Determining channels and signals to apply time advance

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for determining channels and signals to apply time advance. In some embodiments, a method implemented by a user equipment (UE) for associating an uplink (UL) channel and / or signal with a timing advance group (TAG) includes grouping the UL channel and / or signal into at least two groups, each group associated with the TAG; a TAG index is associated with a UL channel and / or signal by one or more of: configuring an identifier (e.g., including a TAG ID) representing the TAG in a UL Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state; and configuring an identifier (e.g., including a TAG ID) representing the TAG in a joint TCI state; and utilizing the TAG ID associated with the UL channel and / or signal for a UL transmission. In this manner, by grouping the UL channels / signals, different TAs may be applied to different UL channels / signals.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63 / 336,379 filed on April 29, 2022, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to associating channels and signals with a Timing Advance Group (TAG) in a cell. Background Art

[0004] NR uses CP-OFDM (Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) in both the downlink (DL) (i.e. from the network node gNB or base station to the user equipment or UE) and uplink (UL) (i.e. from the UE to the gNB). DFT-spread OFDM is also supported in the uplink. In the time domain, the NR downlink and uplink are organized into subframes of equal size, each subframe is 1ms. The subframe is further divided into multiple time slots of equal duration. The time slot length depends on the subcarrier spacing. For a subcarrier spacing of Δf=15kHz, there is only one time slot per subframe, and each time slot includes 14 OFDM symbols.

[0005] Data scheduling in NR is usually based on time slots. Figure 1 An example of 14 symbol slots is shown in FIG, where the first two symbols contain the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and the remaining symbols contain the Physical Shared Data Channel, either the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0006] Different subcarrier spacing values ​​are supported in NR. The supported subcarrier spacing values ​​(also called different numerologies) are given by Δf=(15×2 μ )kHz, where μ∈{0,1,2,3,4}. Δf=15kHz is the basic subcarrier spacing. The time slot duration at different subcarrier spacings is given by Given.

[0007] In the frequency domain, the system bandwidth is divided into resource blocks (RBs), each of which corresponds to 12 consecutive subcarriers. RBs are numbered from one end of the system bandwidth, starting with 0. The basic NR physical time-frequency resource grid is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, only one RB in a time slot of 14 symbols is shown. One OFDM subcarrier during one OFDM symbol interval forms one resource element (RE).

[0008] Downlink transmissions to UEs can be dynamically scheduled by sending downlink control information (DCI) in DL DCI format on PDCCH. DCI contains scheduling information such as time and frequency resources, modulation and coding schemes, etc. User data is carried on PDSCH. UE first detects and decodes PDCCH, and if the decoding is successful, it decodes the corresponding PDSCH according to the scheduling information in DCI.

[0009] Similarly, uplink data transmission can be dynamically scheduled using the UL DCI format on the PDCCH. The UE first decodes the uplink grant in the DCI, and then sends data through the PUSCH according to the control information contained in the uplink grant (such as modulation order, coding rate, uplink resource allocation, etc.).

[0010] In addition to supporting dynamic scheduling, semi-persistent transmission of PUSCH using configuration grant (CG) is also supported in NR. Two types of CG-based PUSCH are defined in NR Rel-15. In CG type 1, the periodicity of PUSCH transmission as well as the time domain offset are configured by RRC. In CG type 2, the periodicity of PUSCH transmission is configured by RRC, and then the activation and release of this transmission is controlled by DCI, that is, using PDCCH.

[0011] DL Antenna Quasi-Colocation

[0012] Several signals may be sent from different antenna ports of the same base station. These signals may have the same large-scale properties, such as Doppler shift / spread, average delay spread or average delay. These antenna ports are then referred to as quasi-co-located (QCL).

[0013] If the UE knows that both antenna ports are QCL with respect to a certain parameter (eg, Doppler spread), the UE can estimate the parameter based on one of the antenna ports and apply the estimate to receiving the signal on the other antenna port.

[0014] In NR, the antenna ports are defined by reference signals (RS), so the QCL relationship between the antenna ports is described by the QCL relationship between the source RS and the target RS. In NR, four types of QCL relationships between the source RS and the target RS are defined as follows:

[0015] Type A: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}

[0016] Type B: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}

[0017] Type C: {average delay, Doppler shift}

[0018] Type D: {spatial Rx parameters}

[0019] Information about which assumptions can be made about the QCL is signaled from the network to the UE through the transmission configuration indicator TCI status.

[0020] Each TCI state contains QCL information, i.e., one or two source DL RSs and the associated QCL type. The source DL RS can be a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, or a synchronization signal and PBCH (SS / PBCH) block. If two source RSs are configured, one of them is associated with QCL type D. For example, a TCI state may contain {CSI-RS1, QCL type A} and {CSI-RS2, QCL type D}, which means that the UE can derive Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread from CSI-RS1, and derive spatial Rx parameters (i.e., RX beam to be used) from CSI-RS2.

[0021] In NR Rel-15 and Rel-16, a TCI state list can be configured by RRC for PDSCH, and a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) can activate up to 8 TCI states in the list. Up to 8 activated TCI states are mapped to up to 8 TCI code points, where each TCI code point can contain one of the activated TCI states for PDSCH transmission from a single transmit and receive point (TRP), and can contain two of the activated TCI states for PDSCH transmission from two TRPs. For dynamically scheduled PDSCH, the associated TCI state is indicated in the TCI code point of the corresponding DCI that schedules the PDSCH.

[0022] For PDCCH, each CORSET is configured with a TCI state list by RRC, and one TCI state in the TCI state list is activated by MAC CE.The TCI state for PDCCH is determined by the TCI state activated for the control resource set (CORESET) in which the PDCCH is transmitted.

[0023] For periodic CSI-RS, the corresponding TCI state is configured by RRC in each CSI-RS resource. For semi-persistent CSI-RS, the associated TCI state is indicated in the corresponding activation MAC CE. For aperiodic CSI-RS, the TCI state is configured by RRC in the corresponding aperiodic CSI trigger state.

[0024] Spatial relationship for UL channels / signals

[0025] Spatial relationship is used in NR to refer to the spatial relationship between a UL channel or signal and another previously transmitted UL RS or a previously received DL RS. The UL channel or signal can be a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), PUSCH or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the DL RS can be a CSI-RS or SSB (synchronization signal and PBCH block). The UL RS is a periodic SRS (sounding reference signal). The DL RS and the UL RS can be located in the same serving cell as the UL channel or signal, or can be located in a different serving cell from the UL channel or signal.

[0026] If the UL signal or channel is spatially correlated with the DL RS, this means that the UE should use the same spatial filter as previously used to receive the DL RS to send the UL signal or channel. The spatial filter can be an antenna beam. The DL RS is also called a spatial filter reference signal. If the UL signal or channel is spatially correlated with the UL RS, the UE should apply the same spatial filter previously used to send the UL RS to send the UL signal or channel.

[0027] In NR Rel-15 and Rel-16, spatial relations are configured separately for PUCCH, PUSCH and SRS. For PUCCH, each PUCCH resource can be configured with up to 8 spatial relations by RRC, one of which can be activated by MAC CE. Each PUCCH spatial relation information also contains the path loss RS for PUCCH power control purposes.

[0028] For SRS, each SRS resource may be configured with an SRS spatial relationship by RRC. The SRS spatial relationship may be updated by MAC CE.

[0029] For PUSCH, the spatial relationship is the same as that of the associated SRS resources.

[0030] Rel-17 unified TCI status framework for a single TRP

[0031] In 3GPP Rel-17, a new unified TCI state framework was introduced, which aims to streamline the indication of transmit / receive spatial filters (and other QCL properties) to the UE by having a single TCI state (identified by TCI-StateID_r17) indicate the QCL properties of multiple different DL and / or UL signals / channels.

[0032] The new unified TCI state framework may include three stages of TCI state indication for all DL and UL channels / signals or a subset thereof. In the first stage, RRC is used to configure the TCI state list. In the second stage, one or more of the RRC-configured TCI states are activated via MAC-CE signaling and mapped to different TCI code points of the TCI field in the DCI. Finally, in the third stage, DCI signaling is used to select one of the activated TCI states (or select two TCI states in the case where separate TCI states are used for DL ​​channels / signals and UL channels / signals).

[0033] Both joint DL / UL TCI and separate DL / UL TCI are supported in NR Rel-17. For joint DL / UL TCI, a single TCI state is used to determine the transmit / receive spatial filters for both DL signal / channel and UL signal / channel. For separate DL / UL TCI, one DL TCI state is used to indicate the receive spatial filter for the DL signal / channel, and a separate UL TCI state is used to indicate the transmit spatial filter for the UL signal / channel.

