User equipment (UE) performing layer 1 (L1) measurement operation on layer 1 (L1) reference signal received by UE outside active bandwidth portion

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) includes a transceiver and a processor. The processor is configured to transmit, via the transceiver, UE capability information indicating a UE type indicating a relationship between a carrier bandwidth (CBW) and an actual bandwidth (BW) in which the UE operates. The CBW includes a plurality of bandwidth portions (BWPs). The processor is configured to receive, via the transceiver, one or more Layer 1 (L1) Reference Signals (L1-RSs) within the CBW and outside of an active BWP of the UE, and perform one or more L1 measurement operations on the received one or more L1-RSs. The one or more L1 measurement operations are performed according to the UE type.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems, including methods and systems for performing layer 1 measurement operations by a user equipment (UE) based on L1 reference symbols received by the UE outside of an active bandwidth portion. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to send data between base stations and wireless communication devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include, for example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the IEEE 602.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) (commonly referred to as Wi-Fi within industry organizations). ® ).

[0003] As envisioned by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) to communicate between base stations of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, or simply nodes) and wireless communication devices referred to as user equipment (UE). The 3GPP RAN may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0004] Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communications between base stations and UEs. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or NR in this document). In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In some deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT.

[0005] A base station used by a RAN may correspond to the RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). An example of an NG-RAN base station is a Next Generation Node B (sometimes also referred to as a gNodeB or gNB).

[0006] The RAN provides communication services together with external entities through its connection with the Core Network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and NG-RAN may utilize the 5G Core Network (5GC). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0008] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system is shown in accordance with embodiments described herein.

[0009] Figure 2A The relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth parts and actual bandwidth for one type of user equipment (UE) is shown, where a layer 1 reference signal is received in a single inactive bandwidth part, according to embodiments described herein.

[0010] Figure 2B The relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth parts and actual bandwidth for another type of user equipment (UE) according to embodiments described herein is shown, where a layer 1 reference signal is received in a single inactive bandwidth part.

[0011] Figure 3A The relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth parts, and actual bandwidth for one type of user equipment (UE) is shown, wherein layer 1 reference signals are received in multiple inactive bandwidth parts, according to embodiments described herein.

[0012] Figure 3B The relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth parts and actual bandwidth for another type of user equipment (UE) according to embodiments described herein is shown, where layer 1 reference signals are received in multiple inactive bandwidth parts.

[0013] Figure 4 An example flow diagram of operations that may be performed by a UE according to the embodiments described herein is shown.

[0014] Figure 5 An example flow diagram of operations that may be performed by a base station according to embodiments described herein is shown.

[0015] Figure 6 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to embodiments described herein is shown.

[0016] Figure 7 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to embodiments described herein is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] In the present disclosure, various embodiments relate to performing layer 1 (L1) measurement operations on layer 1 reference signals (or reference symbols) received outside an active bandwidth part (BWP) at a user equipment (UE). In RAN2#117e, a joint specification (LS) has been approved to RAN4 (R2-2204009), wherein layer 1 measurement operations, such as beam level mobility (BM), radio link monitoring (RLM) and / or beam failure detection and recovery (BFD), will be based on synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) associated with an initial downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP), and can be configured only for the initial DL BWP and for a DL BWP containing SSBs associated with the initial DL BWP. For other DL BWPs, L1 measurement operations can only be performed based on a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0018] However, the UE may indicate to the base station and / or the core network in the UE capability signaling that the UE supports BWP operation without bandwidth limitation. In other words, the DL BWP configured for the UE may not include the SSB associated with the initial DL BWP. The UE may also indicate in the UE capability signaling that the UE does not support CSI-RS-based L1 measurement operations, such as BM, RLM and / or BFD, etc. Therefore, for a UE that has indicated that it does not support L1 measurement operations using CSI-RS, the base station and / or the core network may still configure a DL BWP that may not include the SSB associated with the initial DL BWP. In other words, the DL BWP may not include SSBs, the DL BWP may be an active BWP, and the UE may not perform L1 measurement operations using CSI-RS.

[0019] Various embodiments in this disclosure describe how a UE may perform L1 measurement operations using reference signals that are not received or included within an active BWP.

[0020] Reference will now be made specifically to the representative embodiments / aspects shown in the accompanying drawings. The following description is not intended to limit the embodiments to a preferred embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, combinations, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the embodiments defined by the appended claims.

[0021] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to the embodiments described herein is shown. Figure 1As shown, the wireless communication system 100 may include base stations 102 and 104 and UE 106. UE 106 may be in a serving cell of a base station (e.g., base station 102). In some embodiments, base stations 102 and / or 104 may be eNBs, eNodeBs, gNodeBs, or access points (APs) in a radio access network (RAN), and may support one or more radio access technologies, such as 4G, 5G New Radio (5G NR), etc. UE 104 may be a phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a smart watch, an Internet of Things (IoT), etc.

[0022] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, as shown in the wireless communication system 100, the UE 106 can be connected to the base station 102 and / or the base station 104 in a carrier aggregation (CA) mode of one or more service carriers. Therefore, the UE 106 can transmit and / or receive data through one or more component carriers of different frequency bands or frequency ranges (e.g., FR1-1, FR1-2, FR2-1, and / or FR2-2). In some cases, the UE 106 can be connected to more than one base station in CA mode and / or non-CA mode. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE 106 can also be connected to the base station 102 and / or the base station 104 in non-CA mode.

