UE switches the UL TCI state to a target UL TCI state.

[0101] At 510 and 511, the UE issues UL transmissions to the serving and non-serving gNBs using respective power control values ​​measured based on the PL-RS indicated by the UL TCI.

[0102] The second aspect for enabling an active TCI list for the UL is to set up a separate active UL TCI list independent of the DL TCI list. This separate TCI list may still allow for partial or full overlap of TCI states between the DL TCI list and the UL TCI list. This is Figure 3B The middle picture shows 330.

[0103] This aspect introduces an active UL TCI state list indication for up to X TCIs. First, the UE capability needs to indicate its active UL TCI state capability as tci-StatePUCCH or tci-StatePUSCH or tci-State_PUSCCH_PUSCH.

[0104] maxNumberActiveTCIforUL-PerBWP indicates each component carrier (CC)

[0105] Maximum number of UL TCI states activated per BWP, including control and data.

[0106] If the UE reports X active TCI states, then more than X active QCL D-type assumptions for any PUSCH or PUCCH of a given BWP of the serving cell are not expected to become active for the UE. The UE shall include this field.

[0107] ·The UE may track and maintain the path loss reference signal in the active TCI state.

[0108] The network refers to the UE capabilities and may update the active UL TCI list for UL transmissions alone via RRC signaling, e.g., in the following manner (emphasis on new field): Alternative 1: Indication within UL TCI state configuration

[0109]

[0110]

[0111] Alternative 2: Active UL TCI status list (e.g. in BWP-UplinkDedicated or ServingCellConfig)

[0112] activeUL-TCI-ForPLRS-List SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxULTCI-r17))OF UL-TCIState-Id-r17

[0113] This includes UL TCI configured in Rel-17feMIMO with both individual TCI and joint TCI configurations.

[0114] Figure 6 It is further illustrated as Figure 3C A signaling diagram of the second aspect is shown.

[0115] At 601, the UE and the serving gNB are in connected mode.

[0116] At 602, the serving gNB sends a radio resource control (RRC) configuration including a DL / UL / joint TCI state pool.

[0117] At 603, the serving gNB sends a MAC command including an active DL TCI state list.

[0118] At 604, the serving gNB sends a MAC command including an active UL TCI state list.

[0119] At 605, the UE maintains all PL-RS listed in the active TCI state.

[0120] At 606 and 607, the serving gNB and the non-serving gNB send an identifier of the PL-RS to maintain the PL-RS.

[0121] At 608, the UE determines a power control (PC) value in the active TCI state.

[0122] At 609, the serving gNB sends a DCI command indicating the target UL TCI state.

[0123] At 610, the UE switches the UL TCI state to a target UL TCI state and transmits a signal according to the power of the PC value of the target UL TCI state.

[0124] The third aspect for enabling the active TCI list for UL is the introduction of a PL-RS maintenance indication for active UL TCI. Figure 3C The middle diagram is 360. The active TCI list of DL exists. Figure 3C It is shown that the active UL TCI list refers to the active DLTCI list, wherein PL-RS maintenance is indicated separately.

[0125] The UE can track up to eight active TCI states. Therefore, the network configures the UL TCI by referring to the source RS in the DL TCI, i.e., the source RS for DL ​​and UL TCI are the same. The network can then configure the PL-RS maintenance indication separately through RRC or through MAC. Therefore, the UE can maintain only the PL-RS indicated by the network, rather than all PL-RS in the UL TCI. In fact, since the UE cost of PL-RS measurement can be high, the UE can save measurement resources by maintaining the basic PL-RS via network indication.

[0126] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram further illustrating the third aspect.

[0127] At 701, the UE and the serving gNB are in connected mode.

[0128] At 702, the serving gNB sends a radio resource control (RRC) configuration including a DL / UL / joint TCI state pool.

[0129] At 703, the serving gNB sends a MAC command including an active DL TCI state list.

[0130] At 704, the serving gNB sends a higher layer command including an active UL TCI state list.

[0131] At 705, the UE maintains all PL-RS listed in the active TCI state.

[0132] At 706 and 707, the serving gNB and the non-serving gNB send identifiers of the PL RS to be maintained.

[0133] At 708, the UE determines a power control (PC) value in the active TCI state.

[0134] At 709, the serving gNB sends a DCI command indicating the target UL TCI state.

[0135] At 710, the UE switches the UL TCI state to a target UL TCI state.