[0034] For PDCCH and dynamically scheduled PDSCH, if the UE is provided with TCI-StateID_r17, the DM-RS antenna ports used for PDCCH reception in the CORESET (except the CORESET with index 0, which is only associated with the UE-specific search space (USS) set and / or the type 3 PDCCH common search space (CSS) set) and the DM-RS antenna ports used for PDSCH reception scheduled by the DCI format provided by the PDCCH reception in the CORESET are quasi-co-located with the reference signal provided by the indicated TCI-State-r17.

[0035] If the UE is provided with the higher layer parameter useIndicatedTCIState for a CORESET (except CORESET with index 0, which is only associated with CSS sets other than Type3-PDCCH CCS sets), and if useIndicatedTCIState is set to enabled, the DM-RS antenna ports used for PDCCH reception in the CORESET and the DM-RS antenna ports used for PDSCH reception scheduled by the DCI format provided by PDCCH reception in the CORESET are quasi-co-located with the reference signal provided by the indicated TCI-state-r17.

[0036] For UL, when TCI-State is configured for the UE with tci-StateId_r17, the UE shall implement PUCCH transmission and PUSCH transmission corresponding to type 1 configuration grant or type 2 configuration grant or dynamic grant according to the configured RS (wherein the qcl-Type of the TCI-State indicated by tci-StateId_r17 is set to 'typeD').

[0037] If the SRS resource [set] is configured with useIndicatedTCIState, the UE shall send target SRS resources within the SRS resource set according to the configured RS (where qcl-Type is set to 'typeD' in SourceRs-Info-r17 of the TCI-State indicated with tci-StateId_r17).

[0038] The RS can be a CSI-RS resource in an NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet configured with a higher layer parameter repetition, a CSI-RS resource in an NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet configured with a higher layer parameter trs-Info, or, in the case where the TCI-State with tci-StateId_r17 is used only for UL, it can be an SRS resource in which the higher layer parameter usage is set to 'beamManagement', or it can be an SS / PBCH block associated with a PCI that is the same as or different from the PCI of the serving cell.

[0039] Multi-DCI Scheduling in Rel-16

[0040] In NR Release 16, multi-DCI based DL and UL scheduling is introduced, in which the UE can receive two DCI formats (first DCI format and second DCI format) carried by two PDCCHs (first PDCCH and second PDCCH) in two CORESETs (first CORESET and second CORESET) respectively in a time slot. The first CORESET and the second CORESET are associated with a first CORESET pool index and a second CORESET pool index. The first DCI format and the second DCI format schedule the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH sent from the first transmission and reception point TRP and the second transmission and reception point TRP, respectively. It is assumed that the time difference between the two TRPs is very small and within the cyclic prefix (CP), so that common DL and UL timing is used for the two TRPs.

[0041] Figure 3 An example of multi-DCI based PDSCH scheduling from two TRPs is shown. Figure 3An example is shown in , where PDCCH 1 is received in CORESET 1 with CORESET pool index = 0, scheduling PDSCH 1 from TRP 1, and PDCCH 2 is received in CORESET 2 with CORESET pool index = 1, scheduling PDSCH 2 from TRP 2. The two PDSCHs may overlap completely, partially, or non-overlap in time. The HARQ-ACK associated with PDSCH 1 and PDSCH 2 are carried in PUCCH 1 and PUCCH 2, respectively, which do not overlap in time and are sent to TRP 1 and TRP 2, respectively.

[0042] Similarly, the PUSCH towards TRP1 can be scheduled by the DCI format carried in the PDCCH in CORESET 1, and the PUSCH towards TRP2 can be scheduled by the DCI format carried in the PDCCH in CORESET 2. Figure 4 An example of multi-DCI based PUSCH scheduling from two TRPs is shown. Figure 4 An example is shown in , where PDCCH 3 in CORESET 1 with CORESET pool index = 0 schedules PUSCH 1 from TRP 1, and PDCCH 4 in CORESET 2 with CORESET pool index = 1 schedules PUSCH 2 from TRP 2. PUSCH 1 and PUSCH 2 do not overlap in time.

[0043] For multi-DCI multi-TRP operation, the UE needs to be configured with two CORESET pools, each CORESET pool is associated with a TRP. Each CORESET pool is a collection of CORESETs configured with the same CORESET pool index.

[0044] Time alignment and uplink synchronization in NR

[0045] Different UEs in the same serving cell may be located at different locations within the cell and therefore at different distances from the base station (e.g., NRgNB). UEs in NR typically acquire DL slot and symbol timing based on the SSB during cell search and use the DL timing as a reference to send a PRACH preamble associated with the SSB to the base station in the UL. Due to the round-trip propagation delay, the PRACH may be received at the base station and may be time offset relative to the expected UL timing at the base station. A timing correction is then sent from the base station to the UE in a RACH response message (RAR) to the UE. The timing correction is called timing advance (TA) and is used to compensate for the round-trip propagation delay so that subsequent UL channels or signals can arrive at the base station at the desired UL slot or symbol time.

[0046] Figure 5The time alignment of uplink transmissions with timing advance is shown. Figure 5 An example is shown in FIG. 1 , where, in order to achieve UL time alignment at the base station, the UL transmission at the UE requires N relative to the DL timing at the UE. TA =2τ time advance to compensate for the UL time offset caused by the propagation delay τ.

[0047] Note that the UL symbol or slot timing at the base station may be shifted by a configurable time offset relative to the DL timing. In this case, the UE may be configured with a fixed timing advance offset N TA,offset , and in addition to applying a fixed time advance offset N TA,offset In addition, N TA , that is, the total time advance of the application is N TA,offset +N TA .

[0048] When a UE is connected to several different serving cells, the same TA value may sometimes be used for more than one of these cells, e.g. because they are co-located and thus always at the same distance from the UE. Such cells may then be configured to belong to the same Timing Advance Group (TAG). The configuration of the TAG is done per cell group, i.e., serving cells may be configured to belong to the same TAG only if they belong to the same cell group (Master Cell Group (MCG) or Secondary Cell Group (SCG)).

[0049] When the UE has not performed any UL transmission in the serving cell for some time, the TA value used earlier by the UE may no longer be accurate, for example, because the UE has moved and therefore has a different propagation delay. In this case, if the UE performs an UL transmission using the last received TA value, it may arrive at the base station outside the reception window and therefore cannot be correctly received by the base station. This transmission may then even interfere with other UL transmissions (from other UEs). Therefore, a timer timeAlignmentTimer is configured for each TAG to indicate how long the UE can consider itself to be in uplink time alignment with the serving cell belonging to the associated TAG without receiving any updates to the TA value. Therefore, timeAlignmentTimer indicates the duration in which the UE can consider the received TA value to be valid. If the UE does not receive an updated value before the timeAlignmentTimer expires, the UE is no longer UL synchronized with the serving cell belonging to the corresponding TAG. The details are described in Section 9.2.9 of TS 38.300.

[0050] In addition to the initial TA carried in the RACH response message, the timing advance command MAC CE carries the regular TA during the time maintenance period, such as Figure 6 As shown (copied from 3GPP TS 38.321 Figure 6 .1.3.4-1), which includes:

[0051] ·TAG ID: This field indicates the TAG ID of the TAG. The TAG containing the SpCell (i.e., a special cell, which can be a primary cell in an MCG or SCG, where the primary cell supports PUCCH transmission and contention-based random access and is always activated) has a TAG ID of 0. The length of this field is 2 bits;

[0052] Timing Advance Command: This field indicates the index value T used to control the timing adjustment amount that the MAC entity must apply. A

[0053] (0, 1, 2 ... 63) (as specified in TS 38.213). The length of this field is 6 bits.

[0054] According to 3GPP TS 38.213, after receiving the timing advance command for the TAG, the UE TA,offset (which the UE expects to be the same for all serving cells in the TAG), and based on the received timing advance instruction (where the uplink timing for PUSCH / SRS / PUCCH transmission is the same for all serving cells in the TAG), adjust the uplink timing for PUSCH / SRS / PUCCH transmission on all serving cells in the TAG.

[0055] For 2 μ 15kHz SCS, used for TAG timing advance command T A Indicates the change in uplink timing relative to the current uplink timing for the TAG (in terms of 16·64·T c / 2 μ multiples of), where T c =1 / (Δf max ·N f ), Δf max =480·10 3 Hz, and N f =4096.

[0056] In case of random access response to TAG, the timing advance command is transmitted via T A =0,1,2,...,3846 indicates the index value N TA The time alignment between TAG and 2μ·15kHz SCS is N TA =T A ·16·64 / 2μ , and is related to the SCS of the first uplink transmission from the UE after receiving the random access.