[0023] In 5G NR, the carrier bandwidth (or cell bandwidth) (CBW) is larger compared to 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE). Therefore, the UE is configured to operate in a subset of the CBW to save UE power. Therefore, the CBW can be divided into multiple BWPs. However, in some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, only one BWP can be an active BWP at a time. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, there can be two or more active BWPs at a time.

[0024] For example, a CBW may include an initial BWP, which may be used by a UE to perform an initial access procedure. A CBW may also include more than one BWP, which may be used by a UE to send data and / or reference signals to a base station in a connected mode of the UE, and / or receive data and / or reference signals from a base station. An active BWP among multiple BWPs of a CBW may be configured by a base station using radio resource control (RRC) signaling. Thus, an active BWP may be UE-specific.

[0025] Additionally or alternatively, the default BWP for the UE may also be configured by the base station using RRC signaling. The default BWP may also be UE-specific. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the default BWP may be the initial DL BWP.

[0026] The UE may perform one or more measurement operations on one or more SSBs received within the active BWP, for example, for beam management (or beam level mobility), radio link failure monitoring, beam failure detection and recovery, etc. The UE may also perform one or more measurement operations on one or more CSI-RSs received within the active BWP. The UE may be informed which BWP may include CSI-RSs and / or SSBs for the UE to perform one or more measurement operations. Even if the CSI-RSs and / or SSBs for the UE to perform measurement operations are expected to be sent by the base station within the active BWP of the UE, the base station may send the CSI-RSs and / or SSBs for the UE to perform L1 measurement operations outside the active BWP of the UE.

[0027] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, the UE may be configured to perform L1 measurement operations on CSI-RS and / or SSBs received outside the UE's active BWP. The UE may perform L1 measurement operations on CSI-RS and / or SSBs received outside the UE's active BWP according to the UE type, as described herein with reference to FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B and FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B described.

[0028] Figure 2A 1 shows the relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth part, and actual bandwidth for one type of user equipment (UE) (eg, UE 224) according to embodiments described herein, where a layer 1 reference signal is received in a single inactive bandwidth part. Figure 2A As shown in diagram 200A in FIG. 2 , UE 224 may be configured with multiple BWPs, for example, four different BWPs, namely BWP1 202, BWP2 204, BWP3 206, and BWP4 208. As a non-limiting example, BWP2 204 may be configured as an active BWP for UE 224. Each BWP may have a different bandwidth. Thus, a carrier bandwidth portion (CBW) 212 of UE 224 may be divided into multiple BWPs. CBW 212 may be a set of contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs). A set of contiguous PRBs may correspond to a specific set of parameters for a specific carrier. As a non-limiting example, Figure 2A As shown in , each BWP may have a different bandwidth and, therefore, may have a different number of PRBs included in each BWP. For example, BWP1 202, BWP2 204, BWP3 206, and BWP4 208 may have corresponding bandwidths, such as Figure 2A As shown in FIG. , they are 214, 216, 218 and 220 respectively.

[0029] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, UE 224 may be of a UE type that operates in the same actual bandwidth 222 as the UE's carrier bandwidth (e.g., CBW 212). UE 224 may use RRC signaling to inform the base station ( Figure 2A In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE type may also be communicated to the base station in a MAC control element (MAC CE).

[0030] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, the base station may inform the UE 224 of the BWP in which the SSB and / or CSI-RS are sent to the UE 224 for the UE 224 to perform L1 measurement operations such as BM, RLM, and / or BFD. For example, the base station may specify the ID of the BWP in which the SSB and / or CSI-RS 210 are sent for the UE 224 to perform L1 measurement operations in an RRC signaling message to the UE 224. For example, the base station may specify the ID of the BWP1 202 in the RRC signaling message to the UE 224. The UE 224 will then perform one or more L1 measurement operations on the SSB and / or CSI-RS received in the BWP1 202 that is not an active BWP for the UE 224, which belongs to a UE type in which the actual BW in which the UE 224 operates is the same as the CBW 212. The SSB and / or CSI-RS 210 for which the UE 224 performs one or more L1 measurement operations may also be referred to herein as an L1 reference signal (L1-RS).

[0031] As described herein, and in accordance with some embodiments, L1 measurement operations may include one or more of measurements for beam level mobility (BM), measurements for radio link monitoring (RLM), and / or measurements for beam failure detection and recovery (BFD), among others.

[0032] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, one or more L1-RSs may have a subcarrier spacing (SCS) different from the SCS of the active BWP of the UE. The UE may operate in a frequency range of frequency range 1 (FR1) and / or a frequency range of frequency range 2 (FR2). In other words, the CBW 212 may be FR1 or FR2.

[0033] Thus, in some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR1 and / or FR2, a UE 224 of a UE type that operates in the same actual BW 222 as the CBW 212 and does not support simultaneous reception with different SCSs, the UE 224 may not send PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or SRS on the L1-RS. Similarly, the UE 224 may not receive PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS, and / or CSR-RS from the base station for CQI on the L1-RS.

[0034] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR2, a UE 224 of a UE type that operates in the same actual BW 222 as the CBW 212 and does not support simultaneous reception with different SCSs, the UE 224 may not transmit PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or SRS on an L1-RS having a different TCI than the transmit control indicator (TCI) of the active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204). Similarly, the UE 224 may not receive PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS, and / or CSR-RS from the base station for CQI on an L1-RS having a different TCI than the transmit control indicator (TCI) of the active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204). An example of an L1-RS having a different TCI than the TCI of the active BWP may be quasi co-location (QCL) to a different SSB.

