Method, device, apparatus and medium for measurement-based TCI state activation

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a device, method, apparatus and computer readable storage medium for TCI state activation, comprising: receiving, at a first device, a layer 3 measurement of a cell for layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility operation from a second device; determining at least one condition satisfying a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state activation of the cell; determining, based on a determination that at least one condition of TCI state activation of the cell is satisfied, that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated based at least in part on a layer 3 measurement of the cell; and sending an indication to the second device to activate the at least one TCI state of the cell based on determining that the at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 518,800, filed on August 10, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications and, in particular, to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for measurement-based transmission configuration indication (TCI) state activation. Background Art

[0004] Layer 1 / Layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility (LTM) is a procedure in which a terminal device changes a serving cell based on an L1 / L2 triggered command. The terminal device is configured with one or more candidate cells with a radio resource control (RRC) configuration. In LTM, a network device receives an L1 measurement report from the terminal device, and the network device decides and requests to change the (one or more) serving cells of the terminal device through a cell switching command (e.g., a MAC control element, e.g., a MAC CE). The MAC CE is used to indicate that the configured LTM candidate cell (e.g., cell ID) will be used as the target of the cell switching, thus indicating an LTM handover. The network device can activate or indicate the (unified) TCI state of the cell in the LTM procedure. Summary of the invention

[0005] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the first device to at least perform: receiving layer 3 (L3) measurements of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation from a second device; determining that at least one condition for the activation of a transmission configuration indicator TCI state of the cell is satisfied; based on determining that at least one condition for the activation of the TCI state of the cell is satisfied, determining that at least one TCI state of the cell will be activated based at least in part on the L3 measurement for the cell; and based on determining that at least one TCI state of the cell will be activated, sending an indication to the second device to activate at least one TCI state of the cell.

[0006] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second device to at least perform: sending a layer 3 (L3) measurement of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation to a first device; and receiving an indication of activation of at least one transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the cell from the first device, wherein the activation of at least one TCI state is determined at least in part based on the L3 measurement of the cell.

[0007] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving a layer 3 (L3) measurement of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation from a second device; determining that at least one condition for activation of a transmission configuration indicator TCI state of the cell is satisfied; determining that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated based at least in part on the L3 measurement for the cell based on determining that at least one condition for activation of the TCI state of the cell is satisfied; and sending an indication to activate at least one TCI state of the cell to the second device based on determining that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated.

[0008] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: sending a layer 3 (L3) measurement of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation to a first device; and receiving an indication of activation of at least one transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the cell from the first device, wherein the activation of the at least one TCI state is determined at least in part based on the L3 measurement for the cell.

[0009] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes a component for receiving layer 3 (L3) measurements of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation from a second device; a component for determining that at least one condition for activation of a transmission configuration indicator TCI state of the cell is satisfied; a component for determining that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated based on at least part of the L3 measurements for the cell based on determining that at least one condition for activation of the TCI state of the cell is satisfied; and a component for sending an indication of activating at least one TCI state of the cell to the second device based on determining that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated.

[0010] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes a component for sending a layer 3 (L3) measurement of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation to a first device; and a component for receiving an indication of activation of at least one transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the cell from the first device, wherein the activation of the at least one TCI state is determined at least in part based on the L3 measurement for the cell.

[0011] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and is used to cause an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and is used to cause an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0013] 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 be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0016] Figure 2 illustrates a signaling diagram of an example of measurement-based TCI state activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 3 illustrates a flow chart of TCI state activation / indication based on L3 measurements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 illustrates an example of known TCI state activation based on L3 measurements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 5 illustrates an example of unknown TCI state activation based on L3 measurements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 6 illustrates another example of unknown TCI state activation based on L3 measurements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 7illustrates another example of known TCI state activation based on L3 measurements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 8 A flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0023] Fig. 9 A flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0024] Fig.10 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0025] Fig.11 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0026] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure, rather than providing any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in a variety of ways different from those described below.

[0028] 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 relates.

[0029] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0030] It should be understood that, although the terms "first", "second" ... etc. in front of (one or more) nouns can be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element and they do not limit the order of (one or more) nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element can be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element can be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more listed terms.

[0031] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one element, or at least any two or more elements, or at least all elements.

[0032] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, a step is performed "in response to A" and does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after "A" occurs and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0033] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "having", "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.

[0034] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0035] (a) pure hardware circuit implementation (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuit devices only) and

[0036] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0037] (i) a combination of (one or more) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0038] (ii) any portion of a 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

[0039] (c)(one or more) hardware circuits and / or(one or more) processors, such as(one or more) microprocessors or portions of(one or more) microprocessors, require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0040] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this 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 merely 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. For example, the term circuitry also covers 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.

[0041] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), 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 suitable first generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. 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, and the present disclosure can be implemented using these technologies and systems. It should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to the aforementioned system.

[0042] The term "network device" used herein refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, 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), an NRNB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femto node, a micro node), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft network device, etc. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) separation architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE for a parent node, and a DU portion of the IAB node behaves like a base station for a next-hop IAB node.

[0043] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber 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 (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of the IAB node (eg, a relay node thereof).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0044] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the space domain, resources in the code domain, or any other combination of time, frequency, space and / or code domain resources to achieve communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in both the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0045] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is illustrated in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, one or more network devices 110-1, 110-2, etc. (collectively or individually referred to as network devices 110) and one or more terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, etc. (collectively or individually referred to as terminal devices 120) may operate in a radio access network (RAN) 130. The terminal device 110 may be connected to the network device 120 to access the RAN 130. The network devices 110 may communicate with each other, for example, via an Xn-C interface. The network device 110 may access a core network (CN) 140, for example, via an NG interface. In some example embodiments, the functionality of the network device 110 (e.g., the network device 110-1) is divided into a central unit (CU) 112 and one or more distributed units (DUs) 114-1, 114-2, etc. (collectively or individually referred to as DU 114). CU 112 is configured for operations related to other network devices and CN 140, and DU 114 is configured for operations related to terminal devices. CU 112 and DU 114 may communicate with each other, for example, via an F1 interface.