[0057] In other cases, the timing advance command T for TAG A By T A =0,1,2,...,63 indicates the current N TA Value N TA_old Adjust to the new N TA Value N TA_new , where for 2 μ 15kHz SCS, N TA_new =N TA_old +(T A -31)·16·64 / 2 μ .

[0058] Each serving cell configuration may have an associated TAG identifier, such as an SCell and / or SpCell of a cell group. The UE shall assume that two serving cells configured with the same TAG identifier have the same time alignment timer and belong to the same time alignment group.

[0059] Uplink time alignment maintenance

[0060] After the UE is configured with its serving cell for a given cell group (e.g., primary cell group (MCG) and / or secondary cell group (SCG)), the UE obtains an initial TA value via a random access response (RAR) and is configured with an association between the serving cell and the TAG identifier. The UE needs to maintain time alignment according to the TA procedure defined in Section 5.2 of TS 38.321.

[0061] For the purpose of time alignment maintenance, the time alignment timer of each TAG is used to control the time that the MAC entity considers the serving cells belonging to the associated TAG to be in uplink time alignment.

[0062] After receiving the timing advance command (which is a MAC CE), if the time alignment timer has not expired, the UE applies the time advance indicated in the command and starts / restarts the timer.

[0063] When the time alignment timer expires, the following procedure is specified in TS38.321, where the primary TAG (PTAG) is the TAG of the SpCell containing the MAC entity, and the secondary TAG (STAG) is the TAG containing cells other than the primary cell.

[0064] If the time alignment timer is associated with PTAG:

[0065] o flush all HARQ buffers for all serving cells;

[0066] o Notify RRC to release PUCCH for all serving cells (if configured);

[0067] o Notify RRC to release SRS for all serving cells (if configured);

[0068] o Clear any configured downlink allocations and configured uplink grants;

[0069] o Clear any PUSCH resources used for semi-persistent CSI reporting;

[0070] oConsider all running time alignment timers as expired;

[0071] o Maintain N for all tags TA .

[0072] Otherwise, if the time alignment timer is associated with a STAG, then for all serving cells belonging to the TAG:

[0073] oFlush all HARQ buffers;

[0074] o Notify RRC to release PUCCH (if configured);

[0075] o Notify RRC to release SRS (if configured);

[0076] o Clear any configured downlink allocations and configured uplink grants;

[0077] o Clear any PUSCH resources used for semi-persistent CSI reporting;

[0078] oMaintain the N of this TAG TA .

[0079] When the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the TAG to which the serving cell belongs is not running, the MAC entity shall not perform any uplink transmission on the serving cell, except for the random access preamble and MSGA transmission. In addition, when the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the PTAG is not running, the MAC entity shall not perform any uplink transmission on any serving cell, except for the random access preamble and MSGA transmission on the SpCell. For more details on the maintenance process, refer to TS38.321.

[0080] Several challenges exist. Improved systems and methods are needed to determine channels and signals to apply a timing advance. Summary of the invention

[0081] Systems and methods for determining channels and signals to apply time advance are provided. In some embodiments, a method implemented by a user equipment (UE) for associating uplink (UL) channels and / or signals with a timing advance group (TAG) includes: grouping the UL channels and / or signals into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; associating a TAG index with the UL channels and / or signals by one or more of: configuring an identifier representing the TAG (e.g., including a TAG ID) in a UL transmission configuration indication (TCI) state; and configuring an identifier representing the TAG (e.g., including a TAG ID) in a joint TCI state; and for UL transmission, utilizing the TAG ID associated with the UL channels and / or signals. In this manner, by grouping the UL channels / signals, different TAs can be applied to different UL channels / signals.

[0082] In some embodiments, the associated TAG index includes one or more of a group containing: each channel / signal configured with a spatial relationship uses an associated TAG; each channel / signal configured with a path loss RS uses an associated TAG; each UL signal associated with an SSB or non-zero power NZP CSI-RS resource uses an associated TAG; and each UL channel / signal configured with a UL TCI state uses an associated TAG.

[0083] In some embodiments, the TAG ID is explicitly configured in the corresponding spatial relation information element. In some embodiments, the first TAG is provided by the 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell. In some embodiments, if the associated SRS / PUSCH or PUCCH is to be sent to a TRP associated with the second TAG, the second TAG is configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo and / or PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo.

[0084] In some embodiments, when 'tag-Id' is not configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo of SRS spatial relation, then the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the SRS spatial relation. In some embodiments, when 'tag-Id' is not configured in PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo of PUCCH spatial relation, then the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the PUCCH spatial relation.

[0085] In some embodiments, the association with the TAG is explicitly configured in the corresponding path loss RS for each UL channel or signal. In some embodiments, the association with the TAG is explicitly configured for each SSB and CSI-RS for the path loss reference RS. In some embodiments, for the SSB to TAG association, a set of SSB indexes may be added to each TAG.

[0086] In some embodiments, each joint DL / UL or UL TCI state may include a TAG-Id. In some embodiments, the 'tag-Id' is optionally configured in the DLorJoint-TCIState and / or UL-TCIState. In some embodiments, the first TAG is provided by the 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell in which the SRS, PUCCH or PUSCH is transmitted. In some embodiments, the wireless device is a new radio (NR) UE. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0087] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0088] Figure 1 An example of data scheduling in New Radio (NR) with a slot of 14 symbols is shown, where the first two symbols contain a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and the remaining symbols contain a Physical Shared Data Channel, i.e. a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH);

[0089] Figure 2 The basic NR physical time-frequency resource grid is shown, where only one RB within a slot of 14 symbols is shown;

[0090] Figure 3 An example of multiple downlink control information (DCI) based PDSCH scheduling from two transmission and reception points (TRPs) is shown;

[0091] Figure 4 An example of multi-DCI based PUSCH scheduling from two TRPs is shown;

[0092] Figure 5 The time alignment of uplink transmission with timing advance is shown;

[0093] Figure 6 It is shown that the normal timing advance (TA) during the time maintenance period is carried in the timing advance command medium access control (MAC) control element (CE);

[0094] Figure 7 shows the use of two timing advances N according to some embodiments TA1 and N TA2 Example of uplink (UL) time alignment with two TRPs;

[0095] Figure 8 is an example of a flow chart according to the above-described embodiment;

[0096] Fig. 9 An example of a communication system according to some embodiments is shown;

[0097] Fig.10 illustrates a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments;

[0098] Fig.11 shows a network node according to some embodiments;

[0099] Fig.12 is a block diagram of a host according to various aspects described herein, which host may be Fig. 9 An embodiment of a host;

[0100] Fig.13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; and

[0101] Fig.14 A communication diagram is shown in which a host communicates with a UE via a network node over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0102] The embodiments described below represent information that enables those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, and illustrate the best mode for practicing these embodiments. After reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and will recognize the applications of these concepts not specifically mentioned herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0103] In NR Rel-18, two time advances, one for each TRP, will be studied for multi-DCI based uplink transmissions towards two TRPs where there may be a large time difference between the two TRPs. For UL transmissions to different TRPs, different time advances are applied so that the received UL signal at each expected TRP is time aligned.

[0104] In the current 3GPP Rel-16 specification for multi-TRP operation based on multi-DCI, TRP is not explicitly specified. Instead, the CORESETs configured for the UE are divided into two groups, each called a CORESET pool. Even though a CORESET pool can be considered to be associated with a TRP, not every UL channel / signal can be linked to a CORESET pool. For example, PUSCH, SRS, and PUCCH carrying CSI or SR based on type 1 configuration grants are not associated with any PDCCH and therefore are not associated with any CORESET. In Rel-16, it is the network's responsibility to ensure that each UL channel / signal to be sent to a TRP is sent by configuring the correct parameters associated with the TRP (such as spatial relationship or path loss reference RS, etc.).

[0105] Therefore, when two TAs are introduced in Rel-18, how to determine which TA to apply to which UL channel / signal is a problem.

[0106] Systems and methods for determining channels and signals to apply time advance are provided. In some embodiments, a method implemented by a user equipment (UE) for associating uplink (UL) channels and / or signals with a timing advance group (TAG) includes: grouping the UL channels and / or signals into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; associating a TAG index with the UL channels and / or signals by one or more of: configuring an identifier representing the TAG (e.g., including a TAG ID) in a UL transmission configuration indication (TCI) state; and configuring an identifier representing the TAG (e.g., including a TAG ID) in a joint TCI state; and for UL transmission, utilizing the TAG ID associated with the UL channels and / or signals. In this manner, by grouping the UL channels / signals, different TAs can be applied to different UL channels / signals.

[0107] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges. A method for associating UL channels and signals with one of two time advance groups (TAGs) in a cell is proposed. In some embodiments, the method includes one of the following: including a TAG ID in each spatial relation information element; including a TAG ID in each path loss reference signal configuration; including a TAG ID in each unified TCI state; associating a TAG ID with a CSI-RS and a set of SSBs.

