Indicating transmission configuration indicator status

Abstract

A method is disclosed, comprising: receiving a first information element, where the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and determining an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group based on the second information element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following exemplary embodiments relate to wireless communications and to indicating resources associated with a data transmission. Background Art

[0002] Wireless networks, such as cellular communication networks, use control channels, for example, to indicate control information. Such control information may allow resources to be allocated such that data transmission is enabled. It is also desirable to have the best possible use of resources. Summary of the invention

[0003] The scope of protection sought by various embodiments of the present invention is given by the independent claims. Exemplary embodiments and features described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims, if any, are to be construed as examples that aid in understanding the various embodiments of the present invention.

[0004] According to a first aspect, a device is provided, comprising components for: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and determining, based on the second information element, an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0005] In some exemplary embodiments according to the first aspect, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor, and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause execution of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0006] According to a second aspect, a device is provided, comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the device to: receive a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receive a second information element; and based on the second information element, determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and based on the second information element, determining an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions for causing a device to perform at least the following items: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and based on the second information element, determining an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0009] According to a fifth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being used to perform at least the following items: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and based on the second information element, determining an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing a device to perform at least the following items: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and based on the second information element, determining an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0011] According to the seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being used to perform at least the following items: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and based on the second information element, determining an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0012] According to the eighth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising components for: sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and sending a second information element to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0013] In some exemplary embodiments according to the eighth aspect, the component includes: at least one processor, and at least one memory, the at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause execution of the device together with the at least one processor.

[0014] According to the ninth aspect, a device is provided, comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the device to: send a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and send a second information element to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0015] According to the tenth aspect, a method is provided, comprising: sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and sending a second information element to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0016] According to the eleventh aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following items: sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and sending a second information element to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0017] According to the twelfth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being used to perform at least the following items: sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and sending a second information element to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0018] According to the thirteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions, which are used to cause the apparatus to perform at least the following items: sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and sending a second information element to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

[0019] According to the fourteenth aspect, a non-volatile computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being used to perform at least the following items: sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and sending a second information element to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0021] Figure 1 An example embodiment of a radio access network is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 2 A flow chart according to an example embodiment is illustrated.

[0023] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Example embodiments for determining an association between at least one TCI state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group are illustrated.

[0024] Figure 4 and Figure 5 An example embodiment of an apparatus is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "one", "an" or "some" embodiments in several places in the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is to the same embodiment, or that a particular feature applies only to a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0026] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" refers to all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementations only, such as implementations in analog and / or digital circuitry only; and (b) combinations of circuitry and software (and / or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of (multiple) processors, or (ii) portions of (multiple) processors / software, including (multiple) digital signal processors, software, and (multiple) memories, which work together to enable the device to perform various functions; and (c) circuits, such as (multiple) microprocessors, or portions of (multiple) microprocessors, which require software or firmware to operate, even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of this term in this application. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would also cover implementations of only a processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuitry" would also cover (for example, and if applicable to the particular element) a baseband integrated circuit or application processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or another network device. The above-described embodiments of circuit systems may also be viewed as embodiments of providing means for performing embodiments of methods or processes described in this document.

[0027] The techniques and methods described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented with hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For hardware implementations, the (multiple) devices of the embodiments may be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, the implementation may be performed by a module (e.g., a process, a function, etc.) of at least one chipset that performs the functions described herein. The software code may be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit may be implemented within or outside the processor. In the latter case, it may be communicatively coupled to the processor via any appropriate means. In addition, the components of the system described herein may be rearranged and / or supplemented by additional components to facilitate implementation of various aspects of its description, etc., and they are not limited to the precise configurations set forth in the given figures, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0028] The embodiments described herein may be implemented in a communication system, such as in at least one of the following: a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or any other second generation cellular communication system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS, 3G) based on basic Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, a system based on the IEEE 802.11 specification, a system based on the IEEE 802.15 specification, and / or a fifth generation (5G) mobile or cellular communication system. However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, and a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems having the necessary characteristics.

[0029] Figure 1 An example of a simplified system architecture showing some elements and functional entities is described, which are logical units, the implementation of which may differ from what is shown. Figure 1 The connections shown in are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the system may also include Figure 1 Other functions and structures than those shown in . Figure 1 The example of FIG. 1 shows a portion of an exemplary radio access network.

[0030] Figure 1 Terminal devices 100 and 102 are shown, and terminal devices 100 and 102 are configured to be wirelessly connected to an access node (such as (e / g) NodeB) providing the cell on one or more communication channels in the cell. Access node 104 may also be referred to as a node. The wireless link from the terminal device to the (e / g) NodeB is referred to as an uplink or reverse link, and the wireless link from the (e / g) NodeB to the terminal device is referred to as a downlink or forward link. It should be understood that (e / g) NodeB or their functions can be implemented by using entities such as any node, host, server or access point suitable for such use. It should be noted that although a cell is discussed in this exemplary embodiment, for simplicity of illustration, in some exemplary embodiments, multiple cells may be provided by one access node.

