Techniques for timing advance maintenance for disabled cells based on random access channel operation

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may receive configuration information indicating one or more random access channel (RACH) resources for transmitting a random access channel (RACH) message to maintain a timing advance (TA) associated with at least one disabled cell corresponding to a TA group. The UE may send a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 17 / 818,590, filed on August 9, 2022, entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR TIMINGADVANCE MAINTENANCE FOR DEACTIVATED CELLS BASED ON A RANDOM ACCESS CHANNELOPERATION,” which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications and to apparatus for timing advance maintenance for deactivated cells based on random access channel operations. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0004] A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communications for wireless communication devices, such as user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. The UE may communicate with the network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. A "downlink" (or "DL") refers to a communication link from a network node to a UE, and an "uplink" (or "UL") refers to a communication link from a UE to a network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communications, such as via a local link (e.g., a side link (SL), a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and / or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, among other examples).

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at a city, country, region, or global level. New Radio (NR), which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink, CP-OFDM or single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) on the uplink, and supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation to improve spectrum efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards. Summary of the invention

[0006] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a network node associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a timing advance group (TAG). The method may include receiving a RACH message from a user equipment (UE), wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The method may include updating a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information.

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a UE for wireless communication. The UE may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to receive configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. The one or more processors may be configured to send a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a network node associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. The network node associated with at least one deactivated cell may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to receive a RACH message from a UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The one or more processors may be configured to update a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information.

[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication by a UE. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to receive configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to send a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication performed by a network node associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the TAG, may cause the TAG to receive a RACH message from a UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the TAG, may cause the TAG to update a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information.

[0011] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for receiving configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. The apparatus may include means for sending a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0012] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. The apparatus may include means for receiving a RACH message from a UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The apparatus may include means for updating a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information.

[0013] The various aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, network entities, network nodes, wireless communication devices and / or processing systems as fully described herein with reference to the drawings and description and as illustrated in the drawings and description.

[0014] The features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure have been outlined quite broadly above so that the following specific embodiments may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be easily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purpose of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. When considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein (both their organization and methods of operation) and the associated advantages will be better understood from the following description. Each of the figures in the accompanying drawings is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and not as a definition of limitations of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to fully understand the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure, a more specific description of the invention briefly summarized above can be obtained by referring to various aspects (some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings). However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings only illustrate certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the specification may admit other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0016] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network.

[0017] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between a network node and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network.

[0018] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example decomposed base station architecture according to the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of layer 1 and / or layer 2 inter-cell mobility according to the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example associated with timing advance (TA) maintenance for a deactivated cell based on a random access channel (RACH) operation according to the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example associated with TA maintenance for a deactivated cell based on a RACH operation according to the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a UE according to the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process, for example, performed by a network node, according to the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig.10 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Instead, these aspects are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the protection scope of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether it is implemented independently or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods implemented using other structures, functionality, or structures and functionality in addition to or different from the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the present invention.

[0027] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0028] Although various aspects may be described herein using terminology generally associated with 5G or new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT, and / or 5G and beyond (e.g., 6G) RATs.

[0029] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100. The wireless network 100 may be a 5G (e.g., NR) network or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network or elements of a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, etc. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as network node 110a, network node 110b, network node 110c, and network node 110d), user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UE 120a, UE 120b, UE 120c, UE 120d, and UE 120e), or other entities. The network node 110 is an example of a network node that communicates with the UE 120. As shown, the network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, the network node 110 may be a converged network node, which means that the converged network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). As another example, the network node 110 may be a decomposed network node (sometimes referred to as a decomposed base station), which means that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)).

[0030] In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with the UE 120 via a radio access link, such as an RU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link, such as a DU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or communicates with a core network via a backhaul link, such as a CU. In some examples, the network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a decomposed network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and / or one or more DUs. For example, the network node 110 may include an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G), a gNB (e.g., in 5G), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), a DU, a RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, network nodes 110 may be interconnected to each other or to one or more other network nodes 110 in wireless network 100 via various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and / or backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections, air interfaces, or virtual networks, using any suitable transport network.

[0031] In some examples, the network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the term "cell" may refer to a coverage area of ​​the network node 110 or a network node subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. The network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several thousand meters) and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may allow restricted access by a UE 120 associated with the femto cell (e.g., a UE 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. The network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or a home network node. Figure 1 In the example shown in , network node 110a may be a macro network node for macro cell 102a, network node 110b may be a pico network node for pico cell 102b, and network node 110c may be a femto network node for femto cell 102c. The network node may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, the cells may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cells may move depending on the location of the mobile network node 110 (e.g., a mobile network node).

[0032] In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a converged base station, a decomposed base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station" or "network node" may refer to a CU, a DU, a RU, a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions (such as those described herein in conjunction with the network node 110). In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a plurality of devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a number of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeat the execution of at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one of the base station functions but not the other. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0033] The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that can receive transmissions of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmit transmissions of data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 that is capable of relaying transmissions for other UEs 120. Figure 1 In the example shown, a network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with a network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and a UE 120d to facilitate communications between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, or a relay, etc.

[0034] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes different types of network nodes 110, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, or relay network nodes. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, or different effects on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro network node may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while a pico network node, a femto network node, and a relay network node may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0035] The network controller 130 may be coupled to or in communication with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for the network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may also communicate directly with each other or indirectly via a wireless backhaul communication link or a wired backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be or may include a CU or a core network device.

[0036] UE 120 may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. UE 120 may include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, or a subscriber unit. UE 120 may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet device, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, or a satellite radio), an in-vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0037] Some UEs 120 may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs or eMTC UEs may include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, or location tags, which may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered as customer premises equipment. UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as a processor component or a memory component. In some examples, the processor component and the memory component may be coupled together. For example, a processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and a memory component (e.g., a memory) may be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, or electrically coupled.

[0038] Generally speaking, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a specific RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology or air interface. Frequency may also be referred to as a carrier or frequency channel. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0039] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with each other). For example, UE 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), or mesh networks. In such examples, UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by network node 110.

[0040] Devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using an electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided into various categories, bands, or channels by frequency or wavelength. For example, devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz–7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz to 300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0041] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). The frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics or FR2 characteristics, and thereby the characteristics of FR1 or FR2 may be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0042] With these examples in mind, unless otherwise specifically stated, if the term "sub-6 GHz" is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, frequencies that may be within FR1, or frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies. Additionally, unless otherwise specifically stated, if the term "millimeter wave" is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, or FR5, or frequencies that may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, or FR5) may be modified, and that the techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0043] In some aspects, the UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may: receive configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending a random access channel (RACH) message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a timing advance (TA) group (TAG); and send a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0044] In some aspects, the network node 110 may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may: receive a RACH message from the UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell; and update a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0045] As indicated above, Figure 1 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 1 The examples described are different.

[0046] Figure 2 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 in which a network node 110 communicates with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T≥1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R≥1). The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as an antenna 234 and a modem 254. In some examples, the network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include a radio frequency component that facilitates direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs or one or more DUs.

[0047] At the network node 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) from the data source 212. The transmit processor 220 may use one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120 to select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for the UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 using the MCS selected for the UE 120 and may provide data symbols to the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) (shown as modems 232a to 232t). For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of the modem 232. Each modem 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) using a corresponding modulator component to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, or up-convert) the output sample stream using a corresponding modulator component to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a to 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a to 234t).

[0048] At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a to 252r) may receive downlink signals from the network node 110 or other network nodes 110, and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) (shown as modems 254a to 254r). For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a corresponding demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, or digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modem 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, or a CQI parameter, among other things. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing.

[0049] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0050] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a to 234t or antennas 252a to 252r) may include or may be included in one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays, etc. An antenna panel, antenna group, set of antenna elements, or antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (in a single housing or multiple housings), a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, or coupled to one or more transmit or receive components (such as Figure 2 One or more antenna elements of one or more components).