[0035] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR1 and / or FR2, a UE 224 of a UE type operating in the same actual BW 222 as the CBW 212 and supporting simultaneous reception with different SCSs or the same SCS, the UE 224 may send PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or SRS on the L1-RS. Similarly, the UE 224 may receive PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS, and / or CSR-RS from the base station for CQI on the L1-RS.

[0036] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR2, a UE 224 of a UE type that operates in the same actual BW 222 as the CBW 212 and does not support simultaneous reception of different SCSs, the UE 224 may transmit a PUCCH, a PUSCH, and / or an SRS on an L1-RS having a transmit control indicator (TCI) that is the same as the TCI of an active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204), but if the L1-RS has a TCI that is different from the TCI of the active BWP, then the transmission is restricted. Similarly, the UE 224 may receive a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a TRS, and / or a CSR-RS from a base station for a CQI on an L1-RS having a TCI that is the same as the TCI of the active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204), but if the L1-RS has a TCI that is different from the TCI of the active BWP, then the reception is restricted.

[0037] Figure 2B 2 shows the relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth portion, and actual bandwidth for another type of user equipment (UE) (eg, UE 228) according to embodiments described herein, where a layer 1 reference signal is received in a single inactive bandwidth portion. Figure 2B As shown in diagram 200B in FIG. 2 , UE 228 may be configured with multiple BWPs, for example, four different BWPs, namely BWP1 202, BWP2 204, BWP3 206, and BWP4 208. As a non-limiting example, BWP2 204 may be configured as an active BWP for UE 228. Each BWP may have a different bandwidth. Thus, a carrier bandwidth portion (CBW) 212 of UE 228 may be divided into multiple BWPs. CBW 212 may be a set of contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs). A set of contiguous PRBs may correspond to a specific set of parameters for a specific carrier. As a non-limiting example, and as shown in FIG. Figure 2B As shown in , each BWP may have a different bandwidth and, therefore, may have a different number of PRBs included in each BWP. For example, BWP1 202, BWP2 204, BWP3 206, and BWP4 208 may have corresponding bandwidths of 214, 216, 218, and 220, respectively. Figure 2B as shown in .

[0038] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, UE 228 may be of a UE type that operates in the same actual bandwidth 226 as the bandwidth of the active BWP (e.g., bandwidth 216 of BWP2 204). UE 228 may use RRC signaling to notify the base station ( Figure 2BIn some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE type may also be communicated to the base station in a MAC control element (MAC CE).

[0039] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, the base station may inform the UE 228 of the BWP in which the SSB and / or CSI-RS 210 are transmitted for the UE 228 to perform L1 measurement operations such as BM, RLM, and / or BFD. For example, the base station may specify the ID of the BWP in which the SSB and / or CSI-RS 210 are transmitted for the UE 228 to perform L1 measurement operations in an RRC signaling message to the UE 228. For example, the base station may specify the ID of BWP1 202 in the RRC signaling message to the UE 228. The UE 228 will then perform one or more L1 measurement operations on the SSB and / or CSI-RS 210 received in BWP1 202 that is not an active BWP for the UE 228, which belongs to a UE type in which the actual BW in which the UE 228 operates is the same as the bandwidth of the UE's active BWP (e.g., the bandwidth of BWP2 204). The SSB and / or CSI-RS 210 for which the UE 228 performs one or more L1 measurement operations may be referred to in the present disclosure as an L1 reference signal (L1-RS).

[0040] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, the UE 228 may adjust its actual bandwidth according to the frequency offset of the received L1-RS 210. For example, the UE 228 may adjust its actual bandwidth 226 to cover a portion of the bandwidth 214 of the BWP1 202 in which the L1-RS 210 was received. Similarly, if the L1-RS 210 is received in the bandwidth 218 of the BWP3 206 or the bandwidth 220 of the BWP4 208, the UE 228 may adjust its actual bandwidth to cover a portion of the bandwidth 218 or the bandwidth 220 in which the L1-RS 210 may have been received.

[0041] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, one or more L1-RSs may have a subcarrier spacing (SCS) different from the SCS of the active BWP of the UE. The UE may operate in a frequency range of frequency range 1 (FR1) and / or a frequency range of frequency range 2 (FR2). In other words, the CBW 212 may be FR1 or FR2.

[0042] Therefore, in some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR1 and / or FR2, a UE 228 that is configured to adjust its actual bandwidth according to the frequency offset of the received L1-RS 210 and does not support simultaneous reception with different SCSs, the UE 228 may not send PUCCH, PUSCH and / or SRS on the L1-RS 210. Similarly, the UE 228 may not receive PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS and / or CSR-RS from the base station for CQI on the L1-RS.

[0043] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR2, a UE 228 that is configured to adjust its actual bandwidth based on the frequency offset of the received L1-RS 210 and does not support simultaneous reception with different SCSs, the UE 228 may not transmit PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or SRS on an L1-RS having a different TCI than the transmit control indicator (TCI) of the active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204). Similarly, the UE 228 may not receive PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS, and / or CSR-RS from the base station for CQI on an L1-RS having a different TCI than the transmit control indicator (TCI) of the active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204). As described herein, an example of an L1-RS having a different TCI than the TCI of the active BWP may be quasi co-location (QCL) to a different SSB.

[0044] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR1 and / or FR2, a UE 228 configured to adjust its actual bandwidth according to the frequency offset of the received L1-RS 210 and supporting simultaneous reception with different SCS or the same SCS, the UE 228 may send PUCCH, PUSCH and / or SRS on the L1-RS. Similarly, the UE 228 may receive PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS and / or CSR-RS from the base station for CQI on the L1-RS.

