Unified transmission configuration indication status for multipoint downlink operation using single control information

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a technique for performing multiple transmission and reception point operations in a wireless communication system. The network may provide configuration and / or mode information for selecting a transmission control indication status. A plurality of transmit control indication states may be activated. One or more states may be selected for performing downlink operations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to a system, apparatus and method for communication using a unified transmission control state for multi-transmission reception point operation in a wireless communication system.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices (such as smart phones and tablet computers) have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices (i.e., user equipment devices or UEs) now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using a global positioning system (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these capabilities. Additionally, there are many different wireless communication technologies and wireless communication standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, and the like. TM wait.

[0004] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functionalities in wireless communication devices has also created a continuing need for improved wireless communications and improved wireless communication devices. In particular, it is important to ensure the accuracy of signals transmitted and received by user equipment (UE) devices (e.g., by wireless devices such as cellular phones, base stations, and relay stations used in wireless cellular communications). In addition, increasing the functionality of UE devices may put a great strain on the battery life of UE devices. Therefore, it is also very important to reduce the power requirements in UE device design while allowing the UE device to maintain good transmission and reception capabilities to improve communications. Therefore, improvements are desired in this area. Summary of the invention

[0005] Embodiments of an apparatus, system, and method for communicating with multiple transmit and receive points using a unified transmit control state in a wireless communication system are presented herein.

[0006] A set of embodiments may include a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a configuration of multiple transmit configuration indication (TCI) states associated with multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) from a cellular network. The UE may receive an indication of multiple active TCI states for downlink (DL) communications from the cellular network, wherein the multiple active TCI states include a subset of the multiple TCI states. The UE may receive an indication of a first mode of multiple modes for selecting one or more TCI states for DL ​​operation from the cellular network. The UE may receive a first message scheduling a first DL transmission from the cellular network. The UE may select a first TCI state of the multiple active TCI states for receiving the first DL transmission based at least in part on the first mode; and may receive the first DL transmission from at least a first TRP of the multiple TRPs.

[0007] A set of embodiments may include a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a configuration of multiple transmit configuration indication (TCI) states associated with multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) from a cellular network. The UE may receive an indication of multiple active TCI states for downlink (DL) communications from the cellular network, wherein the multiple active TCI states include a subset of the multiple TCI states. The UE may receive a configuration of a first resource group for DL ​​control communication operations from the cellular network. The configuration of the first resource group may include an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for monitoring the first resource group. The UE may select a first TCI state from the multiple active TCI states for monitoring the first resource group based at least in part on the configuration of the first resource group; and may use the first TCI state to monitor a control channel on the first resource group.

[0008] A set of embodiments may include a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a configuration of multiple transmit configuration indication (TCI) states associated with multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) from a cellular network. The UE may receive an indication of multiple active TCI states for downlink (DL) communications from the cellular network, wherein the multiple active TCI states include a subset of the multiple TCI states. The UE may receive an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for receiving a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) from the cellular network. The UE may select a first TCI state from the multiple active TCI states for receiving the CSI-RS based at least in part on the rule. The UE may receive the CSI-RS from a first TRP from the multiple TRPs using the first TCI state.

[0009] It should be noted that the techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to base stations, access points, cellular telephones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable devices, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned flight controllers, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, and various other computing devices.

[0010] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings.

[0012] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 2 An exemplary base station in communication with an exemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 5 is a communication flow chart illustrating various aspects of an exemplary possible method for communicating for multi-TRP operations using a unified transmit control state in a wireless communication system according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figures 6 to 16 Exemplary aspects of various possible communication methods for performing multi-TRP operations in a wireless communication system using a unified transmit control state according to some embodiments are illustrated.

[0018] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Acronyms

[0020] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. Definitions of the most commonly used acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are provided below:

[0021] UE: User Equipment

[0022] RF: Radio Frequency

[0023] BS: Base Station

[0024] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0025] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0026] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0027] NR: New Radio

[0028] TX: Send

[0029] RX: Receive

[0030] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0031] ●PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0032] ●TRP: Transmit Receive Point

[0033] ●TCI: Transmit Control Indicator

[0034] QCL: Quasi-co-site

[0035] ●DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0036] ●CSI: Channel State Information

[0037] ●CQI: Channel Quality Indicator

[0038] DL: Downlink

[0039] the term

[0040] The following is a glossary of terms that will appear in this disclosure:

[0041] Memory medium—any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, magnetic media, such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system executing a program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter example, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer system for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media, which may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0042] Carrier medium—storage media as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0043] Computer system (or computer)—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined as any device (or combination of devices) that includes at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0044] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), tablet computers (e.g., iPad TM 、Samsung Galaxy TM ), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhoneTM ), wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), laptops, PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunication device (or a combination of these devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0045] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0046] Communication device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0047] Base Station (BS)—The term "base station" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0048] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device (e.g., a user equipment device or a cellular network device). Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0049] Wi-Fi—The term "Wi-Fi" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication network or RAT that is served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provides connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0050] Automatically—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the action or operation being directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0051] Configured to—Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a collection of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad statement that generally means “having a circuit” that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, circuits that form a structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits.

[0052] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted to include the phrase "configured to". The statement that a component is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.C. § 112 (sixth) for that component.

[0053] Figure 1 and Figure 2 -Exemplary Communication System

[0054] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system that can implement various aspects of the present disclosure according to some embodiments is illustrated. Note that Figure 1The system is only one example of a possible system, and the embodiments may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0055] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102, which communicates with one or more (e.g., any number) user equipment 106A, 106B, etc. to 106N via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE) or a UE device. Therefore, the user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or a UE device.

[0056] The base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site, and may include hardware and / or software that implements wireless communication with UEs 106A to 106N. If the base station 102 is implemented in the context of LTE, it may be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". If the base station 102 is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB". The base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, as well as various possible networks). Thus, the base station 102 may facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". Also as used herein, with respect to a UE, a base station may sometimes be considered to represent a network in the case of considering the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) communications of the UE. Therefore, a UE communicating with one or more base stations in a network may also be understood as a UE communicating with a network.

[0057] The base station 102 and the user equipment may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), LAA / LTE-U, 5G NR, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, etc.

[0058] Base station 102 and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may thus be provided as one or more cell networks that may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106 and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0059] Note that the UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using either or both of the 3GPP cellular communication standard or the 3GPP2 cellular communication standard. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may be configured to perform techniques for communicating using a unified TCI state for multiple TRP operations in a wireless communication system, such as according to the various methods described herein. The UE 106 may also be configured or may alternatively be configured to use WLAN, Bluetooth, or the like. TM , one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0060] Figure 2 An exemplary user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with a base station 102 according to some embodiments is illustrated. UE 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, a computer or a tablet computer, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an unmanned aviation controller (UAC), a car, or almost any type of wireless device. UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any method implementation in the method implementation described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components configured to (e.g., individually or in combination) perform any method implementation in the method implementation described herein or any part of any method implementation in the method implementation described herein. UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a plurality of wireless communication protocols. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using two or more of CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0061] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols according to one or more RAT standards. In some embodiments, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication standards. The shared radio component may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas (e.g., for a multiple-input, multiple-output or "MIMO" antenna system) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog RF signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies (such as those discussed above).

[0062] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to send and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). Similarly, BS 102 may also include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to send and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). In order to receive and / or send such directional signals, the antennas of UE 106 and / or BS 102 may be configured to apply different "weights" to different antennas. The process of applying these different weights may be referred to as "pre-coding".

[0063] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include separate transmit chains and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include shared radio components for communicating using any of LTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT (or LTE or NR, or LTE or GSM), and shared radio components for communicating using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. TM Each of the independent radio components for communication. Other configurations are also possible.

[0064] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include multiple subscriber identity modules (SIMs, sometimes referred to as SIM cards). In other words, UE 106 may be a multi-SIM (MUSIM) device, such as a dual SIM device. Any of the various SIMs may be a physical SIM (e.g., a SIM card) or an embedded (e.g., a virtual) SIM. Any combination of physical and / or virtual SIMs may be included. Each SIM may provide a user with various services (e.g., packet switching services and / or circuit switching services). In some embodiments, UE 106 may share a common receive (Rx) chain and / or transmit (Tx) chain for multiple SIMs (e.g., UE 106 may have a dual SIM dual standby architecture). Other architectures are possible. For example, UE 106 may be a dual SIM dual active architecture, may include independent Tx chains and / or Rx chains for various SIMs, may include more than two SIMs, etc.

[0065] Different identities (e.g., different SIMs) may have different identifiers, such as different UE identities (UE IDs). For example, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) may be an identity associated with a SIM (e.g., in a MUSIM device, each SIM may have its own IMSI). An IMSI may be unique. Similarly, each SIM may have its own unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). Thus, IMSI and / or IMEI may be examples of possible UE IDs, however other identifiers may be used as UE IDs.