[0031] The communication system may include more than one (e / g)NodeB, in which case the (e / g)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate with each other via wired or wireless links designed for this purpose. These links may be used for signaling purposes. (e / g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. (e / g)NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point, or any other type of interface device, including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. (e / g)NodeB includes or is coupled to a transceiver. From the transceiver of the (e / g)NodeB, a connection to an antenna unit is provided, and the antenna unit establishes a bidirectional radio link to a user equipment. The antenna unit may include multiple antennas or antenna elements. (e / g)NodeB is also connected to a core network 110 (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the system, the counterpart on the CN side may be a service gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW), for providing connectivity of a terminal device (UE) to an external packet data network, or a mobile management entity (MME), etc.

[0032] The terminal device (also referred to as UE, user equipment, user terminal, user device, etc.) shows a type of device to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned, and therefore any features described herein using the terminal device can be implemented using corresponding devices (such as relay nodes). An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhaul relay) toward a base station. Another example of such a relay node is a layer 2 relay. Such a relay node may include a terminal device portion and a distributed unit (DU) portion. For example, a CU (centralized unit) may coordinate DU operations via an F1AP interface.

[0033] A terminal device may refer to a portable computing device including a wireless mobile communication device that operates with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), or an embedded SIM, eSIM, including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile stations (mobile phones), smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handsets, devices using wireless modems (alarms or measuring devices, etc.), laptop and / or touch screen computers, tablet computers, game consoles, notebooks, and multimedia devices. It should be understood that a user device may also be a unique or nearly unique uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips to the network. A terminal device may also be a device with the ability to operate in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, which is a scenario in which an object is provided with the ability to transmit data on a network without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The terminal device may also utilize the cloud. In some applications, the terminal device may include a small portable device with a radio component (such as a watch, headphones, or glasses), and performs calculations in the cloud. The terminal device (or in some embodiments, a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more user device functions.

[0034] The various techniques described herein may also be applied to cyber-physical systems (CPS) (systems of cooperating computing elements that control physical entities). CPS may enable the implementation and exploitation of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processor microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. The physical systems discussed are a subclass of cyber-physical systems, where mobile cyber-physical systems have inherent mobility. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals.

[0035] Furthermore, although the apparatus is described as a single entity, different units, processors and / or memory units may be implemented. Figure 1 Not all are shown).

[0036] 5G enables the use of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites that operate in collaboration with smaller stations and adopt various radio technologies according to service needs, application scenarios and / or available spectrum. 5G mobile communications support a wide range of application scenarios and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different data sharing methods and various forms of machine-type applications, such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC), including vehicle safety, different sensors and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely below 6GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and can also be integrated with existing traditional radio access technologies such as LTE. At least in the early stages, integration with LTE can be implemented as a system in which macro coverage is provided by LTE and 5G radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregation to LTE. In other words, 5G plans to support inter-RAT operability (e.g. LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as below 6GHz-cmWave, below 6GHz-cmWave-mmWave). One of the concepts considered for use in 5G networks is network slicing, where multiple independent and dedicated virtual subnetworks (network instances) can be created within the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput, and mobility.

[0037] The current architecture in LTE networks is completely distributed in the radio and completely centralized in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G may require content to be close to the radio, which may lead to local outages and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analysis and knowledge generation to occur at the data source. This approach requires the use of resources that may not be continuously connected to the network such as laptops, smartphones, tablets and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content close to cellular users for faster response times. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer self-organizing networking and processing, and can also be categorized as local cloud / fog computing and grid / net computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlets, distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomous self-healing networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and / or latency critical), critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analysis, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0038] The communication system can also communicate with other networks, such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet 112, and / or utilize services provided by them. The communication network can also support the use of cloud services, for example, at least a portion of the core network operations can be performed as a cloud service (this is in the Figure 1 The communication system may also include a central control entity or the like, providing facilities for networks of different operators to collaborate, for example in spectrum sharing.

[0039] Edge cloud can be brought into the radio access network (RAN) by leveraging network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN). Using edge cloud can mean that access node operations are at least partially performed in servers, hosts or nodes that are operably coupled to remote radio heads or base stations including the radio part. Node operations can also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes or hosts. The application of cloud RAN architecture enables RAN real-time functions to be performed on the RAN side (in distributed units DU 104) and non-real-time functions to be performed in a centralized manner (in centralized units CU 108).

[0040] It should also be understood that the labor distribution between core network operations and base station operations may be different from that of LTE, or even non-existent. Some other technologies that may be used include, for example, big data and all-IP, which may change the way the network is constructed and managed. 5G (or New Radio, NR) networks are designed to support multiple hierarchical structures, in which MEC servers can be placed between the core and the base station or NodeB (gNB). It should be understood that MEC can also be applied to 4G networks.