[0136] At 711 and 712, the UE issues UL transmissions to the serving and non-serving gNBs according to the corresponding PC values ​​of the target TCI state.

[0137] In some implementations, the network assumes that the PL-RS to be maintained by the UE may be indicated in the MAC-CE (downlink MAC-CE). The MAC-CE may include an N-bit bitmap, where the fields in the bitmap correspond to the active TCI state IDs listed in the MAC-CE for activating (unified) TCI states (e.g., the TCI state may be one or more of a DL or joint TCI state and / or a UL TCI state). A DL or joint TCI state may refer to a TCI state that applies the (indicated) TCI state to (multiple) downlink channels or (jointly for) both (multiple) uplink and downlink channels. A UL TCI state may refer to a TCI state of (multiple) UL channels. For example, a DL / UL channel may refer to a PDCCH / PDSCH / PUSCH / PUCCH.

[0138] For example, the first field in the bitmap may correspond to the MAC bitmap for activating (unified)

[0139] First TCI state ID of TCI state

[0140] • Typically, there is a known mapping of bit fields and TCI state IDs (i.e., there may be a one-to-one mapping of bit fields in the MAC CE for activating TCI state(s) and TCS state IDs).

[0141] • For example, if eight TCI states are activated, the bit field can have a valid field of up to eight entries.

[0142] • As another example, if only four TCI states are activated, the bit field may have a valid field of only up to four entries. The UE may ignore the rest.

[0143] • The TCI state may be a joint DL / UL TCI state, a DL TCI state (eg, a DL or joint TCI state), or a UL TCI state.

[0144] • In some implementations, when the UE is configured to maintain PL estimates according to a (separate) PL RS maintenance indication MAC CE, the UE only needs to maintain PL RS estimates for the PL RSs indicated in the MAC CE.

[0145] • In the MAC CE, one value (eg, '1') in the bit field indicates that it is expected to maintain a PL estimate for the corresponding RS / TCI state. Another value (eg, '0') indicates that it is not necessary to maintain a PL for the corresponding RS.

[0146] In one example, a PL RS indication (e.g., a bitmap) may be part of a MAC CE for activating a TCI state ID (e.g., a MAC CE format for unified TCI state activation / deactivation). Each bit field in the bitmap corresponds to a TCI state ID. A new MAC CE ID (LCID identifying the MAC CE) may be used to include a format for a PLRS indication. In another example, a bit field may be associated with each activated TCI state in a MAC CE for activating a (unified) TCI state ID, wherein the bit field indicates whether the (path loss) RS indicated by the TCI state is configured for maintaining path loss estimation. The bit field may include one or more bits. The one or more bits may indicate at least one value indicating that a specific TCI state ID (RS indicated by the TCI state) may be used to maintain path loss estimation.

[0147] In some implementations, the network may indicate in an RRC message the PL RSs that the UE is assumed to maintain. The RRC message may contain a list of RS indices for which the UE is assumed to maintain a PL estimate.

[0148] Alternatively, the RRC message may have a list of K entries for PL-RS (e.g., K is the total number of PL-RS configurations, which may be as high as 64 or 128, etc.), and

[0149] The network may also use MAC CE to select up to N PL-RS configurations (N is the UE capability, indicating how many PL-RS configurations the UE can measure). In one example, the list may include an SSB that may be associated with a serving cell (serving cell PCI, e.g., PCI#X) and / or one or more PCIs that are different from the serving cell (e.g., PCI#Y, PCI#Z).

[0150] MAC CE can have a bitmap (length up to K bits). Each field corresponds to an entry in the associated RRC PL RS list. A value in a bit field (e.g.

[0151] '1') indicates that the PL RS is expected to be maintained for the corresponding PL RS.

[0152] In some implementations, if the network has activated the UL TCI state indicating RS (SSB or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), the RS is configured for L1-RRSP reporting. If the RS is a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a quasi-co-site (QCL) source SSB of the CSI-RS, the UE can maintain a path loss estimate for the RS.

[0153] If the UE is expected to maintain the path loss estimate for the UL / joint TCI (based on the source RS or the configured path loss RS), it may change the TCI state to the indicated UL / joint TCI state based on the maintained PL RS requirements (e.g., if the path loss is assumed to be maintained, the latency of the TCI state switch is expected to be smaller (compared to when it is not expected to be maintained)).

[0154] • If the UE does not expect to maintain a path loss estimate for the UL / Joint TCI (based on the source RS or the configured path loss RS), it may perform a TCI state change to the indicated UL / Joint TCI state and delay completing the PL RS measurements.