[0066] Different identities may have the same or different relationships with various public land mobile networks (PLMNs). For example, a first identity may have a first home PLMN, while a second identity may have a different home PLMN. In such cases, one identity may be pre-occupied on the home network (e.g., on a cell provided by BS102), while another identity may be roaming (e.g., also pre-occupied on the same cell provided by BS102 or pre-occupied on a different cell provided by the same or different BS102). In other cases, multiple identities may be simultaneously home (e.g., on the same or different cells of the same or different networks) or may be roaming at the same time (e.g., on the same or different cells of the same or different networks). It should be understood that multiple combinations are possible. For example, two SIM subscriptions on a MUSIM device may belong to the same peer / carrier (e.g., AT&T / AT&T or CMCC / CMCC). As another exemplary possibility, SIM-A may be roaming into SIM-B's network (SIM-A CMCC user roams to AT&T, and SIM-B is also AT&T).

[0067] Figure 3 - Block diagram of an exemplary UE device

[0068] Figure 3 A block diagram of an exemplary UE 106 according to some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 300, which may include parts for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that can execute program instructions for the UE 106, and a display circuit 304 that can perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The SOC 300 may also include a sensor circuit 370, which may include a component for sensing or measuring any of various possible characteristics or parameters of the UE 106. For example, the sensor circuit 370 may include a motion sensing circuit that is configured to detect the motion of the UE 106, for example, using a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of various other motion sensing components. As another possibility, the sensor circuit 370 may include one or more temperature sensing components, which are used, for example, to measure the temperature of each of one or more antenna panels and / or other components of the UE 106. Any of a variety of other possible types of sensor circuits may also or alternatively be included in the UE 106, as desired. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or other circuits or devices, such as display circuit 304, radio 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0069] As shown, SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of UE 106. For example, UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, Bluetooth TM, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include or be coupled to at least one antenna (e.g., 335a), and may include multiple antennas (e.g., illustrated by antennas 335a and 335b) for performing wireless communications with base stations and / or other devices. Antennas 335a and 335b are shown by way of example, and the UE device 106 may include fewer or more antennas. In general, one or more antennas are collectively referred to as antennas 335. For example, the UE device 106 may use antenna 335 with the aid of radio circuitry 330 to perform wireless communications. The communication circuitry may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards.

[0070] UE 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing methods for UE 106 to perform techniques such as those further described herein for communicating using unified TCI states for multi-TRP operation in a wireless communication system. The processor 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement a portion or all of the methods described herein, for example by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). In addition, the processor 302 may be coupled to a processor such as a processor 106 and a processor 106 that is configured to perform multiple TRP operations in a wireless communication system. Figure 3 The other components shown and / or can interoperate with the other components to perform techniques for communicating using a unified TCI state for multi-TRP operation in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments disclosed herein. The processor 302 can also implement various other applications and / or end-user applications running on the UE 106.

[0071] In some embodiments, radio 330 may include a separate controller dedicated to controlling communications for each corresponding RAT standard. Figure 3 As shown, the radio component 330 may include a Wi-Fi controller 352, a cellular controller (e.g., an LTE and / or LTE-A controller) 354, and a Bluetooth controller. TM Controller 356, and in at least some embodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implemented as respective integrated circuits (referred to as ICs or chips) that communicate with each other and with SOC 300 (and more specifically, with processor 302). For example, Wi-Fi controller 352 may communicate with cellular controller 354 via a cell-ISM link or WCI interface, and / or Bluetooth controller 355 may communicate with cellular controller 354 via a cell-ISM link or WCI interface.TM The controller 356 may communicate with the cellular controller 354 via a cell-ISM link, etc. Although three separate controllers are illustrated within the radio 330, other embodiments may be implemented in the UE device 106 with fewer or more similar controllers for various different RATs.

[0072] Additionally, embodiments are contemplated in which the controller may implement functionality associated with multiple radio access technologies. For example, according to some embodiments, in addition to hardware and / or software components for performing cellular communications, the cellular controller 354 may also include hardware and / or software components for performing one or more activities associated with Wi-Fi, such as Wi-Fi preamble detection, and / or generation and transmission of Wi-Fi physical layer preamble signals.

[0073] Figure 4 - Block diagram of an exemplary base station

[0074] Figure 4 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0075] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network port 470 may be coupled to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106 for the telephone network described in the foregoing. The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to be coupled to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0076] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transmit and receive points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0077] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The antenna 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may also be configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be designed to communicate via various wireless telecommunication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, 5G NR SAT, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0078] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, base station 102 may include multiple radio components that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, 5G NR SAT and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0079] As further described later herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting a specific implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement and / or support a specific implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. In the case of certain RATs (e.g., Wi-Fi), the base station 102 may be designed as an access point (AP), in which case the network port 470 may be implemented to provide access to a wide area network and / or one or more local area networks, for example, it may include at least one Ethernet port, and the radio component 430 may be designed to communicate according to the Wi-Fi standard.

[0080] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 404 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0081] Additionally, as described herein, radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0082] Reference signal

[0083] A wireless device (such as a user equipment) may be configured to perform various tasks including using reference signals (RS) provided by one or more cellular base stations. For example, initial access and beam measurements of the wireless device may be performed based at least in part on synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) provided by one or more cells provided by one or more cellular base stations within the communication range of the wireless device. Another type of reference signal commonly provided in a cellular communication system may include a channel state information (CSI) RS. Various types of CSI-RS may be provided for tracking (e.g., for time and frequency offset tracking), beam management (e.g., CSI-RS configured with repetitions to help determine one or more beams for uplink and / or downlink communications), and / or channel measurement (e.g., CSI-RS configured in a resource group for measuring the quality of a downlink channel and reporting information related to the quality measurement to a base station), as well as various possibilities. For example, in the case where the CSI-RS is used for CSI acquisition, the UE may periodically perform channel measurements and transmit channel state information (CSI) to the BS. The base station may then receive and use the channel state information during communication with the wireless device to determine adjustments to various parameters. In particular, the BS may use the received channel state information to adjust the coding of its downlink transmissions to improve downlink channel quality.

[0084] In many cellular communication systems, a base station may periodically transmit some or all such reference signals (or pilot signals), such as SSB and / or CSI-RS. In some cases, aperiodic reference signals (e.g., aperiodic reference signals for aperiodic CSI reporting) may also or alternatively be provided.

[0085] As a detailed example, at least according to some embodiments, in the 3GPP NR cellular communication standard, the channel state information fed back from the UE based on the CSI-RS for CSI acquisition may include one or more of a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a SSBRI (SS / PBCH resource block indicator, and a layer indicator (LI).

[0086] Channel quality information may be provided to the base station for link adaptation, for example, to provide guidance on which modulation and coding scheme (MCS) the base station should use when sending data. For example, when the downlink channel communication quality between the base station and the UE is determined to be high, the UE may feedback a high CQI value, which may cause the base station to send data using a relatively high modulation order and / or a low channel coding rate. For another example, when the downlink channel communication quality between the base station and the UE is determined to be low, the UE may feedback a low CQI value, which may cause the base station to send data using a relatively low modulation order and / or a high channel coding rate.

[0087] The PMI feedback may include preferred precoding matrix information and may be provided to the base station to indicate which MIMO precoding scheme the base station should use. In other words, the UE may measure the quality of the downlink MIMO channel between the base station and the UE based on the pilot signal received on the channel, and may recommend which MIMO precoding the base station is expected to apply through PMI feedback. In some cellular systems, the PMI configuration is represented in matrix form, which provides linear MIMO precoding. The base station and the UE may share a codebook consisting of multiple precoding matrices, wherein each MIMO precoding matrix in the codebook may have a unique index. Therefore, as part of the channel state information fed back by the UE, the PMI may include an index (or possibly multiple indexes) corresponding to the most preferred MIMO precoding matrix (or multiple matrices) in the codebook. This may enable the UE to minimize the amount of feedback information. Therefore, at least according to some embodiments, the PMI may indicate which precoding matrix from the codebook should be used for transmission to the UE.

[0088] For example, when the base station and UE have multiple antennas, the rank indicator information (RI feedback) may indicate the number of transmission layers that the UE determines can be supported by the channel, which can achieve multi-layer transmission through spatial multiplexing. RI and PMI together may allow the base station to know which precoding needs to be applied to which layer, for example, depending on the number of transmission layers.

[0089] In some cellular systems, the PMI codebook is defined based on the number of transmission layers. In other words, for R layer transmission, N N codebooks can be defined. t ×R matrix (for example, where R represents the number of layers, N t denotes the number of transmitter antenna ports, and N denotes the size of the codebook). In such a scenario, the number of transmission layers (R) may conform to the rank value of the precoding matrix (N t ×R matrix), and thus R in this context may be referred to as a “rank indicator (RI)”.

[0090] Thus, the channel state information may include an assigned rank (e.g., a rank indicator or RI). For example, a MIMO-enabled UE communicating with a BS may include four receiver chains, e.g., may include four antennas. The BS may also include four or more antennas to implement MIMO communication (e.g., 4×4 MIMO). Thus, the UE is able to simultaneously receive up to four (or more) signals (e.g., layers) from the BS. Layer-to-antenna mapping may be applied, e.g., each layer may be mapped to any number of antenna ports (e.g., antennas). Each antenna port may transmit and / or receive information associated with one or more layers. The rank may include multiple bits and may indicate the number of signals that the BS may transmit to the UE in an upcoming time period (e.g., during an upcoming transmit time interval or TTI). For example, an indication of rank 4 may indicate that the BS will transmit 4 signals to the UE. As one possibility, the length of the RI may be two bits (e.g., because two bits are sufficient to distinguish 4 different rank values). Note that other numbers and / or configurations of antennas (e.g., at either or both of the UE or BS) and / or other numbers of data layers are also possible according to various embodiments.

