Single downlink control information-based activation command for transmission configuration indication status

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for transmitting a single downlink control information (sDCI)-based activation command for a configuration indication (TCI) state. The method comprises: receiving, by a terminal device, an activation command for sDCI from a network device, the activation command at least indicating whether a TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and determining, based on the activation command, that the particular TCI code point indicates at least one of a first joint TCI state or a second joint TCI state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for a single downlink control information (sDCI) based activation command for a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state. Background Art

[0002] For the work item "New Radio (NR) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) evolution", a host of enhancements for multi-antenna operation have been discussed. One related enhancement is unified TCI operation with multiple transmit reception points (multi-TRP). Summary of the invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the memory storing instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least: receives an activation command for sDCI from a network device, the activation command at least indicating whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and based on the activation command, determines that the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the memory storing instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least: transmits an activation command for sDCI to a terminal device, the activation command at least indicating whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving, by a terminal device, an activation command for sDCI from a network device, the activation command at least indicating whether a TCI state of a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and determining, based on the activation command, that the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: a network device transmits an activation command for sDCI to a terminal device, the activation command at least indicating whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: a component for receiving an activation command for sDCI from a network device, the activation command at least indicating whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and a component for determining, based on the activation command, that the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: a component for transmitting an activation command for sDCI to a terminal device, the activation command at least indicating whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2 illustrates a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a process according to some example embodiments of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 illustrates an example of a message format including an sDCI based activation command for a TCI state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0019] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0020] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and are helpful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the way described below.

[0022] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0023] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0024] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another, and they do not limit the order of the nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0025] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0026] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, performing a step "in response to A" does not indicate immediate execution after "A" occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0027] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "said" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "include", "comprises", "has", "includes", and / or "comprising", when used herein, specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuits) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, software and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions) and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor that requires software (eg, firmware) for operation, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0029] The definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example (and if applicable to a particular claim element), a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0030] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course communication technologies and systems of future types that can implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0031] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNode B or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device), a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE toward a parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node behaves like a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0032] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a user station (SS), a portable user station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device), a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0033] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, for example, communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the spatial domain, resources in the code domain, or any other combination of time, frequency, space and / or code domain resources to achieve communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0034] As used herein, the term "transmission reception point (TRP)" may refer to an antenna port or antenna array (having one or more antenna elements) available to a network device located at a particular geographic location. For example, a network device may be coupled to multiple TRPs in different geographic locations to achieve better coverage. Alternatively or additionally, multiple TRPs may be incorporated into a network device, or in other words, a network device may include multiple TRPs. The term "TRP" may also be referred to as a cell, such as a macro cell, a small cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, a remote radio head, a relay node, etc. It should be understood that the term "TRP" may refer to a logical concept that can be physically implemented in various ways. For example, a TRP may refer to or correspond to a physical cell identifier (PCI) or a control resource set (CORESET) pool index (i.e., CORESETPoolIndex).

[0035] The unified TCI state can work according to three levels, namely configuration, activation and indication. The UE can be configured with up to 128 TCI states and up to 8 TCI states can be activated from the configured TCI states. Only one TCI state (or TCI state pair) can be used by the UE as determined by the DCI indication.

[0036] Multi-TRP is an operation with two different modes, namely sDCI (i.e., one Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) / DCI schedules the UE for two TRPs where the DCI code points are mapped to one or two different TCI states) and multi-DCI (i.e., the UE is explicitly configured with two CORESET "pools" so that each TRP can independently schedule the UE using a specific CORESET pool index).

[0037] For sDCI-based multi-TRP, the two TRPs in the serving cell always use the same TCI state configuration. Activating the TCI state for the unified TCI state has two options, namely the joint (UL+DL) TCI state and the separate (UL&DL) TCI state. Using those TCI states for multiple TRPs means that each TRP can have 1 to 2 TCI states. The existing medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) TCI state already includes 1 to 2 DL TCI states, but can only be possibly extended for the joint TCI state.

[0038] Listed below are some of the agreements regarding the joint TCI: For sDCI-based multi-TRP operation using a unified TCI state framework, a new MAC CE is introduced with the following high-level design principles: • If the signaling type of unified TCI state configuration is configured by RRC (ie, joint DL / UL TCI state or separate DL / UL TCI state), it applies to both TRPs (ie, as configured by RRC for both TRPs). The following information may be indicated by the MAC CE (for joint DL / UL TCI mode): If the unified TCI state is for one of the TRPs (i.e., the first TRP or the second TRP) or for both TRPs; If the indicated TCI code point consists of one TCI state, whether the indicated TCI state(s) are for the first TRP(s) or the second TRP(s).