[0155] In some implementations, the UE selects up to N path loss RSs for path loss estimation, which correspond to the RSs configured for L1-RSRP reporting (QCL source RSs or QCL sources to SSBs). For example, if the TCI state indicates a path loss RS (or an RS assumed to be used for path loss reference) as SSB#N (SSB index N), and the same SSB can be configured for L1-RSRP reporting, the UE can be configured to select such RSs for path loss estimation. In some implementations, the UE can provide feedback to the network when the UE can no longer maintain the PL-RS for a specific UL / joint TCI state.

[0156] If the number of selected PL RSs is more than the maximum value for the UE, the UE may select or release PL RSs for (multiple) path loss measurements according to the ascending index of the active TCI state IDs as a MAC CE that activates the (unified) TCI state (e.g.

[0157] Unify TCI state activation / deactivation signaling in MAC CE).

[0158] Figure 8is a signaling diagram further illustrating the fourth aspect based on the above implementation.

[0159] At 801, the UE and the serving gNB are in connected mode.

[0160] At 802, the serving gNB sends a radio resource control (RRC) configuration including a DL / UL / joint TCI state pool.

[0161] At 803, the serving gNB sends a MAC command including an active DL TCI state list.

[0162] At 804, the UE selects a PL-RS listed in the active TCI state.

[0163] At 805 and 806, the serving gNB and the non-serving gNB send identifiers of the PL-RS.

[0164] At 807, the UE performs path loss measurements.

[0165] At 808, the UE sends a PL-RS maintenance report to the serving gNB.

[0166] At 809, the UE stops path loss measurement.

[0167] At 810, the UE sends a PL-RS maintenance report to the serving gNB.

[0168] At 811, the serving gNB sends a DCI command indicating the target UL TCI state.

[0169] At 813, the UE switches the UL TCI state to a target UL TCI state.

[0170] At 813 and 8, the UE issues UL transmissions to the serving and non-serving gNBs based on the corresponding PC values ​​of the target TCI state.

[0171] Example 1-1: Fig. 99 is a flow chart illustrating a process 900 for determining an action to be taken when executing a machine learning algorithm. Operation 910 includes receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, information from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the information indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a pool of downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator states. Operation 920 includes associating, by the user equipment, each of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node among the plurality of network nodes. Operation 930 includes: wherein for each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the another network node, the method further includes performing, by the user equipment, a path loss measurement to obtain a power control (PC) value prior to a subsequent uplink transmission to at least one of the network node, the another network node, and the additional network nodes in the plurality of networks, or a combination thereof.

[0172] Example 1-2: According to the example implementation described in Example 1-1, it also includes performing time or frequency synchronization by the user equipment before receiving a downlink from the network node or transmitting an uplink to the network node.

[0173] Example 1-3: According to the example implementation described in Example 1-2, it also includes receiving a request from the network node, which is used to switch to a target active uplink transmission configuration indicator state among the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states; and sending a signal to the network node with a power based on the power control value obtained before the uplink transmission of the network node among the multiple network nodes.

[0174] Example 1-4: According to the example implementation described in Example 1-3, it also includes receiving an uplink transmission configuration indicator command via a separate transmission configuration indicator for the uplink, or receiving the uplink transmission configuration indicator command via a joint transmission configuration indicator, wherein the joint transmission configuration indicator includes a downlink and uplink transmission configuration indicator set.

[0175] Example 1-5: According to the example implementation described in Examples 1-1 to 1-4, each of the multiple transmission configuration indicator states includes: corresponding quasi-co-site information (QCI) indicating a source reference signal (RS) of a corresponding network node among the multiple network nodes.

[0176] Example 1-6: An example implementation according to Examples 1-1 to 1-5, wherein the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are based on multiple active downlink transmission configuration indicator states.

[0177] Example 1-7: An example implementation according to Example 1-1, wherein the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are a subset of a pool of transmission configuration indicator states for downlink and uplink; and wherein the method also includes receiving a message from a network node that path loss measurements of one or more path loss reference signals in the uplink transmission configuration state have been performed.