[0051] Each of the antenna elements may include one or more sub-elements for radiating or receiving radio frequency signals. For example, a single antenna element may include a first sub-element that is cross-polarized with a second sub-element, which can be used to independently transmit cross-polarized signals. The antenna elements may include patch antennas, dipole antennas, or other types of antennas arranged in a linear pattern, a two-dimensional pattern, or another pattern. The spacing between antenna elements may allow signals having desired wavelengths transmitted individually by the antenna elements to interact or interfere (e.g., to form a desired beam). For example, given a desired wavelength or frequency range, the spacing may provide a quarter wavelength, half wavelength, or other fraction of a wavelength of the spacing between adjacent antenna elements to allow interaction or interference of signals transmitted by individual antenna elements within the desired range.

[0052] Antenna elements and / or sub-elements may be used to generate beams. A "beam" may refer to a directional transmission, such as a wireless signal transmitted in the direction of a receiving device. A beam may include a directional signal, a direction associated with the signal, a set of directional resources associated with the signal (e.g., angle of arrival, horizontal direction, vertical direction), and / or a set of parameters indicating one or more aspects of the directional signal, the direction associated with the signal, and / or the set of directional resources associated with the signal.

[0053] As indicated above, antenna elements and / or sub-elements may be used to generate beams. For example, antenna elements may be individually selected or deselected for transmission of a signal (or signals) by controlling the amplitude of one or more corresponding amplifiers. Beamforming includes generating beams using multiple signals on different antenna elements, wherein one or more or all of the multiple signals are shifted in phase relative to each other. The formed beams may carry physical or higher layer reference signals or information. When each of the multiple signals is radiated from a corresponding antenna element, the radiated signals interact, interfere (constructively and destructively), and amplify with each other to form the resulting beam. The shape (such as amplitude, width, and / or the presence of side lobes) and direction (such as the angle of the beam relative to the surface of the antenna array) may be dynamically controlled by modifying the phase shift or phase offset of the multiple signals relative to each other.

[0054] Beamforming may be used for communication between a UE and a base station, such as for millimeter wave communication, etc. In this case, the base station may provide the UE with a configuration of a transmit configuration indicator (TCI) state, which respectively indicates beams that may be used by the UE, such as for receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The base station may indicate an activated TCI state to the UE, and the UE may use the activated TCI state to select a beam for receiving the PDSCH.

[0055] The beam indication may be or include a TCI state information element, a beam identifier (ID), spatial relationship information, a TCI state ID, a closed loop index, a panel ID, a TRP ID, and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS) set ID, etc. The TCI state information element (referred to herein as TCI state) may indicate information associated with a beam such as a downlink beam. For example, the TCI state information element may indicate a TCI state identifier (e.g., tci-StateID), a quasi co-location (QCL) type (e.g., qcl-Type1, qcl-Type2, qcl-TypeA, qcl-TypeB, qcl-TypeC, qcl-TypeD, etc.), a cell identifier (e.g., ServCellIndex), a bandwidth part identifier (bwp-Id), a reference signal identifier (such as CSI-RS (e.g., NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId, SSB-Index, etc.)), etc. The spatial relationship information may similarly indicate information associated with an uplink beam.

[0056] The beam indication may be a joint or separate downlink (DL) / uplink (UL) beam indication in a unified TCI framework. In some cases, the network may use at least UE-specific (unicast) downlink control information (DCI) to indicate a joint or separate DL / UL beam indication from an active TCI state, thereby supporting layer 1 (L1) based beam indication. In some cases, existing DCI formats 1_1 and / or 1_2 may be reused for beam indication. The network may include a support mechanism for the UE to confirm successful decoding of the beam indication. For example, an acknowledgment / negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) of a PDSCH scheduled by a DCI carrying a beam indication may also be used as an ACK for the DCI.

[0057] Beam indication may be provided for carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios. In a unified TCI framework, the network may support common TCI state ID updates and activations to provide common QCL information and / or one or more common UL transmit spatial filters across a set of configured component carriers (CCs). This type of beam indication may be applicable to intra-band CA as well as joint DL / UL beam indication and separate DL / UL beam indication. A common TCI state ID may mean that a reference signal (RS) determined according to the TCI state indicated by the common TCI state ID is used to provide a QCL type D indication and determine the UL transmit spatial filter across a set of configured CCs.

[0058] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, or CQI). The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be pre-decoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, where applicable, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and sent to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 252, a modem 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, or a TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (eg, controller / processor 280) and memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the processes described herein (eg, with reference to Figures 5 to 10 ).

[0059] At the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 or other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component of the modem 232, shown as DEMOD), detected by the MIMO detector 236 where applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted via the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink or uplink communication. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna 234, modem 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, or TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the processes described herein (e.g., reference 200 to FIG. 1 ). Figures 5 to 10 ).

[0060] In some aspects, the controller / processor 280 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may generally be a system or series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes the inputs to produce a set of outputs that may be communicated to other systems or components, such as the UE 120. For example, the processing system of the UE 120 may be a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of the UE 120.

[0061] The processing system of UE 120 may interface with one or more other components of UE 120, may process information (such as input or signal) received from one or more other components, or may output information to one or more other components. For example, a chip or modem of UE 120 may include: a processing system, a first interface for receiving or obtaining information, and a second interface for outputting, sending, or providing information. In some examples, the first interface may be an interface between a processing system and a receiver of the chip or modem, so that UE 120 may receive information or signal input, and may pass information to the processing system. In some examples, the second interface may be an interface between a processing system and a transmitter of the chip or modem, so that UE 120 may send information output from the chip or modem. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the second interface may also obtain or receive information or signal input, and the first interface may also output, send, or provide information.

[0062] In some aspects, controller / processor 240 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may generally be a system or series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes the inputs to produce a set of outputs that may be passed to other systems or components, such as network node 110. For example, a processing system of network node 110 may be a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of network node 110.

[0063] The processing system of the network node 110 may interface with one or more other components of the network node 110, may process information (such as input or signal) received from one or more other components, or may output information to one or more other components. For example, a chip or modem of the network node 110 may include: a processing system, a first interface for receiving or obtaining information, and a second interface for outputting, sending, or providing information. In some examples, the first interface may be an interface between a processing system and a receiver of the chip or modem, so that the network node 110 may receive information or signal input, and may pass the information to the processing system. In some examples, the second interface may be an interface between a processing system and a transmitter of the chip or modem, so that the network node 110 may send information output from the chip or modem. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the second interface may also obtain or receive information or signal input, and the first interface may also output, send, or provide information.

[0064] The controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and Figure 2 Any other component of the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or the like may perform one or more techniques associated with TA maintenance for deactivated cells based on RACH operation, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or the like Figure 2 Any other component (or combination of components) may perform or direct e.g. Figure 7 The process of 700 Figure 8 800 and / or other processes as described herein. Memory 242 and memory 282 may store data and program codes for network node 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some examples, memory 242 and memory 282 may include non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more instructions (e.g., code or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of network node 110 or UE 120 (e.g., directly, or after compilation, conversion, or interpretation), may cause the one or more processors, UE 120, or network node 110 to perform or direct, for example, Figure 7 The process of 700 Figure 8 The process 800 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running instructions, converting instructions, compiling instructions, and / or interpreting instructions, etc.

[0065] In some aspects, a UE (e.g., UE 120) includes: a component for receiving configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG; and / or a component for sending a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The components for the UE to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: a communication manager 140, an antenna 252, a modem 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, a TX MIMO processor 266, a controller / processor 280, or a memory 282.

