Transmit receive point adaptation

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to transmit receive point (TRP) adaptation for network energy efficiency. The terminal device receives a configuration from the network device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers for the terminal device corresponding to the one or more TRPs. The terminal device starts or restarts a timer of the one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP of the one or more TPRs. The terminal device determines that the TRP is muted based on expiration of the timer. In this manner, as a timer corresponding to the TRP expires, the terminal device may determine or assume the state of the TRP without receiving an indication from the network, thereby enabling dynamic TRP adaptation without increasing downlink control overhead.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for Transmission Reception Point (TRP) adaptation. Background Art

[0002] In the field of communications, the radio access network usually consumes the largest portion of the total energy consumption in the network, and adaptation techniques for transmission and / or reception in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, and power domain are very important for energy saving.

[0003] In Rel-18, it is also agreed to utilize spatial techniques, such as dynamic TRP adaptation, to achieve network energy saving. Therefore, the enabling of dynamic TRP adaptation requires further study. Summary of the invention

[0004] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for dynamic TRP adaptation to achieve network energy efficiency.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device comprises: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: receive a configuration from a network device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device; start or restart a timer in the one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with corresponding TRPs in the one or more TRPs; and determine, based on expiration of the timer, that the TRP is muted.

[0006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the network device to at least: determine a configuration for a terminal device, configured to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TRPs, and expiration of a timer indicating that the TRP is muted; and send the configuration to the terminal device.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving, at a terminal device, a configuration from a network device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device; starting or restarting a timer in the one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with corresponding TRPs in the one or more TRPs; and determining, based on expiration of the timer, that the TRP is muted.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes: determining, at a network device, a configuration for a terminal device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TRPs, and expiration of a timer indicating that the TRP is muted; and sending the configuration to the terminal device.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a device is provided, comprising: a component for receiving a configuration from a network device at a terminal device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device; a component for starting or restarting a timer in one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs; and a component for determining that a TRP is muted based on expiration of the timer.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a device is provided, comprising: a component for determining a configuration for a terminal device, configured to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs, and expiration of a timer indicating that the TRP is muted; and a component for sending the configuration to the terminal device.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute at least the program instructions of the method according to any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a configuration from a network device, configured to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for a terminal device; start or restart a timer in one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs; and determine that the TRP is muted based on expiration of the timer.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least: determine a configuration for a terminal device, configured to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device, wherein a timer in the one or more timers is configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs, and expiration of a timer indicating that the TRP is muted; and send the configuration to the terminal device.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising: a receiving circuit system configured to receive a configuration from a network device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission receiving points (TRPs) for the terminal device; a starting circuit system configured to start or restart a timer in one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs; and a determining circuit system configured to determine that a TRP is muted based on expiration of a timer.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a network device is provided, comprising: a determining circuit system configured to determine a configuration for a terminal device, configured to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission receiving points TRPs for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs, and expiration of a timer indicating that the TRP is muted; and a sending circuit system configured to send the configuration to the terminal device.

[0016] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0019] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a process for enabling dynamic TRP adaptation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 3 illustrates another example of a process for enabling dynamic TRP adaptation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0022] Figure 5 A flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0023] Figure 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0024] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways except for the way described below.

[0027] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0028] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, those skilled in the art recognize that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0029] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0030] The term used herein is only used to describe specific embodiments, but is not intended to limit exemplary embodiments. The singular form "one", "one" and "the" used herein also include plural forms, unless the context clearly states otherwise. It is further understood that the term "includes", "comprising", "has", "has", "contains" and / or "contains" specifies the existence of the features, elements and / or components when used in this article, but does not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or their combinations. As used in this article, "at least one of the following items: <list of two or more elements>" and "at least one of the lists of <two or more elements>" and similar wording (wherein the list of two or more elements is connected by "and" or "or") refer to at least any one element in these elements, or at least any two or more elements in these elements, or at least all elements in these elements.

[0031] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0032] (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0033] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0034] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0035] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)) with software, software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions), and

[0036] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0037] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0038] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. Considering the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be communication technologies and systems that can be used to embody future types of the present disclosure. It should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to the above-mentioned system.

[0039] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low-power node (such as a femto, a pico), etc.