[0039] In addition, the following agreement was reached on separate MAC CE for joint and separate TCI state activation with multiple TRPs, i.e., a separate MAC CE for the enhanced unified TCI state for sDCI-based multi-TRP operation was introduced, which is used for the joint TCI state and separate DL / UL TCI state, respectively.

[0040] On the unified TCI framework extension for sDCI-based multi-TRP operation, the following is supported: · For a serving cell configured with a joint DL / UL TCI mode, through a TCI state activation command (e.g., MAC-CE), the full set or any subset of {first joint TCI state, second joint TCI state} can be mapped to the TCI code points of the existing TCI field in DCI format 1_1 / 1_2. For a serving cell configured with a split DL / UL TCI mode, through a TCI state activation command (e.g., MAC-CE), the full set or any subset of {first DL TCI state, first UL TCI state, second DL TCI state, second UL TCI state} may be mapped to the TCI code points of the existing TCI field in DCI format 1_1 / 1_2. • The TCI state activation command (eg, MAC-CE) shall indicate whether each joint / DL / UL TCI state mapped to a TCI code point is a first joint / DL / UL TCI state or a second joint / DL / UL TCI state.

[0041] In this case, based on the RAN1 protocol, the MAC CE shall indicate that each joint / DL / UL TCI state mapped to the TCI code point is the first joint / DL / UL TCI state or the second joint / DL / UL TCI state. However, the RAN2 protocol state MAC CE shall indicate that each joint / DL / UL TCI state mapped to the TCI code point is the first TRP or / and the second TRP.

[0042] Because the RAN1 and RAN2 protocols on the unified TCI framework extension for sDCI-based multi-TRP operation are not aligned, further discussion of enhancements to the MAC CE design may be needed.

[0043] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for an sDCI-based activation command for a TCI state is provided. In the solution, a UE receives an activation command for an sDCI, the activation command indicating at least whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists. Based on the activation command, the UE determines that the specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state and / or a second joint TCI state.

[0044] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] Figure 1 1 shows an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110 (eg, UE).

[0046] The communication network 100 may further include a network device 120-1 and a network device 120-2. Each of the network devices 120-1 and 120-2 may be referred to as a gNB or a TRP. Hereinafter, the network devices 120-1 and 120-2 may be collectively referred to as network devices 120.

[0047] Both network device 120-1 and network device 120-2 can serve terminal device 110. That is, each of network device 120-1 and network device 120-2 can serve terminal device 110 within its service cell. In this case, the service cell associated with network device 120-1 and the service cell associated with network device 120-2 can be referred to as a special cell (SpCell) 102 of terminal device 110. SpCell can be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and / or a primary secondary cell (PSCell).

[0048] In some scenarios, the terminal device 110 may be configured with multi-TRP (MTRP), for example, a first TRP (eg, network device 120 - 1 ) and a second TRP (eg, network device 120 - 2 ) within the SpCell of the terminal device 110 .

[0049] When the terminal device 110 communicates with the network device 120 in the serving cell, it should be understood that the terminal device 110 can communicate with one or both of the first TRP and the second TRP. For example, the terminal device may be allowed to transmit and / or receive control information and data from the first TRP and the second TRP.

[0050] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of network devices and terminal devices shown in the figure is given for the purpose of illustration and is not intended to be limiting. Communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0051] In some example embodiments, the link from network device 120 to terminal device 110 may be referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 110 to network device 120 may be referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, network device 120 is a transmit (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 110 is a receive (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, terminal device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and network device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0052] The communication in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0053] Reference now Figure 2 , which shows a signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the signaling diagram 200 involves the terminal device 110 and the network device 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1Signaling diagram 200 is described.

[0054] For multi-TRP operation, sDCI mode is supported. That is, a single DCI can schedule terminal device 110 for two TRPs (e.g., network device 120-1 and network device 120-2) in the case where the DCI code point is mapped to one or two different TCI states.