[0066] In some aspects, the network node (e.g., network node 110) includes: a component for receiving a RACH message from a UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell; and / or a component for updating a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information. In some aspects, the components for the network node to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the communication manager 150, the transmit processor 220, the TX MIMO processor 230, the modem 232, the antenna 234, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the controller / processor 240, the memory 242, or the scheduler 246.

[0067] Although Figure 2 The blocks in the 200 and 210 are illustrated as distinct components, but the functionality described above for these blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functionality described for the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0068] As indicated above, Figure 2 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 2 The examples described are different.

[0069] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged in a variety of ways using various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station, or a network equipment can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR BS, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a TRP, or a cell, etc.) or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as an independent base station or a monolithic base station) or a decomposed base station. A "network entity" or a "network node" may refer to a decomposed base station or one or more units of a decomposed base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof).

[0070] An aggregated base station (e.g., an aggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). A decomposed base station (e.g., a decomposed network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs). In some examples, the CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other network nodes. The DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), and the like.

[0071] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a decomposed base station may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as a network configuration initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)) to facilitate the scaling of a communication system by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be deployed separately. A decomposed base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented virtually for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a decomposed base station may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the decomposed base station.

[0072] Figure 33 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture 300 according to the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 300 may include a CU 310 that may communicate directly with a core network 320 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more disaggregated control units, such as a near-RT RIC 325 via an E2 link, or a non-RT RIC 315 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 305, or both. The CU 310 may communicate with one or more DUs 330 via respective midhaul links, such as via an F1 interface. Each of the DUs 330 may communicate with one or more RUs 340 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 340 may communicate with one or more UEs 120 via respective radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 120 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 340.

[0073] Each of the units (including CU 310, DU 330, RU 340) and the near-RT RIC 325, non-RT RIC 315, and SMO framework 305 may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to one or more communication interfaces of the corresponding unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. In some examples, each of the units may include a wired interface and a wireless interface, the wired interface being configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium, and the wireless interface being configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0074] In some aspects, the CU 310 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include RRC functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 310. The CU 310 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP) functionality), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP) functionality), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, the CU 310 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface such as an E1 interface. As needed, the CU 310 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 330 for network control and signaling.

[0075] Each DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU 330 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers, at least in part, according to a functional partition such as that defined by 3GPP. In some aspects, the one or more high PHY layers may be implemented by one or more modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc. In some aspects, the DU 330 may also host one or more low PHY layers, such as one or more modules for fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming or physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc. Each layer (which may also be referred to as a module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330 or with control functions hosted by the CU 310.

[0076] Each RU 340 may implement lower layer functionality. In some deployments, the RU 340 controlled by the DU 330 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions based on functional splits (e.g., functional splits defined by 3GPP) such as lower layer functional splits, or low PHY layer functions such as performing FFT, performing iFFT, digital beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, etc. In this architecture, each RU 340 may be operated to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 120. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable each DU 330 and CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture such as a vRAN architecture.

[0077] The SMO framework 305 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 390) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, non-RT RIC 315, and near-RT RIC 325. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 305 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 311) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate directly with each of the one or more RUs 340 via a corresponding O1 interface. The SMO framework 305 can also include a non-RTRIC 315 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 305.

[0078] The non-RT RIC 315 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 325. The non-RT RIC 315 may be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 325 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 325.

[0079] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 325, the non-RT RIC 315 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 325 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 305 or the non-RT RIC 315. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 315 or the near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 315 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 305 (such as via reconfiguration of the O1 interface) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 interface policies).

[0080] As indicated above, Figure 3 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 3 The examples described are different.

[0081] Figure 4A and Figure 4B are diagrams illustrating examples 400 , 450 of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility according to the present disclosure.

[0082] In a wireless network such as an NR network, a UE and a network node (e.g., a base station or one or more units or components that perform base station functionality) may communicate on an access link using a directional link (e.g., using a high-dimensional phased array) to benefit from beamforming gain and / or maintain acceptable communication quality. However, directional links typically require fine alignment of transmit and receive beams, which may be achieved through a set of operations referred to as beam management and / or beam selection, etc. In addition, wireless networks may support multi-beam operations at relatively high carrier frequencies (e.g., within FR2), which may be associated with harsher propagation conditions than relatively lower carrier frequencies. For example, signals propagating in millimeter wave bands may suffer from increased path loss and severe channel intermittency relative to bands below 6 gigahertz (GHz), and / or may be blocked by objects that are common in the UE's surrounding environment (e.g., buildings, trees, and / or the user's body, etc.). Therefore, beam management is particularly important for multi-beam operations in relatively high carrier frequencies.

[0083] One possible enhancement of multi-beam operation at higher carrier frequencies is to facilitate efficient (e.g., low latency and low overhead) downlink and / or uplink beam management to support higher layer 1 and / or layer 2 (L1 / L2) centric inter-cell mobility. Therefore, one goal of L1 / L2 centric inter-cell mobility is to enable the UE to perform cell switching via dynamic control signaling at lower layers (e.g., downlink control information (DCI) for L1 signaling or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for L2 signaling) instead of semi-static layer 3 (L3) RRC signaling, in order to reduce latency, reduce overhead and / or otherwise improve the efficiency of cell switching.

[0084] For example, Figure 4A An example 400 of a first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique is illustrated, which may be referred to as inter-cell mobility scheme 1, beam-based inter-cell mobility, dynamic point selection-based inter-cell mobility, and / or non-serving cell-based inter-cell mobility, etc. As described in further detail herein, the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique may enable a network node to use L1 signaling (e.g., DCI) or L2 signaling (e.g., MAC-CE) to indicate that a UE 405 is to communicate on an access link using a beam from a serving cell or a non-serving cell. For example, in a wireless network that does not support L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility (e.g., where cell switching is triggered only by L3 handover), beam selection for control information and for data is typically limited to beams within a physical cell identifier (PCI) associated with a serving cell. In contrast, in a wireless network that supports the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique (e.g., such as Figure 4AAs shown), beam selection for control and data may be extended to include any beam within a serving cell 410 or one or more non-serving neighboring cells 415 configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility.

[0085] For example, in Figure 4A In the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique shown in , the UE 405 may be configured with a single serving cell 410, and the UE 405 may be further configured with a neighboring cell set including one or more non-serving cells 415 configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility. Typically, the serving cell 410 and the non-serving cell 415 configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility may be associated with a common CU and a common DU, or the serving cell 410 and the non-serving cell 415 configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility may be associated with a common CU and different DUs. In some aspects, as shown by reference numeral 420, the base station may trigger L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility of the UE using L1 / L2 signaling (e.g., DCI or MAC-CE), which indicates a selected TCI state for QCL with a reference signal associated with a PCI (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)). For example, in Figure 4A In the example, the UE may use the PCI associated with the serving cell 410 (e.g., Figure 4A 1) to communicate with the serving cell 410, and L1 / L2 signaling may be performed by indicating that the UE will switch to using the PCI associated with the non-serving neighboring cell 415 (e.g., in Figure 4A Therefore, in the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technology, a network node (e.g., a common CU controlling the serving cell 410 and the non-serving neighboring cell 415) can use L1 / L2 signaling to select a beam from the serving cell 410 or the non-serving neighboring cell 415 for serving the UE 405.

[0086] In this way, the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technology can be more robust against blocking and can provide more opportunities for higher-rank spatial division multiplexing across different cells, relative to limiting L1 / L2 beam selection to beams within the serving cell 410. However, the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technology cannot support changing the primary cell (PCell) or primary secondary cell (PSCell) of the UE 405. In contrast, in the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technology, triggering a PCell or PSCell change is performed via a traditional L3 handover using RRC signaling. In this regard, the first L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technology is associated with the following limitations: when the UE 405 is in the coverage area of ​​the serving cell 410, L1 / L2 signaling can only be used to indicate beams from the serving cell 410 or a configured neighboring cell 415, because L1 / L2 signaling cannot be used to change the PCell or PSCell. Accordingly, Figure 4B An example 450 of a second L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique is illustrated, which may be referred to as inter-cell mobility scheme 2 and / or inter-cell mobility based on a serving cell, etc. As described in further detail herein, the second L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique may enable a network node to use L1 / L2 signaling (e.g., DCI or MAC-CE) to indicate control information associated with an activated cell set and / or a deactivated cell set and / or to indicate a change to a PCell or PSCell within the activated cell set.

