Method and apparatus for power headroom

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to power headroom in dual connectivity. And the terminal equipment obtains the power headroom PH corresponding to the serving cell based on the combined transmission power transmitted by a plurality of physical uplink shared channels PUSCHs in the serving cell in the first cell group CG. And then, the terminal equipment sends a PH report (PHR) to the second CG, and the PHR comprises the information of the obtained PH. In this manner, a real power state for a serving cell of a group of cells configured with multiple transmission and reception points (TRPs) may be reported to another group of cells not configured with dual PHR mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communications, and more particularly, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for power headroom (PH). Background Art

[0002] With the development of communication technology, terminal devices can be connected to a service cell via multiple transceiver points (TRPs) in the service cell to improve the communication robustness and configuration flexibility of the service cell. And the terminal device can also be served by two cell groups (CGs) at the same time, which can also be called dual connectivity (DC) to improve communication capacity and coverage.

[0003] In dual connectivity scenarios, PH reporting (PHR) can be triggered for two medium access control (MAC) entities corresponding to two CGs. Dual PHR mode has been introduced to support reporting of two PHs for a serving cell configured with multiple TRP Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmissions.

[0004] In the traditional PHR process, if the MAC entity or CG is configured with dual PHR mode, the enhanced PHR MAC CE for multiple TRPPUSCH transmissions should be used for the MAC entity, and for all serving cells configured with multiple TRPPUSCH transmissions, the terminal device should report two PH values ​​in the enhanced MAC CE. But for different configurations in dual connectivity scenarios, some more detailed information should be considered. Summary of the invention

[0005] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for power headroom reporting in dual connectivity.

[0006] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, and the one or more processors are configured to enable the terminal device to obtain a power headroom PH corresponding to a serving cell based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in a serving cell in a first cell group CG; and send a PH report PHR to a second CG, the PHR including information of the obtained PH.

[0007] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include one or more transceivers; one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, and the one or more processors are configured to enable the network device to receive a power headroom report PHR from a terminal device, the PHR including information of a power headroom PH, and extract a PH corresponding to a serving cell from the PHR, wherein the PH corresponds to a serving cell in a first cell group CG and indicates a PH obtained based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0008] In a third aspect, a method implemented at a terminal device is provided. The method may include obtaining a power headroom PH corresponding to a serving cell based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in a serving cell in a first cell group CG; and sending a PH report PHR to a second CG, the PHR including information of the obtained power headroom PH.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, a method implemented at a network device is provided. The method may include receiving a PH report PHR from a terminal device, the PHR including information of a power headroom PH, and extracting a PH corresponding to a serving cell from the PHR, wherein the PH corresponds to a serving cell in a first cell group CG and indicates a PH obtained based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, a device of a terminal device is provided. The device may include a component for obtaining a power headroom PH corresponding to a serving cell based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in a serving cell in a first cell group CG; and a component for sending a PH report PHR to a second CG, the PHR including information of the obtained PH.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, a network device apparatus is provided. The apparatus may include a component for receiving a power headroom report PHR from a terminal device, the PHR including information of a power headroom PH, and a component for extracting a PH corresponding to a serving cell from the PHR, wherein the PH corresponds to a serving cell in a first cell group CG and indicates a PH obtained based on a combined transmission power of a plurality of physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0012] In a seventh aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the terminal device to obtain a power headroom PH corresponding to a serving cell based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in a serving cell in a first cell group CG; and send a PH report PHR to a second CG, the PHR including information of the obtained power headroom PH.

[0013] In an eighth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the network device to receive a power headroom report PHR from a terminal device, the PHR including information of a power headroom PH, and extract a PH corresponding to a serving cell from the PHR, wherein the PH corresponds to a serving cell in a first cell group CG and indicates a PH obtained based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0014] In a ninth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute a method according to at least the third or fourth aspect.

[0015] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 shows an example network environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0018] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 3 shows an example PHR MAC CE format that may be used with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 5shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0022] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are only for illustrative purposes, and contribute to those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the modes described below.