[0178] Example 1-8: The example implementation of Example 1-7, wherein the plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states are reused for the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

[0179] Example 1-9: An example implementation according to Examples 1-7 to 1-8, wherein the number of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a predetermined number; and wherein the method further comprises receiving information from a network node, the information indicating a set of uplink transmission configuration indicator states to be activated in the uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, the set of uplink transmission configuration indicator states to be activated having a predetermined number of uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

[0180] Example 1-10: An example implementation according to Examples 1-1 to 1-9, wherein the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are mutually or partially exclusive of the multiple active downlink transmission configuration indicator states; and wherein the method further includes receiving a message from the network node at which path loss measurements of one or more path loss reference signals in the uplink transmission configuration state have been performed.

[0181] Example 1-11: According to the example implementation described in Examples 1-9 to 1-10: the message is one of a radio resource control message or a media access control element message.

[0182] Example 1-12: According to the example implementation described in Examples 1-3 to 1-11, it also includes the user equipment receiving a message from the network node, which indicates a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states in an uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, and each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states includes: corresponding quasi-co-location information indicating a source reference signal of a corresponding network node among the multiple network nodes; selecting up to a specified number of path loss reference signals in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state for path loss measurement; and sending a path loss measurement status regarding the selected path loss reference signal to the network node, regardless of whether the user equipment maintains the path loss reference signal in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state.

[0183] Example 1-13: An apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 1-12.

[0184] Example 1-14: A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to perform a method according to any one of Examples 1-1 to 1-12.

[0185] Example 2-1: Fig.10 1 is a flow chart illustrating a process 1000 for determining an action to be taken when executing a machine learning algorithm. Operation 1010 includes sending, by a network node of a plurality of network nodes in a wireless network, a message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmissions within a pool of downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator states to a user equipment served by a serving network node. Operation 1020 includes: wherein each of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node within the plurality of network nodes. Operation 1030 includes: wherein for each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the another network node, the method further includes receiving an uplink transmission from the user equipment at a power based on a power control (PC) value, the PC value being obtained from a path loss measurement performed by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

[0186] Example 2-2: According to the example implementation described in Example 2-1, time or frequency synchronization is performed by the user equipment before the user equipment transmits an uplink to the network node or receives a downlink from the network node.

[0187] Example 2-3: According to the example implementation described in Example 2-2, it also includes sending a request to the user equipment, which is used to switch to a target active uplink transmission configuration indicator state among the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states, wherein the network node receives a signal with a power based on the power control value.

[0188] Example 2-4: According to the example implementation described in Example 2-3, it also includes sending an uplink transmission configuration indicator command via a separate transmission configuration indicator for the uplink of the user equipment, or sending an uplink transmission configuration indicator command for the user equipment via a joint transmission configuration indicator, wherein the joint transmission configuration indicator includes a downlink and uplink transmission configuration indicator set for the user equipment.

[0189] Example 2-5: According to the example implementation described in Examples 2-1 to 2-4: each of the multiple transmission configuration indicator states includes: corresponding quasi-co-site information (QCI) indicating a source reference signal (RS) of a corresponding network node among the multiple network nodes.

[0190] Example 2-6: The example implementation of Examples 2-1 to 2-5, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are based on a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states.

[0191] Example 2-7: The example implementation of Example 2-6, wherein the plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states are reused for the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

[0192] Example 2-8: An example implementation according to Examples 2-6 to 2-7, wherein the number of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a predetermined number; and wherein the method further comprises: sending a message to the user equipment indicating a set of uplink transmission configuration indicator states to be activated in the uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, the set of uplink transmission configuration indicator states to be activated having a predetermined number of uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

[0193] Example 2-9: An example implementation according to Examples 2-1 to 2-7, wherein the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are mutually or partially exclusive of the multiple active downlink transmission configuration indicator states; and wherein the method further includes: sending a message to the user equipment having the function of activating the multiple uplink transmission configuration indicator states, wherein the path loss measurement is performed in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state before a subsequent uplink transmission from the user equipment.

[0194] Example 2-10: An example implementation according to Examples 2-1 to 2-8, wherein each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a subset of a pool of transmission configuration indicator states for downlink and uplink; and wherein the method further includes: sending a message to the user equipment, at which path loss measurements of one or more path loss reference signals in the uplink transmission configuration state have been performed.

[0195] Example 2-11: The example implementation of Examples 2-9 to 2-10, wherein the message is one of a radio resource control message or a media access control element message.

[0196] Example 2-12: According to the example implementation described in Examples 2-3 to 2-11, it also includes sending a message to the user equipment indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states in an uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states including: corresponding quasi-co-site information indicating a source reference signal of a corresponding network node among the multiple network nodes; and receiving a path loss measurement status on a selected path loss reference signal to the network node, regardless of whether the user equipment maintains a path loss reference signal in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state.