[0087] For example, Figure 4B As shown, the second L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technology may use a mechanism generally similar to carrier aggregation to implement L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility, except that different cells configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility may be on the same carrier frequency. Figure 4BAs shown, the network node may configure a cell set 460 for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility (e.g., using radio resource control (RRC) signaling), the cell set including at least cell 1 (“1”), cell 2 (“2”), cell 3 (“3”), and cell 4 (“4”). As further shown, an activated cell set 465 may include one or more cells in the configured cell set 460 that are activated and ready for data and / or control transfer. For example, the activated cell set 465 may include cell 1 and cell 2. Cell 1 may be a PCell, and cell 2 may be a PSCell. Therefore, in the second L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technology, the deactivated cell set may include one or more cells (cell 3 and cell 4) that are included in the cell set 460 configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility but are not included in the activated cell set 465. However, using L1 / L2 signaling, the cells included in the deactivated cell set may be easily activated and thereby added to the activated cell set 465. Thus, as shown by reference numeral 470, L1 / L2 signaling may be used for mobility management of the activated cell set 465. For example, in some aspects, L1 / L2 signaling may be used to activate cells within the configured cell set 460 (e.g., add cells to the activated cell set 465), deactivate cells in the activated cell set 465, and / or select beams within cells included in the activated cell set 465. In this manner, the second L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique may use L1 / L2 signaling (e.g., using beam management techniques) to achieve seamless mobility between cells included in the activated cell set 465.

[0088] Furthermore, as indicated by reference numeral 475, the second L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique enables the use of L1 / L2 signaling to set or change the PCell or PSCell of a cell included in the activated cell set 465. Additionally or alternatively, when the cell to become the new PCell or PSCell is in the deactivated cell set (e.g., included in the cell set 460 configured for L1 / L2 mobility, but not included in the activated cell set 465), before further L1 / L2 signaling is used to set the cell as the new PCell or PSCell, L1 / L2 signaling may be used to move the cell from the deactivated cell set to the activated cell set 465. However, in the second L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility technique, when the new PCell or PSCell is not included in the cell set 460 configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility, L3 handover (using RRC signaling) is used to change the PCell or PSCell. In such cases, RRC signaling associated with L3 handover may be used to update cells included in the cell set 460 configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility.

[0089] In some aspects, multiple TRPs 480 and TRPs 485 may transmit communications (e.g., the same communication or different communications) in the same transmit time interval (TTI) (e.g., slot, mini-slot, subframe, or symbol) or in different TTIs using different QCL relationships (e.g., different spatial parameters, different TCI states, different precoding parameters, or different beamforming parameters). In some aspects, the TCI state may be used to indicate one or more QCL relationships. A TRP 480 may be configured to serve traffic to a UE 405 individually (e.g., using dynamic selection) or jointly (e.g., using joint transmission with one or more other TRPs 485). In some aspects, a TRP 480 and / or a TRP 485 may be, include, or be included in conjunction with the above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 In some examples, different TRPs 480 and TRPs 485 may be included in different base stations and / or other network nodes. In some cases, multiple TRPs 480 and TRPs 485 may be included in a single base station and / or other network node. In some cases, TRPs 480 and / or TRPs 485 may be referred to as network nodes, cells, panels, antenna arrays, and / or arrays.

[0090] The cells in the set of cells 460 configured for L1 / L2 mobility may belong to a timing TAG. A "TAG" may refer to a group of cells having the same (or similar within a threshold) uplink TA value. For example, a first uplink carrier and a second uplink carrier may have different propagation delays between the UE 405 and the TRP 480 associated with the same cell 1 and between the UE 405 and the TRP 485. For example, the TRP 480 and the TRP 485 may not be co-located with each other, resulting in different propagation delays for uplink transmissions to corresponding TRPs on different uplink carriers. Therefore, the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may have different timing advance values ​​for uplink transmissions and may belong to different TAGs.

[0091] UE 405 may use a timing advance value for an uplink carrier to send uplink communications on the uplink carrier with a timing that synchronizes the TTI with the TRP 480 or 485 to reduce inter-TTI interference.

[0092] The uplink carriers may be transmitted asynchronously or synchronously. Two or more uplink carriers are typically synchronized when transmitted in the same subband. When a single TA command is used to control the timing of two or more uplink carriers, the two or more uplink carriers may be transmitted synchronously. The transmission of two or more uplink carriers may be considered asynchronous with respect to each other when the transmission of one of the carriers lags behind the transmission of another of the carriers.

[0093] Multiple TAGs may be defined for UE 405, which may be configured for carrier aggregation. A TAG typically includes one or more uplink carriers controlled by the same TA command sent from TRP 480 and / or 485. The TAG may be configured by the serving TRP using dedicated signaling. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command directed to an activated secondary cell in a TAG may initiate a RACH procedure, which may result in the PRACH being used. For example, a PDCCH command may be used after UL resources and DL resources have been released and TRP 480 has DL data to transmit to UE 405.

[0094] When multiple TAGs are defined for the UE 405, there may be timing differences between uplink carriers transmitted by the UE 405 because one or more TAGs may have received a TA command that is different from the TA command received by other TAGs. The TA command may cause two or more TAGs to have different timing offsets from each other, and these timing differences may be characterized as relative delays between a pair of TAGs or between corresponding component carriers, subframes, and / or symbols within the pair of TAGs.

[0095] In some cases, a group of co-located component carriers (e.g., cells) may belong to the same TAG. As shown, the configured cell set 460 may include multiple non-co-located TAGs. In some cases, each SCell may be configured to a TAG when added to the configured cell set 460. TAG assignment may be determined by a network node (e.g., TRP 480 and / or TRP 485). TAG assignment may be based on band operation, the presence of a repeater, cell location, and / or UE location, as well as other examples. In order to determine the initial timing for a pTAG (e.g., a TAG containing a PCell), the UE 405 may perform a RACH process. In order to determine the initial timing associated with an sTAG (e.g., a TAG containing only SCells), the UE 405 may perform a RACH process associated with one of the SCells belonging to the sTAG. In some cases, a non-contention RACH process may be performed when a PDCCH command is received from a network node (e.g., TRP 480 and / or TRP 485).

[0096] The TA information of cells in a TAG containing active cells may be updated periodically by a TA MAC CE sent by a network node. However, for a TAG with all deactivated cells, the TA information is typically not updated periodically. The initial TA information associated with a deactivated cell may expire or be inaccurate due to changes in UE mobility and / or radio conditions, among other examples. It may be desirable to maintain the TA information associated with the deactivated cell to facilitate faster acquisition of the TA information and activation of the deactivated cell.

[0097] Some aspects of the techniques and devices described herein may facilitate efficient TA estimation for a TAG that only includes deactivated cells. For example, as shown in reference numeral 490, the UE 405 may send a RACH message for updating the TA at the deactivated cell. For example, the RACH message may indicate first TA information associated with at least one deactivated cell. The UE 405 may send a RACH message to one cell in each TAG group that only includes deactivated cells (e.g., to a network node associated with one cell in each TAG group that only includes deactivated cells). In some aspects, the network node may update the TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information. In this way, some aspects may facilitate the maintenance of the TA associated with the deactivated cell while minimizing overhead. Therefore, when the deactivated cell is activated in the future, accurate TA information is already available, and therefore, the UE does not need to perform RACH to obtain TA information when the cell is activated. Therefore, some aspects may improve system performance, which involves improving quality of service (QoS), improving throughput and / or efficiency, and other examples.