[0108] In some embodiments, a method includes: dividing UL channels / signals into two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; associating a TAG index (i.e., TAG1) with the following items: spatial relationship: each channel / signal configured with a specific spatial relationship uses an associated TAG; path loss RS: each channel / signal configured with a specific path loss RS uses an associated TAG; SSB or NZP CSI-RS resource: each UL signal associated with an SSB or NSP CSI-RS resource uses an associated TAG; UL TCI: each UL channel / signal configured with a UL TCI state uses an associated TAG.

[0109] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages: The method enables different TAs to be applied to different UL channels / signals by grouping UL channels / signals.

[0110] Figure 7 shows the use of two timing advances N TA1 and N TA2 Example of UL time alignment with two TRPs. In this figure, it is assumed that the DL and UL slot / symbol timing are aligned at the two TRPs. Due to the different propagation delays from the two TRPs to the UE, the DL slot / symbol timing received at the UE from the two TRPs is shifted in time. In order to achieve UL time alignment at each TRP, the UE needs to apply two different timing advances for its UL transmissions towards the two TRPs.

[0111] exist Figure 7 In the embodiment, each of the two timing advances is related to the DL timing received from the corresponding TRP. Optionally, both time advances can be related to a common DL timing at the UE, for example, based on the DL slot / symbol timing received from TRP1 or TRP2.

[0112] Associating UL channels and signals with TAGs

[0113] It is conceivable that two TAGs may be configured for UL transmissions to two TRPs in a serving cell. For UL channels or signals sent to each TRP, a TAG may be indicated. For UL channels and signals to be sent to different TRPs, different TAG values ​​may be indicated. TAG indication may be in different ways.

[0114] Associating TAG with spatial relationship information

[0115] In one embodiment, the TAG ID is explicitly configured in the corresponding spatial relation information element. For example, it can be configured as a part of the PUCCH or SRS spatial relation information element as follows, where "tag-id" is included in the spatial relation configuration to indicate the associated TAG and the corresponding TA.

[0116]

[0117]

[0118] For PUSCH, the UE applies the timing advance associated with the TAG configured in the corresponding SRS resource indicated by the SRS Resource Indicator (SRI) in the DCI scheduling the PUSCH or configured by RRC if the PUSCH has a type configuration grant.

[0119] In one embodiment, the 'tag-Id' is optionally configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo and / or PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo. In another embodiment, the first TAG is provided by the 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell in which the SRS, PUCCH or PUSCH is sent. If the associated SRS / PUSCH or PUCCH is to be sent to a TRP associated with the second TAG, only the second TAG is configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo and / or PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo.

[0120] When no 'tag-Id' is configured in the SRS-SpatialRelationInfo of the SRS spatial relation, then the first 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig is applied to the SRS spatial relation. Note that the ServingCellConfig here is an information element containing the serving cell configuration information of the serving cell associated with the SRS-SpatialRelationInfo.

[0121] Similarly, when no 'tag-Id' is configured in the PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo of a PUCCH spatial relation, then the first 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig is applied to the PUCCH spatial relation. Note that the ServingCellConfig here is an information element containing the serving cell configuration information of the serving cell associated with the PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo.

[0122] Associating TAG with Pathloss RS

[0123] In both FR1 and FR2, for power control purposes, each UL channel or signal is configured with a DL RS or path loss reference RS for path loss measurement. One or more DL RSs may be configured and used as path loss reference RSs. Therefore, in another embodiment, the association with the TAG is explicitly configured in the corresponding path loss RS for each UL channel or signal. Some examples of PUCCH, PUSCH and SRS are shown below.

[0124]

[0125]

[0126] Associating TAG with SSB and CSI-RS

[0127] The disadvantage of the above embodiment is that a TAG ID needs to be configured for each UL channel or signal. In another embodiment, an association with a TAG is explicitly configured for each SSB and CSI-RS for a path loss reference RS. An example is shown below, where a TAG is configured in each CSI-RS resource.

[0128] NZP-CSI-RS-Resource information element

[0129]

[0130]

[0131] For the association of SSB with TAG, a set of SSB indexes may be added to each TAG. An example is shown below, where one or more SSB indexes are included in the TAG configuration.

[0132] TAG-Config Information Element

[0133]

[0134] Associate TAG with unified TCI status

[0135] When using the unified TCI state framework, each UL transmission can be associated with a joint DL / UL TCI state or a UL TCI state. In order to be able to send different UL signals with different TAs, each joint DL / UL or UL TCI state may include a TAG-Id:

[0136]

[0137]

[0138] In one embodiment, the 'tag-Id' is optionally configured in DLorJoint-TCIState and / or UL-TCIState. In another embodiment, the first TAG is provided by the 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell in which the SRS, PUCCH or PUSCH is transmitted. Only the second TAG is configured in DLorJoint-TCIState and / or UL-TCIState.

[0139] When 'tag-Id' is not configured in DLorJoint-TCIState of a joint TCI state or DL ​​TCI state, then the 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig applies to that DL TCI state or joint TCI state. Note that ServingCellConfig here is an information element containing serving cell configuration information of a serving cell associated with a DL TCI state or joint TCI state.

[0140] Similarly, when 'tag-Id' is not configured in UL-TCIState of a UL TCI state, then the 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig applies to the UL TCI state. Note that ServingCellConfig here is an information element containing serving cell configuration information of a serving cell associated with a UL TCI state.

[0141] Although TAG ID is used above to indicate which of the two TAs is applied for the UL channel or signal, other identifiers may be used for the same purpose.

[0142] In some embodiments, a method implemented by a UE for associating an UL channel and / or signal with one of a first TAG and a second TAG in a serving cell includes: receiving one of the following configurations for the UL channel or signal: UL TCI state, joint DL and UL TCI state, spatial relationship, path loss RS; determining one of the first TAG and the second TAG for the UL channel or signal based on a TAG identifier included in the configuration; and applying a timing advance TA associated with the determined one of the first TAG and the second TAG for UL transmission of the UL channel and / or signal.

[0143] In some embodiments, the configuration is performed via one of radio resource control RRC signaling, MAC command, and physical layer DCI.

[0144] In some embodiments, the UL channel or signal is one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and an SRS. In some embodiments, the path loss RS may be one of a CSI-RS and an SSB. In some embodiments, the TAG identifier is used to identify one of the first TAG and the second TAG. In some embodiments, the first TAG is indicated by a first value of the TAG identifier and the second TAG is indicated by a second value of the TAG identifier. In some embodiments, if the TAG identifier is not present in the configuration, the first TAG is implicitly indicated, and when the TAG identifier is present in the configuration, the second TAG is indicated.

[0145] In some embodiments, the TAG identifier is the same as 'tag-Id'. In some embodiments, the TAG identifier is different from 'tag-Id'. In some embodiments, the first TAG is configured in ServingCellConfig and the second TAG is configured in the spatial relationship SRS-SpatialRelationInfo for SRS and / or the spatial relationship PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo for PUCCH.

[0146] Figure 8 is an example of a flowchart according to the above-described embodiment.

[0147] Fig. 9 An example of a communication system 900 is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0148] In this example, the communication system 900 includes a telecommunications network 902, which includes an access network 904, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 906, which includes one or more core network nodes 908. The access network 904 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 910A and 910B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 910), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). The network nodes 910 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as connecting UEs 912A, 912B, 912C, and 912D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 912) to the core network 906 via one or more wireless connections.

[0149] Example wireless communications over wireless connections include sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transferring information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. In addition, in various embodiments, the communication system 900 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether over a wired or wireless connection. The communication system 900 may include and / or interface to any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0150] UE 912 may be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 910 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 910 is arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 912 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 902 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or perform other functions, such as management in telecommunication network 902.

[0151] In the depicted example, the core network 906 connects the network node 910 to one or more hosts, such as the host 916. These connections may be direct or may be indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node may be directly coupled to the host. The core network 906 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 908) constructed with hardware and software components. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, network node, and / or host, so that their description is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 908. The example core network node includes a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier de-hiding function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection agent (SEPP), a network open function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF) One or more functions.

[0152] The host 916 may be owned or controlled by a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 904 and / or the telecommunications network 902, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host 916 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include real-time and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data of various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs, analysis functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions implemented by a server.

[0153] Overall, Fig. 9 The communication system 900 implements the connection between the UE, the network node and the host. In this sense, the communication system 900 can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or other suitable second, third, fourth or fifth generation (2G, 3G, 4G or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., sixth generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi and / or any low power wide area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0154] In some examples, the telecommunication network 902 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, the telecommunication network 902 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunication network 902. For example, the telecommunication network 902 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (IoT) services to other UEs.