[0046] In some example embodiments, the link from network device 110 to terminal device 120 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 120 to network device 110 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, network device 110 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 120 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, terminal device 120 is a TX device (or transmitter), and network device 110 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0047] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0048] It will be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices and their connections in FIG. 1 are shown as examples, and there will be more devices and different connections in a communication environment.

[0049] The radio protocol stack may include three layers, Layer 1 (L1), Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3). In order to further enhance mobility in the communication system, mechanisms and procedures for L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM) are specified to reduce mobility latency. The main difference between existing mobility and LTM-based mobility is that existing (L3) mobility is based on L3 measurements and L3 measurement reports (based on RRC messages), while LTM aims to use other means than RRC signaling for measurement reporting (to reduce latency). In addition, in order to reduce handover (HO) latency, the goal is to change the actual cell handover (handover) from L3 commands using RRC signaling to using other means than RRC signaling (LTM handover commands) - MAC messages are currently being considered.

[0050] LTM is a procedure in which the UE changes the serving cell based on a L1 / L2 trigger command. The UE is configured with one or more candidate cells with RRC configuration. In LTM, the network receives L1 measurement reports from the UE, and the network decides and requests the change of the UE's (one or more) serving cells through a cell handover command (e.g., MAC control element, MAC CE). MAC CE is used to indicate the configured LTM candidate cells (e.g., cell id) which will be used as the target of the cell handover, thus indicating LTM HO.

[0051] L3 measurements may be assumed to be performed in parallel with any LTM related measurements.The UE is assumed to perform intra-frequency and possibly inter-frequency measurements as needed.

[0052] Cell handover is triggered by, for example, selecting one of the LTM candidate cell configurations as the target configuration by the gNB. LTM candidate cell configurations can only be added, modified and released by the network via RRC signaling.

[0053] LTM supports intra-gNB-DU and intra-gNB-CU mobility. LTM also supports inter-frequency mobility, including movement to an inter-frequency cell that is not the current serving cell.

[0054] LTM currently applies to UEs in NR connected mode. However, the procedure can also be applied to other states and systems such as 6G in the future. The current design of the LTM procedure based on the latest protocol can be summarized in the following steps:

[0055] Step 1. A UE with LTM capability is connected to a cell (serving cell) and is performing L3 measurements on one or more neighboring cells.

[0056] Step 2: The network provides the UE with an LTM candidate cell configuration including one or more LTM candidate cells through an RRC message.

[0057] The LTM candidate cell configuration can be a reference configuration or an incremental configuration on the reference configuration.

[0058] Step 3. The UE performs L1 measurements on one or more of the configured candidate cells and reports the results to the network.

[0059] Step 4. Based on the L1 measurement results reported by the UE, the network can configure the UE to activate one or more TCI states with MAC CE for one or more candidate cells. A unified TCI state framework is used in LTM. There are at least two options for TCI control related to the target cell:

[0060] • The TCI state(s) are activated before the LTM cell handover command with separate MAC-CE.

[0061] Alternatively, TCI state activation can be done under cell handover command (step 5)

[0062] Step 5. The network may select one LTM candidate cell from one or more activated LTM candidate cells as a target cell and request the UE to switch to the cell by sending a MAC-CE LTM cell switching command, so that the UE performs an LTM transition to the target cell.

[0063] The cell switching command (at least) includes the following:

[0064] -Index of the LTM candidate target configuration to be applied for LTM cell handover;

[0065] - Indication of DL and UL (or joint) TCI state ID for the LTM target cell (and possible activation if not done before the cell handover in step 4);

[0066] -DL and UL Bandwidth Part (BWP) IDs.

[0067] Step 6. The UE detaches from the source cell and completes the LTM transition to the target cell.

[0068] As an additional or optional step, the network may request the UE to prepare for UL synchronization with a potential LTM target cell. This step may be performed between step 4 and step 5 above.

[0069] To prepare one or more LTM candidate cells, the network may initiate a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) ordered random access on one or more candidate cells before the network requests a handover of the actual TLM cell to the target cell(s).

[0070] On a potential LTM target cell, using a random access channel (RACH), the UE may send a preamble to enable the network to acquire the UL timing, timing advance (TA) value of the target cell before a cell handover command.

[0071] However, UL synchronization may also be performed after TLM cell handover, for example, if the PDCCH command does not perform early TA acquisition before the cell handover command.

[0072] In NR, reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements are performed and reported at Layer 1 (e.g., physical layer) and Layer 3 (e.g., RRC layer). The measurements can be based on SSB or, if configured in CSI-MeasConfig, on CSI-RS.

[0073] L3 measurements are cell or beam level measurements. Beam level measurements are generated from L1 measurements by applying L3 filtering. Cell level measurements are derived from L1 measurements using certain rules. L3 RSRP measurements are reported in the MeasResults information element of the RRC measurement report.

[0074] L1 measurements are beam level measurements. L1 RSRP measurements are reported by the UE at the Channel State Information (CSI) based on CSI-MeasConfig.

[0075] For LTM measurements, the UE may be configured to measure candidate cells for LTM transition purposes, which may be:

[0076] Current serving cell

[0077] Neighboring communities

[0078] When the UE receives the candidate cell configuration from the network, the UE starts / continues to perform L3 measurements on these cells.

[0079] LTM cell handover decisions are done based on L1 measurements. The option of performing LTM handover based on L3 measurements has been discussed as described in Table 1 below. This is because the UE may have a limit on the number of neighboring cells for which it can perform L1 measurements, so the UE can only perform L1 measurements on a subset of candidate cells, which limits the candidate cell selection to these cells.

[0080] Table 1

[0081]

[0082]

[0083] L1 measurement reports are sent to the DU (distributed unit), while L3 measurement reports are sent to the CU (centralized unit). The LTM cell handover decision is made by the DU. Therefore, in order to be able to use L3 measurements for LTM target cell selection by the DU, it has been proposed in RAN4 (e.g., by Nokia) that the UE can include L3 measurements in the L1 report to enable reporting of L3 measurements to the DU and thus target cell selection based on the L3 measurements.

[0084] Considering the above, the UE can report to the network:

[0085] - L3 measurement results in L3 measurement report (reported to CU);

[0086] - L1 measurement results in L1 measurement report (reported to DU);

[0087] - L3 measurement results in L1 measurement report (reported to DU, not yet standardized).