[0045] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, in FR2, a UE 228 configured to adjust its actual bandwidth according to the frequency offset of the received L1-RS 210 and supporting simultaneous reception with different SCSs or the same SCS, the UE 228 may transmit PUCCH, PUSCH and / or SRS on L1-RS having a transmit control indicator (TCI) that is the same as the TCI of the active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204). Similarly, the UE 228 may receive PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS and / or CSR-RS from the base station for CQI on L1-RS having the same TCI as the TCI of the active BWP (e.g., in this case, BWP2 204).

[0046] Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE 228 may use an additional radio frequency (RF) chain in its baseband processing circuit to perform L1 measurement operations on L1-RS received in a BWP that is not an active BWP configured for the UE 228. Generally speaking, the RF chain may be configured to operate within the actual BW of the UE that is the same as the bandwidth of the active BWP. However, when the L1-RS is scheduled by the base station to be sent to the UE in an inactive BWP, the UE may use an additional RF chain to receive and perform L1 measurement operations in the BWP in which the L1-RS is received. For power saving, the UE may turn on the additional RF only on the L1-RS opportunity. The additional RF chain may share some components with other RF chains on a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC). Turning on / off the additional RF chain may cause a brief interruption to other RF chains. Therefore, the UE may be allowed to cause interruptions to other serving cells before and after the L1-RS. The interruption length depends on the RF switching time, which may be predefined in the 3GPP technical specifications, for example, 0.5 ms for a serving cell in FR1 and 0.25 ms for a serving cell in FR2.

[0047] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, when operating in FR1 and / or FR2, a UE 228 that performs L1 measurement operations on L1-RS received in an inactive BWP using an additional RF chain may not restrict the transmission of PUCCH, PUSCH and / or SRS on L1-RS, and / or the reception of PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS and / or CSR-RS from a base station for CQI on L1-RS. However, in some cases, when operating in FR1 and / or FR2, based on whether the UE supports independent beam management for different BWPs, the UE may restrict the transmission of PUCCH, PUSCH and / or SRS on L1-RS, and / or the reception of PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS and / or CSR-RS from a base station for CQI on L1-RS. In some embodiments, the UE may indicate to the base station in the UE capability information using RRC signaling whether the UE supports independent beam management for different BWPs.

[0048] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the base station and / or the core network may configure one or more measurement gaps for the UE to perform L1 measurement operations on L1-RS received in a BWP that is not an active BWP configured for the UE. Thus, the UE may switch to the BWP in which the L1-RS is received to perform L1 measurement operations on the received L1-RS, and switch back to the active BWP when performing the L1 measurement operations. During the measurement gap, the UE may be configured not to send data and / or reference signals in the uplink direction, and / or not to receive data and / or reference signals in the downlink direction.

[0049] Figure 3A 1 shows the relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth parts, and actual bandwidth for one type of user equipment (UE) (eg, UE 328) according to embodiments described herein, where layer 1 reference signals are received in multiple inactive bandwidth parts. Figure 3A As shown in diagram 300A in FIG. 3 , a UE 328 may be configured with multiple BWPs, for example, four different BWPs, namely BWP1 302, BWP2 304, BWP3 306, and BWP4 308. As a non-limiting example, BWP2 304 may be configured as an active BWP for the UE 328. Each BWP may have a different bandwidth. Thus, a carrier bandwidth portion (CBW) 324 of the UE 328 may be divided into multiple BWPs. The CBW 324 may be a set of contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs). A set of contiguous PRBs may correspond to a specific set of parameters for a specific carrier. As a non-limiting example, Figure 3AAs shown in , each BWP may have a different bandwidth and, therefore, may have a different number of PRBs included in each BWP. For example, BWP1 302, BWP2 304, BWP3 306, and BWP4 308 may have corresponding bandwidths, such as Figure 3A As shown in FIG. , they are 316 , 318 , 320 and 322 respectively.

[0050] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, UE 328 may be of a UE type that operates in the same actual bandwidth 326 as carrier bandwidth CBW 324. UE 328 may use RRC signaling to communicate the UE capability information message to the base station ( Figure 3A In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE type may also be communicated to the base station in a MAC control element (MAC CE).

[0051] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, the base station may inform the UE 328 of the BWPs in which one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RS 310, 312, and / or 314 are sent to the UE 328 for the UE 328 to perform one or more L1 measurement operations, such as BM, RLM, and / or BFD. For example, the base station may specify, in one or more RRC signaling messages to the UE 328, an ID of each BWP in which the SSBs and / or CSI-RS 310, 312, and / or 314 are sent for the UE 328 to perform the L1 measurement operation. For example, the base station may specify, in one or more RRC signaling messages, an ID of BWP1 302 for the SSBs and / or CSI-RS 310, an ID of BWP3 306 for the SSBs and / or CSI-RS 312, and / or an ID of BWP4 308 for the SSBs and / or CSI-RS 314. In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, each of the SSBs and / or CSI-RSs 310, 312, and 314 may be used to perform specific L1 measurement operations, such as BM, RLM, and / or BFD, among others.

[0052] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, one or more L1-RS 310, 312, and / or 314 may have a subcarrier spacing (SCS) different from an SCS of an active BWP of UE 328. UE 328 may operate in a frequency range of frequency range 1 (FR1) and / or a frequency range of frequency range 2 (FR2). In other words, CBW 324 may be part of FR1 or FR2.

[0053] In some embodiments, UE 328 may be similar to UE 224 and, therefore, may allow or restrict the transmission and / or reception of data and / or reference signals, as used herein according to some embodiments. Figure 2A described.