[0091] Figure 5 —TCI status for multi-TRP operation

[0092] According to some cellular communication technologies, a UE may communicate with multiple transmit receive points (TRPs), including potentially simultaneously. Such communications may be scheduled using downlink control information (DCI), which may be provided using control signaling such as on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), which may be sent in one or more control resource groups (CORESETs) and / or search space sets (SSSs). DCI may be provided in a single DCI (sDCI) mode, in which a single DCI communication / message (e.g., from only one TRP) may be used to schedule communications between multiple TRPs (mTRPs) and wireless devices / UEs, or in a multi-DCI mode, in which each of the multiple TRPs may provide DCI communications that schedule their own communications with wireless devices. In some embodiments, in a single DCI mode, a single DCI message may be sent from multiple TRPs (e.g., each TRP may send the same DCI message).

[0093] Communications scheduled in such a multi-TRP scenario may include data communications (e.g., which may be transmitted using a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and / or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmissions (e.g., periodic, semi-persistent, and / or aperiodic), as well as various possibilities. In addition, CSI-RS transmissions may include CSI-RS configured for multiple possible purposes (such as for beam management, tracking, or CSI acquisition).

[0094] Transmissions from the UE to the TRP / from the TRP to the UE may be directed based on a Transmit Control Indication (TCI) state. For example, a TCI state may correspond to an uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) beam at the UE and / or TRP. The TCI state may be one of three types: uplink (e.g., uplink only), downlink, or joint (e.g., bidirectional, such as uplink and downlink).

[0095] A UE may be configured to use one or more TCI states simultaneously. A few years after the initial deployment of NR, the TCI state framework in Release 15 (Rel-15) may have been considered overly flexible, which may have resulted in significant signaling overhead. A unified TCI framework was introduced in Rel-17, which may facilitate simplified multi-beam operation, for example, for frequency range (FR) 1 and frequency range (FR) 2. According to the unified TCI framework, one TCI state indication may apply to multiple channels (e.g., PDSCH and PDCCH may be mapped to a single common DL TCI state; similarly, PUSCH and PUCCH may be mapped to a single common UL TCI state; or, in various possibilities, all of these channels may be mapped to a single common joint TCI state).

[0096] One purpose of various technical efforts may be to enhance the unified TCI framework to allow extension to mTRP use cases. The Rel-17 unified TCI framework may support cases where all uplink and downlink signals / channels use the same beam or TCI. Similarly, the Rel-17 unified TCI framework may support cases where all uplink signals / channels use one beam / TCI and all downlink signals / channels use a second beam / TCI. However, the Rel-17 unified TCI framework may not support mTRP cases, for example, where all uplink or downlink signals / channels do not use the same beam / TCI.

[0097] NR can support at least the following multi-TRP schemes:

[0098] Rel-16 multi-DCI multi-TRP: PDSCH and PUSCH;

[0099] Rel-16 single DCI multiple TRP: PDSCH scheme, including: spatial domain multiplexing (SDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM) schemes A and B (fdmSchemeA, fdmSchemeB), time division multiplexing (TDM) schemes A and B (tdmSchemeA, tdmSchemeB (inter-time slot));

[0100] Rel-17 Multi-TRP: PDCCH solution, including: Linked via SearchSpace

[0101] PDCCH repetition, and single frequency network (SFN) schemes, for example, SFN-PDCCH:

[0102] sfnSchemeA, sfnSchemeB;

[0103] Rel-17 single DCI multiple TRPs: PDSCH, for example, SFN-PDSCH:

[0104] sfnSchemeA, sfnSchemeB;

[0105] Rel-17 single DCI multiple TRPs: PUSCH / PUCCH, for example, PUSCH TDM repetition, PUCCH TDM repetition.

[0106] To illustrate a set of possible techniques for additional scenarios, Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for performing unified TCI status indication for multiple TRP downlink operations using a single DCI in a wireless communication system, at least according to some embodiments. Figure 5 Various aspects of the method may allow the UE and the network to each determine the same TCI state for downlink communications, such as the same TCI state for data (e.g., PDSCH), control information (e.g., PDCCH), and / or reference signals (e.g., CSI-RS, CSI-IM, etc.). In various possibilities, Figure 5 The method may be useful in sDCI mTRP scenarios.

[0107] Figure 5 Aspects of the methods of can be implemented by a wireless device, for example, in conjunction with one or more cellular base stations and / or TRPs (such as UE 106 and BS 102 shown and described with respect to various figures herein), or more generally, in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. shown in the above figures, as desired. For example, a processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device can be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements.

[0108] It is noted that although the present invention is described in a manner involving the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with 3GPP and / or NR specification documents, Figure 5 However, this description is not intended to limit the present disclosure and may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed. Figure 5 In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, Figure 5 The method can be operated as follows.

[0109] According to some embodiments, the wireless device may establish a wireless link with a cellular network (502). According to some embodiments, the wireless link may include a cellular link according to 5G NR. For example, the UE may establish a session with the AMF entity of the cellular network through one or more base stations (e.g., TRP and / or gNB) that provide radio access to the cellular network. As another possibility, the wireless link may include a cellular link according to LTE. According to various embodiments, other types of cellular links are also possible, and the cellular network may also or alternatively operate according to another cellular communication technology (e.g., UMTS, CDMA2000, GSM, etc.).

[0110] Establishing a wireless link may include establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a serving cellular base station, at least according to some embodiments. Establishing an RRC connection may include configuring various parameters for communication between the UE and the cellular base station, establishing environmental information of the UE, and / or any of a variety of other possible features, for example, involving establishing an air interface of the UE for cellular communication with a cellular network associated with the cellular base station. After establishing the RRC connection, the UE may operate in an RRC connected state. In some instances, the RRC connection may also be released (e.g., after a certain period of inactivity relative to data communications), in which case the UE may operate in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. In some instances, the UE may perform a handover (e.g., when in an RRC connected mode) or a cell reselection (e.g., when in an RRC idle mode or an RRC inactive mode) to a new serving cell, for example, due to UE mobility, changes in wireless medium conditions, and / or any of a variety of other possible reasons.

[0111] At least according to some embodiments, the UE may establish multiple wireless links, for example, with multiple TRPs of a cellular network based on a multi-TRP configuration. Figure 6A UE having a wireless link with two TRPs according to some embodiments is illustrated. It should be understood that these links may involve several (e.g., unified) TCI states. For example, the UE may use a first DL TCI and a first UL TCI with TRP#1 and a second DL TCI and a second UL TCI with TRP#2. It should be understood that the UE may alternatively use a joint TCI state with one or two TRPs, for example, a first joint TCI state with TRP#1 and a second joint TCI state with TRP#2. TRP#1 and #2 may be associated with the same or different base stations. TRP#1 and #2 may be associated with the same or different cells.

[0112] In at least some instances, establishing a wireless link may include activating a multi-TRP communication scheme. For example, any scheme discussed above or otherwise supported by NR (e.g., Release 16, Release 17, and / or later versions) may be used as needed.

[0113] In at least some instances, establishing the wireless link may include the UE providing capability and / or preference information of the UE. Such information may include information related to any of a plurality of types of UE capabilities / preferences. In at least some instances, establishing the wireless link may include the UE exchanging configuration information with the network. Among various possibilities, the configuration information, preference and / or capability information may include information related to an indication (e.g., activation, deactivation and / or selection) of one or more TCI states for communication. For example, the UE may indicate a preference for a preferred mode or configuration for selection of a TCI state among various possibilities.

[0114] According to some embodiments, the network may configure TCI states (503). TCI states may be organized in one or more lists or pools. For example, the Rel-17 unified TCI state framework may support two modes:

[0115] Mode 1: Joint TCI, e.g., a single TCI applicable to both DL and UL; and

[0116] Mode 2: Independent TCI, eg, DL TCI for DL ​​and UL TCI for UL.

[0117] For example, to support both modes of unified TCI, the network may configure one or two lists or pools of TCI states, such as: 1) a state list that can be used for joint and / or DL ​​(e.g., dl-OrJoint-TCIStateList); and 2) a UL-only state list (e.g., ul-TCI-StateList). Figure 7Two such TCI pools are illustrated according to some embodiments. As shown, according to Mode 1, a set of joint TCI states may be configured. According to Mode 2, a set of TCI states including both DL and UL TCI states may be configured.

[0118] The TCI states in the list / pool may correspond to the UE and one or more TRPs (e.g. Figure 6 The TCI state may include UL, DL and / or joint TCI states associated with a TRP.

[0119] Among various possibilities, the configuration of a TCI state may include or describe features such as quasi co-location (QCL) relationships, QCL parameters (e.g., Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial Rx filter, etc.), precoding index, beam, antenna weighting, and / or relative phases of different antennas. Individual TCI states may be identified by index values.