[0041] 5G can also use satellite communications to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services, such as by providing backhaul or service availability in areas without ground coverage. Satellite communications can use geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems or low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, such as giant constellations. The satellites 106 included in the constellation can carry gNBs that create ground cells, or at least a portion of the gNBs. Alternatively, the satellites 106 can be used to relay signals from one or more cells to the earth. The ground cell can be created by a ground relay node 104 or by a gNB, which is located on the ground or in a satellite, or a portion of the gNB (e.g., DU) can be on a satellite and a portion of the gNB (e.g., CU) can be on the ground. Additionally or alternatively, a high altitude platform station HAPS system can be used.

[0042] It should be noted that the depicted system is an example of a part of a radio access system, and that the system may include multiple (e / g)NodeBs, a terminal device may have access to multiple radio cells, and that the system may also include other means, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements. At least one of the (e / g)NodeBs may be a home (e / g)NodeB. In addition, in a geographical area of ​​the radio communication system, a plurality of different kinds of radio cells as well as a plurality of radio cells may be provided. The radio cells may be macro cells (or umbrella cells), which are large cells, typically having a diameter of up to tens of kilometers; or smaller cells, such as micro cells, femto cells, or pico cells. Figure 1 The (e / g)NodeB of a cell can provide any type of these cells. The cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network including several types of cells. In some exemplary embodiments, in a multi-layer network, one access node provides one or more cells of one type, and therefore multiple (e / g)NodeBs are required to provide this network structure.

[0043] Uplink control information (UCI) may be provided using a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), for example, as is the case in NR. PUCCH may have different formats, such as formats 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the different formats may have their respective format configurations in the PUCCH configuration. Different UCI may use different formats, for example, PUCCH formats 0 and 1 may be used for scheduling requests (SR) and / or up to two hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) bits. As another example, PUCCH formats 2, 3, and 4 may be used for HARQ-ACK, SR, and / or channel state information (CSI). A terminal device may configure multiple PUCCH resources according to a PUCCH configuration, such as a PUCCH configuration according to a 3GPP specification.

[0044] Determining the resources for the PUCCH may be based on at least one of the following: a PUCCH resource indicator (PRI), in downlink control information (DCI), a UCI payload size, a control channel element (CCE) index of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the DCI, a total number of CCEs in a control resource set (CORESET) on which the PDCCH carrying the DCI has been sent, a UCI configuration (such as an SR configuration, a CSI configuration, and / or a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) HARQ-ACK configuration). Determining the resources for the PUCCH may be performed, for example, according to a procedure defined in a 3GPP specification.

[0045] The operation of signaling spatial relationship information for PUCCH can be described as follows: multiple spatial relationship information (such as PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo) can be configured via radio resource control (RRC) so that the selection of one spatial relationship is performed via medium access control (MAC) CE. This can also be understood as PUCCH spatial relationship activation / deactivation MAC CE. Spatial relationship updates using MAC CE, such as beam switching, can be signaled, for example, for each PUCCH resource. Additionally, the spatial relationship for each group of PUCCH resources can be updated simultaneously by using one MAC CE, which can also be understood as an enhanced PUCCH spatial relationship activation / deactivation MAC CE. For example, up to four PUCCH resource groups can be configured for each bandwidth part (BWP). For example, if the indicated PUCCH resource ID is included in the PUCCH resource group of the indicated UL BWP, no other PUCCH resources within the same PUCCH resource group may be indicated in the MAC CE, and the MAC CE applies to all PUCCH resources in the PUCCH resource group. In addition, the spatial relationship of multiple PUCCH resources can be updated / indicated in the same MAC CE.

[0046] In addition, a single PUCCH resource may also be used for multiple transmission and reception point (TRP) operations. In this way, a single PUCCH resource may be used for different time division multiplexing repetitions for different TRPs. In addition, for example in frequency range 2 (FR2), information about up to two spatial relationships may be indicated and / or activated for a PUCCH resource via a MAC CE. Additionally, for example in frequency range 1 (FR1), up to two sets of power control parameters may be indicated and / or activated for a PUCCH resource via a MAC CE. A set of power control parameters may, for example, include parameters such as p0, a path loss reference signal (RS) ID, and a closed loop index.

[0047] The transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state may be used to provide a quasi co-location assumption for the reception of DL signals and channels, and may also be used to provide a spatial source for the transmission of UL signals and channels. This may be achieved using a unified TCI framework, which may also be used to define the indicated TCI state. The indicated TCI state may be, for example, a joint DL and UL TCI state, or a separate DL TCI state and a separate UL TCI state. The indicated TCI state for DL ​​may provide a QCL source for a set of downlink signals and channels, and the indicated TCI state for UL may provide a spatial source for a set of uplink signals and channels.