[0025] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0026] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "example embodiment," etc. indicate that the embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. In addition, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it should be considered that those skilled in the art are aware that the feature, structure, or characteristic can be affected in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0027] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. can be used in this article to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element can be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element can be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

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

[0029] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0030] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (e.g., implementation only in analog and / or digital circuitry) and

[0031] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0032] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware and

[0033] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions and

[0034] (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), which requires software (e.g., firmware)

[0035] to operate, but when the software is not required for the operation, the software may not exist.

[0036] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuitry" also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0037] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any appropriate communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any appropriate generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocol and / or above. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems, using which the present disclosure can be embodied. This should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to the above-mentioned systems.

[0038] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node (such as a femto and pico, etc.), depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0039] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device that may be capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable user station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless client device (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (such as remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (such as robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0040] As described above, PHR can be triggered to provide a power headroom for each activated serving cell with uplink, which can be the difference between the maximum allowed transmission power for the serving cell and the currently evaluated uplink transmission power, where the maximum allowed transmission power configured by the serving cell communicating with the terminal device is deducted from the potentially necessary power backoff for different purposes (e.g., maximum power reduction MPR depending on the MCS used, or power management-maximum power reduction P-MPR depending on body proximity detection, or additional maximum power reduction A-MPR depending on regulatory transmission requirements). Therefore, the gNB can control power and schedule resources for the terminal device based on PHR.

[0041] As described above, the term "TRP" refers to a transceiver point with an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements) on the network side located at a specific geographical location, which can be used to send and / or receive signals to / from a terminal device. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, TRP may refer to a network device with physical functions, including but not limited to macro cells, micro cells, RRHs, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, relays, femto nodes, micro nodes, etc. Physical functions may include, for example, encoding / decoding, precoding, modulation / demodulation, etc. Although, for example, some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to two TRPs, these embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0042] In dual connectivity (DC) scenarios, such as dual connectivity in Long Term Evolution (LTE DC), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)-New Radio (NR) dual connectivity (EN-DC), NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity (NE-DC), NR dual connectivity (NR-DC), PHR can be triggered for two medium access control (MAC) entities.

[0043] In addition, in NR Rel-17, an enhanced multi-entry PHR MAC control element (CE) for multiple transmit receive points (TRPs) MAC CE has been introduced by the 3GPP work item for Further Enhanced MIMO (FeMIMO), aiming to support multiple TRPs for uplink and downlink so as to report more information for each serving cell, such as PH values ​​for multiple TRPs.

[0044] In the traditional PHR process, if the MAC entity or CG is configured with dual PHR mode, the enhanced PHR MAC CE for multiple TRPPUSCH transmissions should be used for the MAC entity, and for each serving cell configured with multiple TRP PUSCH transmissions in the CG, the terminal device should report two PH values ​​in the enhanced MAC CE. If the PHR is sent to a MAC entity that is not configured with dual PHR mode, the PHR includes only one PH for a serving cell configured with multiple TRPs. The PH reporting to the MAC entity that is not configured with dual PHR mode may need to be enhanced.

[0045] For example, if a MAC entity is not configured with dual PHR mode for m-TRP, only one PH from multiple PHs for the serving cell is reported, and this does not work well since it does not include complete information about the power state. This may cause incorrect scheduling decisions to be made by nodes that do not use / support dual PHR mode or multiple TRPs.

[0046] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for PH or for PHR is provided. In this solution, the terminal device obtains the PH corresponding to the serving cell in the first CG based on the combined transmission power of multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell. In addition, the terminal device sends a PHR to the second CG, and the PHR includes information about the obtained PH. The second CG may be a CG associated with a MAC entity that is not configured with a dual PHR mode. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the true power state of a serving cell configured with multiple TRP USCH transmissions may be reported to a second CG that is not configured with a dual PHR mode. Since another gNB does not need to consider the details of how much power is used for each TRP of the serving cell, the PHR overhead for cross-cell groups is reduced. In addition, when one of the cell groups in the cell group is provided by a legacy NW node that is not configured with a dual PHR mode, the legacy NW node may be compatible. Therefore, the solution can provide flexible and efficient PH reporting for both.