[0155] In some examples, the UE 912 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to send information to the access network 904 according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the access network 904. Additionally, the UE may be configured to operate in a single or multiple radio access technologies (RATs) or multiple standard modes. For example, the UE may operate using any one or a combination of WiFi, new radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., be configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0156] In this example, the hub 914 communicates with the access network 904 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 912C and / or 912D) and a network node (e.g., network node 910B). In some examples, the hub 914 can be a controller, a router, a content source and analysis, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 914 can be a broadband router that enables the UE to access the core network 906. As another example, the hub 914 can be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The command or instruction can be received from the UE, the network node 910, or received by an executable code, a script, a process, or other instructions in the hub 914. As another example, the hub 914 can be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage for UE data, and in some embodiments, analysis or other processing of the data can be implemented. As another example, the hub 914 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a virtual reality (VR) headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 914 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and then the hub 914 provides it directly to the UE, provides it to the UE after implementing local processing, and / or provides it to the UE after adding additional local content. In another example, the hub 914 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, especially when one or more UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0157] The hub 914 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 910B. The hub 914 may also allow different communication schemes and / or scheduling between the hub 914 and the UE (e.g., UE 912C and / or 912D) and between the hub 914 and the core network 906. In other examples, the hub 914 is connected to the core network 906 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. In addition, the hub 914 may be configured to be connected to a machine-to-machine (M2M) service provider and / or to another UE via a direct connection via the access network 904. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 910 while still being connected via the hub 914 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 914 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose main function is to route communication from the network node 910B to the UE or from the UE to the network node 910B. In other embodiments, hub 914 may be a non-dedicated hub, ie, a device operable to route communications between UEs and network node 910B, but which is also operable as a communications origin and / or destination for a particular data channel.

[0158] Fig.10 UE 1000 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, notebook computers, notebook embedded devices (LEEs), notebook mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted or vehicle-mounted embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by 3GPP, including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communications (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0159] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, such as by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user owning and / or operating the associated device. Rather, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but may not be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller), or may not initially be associated with one. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user, but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart meter).

[0160] UE 1000 includes a processing circuit 1002, which is operatively coupled to an input / output interface 1006, a power supply 1008, a memory 1010, a communication interface 1012, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, via a bus 1004. Some UEs may utilize Fig.10 All or a subset of the components shown in . The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0161] The processing circuit 1002 is configured to process instructions and data, and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in the memory 1010 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit 1002 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic and appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs), and appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 1002 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0162] In this example, the input / output interface 1006 can be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device can allow a user to capture information into the UE 1000. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, web cameras, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, direction pads, trackpads, rollers, smart cards, etc. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device can use an interface port of the same type as an input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port can be used to provide input devices and output devices.

[0163] In some embodiments, the power supply 1008 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies may be used, such as an external power supply (e.g., a power outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power supply 1008 may also include a power supply circuit for delivering power from the power supply 1008 itself and / or an external power supply to various components of the UE 1000 through an input circuit or an interface such as a power cable. For example, the delivered power may be used to charge the power supply 1008. The power supply circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power supply 1008 so that the power is suitable for the corresponding components of the UE 1000 to which the power is supplied.

[0164] The memory 1010 may be or be configured to include a memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, a flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 1010 includes one or more application programs 1014, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1016. The memory 1010 may store any one of a variety of different operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE 1000.

[0165] The memory 1010 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory, such as a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a universal SIM (USIM) and / or an Internet Protocol Multimedia Service Identity Module (ISIM), other memories, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card". The memory 1010 may allow the UE 1000 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a transient or non-transient storage medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture (eg, an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system) may be tangibly embodied as or in memory 1010, which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0166] The processing circuit 1002 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 1012. The communication interface 1012 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include an antenna 1022 or be communicatively coupled to the antenna 1022. The communication interface 1012 may include one or more transceivers for communication, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1018 and / or a receiver 1020 suitable for providing network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 1018 and the receiver 1020 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1022) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or may alternatively be implemented separately.

[0167] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functionality of the communication interface 1012 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication (such as Bluetooth, NFC), location-based communication (such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location), another similar communication functionality, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical network (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), fast user datagram protocol Internet connection (QUIC), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0168] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide an output of the data captured by its sensor through its communication interface 1012 or through a wireless connection to a network node. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be transmitted to the network node via another UE through a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to balance the load of reports from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., when humidity is detected, an alarm is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0169] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface that is configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch can change. For example, the UE can include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight based on the received input, or adjusts a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure based on the received input.

[0170] When the UE is in the form of an IoT device, it can be a device for one or more application areas, including but not limited to urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are the following devices or devices embedded in the following devices: connected refrigerators or freezers, televisions, connected lighting devices, electricity meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electric door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, self-driving cars, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or VR, wearable devices for tactile enhancement or sensory enhancement, sprinklers, animal or item tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any type of medical equipment, such as heart rate monitors or remotely controlled surgical robots. In addition to including, for example, in combination with Fig.10 In addition to the other components described in the UE 1000 shown in FIG. 1 , the UE 1000 may also include circuits and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0171] As another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. In this case, the UE may be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, a UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, airplane, or other device capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

[0172] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or integrated into a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller for operating the drone. When the user makes changes via the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first and / or second UE may also include one or more of the above functions. For example, a UE may include a sensor and an actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0173] Fig.11A network node 1100 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

[0174] BSs can be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power level), and therefore can be called a femto BS, a pico BS, a micro BS, or a macro BS, depending on the amount of coverage provided. The BS can be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. The network nodes can also include one or more (or all) components of a distributed radio BS, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes called a remote radio head (RRH). Such an RRU may be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio, or it may not be integrated with an antenna. The components of a distributed radio BS may also be called nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0175] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (such as MSRBS), network controllers (such as radio network controllers (RNC) or BS controllers (BSC)), base transceiver stations (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), operations and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operations support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., evolved serving mobile positioning centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or minimization of drive tests (MDTs).

[0176] The network node 1100 includes a processing circuit 1102, a memory 1104, a communication interface 1106, and a power supply 1108. The network node 1100 may include multiple physically separated components (e.g., a node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding component. In a specific scenario where the network node 1100 includes multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more separate components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple node Bs. In such a scenario, in some instances, each unique node B and RNC pair may be considered as a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1100 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such an embodiment, some components may be repeated (e.g., separate memories 1104 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., antennas 1110 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1100 may also include multiple sets of the various components shown for different wireless technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies, integrated into the network node 1100. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 1100.

[0177] The processing circuit 1102 may include a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, a combination of one or more of resources, or a combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic that is operable to provide network node 1100 functionality alone or in combination with other network node 1100 components (such as memory 1104).

[0178] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1102 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1102 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1112 and baseband processing circuitry 1114. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1112 and baseband processing circuitry 1114 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1112 and baseband processing circuitry 1114 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0179] The memory 1104 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to persistent memory, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile, non-volatile, non-transient device-readable and / or computer-executable storage device that stores information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 1102. The memory 1104 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 1102 and utilized by the network node 1100). The memory 1104 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 1102 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1106. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1102 and the memory 1104 are integrated.

[0180] The communication interface 1106 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 1106 includes a port / terminal 1116 for, for example, sending data to the network and receiving data from the network via a wired connection. The communication interface 1106 also includes a radio front-end circuit 1118, which can be coupled to the antenna 1110, or in some embodiments is a part of the antenna 1110. The radio front-end circuit 1118 includes a filter 1120 and an amplifier 1122. The radio front-end circuit 1118 can be connected to the antenna 1110 and the processing circuit 1102. The radio front-end circuit 1118 can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 1110 and the processing circuit 1102. The radio front-end circuit 1118 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1118 can use a combination of a filter 1120 and / or an amplifier 1122 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. Then, the radio signal can be sent via the antenna 1110. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1110 may collect radio signals, which may then be converted to digital data by radio front end circuit 1118. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 1102. In other embodiments, communication interface 1106 may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0181] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1100 does not include a separate radio front end circuit 1118; instead, the processing circuit 1102 includes the radio front end circuit and is connected to the antenna 1110. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 1112 is part of the communication interface 1106. In other embodiments, the communication interface 1106 includes one or more ports or terminals 1116, the radio front end circuit 1118, and the RF transceiver circuit 1112 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1106 communicates with the baseband processing circuit 1114 as part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0182] Antenna 1110 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1110 may be coupled to radio front end circuit 1118 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly sending and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1110 is separate from network node 1100 and may be connected to network node 1100 via an interface or port.