[0098] As indicated above, Figure 4A and Figure 4B are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in relation to Figure 4A and Figure 4B Different from what is described.

[0099] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 associated with TA maintenance for deactivated cells based on RACH operations according to the present disclosure. Figure 5 As shown, UE 502 can communicate with network node 504 and network node 506. UE 502 can be, be similar to, include, or be included in: Figure 4A and Figure 4B UE 405 as depicted in , and / or Figure 1 and Figure 2 UE 120 depicted in . Network node 504 and / or network node 506 may be, be similar to, include, or be included in: Figure 4BTRP 480 and / or TRP 485 as depicted in Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network node 110 depicted in FIG. 1 , and / or Figure 3 . The network node 504 may be associated with a source cell (e.g., a currently active cell with which the UE 502 is connected). The source cell may also be referred to as a primary cell. The network node 506 may be associated with a secondary cell (e.g., a deactivated cell). In some aspects, the network node 504 may be, include, or be included in the following: the network node 506. In the example 500, the UE 502 may be configured to send a RACH based on a configured RACH opportunity (e.g., rather than being triggered to do so by a network node).

[0100] As indicated by reference numeral 508, the network node 504 can determine periodic RACH resources configured for TA maintenance for the deactivated cell. In some aspects, the network node 504 can make this determination based on UE capabilities, cell capabilities, and / or detecting changes in TA information associated with an active cell, among other examples.

[0101] As shown by reference numeral 510, the network node 504 may send configuration information, and the UE 502 may receive the configuration information. In some aspects, the configuration information may be carried in an RRC message. In some aspects, the configuration information may be referred to as an RRC configuration. The configuration information may correspond to an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility operation associated with a set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility. The configuration information may indicate a set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility (which may be referred to as a "configured set of cells"), an L1 / L2 mobility configuration for each cell in the set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility, and / or TAG information associated with each cell in the set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility, as well as other examples.

[0102] In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate one or more RACH resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to the TAG. The one or more RACH resources may include at least one RACH opportunity. In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate a RACH opportunity periodicity associated with the at least one RACH opportunity. The one or more RACH resources may include at least one of a frequency domain resource or a time domain resource.

[0103] The configuration information may indicate the at least one deactivated cell. The configuration information may indicate at least one additional cell corresponding to the TAG group. In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate an additional deactivated cell corresponding to the additional TAG group. In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to the RACH message and at least one additional RACH message.

[0104] In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate a plurality of RACH configurations. The network node 504 may send a switching indication indicating a RACH configuration to be used from the plurality of RACH configurations, and the UE 502 may receive the switching indication. For example, the network node 504 may send the switching indication, and the UE 502 may receive the switching indication, based on sending and receiving, respectively, a DCI including the switching indication. In some aspects, the network node 504 may send the switching indication, and the UE 502 may receive the switching indication, based on sending and receiving, respectively, a MAC CE including the switching indication.

[0105] UE 502 may send a configuration confirmation and network node 504 may receive the configuration confirmation, as indicated by reference numeral 512. The configuration confirmation may indicate completion of the RRC reconfiguration procedure based on the configuration information.

[0106] As indicated by reference numeral 514, the UE 502, the network node 504, and / or the network node 506 may perform one or more L1 and / or L2 measurements. For example, the UE 502 may obtain one or more L1 measurements associated with a reference signal sent by the network node 504 and / or a reference signal sent by the network node 506. In some aspects, the L1 measurements may include at least one of an intra-frequency L1 measurement or an inter-frequency L1 measurement. In some aspects, the L1 measurements may correspond to at least one of a time division duplex (TDD) band or a frequency division duplex (FDD) band. The L1 measurements may correspond to at least one of a first frequency range (e.g., FR1), a second frequency range (e.g., FR2), a third frequency range (e.g., FR2-1), or a fourth frequency range (e.g., FR2-2).

[0107] As indicated by reference numeral 516, the UE 502 may send a RACH message, and the network node 506 may receive the RACH message. The RACH message may be a Msg1 message of a random access procedure. In some aspects, the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The RACH message may implicitly indicate the first TA information. For example, the network node 506 may determine (e.g., calculate or estimate) the first TA information based on receiving the RACH message. In some aspects, the RACH message may include a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with TA maintenance. As indicated by reference numeral 518, the network node 506 may update the TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information. In some aspects, for example, the first TA information may include a TA value indicated by the RACH message. In some aspects, the first TA information may include timing associated with the RACH message. The network node 506 may update the TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on: an updated TA estimate corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell is determined based on the first TA information.

[0108] As indicated by reference numeral 520, the UE 502 may send at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration, and the network node 506 may receive at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration. As indicated by reference numeral 522, the network node 506 may update the TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the additional first TA information included in the at least one additional RACH message. In some aspects, for example, the network node 506 may update the TA information each time the network node 506 receives a RACH message from the UE 502. In some aspects, the UE 502 may send an additional RACH message, and an additional network node 506 associated with an additional deactivated cell (e.g., corresponding to an additional TAG) may receive the additional RACH message. Any number of additional RACH messages may be sent for TA maintenance associated with any number of additional TAGs including deactivated cells.

[0109] As shown by reference numeral 524, the network node 504 may send a cell activation instruction based on the configuration information, and the UE 502 may receive the cell activation instruction. The cell activation instruction may include an instruction associated with the activation of a cell or the deactivation of a cell. The cell activation instruction may include, for example, a joint TA and a cell activation MAC CE, which may indicate second TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The second TA information may be based on the first TA information. For example, the second TA information may include updated TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0110] Using aspects of the techniques described herein, a RACH message can be used to maintain current TA information at a deactivated cell that includes only the TAG of the deactivated cell, thereby reducing signaling redundancy associated with sending a RACH message upon activation to obtain TA information for cell activation. In addition, because the RACH message depicted in example 500 can be sent periodically without being triggered by the network node 504, TA maintenance associated with deactivated cells can be performed without increasing signaling of the network. In this way, some aspects can facilitate more efficient network resources.

[0111] As indicated above, Figure 5 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in relation to Figure 5 The examples described are different.

[0112] Figure 6 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 associated with TA maintenance for deactivated cells based on RACH operations according to the present disclosure. Figure 6 As shown, UE 602 can communicate with network node 604 and network node 606. UE 602 can be, be similar to, include, or be included in: Figure 5 UE 502 as depicted in Figure 4A and Figure 4B UE 405 as depicted in , and / or Figure 1 and Figure 2 UE 120 depicted in . Network node 604 and / or network node 606 may be, be similar to, include, or be included in: Figure 5 The network node 504 and / or the network node 506 depicted in Figure 4B TRP 480 and / or TRP 485 as depicted in Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network node 110 depicted in FIG. 1 , and / or Figure 3 One or more components of the decomposed base station architecture 300 depicted in . A network node 604 may be associated with a source cell (e.g., a currently active cell with which the UE 602 is connected). The source cell may also be referred to as a primary cell. A network node 606 may be associated with a secondary cell (e.g., a deactivated cell). In some aspects, the network node 604 may be, include, or be included in the following items: a network node 606. In example 600, the UE 602 may be configured to send a RACH based on a trigger from a network node. For example, the RACH message described in conjunction with example 600 may be a triggered aperiodic RACH message.

[0113] As indicated by reference numeral 608, the network node 604 may determine aperiodic RACH resources configured for TA maintenance for the deactivated cell. In some aspects, the network node 604 may make this determination based on UE capabilities, cell capabilities, and / or detecting changes in TA information associated with an active cell, among other examples.