[0047] Example embodiments of the present disclosure for PH reporting are described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6 is described. However, it should be noted that the key idea of ​​reporting PH by combining multiple uplink transmissions can be applied to any communication system or scenario involving similar problems, and it can also be used as an alternative to the dual PHR mode. In addition, the above-mentioned multiple uplink transmissions are not limited to data transmissions, such as PUSCH transmissions, and they can also be multiple physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmissions, sounding reference signal (SRS) real transmissions, or a mixture of these transmissions.

[0048] Figure 1An example network environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The environment 100 may be part of a communication network, including terminal devices and network devices.

[0049] like Figure 1 As shown, in a network environment 100, a first device 110 is configured with, for example, carrier aggregation (CA) and performs dual connectivity (DC) with a second device 120 and a third device 130. The first device 110 may be implemented as a terminal device (which may also be referred to as a terminal device 110 or UE 110 hereinafter). The second device 120 and the third device 130 may be network devices (which may be referred to as gNBs 120 and 130, or network devices 120 and 130), such as a base station for providing wireless coverage for the first device 110.

[0050] In dual connectivity (DC) mode, the terminal device can be served by a primary cell group (which may also be referred to as MCG or first CG or second CG hereinafter) and a secondary cell group (which may also be referred to as SCG or second CG or first CG hereinafter). MCG can be a group of service cells associated with a primary radio access network (RAN) node, and it can be understood as the cell group to which the cell where the UE first initiates random access (RACH) belongs. There can be multiple service cells in the MCG, and the service cell where the UE first initiates initial access can be referred to as the primary cell (PCell), and other service cells can be referred to as SCells (secondary cells), which are not required but optional. Similarly, there is a primary cell in the SCG, which is called the primary secondary cell (PSCell), and the PSCell can also be simply understood as the cell that initiates initial access in the SCG. In addition, the SCG can optionally include one or more SCells.

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, the second device 120 provides and manages an MCG including service cells 121, 122, and 123. The third device 130 provides and manages an SCG including service cells 130, 131, and 132. It should be noted that the number of service cells included in the MCG and the SCG is given for illustrative purposes only. Depending on network deployment, resource configuration, actual needs, etc., each of the MCG and the SCG may have more or fewer service cells.

[0052] In the scenario of power splitting between two cell groups, the gNB can configure the maximum transmission power for each cell group. In this case, cross-cell group PH reporting will be used by the NW to reduce PH overhead, thereby improving system performance and system efficiency. The term "cross-cell group" used in this document may refer to providing information of a cell group to another cell group, and the term "cross-cell group PH reporting" may refer to reporting the PH information of (multiple) serving cells of a cell group to another cell group. For example, for "cross-cell group PH reporting", the UE will report the PH of the cell associated with the SCG in the PHR sent to the MCG, or report the PH of the cell associated with the MCG in the PHR sent to the SCG.

[0053] The first device 110 may communicate with the second device 120 and / or the third device 130 via multiple TRPs provided by the serving cell 122. As previously described, if the MAC entity corresponding to the SCG is configured with a dual PHR mode, an enhanced PHR MAC CE for multiple TRPPUSCH transmissions should be used for the MAC entity, and for the serving cell 122 configured with multiple TRPPUSCH transmissions, the terminal device should report two PH values ​​in the enhanced MAC CE. If the PHR is sent to a MAC entity that is not configured with a dual PHR mode, then for a serving cell configured with multiple TRPs, the PHR includes only one PH, where the PH is determined by, for example, a combination of multiple PUSCH transmissions on multiple TPRs in the serving cell, and an example of the number of TRPs is two. However, it should be understood that the terminal device 120 may also communicate with the network device via more than two TRPs, for example, three or more.

[0054] It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is only for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. System 100 may include any network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it is understood that one or more terminal devices may be located in environment 100.

[0055] The communication in the network environment 100 may be implemented according to any appropriate (multiple) communication protocols (including but not limited to the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) or above 5G), wireless local area network communication protocols (such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication may utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee and machine type communication (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC) and new radio unlicensed (NR-U) technology.