[0048] The unified TCI framework can be used for different functions. For example, it is used to provide an indicated TCI state for a group of signals and channels at a time, which can also be understood as a joint TCI state. TCI states (joint and / or separate) can be configured using RRC, and up to eight TCI states can be activated via MAC CE. The DCI can then indicate one of the activated TCI states as the indicated TCI state, which can be a joint TCI state. In the unified TCI framework, there can also be multiple indicated DL and / or UL TCI states to also cover multi-TRP application scenarios. In addition, PUCCH repetition and / or transmission operations of both single TRP and multiple TRP can coexist in a unified TCI framework.

[0049] Therefore, it is beneficial if the terminal device can determine the association between at least one (e.g. one or two) TCI states and at least one PUCCH resource group. A PUCCH resource group may be understood to include at least one PUCCH resource. On the other hand, a TCI state may allow a terminal device to use a common beam to receive more than one DL channel and / or signal, and / or to send more than one UL channel and / or signal. A common beam may be indicated by a TCI state. It should also be noted that a beam (such as a UL beam) may also be understood to refer to spatial relationship information; a UL TCI state, which may be a separate UL TCI state; a joint TCI state; a spatial filter; power control information, or a set of power control parameters; an antenna panel; quasi-co-location information type D or any other type, such as type A, B or C, etc. It should also be noted that an antenna panel may be identified by an index of a corresponding terminal device capability value set or an antenna panel ID. Alternatively or additionally, an antenna panel may be identified by or associated with at least one reference signal (RS) or a UL beam.

[0050] Figure 2 A flowchart according to an example embodiment is illustrated. The flowchart may be, for example, a method performed by an apparatus (such as a computing apparatus) that may be included in a terminal device. In the example embodiment, first, at box S1, a first information element (IE) is received, and the first information element indicates at least one TCI state. In the example embodiment, the first IE is received by the terminal device, and the first indication may indicate, for example, one or two TCI states. In addition, the first indication may be received from an access node (such as a gNB) via a DL DCI using, for example, format 1_1 or 1_2. The one or two TCI states may be UL TCI states and / or joint TCI states.

[0051] Next, in box S2, a second IE is received by the terminal device from the access node. In this example embodiment, the second IE allows the terminal device to derive at least one PUCCH resource group, and at least one TCI state is applicable to the at least one PUCCH resource group. Optionally, the second IE may indicate at least one PUCCH resource group. The second IE may be provided by the access node in various ways and thus received by the terminal device. For example, if the first IE is received via a DCI, the second IE may be received within the same DCI, and one IE in the DCI may be dedicated as the second IE. Optionally, the second IE may include a bitmap, wherein the bitmap may indicate at least one PUCCH resource group, and at least one TCI state is applicable to the at least one PUCCH resource group.

[0052] Alternatively, the second IE may be received within the same DCI as the first IE, and the second IE may be an IE of a DCI dedicated to another purpose (in other words, dedicated to another purpose rather than explicitly encoding the PUCCH resource group to which at least one TCI state applies). For example, the second IE may be an IE of DCI that allows the terminal device to derive at least one PUCCH resource group to which at least one TCI state applies. For example, the second IE may be an IE of DCI that allows the terminal device to derive at least one PUCCH resource group to which at least one TCI state applies. For example, the second IE may indicate at least one PUCCH resource indicator (PRI), and based at least in part on this, the terminal device may determine that the at least one PUCCH resource group is the at least one PUCCH resource group to which the at least one PUCCH resource (as identified by the at least one indicated PRI) belongs. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device may determine at least one PUCCH resource group based on a PUCCH resource ID, for example, for a PUCCH that does not have a corresponding PDCCH. In the case where the terminal device implicitly determines at least one PUCCH resource group, if the first IE indicates two TCI states, the terminal device may use, for example, RRC to configure whether the at least one PUCCH resource group follows a specific indicated (multiple) TCI state. The specific (multiple) TCI state may, for example, be one of the following: two indicated TCI states (for example, in the case of PUCCH repetition), a first TCI state, or a second TCI state. Alternatively, in the case where the terminal device implicitly determines at least one PUCCH resource group, the terminal device may associate at least one indicated TCI state with the at least one PUCCH resource group, that is, if there is one indicated TCI state or two indicated TCI states, one indicated TCI or two indicated TCI states may be associated with at least one PUCCH resource group, respectively.

[0053] As another alternative in block S2, the second indication may be received via dynamic signaling other than the DCI via which the first IE is received.