[0054] Figure 3B 2 shows the relationship between carrier bandwidth, bandwidth parts, and actual bandwidth for another type of user equipment (UE) (eg, UE 332) according to embodiments described herein, where layer 1 reference signals are received in multiple inactive bandwidth parts. Figure 3B As shown in diagram 300B in FIG. 300B , UE 332 may be configured with multiple BWPs, for example, four different BWPs, namely BWP1 302, BWP2 304, BWP3 306, and BWP4 308. As a non-limiting example, BWP2 304 may be configured as an active BWP for UE 332. Each BWP may have a different bandwidth. Thus, a carrier bandwidth portion (CBW) 324 of UE 332 may be divided into multiple BWPs. CBW 324 may be a set of contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs). A set of contiguous PRBs may correspond to a specific set of parameters for a specific carrier. As a non-limiting example, Figure 3B As shown in , each BWP may have a different bandwidth and, therefore, may have a different number of PRBs included in each BWP. For example, BWP1 302, BWP2 304, BWP3 306, and BWP4 308 may have corresponding bandwidths. Figure 3B They are shown as 316, 318, 320 and 322 respectively.

[0055] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, UE 332 may be of a UE type that operates in the same actual bandwidth 330 as the bandwidth of an active BWP (e.g., bandwidth 318 of BWP2 304). UE 332 may use RRC signaling to notify the base station ( Figure 3B In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE type may also be communicated to the base station in a MAC control element (MAC CE).

[0056] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, the base station may inform the UE 332 of one or more BWPs in which one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RS are sent to the UE 332 for the UE 332 to perform L1 measurement operations such as BM, RLM, and / or BFD. For example, the base station may specify, in one or more RRC signaling messages to the UE 332, an ID of each BWP in which one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RS (e.g., 310, 312, and / or 314) are sent for the UE 332 to perform L1 measurement operations. For example, the base station may specify, in one or more RRC signaling messages to the UE 332, an ID of one or more of BWP1 302, BWP3 306, and / or BWP4 308. The UE 332 will then perform one or more L1 measurement operations on the received one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RS 310, 312 and / or 314, and the UE belongs to a UE type in which the actual BW in which the UE 332 operates is the same as the bandwidth of the UE's active BWP (e.g., bandwidth 318 of BWP2 304).

[0057] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, UE 332 may adjust its actual bandwidth based on the frequency offset of the received L1-RS 310, 312, and / or 314. For example, as described herein, according to some embodiments, UE 332 may adjust its actual bandwidth 330 to cover a portion of bandwidth 316, bandwidth 320, and / or bandwidth 322 in which an L1-RS may have been received.

[0058] Furthermore, according to some embodiments, UE 332 may communicate data and / or reference signals or restrict the transmission and / or reception of data and / or reference signals in a manner similar to that described herein with reference to UE 228. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, those embodiments and corresponding descriptions are not described again.

[0059] In some embodiments, and by way of non-limiting example, the UE 332 may use additional radio frequency (RF) chains in its baseband processing circuitry to perform L1 measurement operations on L1-RS received in a BWP that is not an active BWP configured for the UE 332. Generally, the RF chains may be configured to operate within the actual BW of the UE that is the same as the bandwidth of the active BWP. However, when the L1-RS is scheduled by the base station to be sent to the UE in an inactive BWP, the UE may use the additional RF chains to receive and perform L1 measurement operations in the BWP in which the L1-RS is received.

[0060] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, when operating in FR1 and / or FR2, a UE 332 that performs L1 measurement operations on L1-RS received in an inactive BWP using an additional RF chain may not restrict the transmission of PUCCH, PUSCH and / or SRS on L1-RS, and / or the reception of PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS and / or CSR-RS from a base station for CQI on L1-RS. However, in some cases, when operating in FR1 and / or FR2, based on whether the UE 332 supports independent beam management for different BWPs, the UE may restrict the transmission of PUCCH, PUSCH and / or SRS on L1-RS, and / or the reception of PDCCH, PDSCH, TRS and / or CSR-RS from a base station for CQI on L1-RS. In some embodiments, the UE may indicate to the base station in the UE capability information whether the UE supports independent beam management for different BWPs using RRC signaling.

[0061] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the base station and / or core network may configure one or more measurement gaps for the UE 332 to perform L1 measurement operations on L1-RS received in a BWP that is not an active BWP configured for the UE. Thus, the UE may switch to a BWP in which the L1-RS is received to perform L1 measurement operations on the received L1-RS, and switch back to the active BWP when performing the L1 measurement operations. During the measurement gap, the UE may be configured not to send data and / or reference signals in the uplink direction, and / or not to receive data and / or reference signals in the downlink direction.

[0062] Figure 4 An example flow chart of operations that may be performed by a UE according to the embodiments described herein is shown. Figure 4 As shown in flowchart 400 in , at 402, the UE may send UE capability information to the base station. The UE capability information may include information about the UE type of the UE. The UE type may indicate the relationship between the CBW and the actual BW in which the UE may operate. As described herein, in some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE may be similar to UE 224 or UE 328 operating in the same actual BW as the CBW. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, the UE may be similar to UE 228 or UE 332 operating in the same actual BW as the BW of the active BWP configured for the UE. The UE may send the UE type in the UE capability information using RRC signaling and / or as a MAC CE.

[0063] At 404, the UE may receive one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RS (or layer 1 reference signals (L1-RS), as described herein) within the UE's CBW but outside the UE's active BWP. The UE may receive scheduled communications regarding the L1-RS from the base station. Thus, the UE may be aware of the L1-RS and its corresponding BWP.