[0055] In this scenario, the terminal device 110 may receive (205) an activation command for sDCI from the network device 120, which activation command indicates at least whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates or does not indicate a first joint TCI, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0056] As an example, the activation command may be indicated by a MAC-CE having a specific message format. Figure 3 An example of a message format including an sDCI-based activation command for a TCI state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0057] like Figure 3 As shown, an example of a MAC-CE 300 for an activation command may include a field 310 for indicating whether the TCI state for code point i indicates a first joint TCI, which may be represented as “T i,1 ”, where i is the index of the code point of the DCI TCI field. Field 310 may occupy up to 8 bits (i.e., T 0,1 、T 1,1 、T 2,1 、T 3,1 、T 4,1 、T 5,1 、T 6,1 、T 7,1 ), and each bit may indicate whether the TCI status for each of code points 0-7 indicates or does not indicate the first joint TCI.

[0058] For example, BitT 1,1 Indicates whether the TCI status for codepoint 1 indicates or does not indicate the first joint TCI. 1,1 The value of is 1, the TCI state for codepoint 1 indicates the first joint TCI, and if T 1,1 The value of is 0, and the TCI state for TCI code point 1 does not indicate the first joint TCI.

[0059] In MAC-CE 300, the field "TCI State ID i,j" (eg, field 321) may indicate a TCI state identified by a TCI state ID (TCI-StateId), where i is the index of a code point of the DCI TCI field.

[0060] TCI Status ID i,j = represents the jth TCI state indicated for the i-th code point in the DCI TCI field. The TCI code point mapped to the TCI state is represented by its TCI state ID i,j The serial number position among all TCI code points in the set of fields is determined. For example, with TCI status ID 0,1 (e.g., field 321) and TCI status ID 0,2 The first TCI code point (e.g., field 322) may be mapped to code point value 0, with TCI state ID 1,1 and TCI Status ID 1,2 The second TCI code point should be mapped to code point value 1 and so on.

[0061] In addition, MAC-CE 300 may include a field "C i ”, which indicates the code point associated with a particular TCI code point i (i.e., containing the TCI state ID i,2 octet) of the code point 0). For example, in field 330, the value of C0 may indicate whether the second joint TCI associated with code point 0 exists. If the value of C0 is 1, the second joint TCI associated with code point 0 exists. If the value of C0 is 0, the second joint TCI associated with code point 0 does not exist. That is, based on C i Field indication, TCI status ID i,2 is optional.

[0062] As described above, based on the design of the MAC-CE according to the present disclosure, the maximum number of activated TCI code points is 8 (e.g., code points 0-7), and the maximum number of TCI states mapped to the TCI code points (i.e., the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state) is 2.

[0063] like Figure 3As shown, MAC-CE 300 may also include a field "Serving Cell ID" indicating an identifier of a serving cell to which MAC CE 300 is applied. The length of the field is 5 bits. If the indicated serving cell is configured as part of simultaneous TCI update list 1 (simultaneousTCI-UpdateList1) or simultaneous TCI update list 2 (simultaneousTCI-UpdateList2), the MAC CE 300 is applied to all serving cells configured in simultaneous TCI update list 1 or simultaneous TCI update list 2, respectively.

[0064] The MAC-CE 300 may also include a field "BWP ID" indicating the code point that the DL BWP is used for the MAC CE 300 to apply as the DCI bandwidth part indicator field. The length of the BWP ID field is 2 bits.

[0065] The reserved bit “R” in the MAC-CE 300 may be set to zero.

[0066] Based on the received activation command (eg, MAC-CE 300), the terminal device 110 may determine (210) that the particular TCI codepoint indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0067] For example, based on the (T i,1 , C i ), the terminal device 110 may determine that the code point i indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state. i,1 Indicates whether the (joint) TCI status for codepoint i indicates (via T i,1 =1) or no indication (through T i,1 =0) the first joint TCI state, and C i Indicates whether the second joint TCI associated with codepoint i exists.

[0068] For example, for code point i, (T i,1 , C i )'s combined first joint TCI state or second joint TCI state corresponding to the full set or any subset is as follows:

[0069] If (T i,1 , C i )=(1,1), the (joint) TCI state for codepoint i indicates that a first joint TCI state and a second joint TCI associated with codepoint i exist. In this case, the terminal device 110 determines that codepoint i indicates that both the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state exist.

[0070] If (T i,1 , C i )=(1,0), the (joint) TCI state for codepoint i indicates that the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI associated with codepoint i do not exist. In this case, the terminal device 110 determines that codepoint i indicates that only the first joint TCI state exists.

[0071] If (T i,1 , C i )=(0,1), the (joint) TCI state for codepoint i does not indicate that both the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI associated with codepoint i exist. In this case, the terminal device 110 determines that codepoint i indicates that only the second joint TCI state exists.