[0088] The unified TCI state framework was specified by 3GPP in Rel-17. In Rel-15 / 16, TCI states were configured only for downlink, while uplink spatial relations covered beam indication for uplink. With the unified TCI state concept, TCI states can be configured for both downlink and uplink. The configuration is either joint, where the same TCI state covers both UL and DL, or separate, where separate TCI states are configured for DL ​​and UL.

[0089] The unified TCI state framework uses a common TCI state concept, where one common TCI / indicated TCI state provides a spatial assumption for a set of signals and channels (PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, CSI-RS and / or SRS) at a time.

[0090] The configuration and control of the unified TCI state is completed through the following steps:

[0091] Step 1. RRC based configuration of up to 128 TCI states.

[0092] Step 2. Activate up to 16 UL or DL ​​TCI states or 8 TCI combined states as 8 code points based on MAC-CE.

[0093] - If only one joint UL / DL TCI state or a single pair of UL and DL TCI states is activated, this will also be the indicated TCI state and step 3 is not required.

[0094] - In LTM, activation can be done in a separate MAC CE before the cell handover command, or in the cell handover command.

[0095] Step 3. Indication of DL and UL TCI states based on a single joint TCI state or TCI state of DCI.

[0096] - In LTM, the indication is done in the cell handover command, which is the MAC CE.

[0097] RAN4 defines the TCI state switching requirements for the unified TCI state for DL ​​in section 8.15 of TS 38.133 and the TCI state switching requirements for the unified TCI state for UL in section 8.16. The latency requirement is defined as:

[0098] - MAC-CE based on downlink / uplink TCI state switching (activating a joint DL / UL TCI state or a pair of DL / UL TCI states).

[0099] - Downlink / uplink TCI state switching based on DCI (indicating activation of a TCI state on the TCI state list).

[0100] DL / UL activated TCI state list update (activate multiple TCI states).

[0101] These requirements are defined for known TCI states and in some cases also for unknown TCI states. For the downlink TCI states in Table 2, the definitions of the known TCI states are as follows:

[0102] Table 2

[0103]

[0104]

[0105] The TCI state switching delay requirements for unified DL and UL TCI states can be found in sections 8.15 and 8.16 of TS 38.133, respectively.

[0106] In the delay requirement (MAC-CE based TCI state switching or activated TCI state list update), when the TCI state to be activated / indicated is unknown, an additional T_L1-RSRP delay is included in the delay for FR2 when Quasi Co-Location (QCL) Type D is involved.

[0107] For example, for MAC-CE-based downlink TCI state switching of unified TCI state:

[0108] Known TCI states:

[0109] If the target TCI state is known, when a PDSCH carrying a MAC-CE activation command is received in time slot n, the UE shall be able to receive a UE-specific PDCCH / PDSCH with the target TCI state of the serving cell on which the TCI state is switched.

[0110]

[0111] The first time slot occurs after that.

[0112] Unknown TCI status:

[0113] If the target TCI state is unknown, when a PDSCH carrying a MAC-CE activation command is received in time slot n, the UE shall be able to receive a UE-specific PDCCH / PDSCH with the target TCI state of the serving cell on which the TCI state is switched.

[0114]

[0115] The first time slot occurs after that.

[0116] In order for the network to be able to activate a (unified) TCI state, the UE must have performed and reported L1 measurements of the RS (reference signal) on the beam in question. Based on this definition, the network can only activate a TCI state with a QCL relationship to a certain RS when the network has received relevant L1 measurement results from the UE in a measurement report.

[0117] The TCI state activation and indication are part of the LTM procedure, with the activation being done before or at the time of the cell handover command, and the indication being done at the time of the cell handover command. This works well if the LTM cell handover decision is done based on L1 measurements. However, when the aim is to allow LTM cell handover decisions to be made based on L3 measurements (reported in L1 measurement reports or L3 measurement reports), the network will not be able to use the current definition of activating the TCI state of the target cell / beam, as L1 measurements are required before the TCI state can be activated.

[0118] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for TCI state activation based on measurement is provided. In the solution, a first device may receive L3 measurements of a cell for L1 / L2 triggered mobility operations from a second device. The first device may determine whether at least one condition for activation of a transmission configuration indicator TCI state of the cell is met. Based on determining that at least one condition for activation of the TCI state of the cell is met, the first device determines that at least one TCI state of the cell will be activated based at least in part on L3 measurements for the cell. Based on determining that at least one TCI state of the cell will be activated, the first device may send an indication to the second device to activate at least one TCI state of the cell.

[0119] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0120] Reference now Figure 2 , which illustrates a signaling diagram 200 of measurement-based TCI state activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the signaling diagram 200 includes a first device 210 and a second device 220. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. Figure 1 200. In some example embodiments, the first device 210 may be Figure 1 In the network device 110, the second device 220 may be Figure 1 The network device 120 in.

[0121] In the signaling flow 200, the second device 220 sends (201) L3 measurements of a cell to the first device 210. The first device 210 then receives (202) the L3 measurements for L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM) operations.

[0122] Based on receiving the L3 measurement from the second device 220, the first device 210 determines whether at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is met. Based on determining (204) that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is met, the first device 210 determines whether at least one TCI state for the cell is to be activated based at least in part on the L3 measurement for the cell. The cell can be referred to as an LTM candidate cell.

[0123] Based on determining (206) that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated, the first device 210 sends (207) an indication to activate at least one TCI state of the cell. Accordingly, the second device 220 receives (208) an indication to activate at least one TCI state from the first device 210.

[0124] When receiving the LTM candidate cell configuration, the second device 220 (e.g., a terminal device) may have performed (and reported) L3 measurements for one or more LTM candidate cells in the configuration. Based on the LTM configuration, the second device 220 will start / continue to perform further L3 and / or L1 measurements on the LTM candidate cells it detects and report the measurement results to the network. In some cases, the second device 220 may only be able to perform L1 measurements on a subset of cells. Therefore, the first device 210 can receive from the UE for each cell and obtain one or more L1 measurement reports including L1 measurement results and / or L3 measurement results, as well as an L3 measurement report including L3 measurement results. According to an example embodiment, it allows the TCI state to be activated based on the L3 measurement results reported in the L1 measurement report because these results are sent to the DU, but when the L3 measurement is normally reported to the CU in the L3 measurement report, some other example embodiments are also applicable.