[0054] In box S3 of the flowchart of this exemplary embodiment, an association between at least one TCI state and at least one PUCCH resource group is determined by a terminal device. The association is determined at least in part based on a second IE because the second IE allows such an association to be determined. If one TCI state is indicated by a first IE, determining the association includes determining whether the TCI state will be applied to at least one PUCCH resource group. If two TCI states are indicated, determining the association includes at least determining which of the two indicated TCI states is applicable to which of the at least one PUCCH resource group. For example, if there are two indicated TCI states and there are at least two PUCCH resource groups, the determined association may enable one of the TCI states to be applicable to the first PUCCH resource group and the other TCI state to be applicable to the second PUCCH resource group. Therefore, in general, determining the association may include determining various combinations of TCI states that are applicable to various PUCCH resource groups based on the amount of indicated TCI states and the amount of PUCCH resource groups.

[0055] Figure 3A An exemplary embodiment is shown, which is also applicable to Figure 2 An exemplary embodiment is shown in . In this exemplary embodiment, the second IE includes using a bitmap that allows determining an association between the indicated at least one TCI state and at least one PUCCH resource group. It should be noted that in some exemplary embodiments, the second IE may also indicate at least one resource group. The bitmap may be sent by an access node to a terminal device. In this exemplary embodiment, there are three PUCCH resource groups, which may be indexed as #0, #1 and #2, referring to the first, second and third PUCCH resource groups, respectively. In this exemplary embodiment, DCI 310 using PDCCH 315 is used to send a first IE by an access node to a terminal device, the first IE indicating two TCI states 332 and 334, in Figure 3A310 are also referred to as TCI state #0 and TCI state #1, respectively. DCI 310 is then also used to send a second IE including a bitmap, based on which the association between the indicated TCI states 332 and 334 and the three PUCCH resource groups #0, #1 and #2 can be determined. In this exemplary embodiment, the first bit of the bitmap corresponds to PUCCH resource group #0, which can be regarded as a PUCCH resource group of the first configuration. The second bit of the bitmap can correspond to PUCCH resource group #1, which can be regarded as a PUCCH resource group of the second configuration, and the third bit of the bitmap can correspond to PUCCH resource group #2, which can be regarded as a PUCCH resource group of the third configuration. If the bitmap indicates a single "1" and all other bits are "0", the terminal device can then determine, based on the bitmap, that the association between the two TCI states and the PUCCH resource group is that the two indicated TCI states should be applied to the same PUCCH resource group, and the terminal device can then determine the PUCCH resource group based on the index of the "1" bit in the bitmap. For example, if the indicated bitmap is [0 1 0] corresponding to index [index #0, index #1, index #2], then in this case, when two TCI states are indicated, both of the indicated TCI states should be applied to the second PUCCH resource group corresponding to PUCCH resource group #1. Based on the bitmap, in a multi-TRP application scenario, the PUCCH repetitions 302 and 304 are then performed using both of the indicated TCI states (in Figure 3A 0 and PUCCH rep#1), respectively, PUCCH repetitions 302 and 304 use PUCCH resources belonging to PUCCH resource group #1.

[0056] Alternatively or additionally, DCI 320 using PDCCH 325 may be used to send a first IE indicating two TCI states 332 and 334 to a terminal device by an access node, and a second IE including another different bitmap for allowing determination of another association. In this alternative, the bitmap indicates two "1s", and the other bits in the bitmap are "0s", and thus the terminal device may determine that the association between the two TCI states 332 and 334 and the PUCCH resource groups #0, #1, and #2 is that the two indicated TCI states should be applied to the two PUCCH resource groups. The terminal device may then determine the two PUCCH resource groups based on the index of the "1" bit in the bitmap. For example, if the indicated bitmap is [1 0 1] corresponding to index [index #0, index #1 index #2], and if two TCI states are indicated, the indicated first and second TCI states 332 and 334 should be applied to the first PUCCH resource group corresponding to PUCCH resource group #0, and the third PUCCH resource group corresponding to PUCCH resource group #2, respectively. Then, a PUCCH transmission 306 using PUCCH resources belonging to PUCCH resource group #2 may be sent using the second TCI state 334.

[0057] Although two TCI states are indicated in this exemplary embodiment, alternatively, there may be one TCI state indicated using the first IE. Then, if a bitmap is used to determine the association between a TCI state and a PUCCH resource group, the PUCCH resource group associated with the TCI state is the PUCCH resource group having an index corresponding to the bit "1" in the bitmap. Therefore, in general, the bit in the bitmap may correspond to both a TCI state and a PUCCH resource group, and if the value of the bit has a predetermined value (such as a value of 1), the terminal device may determine that the TCI state is applicable to the PUCCH resource group, and if the value of the bit is, for example, 0, the terminal device may determine that the TCI state is not applicable to the PUCCH resource group. However, it should be noted that one bit may correspond to more than one TCI state and / or more than one PUCCH resource group, and the value of the bit may then determine the association between the TCI state and the PUCCH resource group.