[0056] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method 200 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 It is described from the perspective of the terminal device 110. It should be understood that the method 200 may also include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0057] At block 210, the terminal device 110 may obtain a PH corresponding to the serving cell in the first CG based on the combined transmission power of multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell. In other words, when multiple PUSCH transmissions are configured in the serving cell, one PH corresponding to the serving cell may be generated.

[0058] In some embodiments, the terminal device may be configured with dual connectivity with a first CG and a second CG. Additionally or alternatively, wherein the serving cell is configured with multiple transmission and reception points TRPs, and multiple PUSCH transmissions are on multiple TRPs. For example, the terminal device 110 may communicate with the serving cell via two TRPs.

[0059] In some embodiments, obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell may include obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell in the first CG when the second CG is not configured with a dual PHR mode. In other words, the terminal device 110 may obtain the PH based on the configuration of the CG. The terminal device may check the configuration of the PHR mode, and when the CG is not configured with a dual PHR mode, when a PH report is to be sent to the CG, i.e., the MAC entity corresponding to the CG, if multiple transmissions are being performed on the serving cell, the PH may be determined by combining the transmission power of multiple PUSCH transmissions in each of the serving cells. In this case, even if the CG does not support the dual PHR mode and therefore does not understand the multiple PH entries for each serving cell, it may understand the true power headroom of the serving cell of another CG without knowing whether the serving cell of the other CG supports or is configured with multiple TRPs.

[0060] In some embodiments, the first CG may be configured with a dual PHR mode. In other words, the first CG may support dual PHR, so there may be a serving cell configured with multiple TRPs, while the second CG to which the PHR is reported may not support the dual PHR mode.

[0061] At block 220, the terminal device 110 may send a PH report PHR to the second CG, the PHR including the information of the obtained PH. In other words, the PHR including the obtained PH information will be a cross-cell group PHR, and the network device may obtain the information of the PH from the PHR. In the cross-cell group PH report, the PH information of the activated service cells of both the first CG and the second CG will be reported.

[0062] In one example, in the case of cross-cell group reporting, the terminal device 110 can obtain the PH when the CG to which the PHR is to be sent is not configured with dual PHR mode.

[0063] In some embodiments, obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell may include obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell in the first CG, and the PHR is sent to the second CG regardless of whether the second CG is configured with a dual PHR mode. In other words, in these embodiments, as long as the PHR is a cross-cell group PHR, the PHR solution proposed in the present disclosure can be utilized without considering whether the second CG is configured with a dual PHR.

[0064] Therefore, regardless of whether the serving cell in the first CG is configured with multiple TPR PUSCH transmissions, and whether the second CG is configured with dual PHR mode, the PHR can always include only one PH for cross-cell group reporting. For example, when the serving cell is configured with multiple TRP PUSCH transmissions, it can utilize the PHR solution proposed in this article, that is, determining the PH value based on the combined power transmission on multiple TRPs; when the serving cell is not configured with multiple TRP PUSCH transmissions, this means that there is only one PUSCH transmission in the serving cell, so only one PH associated with a single PUSCH transmission is reported. In this way, the second CG can always receive on the PH and does not need to know how much power is used in the serving cell of the first CG or the details about the configuration of multiple TRPs.

[0065] In some embodiments, information of the obtained PH corresponding to a serving cell configured with multiple TRPs may be carried by an enhanced TRP MAC CE containing PH information for the serving cell. The MAC CE may also include multiple fields corresponding to different cells. The field associated with the serving cell may be used to carry the PH information. For illustration purposes only, Figure 3 An example PHR MAC CE format that may be used in example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0066] like Figure 3 As shown, in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE format, a bitmap may be included in the PHR to indicate the information of the PH. The bitmap includes C i field, the C in this bitmap i The PH field indicates the presence of the PH field for the serving cell with ServCellIndex i. i If the Ci field is set to 1, it may indicate that the PH field for the serving cell with ServCellIndex i has been reported, and vice versa. If the Ci field is set to 0, it may indicate that the PH field for the serving cell with ServCellIndex i has not been reported, and vice versa.