[0114] As shown by reference numeral 610, the network node 604 may send a PDCCH command for performing a RACH operation, and the UE 602 may receive the PDCCH command. As shown by reference numeral 612, the network node 604 may send configuration information, and the UE 602 may receive the configuration information. In some aspects, at least a portion of the configuration information may be carried in the PDCCH command. In some aspects, at least a portion of the configuration information may be carried in an RRC message. In some aspects, at least a portion of the configuration information may be carried in a DCI and / or a MAC CE.

[0115] In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate one or more RACH resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. The one or more RACH resources may include at least one RACH opportunity. The one or more RACH resources may include at least one of a frequency domain resource or a time domain resource. The configuration information may indicate the at least one deactivated cell. The configuration information may indicate at least one additional cell corresponding to a TAG group. In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate an additional deactivated cell corresponding to an additional TAG group. In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to a RACH message and at least one additional RACH message.

[0116] As indicated by reference numeral 614, the UE 602 may send a configuration confirmation and the network node 604 may receive the configuration confirmation. The configuration confirmation may include an acknowledgement (ACK) communication, such as a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) ACK sent in response to successful reception of a PDCCH order.

[0117] As indicated by reference numeral 616, the UE 602 may send a RACH message, and the network node 606 may receive the RACH message. In some aspects, the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. In some aspects, the RACH message may include a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with the TA maintenance. As indicated by reference numeral 618, the network node 606 may update the TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information. In some aspects, for example, the first TA information may include a TA value indicated by the RACH message. In some aspects, the first TA information may include timing associated with the RACH message. The network node 606 may update the TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on: determining an updated TA estimate corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information.

[0118] As shown by reference numeral 620, the network node 604 may send a cell activation instruction based on the configuration information, and the UE 602 may receive the cell activation instruction. The cell activation instruction may include an instruction associated with the activation of a cell or the deactivation of a cell. The cell activation instruction may include, for example, a joint TA and a cell activation MAC CE, which may indicate second TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The second TA information may be based on the first TA information. For example, the second TA information may include updated TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0119] Using aspects of the techniques described herein, a RACH message can be used to maintain current TA information at a deactivated cell that includes only the TAG of the deactivated cell, thereby reducing signaling redundancy associated with sending a RACH message upon activation to obtain TA information for cell activation. In addition, because the RACH message depicted in example 600 can be sent aperiodically based on a trigger by the network node 504, TA maintenance associated with the deactivated cell can be performed without periodic signaling by the UE 502. In this way, some aspects can facilitate more efficient use of network resources.

[0120] As indicated above, Figure 6 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in relation to Figure 6 The examples described are different.

[0121] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process 700 performed, for example, by a UE in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 700 is an example of operations in which a UE (eg, UE 502 and / or UE 602) performs techniques for TA maintenance for deactivated cells based on RACH operations.

[0122] like Figure 7As shown, in some aspects, process 700 may include receiving configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending RACH messages to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG (block 710). For example, a UE (e.g., using Fig. 9 The communication manager 908 and / or receiving component 902 depicted in can receive configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending RACH messages to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG, as described above.

[0123] like Figure 7 As further shown in FIG. 7 , in some aspects, process 700 may include sending a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell (block 720). For example, a UE (e.g., using Fig. 9 The communication manager 908 and / or the sending component 904 depicted in FIG. 1 may send a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell, as described above.

[0124] Process 700 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0125] In a first aspect, process 700 includes receiving a cell activation instruction from a network node associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the one or more RACH resources include at least one RACH opportunity. In a third aspect, alone or in combination with the second aspect, the configuration information indicates a RACH opportunity periodicity associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

[0126] In a fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the one or more RACH resources include at least one of frequency domain resources or time domain resources. In a fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, the configuration information indicates the at least one deactivated cell. In a sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, the configuration information indicates at least one additional cell corresponding to a TAG group. In a seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, the configuration information indicates an additional deactivated cell corresponding to an additional TAG group, and process 700 includes sending an additional RACH message to a network node corresponding to the additional deactivated cell, wherein the additional RACH message indicates additional first TA information associated with the additional deactivated cell.

[0127] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the configuration information indicates a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to the RACH message and at least one additional RACH message, and process 700 includes transmitting the at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration. In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with the eighth aspect, the RACH message includes a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with a TA.

[0128] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, the configuration information indicates a plurality of RACH configurations, and process 700 includes receiving a switching indication indicating a RACH configuration to be used among the plurality of RACH configurations. In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with the tenth aspect, receiving the switching indication includes receiving a DCI including the switching indication. In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with the tenth aspect, receiving the switching indication includes receiving a MAC CE including the switching indication.

[0129] In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twelfth aspects, process 700 includes receiving a PDCCH command for performing a RACH operation, wherein sending the RACH message includes sending the RACH message based on receiving the PDCCH command. In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to thirteenth aspects, receiving the configuration information includes receiving a PDCCH command for performing a RACH operation.

[0130] although Figure 7 An example block diagram of process 700 is shown, but in some aspects, process 700 may include Figure 7Additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the process 700. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks in the process 700 may be performed in parallel.

[0131] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process 800 performed, for example, by a network node in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 800 is an example of operations in which a network node (eg, network node 504 and / or 604) performs techniques for TA maintenance for deactivated cells based on RACH operations.

[0132] like Figure 8 As shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include receiving a RACH message from a UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell (block 810). For example, a network node (e.g., using Fig.10 The communication manager 1008 and / or receiving component 1002 depicted in FIG. 1004 may receive a RACH message from the UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell, as described above.

[0133] like Figure 8 As further shown in FIG. 8 , in some aspects, process 800 may include updating a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information (block 820). For example, a network node (eg, using Fig.10 The communication manager 1008 and / or updating component 1010 depicted in FIG. 1004 may update a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information, as described above.

[0134] Process 800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0135] In a first aspect, process 800 includes sending a cell activation instruction associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, process 800 includes sending configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending the RACH message to maintain a TA associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0136] In the third aspect, alone or in combination with the second aspect, the one or more RACH resources include at least one RACH opportunity. In the fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the second to third aspects, the configuration information indicates a RACH opportunity periodicity associated with the at least one RACH opportunity. In the fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the second to fourth aspects, the one or more RACH resources include at least one of frequency domain resources or time domain resources. In the sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the second to fifth aspects, the configuration information indicates the at least one deactivated cell. In the seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the second to sixth aspects, the configuration information indicates at least one additional cell corresponding to the TAG group. In an eighth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the configuration information indicates an additional deactivated cell corresponding to an additional TAG group, and process 800 includes receiving an additional RACH message corresponding to the additional deactivated cell, wherein the additional RACH message indicates additional first TA information associated with the additional deactivated cell.

[0137] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the second to eighth aspects, the configuration information indicates a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to the RACH message and at least one additional RACH message, and process 800 includes receiving at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration. In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with the ninth aspect, the RACH message includes a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with a TA.

[0138] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the second to tenth aspects, the configuration information indicates a plurality of RACH configurations, and the process 800 includes sending a switching indication indicating a RACH configuration to be used among the plurality of RACH configurations. In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with the eleventh aspect, sending the switching indication includes sending a DCI including the switching indication. In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with the eleventh aspect, sending the switching indication includes sending a MAC CE including the switching indication.

[0139] In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to thirteenth aspects, sending the configuration information includes sending a PDCCH command for performing a RACH operation. In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourteenth aspects, process 800 includes sending a PDCCH command for performing a RACH operation, wherein receiving the RACH message includes receiving the RACH message based on sending the PDCCH command.

[0140] although Figure 8 An example block diagram of process 800 is shown, but in some aspects, process 800 may include Figure 8 Additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the process 800. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks in the process 800 may be performed in parallel.

[0141] Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example apparatus 900 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 900 may be a UE, or a UE may include apparatus 900. In some aspects, apparatus 900 includes a receiving component 902 and a transmitting component 904 that may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 900 may communicate with another apparatus 906 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using receiving component 902 and transmitting component 904. As further shown, apparatus 900 may include a communication manager 908.