[0072] If (T i,1 , C i )=(0,0), the (joint) TCI state for codepoint i does not indicate that the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI associated with codepoint i do not exist. In this case, the terminal device 110 determines that there is no TCI state.

[0073] After determining the configuration of the TCI state(s), the terminal device 110 may monitor the corresponding reference signal accordingly.

[0074] According to the design of sDCI-based (joint TCI state) activation command (e.g., MAC-CE) for multi-TRP operation, signal overhead can be reduced.

[0075] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example method 400 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 Method 400 is described from the perspective of terminal device 110 in FIG.

[0076] At box 410, the terminal device 110 receives an activation command for sDCI from the network device, and the activation command at least indicates whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0077] At block 420 , the terminal device 110 determines, based on the activation command, that the particular TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0078] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes determining that the specific TCI code point indicates only the first joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist.

[0079] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes determining that a specific TCI code point indicates both a first joint TCI state and a second joint TCI state based on determining that a joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state and a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0080] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes determining that the specific TCI code point indicates a second joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0081] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes determining that a joint TCI state does not exist based on determining that the joint TCI state for the particular TCI code point does not indicate a first joint TCI state and a second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point does not exist.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the activation command also indicates at least one of: an identifier of a first joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point, and an identifier of a second joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point if a second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the activation command is indicated by a Medium Access Control MAC Control Element CE.

[0084] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example method 500 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 Method 500 is described from the perspective of network device 120 in FIG.

[0085] At box 510, the network device 120 transmits an activation command for sDCI to the terminal device, and the activation command at least indicates whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the activation command also indicates at least one of: an identifier of a first joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point, and an identifier of a second joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point if a second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the activation command is indicated by a Medium Access Control MAC Control Element CE.

[0088] In some example embodiments, a device capable of performing any of the methods 400 (e.g., Figure 1 The terminal device 110 in the embodiment may include components for performing the corresponding operations of the method 400. These components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the terminal device 110.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for receiving an activation command for sDCI from a network device, the activation command indicating at least whether the TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and a component for determining, based on the activation command, that the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a component for determining that a specific TCI code point indicates only a first joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state and that a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a component for determining that a particular TCI code point indicates both a first joint TCI state and a second joint TCI state based on determining that a joint TCI state for the particular TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state and a second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a component for determining that a particular TCI code point indicates a second joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the particular TCI code point does not indicate a first joint TCI state and that a second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a component for determining that a joint TCI state does not exist based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate a first joint TCI state and a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the activation command also indicates at least one of: an identifier of a first joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point, and an identifier of a second joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point if a second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the activation command is indicated by a MAC CE.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 400 or the terminal device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

[0097] In some example embodiments, a device capable of performing any of the methods 500 (e.g., Figure 1 The network device 120 in the embodiment may include components for performing the corresponding operations of the method 500. These components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the network device 120.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for transmitting an activation command for sDCI to a terminal device, the activation command at least indicating whether the transmission configuration for a specific TCI code point indicates a TCI state indicating a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the activation command also indicates at least one of: an identifier of a first joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point, and an identifier of a second joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for a particular TCI code point if a second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the activation command is indicated by a Medium Access Control MAC Control Element CE.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 500 or network device 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of the apparatus.

[0102] Figure 6 600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 110 or the network device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0103] The communication module 640 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to support communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

[0104] As non-limiting examples, processor 610 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to a clock of a synchronized master processor.

[0105] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist over the duration of a power outage.

[0106] The computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 610. The instructions of the program 630 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 630 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

[0107] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by using the program 630 so that the device 600 can execute the following steps: Figures 2 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or other storage device accessible by the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible rather than a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0109] Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 700 has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0110] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0111] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in a program module executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to perform any method as above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0112] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0113] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0114] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0115] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are listed below.

[0116] Embodiment 1. A device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least: receives an activation command for a TCI code point from a network device, the activation command at least indicating whether a transmission configuration indication TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and based on the activation command, determines whether the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0117] Embodiment 2. An apparatus according to embodiment 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: determine that the specific TCI code point indicates only the first joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist.

[0118] Embodiment 3. An apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: determine that the specific TCI code point indicates both the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0119] Embodiment 4. An apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: determine that the specific TCI code point indicates the second joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate the first joint TCI state and that the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0120] Embodiment 5. An apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine that a joint TCI state does not exist based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate the first joint TCI state and that the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist.