[0197] Example 2-13: An apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to Examples 2-1 to 2-12.

[0198] Example 2-14: A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to perform the method according to Examples 2-1 to 2-12.

[0199] Example list of abbreviations:

[0200] RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power

[0201] L1: Layer 1 / Physical Layer

[0202] PCI: Physical Cell Identifier

[0203] TCI: Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0204] SSB: Synchronization Signal Block (SS / PBCH block)

[0205] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0206] PL-RS: Path Loss Reference Signal

[0207] Fig.11 1 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., AP, BS, e / gNB, NB-IoT UE, UE, or user equipment) 1100 according to an example implementation. The wireless station 1100 may include, for example, one or more RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 1102A, 1102B, each of which includes a transmitter for sending signals (or data) and a receiver for receiving signals (or data). The wireless station also includes a processor or control unit / entity (controller) 1104 for executing instructions or software and controlling the transmission and reception of signals, and a memory 1106 for storing data and / or instructions.

[0208] The processor 1104 may also make decisions or decisions, generate time slots, subframes, packets, or messages for transmission, decode received time slots, subframes, packets, or messages for further processing, and other tasks or functions described herein. For example, the processor 1104, which may be a baseband processor, may generate messages, packets, frames, or other signals for transmission via the wireless transceiver 1102 (1102A or 1102B). The processor 1104 may control the transmission of signals or messages through a wireless network, and may control the reception of signals or messages, etc., via a wireless network (e.g., after being down-converted by the wireless transceiver 1102). The processor 1104 may be programmable and capable of executing software or other instructions stored in a memory or on other computer media to perform the various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. For example, the processor 1104 may be (or may include) hardware, programmable logic, a programmable processor that executes software or firmware, and / or any combination of these. For example, using other terminology, the processor 1104 and transceiver 1102 (1102A or 1102B) may be considered together as a wireless transmitter / receiver system.

[0209] In addition, reference Fig.11 , the controller (or processor) 1108 can execute software and instructions and can provide overall control for the station 1100 and can Fig.11 Other systems not shown provide controls, such as controlling input / output devices (e.g., display, keypad), and / or software that can execute one or more applications that may be provided on wireless station 1100, such as an email program, audio / video applications, a word processor, voice over IP applications, or other applications or software.

[0210] Additionally, a storage medium may be provided that includes stored instructions that, when executed by a controller or processor, may cause the processor 904 or other controller or processor to perform one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

[0211] According to another example implementation, the RF or (multiple) wireless transceiver 1102A / 1102B can receive signals or data and / or send or transmit signals or data. The processor 1104 (and possibly the transceiver 1102A / 1102B) can control the RF or wireless transceiver 1102A or 1102B to receive, issue, broadcast or transmit signals or data.

[0212] However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, but a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems. Another example of a suitable communication system is the 5G concept. It is assumed that the network architecture in 5G will be very similar to Advanced LTE. 5G uses multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites that operate in cooperation with small base stations, and may also adopt various radio technologies for better coverage and higher data rates.

[0213] It should be understood that future networks are likely to utilize network function virtualization (NFV), which is a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks" or entities that can be operationally connected or linked together to provide services. A virtualized network function (VNF) may include one or more virtual machines that use standard or common types of servers rather than customized hardware to run computer program code. Cloud computing or data storage may also be used. In radio communications, this may mean that node operations may be performed at least in part in a server, host, or node that is operably coupled to a remote radio head. Node operations may also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. It should also be understood that the distribution of work between core network operations and base station operations may be different from LTE or even non-existent.

[0214] The implementation of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in a digital electronic circuit system, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. The implementation may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, for example, in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution by a data processing device or for controlling the operation of a data processing device, for example, a programmable processor, a computer or multiple computers. The implementation may also be provided on a computer-readable medium or a computer-readable storage medium, which may be a non-transitory medium. The implementation of various techniques may also include an implementation provided via a transient signal or medium, and / or a program and / or software implementation downloadable via the Internet or (multiple) other networks (wired networks and / or wireless networks). In addition, the implementation may be provided via machine type communication (MTC) or via the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0215] A computer program may be in source code form, object code form or some intermediate form and may be stored in some carrier, distribution medium or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include, for example, recording media, computer memories, read-only memories, optoelectronic and / or electrical carrier signals, telecommunication signals and software distribution packages. Depending on the processing power required, a computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or distributed among multiple computers.