[0142] In some aspects, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform Figure 5 and Figure 6 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Figure 7 The process 700. In some aspects, Fig. 9 The device 900 and / or one or more components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, Fig. 9 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the set of components may be at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or codes that are stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and can be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0143] The receiving component 902 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 906. The receiving component 902 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 900. In some aspects, the receiving component 902 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the device 900. In some aspects, the receiving component 902 may include combining Figure 2One or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of a described UE.

[0144] The transmitting component 904 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 906. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 900 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 904 for transmission to the device 906. In some aspects, the transmitting component 904 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 906. In some aspects, the transmitting component 904 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the described UE. In some aspects, the transmit component 904 can be co-located with the receive component 902 in a transceiver.

[0145] The communication manager 908 and / or the receiving component 902 may receive configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending RACH messages to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a TAG. In some aspects, the communication manager 908 may include in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the UE. In some aspects, the communication manager 908 may include a receiving component 902 and / or a sending component 904. In some aspects, the communication manager 908 may be, be similar to, or include Figure 1 and Figure 2 The communication manager 140 depicted in, or included in, the communication manager.

[0146] The communication manager 908 and / or the sending component 904 may send a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The communication manager 908 and / or the receiving component 902 may receive a cell activation instruction from a network node associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information. The communication manager 908 and / or the receiving component 902 may receive a PDCCH command for performing a RACH operation, wherein sending the RACH message includes sending the RACH message based on receiving the PDCCH command.

[0147] Fig. 9 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Fig. 9Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Fig. 9 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Fig. 9 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Fig. 9 The assembly of (one or more) components shown may be described as being executable by Fig. 9 Another collection of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0148] Fig.10 1 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1000 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 1000 may be a network node, or a network node may include apparatus 1000. In some aspects, apparatus 1000 includes a receiving component 1002 and a sending component 1004 that may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 1000 may communicate with another apparatus 1006 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using receiving component 1002 and sending component 1004. As further shown, apparatus 1000 may include a communication manager 1008. Communication manager 1008 may include an update component 1010.

[0149] In some aspects, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform Figure 5 and Figure 6 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Figure 8 The process 800. In some aspects, Fig.10 The device 1000 and / or one or more components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 One or more components of the network node. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.10 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the set of components may be at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or codes that are stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and can be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0150] The receiving component 1002 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 1006. The receiving component 1002 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1000. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the device 1000. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memories or combinations thereof of the network node.

[0151] The transmitting component 1004 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 1006. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1000 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1004 for transmission to the device 1006. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1004 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1006. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1004 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the network node. In some aspects, the transmit component 1004 can be co-located with the receive component 1002 in a transceiver.

[0152] The communication manager 1008 and / or the receiving component 1002 may receive a RACH message from the UE, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. In some aspects, the communication manager 1008 may include in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the network nodes. In some aspects, the communication manager 1008 may include a receiving component 1002 and / or a sending component 1004. In some aspects, the communication manager 1008 may be, be similar to, or include Figure 1 and Figure 2 The communication manager 150 depicted in, or included in, the communication manager.

[0153] The communication manager 1008 and / or the updating component 1010 may update the TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information. In some aspects, the updating component 1010 may include combining Figure 2One or more antennas, modems, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the network nodes. In some aspects, the updating component 1010 may include a receiving component 1002 and / or a sending component 1004.

[0154] The communication manager 1008 and / or the sending component 1004 may send a cell activation instruction associated with the source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information. The communication manager 1008 and / or the sending component 1004 may send configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending the RACH message to maintain the TA associated with the at least one deactivated cell. The communication manager 1008 and / or the sending component 1004 may send a PDCCH command for performing a RACH operation, wherein receiving the RACH message includes receiving the RACH message based on sending the PDCCH command.

[0155] Fig.10 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Fig.10 Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Fig.10 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Fig.10 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.10 The assembly of (one or more) components shown may be described as being executable by Fig.10 Another collection of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0156] The following provides an overview of some aspects of the disclosure:

[0157] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources for sending a random access channel (RACH) message to maintain a TA associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a timing advance (TA) group (TAG); and sending a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0158] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1 further includes receiving a cell activation instruction from a network node associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information.

[0159] Aspect 3: The method according to any one of aspects 1 or 2, wherein the one or more RACH resources include at least one RACH opportunity.

[0160] Aspect 4: The method according to aspect 3, wherein the configuration information indicates a RACH opportunity periodicity associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

[0161] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the one or more RACH resources include at least one of frequency domain resources or time domain resources.

[0162] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the configuration information indicates the at least one deactivated cell.

[0163] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein the configuration information indicates at least one additional cell corresponding to the TAG group.

[0164] Aspect 8: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein the configuration information indicates an additional deactivated cell corresponding to an additional TAG group, and the method further includes sending an additional RACH message to a network node corresponding to the additional deactivated cell, wherein the additional RACH message indicates additional first TA information associated with the additional deactivated cell.

[0165] Aspect 9: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein the configuration information indicates a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to the RACH message and at least one additional RACH message, and the method further includes sending the at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration.

[0166] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the RACH message includes a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with the TA.

[0167] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 10, wherein the configuration information indicates multiple RACH configurations, and the method further comprises receiving a switching indication indicating a RACH configuration to be used among the multiple RACH configurations.

[0168] Aspect 12: The method according to aspect 11, wherein receiving the handover indication comprises receiving downlink control information including the handover indication.

[0169] Aspect 13: The method according to aspect 11, wherein receiving the handover indication comprises receiving a medium access control element (MAC CE) comprising the handover indication.

[0170] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13, further comprising receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order for performing a RACH operation, wherein sending the RACH message comprises sending the RACH message based on receiving the PDCCH order.

[0171] Aspect 15: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 14, wherein receiving the configuration information comprises receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order for performing a RACH operation.

[0172] Aspect 16: A method of wireless communication performed by a network node associated with at least one deactivated cell corresponding to a timing advance group (TAG), the method comprising: receiving a random access channel (RACH) message from a user equipment (UE), wherein the RACH message indicates first timing advance (TA) information associated with the at least one deactivated cell; and updating a TA estimate associated with the at least one deactivated cell based on the first TA information.

[0173] Aspect 17: The method according to aspect 16 further comprises sending a cell activation instruction associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information.

[0174] Aspect 18: The method according to any one of aspects 16 or 17 further comprises sending configuration information indicating one or more RACH resources used to send the RACH message to maintain the TA associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

[0175] Aspect 19: The method according to aspect 18, wherein the one or more RACH resources include at least one RACH opportunity.

[0176] Aspect 20: The method according to aspect 19, wherein the configuration information indicates a RACH opportunity periodicity associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

[0177] Aspect 21: The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 20, wherein the one or more RACH resources include at least one of frequency domain resources or time domain resources.

[0178] Aspect 22: The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 21, wherein the configuration information indicates the at least one deactivated cell.

[0179] Aspect 23: The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 22, wherein the configuration information indicates at least one additional cell corresponding to the TAG group.

[0180] Aspect 24: A method according to any one of Aspects 18 to 23, wherein the configuration information indicates an additional deactivated cell corresponding to an additional TAG group, and the method further includes receiving an additional RACH message associated with the additional deactivated cell, wherein the additional RACH message indicates additional first TA information associated with the additional deactivated cell.

[0181] Aspect 25: A method according to any one of Aspects 18 to 24, wherein the configuration information indicates a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to the RACH message and at least one additional RACH message, and the method further includes receiving the at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration.

[0182] Aspect 26: The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 25, wherein the RACH message includes a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with the TA.