[0121] Embodiment 6. An apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the activation command further indicates at least one of the following: an identifier of the first joint TCI state indicated in a DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point, and an identifier of the second joint TCI state indicated in a DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point if the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0122] Embodiment 7. The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the activation command is indicated by a medium access control MAC control element CE.

[0123] Embodiment 8. A device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least: transmits an activation command for a single downlink control information DCI to a terminal device, wherein the activation command at least indicates whether the transmission configuration indication TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0124] Embodiment 9. An apparatus according to embodiment 8, wherein the activation command further indicates at least one of the following: an identifier of the first joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point, and an identifier of the second joint TCI state indicated in the DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point if the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0125] Embodiment 10. The apparatus of embodiment 8 or 9, wherein the activation command is indicated by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0126] Embodiment 11. A method for communication, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, an activation command for a single downlink control information DCI from a network device, the activation command at least indicating whether a transmission configuration indication TCI state of a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and based on the activation command, determining that the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0127] Embodiment 12. The method according to Embodiment 11 further includes: determining that the specific TCI code point indicates only the first joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist.

[0128] Embodiment 13. The method according to Embodiment 11 further includes: determining that the specific TCI code point indicates both the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state exists.

[0129] Embodiment 14. The method according to Embodiment 11 further includes: determining that the specific TCI code point indicates the second joint TCI state based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate the first joint TCI state and that the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0130] Embodiment 15. The method according to Embodiment 11 further includes: determining that a joint TCI state does not exist based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate the first joint TCI state and that the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist.

[0131] Embodiment 16. A method according to any one of Embodiments 11 to 15, wherein the activation command further indicates at least one of the following: an identifier of the first joint TCI state indicated in a DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point, and an identifier of the second joint TCI state indicated in a DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point if the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0132] Embodiment 17. The method according to any one of embodiments 11 to 15, wherein the activation command is indicated by a medium access control MAC control element CE.

[0133] Embodiment 18. A method for communication, comprising: a network device transmitting an activation command for a single downlink control information DCI to a terminal device, wherein the activation command at least indicates whether the transmission configuration indication TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0134] Embodiment 19. A method according to embodiment 18, wherein the activation command further indicates at least one of the following: an identifier of the first joint TCI state indicated in a DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point, and an identifier of the second joint TCI state indicated in a DCI TCI field for the specific TCI code point if the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0135] Embodiment 20. The method according to embodiment 18 or 19, wherein the activation command is indicated by a medium access control MAC control element CE.

[0136] Embodiment 21. An apparatus comprises: a component for receiving an activation command for a single downlink control information DCI from a network device, the activation command indicating at least whether a transmission configuration indication TCI state of a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and a component for determining, based on the activation command, that the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

[0137] Embodiment 22. An apparatus comprises: a component for transmitting an activation command for a single downlink control information DCI to a terminal device, wherein the activation command at least indicates whether the transmission configuration indication TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

[0138] Embodiment 23. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions are used to cause a device to at least perform a method according to any one of embodiments 11 to 17 or a method according to any one of embodiments 18 to 20.

[0139] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or performing all of the operations shown, to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0140] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving an activation command for a TCI code point from a network device, the activation command indicating at least whether a transmission configuration indication TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists; and Based on the activation command, it is determined that the specific TCI code point indicates at least one of the first joint TCI state or the second joint TCI state.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: Based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist, determining that the specific TCI code point indicates only the first joint TCI state.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: Based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point indicates the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists, determining that the specific TCI code point indicates both the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: Based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists, determining that the specific TCI code point indicates the second joint TCI state.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: Based on determining that the joint TCI state for the specific TCI code point does not indicate the first joint TCI state and the second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point does not exist, it is determined that there is no joint TCI state.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the activation command further indicates at least one of the following: an identifier in a DCITCI field indicating the first joint TCI state for the particular TCI code point, An identifier in a DCI TCI field indicating the second joint TCI state for the particular TCI code point if the second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the activation command is indicated by a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

8. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: An activation command for a single downlink control information DCI is transmitted to a terminal device, wherein the activation command at least indicates whether the transmission configuration indication TCI state for a specific TCI code point indicates a first joint TCI state, and whether a second joint TCI state associated with the specific TCI code point exists.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the activation command further indicates at least one of the following: an identifier in a DCITCI field indicating the first joint TCI state for the particular TCI code point, An identifier in a DCI TCI field indicating the second joint TCI state for the particular TCI code point if the second joint TCI state associated with the particular TCI code point exists.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the activation command is indicated by a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

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