[0216] In addition, implementations of the various techniques described herein may use cyber-physical systems (CPS) (systems that enable computing elements that control physical entities to collaborate). CPS can implement and utilize a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors, microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in different locations in physical objects. Mobile cyber-physical systems (where the physical system in question has inherent mobility) are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals. The popularity of smartphones has increased interest in the field of mobile cyber-physical systems. Therefore, various implementations of the techniques described herein may be provided by one or more of these technologies.

[0217] Computer programs such as the above-mentioned (multiple) computer programs can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program, or as a module, component, subroutine or other unit or part thereof suitable for a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to execute on one computer, or on multiple computers at one site, or on multiple computers distributed between multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0218] The method steps may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program or a portion of a computer program to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The method steps may also be performed by, and the apparatus may be implemented as, a special purpose logic circuit system, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

[0219] For example, processors suitable for executing computer programs include both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip or chipset. Typically, the processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. Elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions, and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer may also include or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to or both of one or more mass storage devices (e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks) for storing data. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented by or incorporated in a dedicated logic circuit system.

[0220] To provide interaction with a user, implementations may be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) display) for displaying information to the user, and a user interface (such as a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or trackball) through which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may also be used to provide interaction with the user; for example, feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user may be received in any form, including sound, voice, or tactile input.

[0221] The implementation may be implemented in a computing system that includes: a back-end component, for example, as a data server; or includes a middleware component, for example, an application server; or includes a front-end component, for example, a client computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user can interact with the implementation; or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as a communication network. Examples of communication networks include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs), such as the Internet.

[0222] While certain features of the described implementations have been illustrated as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It should therefore be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes contemplated in the various embodiments.

Claims

1. A device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to at least: Receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, a message from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the message indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmissions within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; associating, by the user equipment, each active transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node within the plurality of network nodes; as well as Wherein for each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: perform, by the user equipment, a path loss measurement to obtain a power control (PC) value before a subsequent uplink transmission to at least one of the network node, the other network node, and an additional network node of the plurality of network nodes, or a combination thereof.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: Prior to downlink reception from the network node or uplink transmission to the network node, time or frequency synchronization is performed by the user equipment.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: receiving, from the network node, a request to switch to a target active uplink transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states; and A signal is sent to the network node among the plurality of network nodes at a power based on the power control value acquired prior to uplink transmission of the network node.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: Receiving an uplink transmission configuration indicator command through a separate transmission configuration indicator for an uplink, or receiving the uplink transmission configuration indicator command through a joint transmission configuration indicator, the joint transmission configuration indicator comprising: A set of downlink and uplink transmission configuration indicators.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of transmission configuration indicator states comprises: Respective quasi co-location information (QCI) of a source reference signal (RS) of a respective network node among the plurality of network nodes is indicated.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are based on a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states are reused for the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the number of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a predetermined number; and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A message is received from a network node, the message indicating an uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated in the uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, the uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated having a predetermined number of uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are mutually or partially exclusive of a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: receiving a message from the network node with a status indicating activation of the plurality of uplink transmission configuration indicators; and The path loss measurement is performed by the user equipment in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state prior to a subsequent uplink transmission.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a subset of a pool of transmission configuration indicator states for downlink and uplink; and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A message is received from the network node at which path loss measurements of one or more path loss reference signals in the uplink transmission configuration state have been performed.

11. The apparatus of any one of claims 9 or 10, wherein the message is one of a radio resource control message or a medium access control element message.

12. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A message is received by the user equipment from the network node, the message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states in an uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, each active uplink transmission configuration indicator state in the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states comprising: indicating corresponding quasi co-location information of source reference signals of corresponding network nodes among the plurality of network nodes; selecting up to a specified number of path loss reference signals in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state for use in path loss measurement; as well as A path loss measurement status regarding the selected path loss reference signal is sent to the network node regardless of whether a user equipment maintains a path loss reference signal in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state.