[0120] According to some embodiments, the network may indicate the configured TCI state to the UE (504). For example, the network may send configuration information describing the TCI state to the UE, for example via RRC. In the configuration information, the TCI states may or may not be grouped in a list / pool. The UE may receive the indication and may configure the TCI state.

[0121] It should be understood that the configuration of TCI states (e.g., in 503 and 504) may be different from the activation (e.g., and / or deactivation) and selection of TCI states. Activation of TCI states is further discussed below with respect to 510 and 512. Selection of TCI states is further discussed below with respect to 514, 522, and 526. For example, in 503 and 504, multiple TCI states may be configured. A subset of these states may be activated, for example, semi-statically or dynamically (e.g., in 510 and 512). Another subset may then be selected for a particular communication (e.g., dynamically) (e.g., in 514, 522, and 526).

[0122] According to some embodiments, the network may determine TCI configuration and / or pattern information (506). The configuration and / or pattern information may be applicable to DL communications. The network may determine any or all of the configuration and / or pattern information for data communications (e.g., PDSCH), transmission of downlink control information (DCI) (e.g., PDCCH), and / or provision of DL reference signals (e.g., CSI-RS, CSI-IM, etc.). For example, the modes / configurations for these types of communications may be determined together (e.g., they may be the same or similar) and / or independently (e.g., they may be independent of each other, regardless of whether they are similar). In addition, modes / configurations may be determined for various more specific types of communications, such as PDSCH scheduled via dynamic grant, semi-persistent PDSCH, different types / uses of CSI-RS, etc. Again, these may be determined together and / or independently.

[0123] The configuration and / or mode information may be used by the UE and the network to determine (e.g., dynamically) which TCI state(s) may be used for a particular DL communication / transmission. In other words, the UE and / or the network may use the configuration and / or mode information (e.g., during later steps such as 514, 522, 526, etc.) to select a TCI state to be used for sending / receiving / monitoring one or more DL transmissions. As discussed further below, the UE and the network may also use additional information to select a TCI state; therefore, it should be understood that the mode / configuration information may be different from one or more TCI states. Note that the selected TCI state may be any type combination. For example, when two unified TCI states are indicated for (e.g., single DCI) multi-TRP DL operation, the two unified TCI states may be any of the following options: two joint TCI states; two independent DL (e.g., DL only) TCI states; or one joint TCI state and one independent DL TCI state. Similarly, other numbers of TCI states (e.g., one, three, or more) may be selected in any type combination.

[0124] It should be understood that the network may determine the configuration and / or mode information based on any of a variety of factors. As one possibility, the configuration / mode may be set in a standard (e.g., 3GPP). As another possibility, the configuration may be selected based on the location of the UE, network traffic, other configurations of the UE, movement of the UE, capabilities / preferences of the UE, etc. The configuration and / or mode information may change from time to time, for example, periodically and / or as needed.

[0125] As one possibility, the configuration and / or mode information may include a selection of one of a plurality of modes. Note that the same or different modes may be selected for different types of communications (e.g., PDSCH and PDCCH may use the same or different modes). In some embodiments, there may be 4 modes. Fig.12 Four modes and their indications according to some embodiments are illustrated. As shown, the mode can be indicated using a 2-bit indication (e.g., {b1, b0}). The indication of the mode is further discussed below. As one possibility, the configuration and / or mode information can directly indicate the mode to be used for one or more types of communication. As another possibility, the configuration and / or mode information can indicate the signaling method for how / when the mode can be indicated. For example, the configuration and / or mode information can specify that the mode can be indicated by one or more of RRC, medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), and / or DCI signaling.

[0126] Two of the four modes may include selecting a single TCI state for DL ​​transmission. The specific TCI state selected may depend on the ranking of the active (e.g., DL or joint) TCI states. In other words, one of the modes (e.g., Mode 1) may include selecting the first TCI state according to the ranking, and the other of the modes (e.g., Mode 2) may include selecting the last TCI state according to the ranking.

[0127] As one possibility, the active TCI states may be sorted based on the TCI state index value. For example, according to mode 1, the TCI state with the lowest TCI state index may be selected, while according to mode 2, the TCI state with the highest TCI state index may be selected. As another possibility, the active TCI states may be sorted based on the order of the TCI states in the indication of the active TCI states (note that the activation of TCI states is further discussed below with respect to 510 and 512). For example, a message indicating a list of active (e.g., for DL) TCI states may include index values ​​of several TCI states in sequential order. This order may be used to select the active TCI state. Other means of sorting the TCI states may be used as needed.

[0128] Two of the four modes may include selecting two TCI states for DL ​​transmission. Similar to the modes discussed above, the TCI states may be selected based on the ranking of the activity (e.g., DL or joint). In other words, one of the modes (e.g., mode 3) may include selecting the first two TCI states based on the ranking, and the other of the modes (e.g., mode 4) may include selecting the last two TCI states based on the ranking.

[0129] In addition, according to these modes, different TCI states may be used differently depending on the ordering. How they are used differently may depend on the active multi-TRP scheme. For example, the selected different TCI states may be used according to the ordering of different TDM, FDM and / or code division multiplexing (CDM) aspects of the DL transmission. For example, in the case of mode 3, the first TCI state may be used for the first / lowest CDM group (e.g., in the case of CDM), the first / lowest physical resource group (PRG) or lower frequency (e.g., in the case of FDM), and / or the first transmission in time (e.g., in the case of TDM). The second TCI state may be used for the second CDM group, the second PRG / frequency, and / or the second transmission in time. In the case of mode 4, the relationship may be reversed. In other words, the last TCI state may be used for the first CDM group, the first PRG and / or the first transmission in time, and the second to last TCI state may be used for the second CDM group, the second PRG / frequency and / or the second transmission in time.

[0130] It should be understood that additional modes may be used as desired. For example, if more than 2 TCI states are available for DL ​​communication, additional modes may be used. However, similar principles (e.g., different modes for different numbers of TCI states, where states are selected based on ordering) may be applied to describe related modes. For example, mode 3 as discussed above may be expanded to include selecting the first three TCI states, for example, based on any desired means of ordering the TCI states. Similarly, additional bits may be used to indicate the mode depending on the number of possible modes used.

[0131] Note that, according to some embodiments, a mode may be a means / method for determining / selecting a TCI state. Thus, determining a mode may be different from determining a TCI state.

[0132] Various aspects of configuration and / or mode information for various types of DL communications are presented below.

[0133] First, consider shared channel communications such as dynamic grant (DG) PDSCH. When two unified TCI states are activated / indicated for single DCI multi-TRP DL operation, for DG PDSCH scheduled by DCI (e.g., format 1_1 or 1_2), a signaling (e.g., RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, etc.) solution may be introduced to switch / change between modes. In this example, the modes discussed above may be described as: Mode 1: single TRP DL operation using a first unified TCI state (first TRP); Mode 2: single TRP DL operation using a second unified TCI state (second TRP); Mode 3: multi-TRP DL operation using two unified TCI states (e.g., sending the first TCI state before the second TCI state); and Mode 4: multi-TRP DL operation using two unified TCI states (e.g., sending the second TCI state before the first TCI state). Note that for this purpose, the previous may include a lower CDM group, a lower PRG or a lower frequency, and / or be earlier in time.

[0134] As described above, the configuration and / or mode information may include specifications for how / when the mode may be indicated. As one possibility, RRC signaling may be used to select / indicate the mode. As another possibility, MAC-CE signaling may be used. As another possibility, an indication in the DCI may be used. The indication may be included in the scheduling DCI and / or in different DCIs. For example, when two unified TCI states are activated / indicated for single DCI multi-TRP DL operation, for DGPDSCH scheduled by DCI (format 1_1 or 1_2), two bits, such as {b1, b0}, may be introduced in the scheduling DCI. The two-bit indication may be introduced as a new field or an existing field may be reused. The interpretation of {b1, b0} may be as follows: Fig.12 Similar indications may be used in RRC messages and / or MAC-CE.

[0135] In addition, depending on the active multi-TRP scheme, modes 3 and 4 may have some additional similarities. For example, when PDSCH is configured with sfnSchemePDSCH = "sfnSchemeA", modes 3 and 4 may have the same meaning. Therefore, the indication of mode 4 (e.g., {1,1}) may be retained.

[0136] Similarly, when the PDSCH is configured with sfnSchemePDSCH = "sfnSchemeB", modes 3 and 4 may have the same or similar meanings. Therefore, in the first option, the indication of mode 4 (e.g., {1,1}) may be retained. However, in some embodiments (e.g., according to the second option), different indications may be used to indicate which TRP can perform frequency compensation. For example, the indication {1,0} may indicate that the first TRP (e.g., associated with the first TCI) can perform frequency compensation. Therefore, QCL parameters (e.g., Doppler shift and / or Doppler spread) may be discarded from the first TCI state. Similarly, the indication {1,1} may indicate that the second / last TRP can perform frequency compensation and the QCL parameters may be discarded from the second TCI state.

[0137] In addition, consider semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) shared channel communications, such as PDSCH. Similar to DG PDSCH, when two unified TCI states are activated / indicated for single DCI multi-TRP DL operation, for SPS PDSCH (e.g., activated by DCI format 1_1 or 1_2), similar solutions as discussed above for DG PDSCH can be used. The network can determine independent / separate configuration and / or mode information DG PDSCH and SPS PDSCH.