[0040] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment", and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0041] As used herein, the term "TRP" refers to a transmission receiving point having an antenna array (having one or more antenna elements) on the network side located at a specific geographical location, which can be used to send and receive signals to / from a terminal device. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a TRP may refer to a macro cell, a micro cell, an RRH, a repeater, a femto node, a micro node, etc. Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to two TRPs, for example, these embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without imposing any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0042] As mentioned above, the enabling of dynamic TRP adaptation requires further study. Specifically, when one or more TRPs of a terminal device are dynamically muted / deactivated / disabled and / or unmuted / (re)activated / enabled, the terminal device may need to operate using muted or unmuted TRPs accordingly to save network costs. However, no such mechanism has been proposed for this purpose.

[0043] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for enabling dynamic TRP adaptation is provided. In the solution, a terminal device receives a configuration from a network device, which is used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more TRPs for the terminal device. The terminal device starts or restarts a timer in one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs. The terminal device determines that the TRP is muted based on the expiration of the timer.

[0044] In this way, as the timer corresponding to the TRP expires, the terminal device can assume or treat the TRP as silent without receiving an indication from the network, thereby enabling dynamic TRP adaptation without increasing downlink control overhead. The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are described only as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way.

[0045] First reference Figure 1 , which illustrates an example communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, system 100 includes two network devices, such as network device 111 and network device 112. Network devices 111 and 112 may each have a corresponding group of antenna ports. In other words, network devices 111 and 112 may be associated with or used as two corresponding TRPs, and therefore in this disclosure, they may also sometimes be referred to as TRP 111 and TRP 112.

[0046] Network devices 111 and 112 may each operate using different or the same frequency band in both DL and UL. In a communication system, "UL" refers to the communication link in the direction from the terminal device to the network device, while "DL" refers to the communication link in the direction from the network device to the terminal device.

[0047] The system 100 also includes one or more terminal devices, such as a terminal device 120. Depending on the location of the terminal device in the cells of the network devices 111 and 112, the terminal device 120 can be connected to either or both of the network devices 111 or 112, for example, wirelessly, and communicate with them in UL and DL. The terminal device 120 can be configured to communicate with the network via one or more TRPs (e.g., two TRPs). The two TRPs can be located in the same cell (intra-cell TRP) or in different cells (inter-cell TRP).

[0048] It should be understood that Figure 1In the embodiment, the number of network devices and terminal devices is only for illustration purposes and does not represent any limitation. The system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] The communication in the communication system 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate (multiple) communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), and the fifth generation (5G), wireless local area network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0050] Reference now Figure 2 , which shows an example of a process 200 for enabling dynamic TRP adaptation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Process 200 is described. For illustration purposes, network device 111 and terminal device 120 may participate in process 200.

[0051] In process 200, a network device (e.g., network device 111 that is not operating as a TRP) determines 201 a configuration 205 for a terminal device 120. Configuration 205 is used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more TRPs for the terminal device 120. Each timer may correspond to a corresponding TRP of the terminal device 120, either explicitly or implicitly.

[0052] In some embodiments, the timer may be associated with a TRP identifier for identifying or representing a TRP. The identifier may be an identity of the TRP, such as a TRP ID. Alternatively or additionally, the identifier may be a reference signal (RS) set. Alternatively or additionally, the identifier may be a control resource set (CORESET) pool index. Alternatively or additionally, the identifier may be a physical cell index (PCI). Thus, the timer may be configured based on a TRP, an RS set, a CORESET pool index, or a PCI.

[0053] The network device sends 202 a configuration 205 to the terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 receives 210 the configuration 205. Based on the configuration 205 and various conditions, the terminal device 120 may determine whether to start, restart (if the timer is running), or stop one or more timers.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown in , the terminal device 120 starts or restarts 215 the timer based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with the corresponding TRP. In other words, the terminal device 120 can determine whether to (re)start the timer by considering the (multiple) transmissions / (multiple) receptions associated with the TRP corresponding to the timer.

[0055] In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 receives a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) indicating an UL grant or DL ​​allocation from a TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer. In some embodiments, when the terminal device 120 receives a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the timer, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer. In other words, if the terminal device 120 receives a PDCCH associated with a certain CORESET pool index, the terminal device 120 may determine or assume that the TRP represented or identified by the certain CORESET pool index is not muted and the corresponding timer should be started to count.