[0058] It should also be noted that the size of the bitmap can be equal to the total number of configured PUCCH resource groups, or alternatively, the size of the bitmap can be shorter than the total number of configured PUCCH resource groups. This may be the case, for example, if there is an option where the number of PUCCH resource groups is lower than the total number of configured PUCCH resource groups.

[0059] Figure 3B An exemplary embodiment is shown, which may also be applied to Figure 2The exemplary embodiment shown in . The exemplary embodiment includes implicit indication using at least one PUCCH resource group, and in this exemplary embodiment, there are three PUCCH resource groups, which can be indexed as #0, #1 and #2, thereby referring to the first, second and third PUCCH resource groups respectively. In this exemplary embodiment, DCI 340 using PDCCH 345 is used to send a first IE by the access node to the terminal device, and the first IE indicates two TCI states 372 and 374, in Figure 3B The second IE in this example embodiment allows the terminal device to determine the association between the two indicated TCI states 372 and 374 and PUCCH resource groups #0, #1 and #2.

[0060] In this exemplary embodiment, the terminal device may be configured using, for example, RRC to determine that PUCCH resource groups #0, #1, and #2 follow a specific indicated TCI state. In this exemplary embodiment, the specific TCI state may be one of the following: two indicated TCI states 372 and 374, a first indicated TCI state 372, or a second indicated TCI state 374. This configuration received by the terminal device via RRC may be understood as a pre-configuration. In this exemplary embodiment, the terminal device is pre-configured so that PUCCH resource group #0 follows a specific TCI state, which for PUCCH resource group #0 is two TCI states indicated by the DCI. However, it should be noted that when the terminal device receives the pre-configuration, the terminal device may not know the identification of the TCI state because the terminal device has not yet received the first IE indicating the identification of the TCI state. Therefore, when the first IE sent using DCI 340 indicates two TCI states 372 and 374 for UL transmission, the terminal device determines the association between the indicated two TCI states and PUCCH resource group #0 so that both TCI states 372 and 374 will be applied to PUCCH resource group #0.

[0061] Therefore, in this exemplary embodiment, in a multi-TRP application scenario, the PUCCH repetitions 362 and 364 are then performed using the first and second indicated TCI states. Figure 3B They are also referred to as PUCCH rep#0 and PUCCH rep#1, respectively, which use PUCCH resources belonging to PUCCH resource group #0.

[0062] Furthermore, in this example embodiment, the terminal device is preconfigured such that PUCCH resource group #1 follows a specific TCI state, which is, for PUCCH resource group #1, a first TCI state of two TCI states indicated by the DCI. However, note again that when the terminal device receives this preconfiguration, the terminal device may not know the identification of the TCI state because the terminal device has not yet received the first IE indicating the identification of the TCI state. Therefore, when the first IE sent using DCI 340 indicates two TCI states 372 and 374 for UL transmission, the terminal device determines the association between the indicated two TCI states 372 and 374 and PUCCH resource group #1 so that the first TCI state 372 will be applied to PUCCH resource group #1. Therefore, in this exemplary embodiment, the second TCI state 374 of the two indicated TCI states is not applied to resource group #1.

[0063] Furthermore, in this example embodiment, the terminal device is preconfigured so that PUCCH resource group #2 follows a specific TCI state, which is the second TCI state of the two TCI states indicated by the DCI for PUCCH resource group #2. However, note again that when the terminal device receives the preconfiguration, the terminal device may not know the identification of the TCI state because the terminal device has not yet received the first IE indicating the identification of the TCI state. Therefore, when the first IE sent using DCI 340 indicates two TCI states 372 and 374 for UL transmission, the terminal device determines the association between the indicated two TCI states 372 and 374 and PUCCH resource group #2 so that the second TCI state 374 will be applied to PUCCH resource group #2. Therefore, in this exemplary embodiment, the first TCI state 372 of the two indicated TCI states is not applied to resource group #2.

[0064] Alternatively or additionally, DCI 350 using PDCCH 355 may be used by the access node to send a first IE to the terminal device indicating a TCI state to be used for UL transmission. One TCI state in this exemplary embodiment is TCI state 376, which is in Figure 3BAlso referred to as TCI state #3 in . The terminal device may then determine, at least in part based on the received preconfiguration, an association between three PUCCH resource groups #0, #1 and #2 and TCI state 376. Therefore, in this example embodiment, for PUCCH resource group #0, the terminal device may determine that the association is that TCI state 376 is applicable to PUCCH resource group #0, or that TCI state 376 is not applicable to PUCCH resource group #0. In addition, for PUCCH resource group #1, the terminal device may determine that the association is that TCI state 376 is applicable to PUCCH resource group #1, or that TCI state 376 is not applicable to PUCCH resource group #1. Then, for PUCCH resource group #2, the terminal device may determine that the association is that TCI state 376 is applicable to PUCCH resource group #2, or that TCI state 376 is not applicable to PUCCH resource group #2. It should be noted that if it is determined to be applicable, the terminal device applies the TCI state to the PUCCH resource group. Therefore, in this example embodiment, for PUCCH transmission 366 , PUCCH resources included in PUCCH resource group # 1 are utilized in TCI state 376 .