[0138] In addition, control information communication such as PDCCH is considered. The UE may monitor (e.g., according to a resource group such as a control resource group (CORESET) or a search space set (SSS)) the PDCCH without knowing in advance whether the PDCCH is reachable. Therefore, the configuration and / or mode information for the PDCCH may involve different and / or additional considerations relative to the PDSCH.

[0139] Configuration and / or mode information for the PDCCH may be configured on a per resource group or per resource group pool basis. For example, the configuration and / or mode information may be determined per CORESET, per SSS, per group / pool of CORESETs, and / or per group / pool of SSSs. Similarly, as discussed above with respect to the PDSCH, the configuration and / or mode information may include an indication of whether / how the TCI state mode may be configured. Various examples of whether / how the TCI state mode may be configured are discussed below.

[0140] In some embodiments, when multiple unified TCI states are activated / indicated for multi-TRP DL operation, TCI state configuration / indication for PDCCH can be performed via RRC.

[0141] As one possibility for an RRC configured resource group (e.g., CORESET or SSS), the network may configure whether the corresponding resource group will follow a first TCI state, a second TCI state, etc. It should be noted that the first and second / last TCI states (and similar terms) may refer to TCI state ordering based on an index, included in an activation message, or other ordering system (see the above discussion of ordering with respect to PDSCH). A resource group may be configured with multiple TCI states. In the case where multiple TCI states are configured for a resource group, the UE may monitor them simultaneously, for example, on the same frequency and / or simultaneously. Alternatively, one resource group may be monitored for some time or frequency, and other resource groups may be monitored at other times and / or other frequencies (e.g., with order considerations as discussed above with respect to modes 3 and 4 with respect to PDSCH).

[0142] As another possibility for resource groups configured by RRC, two or more resource group pools may be configured. According to some embodiments, Fig.13 Instantiates a CORESET grouped into pools and Fig.14 SSS grouped into pools is illustrated. As shown, according to some embodiments, three resource groups (1-3) may be grouped into two pools (e.g., with pool index values ​​0 and 1). Different groupings may be used as desired, including, for example, for more pools and / or resource groups.

[0143] A pool of resource groups may be configured as discussed above for individual resource groups. For example, a resource group in a first pool may use a first TCI state, a resource group in a second pool may use a second TCI state, etc. A resource group may be in multiple pools, for example, meaning that a resource group in the pool may be configured with multiple TCI states. Similarly, a pool of resource groups may be configured with multiple TCI states. Again, a UE may monitor such resource groups simultaneously and / or based on multiplexing and order considerations as discussed above.

[0144] In some embodiments, when multiple unified TCI states are activated / indicated for multi-TRP DL operation, TCI state configuration / indication for PDCCH can be performed via MAC-CE. Fig.15A MAC-CE that can be used to provide such indications of TCI configuration and / or mode information for a resource group according to some embodiments is illustrated. The MAC-CE may include, for example, a 5-bit identifier (ID) of a serving cell to which the MAC CE applies. The MAC-CE may include, for example, a 4-bit ID of a resource group (e.g., CORESET or SSS) or a resource group pool (e.g., a resource group ID) to which the MAC CE applies. R may indicate a reserved bit. In some embodiments, an additional bit may be added (or a reserved bit may be used) to indicate one or more additional resource group IDs to which the MAC CE applies. In addition, the MAC-CE may include two or more bits (e.g., {b1, b0}) to indicate the mode of a resource group (e.g., or set or pool). For example, similar to the above example, {0,0} may indicate mode 1 and the first TCI state may be used; {0,1} may indicate mode 2 and the last TCI state may be used; and {1,0} and {1,1} may indicate the use of multiple TCI states. Similar to the PDSCH example, when the PDCCH is configured with sfnSchemePDCCH = "sfnSchemeB", {1,0} and {1,1} may have similar or identical meanings. As a first possibility, the QCL parameters {Doppler shift and / or Doppler spread} may be discarded from the second / last TCI state. As a second possibility, {1,0} may indicate that the QCL parameters are discarded from the first TCI state, while {1,1} may indicate that the QCL parameters are discarded from the second / last TCI state.

[0145] In addition, reference signal communication such as CSI-RS is considered. CSI-RS (e.g., non-zero power CSI-RS (NZP-CSI-RS-resource)) can be classified in at least two different ways. For example, CSI-RS can be classified based on usage as: CSI-RS for tracking (e.g., tracking RS (TRS)); CSI-RS for CSI; or CSI-RS for beam management (BM). In addition, CSI-RS can be classified based on time domain behavior as: periodic CSI-RS, semi-persistent (SP) CSI-RS, or aperiodic CSI-RS.

[0146] When two or more unified TCI states are activated / indicated for multi-TRP DL operation, for aperiodic CSI-RS, the TCI state mode may be indicated by RRC (e.g., in 506 / 508 and / or subsequently). For example, a new 1-bit field may be introduced in an information element (IE) such as CSI-AssociatedReportConfigInfo. The new 1-bit field may be a unifiedTCI_index field, as shown in the following example:

[0147] CSI-AssociatedReportConfigInfo::=SEQUENCE{

[0148] reportConfigId CSI-ReportConfigId,

[0149] unifiedTCI_index ENUMERATED{0,1}Optional

[0150] …

[0151] }

[0152] The 1-bit field may be an indication similar to indicating one of the first mode or the second mode discussed above. For example, if the 1-bit field is 0, mode 1 may be indicated (e.g., the first TCI state may be used), and if the 1-bit field is 1, mode 2 may be indicated (e.g., the second / last TCI state may be used). Note that the first and second / last TCI states (and similar terms) may refer to TCI state ordering based on an index, included in an activation message, or other ordering system (see the above ordering discussion relative to PDSCH). If a higher specificity associated with selecting one or more TCI states is desired, additional bits may be used as needed, for example to indicate a suitable mode (or TCI state). For example, a mode may be indicated to select multiple TCI states and / or TCI states in other positions in an ordered list of TCI states.

[0153] It should be noted that the above method for aperiodic CSI-RS may not be applicable to aperiodic CSI-RS used for tracking (TRS).

[0154] As another possibility, when two or more unified TCI states are activated / indicated for multi-TRP DL operation, for non-periodic CSI-RS, the TCI state mode may be indicated by DCI (e.g., in 506 / 508 and / or subsequently). For example, a new 1-bit field may be introduced in the DCI message. The 1-bit field may be an indication similar to one of the first mode or the second mode discussed above. For example, if the 1-bit field is 0, mode 1 (e.g., the first TCI state may be used), and if the 1-bit field is 1, mode 2 (e.g., the second / last TCI state may be used) may be indicated. It should be noted that the first and second / last TCI states (and similar terms) may refer to TCI state ordering based on an index, included in an activation message, or other ordering system (see the above ordering discussion relative to PDSCH). If a higher specificity associated with selecting one or more TCI states is desired, additional bits may be used as needed, for example to indicate a suitable mode (or TCI state). For example, a mode may be indicated to select multiple TCI states and / or TCI states in other positions in an ordered list of TCI states.

[0155] When two or more unified TCI states are activated / indicated for multi-TRP DL operation, for periodic CSIRS, the TCI state mode may be indicated by RRC (e.g., in 506 / 508 and / or subsequently). For example, a new 1-bit field (e.g., unifiedTCI_index) may be introduced in an IE such as NZP-CSI-RS-Resource, as shown in the following example:

[0156]

[0157]

[0158] Similar to the aperiodic CSI-RS, the 1-bit field may be an indication similar to indicating one of the first mode or the second mode discussed above. For example, if the 1-bit field is 0, mode 1 (e.g., the first TCI state may be used) may be indicated, and if the 1-bit field is 1, mode 2 (e.g., the second / last TCI state may be used) may be indicated. Again, additional bits may be used as needed.

[0159] When two or more unified TCI states are activated / indicated for multi-TRP DL operation, TCI state mode information may be signaled by MAC-CE for semi-persistent (SP) CSI-RS. The mode may be determined / described in the TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., which may be indicated later by MAC-CE). Fig.16An enhanced MAC-CE that may be introduced for a semi-persistent CSI-RS according to some embodiments is illustrated. The field "A / D" may indicate whether the indicated SP CSI-RS and / or CSI-IM resource set is activated or deactivated. The 5-bit serving cell ID field may indicate the serving cell to which the MAC CE applies. The 2-bit bandwidth part (BWP) ID may indicate the BWP to which the MAC CE applies. The IM field may indicate the presence (or absence) of an SP CSI-IM resource set. The SP CSI-RS resource set ID field may indicate the ID of the SP CSI-RS resource set, and the SP CSI-IM resource set ID field may indicate the ID of the SP CSI-IM resource set. One or more reserved bits (R) may be included. Similar to the CSI example above, a 1-bit indicator may be included to indicate the mode (e.g., {b1, b0}) used for each of the SP-CSI-RS and SP-CSI IM. For example, b1 may indicate a mode for SP CSI-RS resource sets, and b0 may indicate a mode for SP CSI-IM resource sets, if indicated (e.g., b0 may be omitted if CSI-IM is not indicated in the IM field and / or the CSI-IM resource set ID field). For b0 or b1, the interpretation may be as discussed above, e.g., 0 may indicate that the first activated / indicated TCI state may be used, and 1 may indicate that the second / last activated / indicated TCI state may be used.