[0183] The antenna 1110, the communication interface 1106, and / or the processing circuit 1102 may be configured to implement any receiving operation and / or certain acquisition operations implemented by the network node 1100 as described herein. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, the antenna 1110, the communication interface 1106, and / or the processing circuit 1102 may be configured to implement any sending operation implemented by the network node 1100 as described herein. Any information, data, and / or signal may be sent to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0184] The power supply 1108 provides power to the various components of the network node 1100 in a form suitable for the various components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each corresponding component). The power supply 1108 may also include or be coupled to a power management circuit to provide power to the components of the network node 1100 for implementing the functions described herein. For example, the network node 1100 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power grid or a power outlet) via an input circuit or an interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source provides power to the power circuit of the power supply 1108. As another example, the power supply 1108 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated in the power circuit. If the external power source fails, the battery can provide backup power.

[0185] An embodiment of the network node 1100 may include Fig.111100 to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1100 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 1100 and to allow information to be output from the network node 1100. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 1100.

[0186] Fig.12 is a block diagram of a host 1200 according to various aspects described herein, and the host 1200 may be Fig. 9 1200 is an embodiment of a host 916. As used herein, the host 1200 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, including processing resources in a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or a server farm. The host 1200 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0187] Host 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202, which is operably coupled to input / output interface 1206, network interface 1208, power supply 1210, and memory 1212 via bus 1204. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be similar to those described with respect to previous figures (such as Fig.10 and Fig.11 ) are substantially similar in features, such that their descriptions are generally applicable to corresponding components of the host 1200.

[0188] The memory 1212 may include one or more computer programs (including one or more host applications 1214 and data 1216), and the data 1216 may include user data, such as data generated by the UE for the host 1200 or data generated by the host 1200 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 1200 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application 1214 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different categories, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and head-up display systems). The host application 1214 may also provide user authentication and authorization checks, and may periodically report health status, routing, and content availability to a central node (such as a device in a core network or at the edge). Thus, the host 1200 can select and / or instruct different hosts for Over-The-Top (OTT) services for the UE. The host application 1214 can support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0189] Fig.13 1300 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment 1300, in which the functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In the current context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage device, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device or component thereof described herein, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functions are implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein can be implemented as virtual components performed by one or more virtual machines (VMs), which are implemented in one or more virtual environments 1300 hosted by one or more hardware nodes (such as hardware computing devices operating as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts). In addition, in embodiments where the virtual node does not require a radio connection (e.g., a core network node or host), the node can be fully virtualized.

[0190] Application 1302 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) runs in a virtualized environment Q400 to implement some features, functions and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0191] Hardware 1304 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. The software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1306 (also referred to as hypervisors or VM monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1308A and 1308B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1308), and / or implement any functionality, features, and / or benefits associated with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1306 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to be network hardware to VMs 1308.

[0192] VM 1308 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual network, or interface and virtual storage, and can be operated by corresponding virtualization layer 1306. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 1302 can be implemented on one or more VMs 1308, and can be implemented in different ways. Virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) in some contexts. NFV can be used to integrate many network device types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0193] In the context of NFV, VM 1308 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executed on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1308 and a portion of the hardware 1304 on which the VM executes, whether hardware dedicated to the VM and / or hardware shared by the VM and other VMs in VM 1308, form a separate virtual network element. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling a specific network function running in one or more VMs 1308 on the hardware 1304 and corresponding to an application 1302.

[0194] Hardware 1304 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 1304 may implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1304 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., like in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed through management and orchestration 1310, where management and orchestration 1310 oversees the lifecycle management of applications 1302. In some embodiments, hardware 1304 is coupled to one or more radio units, each of which includes one or more transmitters that may be coupled to one or more antennas and one or more receivers. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes through one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide radio capabilities, such as a RAN or BS, to the virtual nodes. In some embodiments, a control system 1312 may be used to provide some signaling, which may optionally be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0195] Fig.14 A communication diagram is shown in which a host 1402 communicates with a UE 1406 via a network node 1404 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Fig.14 To describe the UE discussed in the preceding paragraphs (such as Fig. 9 UE 912A and / or Fig.10 UE 1000), network nodes (such as Fig. 9 The network node 910A and / or Fig.11 network nodes 1100) and hosts (such as Fig. 9 Host 916 and / or Fig.12 An example implementation of host 1200).

[0196] Similar to the host 1200, an embodiment of the host 1402 includes hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. The host 1402 also includes software, which is stored in the host 1402 or accessible by the host 1402 and can be executed by the processing circuit. The software includes a host application, which is operable to provide services to a remote user (e.g., a UE 1406 connected via an OTT connection 1450 extending between the UE 1406 and the host 1402). When providing services to the remote user, the host application can provide user data sent using the OTT connection 1450.

[0197] The network node 1404 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with the host 1402 and the UE 1406 via a connection 1460. The connection 1460 may be direct or through a core network (eg, Fig. 9The core network 906 of the present invention) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private or managed networks. For example, the intermediate network can be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0198] UE 1406 includes hardware and software, which is stored in UE 1406 or accessible by UE 1406 and can be executed by the processing circuit of UE. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or an operator-specific "app", which is operable to provide services to human or non-human users through UE 1406 with the support of host 1402. In host 1402, the execution host application can communicate with the execution client application via an OTT connection 1450 terminated at UE 1406 and host 1402. When providing services to the user, the client application of the UE can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1450 can transmit both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1450.

[0199] The OTT connection 1450 may extend via a connection 1460 between the host 1402 and the network node 1404 and via a wireless connection 1470 between the network node 1404 and the UE 1406 to provide connectivity between the host 1402 and the UE 1406. The connection 1460 and the wireless connection 1470 over which the OTT connection 1450 may be provided are drawn abstractly to illustrate communications between the host 1402 and the UE 1406 via the network node 1404 without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via those devices.

[0200] As an example of sending data via OTT connection 1450, in step 1408, host 1402 provides user data, which can be implemented by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with UE 1406. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE 1406, and UE 1406 shares data with host 1402 without explicit human-computer interaction. In step 1410, host 1402 initiates a transmission carrying user data to UE 1406. Host 1402 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by UE 1406. The request may be caused by human interaction with UE 1406, or by the operation of a client application executed on UE 1406. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may be delivered via network node 1404. Therefore, in step 1412, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node 1404 sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host 1402 to UE 1406. In step 1414 , UE 1406 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be implemented by a client application executing on UE 1406 that is associated with a host application executed by host 1402 .

[0201] In some examples, UE 1406 executes a client application that provides user data to host 1402. The user data may be provided as a reaction or response to data received from host 1402. Thus, in step 1416, UE 1406 may provide the user data, which may be implemented by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may also take into account user input received from a user via an input / output interface of UE 1406. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, in step 1418, UE 1406 initiates transmission of the user data to host 1402 via network node 1404. In step 1420, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node 1404 receives user data from UE 1406 and initiates transmission of the received user data to host 1402. In step 1422, host 1402 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 1406.

[0202] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1406 using OTT connection 1450, where wireless connection 1470 forms the last leg. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve, for example, data rate, latency, power consumption, etc., thereby providing benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed file size restrictions, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, extended battery life, etc.

[0203] In an example scenario, host 1402 may collect and analyze plant status information. As another example, host 1402 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating a map. As another example, host 1402 may collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicle congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, host 1402 may store surveillance videos uploaded by a UE. As another example, host 1402 may store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR, or AR, which may broadcast, multicast, or unicast the media content to a UE. As other examples, host 1402 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads to balance power generation demand, location services, presentation services (such as compiling charts based on data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function for collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or sending data.

[0204] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rates, delays, and other factors that are improved by one or more embodiments. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1450 between the host 1402 and the UE 1406 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1450 may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host 1402 and / or the UE 1406. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection 1450 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitored quantities of the above examples or by providing the values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1450 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node 1404. These processes and functions are known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host 1402 to measure throughput, propagation time, delay, etc. The measurements may be implemented in software that causes messages (particularly empty or 'dummy' messages) to be sent using the OTT connection 1450 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0205] Although the computing devices (e.g., UE, network node, host) described herein may include the hardware component combinations shown, other embodiments may include computing devices with different component combinations. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to implement the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition or similar operations described herein may be implemented by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, converting the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired information or the converted information with the information stored in the network node, and / or implementing one or more operations based on the acquired information or the converted information, and making a determination as a result of the processing. In addition, although the components are described as being located in a single box within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a computing device may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and functions may be divided between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any component described herein, and / or the functions of a component may be divided between a processing circuit and a communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0206] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In an optional embodiment, some or all of the functionality may be provided by a processing circuit without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to implement the described functionality, regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to separate processing circuits or other components of a computing device, but are generally enjoyed by the entire computing device and / or by end users and wireless networks.