[0056] Alternatively or additionally, when the terminal device 120 receives a PDCCH sent using a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state and the TCI state includes: quasi co-location (QCL) information related to a reference signal (RS) belonging to a subset of RSs corresponding to a TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart a timer. In other words, if the terminal device 120 receives a PDCCH associated with a certain RS set, the terminal device 120 may assume that the TRP represented or identified by the RS set is not muted. Therefore, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the corresponding timer for timing.

[0057] In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 receives a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the TRP, the terminal device 120 may determine that a timer corresponding to the TRP is to be started or restarted. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may start or restart a timer when the terminal device 120 receives a media access control packet data unit (MAC PDU) sent using a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH and the SPS PDSCH is activated by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a specific CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

[0058] Alternatively or additionally, when the terminal device 120 receives a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH associated with an SPS configuration, and the SPS configuration is associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer. Alternatively or additionally, when the terminal device 120 receives a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, and the SPS PDSCH is sent using a TCI state including QCL information associated with a specific RS subset belonging to the RS corresponding to the TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer. The RS may be a source RS.

[0059] Alternatively or additionally, when the terminal device 120 receives a PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET indexed by a CORESET pool corresponding to the TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer. As an alternative or in addition to downlink reception from the TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the corresponding timer based on some uplink transmission to the TRP. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer based on a UL channel or signal, or a transmission of a MAC PDU to the TRP. Examples of UL channels or signals may include PUSCH, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0060] In some embodiments, when the terminal device 120 sends a UL channel or signal or a MAC PDU to the TRP using resources associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer for one round of timing. Alternatively or additionally, when the terminal device 120 sends a UL channel or signal using a TCI state, the TCI state includes QCL information related to an RS that belongs to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer. Alternatively or additionally, when the terminal device 120 sends a UL channel or signal scheduled by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer.

[0061] In other cases, if the terminal device 120 does not receive or send any of the above channels or signals, the terminal device 120 may keep the timer running until the timer expires. In other words, the timer is configured to time a time period in which no certain transmission or reception is performed between the terminal device 120 and the TRP corresponding to the timer. In some embodiments, the expiration time period of the timer may be included in the configuration 205, or may be configured by the network device in other ways. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may determine the expiration time period of the timer.

[0062] When the timer expires, i.e. the terminal device 120 has not received a PDCCH or PDSCH from a TRP, or has not sent a PUSCH (or even a PUCCH / SRS) to a TRP, within an expiration period in which the timer has been running, the terminal device 120 determines 220 that the TRP corresponding to the timer is muted. In other words, the terminal device 120 may determine 220 that the corresponding TRP is muted if the period in which certain transmissions or receptions are not performed is longer than the expiration period of the timer. In this way, as the timer configured for each TRP expires, the terminal device 120 may assume or regard the TRP as muted without receiving a DL indication from the network device 111. Thus, DL control overhead may be reduced.

[0063] However, in some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can still receive a DL indication from the network device 111 for muting or unmuting (multiple) TRPs. In this case, based on the indication from the network device 111 to unmute the TRP, the terminal device 120 can start or restart the timer corresponding to the TRP to start timing.

[0064] Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer based on a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration from the network device 111. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may start or restart the timer based on a time period after the timer expires. In other words, the terminal device 120 may treat the TRP as silent only during a specific time period. After the time period, the terminal device 120 may restart the timer for a new round of timing.

[0065] In some embodiments, based on determining that a timer corresponding to a TRP has expired, the terminal device 120 may perform actions accordingly, for example, for energy saving purposes.

[0066] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may stop the timer corresponding to the silent TRP without further maintenance of the timer. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may stop monitoring a scheduled transmission of a DL channel or signal from the TRP. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may stop monitoring all transmissions of a DL channel or signal from the TRP. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may stop sending a predetermined UL channel or signal to the TRP, or stop sending all UL channels and signals to the TRP. The terminal device 120 may determine or be instructed whether to continue monitoring a certain transmission from the silent TRP or to send certain specific signals or channels to the TRP.