[0067] In the PHR MAC CE format, the R field can be a reserved bit, set to "0". The P field can indicate whether the MAC entity has applied power backoff. The V field can indicate whether the PH value is obtained based on real transmission or virtual transmission based on the reference format. For type 1PH, V=0 can indicate that there is real transmission on PUSCH, while V=1 can indicate the use of PUSCH reference format, and vice versa. For type 2PH, V=0 can indicate PUCCH real transmission, while V=1 can indicate the use of PUCCH reference format, and vice versa. For type 3PH, V=0 can indicate SRS, while V=1 can indicate the use of SRS reference format, and vice versa. That is, for the above three formats, V=0 can indicate the associated P CMAX,f,c field, and V = 1 may not contain P CMAX,f,c The PH field may be 6 bits long and indicates the PH level. CMAX,f,c If the field exists, then P CMAX,f,c The field can be used in the instruction P CMAX,f,c Calculate the value of the PH field.

[0068] As described, the PHR may include a V bit associated with the reported PH, indicating whether the reported PH is real or virtual. In some embodiments, the method may include setting the V bit in the PHR based on the status of multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell, and sending the PHR to the network device. The network device may be, for example, a second CG. Alternatively, the network device may also be the first CG. In other words, as long as it is necessary to set the V bit for the PH in a serving cell configured with multiple TRPs, the solution for the V bit proposed in this article can be utilized regardless of whether the PHR is reported to the CG to which the service belongs or another CG.

[0069] In some embodiments, the terminal device can also be caused to set the V bit to a first value when there are no multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell; or set the V bit to a second value different from the first value when there are at least one PUSCH transmission among multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0070] In some embodiments, the first value and / or the second value may include 1 or 0. For example, when there is no PUSCH transmission on any of the multiple TRPs, that is, when there is no PUSCH transmission on any of the multiple TRPs, the virtual or real V bit indicating the PH may be set to 1 (i.e., virtual PH). When there is PUSCH transmission on any of the multiple TRPs, that is, as long as there is PUSCH transmission in the serving cell, it may be set to 0 (i.e., real PH). In this case, the receiving node will not need to know whether there is transmission in one or both of the TRPs.

[0071] In some embodiments, obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell may include obtaining the PH based on a sum of transmission powers of a plurality of PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell and a maximum allowed transmission power of the serving cell.

[0072] In one example, when there is only one real PUSCH transmission in the serving cell, the terminal device can set the V bit to 1, which indicates that the PH is real. In this case, the PH can be obtained based on the transmission power of one real PUSCH transmission in the serving cell and the maximum allowed transmission power of the serving cell.

[0073] In another example, when there is more than one real PUSCH transmission, for example two or more PUSCH transmissions, the terminal device can set the V bit to 1, and the PH can be obtained based on the sum of the transmission powers of multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell and the maximum allowed transmission power of the serving cell.

[0074] For another example, when there is no real PUSCH transmission in the serving cell, the terminal device sets the V bit to 0, which indicates that the PH is virtual. In this case, the PH can be obtained based on only one TRP among multiple TRPs in the serving cell (for example, based on its PUSCH reference format) and the maximum allowed transmission power of the serving cell. For example, the terminal device can obtain the PH based on the first TRP among multiple TRPs.

[0075] It should be noted that the above-mentioned solution regarding V bits is described in conjunction with the solution for PH proposed in this article; however, the solution regarding V bits may constitute another independent aspect of this patent to be implemented separately from the solution for PH proposed in this article.

[0076] In some embodiments, for a serving cell configured with multiple TRP PUSCH transmissions, the proposed PHR may be defined as a new PH type, e.g., Type 4 PH, which indicates the power headroom remaining after the combined power of multiple TPR PUSCH transmissions when only one PH of a serving cell for another MAC entity is reported to the MAC entity.

[0077] As described above, the PH associated with multiple SRS or PUCCH transmissions may also use the PHR solution proposed in the present disclosure. Due to the fact that the principle of determining the PH is similar between the PH associated with multiple PUSCH, SRS PUCCH transmissions, for simplicity, the details of the PH associated with multiple SRS or PUCCH transmissions will be omitted, and reference may be made to the description of multiple PUSCH transmissions.