[0207] Example

[0208] Group A Embodiment

[0209] Embodiment 1: A method implemented by a user equipment for associating an uplink UL channel and / or signal with a timing advance group TAG, the method comprising one or more of the following: grouping the UL channel and / or signal into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; associating a TAG index with the UL channel and / or signal; including a TAG ID in a spatial relationship information element IE; including the TAG ID in a path loss reference signal configuration; including the TAG ID in a unified transmission configuration indication TCI state; and associating the TAG ID with a set of synchronization signal blocks SSB and / or channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

[0210] Embodiment 2: A method according to the aforementioned embodiment, wherein the associated TAG index includes one or more of a group containing the following: each channel / signal configured with a spatial relationship uses an associated TAG; each channel / signal configured with a path loss RS uses an associated TAG; each UL signal associated with an SSB or non-zero power NZP CSI-RS resource uses an associated TAG; each UL channel / signal configured with a UL TCI state uses an associated TAG.

[0211] Embodiment 3: A method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the TAGID is explicitly configured in a corresponding spatial relationship information element (eg, SRS-SpatialRelationInfo, PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo, etc.).

[0212] Embodiment 4: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, the first TAG is provided by 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig of the serving cell.

[0213] Embodiment 5: According to the method described in any one of the preceding embodiments, if the associated SRS / PUSCH or PUCCH is to be sent to the TRP associated with the second TAG, the second TAG is configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo and / or PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo.

[0214] Embodiment 6: According to the method of any one of the aforementioned embodiments, when 'tag-Id' is not configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo of the SRS spatial relationship, the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the SRS spatial relationship.

[0215] Embodiment 7: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, when 'tag-Id' is not configured in PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo of the PUCCH spatial relation, the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the PUCCH spatial relation.

[0216] Embodiment 8: According to the method described in any one of the preceding embodiments, the association with the TAG is explicitly configured in the corresponding path loss RS (eg, PUCCH-PathlossReferenceRS, PUSCH-PathlossReferenceRS, PathlossReferenceRS-r16) for each UL channel or signal.

[0217] Embodiment 9: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, an association with a TAG is explicitly configured for each SSB and CSI-RS used for a path loss reference RS (eg, NZP-CSI-RS-Resource).

[0218] Embodiment 10: According to the method described in any one of the aforementioned embodiments, for the association of SSB to TAG, a set of SSB indexes may be added to each TAG (eg, TAG-Config).

[0219] Embodiment 11: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, each joint DL / UL or UL TCI state may include a TAG-Id (eg, DLorJoint-TCIState-r18, UL-TCIState-r18, etc.).

[0220] Embodiment 12: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, 'tag-Id' is optionally configured in DLorJoint-TCIState and / or UL-TCIState.

[0221] Embodiment 13: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, the first TAG is provided by 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell in which the SRS, PUCCH or PUSCH is transmitted.

[0222] Embodiment 14: The method according to any one of the preceding embodiments further includes: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via transmission to a network node.

[0223] Group B Example

[0224] Embodiment 15: A method implemented by a network node for associating an uplink UL channel and / or signal with a timing advance group TAG, the method comprising one or more of the following: grouping the UL channel and / or signal into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; associating a TAG index with the UL channel and / or signal; including a TAG ID in a spatial relationship information element IE; including the TAG ID in a path loss reference signal configuration; including the TAG ID in a unified transmission configuration indication TCI state; and associating the TAG ID with a set of synchronization signal blocks SSB and / or channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

[0225] Embodiment 16: A method according to the aforementioned embodiment, wherein the associated TAG index includes one or more of a group containing the following: each channel / signal configured with a spatial relationship uses an associated TAG; each channel / signal configured with a path loss RS uses an associated TAG; each UL signal associated with an SSB or non-zero power NZP CSI-RS resource uses an associated TAG; each UL channel / signal configured with a UL TCI state uses an associated TAG.

[0226] Embodiment 17: A method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the TAGID is explicitly configured in a corresponding spatial relationship information element (eg, SRS-SpatialRelationInfo, PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo, etc.).

[0227] Embodiment 18: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, the first TAG is provided by 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig of the serving cell.

[0228] Embodiment 19: According to the method described in any one of the preceding embodiments, if the associated SRS / PUSCH or PUCCH is to be sent to the TRP associated with the second TAG, the second TAG is configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo and / or PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo.

[0229] Embodiment 20: According to the method of any one of the above embodiments, when 'tag-Id' is not configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo of the SRS spatial relationship, the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the SRS spatial relationship.

[0230] Embodiment 21: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, when 'tag-Id' is not configured in PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo of the PUCCH spatial relation, the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the PUCCH spatial relation.

[0231] Embodiment 22: According to the method described in any one of the preceding embodiments, the association with the TAG is explicitly configured in the corresponding path loss RS (eg, PUCCH-PathlossReferenceRS, PUSCH-PathlossReferenceRS, PathlossReferenceRS-r16) for each UL channel or signal.

[0232] Embodiment 23: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, an association with a TAG is explicitly configured for each SSB and CSI-RS used for a path loss reference RS (eg, NZP-CSI-RS-Resource).

[0233] Embodiment 24: According to the method described in any one of the aforementioned embodiments, for the association of SSB to TAG, a set of SSB indexes may be added to each TAG (eg, TAG-Config).

[0234] Embodiment 25: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, each joint DL / UL or UL TCI state may include a TAG-Id (eg, DLorJoint-TCIState-r18, UL-TCIState-r18, etc.).

[0235] Embodiment 26: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, 'tag-Id' is optionally configured in DLorJoint-TCIState and / or UL-TCIState.

[0236] Embodiment 27: According to the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, the first TAG is provided by 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell in which the SRS, PUCCH or PUSCH is transmitted.

[0237] Embodiment 28: The method according to any one of the preceding embodiments further includes: acquiring user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user device.

[0238] Group C Example

[0239] Embodiment 29: A user equipment for associating an uplink UL channel and / or signal with a timing advance group TAG, comprising: a processing circuit configured to implement any step according to any one of the embodiments in Group A; and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0240] Embodiment 30: A network node for associating an uplink UL channel and / or signal with a timing advance group TAG, the network node comprising: a processing circuit configured to implement any step according to any one of the embodiments in Group B; and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0241] Embodiment 31: A user equipment (UE) for associating an uplink UL channel and / or signal with a timing advance group TAG, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and a processing circuit and configured to regulate signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit; the processing circuit configured to implement any step described in any one of the embodiments of Group A; an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to allow information to be input into the UE for processing by the processing circuit; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information that has been processed by the processing circuit from the UE; and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0242] Embodiment 32: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and a processing circuit, the communication interface and processing circuit of the UE being configured to implement any of the steps described in any one of Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0243] Embodiment 33: The host according to the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to send the user data from the host to the UE.

[0244] Embodiment 34: A host according to the aforementioned two embodiments, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executed on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0245] Embodiment 35: A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system, the communication system also including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data to the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the network node, wherein the UE implements any operation according to any one of the embodiments in Group A to receive the user data from the host.

[0246] Embodiment 36: The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: executing, at the host, a host application associated with the client application executed on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0247] Embodiment 37: The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: at the host, sending input data to the client application executed on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0248] Embodiment 38: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and a processing circuit, the communication interface and processing circuit of the UE being configured to implement any steps described in any one of Group A embodiments to send the user data to the host.

[0249] Embodiment 39: The host according to the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to send the user data from the UE to the host.

[0250] Embodiment 40: A host according to the above two embodiments, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executed on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0251] Embodiment 41: A method implemented by a host, wherein the host is configured to operate in a communication system that also includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, at the host, user data sent by the UE to the host via the network node, wherein the UE implements any step according to any one of the embodiments in Group A to send the user data to the host.

[0252] Embodiment 42: The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: executing, at the host, a host application associated with the client application executed on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0253] Embodiment 43: The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: at the host, sending input data to the client application executed on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0254] Embodiment 44: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide over-the-top (OTT) services, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to implement any operation described in any one of Group B embodiments to send the user data from the host to the UE.

[0255] Embodiment 45: A host according to the preceding embodiment, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE includes a processing circuit that is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive a transmission of the user data from the host.

[0256] Embodiment 46: A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system also including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data to the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the network node, wherein the network node implements any operation according to any one of the embodiments in Group B to send the user data from the host to the UE.

[0257] Embodiment 47: The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: at the network node, sending the user data provided by the host to the UE.

[0258] Embodiment 48: A method according to any one of the preceding two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executed on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0259] Embodiment 49: A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: a host, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to implement any operation described in any one of embodiments of Group B to send the user data from the host to the UE.

[0260] Embodiment 50: The communication system according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: the network node; and / or the user equipment.