[0125] In some example embodiments, first device 210 may determine that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is not satisfied. Based on determining that at least one condition for TCI state activation for the cell is not satisfied, first device 210 determines not to send an indication of at least one TCI state activation for the cell based on L3 measurements.

[0126] In some example embodiments, first device 210 determines, based at least in part on L3 measurements for the cell, that at least one TCI state for the cell will not be activated. Based on determining that at least one TCI state for the cell will not be activated, first device 210 may not send an indication to second device 220 to activate at least one TCI state for the cell.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the first device 210 may determine that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is satisfied by determining that: the cell associated with the L3 measurement is configured as a configuration for L1 measurement of the second device 220, and the reference signal associated with at least a portion of the L3 measurement is configured as a configuration for L1 measurement of the cell of the second device 220. In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, under certain conditions, the first device 210 may enable TCI state activation / indication based on the L3 measurement during LTM transition.

[0128] In some example embodiments, TCI state activation / indication is enabled based on L3 measurements reported at or before LTM cell handover under the following conditions. Under the first condition, the second device 220 has reported L3 measurements for an LTM candidate cell for which L1 measurements have been configured in the LTM candidate configuration. Under the second condition, in the reported L3 measurement results, the measured reference signal (SSB or CSI-RS) is the same reference signal configured for L1 measurements in the LTM candidate cell configuration of the corresponding cell / beam.

[0129] In some example embodiments, when the measurement result of the LTM candidate cell available to the first device 210 is an L3 measurement result reported in an L1 or L3 measurement report, the first device 210 may check whether the RS (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) that has been measured is configured for the corresponding cell / beam of the L1 measurement in the LTM candidate cell configuration.

[0130] In some example embodiments, if the RS is identical for the reported L3 measurement and the configured L1 measurement, the first device 210 may activate the TCI state for the cell / beam in question based on the L3 measurement. Otherwise, before activating the TCI state, the first device 210 must wait for the second device 220 to send an L1 measurement report for the cell (legacy behavior).

[0131] In some example embodiments, the first device 210 may determine that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is satisfied by further determining that L3 measurement is received in the L1 measurement report. For example, as an optional condition, the TCI state may be activated based on L3 measurement only when the L3 measurement result is reported in the L1 measurement report (and the second device 220 supports such capability). As an additional or alternative optional condition, the TCI state activation is completed on FR1, FR2, or other predetermined frequency ranges.

[0132] In some examples, TCI state activation may optionally be allowed based on L3 measurements under one or both of the following conditions: L3 measurement results are reported in L1 measurement reports (and the second device 220 supports such capability), and TCI state activation is done in FR1 or FR2.

[0133] In some example embodiments, TCI activation based on L3 measurements may be done prior to a cell handover command with a separate MAC CE or following a specified LTM procedure at the time of a cell handover command. Figure 3 Describe the entire procedure.

[0134] In some example embodiments, first device 210 may optimize the L1 measurement in the LTM candidate cell configuration to the same RS as the L3 measurement configured for the corresponding cell / beam of second device 220. In some example embodiments, first device 210 may send a configuration of the L1 measurement of the second device to second device 220, wherein the configuration of the L1 measurement indicates: a cell, and the same reference signal measured in the L3 measurement.

[0135] In some example embodiments, first device 210 may prepare the LTM candidate cell configuration in such a way that it (always) assigns second device 220 to perform L1 measurements on the same RS as the L3 measurements configured for second device 220 in the same LTM candidate cell configuration or another (L3) measurement configuration. By such optimization, first device 210 may ensure that L3 or L1 measurement results suitable for TCI state activation are received from as many LTM candidate cells as possible.

[0136] Reference now Figure 3 , which illustrates a flow chart of a process 300 of TCI state activation / indication based on L3 measurements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 300 may be implemented at the first device 210.

[0137] At block 302, the first device 210 may determine whether the second device 220 has reported L3 measurements for a candidate ID, where the candidate ID may be an identification of an LTM candidate cell.

[0138] If the second device 220 has reported L3 measurements, then at block 308 , the first device 210 may determine whether the second device 220 has been configured for L1 measurements of the candidate ID.

[0139] If the second device 220 has been configured for L1 measurement of the candidate ID, then at block 310, the first device 210 may compare the L3 measurement reference signal with the configured L1 measurement reference signal (e.g., SSB_L1==SSB_L3). If the second device 220 is not configured for L1 measurement of the candidate ID, then at block 312, the first device 210 may not send TCI activation / indication based on the L3 measurement report.

[0140] At block 314, the first device 210 may determine whether the reference signal is the same. If the reference signal is the same, then at block 316, the first device 210 may send a TCI state activation / indication, which will be determined based on the L3 measurement. If the second device 220 has been configured for L1 measurement of the candidate ID as determined at block 308, or if the reference signal is different than determined at block 314, the process 300 proceeds to block 312, where the first device 210 may not send a TCI activation / indication based on the L3 measurement report.

[0141] Returning to block 302 , if the second device 220 does not report L3 measurements, then at block 304 , the second device 220 may support a capability to report L3 measurements in an L1 measurement report.

[0142] At block 306, the first device 210 may determine whether the second device 220 has reported L3 measurements for the candidate ID in an L1 measurement report.

[0143] If the second device 220 has reported L3 measurements of the candidate ID in the L1 measurement report, the process 300 proceeds to block 310 and the first device 210 can compare the L3 measurement reference signal with the configured L1 measurement reference signal (eg, SSB_L1 == SSB_L3).

[0144] If the second device 220 does not report L3 measurements, the process 300 returns to the start.

[0145] In some example embodiments, if at least one TCI state is activated based on L3 measurements, then the at least one TCI state is known if at least one condition of the known TCI state associated with the L3 measurements is satisfied.

[0146] In some example embodiments, when a TCI state is activated / indicated based on L3 measurements, the definition of the known TCI state needs to be updated. The following is an example of how to define a known TCI state based on L3 measurements reported in an L1 measurement report (such as Table 3) or an L3 measurement report (such as Table 4). In Table 3 and Table 3, the bold parts are new compared to the traditional definitions. If the TCI state can be activated based on L1 or L3 reports, the bold parts in the two tables can be merged.