[0160] It should be understood that various bit values ​​(e.g., {b0, b1}) and associated interpretations are discussed herein, however these are examples. Other interpretations of bit values ​​(e.g., the interpretations of b1 and b0 can be reversed, etc.) and / or other forms of indication (e.g., including more or fewer bits) may be used as desired.

[0161] According to some embodiments, the network may send one or more indications of TCI configuration and / or mode information to the UE (508). The network may use any type or combination of types of signaling and any number of messages to send the TCI configuration and / or mode information. For example, the network may use RRC, MAC-CE and / or DCI signaling. The network may send the TCI configuration and / or mode information in any number of parts. For example, different messages may carry information for different types of DL communications. Multiple messages may be used to carry information about the same type of DL communication.

[0162] The network may send the TCI configuration and / or mode information at the same time (e.g., in the same or different message) and / or at a different time as the TCI state (e.g., in 504) and / or the indication of TCI state activation (e.g., 512). Similarly, the TCI configuration and / or mode information may be sent with other information. For example, the TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., or part of the information related to resource groups) may be sent with the configuration of resource groups. Similarly, the TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., or part of the information related to reference signals) may be sent with the configuration of reference signals. For example, such information may be sent in the same RRC IE or MAC-CE.

[0163] The UE may receive TCI configuration and / or mode information.

[0164] Among the various possibilities, the method of sending and receiving TCI configuration and / or mode information can be summarized as follows. For configuration and / or mode information for PDSCH: any combination of RRC, MAC-CE and / or DCI can be used as needed. For configuration and / or mode information for PDCCH, RRC and / or MAC-CE can be used. For configuration and / or mode information for PDSCH: any combination of RRC, MAC-CE and / or DCI can be used as needed. An example method for different types of CSI-RS can be: RRC for periodic CSI-RS, MAC-CE for semi-persistent CSI-RS, and DCI for non-periodic CSI-RS. However, different implementation schemes and methods from those outlined in this paragraph may be used as needed.

[0165] According to some embodiments, the network may select one or more TCI states to activate (510). For example, the network may determine to modify the active TCI state list (e.g., by adding and / or subtracting active TCI states), maintain (e.g., not change) the active TCI state list, and / or create a new active TCI state list. The network may select the TCI state based on any combination of factors such as the location and / or motion of the UE, measurements reported by the UE, measurements performed at one or more TRPs, preferences reported by the UE, etc.

[0166] In some embodiments, the network may activate different TCI states (or different groups of TCI states) for different types of communications. For example, the network may activate one state or one group of TCI states for PDSCH / data communications and another state or another group of TCI states for reference signals (e.g., including the same or different number of TCI states), etc.

[0167] According to some embodiments, the network may indicate an active TCI state to the UE (512). The network may use signaling of any type or combination of types to send one or more indications of active (and / or deactivated) TCI states. For example, the network may use RRC, MAC-CE, and / or DCI signaling. The network may send an indication of the TCI state at the same time (e.g., in the same or different message) and / or at a different time as the configuration of the TCI state (e.g., in 504) and / or the indication of the TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., in 512). Various possibilities for indication of the active TCI state are discussed further below.

[0168] In Rel-17, for the unified TCI framework, two solutions may be supported for TCI indication / activation: 1) based on MAC-CE, and 2) based on MAC-CE+DCI.

[0169] Figure 8 The process of indicating the active TCI state by MAC-CE in the context of joint TCI mode according to some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the TCI state pool can be configured by RRC (e.g., in 503, 504). Then (e.g., in 510, 512), the network can determine that one or more of these TCI states are active, and can send a MAC-CE to the UE to indicate that the TCI state is active. In the context of single TRP mode, the UE can use the (e.g., single) active TCI state for subsequent communications, for example, until the active TCI changes. In the context of multi-TRP mode, the UE can consider multiple TCI states that are active based on MAC-CE, and can determine which active TCI state to use at a specific time or for a specific communication, as further discussed herein.

[0170] Fig. 9The process of indicating the active TCI state by MAC-CE in the context of independent TCI mode according to some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the TCI state pool can be configured by RRC (e.g., in 503, 504). Then (e.g., in 510, 512), the network can determine one or more UL TCI states and one or more DL TCI states and send a MAC-CE to the UE to indicate that the selected TCI state is active. In the context of a single TRP mode, the UE can use the (e.g., single) active DL TCI state for subsequent DL communications, for example, until the active DL TCI changes. The same may be true for the UL (e.g., it may be a different TCI). In the context of a multi-TRP mode, the UE may consider multiple DL TCI states that are active based on MAC-CE, and may determine which active DL TCI state to use at a specific time or for a specific communication, as further discussed herein. Similarly, according to some embodiments, multiple UL TCI states may be considered active.

[0171] Fig.10 The process of indicating active TCI states by MAC-CE and DCI in the context of joint TCI mode according to some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the TCI state pool can be configured by RRC (e.g., in 503, 504). Then (e.g., in 510, 512), the network can determine one or more of these TCI states and send a MAC-CE to the UE to indicate that the TCI state is active. The MAC-CE can set the code point for the active TCI state. Subsequent DCI messages can indicate one or more of the code points, and the UE can regard the TCI state corresponding to the indicated code point as active. In some embodiments, a code point can correspond to more than one TCI state, so by indicating a single code point, the network can activate more than one joint TCI state (and the UE can activate the TCI state accordingly).

[0172] Fig.11 The process of indicating active TCI state by MAC-CE and DCI in the context of independent TCI mode according to some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the TCI state pool can be configured by RRC (e.g., in 503, 504). Then (e.g., in 510, 512), the network can determine one or more UL TCI states and one or more DL TCI states and send a MAC-CE to the UE to indicate that the TCI state is active. The MAC-CE can set the code point for the active TCI state. Subsequent DCI messages can indicate one or more of the code points, and the UE can regard the TCI state corresponding to the indicated code point as active. As described above, a code point can correspond to more than one (e.g., joint, DL and / or UL) TCI state.

[0173] The UE may receive the indication and may consider the corresponding TCI state as active.

[0174] According to some embodiments, the UE and the network may determine one or more TCI states to monitor / use for control information (514). The UE and the network may each (e.g., independently of each other) make the same determination / selection of TCI states.

[0175] The UE and / or the network may consider TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., discussed with respect to 506 and 508) and / or active DL or joint TCI state (e.g., discussed with respect to 510 and 512). To the extent that the TCI configuration and / or mode information and / or active DL or joint TCI state include information and / or state indicated for receiving / monitoring PDCCH or control information, the UE and / or the network may specifically consider the relevant information and / or state.

[0176] For example, the UE and / or the network may determine a mode for selecting a TCI state for control channel monitoring based on the TCI configuration and / or mode information. Among various possibilities, the mode may be any of the modes discussed above for control information. Based on the mode and active (e.g., DL or joint) TCI state, the UE and / or the network may determine one or more TCI states for control channel monitoring / transmission.

[0177] For example, as discussed above, the UE and / or the network may command an active (e.g., DL or joint) TCI state. The UE and / or the network may then select one or more of the active TCI states based on the order. The mode and / or selection (e.g., first or last, etc.) may be configured for a particular resource group (e.g., CORESET, SSS) or a pool of resource groups, for example, in the TCI configuration and / or mode information. For example, in one mode, the UE and / or the network may select a first TCI state for a resource group (according to the order). Alternatively, (e.g., in a different mode or as configured for a resource group), the UE may select multiple TCI states (e.g., first and second, etc., according to the order).

[0178] According to some embodiments, the UE may monitor the control information (515). For example, at a time / frequency resource associated with a resource group for which the UE is configured to monitor control information, the UE may monitor the determined TCI state (e.g., in 514). The UE may monitor a control channel such as a PDCCH. To monitor the TCI state, the UE may tune its antenna and / or other receiving and / or transmitting circuitry according to the TCI state.

[0179] In some embodiments, during monitoring, the UE may adjust the QCL parameters (e.g., Doppler shift and / or spread) or may not adjust the QCL parameters, for example, depending on whether the QCL parameters are discarded for the corresponding TCI state. For example, when the PDCCH is configured as sfnSchemeB mode, the QCL attributes of {Doppler spread, Doppler shift} may be discarded from the first TCI state (e.g., associated with the first TRP) to take into account the frequency compensation performed at different TRPs. For example, when transmitting and / or receiving in the first TCI state, the first TRP and / or UE may not adjust for Doppler spread or Doppler shift. When transmitting and / or receiving in the second TCI state (e.g., associated with the second TRP), the second TRP and / or UE may adjust the Doppler spread or Doppler shift. For which state to discard the QCL parameters may depend on the TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., {b1, b0} in the MAC-CE associated with the relevant resource group).

[0180] It should be understood that the UE may monitor one or more resource groups. For different resource groups, the UE may monitor the same or different TCI states.

[0181] In some embodiments, one or more resource groups may be associated with multiple TCI states per resource group (eg, determined according to configuration and / or mode information). For such resource groups, the UE may monitor all associated TCI states.