[0261] Embodiment 51: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to initiate reception of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to implement any operation according to any one of the embodiments in Group B so as to receive the user data from the user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0262] Embodiment 52: A host according to the two aforementioned embodiments, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executed on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0263] Embodiment 53: A host according to any one of the preceding two embodiments, wherein initiating reception of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0264] Embodiment 54: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system also including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating reception of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission already received by the network node from the UE, wherein the network node implements any step described in any one of embodiments of Group B to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0265] Embodiment 55: The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: at the network node, sending the received user data to the host.

[0266] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in the present disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, the above should take precedence. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should take precedence over any subsequent listing.

[0267] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0268] 5G fifth generation

[0269] 5GC Fifth Generation Core

[0270] 5GS Fifth Generation System

[0271] AF application function

[0272] AMF access and mobility functions

[0273] AN Access Network

[0274] AP Access Point

[0275] ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit

[0276] AUSF authentication server function

[0277] CORESET control resource set

[0278] CPU Central Processing Unit

[0279] CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal

[0280] DL Downlink

[0281] DN Data Network

[0282] DSP Digital Signal Processor

[0283] eNB Enhanced or evolved Node B

[0284] EPS Evolved Packet System

[0285] E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

[0286] FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array

[0287] gNB New Radio Base Station

[0288] gNB-DU New Radio Base Station Distributed Unit

[0289] HSS Home Subscriber Server

[0290] IoT

[0291] IP Internet Protocol

[0292] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0293] MIB Master Information Block

[0294] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0295] MTC Machine Type Communication

[0296] NEF network open function

[0297] NF Network Function

[0298] NR New Radio

[0299] NRF Network Function Repository Function

[0300] NSSF network slice selection function

[0301] NZP Non Zero Power

[0302] OTT Over-the-Top

[0303] PC Personal Computer

[0304] PCF policy control function

[0305] P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway

[0306] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0307] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0308] QoS Quality of Service

[0309] RACH Random Access Channel

[0310] RAM Random Access Memory

[0311] RAN Radio Access Network

[0312] ROM Read Only Memory

[0313] RRH Remote Radio Head

[0314] RS reference signal

[0315] RTT Round Trip Time

[0316] SCEF service capability exposure function

[0317] SIB Secondary Information Block

[0318] SMF session management function

[0319] SRS Sounding Reference Signal

[0320] SSB Synchronous Signal Block

[0321] ·TAG Timing Advance Group

[0322] TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0323] TRP Transmitting and Receiving Point

[0324] UDM unified data management

[0325] UE User Equipment

[0326] UL Uplink

[0327] UPF User Plane Function

[0328] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered to be within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a user equipment UE (1000) for associating an uplink UL channel and / or signal with a timing advance group TAG, the method comprising: Grouping UL channels and / or signals into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; The TAG index is associated with the UL channel and / or signal by one or more of the following: Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in a UL transmission configuration indication TCI state; as well as Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in the joint TCI state; as well as For UL transmission, a timing advance representing an identifier of the TAG associated with the UL channel and / or signal is utilized.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The identifier indicating the TAG is TAG ID.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The associated TAG index includes one or more of the following groups: Each channel / signal configured with a spatial relationship uses an associated TAG; Each channel / signal configured with a path loss reference signal RS uses an associated TAG; Each UL signal associated with a synchronization signal block SSB or a non-zero power NZP CSI-RS resource uses an associated TAG; as well as Each UL channel / signal configured with a UL TCI state uses an associated TAG.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The TAG ID is explicitly configured in the corresponding spatial relationship information element.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The first TAG is provided by the 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: A second TAG is configured in a sounding reference signal SRS-SpatialRelationInfo and / or a physical uplink control channel PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo, wherein the associated SRS / physical uplink shared channel PUSCH or PUCCH will be sent using the second TAG.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: When no 'tag-Id' is configured in the SRS-SpatialRelationInfo of an SRS spatial relation, the first 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig is applied to the SRS spatial relation.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: When no 'tag-Id' is configured in the PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo of a PUCCH spatial relation, the first 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig is applied to the PUCCH spatial relation.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The association with the TAG is explicitly configured in the corresponding path loss RS for each UL channel or signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 9, wherein: An association with a TAG is explicitly configured for each SSB for a path loss reference RS and a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 and 9-10, wherein: For SSB to TAG association, a set of SSB indexes may be added to each TAG.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The TAG ID is explicitly configured in the corresponding joint downlink DL / UL or UL TCI status information element.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 12, wherein: The first TAG is provided by 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell in which the SRS, PUCCH or PUSCH is transmitted.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 and 12-13, wherein: A second TAG is configured in the joint DL / UL or UL TCI state, wherein the associated SRS / PUSCH or PUCCH will be sent using the second TAG.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 and 12-14, wherein: When no 'tag-Id' is configured in a joint DL / UL or UL TCI state, the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the joint DL / UL or UL TCI state.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: The wireless device is a New Radio NR User Equipment UE.

17. A method implemented by a network node for associating an uplink (UL) channel and / or signal with a timing advance group (TAG), the method comprising: Grouping UL channels and / or signals into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; The TAG index is associated with the UL channel and / or signal by one or more of the following: Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in a UL transmission configuration indication TCI state; as well as Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in the joint TCI state; as well as For UL reception, a timing advance representing an identifier of the TAG associated with the UL channel and / or signal is utilized.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The identifier indicating the TAG is TAG ID.

19. The method according to any one of claims 17-18, wherein: The associated TAG index includes one or more of the following groups: Each channel / signal configured with a spatial relationship uses an associated TAG; Each channel / signal configured with a path loss reference signal RS uses an associated TAG; Each UL signal associated with a synchronization signal block SSB or a non-zero power NZP CSI-RS resource uses an associated TAG; as well as Each UL channel / signal configured with a UL TCI state uses an associated TAG.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein: The TAG ID is explicitly configured in the corresponding spatial relationship information element.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein: The first TAG is provided by the 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig of the serving cell.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein: If the associated sounding reference signal SRS / PUSCH or physical uplink control channel PUCCH is to be sent using the second TAG, the second TAG is configured in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo and / or PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo.

23. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein: When no 'tag-Id' is configured in the SRS-SpatialRelationInfo of an SRS spatial relation, the first 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig is applied to the SRS spatial relation.

24. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein: When no 'tag-Id' is configured in the PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo of a PUCCH spatial relation, the first 'tag-Id' configured in the ServingCellConfig is applied to the PUCCH spatial relation.

25. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 24, wherein: The association with the TAG is explicitly configured in the corresponding path loss RS for each UL channel or signal.

26. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein: An association with a TAG is explicitly configured for each SSB for a path loss reference RS and a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

27. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 26, wherein: For SSB to TAG association, a set of SSB indexes may be added to each TAG.

28. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein: The TAG ID is explicitly configured in the corresponding joint downlink DL / UL or UL TCI status information element.

29. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 28, wherein: The first TAG is provided by 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig of the serving cell in which the SRS, PUCCH or physical uplink shared channel PUSCH is transmitted.

30. The method according to any one of claims 17-20 and 28-29, wherein A second TAG is configured in the joint DL / UL or UL TCI state, wherein the associated SRS / PUSCH or PUCCH will be sent using the second TAG.

31. The method according to any one of claims 17-20 and 28-30, wherein: When no 'tag-Id' is configured in a joint DL / UL or UL TCI state, the first 'tag-Id' configured in ServingCellConfig is applied to the joint DL / UL or UL TCI state.

32. A user equipment (UE) (1000) for associating an uplink (UL) channel and / or signal with a timing advance group (TAG), the UE (1000) comprising a processing circuit (1002) and a memory (1004), the memory (1004) comprising instructions for causing the UE (1000) to perform the following operations: Grouping UL channels and / or signals into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; The TAG index is associated with the UL channel and / or signal by one or more of the following: Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in a UL transmission configuration indication TCI state; as well as Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in the joint TCI state; as well as For UL transmission, a timing advance representing an identifier of the TAG associated with the UL channel and / or signal is utilized.

33. The UE (1000) according to claim 32, further operable to implement the features according to any one of claims 2-16.

34. A network node (1100) for associating an uplink (UL) channel and / or signal with a timing advance group (TAG), the network node (1100) comprising a processing circuit (1102) and a memory (1104), the memory (1104) comprising instructions for causing the network node (1100) to: Grouping UL channels and / or signals into at least two groups, each group being associated with a TAG; The TAG index is associated with the UL channel and / or signal by one or more of the following: Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in a UL transmission configuration indication TCI state; as well as Configuring an identifier representing the TAG in the joint TCI state; as well as For UL reception, a timing advance representing an identifier of the TAG associated with the UL channel and / or signal is utilized.

35. The network node (1100) according to claim 34, further operable to implement the features according to any of claims 18-29.

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