[0067] Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may flush a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffer corresponding to the TRP. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may suspend or clear a grant, resource, and / or configuration corresponding to the TRP. Alternatively or additionally, based on determining that the TRP is muted, the terminal device 120 may assume that a synchronization signal block (SSB) will be sent from the TRP. Alternatively, the terminal device 120 may assume that the SSB will not be sent from the TRP. Alternatively or additionally, based on determining that the TRP is muted, the terminal device 120 may continue to measure channel state information (CSI) corresponding to the CSI configuration. Alternatively, the terminal device 120 may stop measuring the CSI corresponding to the CSI configuration.

[0068] Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 120 may send an indication to the network device indicating that the TRP is considered muted by the terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 may send a report or message via uplink control information (UCI) or MAC CE on PUCCH or PUSCH to indicate that it considers the TRP to be muted. The indication may indicate that the terminal device did not receive a PDCCH or PDSCH from the TRP, or did not send a PUSCH (or even PUCCH / SRS) to the TRP, for the entire period of time the timer was running. The indication may allow further consistency of understanding between the terminal device 120 and the network device 111 under the assumption that the TRP is muted.

[0069] In some embodiments, carrier aggregation is performed. The terminal device 120 may be configured with multiple cells, and each cell may be configured with one or more TRPs, which are allowed to be muted or disabled. The cell may be a serving cell or a non-serving cell. In this case, a timer corresponding to the TRP may be configured for each cell or each cell group. In addition, the timer configured for the TRP in the cell may be configured for the bandwidth part (BWP) of the cell. In addition, in a multi-TRP scenario between cells, a timer may also be configured for each PCI.

[0070] In some embodiments, for a (serving) cell or BWP configured with multiple TRPs (for example, configured via CORESETPoolIndex), when the timers corresponding to the multiple TRPs expire, the terminal device 120 may determine or regard the multiple TRPs as muted, thereby determining that the cell is muted or deactivated.

[0071] Figure 3 FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a process 300 for enabling dynamic TRP adaptation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the process 300 may be considered as a more specific example of the process 200. It should be understood that the process 300 may be applied to Figure 1 The communication system 100 and any other similar communication scenarios.

[0072] like Figure 3 As shown in , at block 310, the terminal device 120 may receive 310 a configuration for configuring one or more timers corresponding to one or more TRPs for the terminal device 120. At block 315, the terminal device 120 may determine whether to use a TRP in the one or more TRPs of the terminal device 120 to perform one or more transmissions or receptions.

[0073] One or more transmissions or receptions may be predetermined transmissions or receptions. As described above, one or more transmissions or receptions may include reception of PDSCH or PDCCH from TRP, or transmission of UL channel or signal, or MAC PDU to TRP.

[0074] For example, based on receiving a PDSCH or PDCCH from / to a TRP, or sending a PUSCH, the terminal device 120 may start or restart a timer corresponding to the TRP at block 320. Otherwise, at block 325, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the timer has expired.

[0075] Based on determining that the timer expires, the terminal device 120 may determine 330 that the corresponding TRP is muted, and perform actions accordingly to enable dynamic TRP adaptation. For example, the terminal device 120 may stop the timer. As another example, the terminal device 120 may refresh the HARQ buffer corresponding to the muted TRP. As another example, the terminal device 120 may stop monitoring the transmission of some or all DL channels and signals from the unmuted TRP.

[0076] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example method 400 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 The method 400 is described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 .

[0077] At block 410, the terminal device 120 receives a configuration for configuring one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device 120 from the network device 111. At block 420, the terminal device 120 starts or restarts a timer in the one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with corresponding TRPs in the one or more TRPs. At block 430, the terminal device 120 determines that the TRP is muted based on expiration of the timer.

[0078] In some embodiments, the TRP is identified by an identifier comprising at least one of: an identity of the TRP, a reference signal set, a CORESET pool index, or a physical cell index PCI.

[0079] In some embodiments, one or more transmissions or receptions associated with the TRP include at least one of the following: reception of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent from the TRP, wherein the PDCCH indicates an uplink UL grant, or a downlink DL allocation; or transmission of a UL channel or signal, or a MAC PDU to the TRP.

[0080] In some embodiments, reception of the PDCCH is one of: reception of a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a control resource set CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDCCH sent using a transmission configuration indicator TCI state including quasi-co-site QCL information related to a reference signal RS, which RS belongs to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP.