[0147] Table 4

[0148]

[0149]

[0150] Table 5

[0151]

[0152]

[0153] In some example embodiments, the first device 210 may perform additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements for the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before a cell handover command for the cell or at the time of a cell handover command.

[0154] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is unknown, TCI state activation based on L3 measurements before / at the time of LTM cell handover may require additional L1 or L3 measurements during TCI state activation.

[0155] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is unknown based on the definition as described above (e.g., in Table 4 and / or Table 5), the second device 220 may perform L1 measurements during TCI state switching, similar to the conventional delay requirement (LTM in this case is not completely based on L3 measurements, but for cells where the TCI state is activated, L1 measurements are only required when the TCI state is activated, and the second device 220 will not need to perform L1 measurements before the TCI state is activated, which may be before or at the time of the cell switching command), or

[0156] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is unknown based on the definition as described above (e.g., in Table 4 and / or Table 5), the second device 220 may perform L3 measurements during the TCI state switching to make the TCI state known. In this case, the L1-RSRP measurement (T_L1-RSRP) in the TCI state switching delay requirement will be changed to T_L3-RSRP, which means one L3 measurement cycle. (This alternative enables LTM to be completed entirely based on L3 measurements).

[0157] The two options are Figure 5 The TCI state is activated before the cell switching command and in Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 1 , the TCI state is activated upon a cell switching command.

[0158] like Figure 5As shown in , the first device 210 sends an LTM candidate cell configuration 502. The second device 220 receives the configuration and performs L3 measurements. The second device 220 sends an L1 / L3 measurement report with L3-RSRP 504 to the first device 210. The first device 210 receives the report and sends a TCI state activation command 506. The second device 220 receives the command and determines a TCI state where the TCI state switching delay is unknown. During this period, the second device 220 performs L1 measurements or L3 measurements. The first device 210 further sends an LTM cell switching command with a TCI state indication 508. The second device 220 receives the command and performs LTM cell switching delay / interruption.

[0159] like Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 6 , the first device 210 sends an LTM candidate cell configuration 602. The second device 220 receives the configuration and performs L3 measurements. The second device 220 sends an L1 / L3 measurement report with L3-RSRP 604 to the first device 210. The first device 210 receives the report and sends an LTM cell switching command 606 with TCI state activation and indication. The second device 220 receives the command and determines an LTM cell switching delay / interruption including a TCI state where the TCI state switching delay is unknown. During this period, the second device 220 performs L1 measurements or L3 measurements.

[0160] It should be noted that the L1 / L3 measurements are placed within the cell handover delay. Alternatively, it can be considered that the measurements occur after the cell handover is completed. This needs to be discussed and agreed upon.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the first device 210 may send to the second device at least one of the following: an indication that additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements for the cell will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before or at the time of a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements.

[0162] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is activated based on L3 measurements, the following options are possible.

[0163] In some example embodiments, one option is to assume that the second device 220 knows that the TCI state is being activated based on L3 measurements, since no L1 measurements are reported by the second device 220. No further indication is needed.

[0164] In some example embodiments, another option is that the first device 210 may indicate to the second device 220 that the TCI state activation is based on L3 measurements. For example, this may be a bit value in the MAC-CE containing the TCI state activation command (e.g., 0 = "activation based on L1 measurements", 1 = "activation based on L3 measurements").

[0165] For Alternative 1 as described above, the proposed behavior may be achieved in one of the following ways.

[0166] In some example embodiments, one way is to predefine the behavior of the second device 220 in a standard.

[0167] In some example embodiments, another way is that the first device 210 informs the second device 220 whether additional L1 / L3 measurements are required based on one or more suggested alternatives. This option requires a network indication, which may depend on the defined alternatives. For example, a one-bit indication (L1 / L3) that informs the second device 220 to perform or not perform additional measurements. For another example, an indication from a set of values, such as: "L1 measurement after cell handover is completed", "L1 measurement during TCI state activation", and "No L1 measurement required".

[0168] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is unknown to the second device.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the first device 210 may perform additional L1 measurements on the cell before a cell handover command for the cell, or at the time of the cell handover command, or after the cell handover command, during activation of at least one TCI state.

[0170] In some example embodiments, TCI state activation based on L3 measurements may always require additional L1 measurements before / at the time of LTM cell handover, during TCI state activation, or after cell handover has been completed, regardless of whether the TCI state is known or unknown.

[0171] In some example embodiments, when a TCI state is activated in an LTM procedure, the TCI state may be considered known or unknown.

[0172] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is unknown, in the legacy requirements, an additional delay of one L1-RSRP measurement period is expected in the TCI state switching requirements to allow Rx beam refinement in FR2 when QCL Type D is involved.

[0173] In some example embodiments, when TCI state is activated / indicated based on L3 measurements, the following options are possible.

[0174] In some example embodiments, as alternative 1, based on the definition given above, the TCI state may be known or unknown, and further measurements at the TCI state switching delay are only included when the TCI state is unknown.

[0175] When the TCI state is known based on the definition given above, the conventional TCI state switching delay can be reused and the TCI state switching delay does not need to be measured further. When the TCI state activation is done before the cell switching command, the procedure will be as follows Figure 4 as shown in .

[0176] like Figure 4 As shown in , the first device 210 sends an LTM candidate cell configuration 402. The second device 220 receives the configuration and performs L3 measurements. The second device 220 sends an L1 / L3 measurement report with L3-RSRP 404 to the first device 210. The first device 210 receives the report and sends a TCI state activation command 406. The second device 220 receives the command and performs TCI state activation within the TCI state switching delay defined for the known TCI state. The first device 210 further sends an LTM cell switching command with a TCI state indication 408. The second device 220 receives the command and performs LTM cell switching delay / interruption.

[0177] In some example embodiments, as alternative 2a, the TCI state activated based on L3 measurements always requires the second device 220 to perform L1 measurements after the TCI state activation command or the LTM cell switching command, where the TCI state activation is during the TCI state switching delay, regardless of whether the TCI state is known or unknown. (This alternative does not allow LTM to be completed purely based on L3 measurements, but for the cell where the TCI state is activated, L1 measurements are only required when the TCI state is activated, and the second device 220 does not need to perform L1 measurements before the TCI state is activated, which can be before the cell switching command or at the time of the cell switching command). This alternative looks similar to Figure 5 and Figure 6 Shown in are L1 measurements during the TCI state switching delay when the TCI state is activated before the cell switching command, or during the cell switching delay when the TCI state is activated under the cell switching command.