[0064] At 406, the UE may perform one or more L1 measurement operations on the received L1-RS according to the UE type. Thus, a UE of a UE type similar to the UE type of UE 224 or UE 328 may perform the L1 measurement operations described herein according to some embodiments. Figure 2A and / or Figure 3A One or more L1 measurement operations described herein, and a UE of a UE type similar to the UE type of UE 228 or UE 332 may perform the measurement described herein according to some embodiments. Figure 2B and / or Figure 3B The one or more L1 measurement operations.

[0065] Figure 5 An example flow chart of operations that may be performed by a base station according to embodiments described herein is shown. Figure 5 As shown in flowchart 500 in FIG. 5 , at 502, a base station may receive UE capability information from a UE. The UE capability information may include information about a UE type of the UE. The UE type may indicate a relationship between a CBW and an actual BW in which the UE may operate. As described herein, in some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, a UE may be similar to UE 224 or UE 328 operating in the same actual BW as the CBW. In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, a UE may be similar to UE 228 or UE 332 operating in the same actual BW as the BW of an active BWP configured for the UE. The UE capability information may be received by the base station as RRC signaling and / or as a MAC CE.

[0066] At 504, the base station may send one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RS (or L1-RS, as described herein) to the UE. The L1-RS may be sent within the CBW of the UE but outside the active BWP of the UE. The base station may also communicate the scheduling of the L1-RS to the UE. Thus, as described herein, according to some embodiments, the UE may be aware of the L1-RS and its corresponding BWP and perform one or more L1 measurement operations according to the UE type.

[0067] In some embodiments, and as a non-limiting example, for a UE having a CBW in the frequency range FR1 and / or FR2, the base station may also send a scheduling or transmission restriction to the UE. In one example, if the UE indicates in the UE capability information or other RRC signaling message that the UE is not configured to support beam management of different BWPs independent of each other for the UE, the base station may restrict the transmission and / or reception of data and / or reference signals in the FR1 frequency range.

[0068] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus having means for performing one or more elements of method 400 or 500. In the context of method 400, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 702 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 500, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as network device 720 as a base station, as described herein).

[0069] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of method 400 or 500. In the context of method 400, the non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as memory 706 of wireless device 702 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 500, the non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a base station (such as memory 724 of network device 720 as a base station, as described herein).

[0070] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus having logical components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of method 400 or 500. In the context of method 400, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 702 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 500, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as network device 720 as a base station, as described herein).

[0071] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus having one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media that use or store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of method 400 or 500. In the context of method 400, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 702 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of method 500, the apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as network device 720 as a base station, as described herein).

[0072] Embodiments contemplated herein include signals as described in or associated with one or more elements of methods 400 or 500 .

[0073] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product having instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of the method 400 or 500. In the context of the method 400, the processor may be a processor of a UE (such as the processor 704 of the wireless device 702 as a UE, as described herein), and the instructions may be located, for example, in the processor and / or on a memory of the UE (such as the memory 706 of the wireless device 702 as a UE, as described herein). In the context of the method 500, the processor may be a processor of a base station (such as the processor 722 of the network device 720 as a base station, as described herein), and the instructions may be located, for example, in the processor and / or on a memory of the base station (such as the memory 724 of the network device 720 as a base station, as described herein).

[0074] Figure 6 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to the embodiments described herein is shown. The description provided below is for an example wireless communication system 600 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and / or the 5G or NR system standard as provided by the 3GPP technical specifications.

[0075] like Figure 6 As shown, wireless communication system 600 includes UE 602 and UE 604 (although any number of UEs may be used). In this example, UE 602 and UE 604 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0076] UE 602 and UE 604 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to RAN 606. In an embodiment, RAN 606 may be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. UE 602 and UE 604 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 608 and connection 610, respectively) with RAN 606, where each connection (or channel) includes a physical communication interface. RAN 606 may include one or more base stations, such as base station 612 and base station 614, to implement connection 608 and connection 610.

[0077] In this example, connection 608 and connection 610 are air interfaces that enable such communicative coupling and may conform to the RAT used by RAN 606, such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0078] In some embodiments, UE 602 and UE 604 may also directly exchange communication data via side link interface 616. UE 604 is shown as being configured to access an access point (shown as AP 618) via connection 620. As an example, connection 620 may include a local wireless connection, such as any connection conforming to the IEEE 602.11 protocol, wherein AP 618 may include a Wi-Fi ® In this example, AP 618 may not be connected to another network (eg, the Internet) through CN 624.

[0079] In an embodiment, UE 602 and UE 604 may be configured to communicate with each other or with base station 612 and / or base station 614 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communication) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiment is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0080] In some embodiments, all or part of the base station 612 or the base station 614 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network. In addition, or in other embodiments, the base station 612 or the base station 614 may be configured to communicate with each other via the interface 622. In an embodiment where the wireless communication system 600 is an LTE system (e.g., when the CN 624 is an EPC), the interface 622 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC. In an embodiment where the wireless communication system 600 is an NR system (e.g., when the CN 624 is a 5GC), the interface 622 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC, between the base station 612 (e.g., gNB) and the eNB connected to the 5GC, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC (e.g., CN 624).

[0081] RAN 606 is shown communicatively coupled to CN 624. CN 624 may include one or more network elements 626 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., UE 602 and users of UE 604) connected to CN 624 via RAN 606. Components of CN 624 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0082] In an embodiment, the CN 624 may be an EPC, and the RAN 606 may be connected to the CN 624 via an S1 interface 628. In an embodiment, the S1 interface 628 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the base station 612 or the base station 614 and the serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface, which is a signaling interface between the base station 612 or the base station 614 and the mobility management entity (MME).