[0081] In some embodiments, reception of the PDSCH is one of: reception of a media access control packet data unit MAC PDU sent using a semi-persistently scheduled SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being activated by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being related to an SPS configuration, the SPS configuration being associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being sent using a TCI state, the TCI state including: QCL information associated with an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH, the PDCCH being sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

[0082] In some embodiments, the transmission of the UL channel or signal, or the MAC PDU to the TRP is one of: the transmission of the UL channel or signal or the MAC PDU using resources associated with the CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; the transmission of the UL channel or signal using a TCI state including QCL information related to an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or the transmission of the UL channel or signal scheduled by a PDCCH, which is sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP. In some implementations, the terminal device 120 may also start or restart the timer based on at least one of the following: an indication from the network device 111 to unmute the TRP, a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration, or a time period after the timer expires.

[0083] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may also perform at least one of the following items based on determining that the timer is muted: stop the timer; stop monitoring a scheduled transmission of a DL channel or signal from the TRP, or stop monitoring all transmissions of a DL channel or signal from the TRP; stop sending a scheduled UL channel or signal to the TRP, or stop sending all UL channels and signals to the TRP; refresh the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ buffer corresponding to the TRP; or suspend or clear one or more of the authorization, resources, or configurations corresponding to the TRP.

[0084] In some embodiments, one or more TRPs are configured in a serving cell or a serving cell group of the terminal device 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may also send an indication to the network device 111 indicating that the TRP is considered muted by the terminal device 120. In some embodiments, the one or more timers include: multiple timers in the serving cell of the terminal device 120, and the terminal device 120 may also determine that the serving cell is muted based on the expiration of multiple timers. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may also perform at least one of the following items based on determining that the TRP is muted: assuming that a synchronization signal block SSB will be sent from the TRP, or measuring channel state information CSI corresponding to the CSI configuration.

[0085] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example method 500 implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 500 is described from the perspective of network device 111 .

[0086] At block 510, the network device 111 determines for the terminal device 120 a configuration for configuring one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device 120, wherein a timer in the one or more timers is configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TRPs and an expiration of a timer indicating that the TRP is muted. At block 520, the network device 111 sends the configuration to the terminal device 120.

[0087] In some embodiments, the TRP is identified by an identifier that includes at least one of the following: an identity of the TRP, a reference signal set, a CORESET pool index, or a physical cell index PCI. In some embodiments, one or more transmissions or receptions associated with the TRP include at least one of the following: reception of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH sent from the TRP, wherein the PDCCH indicates an uplink UL grant, or a downlink DL allocation; or transmission of a UL channel or signal, or a MAC PDU to the TRP.

[0088] In some embodiments, reception of the PDCCH is one of: reception of a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a control resource set CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDCCH sent using a transmission configuration indicator TCI state including quasi-co-site QCL information related to a reference signal RS, which RS belongs to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP.

[0089] In some embodiments, reception of the PDSCH is one of: reception of a media access control packet data unit MAC PDU sent using a semi-persistently scheduled SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being activated by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being related to an SPS configuration, the SPS configuration being associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being sent using a TCI state, the TCI state including: QCL information associated with an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH, the PDCCH being sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

[0090] In some embodiments, transmission of a UL channel or signal, or a MAC PDU to a TRP is one of: transmission of a UL channel or signal, or a MAC PDU using resources associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; transmission of a UL channel or signal using a TCI state including QCL information related to an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or transmission of a UL channel or signal scheduled by a PDCCH, which is sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

[0091] In some embodiments, the timer is configured to start or restart based on at least one of the following: an indication from the network device 111 to unmute the TRP, a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration, or a time period after the timer expires. In some embodiments, one or more TRPs are configured in a serving cell or serving cell group of the terminal device 120. In some embodiments, the network device 111 may also receive an indication from the terminal device 120 indicating that the TRP is considered muted by the terminal device 120.

[0092] In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., terminal device 120) capable of executing any of the methods in method 400 may include a component for executing the corresponding steps of method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0093] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for receiving a configuration from a network device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for a terminal device; a component for starting or restarting a timer in one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs; and a component for determining that a TRP is muted based on expiration of the timer.