[0078] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method 400 implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will refer to Figure 1 It is described from the perspective of network device 120 or 130. It should be understood that method 400 may also include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0079] At block 410, the network device 120 receives a power headroom report PHR from the terminal device, the PHR including information of a power headroom PH. In other words, the network device 120 may obtain information of the PH based on the PHR. The PH may correspond to a serving cell in the first cell group CG and may be determined based on the PH acquisition solution proposed herein. In other words, the PH indicates a PH obtained based on a combined transmission power of a plurality of physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal device may be configured with dual connectivity with a first CG and a second CG; and / or wherein the serving cell is configured with multiple transmission and reception points TRPs, and multiple PUSCH transmissions are on multiple TPRs in, for example, the first CG.

[0081] In some embodiments, the second CG may not be configured with dual PHR mode. In other words, the PH acquisition solution is applied only when the CG to which the PHR is reported does not support or is not configured with dual PHR mode.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first CG may be configured with a dual PHR mode.

[0083] At block 420, the network device 120 or 130 may extract a PH corresponding to a serving cell from the PHR, wherein the PH corresponds to a serving cell in the first cell group CG and may indicate a PH obtained based on a combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0084] In some embodiments, the PH included in the PHR may be obtained based on the combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell, regardless of whether the second CG is configured with a dual PHR mode. Therefore, regardless of whether the serving cell in the first CG is configured with multiple TPR PUSCH transmissions and whether the second CG is configured with a dual PHR mode, the PHR may always include only one PH for cross-cell group reporting.

[0085] In some embodiments, the PHR may include a V bit associated with the reported PH, the V bit indicating whether the reported PH is virtual, and the V bit may include a first value or a second value, and wherein the first value may indicate that there are no multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell, and the second value may indicate at least one PUSCH transmission among multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

[0086] In some embodiments, the first value and / or the second value may include 1 or 0. For example, a first value of 1 indicates that the PH is virtual, and a second value of 0 indicates that the PH is not virtual but is calculated based on real power.

[0087] In some embodiments, the PH may be obtained by summing the transmission powers of multiple PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell and the maximum allowed transmission power of the serving cell.

[0088] Figure 5 is a simplified block diagram of a device 500 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 500 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 110, the network device 120 or the network device 130 shown. As shown, the device 500 includes one or more processors 510, and one or more transmitters and / or receivers (TX / RX) 540 coupled to the processor 510. The device 500 may also include one or more memories 520 coupled to the processor 510.

[0089] TX / RX 540 may be used for bidirectional communication. TX / RX 540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements.

[0090] Processor 510 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 500 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0091] The memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 524, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic and / or optical memories. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 522 and other volatile memories that do not persist during the duration of a power outage.

[0092] Computer program 530 includes computer executable instructions for execution by associated processor 510. Program 530 may be stored in ROM 524. Processor 6 may perform any appropriate actions and processes by loading program 530 into RAM 522.

[0093] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 530, so that the device 500 may execute the Figures 2 to 4 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0094] In some embodiments, program 530 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in device 500 (such as in memory 520) or in other storage devices accessible by device 500. Device 500 may load program 530 from the computer-readable medium to RAM 522 for execution. Computer-readable media may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 6 An example of a computer readable medium 600 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0095] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0096] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figures 2 to 4 Method 200 or 400 described. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split as needed in various embodiments. The machine executable instructions of the program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0097] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0098] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0099] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or apparatuses, or any suitable combination of the above. More specific examples of computer readable storage media include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0100] In addition, although the operation is described in a specific order, it should not be understood that such operation is required to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or that all the operations shown require to be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as a description of the features of a specific embodiment. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments may also be combined in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0101] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: one or more transceivers; as well as one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, and the one or more processors are configured to cause the terminal device to: Obtaining a power headroom PH corresponding to the serving cell based on a combined transmission power of a plurality of physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell in the first cell group CG; as well as A PH report PHR is sent to the second CG, where the PHR includes the obtained information of the PH.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is configured with dual connectivity with the first CG and the second CG; and / or The serving cell is configured with multiple transmission and reception points TRP, and the multiple PUSCHs are transmitted on the multiple TPRs.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell comprises: When the second CG is not configured with dual PHR mode, the PH corresponding to the serving cell in the first CG is obtained.

4. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first CG is configured with the dual PHR mode.

5. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell comprises: The PH corresponding to the serving cell in the first CG is obtained, and the PHR is sent to the second CG regardless of whether the second CG is configured with the dual PHR mode.

6. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the PHR comprises a V bit associated with the reported PH, the V bit indicating whether the reported PH is virtual, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: In a case where no PUSCH transmission is performed in the serving cell, setting the V bit to a first value; or In a case where at least one of the PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell is performed, the V bit is set to a second value different from the first value. 7 . The terminal device according to claim 6 , wherein the first value and / or the second value comprises 1 or 0. 8 .

8. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein obtaining the PH corresponding to the serving cell comprises: The PH is obtained based on the sum of transmission powers of PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell and the maximum allowed transmission power of the serving cell.

9. A network device comprising: one or more transceivers; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, and the one or more processors are configured to cause the network device to: receiving a power headroom report PHR from a terminal device, the PHR including information of the PH, and extracting the PH corresponding to the serving cell from the PHR, The PH corresponds to the serving cell in the first cell group CG, and indicates a PH obtained based on the combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

10. The network device of claim 9, wherein the terminal device is configured with dual connectivity with the first CG and the second CG; and / or The serving cell is configured with multiple transmission and reception points TRP, and the multiple PUSCHs are transmitted on the multiple TPRs.

11. The network device according to claim 10, wherein the second CG is not configured with the dual PHR mode.

12. The network device according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the first CG is configured with the dual PHR mode.

13. The network device according to claim 9, wherein the PH is obtained based on the combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions in the serving cell, regardless of whether the second CG is configured with the dual PHR mode.

14. The network device according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the PHR comprises a V bit associated with the reported PH, the V bit indicating whether the reported PH is virtual, and the V bit has a first value or a second value, and The first value indicates that no PUSCH transmission is performed in the serving cell, and the second value indicates that at least one PUSCH transmission among the PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell is performed. The network device according to claim 14 , wherein the first value and / or the second value comprises 1 or 0. 16 . The network device according to claim 9 , wherein the PH is obtained by summing transmission powers based on PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell and a maximum allowed transmission power of the serving cell.

17. A method at a terminal device, comprising: Obtaining a power headroom PH corresponding to the serving cell based on a combined transmission power of a plurality of physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell in the first cell group CG; as well as A PH report PHR is sent to the second CG, where the PHR includes the obtained information of the PH.

18. A method at a network device, comprising: receiving a power headroom report PHR from a terminal device, the PHR including information of the PH, and extracting the PH corresponding to the serving cell from the PHR, The PH corresponds to the serving cell in the first cell group CG, and indicates a PH obtained based on the combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

19. A device of a terminal device, comprising: means for obtaining a power headroom PH corresponding to a serving cell in the first cell group CG based on a combined transmission power of a plurality of physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell; as well as A component for sending a PH report PHR to a second CG, wherein the PHR includes the obtained information of the PH.

20. A device for a network device, comprising: means for receiving a power headroom report (PHR) from a terminal device, the PHR including information of the PH, and means for extracting the PH corresponding to a serving cell from the PHR, The PH corresponds to the serving cell in the first cell group CG, and indicates a PH obtained based on the combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

21. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: Obtaining a power headroom PH corresponding to the serving cell based on a combined transmission power of a plurality of physical uplink shared channels PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell in the first cell group CG; as well as A PH report PHR is sent to the second CG, where the PHR includes the obtained information of the PH.

22. A network device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the network device to: receiving a power headroom report PHR from a terminal device, the PHR including information of the PH, and extracting the PH corresponding to the serving cell from the PHR, The PH corresponds to the serving cell in the first cell group CG, and indicates a PH obtained based on the combined transmission power of multiple physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmissions in the serving cell.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of claim 17 or 18.

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