[0182] According to some embodiments, the network may send configuration information to the UE (516). For example, the network may transmit using the determined TCI state (e.g., in 514) at any time / frequency resource associated with the resource group for which the UE is configured to monitor control information. To transmit using the TCI state, the network may tune its antenna and / or other receiving and / or transmitting circuitry (e.g., at one or more TRPs) according to the TCI state. The control information may be sent on a control channel such as a PDCCH.

[0183] In some embodiments, during transmission, the network may adjust QCL parameters (e.g., Doppler shift and / or spread) or may not adjust QCL parameters, for example, depending on whether QCL parameters are discarded for the corresponding TCI state.

[0184] It should be understood that the network may send control information on one or more resource groups. For different resource groups, the network may use the same or different TCI states.

[0185] In some embodiments, one or more resource groups may be associated with multiple TCI states per resource group (eg, determined based on configuration and / or mode information). For such resource groups, the network may transmit on any or all associated TCI states.

[0186] The UE may receive control information. The control information may include one or more DCI messages.

[0187] According to some embodiments, the network may schedule a first shared channel communication (518). For example, the first shared channel communication may be a DL data communication, for example, communicated via a PDSCH. The first shared channel communication may be scheduled via a dynamic grant (DG) and / or semi-statically (e.g., SPS PDSCH).

[0188] The network may send a grant or other scheduling message to the UE to schedule the first shared channel transmission.The grant / scheduling message may be sent in 516 and / or at a different time.

[0189] According to some embodiments, the UE and the network may select one or more TCI states for the first shared channel communication (522). The UE and the network may each (eg, independently of each other) make the same determination / selection of the TCI state.

[0190] The UE and / or the network may consider TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., discussed with respect to 506 and 508) and / or active DL or joint TCI status (e.g., discussed with respect to 510 and 512). To the extent that the TCI configuration and / or mode information and / or active DL or joint TCI status include information and / or status specifically for receiving data, PDSCH and / or shared channel communications, the UE and / or the network may specifically consider the relevant information and / or status.

[0191] In some embodiments, some or all of the TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., discussed with respect to 506 and 508) may be included in one or more DCI messages that schedule the first shared channel information (e.g., discussed with respect to 518). For example, as discussed above, two bits (e.g., {b1, b0}) may be included in one or more DCI messages to indicate a mode for the scheduled communication (e.g., the first shared channel communication).

[0192] For example, the UE and / or the network may determine a mode for selecting a TCI state for shared channel communication based on the TCI configuration and / or mode information. Among various possibilities, the mode may be any of the modes discussed above for shared channel communication. Based on the mode and the active (e.g., DL or joint) TCI state, the UE and / or the network may determine one or more TCI states for shared channel communication.

[0193] For example, as discussed above, the UE and / or the network may command an active (e.g., DL or joint) TCI state. The UE and / or the network may then select one or more of the active TCI states based on the order. The mode and / or selection (e.g., first or last, etc.) may be configured for the DG PDSCH, for example, in the TCI configuration and / or mode information. For example, in one mode, the UE and / or the network may select a first TCI state (according to the order). In another mode, the UE and / or the network may select multiple TCI states (e.g., according to the order, first and second, etc.) and may use different TCI states differently (e.g., for different CDM groups, PRGs / frequencies and / or transmit times, for example, depending on the active multi-TRP scheme).

[0194] According to some embodiments, the network may send a first shared channel communication to the UE (524). The UE may receive the transmission of the first shared channel communication. The network may use the selected TCI state to perform the transmission, and the UE may use the selected TCI state to receive the transmission. In order to receive the transmission, the UE may tune its antenna and / or other receiving and / or transmitting circuits according to the TCI state. Similarly, the network (e.g., TRP) may tune the corresponding antenna and circuit to send the first shared channel communication according to the TCI state.

[0195] In some embodiments, the UE and / or the network may adjust QCL parameters (e.g., Doppler shift and / or spread) or may not adjust QCL parameters, for example, depending on whether the QCL parameters are discarded for the corresponding TCI state. For example, when the PDSCH is configured as sfnSchemeA or sfnSchemeB mode, the QCL attributes of {Doppler spread, Doppler shift} may be discarded from the first TCI state (e.g., associated with the first TRP) to take into account the frequency compensation performed at different TRPs. For example, when transmitting and / or receiving in the first TCI state, the first TRP and / or the UE may not adjust for Doppler spread or Doppler shift. When transmitting and / or receiving in the second TCI state (e.g., associated with the second TRP), the second TRP and / or the UE may adjust the Doppler spread or Doppler shift. For which state to discard the QCL parameters may depend on the TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., {b1, b0} in the scheduling DCI).

[0196] According to some embodiments, the UE and / or the network may determine one or more TCI states to monitor for the reference signal (526). The UE and the network may each (e.g., independently of each other) make the same determination / selection of TCI states for the RS.

[0197] The UE and / or the network may consider TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., discussed with respect to 506 and 508) and / or active DL or joint TCI status (e.g., discussed with respect to 510 and 512). To the extent that TCI configuration and / or mode information and / or active DL or joint TCI status include information and / or status specifically for RS, the UE and / or the network may specifically consider the relevant information and / or status.

[0198] For example, the UE and / or the network may determine a mode for selecting a TCI state for shared channel communication based on the TCI configuration and / or mode information. Among various possibilities, the mode may be any of the modes discussed above for RS communication. Based on the mode and active (e.g., DL or joint) TCI state, the UE and / or the network may determine one or more TCI states for RS communication.

[0199] For example, as discussed above, the UE and / or network may command an active (e.g., DL or joint) TCI state. The UE and / or network may then select one or more of the active TCI states based on the order. The mode and / or selection (e.g., first or last, etc.) may be configured for general RS RS or one or more specific types of RS, for example, in the TCI configuration and / or mode information. For example, in one mode, the UE and / or network may select a first TCI state (according to the order). In another mode, the UE and / or network may select a different TCI state (e.g., second / last, etc., according to the order).

[0200] It should be understood that separate determinations may be made for different types of RS (e.g., SP CSI-RS, SP CSI-IM, aperiodic CSI-RS, periodic CSI-RS, etc.) These different types may use the same or different patterns and the same or different TCI states.

[0201] According to some embodiments, the network may send a reference signal (528). The UE may receive the transmission of the RS. The UE may perform measurements, tracking, etc. based on the RS. One or more types / purposes of RS may be sent / received at the same and / or different times.

[0202] The network may use the selected TCI state to perform transmission, and the UE may use the selected TCI state to receive transmission. To receive transmission, the UE may tune its antenna and / or other receiving and / or transmitting circuits according to the TCI state. Similarly, the network (e.g., TRP) may tune the corresponding antenna and circuit to send RS according to the TCI state.

[0203] In some embodiments, different TCI states may be used for different types / purposes of RS.

[0204] In some embodiments, the UE and / or the network may adjust QCL parameters (e.g., Doppler shift and / or spread) or may not adjust QCL parameters, for example, depending on whether the QCL parameters are discarded for the corresponding TCI state. For example, when the RS is configured as sfnSchemeA or sfnSchemeB mode, the QCL attributes of {Doppler spread, Doppler shift} may be discarded from the first TCI state (e.g., associated with the first TRP) to take into account the frequency compensation performed at different TRPs. For example, when sending, receiving and / or measuring in the first TCI state, the first TRP and / or UE may not adjust for Doppler spread or Doppler shift. When sending, receiving and / or measuring in the second TCI state (e.g., associated with the second TRP), the second TRP and / or UE may adjust the Doppler spread or Doppler shift. For which state to discard QCL parameters may depend on TCI configuration and / or mode information (e.g., {b1, b0} in MAC-CE).

[0205] Thus, at least according to some embodiments, Figure 5 The method can be used to provide a framework according to which the UE and the network can select one or more TCI states (e.g., from multiple active TCI states that may be associated with multiple TRPs) for DL ​​communication, and thereby be used to assist the network in effectively and efficiently scheduling and performing wireless communications with the UE, at least in some instances.

[0206] It should be understood that although various examples are provided with respect to two TCI states and / or two TRPs, Figure 5 The method can be applied to different (e.g., a larger number of) states and / or TRPs. For example, with respect to the 1-bit and / or 2-bit indications discussed above with respect to PDCCH, PDSCH, and RS, if greater specificity associated with selecting one or more TCI states is desired, additional bits can be used as needed, for example to indicate a suitable mode (or TCI state). For example, a mode can be indicated to select multiple TCI states and / or TCI states in other positions in an ordered list of TCI states.

[0207] It should be understood that the determinations in 514, 522, and 526 are independent of each other. In other words, the same or different TCI states may be used for control channels (e.g., PDCCH), shared channels / data (e.g., PDSCH), and / or reference signals (e.g., CSI-RS, CSI-IM, etc.). In addition, it should be noted that any of these determinations may occur simultaneously, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. For example, Figure 5The method may be performed for any one of the PDCCH, PDSCH and / or RS, and the others may be omitted (e.g., or performed differently than described herein). Similarly, if one of these determinations is omitted or reordered relative to the other determinations, the related steps may be similarly omitted or reordered. For example, if 522 is omitted or reordered, 518 and 524 may be similarly omitted or reordered. Further, it should be understood that for clarity of explanation, the steps related to the individual determinations have been grouped. However, these steps may be performed in different orders or simultaneously. For example, any or all of 518, 526, and 528 may occur before 514, etc.