[0178] In some example embodiments, as alternative 2b, a TCI state activated based on L3 measurements always requires the second device 220 to perform L1 measurements, and the timing of the measurements may depend on whether the TCI state is known or unknown.

[0179] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is known, the second device 220 will perform L1 measurements after the LTM cell handover has been completed. For the case where the TCI state is activated before the cell handover command, this option is Figure 7 (This replacement allows LTM to be completed based on L3 measurements, and L1 measurements will only occur after the cell handover has been completed).

[0180] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is unknown, the second device 220 will perform L1 measurements after a TCI state activation command or an LTM cell handover command with TCI state activation, i.e., during the TCI state handover delay. This option is similar to alternative 2a, so it looks like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown in .

[0181] like Figure 7 As shown in , the first device 210 sends an LTM candidate cell configuration 702. The second device 220 receives the configuration and performs L3 measurements. The second device 220 sends an L1 / L3 measurement report with L3-RSRP 704 to the first device 210. The first device 210 receives the report and sends a TCI state activation command 706. The second device 220 receives the command and performs TCI state activation within the TCI state switching delay defined for the known TCI state. The first device 210 further sends an LTM cell switching command with a TCI state indication 708. The second device 220 receives the command and performs an LTM cell switching delay / interruption. Then, the second device 220 performs L1 measurements.

[0182] For any of the proposed alternatives, additional measurement delay is required only when the TCI state switch is done on FR2, similar to the conventional requirement. Alternatively, in LTM, both FR1 and FR2 may require additional measurements based on the proposed alternatives.

[0183] In some example embodiments, the first device 210 may send to the second device 220 at least one of: an indication that additional L1 measurements will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before a cell switching command, at the time of a cell switching command, or after a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements.

[0184] In some example embodiments, when the TCI state is activated based on L3 measurements, the following options are possible.

[0185] In some example embodiments, one option is to assume that the second device 220 knows that the TCI state is being activated based on L3 measurements, since no L1 measurements are reported by the second device 220. No further indication is needed.

[0186] In some example embodiments, another option is that the first device 210 may indicate to the second device 220 that the TCI state activation is based on L3 measurements. For example, this may be a bit value in the MAC-CE containing the TCI state activation command (e.g., 0 = "activation based on L1 measurements", 1 = "activation based on L3 measurements").

[0187] For the alternatives as described above, the recommended behavior can be implemented in one of the following ways. In one way, the behavior of the second device 220 is predefined in the standard. In another way, the first device 210 informs the second device 220 whether additional L1 measurements based on one or more recommended alternatives are required. This option requires a network indication, which may depend on the defined alternatives, for example, a one-bit indication that informs the second device 220 to perform or not perform additional measurements (L1). For another example, an indication from a set of values, such as: "L1 measurement after cell switching is completed", "L1 measurement during TCI state activation", and "No L1 measurement required".

[0188] In some example embodiments, additional L1 measurements are performed regardless of whether the at least one TCI state is known or unknown to the second device.

[0189] In some example embodiments, as an alternative, the TCI state based on L3 measurement activation always requires the second device 220 to perform L1 measurements after a TCI state activation command or an LTM cell switching command in which the TCI state is activated (i.e., during the TCI state switching delay), regardless of whether the TCI state is known or unknown.

[0190] According to various example embodiments of the present disclosure, the current LTM procedure with TCI state activation does not work with the cell handover decision based on L3 measurements with the current definition, because the second device 220 currently requires L1 measurements to activate the TCI state. By allowing TCI state activation / indication based on L3 measurements, LTM transitions can be performed based on L3 measurements by following the current RAN1 / RAN2 defined procedures with little or no changes to the RAN1 / RAN2 specifications.

[0191] According to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, implementing LTM transitions based on L3 measurements makes the procedure faster in some scenarios and allows the first device 210 to consider more candidate cells when the second device 220 cannot perform L1 measurements on all cells. This is because the first device 210 does not need to wait for the second device 220 to perform and report L1 measurements for the configured LTM candidate cells before making an LTM cell switching decision in some cases. In addition, since some UEs are unable to perform L1 measurements on more than, for example, 1 or 2 LTM candidate cells, if the first device 210 relies entirely on L1 measurements, the first device 210 will need to base the LTM cell switching decision on a very limited number of cells. Therefore, TCI state activation / indication is a key part of LTM, and it is important to allow TCI state activation based on L3 measurements.

[0192] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 Method 800 is described from the perspective of network device 110.

[0193] At block 810 , the network device 110 receives layer 3 (L3) measurements of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation from a second apparatus.

[0194] At block 820 , the network device 110 determines that at least one condition for a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the cell to be activated is satisfied.

[0195] At block 830, based on determining that at least one condition for TCI state activation for the cell is satisfied, the network device 110 determines that at least one TCI state for the cell is to be activated based at least in part on L3 measurements for the cell.

[0196] At block 840 , based on determining that the at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated, the network device 110 sends an indication to activate the at least one TCI state of the cell to the second apparatus.

[0197] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes determining that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is satisfied by determining that: the cell associated with the L3 measurement is configured in a configuration for LTM L1 measurement of the second device, and a reference signal associated with at least a portion of the L3 measurement is configured in a configuration for LTM L1 measurement of the cell of the second device.

[0198] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes determining that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is satisfied by further determining that L3 measurements are received in the L1 measurement report.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the method 800 further includes: sending a configuration of L1 measurement of the second apparatus to the second apparatus, the configuration of L1 measurement indicating: a cell and a reference signal that is the same as that measured in the L3 measurement.

[0200] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes performing additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements for the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before or upon a cell handover command for the cell.

[0201] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: sending to a second device at least one of: an indication that additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements of a cell will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before or at the time of a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements.

[0202] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is unknown to the second device.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the method 800 further comprises: performing additional L1 measurements on the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before or at the time of a cell handover command for the cell, or after the cell handover command.