13. A method comprising: Receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, a message from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the message indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmissions within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; as well as associating, by the user equipment, each active transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node within the plurality of network nodes, Wherein for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the method further comprises: before a subsequent uplink transmission to the network node, the other network node and at least one of the additional network nodes in the multiple networks, or a combination thereof, performing a path loss measurement by the user equipment to obtain a power control (PC) value.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: Prior to downlink reception from the network node or uplink transmission to the network node, time or frequency synchronization is performed by the user equipment.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: receiving, from a network node, a request to switch to a target active uplink transmission configuration indicator state among the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states; as well as A signal is sent to the network node among the plurality of network nodes at a power based on the power control value acquired prior to uplink transmission of the network node.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: An uplink transmission configuration indicator command is received via a separate transmission configuration indicator for the uplink, or the uplink transmission configuration indicator command is received via a joint transmission configuration indicator, the joint transmission configuration indicator comprising: a downlink and uplink transmission configuration indicator set.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of transmission configuration indicator states comprises: Respective quasi co-location information (QCI) of a source reference signal (RS) of a respective network node among the plurality of network nodes is indicated.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are based on a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states are reused for the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the number of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a predetermined number; and The method further comprises: A message is received from a network node, the message indicating an uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated in the uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, the uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated having a predetermined number of uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are mutually or partially exclusive of a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states; and The method further comprises: receiving, from the network node, a message with a status indicating activation of the plurality of uplink transmission configuration indicators; as well as The path loss measurement is performed by the user equipment in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state prior to a subsequent uplink transmission.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a subset of a pool of transmission configuration indicator states for downlink and uplink; and The method further comprises: A message is received from the network node at which path loss measurements of one or more path loss reference signals in the uplink transmission configuration state have been performed.

23. The method of any one of claims 21 or 22, wherein the message is one of a radio resource control message or a medium access control element message.

24. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving, by the user equipment, from the network node, a message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states in an uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states comprising: respective quasi-co-location information indicating a source reference signal of a respective network node of the plurality of network nodes; selecting up to a specified number of path loss reference signals in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state for use in path loss measurement; and A path loss measurement status regarding the selected path loss reference signal is sent to the network node regardless of whether a user equipment maintains a path loss reference signal in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state.

25. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, a message from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the message indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmissions within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; means for associating, by the user equipment, each of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node within the plurality of network nodes; as well as Wherein for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the apparatus comprises: a component for performing, by the user equipment, a path loss measurement to obtain a power control (PC) value before a subsequent uplink transmission to at least one of the network node, the other network node, and an additional network node among the multiple network nodes, or a combination thereof.

26. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and storing executable code, the executable code, when executed by at least one data processing device, being configured to cause the at least one data processing device to: Receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, a message from a network node among a plurality of network nodes in the wireless network, the message indicating a set of active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmissions within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; associating, by the user equipment, each active transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states with another network node within the plurality of network nodes; as well as Wherein, for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the executable code, when executed by the at least one data processing device, is also configured to cause the at least one data processing device to: before a subsequent uplink transmission to the network node, the other network node and at least one of the additional network nodes in the multiple network nodes or a combination thereof, perform a path loss measurement by the user equipment to obtain a power control (PC) value.

27. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to at least: sending, by a network node among a plurality of network nodes in a wireless network, a message to a user equipment served by a serving network node, the message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; wherein each active transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node within the plurality of network nodes; and Wherein, for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to at least: receive an uplink transmission from the user equipment at a power based on a power control (PC) value, the PC value being obtained from a path loss measurement performed by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein time or frequency synchronization is performed by the user equipment before uplink transmission by the user equipment to the network node or downlink reception by the user equipment from the network node.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A request is sent to the user equipment, the request being for switching to a target active uplink transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states, wherein a signal is received by the network node at a power based on the power control value.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: An uplink transmission configuration indicator command is sent through a separate transmission configuration indicator for the uplink of the user equipment, or an uplink transmission configuration indicator command of the user equipment is sent through a joint transmission configuration indicator, wherein the joint transmission configuration indicator includes: A set of downlink and uplink transmission configuration indicators for the user equipment.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein each of the plurality of transmission configuration indicator states comprises: Respective quasi co-location information (QCI) of a source reference signal (RS) of a respective network node among the plurality of network nodes is indicated.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are based on a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states are reused for the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the number of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a predetermined number; and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A message is sent to the user equipment, the message indicating an uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated in the uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, the uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated having a predetermined number of uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

35. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are mutually or partially exclusive of a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states; and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A message is sent to the user equipment with activation of the plurality of uplink transmission configuration indicator states, wherein the path loss measurement is performed in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state prior to a subsequent uplink transmission from the user equipment.

36. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a subset of a pool of transmission configuration indicator states for downlink and uplink; and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A message is sent to the user equipment at which path loss measurements of one or more path loss reference signals in the uplink transmission configuration state have been performed.

37. The apparatus of any one of claims 35 or 36, wherein the message is one of a radio resource control message or a medium access control element message.

38. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: Sending a message to the user equipment, the message indicating an active uplink transmission configuration indicator state set in an uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, each active uplink transmission configuration indicator state in the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states comprising: indicating corresponding quasi co-location information of source reference signals of corresponding network nodes among the plurality of network nodes; as well as A path loss measurement status is received to the network node regarding the selected path loss reference signal, regardless of whether the user equipment maintains a path loss reference signal in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state.

39. A method comprising: sending, by a network node among a plurality of network nodes in a wireless network, a message to a user equipment served by a serving network node, the message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; wherein each active transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node within the plurality of network nodes; and Wherein, for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the method also includes: receiving an uplink transmission from the user equipment at a power based on a power control (PC) value, wherein the PC value is obtained from a path loss measurement performed by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein time or frequency synchronization is performed by the user equipment prior to transmission by the user equipment to the network node, or downlink reception from the network node.

41. The method of claim 39, further comprising: A request is sent to the user equipment, the request being for switching to a target active uplink transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states, wherein a signal is received by the network node of the plurality of network nodes at a power based on the power control value.

42. The method of claim 41 further comprising: An uplink transmission configuration indicator command is sent via a separate transmission configuration indicator for the uplink of the user equipment, or an uplink transmission configuration indicator command is sent via a joint transmission configuration indicator, wherein the joint transmission configuration indicator includes: a downlink and uplink transmission configuration indicator set of the user equipment.

43. The method of claim 39, wherein each of the plurality of transmission configuration indicator states comprises: Respective quasi co-location information (QCI) of a source reference signal (RS) of a respective network node among the plurality of network nodes is indicated.

44. The method of claim 39, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are based on a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states are reused for the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

46. ​​The method of claim 44, wherein the number of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a predetermined number; and The method further comprises: A message is sent to the user equipment, the message indicating an uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated in the uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, the uplink transmission configuration indicator state set to be activated having a predetermined number of uplink transmission configuration indicator states.

47. The method of claim 39, wherein the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states are mutually or partially exclusive of a plurality of active downlink transmission configuration indicator states; and The method further comprises: A message is sent to the user equipment with activation of the plurality of uplink transmission configuration indicator states, wherein the path loss measurement is performed in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state prior to a subsequent uplink transmission from the user equipment.

48. The method of claim 39, wherein each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states is a subset of a pool of transmission configuration indicator states for downlink and uplink; and The method further comprises: A message is sent to the user equipment at which path loss measurements of one or more path loss reference signals in the uplink transmission configuration state have been performed.

49. The method of any one of claims 47 or 48, wherein the message is one of a radio resource control message or a medium access control element message.

50. The method of claim 41, further comprising: sending a message to the user equipment, the message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states in an uplink transmission configuration indicator state pool, each of the plurality of active uplink transmission configuration indicator states comprising: corresponding quasi-co-location information indicating a source reference signal of a corresponding network node in the plurality of network nodes; and A path loss measurement status is received to the network node regarding the selected path loss reference signal, regardless of whether the user equipment maintains a path loss reference signal in the active uplink transmission configuration indicator state.

51. An apparatus comprising: means for sending, by a network node of a plurality of network nodes in a wireless network, a message to a user equipment served by a serving network node, the message indicating an active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state set for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; wherein each active transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node within the plurality of network nodes; and Wherein, for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the device also includes: a component for receiving an uplink transmission from the user equipment at a power based on a power control (PC) value, and the PC value is obtained by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

52. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and storing executable code, which when executed by at least one data processing device is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to: sending, by a network node among a plurality of network nodes in a wireless network, a message to a user equipment served by a serving network node, the message indicating a set of active uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for uplink transmission within a downlink, uplink, or joint transmission configuration indicator state pool; wherein each active transmission configuration indicator state of the plurality of active downlink or uplink transmission configuration indicator states is associated with another network node within the plurality of network nodes; and Wherein, for each of the multiple active uplink transmission configuration indicator states associated with the other network node, the executable code, when executed by at least one data processing device, is also configured to cause the at least one data processing device to: receive an uplink transmission from the user equipment at a power based on a power control (PC) value, and the PC value is obtained by the user equipment before the user equipment sends the uplink transmission.

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