[0083] In an embodiment, CN 624 may be a 5GC, and RAN 606 may be connected to CN 624 via an NG interface 628. In an embodiment, NG interface 628 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between base station 612 or base station 614 and a user plane function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between base station 612 or base station 614 and an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0084] Generally speaking, the application server 630 can be an element that provides applications (e.g., packet-switched data services) using Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources using the CN 624. The application server 630 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for the UE 602 and the UE 604 via the CN 624. The application server 630 can communicate with the CN 624 via the IP communication interface 632.

[0085] Figure 7 A system 700 for performing signaling 738 between a wireless device 702 and a network device 720 according to embodiments described herein is shown. The system 700 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. The wireless device 702 may be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 720 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of a wireless communication system.

[0086] The wireless device 702 may include one or more processors 704. The processor 704 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the wireless device 702 as described herein. The processor 704 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0087] The wireless device 702 may include a memory 706. The memory 706 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 708 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 704). The instructions 708 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 706 may also store data used by the processor 704 and results computed by the processor.

[0088] The wireless device 702 may include one or more transceivers 710, which may include radio frequency (RF) transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 712 of the wireless device 702 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 738) transmitted or received by the wireless device 702 with other devices (e.g., network device 720) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0089] The wireless device 702 may include one or more antennas 712 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). For implementations with multiple antennas 712, the wireless device 702 may utilize the spatial diversity of such multiple antennas 712 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resources. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting device and the receiving device to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 702 may be implemented based on precoding (or digital beamforming) applied to the wireless device 702, which multiplexes data streams between the antennas 712 based on known or assumed channel characteristics, so that each data stream is received at an appropriate signal strength relative to the other streams and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with the data stream). Certain embodiments may use a single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) approach (where data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and / or a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) approach (where separate data streams may be directed to separate (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain).

[0090] In certain embodiments with multiple antennas, the wireless device 702 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of signals transmitted by the antennas 712 are relatively adjusted so that the (joint) transmissions of the antennas 712 can be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering).

[0091] The wireless device 702 may include one or more interfaces 714. The interface 714 may be used to provide input to the wireless device 702 or output from the wireless device. For example, the wireless device 702 as a UE may include an interface 714, such as a microphone, a speaker, a touch screen, buttons, etc., to allow a user of the UE to input and / or output to the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may be composed of transmitters, receivers, and other circuits (for example, in addition to the transceiver 710 / antenna 712 described above), which allow the UE to communicate with other devices and may communicate according to known protocols (for example, Wi-Fi ® ,Bluetooth ® etc.) to perform the operation.

[0092] The wireless device 702 may include an L1 measurement operation module 716. The L1 measurement operation module 716 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the L1 measurement operation module 716 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 708 stored in the memory 706 and executed by the processor 704. In some examples, the L1 measurement operation module 716 may be integrated within the processor 704 and / or the transceiver 710. For example, the L1 measurement operation module 716 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuits) within the processor 704 or the transceiver 710.

[0093] From the perspective of the UE, the L1 measurement operation module 716 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, Figures 1 to 4 The L1 measurement operation module 716 may be configured to, for example, determine or identify the UE type and send it to the base station in the UE capability information, and perform one or more L1 measurement operations on one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RS received in one or more inactive BWPs.

[0094] The network device 720 may include one or more processors 722. The processor 722 may execute instructions to perform various operations as described herein for the network device 720. The processor 722 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0095] The network device 720 may include a memory 724. The memory 724 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 726 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 722). The instructions 726 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 724 may also store data used by the processor 722 and results calculated by the processor.

[0096] The network device 720 may include one or more transceivers 728, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 730 of the network device 720 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 738) transmitted or received by the network device 720 with other devices (e.g., wireless device 702) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0097] The network device 720 may include one or more antennas 730 (eg, one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antennas 730, the network device 720 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beam steering, etc. as described above.

[0098] The network device 720 may include one or more interfaces 732. The interface 732 may be used to provide input to the network device 720 or provide output from the network device. For example, the network device 720 as a base station may include an interface 732 composed of a transmitter, a receiver and other circuits (for example, in addition to the transceiver 728 / antenna 730 described above), which enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enables the base station to communicate with an external network, computer, database, etc., so as to achieve the purpose of operating, managing and maintaining the base station or other equipment operably connected thereto.

[0099] The network device 720 may include an L1 measurement operation module 734. The L1 measurement operation module 734 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the L1 measurement operation module 734 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 726 stored in the memory 724 and executed by the processor 722. In some examples, the L1 measurement operation module 734 may be integrated within the processor 722 and / or the transceiver 728. For example, the L1 measurement operation module 734 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuits) within the processor 722 or the transceiver 728.

[0100] From the perspective of the base station, the L1 measurement operation module 734 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, Figure 1 and Figure 5The L1 measurement operation module 734 may be configured to receive UE type information, for example, in UE capability information, as described herein, and to send one or more SSBs and / or CSI-RSs to the UE in one or more inactive BWPs for the UE to perform one or more L1 measurement operations on the sent SSBs and / or CSI-RSs.

[0101] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, circuits associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc., as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein.

[0102] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be obtained from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0103] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0104] The systems described herein relate to specific embodiments, but are provided as examples. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment may be used in one embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be recognized that unless explicitly stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment.