[0204] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: sending to the second device at least one of: an indication that additional L1 measurements will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before, at the time of, or after a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the additional L1 measurements are performed regardless of whether the at least one TCI state is known or unknown to the second device.

[0206] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a network device, and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0207] Fig. 9 FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example method 900 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 Method 900 is described from the perspective of network device 110.

[0208] At block 910, the network device 110 sends a layer 3 (L3) measurement of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operation to a first apparatus; and

[0209] At block 920 , the network device 110 receives an indication from the first apparatus to activate at least one transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the cell, wherein activation of the at least one TCI state is determined based at least in part on L3 measurements for the cell.

[0210] In some example embodiments, the method 900 further includes receiving, from the first device, a configuration for L1 measurement of the second device, the configuration for L1 measurement indicating a cell and a reference signal that is the same as that measured in the L3 measurement.

[0211] In some example embodiments, method 900 further comprises: performing additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements of the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before or upon a cell handover command.

[0212] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes: receiving from the first device at least one of: an indication that additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements of the cell will be performed before or at the time of a cell switching command during activation of at least one TCI state, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements; and determining, based on the received indication, to perform additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements.

[0213] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is unknown to the second device.

[0214] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes performing additional L1 measurements on the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before, at, or after a cell handover command for the cell.

[0215] In some example embodiments, method 900 also includes: receiving at least one of the following from the first device: an indication that additional L1 measurements will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before, at the time of, or after a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements; and determining that additional L1 measurements are to be performed based on the received indication.

[0216] In some example embodiments, the additional L1 measurements are performed regardless of whether the at least one TCI state is known or unknown to the second device.

[0217] In some example embodiments, if at least one TCI state is activated based on L3 measurements, then the at least one TCI state is known if at least one condition of the known TCI state associated with the L3 measurements is satisfied.

[0218] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a network device, and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0219] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 1 The network device 110 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 800. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit device or a software module. The first device may be implemented as Figure 1 The network device 110 in or is included in the network device 110.

[0220] In some example embodiments, a first device includes a component for receiving layer 3 (L3) measurements of a cell for layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operations from a second device; a component for determining that at least one condition for activation of a transmission configuration indicator TCI state of the cell is satisfied; a component for determining that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated based at least in part on L3 measurements of the cell based on determining that at least one condition for activation of the TCI state of the cell is satisfied; and a component for sending an indication to the second device to activate at least one TCI state of the cell based on determining that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated.

[0221] In some example embodiments, the component for determining that at least one condition for activating the TCI state of the cell is satisfied further includes: a component for determining that at least one condition for activating the TCI state of the cell is satisfied by determining that: the cell associated with the L3 measurement is configured in the configuration of the L1 measurement of the second device, and the reference signal associated with at least a portion of the L3 measurement is configured in the configuration of the L1 measurement of the cell of the second device.

[0222] In some example embodiments, the means for determining that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is satisfied further comprises means for determining that at least one condition for TCI state activation of the cell is satisfied by further determining that L3 measurements are received in the L1 measurement report.

[0223] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for sending a configuration of L1 measurement of the second apparatus to the second apparatus, the configuration of L1 measurement indicating: a cell and a reference signal that is the same as measured in the L3 measurement.

[0224] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: an additional L1 measurement or an additional L3 measurement for the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before or upon a cell handover command for the cell.

[0225] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: a component for sending at least one of the following to the second device: an indication that additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements of the cell will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before or at the time of a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on the L3 measurement.

[0226] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is unknown to the second device.

[0227] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing additional L1 measurements of the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before, at, or after a cell handover command for the cell.

[0228] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: a component for sending to the second device at least one of: an indication that additional L1 measurements will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before, at the time of, or after a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements.

[0229] In some example embodiments, the additional L1 measurements are performed regardless of whether the at least one TCI state is known or unknown to the second device.

[0230] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a network device, and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0231] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 800 or other operations in some example embodiments of the network device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform.

[0232] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 1 The terminal device 120 in the second device may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 900. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit device or a software module. The second device may be implemented as Figure 1The terminal device 120 or the terminal device 120 included in Figure 1 In the terminal device 120.

[0233] In some example embodiments, the second device includes a component for sending layer 3 (L3) measurements of a cell for layer 1 / layer 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility operations to the first device; and a component for receiving an indication of activation of at least one transmission configuration indicator TCI state for the cell from the first device, wherein the activation of the at least one TCI state is determined at least in part based on the L3 measurements for the cell.

[0234] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a configuration of L1 measurement of the second apparatus, the configuration of L1 measurement indicating: a cell and a reference signal that is the same as measured in the L3 measurement.

[0235] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements of the cell during activation of at least one TCI state prior to or upon a cell handover command.

[0236] In some example embodiments, the second device also includes: a component for receiving at least one of the following from the first device: an indication that additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements of the cell will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before or at the time of a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements; and a component for determining that additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements are to be performed based on the received indication.

[0237] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is unknown to the second device.

[0238] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing additional L1 measurements on the cell during activation of at least one TCI state before, at, or after a cell handover command for the cell.

[0239] In some example embodiments, the second device also includes: a component for receiving at least one of the following from the first device: an indication that additional L1 measurements will be performed during activation of at least one TCI state before, at the time of, or after a cell switching command, or an indication that activation of at least one TCI state will be performed based on L3 measurements; and a component for determining that additional L1 measurements are to be performed based on the received indication.

[0240] In some example embodiments, the additional L1 measurements are performed regardless of whether the at least one TCI state is unknown or known to the second device.

[0241] In some example embodiments, if at least one TCI state is activated based on L3 measurements, then the at least one TCI state is known if at least one condition of the known TCI state associated with the L3 measurements is satisfied.

[0242] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a network device, and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0243] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises a component for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 900 or terminal device 120. In some example embodiments, the component comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second apparatus to execute.

[0244] Fig.10 1 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1000 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 1000 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, Figure 1 The network device 110 or the terminal device 120 shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, and one or more communication modules 1040 coupled to the processor 1010.

[0245] The communication module 1040 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 1040 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1040 may include at least one antenna.

[0246] Processor 1010 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and may include one or more of the following: 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, as non-limiting examples. Device 1000 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock of a synchronized main processor.