[0065] In general, it should be noted that once the terminal device has determined the association between the indicated TCI state and the PUCCH resource group, the terminal device has determined which TCI state, and how many (e.g. one or two) TCI states are associated with the PUCCH resource group. Therefore, the terminal device may use one or two TCI states associated with the PUCCH resource group for PUCCH transmission or repetition. Furthermore, the indicated TCI state may be a UL TCI state or a joint TCI state.

[0066] It should also be noted that in the above exemplary embodiments, determining the association may also apply to a CORESET for each PUCCH resource group, for example so that a PUCCH resource group may be identified using a specific CORESETPool index. For example, one or more PUCCH resources that may be included in one or more PUCCH resource groups may be associated with, for example, different TRPs, and / or associated with different CORESETPool indices, and / or associated with different PCIs (physical cell IDs), such as CORESETPool index #0 and CORESETPool index #1. Thus, if a terminal device receives an indication of one or more TCI states (e.g., UL and / or joint TCI states) from an access node via an IE in a DCI sent using a PDCCH, and the PDCCH is sent via a CORESET belonging to a CORESETPool index (e.g., CORESETPool index #0), the terminal device may apply the above operation to, or limit it to, the PUCCH resource group associated with the CORESETPool index.

[0067] Note also that in some embodiments, if one (UL or joint) TCI state is indicated or applicable to a given CORESET group or PCI, for a PUCCH transmission operation scheduled by a PDCCH sent on resources belonging to the CORESET group, the terminal device may determine to apply the one TCI state to the PUCCH transmission. On the other hand, in some other embodiments, if two (UL and / or joint) TCI states are indicated or applicable to a given CORESET group or PCI, for a multi-TRP PUCCH transmission / repetition operation scheduled by a PDCCH sent on resources belonging to the CORESET group, the terminal device may determine to apply both TCI states to the PUCCH transmission / repetition operation. It should also be noted that if the PUCCH transmission operation (single TRP or multi-TRP) is repeated by PDCCH scheduling using two PDCCH candidates belonging to different CORESETs or CORESET groups or CORESETPool indices or PCIs, then for the above embodiments, the user equipment may assume a PDCCH candidate corresponding to a CORESET or CORESET group or CORESETPool index or PCI, or a search space set with a lower / higher index. In this case, the TCI state determination described for the above exemplary embodiments may be based on the CORESET group or PCI corresponding to the reference PDCCH candidate.

[0068] It should also be noted that one or more PUCCH resource groups may be associated with a capacity value set and / or an antenna panel. Then, when at least one capacity value set becomes available, the terminal device may apply the corresponding one or more indicated TCI states to the associated one or more PUCCH resource groups. It should also be noted that multi-TRP operations (such as PUCCH repetition and / or transmission using two TCI states (which may be UL TCI states)) may be simultaneous, or parallel, or time-division multiplexed PUSCH transmissions and / or repetitions.

[0069] The above-described exemplary embodiments may have benefits such as enabling support for multi-TRP PUCCH repetition and / or transmission operations, and allowing single-TRP and multi-TRP PUCCH repetition and / or transmission operations to coexist under the TCI architecture, taking into account a unified TCI architecture. Since the downlink DCI may provide information to the terminal device that may be used to determine, for example, an association between one or two indicated TCI states and one or more PUCCH resource groups, this may allow the TCI framework to support UL operations for both s-TRP and m-TRP without complex signaling requirements.

[0070] Figure 4 An apparatus 400 according to an example embodiment is illustrated, which may be an apparatus such as a terminal device, or an apparatus included in a terminal device. The apparatus 400 includes a processor 410. The processor 410 interprets computer program instructions and processes data. The processor 410 may include one or more programmable processors. The processor 410 may include programmable hardware with embedded firmware, and may optionally or additionally include one or more application specific integrated circuits ASICs.

[0071] The processor 410 is coupled to the memory 420. The processor is configured to read data from the memory 420 and write data to the memory 420. The memory 420 may include one or more storage units. The memory unit may be volatile or non-volatile. It should be noted that in some example embodiments, there may be one or more non-volatile memory units and one or more volatile memory units, or alternatively, one or more non-volatile memory units, or alternatively, one or more volatile memory units. The volatile memory may be, for example, RAM, DRAM, or SDRAM. The non-volatile memory may be, for example, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, flash memory, optical storage, or magnetic storage. In general, the memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 420 stores computer-readable instructions executed by the processor 410. For example, the non-volatile memory stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor 410 executes the instructions using the volatile memory for temporary storage of data and / or instructions.