[0105] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0106] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: Transceiver; and A processor, the processor being configured to: transmitting, via the transceiver, UE capability information indicating a UE type, the UE type indicating a relationship between a carrier bandwidth (CBW) and an actual bandwidth (BW) in which the UE operates, the CBW comprising a plurality of bandwidth parts (BWPs); receiving, via the transceiver, one or more layer 1 (L1) reference signals (L1-RS) within the CBW and outside an active BWP of the UE; as well as One or more L1 measurement operations are performed on the received one or more L1-RSs, wherein the one or more L1 measurement operations are performed according to the UE type.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more L1 measurement operations comprise: Measurements for beam-level mobility; Measurements for radio link monitoring; or Measurements for beam failure detection and recovery. 3 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the one or more L1-RSs associated with the one or more L1 measurement operations have a subcarrier spacing (SCS) different from a SCS of the active BWP.

4. The UE according to claim 3, wherein: The processor is configured to: determining that the UE is configured to support reception of concurrent intra-frequency measurements on the serving cell or a neighboring cell using a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from a serving cell with different parameter sets; as well as In response to determining that the UE is configured to support receiving the concurrent intra-frequency measurements on the serving cell or the neighboring cell using the PDCCH or PDSCH, data or reference signals are communicated in an uplink direction or a downlink direction.

5. The UE according to claim 3, wherein: The processor is further configured to: determining that the UE is not configured to support reception of concurrent intra-frequency measurements on the serving cell or a neighboring cell using a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from a serving cell with different parameter sets; as well as In response to determining that the UE is not configured to support receiving the concurrent intra-frequency measurements on the serving cell or the neighboring cell using the PDCCH or PDSCH, communication of data or reference signals in an uplink direction or a downlink direction is restricted.

6. The UE according to claim 5, wherein: The CBW is in a frequency range of Frequency Range 2 (FR2); and A transmission configuration indicator (TCI) associated with the one or more L1-RSs is different from a TCI associated with the active BWP. 7 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the CBW is in a frequency range of Frequency Range 1 (FR1) or Frequency Range 2 (FR2).

8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE type indicates that the actual BW in which the UE operates is the same as the CBW.

9. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE type indicates that the actual BW in which the UE operates is the same as the active BWP.

10. The UE according to claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: The bandwidth of the active BWP for operation of the UE is adjusted according to the frequency offset of the received one or more L1-RSs.

11. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: In order to perform the one or more L1 measurement operations on the received one or more L1-RSs according to the UE type, the processor is configured to: Additional radio frequency (RF) chains are used according to the frequency offset of the received one or more L1-RSs.

12. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The CBW is in a frequency range of frequency range 1 (FR1); and The processor is configured to: In response to determining that the UE is not configured to support beam management for different BWPs that are independent of each other, communication of data or reference signals in an uplink direction or a downlink direction is restricted.

13. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The CBW is in a frequency range of Frequency Range 2 (FR2); and The processor is configured to: Communication of data or reference signals in either the uplink or downlink direction is restricted.

14. A method comprising: transmitting, from a user equipment (UE) to a base station and via a transceiver of the UE, UE capability information indicating a UE type, the UE type indicating a relationship between a carrier bandwidth (CBW) and an actual bandwidth (BW) in which the UE operates, the CBW comprising a plurality of bandwidth parts (BWPs); receiving, via the transceiver, one or more layer 1 (L1) reference signals (L1-RS) within the CBW and outside an active BWP of the UE; as well as One or more L1 measurement operations are performed on the received one or more L1-RSs according to the UE type.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more L1 measurement operations comprise: Measurements for beam-level mobility; Measurements for radio link monitoring; or Measurements for beam failure detection and recovery.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more L1-RSs associated with the one or more L1 measurement operations have a subcarrier spacing (SCS) different from an SCS of the active BWP.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: determining whether the UE is configured to support reception of concurrent intra-frequency measurements on the serving cell or a neighboring cell using a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from a serving cell with different parameter sets; In response to determining that the UE is configured to support receiving the concurrent intra-frequency measurements performed on the serving cell or the neighboring cell using the PDCCH or PDSCH, communicating data or a reference signal in an uplink direction or a downlink direction; as well as In response to determining that the UE is not configured to support receiving the concurrent intra-frequency measurements on the serving cell or the neighboring cell using the PDCCH or PDSCH, communication of data or reference signals in an uplink direction or a downlink direction is restricted.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the UE type indicates that the actual BW in which the UE operates is the same as the CBW or the active BWP.

19. A base station, comprising: Transceiver; and A processor, the processor being configured to: receiving, via the transceiver, UE capability information indicating a user equipment (UE) type, the UE type indicating a relationship between a carrier bandwidth (CBW) and an actual bandwidth (BW) in which the UE operates, the CBW comprising a plurality of bandwidth parts (BWPs); and transmitting, via the transceiver, one or more layer 1 (L1) reference signals (L1-RS) within the CBW and outside an active BWP of the UE for the UE to perform one or more L1 measurement operations on the transmitted one or more L1-RS according to the UE type, The UE type indicates that the actual BW in which the UE operates is the same as the CBW or the active BWP.

20. The base station according to claim 19, wherein: The one or more L1-RSs associated with the one or more L1 measurement operations have a subcarrier spacing (SCS) different from that of the active BWP; The CBW is in a frequency range of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2); and The processor is configured to: In the FR1, in response to determining that the UE is not configured to support beam management for different BWPs that are independent of each other, restricting communication of data or reference signals in an uplink direction or a downlink direction; as well as In the FR2, the communication of data or reference signals in the uplink direction or the downlink direction is restricted.

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