[0247] The memory 1020 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) 1024, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 1022 and other volatile memories that may not persist during power outages.

[0248] The computer program 1030 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 1010. The instructions of the program 1030 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1030 may be stored in a memory (e.g., ROM 1024). The processor 1010 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 1030 into the RAM 1022.

[0249] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the program 1030 so that the device 1000 may execute the Figures 2 to 9 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0250] In some example embodiments, the program 1030 may be tangibly included in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 1000 (such as in the memory 1020) or in other storage devices that the device 1000 may access. The device 1000 may load the program 1030 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 1022 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0251] Fig.11 An example of a computer readable medium 1100 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1100 has a program 1030 stored thereon.

[0252] 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 that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0253] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer executable instructions executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, such as instructions included in a program module, to perform any of the methods described above. In general, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or divided between program modules as desired. 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 storage media and remote storage media.

[0254] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, so that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine, partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0255] 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.

[0256] 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, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More particular examples of computer readable storage media would 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 foregoing.

[0257] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order or sequence shown, or requiring that all operations shown in be performed to obtain the desired results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several special implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be peculiar to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0258] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0259] Listed below are the abbreviations used herein and their non-abbreviated forms. It should be noted that widely established and unique abbreviations may be assumed to be known.

[0260] List of abbreviations

[0261] BWP Bandwidth Part

[0262] CP Cyclic Prefix

[0263] CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal DCI Downlink Control Information

[0264] DL Downlink

[0265] FR1 / FR2 Frequency range 1 / 2

[0266] ICBM inter-cell beam management

[0267] L1 / L2 / L3 Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3

[0268] LTM L1 / L2 triggered mobility

[0269] MAC CE Media Access Control Element NR New Radio

[0270] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

[0271] RTD Receive Timing Difference

[0272] SRS Sounding Reference Signal

[0273] SSB Synchronous Signal Box

[0274] TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0275] UE User Equipment

[0276] UL Uplink

Claims

1. A first device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the first device at least executes: receiving, from a second device, layer 3 L3 measurements of a cell for a layer 1 / layer 2 L1 / L2 triggered mobility operation; Determining that at least one condition for a transmission configuration indicator TCI state of the cell is activated is satisfied; determining, based at least in part on the L3 measurement for the cell, that at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated, based on determining that the at least one condition for activation of the TCI state of the cell is satisfied; as well as Based on determining that the at least one TCI state of the cell is to be activated, an indication to activate the at least one TCI state of the cell is sent to the second device.

2. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to execute: The at least one condition that the TCI state of the cell is activated is determined to be satisfied by determining: the cell associated with the L3 measurement is configured in a configuration for L1 measurement of the second apparatus, and A reference signal associated with at least a portion of the L3 measurements is configured in the configuration for L1 measurements of the cell of the second apparatus.

3. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the first device is caused to execute: By further determining that the L3 measurement is received in the L1 measurement report, it is determined that the at least one condition for activating the TCI state of the cell is satisfied.

4. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the determining based at least in part on an L3 measurement for the cell comprises: The determination is based at least in part on whether the first device has received at least one L3 measurement result for the at least one TCI state from the second device prior to the indication of the activation.

5. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the determining based at least in part on the L3 measurement for the cell comprises: The determination is based at least in part on whether the indication of activation is received within 1280 ms after a last transmission of a reference signal resource for a beam report for the L3 measurement.

6. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to execute: An L1 measurement configuration for the second apparatus is sent to the second apparatus, where the L1 measurement configuration indicates: the cell and a reference signal that is the same as that measured in the L3 measurement.

7. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to execute: Prior to a cell handover command for the cell or at the time of the cell handover command, during the activation of the at least one TCI state, additional L1 measurements or additional L3 measurements for the cell.

8. The first device according to claim 7, wherein the first device is further caused to execute: Sending at least one of the following to the second device: an indication indicating that the additional L1 measurement or the additional L3 measurement of the cell will be performed during the activation of the at least one TCI state before or at the time of the cell handover command, or An indication indicating that the activation of the at least one TCI state is performed based on the L3 measurement.

9. The first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one TCI state is unknown to the second device.

10. A second device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least perform: sending layer 3 L3 measurements of cells for layer 1 / layer 2 L1 / L2 triggered mobility operations to the first device; and An indication of activation of at least one transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the cell is received from the first device, wherein the activation of the at least one TCI state is determined at least in part based on the L3 measurement for the cell.

11. The second device according to claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to execute: A configuration for L1 measurement of the second apparatus is received from the first apparatus, the configuration for L1 measurement indicating the cell and the same reference signal as measured in the L3 measurement.

12. The second apparatus of claim 10, wherein the determination based at least in part on the L3 measurement for the cell comprises: The determination is based at least in part on whether the second device has sent at least one L3 measurement result for the at least one TCI state before the indication of the activation.

13. The second apparatus of claim 10, wherein the determination based at least in part on the L3 measurement for the cell comprises: The determination is based at least in part on whether the indication of activation is sent within 1280 ms after a last transmission of a reference signal resource for a beam report for the L3 measurement.

14. The second device according to claim 10, wherein the second device is further caused to execute: Prior to a cell handover command or at the time of the cell handover command, during the activation of the at least one TCI state, an additional L1 measurement or an additional L3 measurement for the cell.

15. The second device according to claim 14, wherein the second device is further caused to execute: Receiving from the first device at least one of: an indication indicating that the additional L1 measurement or the additional L3 measurement of the cell will be performed during the activation of the at least one TCI state before or at the time of the cell handover command, or an indication indicating that the activation of the at least one TCI state is performed based on the L3 measurement; and Based on the received indication, it is determined that the additional L1 measurement or the additional L3 measurement is to be performed.

16. The second device of claim 10, wherein the at least one TCI state is unknown to the second device.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the at least one TCI state is activated based on the L3 measurement, the at least one TCI state is known if at least one condition of a known TCI state associated with the L3 measurement is satisfied.

18. A method for communication, comprising: At the second device, sending layer 3 L3 measurements of cells for layer 1 / layer 2 L1 / L2 triggered mobility operations to the first device; as well as An indication of activation of at least one transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the cell is received from the first device, wherein the activation of the at least one TCI state is determined at least in part based on the L3 measurement for the cell.

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