[0208] It should be understood that Figure 5 The method may be applied to different BWPs, frequency ranges (FRs) (e.g., FR1 and FR2 of NR, etc.), cells, cell groups, RATs, networks, etc. For example, different TCI configurations and / or pattern information may be determined and provided by the network (e.g., in 506, 508), and accordingly, different TCI states may be selected for such different BWPs, FRs, cells, cell groups, RATs, networks, etc. in any of 514, 522, and / or 526.

[0209] It should be appreciated that any of these steps may be repeated any number of times (eg, as the UE moves, for new transmissions, etc.).

[0210] In the following, further exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0211] A set of embodiments may include a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a configuration of multiple transmit configuration indication (TCI) states associated with multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) from a cellular network. The UE may receive an indication of multiple active TCI states for downlink (DL) communications from the cellular network, wherein the multiple active TCI states include a subset of the multiple TCI states. The UE may receive an indication of a first mode of multiple modes for selecting one or more TCI states for DL ​​operation from the cellular network. The UE may receive a first message scheduling a first DL transmission from the cellular network. The UE may select a first TCI state of the multiple active TCI states for receiving the first DL transmission based at least in part on the first mode; and may receive the first DL transmission from at least a first TRP of the multiple TRPs.

[0212] In some embodiments, the plurality of active TCI states include at least one of: a joint TCI state; or a DL-only TCI state.

[0213] In some embodiments, the indication of the first mode is received via at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) message; or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

[0214] In some embodiments, the selecting based on the first mode includes selecting only one TCI state of the plurality of active TCI states for receiving the first DL transmission.

[0215] In some embodiments, the selection based on the first mode includes selecting the first TCI state based on a comparison of a TCI state index value of the first TCI state with corresponding TCI state index values ​​of other TCI states in the plurality of active TCI states.

[0216] In some embodiments, the selection based on the first mode includes selecting the first TCI state based on an order of TCI states in the indication of the plurality of active TCI states.

[0217] In some embodiments, the selecting based on the first mode further includes selecting a second TCI state among the plurality of active TCI states in addition to the first TCI state for receiving the first DL transmission.

[0218] In some embodiments, the selection based on the first mode also includes determining an order of use of the first TCI state relative to use of the second TCI state.

[0219] In some embodiments, the indication of the first mode includes at least two bits in the first message.

[0220] In some embodiments, the first message includes a DCI message.

[0221] A set of embodiments may include a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a configuration of multiple transmit configuration indication (TCI) states associated with multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) from a cellular network. The UE may receive an indication of multiple active TCI states for downlink (DL) communications from the cellular network, wherein the multiple active TCI states include a subset of the multiple TCI states. The UE may receive a configuration of a first resource group for DL ​​control communication operations from the cellular network. The configuration of the first resource group may include an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for monitoring the first resource group. The UE may select a first TCI state from the multiple active TCI states for monitoring the first resource group based at least in part on the configuration of the first resource group; and may use the first TCI state to monitor a control channel on the first resource group.

[0222] In some embodiments, the first resource set includes one of: a first control resource set (CORESET); or a first search space set (SSS).

[0223] In some embodiments, the indication of how to select the TCI state for monitoring the first resource group is selected based on a comparison of a TCI state index value of the first TCI state with corresponding TCI state index values ​​of other TCI states in the multiple active TCI states.

[0224] In some embodiments, the indication of how to select the TCI state for monitoring the first resource group indicates that the selection is based on an order of TCI states in the indication of the plurality of active TCI states.

[0225] In some embodiments, the indication of how to select a TCI state for monitoring the first resource group indicates selecting more than one TCI state of the plurality of active TCI states.

[0226] In some embodiments, the configuration of the first resource group includes configuration of a first resource group pool for DL ​​control communication operations, the first resource group pool including the first resource group.

[0227] In some embodiments, the configuration of the first resource group is received via at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) message; or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

[0228] A set of embodiments may include a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a configuration of multiple transmit configuration indication (TCI) states associated with multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) from a cellular network. The UE may receive an indication of multiple active TCI states for downlink (DL) communications from the cellular network, wherein the multiple active TCI states include a subset of the multiple TCI states. The UE may receive an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for receiving a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) from the cellular network. The UE may select a first TCI state from the multiple active TCI states for receiving the CSI-RS based at least in part on the rule. The UE may receive the CSI-RS from a first TRP from the multiple TRPs using the first TCI state.

[0229] In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving, from the cellular network, an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for receiving a CSI-interference measurement (CSI-IM) reference signal.

[0230] Yet another example embodiment may include a method comprising: performing, by a wireless device, any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0231] Another exemplary embodiment may include a device comprising: an antenna; a radio component coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operably coupled to the radio component, wherein the device is configured to implement any or all portions of the foregoing examples.

[0232] Another set of exemplary embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium including program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0233] Yet another set of exemplary embodiments may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0234] Yet another set of exemplary embodiments may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0235] A further exemplary set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising a processing element configured to cause a wireless device to perform any or all elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0236] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0237] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X sent by the base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y sent by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any of the methods for operating a UE described herein may become the basis for the corresponding method for operating a base station.

[0238] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the subject matter may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs may be used to implement the subject matter. In other embodiments, one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs may be used to implement the subject matter.

[0239] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory storage element) may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any method implementation of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementation of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0240] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium (or a memory element), wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute these program instructions from the memory medium, wherein these program instructions are executable to implement any method implementation in the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementation in the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0241] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: By User Equipment (UE): receiving, from a cellular network, an indication of a plurality of active transmit configuration indication (TCI) states for downlink (DL) communications, wherein the plurality of active TCI states are associated with a plurality of transmit and receive points (TRPs); receiving, from the cellular network, an indication of a first mode of a plurality of modes for selecting one or more TCI states for DL ​​operation; receiving, from the cellular network, a first message scheduling a first DL transmission; selecting, based at least in part on the first mode, a first TCI state of the plurality of active TCI states for receiving the first DL transmission; as well as The first DL transmission is received from at least a first TRP among the multiple TRPs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of active TCI states comprises at least one of: a joint TCI state; or a DL-only TCI state.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the first mode is received via at least one of: Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE).

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection of the first TCI state based on the first mode comprises selecting only one TCI state of the plurality of active TCI states for receiving the first DL transmission.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection of the first TCI state based on the first mode comprises selecting the first TCI state based on a comparison of a TCI state index value of the first TCI state with corresponding TCI state index values ​​of other TCI states in the plurality of active TCI states.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the first TCI state based on the first mode comprises selecting the first TCI state based on an order of TCI states in the indication of the plurality of active TCI states.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting of the first TCI state based on the first mode further comprises selecting a second TCI state among the plurality of active TCI states in addition to the first TCI state for receiving the first DL transmission.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selection of the first TCI state based on the first mode further comprises determining an order of use of the first TCI state relative to use of the second TCI state.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the first mode comprises at least two bits in the first message.

10. A method comprising: By User Equipment (UE): receiving, from a cellular network, an indication of a plurality of active transmit configuration indication (TCI) states for downlink (DL) communications, wherein the plurality of active TCI states are associated with a plurality of transmit and receive points (TRPs); receiving, from the cellular network, a configuration of a first resource group for DL ​​control communication operations, the configuration of the first resource group comprising an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for monitoring the first resource group; selecting a first TCI state of the plurality of active TCI states for monitoring the first resource group based at least in part on the configuration of the first resource group; as well as A control channel on the first resource group is monitored using the first TCI state.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first resource group comprises one of: a first control resource set (CORESET); or First Search Space Set (SSS).

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of how to select a TCI state for monitoring the first resource group is selected based on a comparison of a TCI state index value of the first TCI state with corresponding TCI state index values ​​of other TCI states in the plurality of active TCI states.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of how to select a TCI state for monitoring the first resource group indicates selection based on an order of TCI states in the indication of the plurality of active TCI states.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of how to select a TCI state for monitoring the first resource group indicates selecting more than one TCI state of the plurality of active TCI states.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the configuration of the first resource group comprises configuration of a first resource group pool for DL ​​control communication operations, the first resource group pool comprising the first resource group.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the configuration of the first resource group is received via at least one of: Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE).

17. A method comprising: By User Equipment (UE): receiving, from a cellular network, an indication of a plurality of active transmit configuration indication (TCI) states for downlink (DL) communications, wherein the plurality of active TCI states are associated with a plurality of transmit and receive points (TRPs); receiving, from the cellular network, an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for receiving a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS); Based at least in part on the rule, selecting a first TCI state among the plurality of active TCI states for receiving a CSI-RS; as well as A CSI-RS is received from a first TRP among the multiple TRPs using the first TCI state.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving, from the cellular network, an indication of a rule for selecting a TCI state for receiving a CSI-interference measurement (CSI-IM) reference signal.

19. A device, comprising: A processor configured to cause a user equipment (UE) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a radio operably coupled to the processor.

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