[0094] In some embodiments, the TRP is identified by an identifier comprising at least one of: an identity of the TRP, a reference signal set, a CORESET pool index, or a physical cell index PCI.

[0095] In some embodiments, one or more transmissions or receptions associated with the TRP include at least one of the following: reception of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent from the TRP, wherein the PDCCH indicates an uplink UL grant, or a downlink DL allocation; or transmission of a UL channel or signal, or a MAC PDU to the TRP.

[0096] In some embodiments, reception of the PDCCH is one of: reception of a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a control resource set CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDCCH sent using a transmission configuration indicator TCI state including quasi-co-site QCL information related to a reference signal RS, which RS belongs to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP.

[0097] In some embodiments, reception of the PDSCH is one of: reception of a media access control packet data unit MAC PDU sent using a semi-persistently scheduled SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being activated by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being related to an SPS configuration, the SPS configuration being associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being sent using a TCI state, the TCI state including: QCL information associated with an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH, the PDCCH being sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

[0098] In some embodiments, the transmission of the UL channel or signal, or the MAC PDU to the TRP is one of: the transmission of the UL channel or signal or the MAC PDU using resources associated with the CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; the transmission of the UL channel or signal using a TCI state including QCL information related to an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or the transmission of the UL channel or signal scheduled by a PDCCH, which is sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP. In some implementations, the terminal device 120 may also start or restart the timer based on at least one of the following: an indication from the network device 111 to unmute the TRP, a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration, or a time period after the timer expires.

[0099] In some embodiments, one or more TRPs are configured in a service cell or service cell group of the terminal device 120.

[0100] In some embodiments, the component for starting or restarting the timer may include a component for starting or restarting the timer also based on at least one of the following items: an indication from the network device to unmute the TRP, a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration, or a time period after the timer expires.

[0101] In some embodiments, the device may also include a component for performing at least one of the following items based on determining that the timer is muted: stopping the timer; stopping monitoring a scheduled transmission of a DL channel or signal from the TRP, or stopping monitoring all transmissions of a DL channel or signal from the TRP; stopping sending a scheduled UL channel or signal to the TRP, or stopping sending all UL channels and signals to the TRP; refreshing the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ buffer corresponding to the TRP; or suspending or clearing one or more of the authorization, resources, or configurations corresponding to the TRP.

[0102] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a component for sending an indication to a network device that the TRP is considered muted by the terminal device. In some embodiments, the one or more timers include: a plurality of timers in a serving cell of the terminal device, and the apparatus may further include a component for determining that the serving cell is muted based on the expiration of the plurality of timers.

[0103] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a component for performing at least one of the following based on determining that the TRP is muted: assuming that a synchronization signal block SSB will be sent from the TRP, or measuring channel state information CSI corresponding to a CSI configuration.

[0104] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps of some embodiments of method 400. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to work with the at least one processor to enable the above-mentioned operations of the apparatus.

[0105] In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., network device 111) capable of performing any of the methods in method 500 may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0106] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for determining a configuration for a terminal device, configured to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points TRPs for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in one or more TPRs, and expiration of a timer indicating that the TRP is muted; and a component for sending the configuration to the terminal device.

[0107] In some embodiments, the TRP is identified by an identifier comprising at least one of: an identity of the TRP, a reference signal set, a CORESET pool index, or a physical cell index PCI.

[0108] In some embodiments, one or more transmissions or receptions associated with the TRP include at least one of the following: reception of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent from the TRP, wherein the PDCCH indicates an uplink UL grant, or a downlink DL allocation; or transmission of a UL channel or signal, or a MAC PDU to the TRP.

[0109] In some embodiments, reception of the PDCCH is one of: reception of a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a control resource set CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDCCH sent using a transmission configuration indicator TCI state including quasi-co-site QCL information related to a reference signal RS, which RS belongs to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP.

[0110] In some embodiments, reception of the PDSCH is one of: reception of a media access control packet data unit MAC PDU sent using a semi-persistently scheduled SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being activated by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being related to an SPS configuration, the SPS configuration being associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, the SPS PDSCH being sent using a TCI state, the TCI state including: QCL information associated with an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or reception of a PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH, the PDCCH being sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

[0111] In some embodiments, the transmission of the UL channel or signal, or the MAC PDU to the TRP is one of: the transmission of the UL channel or signal or the MAC PDU using resources associated with the CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP; the transmission of the UL channel or signal using a TCI state including QCL information related to an RS belonging to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP; or the transmission of the UL channel or signal scheduled by a PDCCH, which is sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP. In some implementations, the terminal device 120 may also start or restart the timer based on at least one of the following: an indication from the network device 111 to unmute the TRP, a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration, or a time period after the timer expires.