[0183] Aspect 27: The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 26, wherein the configuration information indicates multiple RACH configurations, and the method further comprises sending a switching indication indicating a RACH configuration to be used among the multiple RACH configurations.

[0184] Aspect 28: The method according to aspect 27, wherein sending the switching indication includes sending downlink control information including the switching indication.

[0185] Aspect 29: The method according to aspect 27, wherein sending the handover indication comprises sending a medium access control element (MAC CE) including the handover indication.

[0186] Aspect 30: The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 29, wherein sending the configuration information comprises sending a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order for performing RACH operation.

[0187] Aspect 31: The method according to any one of aspects 16 to 30, further comprising sending a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order for performing a RACH operation, wherein receiving the RACH message comprises receiving the RACH message based on sending the PDCCH order.

[0188] Aspect 32: An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 15.

[0189] Aspect 33: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a memory and one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 15.

[0190] Aspect 34: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: at least one component for performing the method according to one or more aspects of aspects 1 to 15.

[0191] Aspect 35: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 15.

[0192] Aspect 36: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of a device, causes the device to perform a method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 15.

[0193] Aspect 37: An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to one or more of Aspects 16 to 31.

[0194] Aspect 38: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a memory and one or more processors, the one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to execute the method according to one or more aspects of Aspects 16 to 31.

[0195] Aspect 39: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: at least one component for performing the method according to one or more aspects of aspects 16 to 31.

[0196] Aspect 40: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 16 to 31.

[0197] Aspect 41: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of a device, causes the device to perform a method according to one or more aspects of Aspects 16 to 31.

[0198] While the foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of these aspects.

[0199] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, the phrase "based on" is intended to be broadly interpreted as "based at least in part on". As used herein, depending on the context, "satisfying a threshold" may refer to a value greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, etc. As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of these items (including a single member). As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c, and a+b+c.

[0200] In addition, as used herein, the articles "one" and "a kind of" are intended to include one or more items and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the article "said" is intended to include one or more items connected to the article "said", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the terms "group" and "group" are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, or a combination of related and unrelated items) and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If you only want to refer to one item, use the phrase "only one" or similar terms. Moreover, as used herein, the term "having" and similar terms are intended to be open terms that do not limit the elements they modify (e.g., elements "including" A can also contain B). In addition, as used herein, the term "or" is intended to be inclusive when used in a sequence, and can be used interchangeably with "and / or", unless otherwise explicitly stated (e.g., in the case of being used in combination with "any one of" or "only one of").

[0201] The various illustrative logics, logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. The interchangeability of hardware and software has been generally described in terms of functionality and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described herein. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0202] The hardware and data processing devices for implementing the various exemplary logic components, logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using a general purpose single-chip or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some aspects, specific processes and methods may be performed by circuits dedicated to a given function.

[0203] In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or any combination thereof. Aspects of the subject matter described in this specification may also be implemented as one or more computer programs (e.g., one or more modules of computer program instructions) encoded on computer storage media to be executed by a data processing apparatus or to control the operation of the data processing apparatus.

[0204] If implemented in software, the function may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium or sent through a computer-readable medium. The process of the method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented in a processor executable software module that may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and communication media include any medium that can realize the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection may be appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. Disks and optical disks as used herein include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and blue-ray disks, wherein disks generally reproduce data magnetically, and optical disks reproduce data optically with lasers. The combination of media described herein should also be included in the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as a code and instruction set, or any combination of code and instruction sets, on a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0205] Various modifications to the various aspects described in this disclosure may be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but should be granted the broadest scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0206] Additionally, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the terms "upper" and "lower" are sometimes used for ease of describing the drawings and indicate relative positions corresponding to the orientation of the drawings on a correctly oriented page, and may not reflect the correct orientation of any device as implemented.

[0207] Certain features described in this specification in the context of independent aspects may also be implemented in combination in a single aspect. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single aspect may also be implemented in multiple aspects individually or in any suitable sub-combination. In addition, although features may be described as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may be removed from the combination in some cases, and a claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination, or a variation of a sub-combination.

[0208] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. In addition, the accompanying drawings can schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flow chart. However, other operations not depicted can be incorporated into the example processes schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously or between any operations in the illustrated operations. Under certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing are advantageous. In addition, the separation of various system components in the various aspects described should not be understood as requiring such separation in all aspects, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. Additionally, other aspects also fall within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions recorded in the claims can be performed in different orders and still achieve the desired result.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information indicating one or more random access channel (RACH) resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a timing advance (TA) group (TAG) associated with at least one deactivated cell; as well as A RACH message is sent to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell. 2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a cell activation instruction from a network node associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more RACH resources include at least one RACH opportunity. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the configuration information indicates a RACH opportunity periodicity associated with the at least one RACH opportunity. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more RACH resources comprise at least one of frequency domain resources or time domain resources. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information indicates the at least one deactivated cell. 7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information indicates at least one additional cell corresponding to the TAG group.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information indicates an additional deactivated cell corresponding to an additional TAG group, and the method further comprises sending an additional RACH message to a network node corresponding to the additional deactivated cell, wherein the additional RACH message indicates additional first TA information associated with the additional deactivated cell.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information indicates a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to the RACH message and at least one additional RACH message, the method further comprising transmitting the at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the RACH message includes a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with a TA.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of RACH configurations, the method further comprising receiving a switching indication indicating a RACH configuration to be used among the plurality of RACH configurations.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the handover indication comprises receiving downlink control information including the handover indication.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the handover indication comprises receiving a medium access control element (MAC CE) comprising the handover indication.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order for performing a RACH operation, wherein sending the RACH message comprises sending the RACH message based on receiving the PDCCH order.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the configuration information comprises receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order for performing a RACH operation.

16. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, the user equipment (UE) comprising: Memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: receiving configuration information indicating one or more random access channel (RACH) resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a timing advance (TA) group (TAG) associated with at least one deactivated cell; as well as A RACH message is sent to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a cell activation instruction from a network node associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information.

18. The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more RACH resources include at least one RACH opportunity. The UE according to claim 16 , wherein the configuration information indicates the at least one deactivated cell.

20. The UE of claim 16, wherein the configuration information indicates at least one additional cell corresponding to the TAG group.

21. The UE of claim 16, wherein the configuration information indicates an additional deactivated cell corresponding to an additional TAG group, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send an additional RACH message to a network node corresponding to the additional deactivated cell, wherein the additional RACH message indicates additional first TA information associated with the additional deactivated cell.

22. The UE of claim 16, wherein the configuration information indicates a periodic RACH transmission configuration corresponding to the RACH message and at least one additional RACH message, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit the at least one additional RACH message according to the periodic RACH transmission configuration.

23. The UE of claim 16, wherein the RACH message includes a dedicated random access sequence indicating that the RACH message is associated with a TA.

24. The UE of claim 16, wherein the configuration information indicates a plurality of RACH configurations, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a switching indication indicating a RACH configuration to be used among the plurality of RACH configurations.

25. The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order for performing a RACH operation, wherein to send the RACH message, the one or more processors are configured to send the RACH message based on receiving the PDCCH order.

26. The UE of claim 16, wherein to receive the configuration information, the one or more processors are configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command for performing a RACH operation.

27. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising: One or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receiving configuration information indicating one or more random access channel (RACH) resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a timing advance (TA) group (TAG) associated with at least one deactivated cell; as well as A RACH message is sent to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to receive a cell activation instruction from a network node associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving configuration information indicating one or more random access channel (RACH) resources for sending a RACH message to maintain a timing advance (TA) group (TAG) associated with at least one deactivated cell; as well as Means for sending a RACH message to a network node corresponding to the at least one deactivated cell, wherein the RACH message indicates first TA information associated with the at least one deactivated cell.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising means for receiving a cell activation instruction from a network node associated with a source cell, wherein the cell activation instruction indicates second TA information based on the first TA information.

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