[0072] The computer readable instructions may be pre-stored in the memory 420, or alternatively or additionally, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal, and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer readable instructions causes the device 400 to perform the above functions.

[0073] In the context of this document, "memory" or "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory medium or component that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (e.g., a computer).

[0074] The device 400 also includes, or is connected to, an input unit 430. The input unit 430 includes one or more interfaces for receiving user input. The one or more interfaces may include, for example, one or more motion and / or orientation sensors, one or more cameras, one or more accelerometers, one or more microphones, one or more buttons, and one or more touch detection units. In addition, the input unit 430 may include an interface to which an external device may be connected.

[0075] The device 400 also includes an output unit 440. The output unit includes, or is connected to, one or more displays capable of presenting visual content, such as light emitting diodes, LED displays, liquid crystal displays, LCDs, and liquid crystal on silicon LCoS displays. The output unit 440 also includes one or more audio outputs. The one or more audio outputs can be, for example, a speaker or a set of headphones.

[0076] The device 400 may also include a connection unit 450. The connection unit 450 enables a wired and / or wireless connection to an external network. The connection unit 450 may include one or more antennas and one or more receivers, which may be integrated into the device 400 or the device 400 may be connected to them. The connection unit 450 may include an integrated circuit or a set of integrated circuits that provide wireless communication capabilities for the device 400. Alternatively, the wireless connection may be a hardwired application-specific integrated circuit ASIC.

[0077] It should be noted that the apparatus 400 may also include Figure 4 The various components not shown in the figure. The various components can be hardware components and / or software components.

[0078] Figure 5The apparatus 500 of the embodiment illustrates an example embodiment of an apparatus that may be an access node, or included in an access node. For example, the apparatus may be a circuit system or a chipset that may be applied to an access node to implement the described embodiments. The apparatus 500 may be an electronic device including one or more electronic circuit systems. The apparatus 500 may include a communication control circuit system 510 (such as at least one processor), and at least one memory 520 including computer program code (software) 522, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) 522 are configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus 500 to perform any one of the example embodiments of the access node described above.

[0079] The memory 520 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The memory may include a configuration database for storing configuration data. For example, the configuration database may store a current neighbor cell list and, in some example embodiments, a structure of frames used in detected neighbor cells.

[0080] The apparatus 500 may also include a communication interface 530, which includes hardware and / or software for implementing communication connectivity according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface 530 may provide the apparatus with wireless communication capabilities to communicate in a cellular communication system. The communication interface may, for example, provide a radio interface to a terminal device. The apparatus 500 may also include another interface to a core network (such as a network coordinator device) and / or to an access node of a cellular communication system. The apparatus 500 may also include a scheduler 540 configured to allocate resources.

[0081] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the examples according to the accompanying drawings, it is apparent that the present invention is not limited thereto but may be modified in various ways within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly and they are intended to illustrate rather than limit the embodiments. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that, with the advancement of technology, the concepts of the invention may be implemented in various ways. In addition, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments may, but are not required to, be combined with other embodiments in various ways.

Claims

1. A device comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; as well as Based on the second information element, an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group is determined.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second information element indicates at least one physical uplink control channel resource indicator.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device is further configured to: According to the pre-configuration, an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group is determined.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first information element indicates two transmission configuration indicator states, and the pre-configuration causes the apparatus to determine the association between the two transmission configuration indicator states and the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group as one of: Both of the two transmission configuration indicator states are applicable to the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group; A first transmission configuration indicator state of the two transmission configuration indicator states is applicable to the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group; or A second one of the two transmission configuration indicator states is applicable to the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second information element comprises a bitmap.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the bits in the bit map correspond to a transmission configuration indicator state included in the at least one transmission configuration state, and correspond to a physical uplink control channel resource group included in the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group, and the terminal device is also caused to: if the value of the bit has a predetermined value, determine that the transmission configuration indicator state is applicable to the physical uplink control channel resource group.

7. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the first information element and the second information element are included in downlink control information.

8. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus is further caused to: send a physical uplink control channel transmission based on the determined association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

9. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: Sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; as well as A second information element is sent to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first information element and the second information element are transmitted using downlink control information.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second information element indicates a physical uplink control channel resource indicator, and the apparatus is further caused to: Prior to sending the first information element, a pre-configuration is sent to the terminal device, the pre-configuration being used to determine the association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and the at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

12. A method comprising: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; as well as Based on the second information element, an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group is determined.

13. A method comprising: Sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; as well as A second information element is sent to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

14. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following: receiving a first information element, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; receiving a second information element; and Based on the second information element, an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group is determined.

15. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following: sending a first information element to a terminal device, wherein the first information element indicates at least one transmission configuration indicator state; and A second information element is sent to the terminal device, wherein the second information element is used to determine an association between the at least one transmission configuration indicator state and at least one physical uplink control channel resource group.

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