[0112] In some embodiments, one or more TRPs are configured in a service cell or service cell group of the terminal device 120.

[0113] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for receiving an indication from a terminal device that the TRP is considered silent by the terminal device.

[0114] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps of some embodiments of method 500. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to work with the at least one processor to enable the above-mentioned operations of the apparatus.

[0115] Figure 6 600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 120, the network device 111 or the network device 112 shown. As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0116] The communication module 640 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0117] Processor 610 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0118] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0119] Computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by associated processor 610. Program 630 may be stored in ROM 624. Processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 630 into RAM 622.

[0120] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 630, so that the device 600 may execute the reference Figures 2 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0121] In some embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0122] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0123] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above reference Figure 2-Figure 5 The method 400 or 500 described. Typically, a program module includes a routine, program, library, object, class, component, data structure, etc. that performs a specific task or implements a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of the program modules can be executed in a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0124] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code is implemented when executed by the processor or controller in the flow chart and / or the block diagram. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0125] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0126] Computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. Computer readable medium can include but is not limited to electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage medium will include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term "non-transient" used herein is a restriction on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than signal), rather than a restriction on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0127] In addition, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence or performing all of the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0128] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: receiving a configuration from a network device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device; Starting or restarting a timer in the one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TPRs; and Based on expiration of the timer, it is determined that the TRP is muted.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the TRP is identified by an identifier, the identifier comprising at least one of the following items: TRP identity, Reference signal set, Control resource set CORESET pool index, or Physical cell index PCI.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more transmissions or receptions associated with the TRP include at least one of the following: Reception of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmitted from the TRP, wherein the PDCCH indicates an uplink (UL) grant or a downlink (DL) allocation, or Transmission of UL channel or signal, or MAC PDU to the TRP.

4. The terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the receiving of the PDCCH is one of the following: Reception of a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to the control resource set CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP, or Reception of a PDCCH sent using a transmission configuration indicator TCI state, wherein the TCI state includes quasi-co-site QCL information related to a reference signal RS, wherein the RS belongs to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP.

5. The terminal device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the receiving of the PDSCH is one of the following: reception of a Medium Access Control Packet Data Unit MAC PDU transmitted using a Semi-Persistent Scheduling SPS PDSCH activated by a PDCCH transmitted on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET Pool Index corresponding to the TRP, reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH associated with an SPS configuration associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP, Reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, wherein the SPS PDSCH is sent using a TCI state, wherein the TCI state includes: QCL information associated with RSs belonging to a subset of RSs corresponding to the TRP, or Reception of a PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

6. The terminal device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the transmission of the UL channel or signal, or MAC PDU to the TRP is one of the following: transmission of a UL channel or signal or MAC PDU using resources associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP, transmission of a UL channel or signal using a TCI state, the TCI state including QCL information associated with a RS belonging to a subset of RSs corresponding to the TRP, or Transmission of an UL channel or signal scheduled by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal device is caused to start or restart the timer further based on at least one of the following: an instruction from the network device to unmute the TRP, Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration, or The time period after which the timer expires.

8. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the terminal device is further caused to perform at least one of the following based on determining that the timer is muted: stopping the timer, ceasing to monitor a scheduled transmission of a DL channel or signal from the TRP, or ceasing to monitor all transmissions of a DL channel or signal from the TRP, Stop sending a predetermined UL channel or signal to the TRP, or stop sending all UL channels and signals to the TRP, flushing the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ buffer corresponding to the TRP, or Suspend or clear one or more of the authorization, resources, or configurations corresponding to the TRP.

9. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the one or more TRPs are configured in a service cell or a service cell group of the terminal device.

10. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: An indication is sent to the network device indicating that the TRP is considered silent by the terminal device.

11. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the one or more timers include: A plurality of timers in a serving cell of the terminal device, and wherein the terminal device is further caused to: Based on expiration of the plurality of timers, it is determined that the serving cell is muted.

12. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the terminal device is further caused to perform at least one of the following based on determining that the TRP is muted: Assuming that a synchronization signal block SSB will be sent from the TRP, or Channel state information CSI corresponding to the CSI configuration is measured.

13. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the terminal device is further caused to perform at least one of the following based on determining that the TRP is muted: Assume that the Synchronization Signal Block SSB will not be sent from the TRP, or Stop measuring the channel state information CSI corresponding to the CSI configuration.

14. A network device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least: determining a configuration for a terminal device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TRPs, and expiration of the timer indicating that the TRP is muted; as well as Send the configuration to the terminal device.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein the TRP is identified by an identifier, the identifier comprising at least one of the following: TRP identity, Reference signal set, Control resource set CORESET pool index, or Physical cell index PCI.

16. The network device of claim 14 or 15, wherein the one or more transmissions or receptions associated with the TRP include at least one of the following: Reception of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmitted from the TRP, wherein the PDCCH indicates an uplink (UL) grant or a downlink (DL) allocation, or Transmission of UL channel or signal, or MAC PDU to the TRP.

17. The network device of claim 16, wherein the receiving of the PDCCH is one of: Reception of a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to the control resource set CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP, or Reception of a PDCCH sent using a transmission configuration indicator TCI state, wherein the TCI state includes quasi-co-site QCL information related to a reference signal RS, wherein the RS belongs to an RS subset corresponding to the TRP.

18. The network device according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the receiving of the PDSCH is one of the following: reception of a Medium Access Control Packet Data Unit MAC PDU transmitted using a Semi-Persistent Scheduling SPS PDSCH activated by a PDCCH transmitted on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET Pool Index corresponding to the TRP, reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH associated with an SPS configuration associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP, Reception of a MAC PDU sent using an SPS PDSCH, wherein the SPS PDSCH is sent using a TCI state, wherein the TCI state includes: QCL information associated with RSs belonging to a subset of RSs corresponding to the TRP, or Reception of a PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

19. The network device according to claim 16 or 18, wherein the transmission of the UL channel or signal, or MAC PDU to the TRP is one of the following: transmission of a UL channel or signal or MAC PDU using resources associated with a CORESET pool index or PCI corresponding to the TRP, transmission of a UL channel or signal using a TCI state, the TCI state including QCL information associated with a RS belonging to a subset of RSs corresponding to the TRP, or Transmission of an UL channel or signal scheduled by a PDCCH sent on a CORESET belonging to a CORESET pool index corresponding to the TRP.

20. The network device according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the timer is configured to start or restart based on at least one of the following: an instruction from the network device to unmute the TRP, Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration, or The time period after which the timer expires.

21. A network device according to any one of claims 14 to 20, wherein the one or more TRPs are configured in a service cell or a service cell group of the terminal device.

22. The network device according to any one of claims 14 to 21, wherein the network device is further configured to: An indication is received from the terminal device indicating that the TRP is considered muted by the terminal device.

23. A method comprising: At a terminal device, receiving a configuration from a network device, the configuration being used to configure one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points TRPs for the terminal device; at the terminal device, starting or restarting a timer in the one or more timers based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TPRs; as well as At the terminal device, based on expiration of the timer, it is determined that the TRP is muted.

24. A method comprising: determining, at a network, a configuration for a terminal device, the configuration being for configuring one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TRPs, and expiration of the timer indicating that the TRP is muted; as well as The configuration is sent at the network device to the terminal device.

25. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, at a terminal device, a configuration from a network device, the configuration being for configuring one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points TRPs for the terminal device; means for starting or restarting a timer of the one or more timers at the terminal device based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP of the one or more TPRs; as well as Means for determining, at the terminal device, that the TRP is muted based on expiration of the timer.

26. An apparatus comprising: means for determining, at a network, a configuration for a terminal device, the configuration for configuring one or more timers corresponding to one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) for the terminal device, a timer in the one or more timers being configured to start or restart based on one or more transmissions or receptions associated with a corresponding TRP in the one or more TRPs, and expiration of the timer indicating that the TRP is muted; as well as Means for sending the configuration at the network device to the terminal device.

27. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to claim 23 or 24.

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