Beam hopping within single physical uplink control channel resource

By activating multiple spatial relationships in a single physical uplink control channel resource and using beam hopping technology, the problem of limited communication performance and reliability in the prior art is solved, and a more efficient communication effect is achieved.

CN120129038APending Publication Date: 2025-06-10QUALCOMM INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510125928.0
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2020-03-09
Publication Date
2025-06-10

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing wireless communication technology is difficult to effectively utilize multiple spatial relationships in a single physical uplink control channel resource, resulting in limited communication performance and reliability.

Method used

By activating multiple spatial relationships in a single physical uplink control channel resource, communication is performed in that resource using beam hopping technology. The base station determines and transmits activation commands, and the user equipment performs beam jumps and frequency jumps according to these spatial relationships to improve communication performance.

Benefits of technology

It realizes the use of multiple beams for communication in a single PUCCH resource, which improves the communication throughput, reliability and performance of user equipment.

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Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may receive an activation command to activate multiple spatial relationships for a single physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource. The UE may communicate in the single PUCCH resource using the plurality of spatial relationships. Numerous other aspects are provided.
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Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the application with the application date of March 9, 2020, application number 202080098045.0 (international application number PCT / CN2020 / 078386), and title "Beam Hopping within a Single Physical Uplink Control Channel Resource".

[0002] Public Domain

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications and relate to techniques and apparatus for beam hopping within a single physical uplink control channel resource. Background

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may employ a multiple access technology capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE / Advanced LTE is an enhanced set of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A wireless communication network may include several base stations (BSs) capable of supporting communication of several user equipments (UEs). A user equipment (UE) may communicate with a base station (BS) via a downlink and an uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the BS to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the BS. As will be described in more detail herein, a BS may be referred to as a B node, gNB, access point (AP), radio head, transmission reception point (TRP), New Radio (NR) BS, 5G B node, and so on.

[0006] The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipments to communicate at the city, national, regional, and even global levels. New Radio (NR), which may also be referred to as 5G, is an enhanced set of the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with Cyclic Prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the Downlink (DL), CP-OFDM and / or SC-FDM (e.g., also referred to as Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the Uplink (UL), and supporting beamforming, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation to improve spectral efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards. However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, there is a need for further improvements to LTE and NR technologies. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. Overview

[0007] In some aspects, a wireless communication method performed by a User Equipment (UE) may include receiving an activation command to activate multiple spatial relationships for a single Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource; and communicating in the single PUCCH resource using the multiple spatial relationships.

[0008] In some aspects, a wireless communication method performed by a Base Station (BS) may include determining multiple spatial relationships to be activated for a UE in a single PUCCH resource; and transmitting an activation command to the UE to activate the multiple spatial relationships for the single PUCCH resource.

[0009] In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to receive an activation command to activate multiple spatial relationships for a single PUCCH resource; and communicate in the single PUCCH resource using the multiple spatial relationships.

[0010] In some aspects, a BS for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to determine multiple spatial relationships to be activated for a UE in a single PUCCH resource; and transmit an activation command to the UE to activate the multiple spatial relationships for the single PUCCH resource.

[0011] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, may cause the one or more processors to: receive an activation command to activate multiple spatial relations for a single PUCCH resource; and communicate using the multiple spatial relations in the single PUCCH resource.

[0012] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a BS, may cause the one or more processors to: determine multiple spatial relations to be activated for a UE in a single PUCCH resource; and transmit an activation command to the UE to activate the multiple spatial relations for the single PUCCH resource.

[0013] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for receiving an activation command to activate multiple spatial relations for a single PUCCH resource; and means for communicating using the multiple spatial relations in the single PUCCH resource.

[0014] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for determining multiple spatial relations to be activated for a UE in a single PUCCH resource; and means for transmitting an activation command to the UE to activate the multiple spatial relations for the single PUCCH resource.

[0015] Aspects generally include methods, apparatuses, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, wireless communication devices, and / or processing systems substantially as described herein with reference to the figures and the description, as illustrated in the figures and the description.

[0016] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes as the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both as to their organization and operation methods, as well as the associated advantages, will be better understood when the following description is considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and is not intended to define the limits of the claims. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] To understand the above - stated features of the present disclosure in detail, the content briefly outlined above can be described more specifically with reference to various aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings only illustrate certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and should not be considered to limit its scope, because the description may allow other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0018] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a wireless communication network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) in communication in a wireless communication network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figures 3A - 3C is a diagram illustrating one or more examples of beam hopping within a single physical uplink control channel resource in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example process, such as one performed by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example process, such as one performed by a BS, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0023] The various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of the aspects set forth herein may be used to implement an apparatus or practice a method. Additionally, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such apparatus or methods practiced using other structures, functionality, or a combination of structures and functionality that supplement or are additional to the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be implemented by one or more elements of a claim.

[0024] Aspects of a telecommunications system will now be given with reference to various apparatus and techniques. These apparatus and techniques will be described in detail below and illustrated in the drawings by various boxes, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0025] Note that while aspects may be described herein using terminology typically associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in communication systems based on other generations (such as 5G and later generations, including NR technologies).

[0026] Figure 1 FIG. is a diagram illustrating a wireless network 100 in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. The wireless network 100 can be an LTE network or some other wireless network, such as a 5G or NR network. The wireless network 100 may include several base stations (BSs) 110 (shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and other network entities. A BS is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UE) and may also be referred to as a base station, NR BS, Node B, gNB, 5G Node B (NB), access point, transmission reception point (TRP), etc. Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to the coverage area of a BS and / or the BS subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0027] A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs having a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs having a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may allow restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In Figure 1In the example shown, BS110a can be a macro BS for macro cell 102a, BS110b can be a pico BS for pico cell 102b, and BS110c can be a femto BS for femto cell 102c. A BS can support one or more (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB”, “base station”, “NR BS”, “gNB”, “TRP”, “AP”, “B node”, “5G NB” and “cell” may be used interchangeably herein.

[0028] In some aspects, a cell may not have to be stationary, and the geographical area of a cell may move according to the location of a mobile BS. In some aspects, BSs may be interconnected with each other and / or interconnected to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network 100 using any suitable transport network via various types of backhaul interfaces such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, etc.

[0029] The wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send the transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station can also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In Figure 1 the example shown, relay station 110d can communicate with macro BS110a and UE 120d to facilitate communication between BS110a and UE 120d. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, relay base station, relay, etc.

[0030] The wireless network 100 can be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs (e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, etc.). These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro BS may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts), while pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

[0031] The network controller 130 may be coupled to a set of BSs and may provide coordination and control of these BSs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs via the backhaul. These BSs may also communicate with each other directly or indirectly, e.g., via wireless or wired backhaul.

[0032] UE 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) can be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE can be stationary or mobile. The UE can also be referred to as an access terminal, terminal, mobile station, subscriber unit, station, and so on. The UE can be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, a superbook, a medical device or equipment, a biometric sensor / device, a wearable device (smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired media.

[0033] Some UEs can be considered machine type communication (MTC) UEs, or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which can communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node can provide connectivity to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) or provide connectivity to the network via a wired or wireless communication link, for example. Some UEs can be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and / or can be implemented as narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices. Some UEs can be considered customer premise equipment (CPE). UE 120 can be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as a processor component, a memory component, and so on. In some aspects, the processor component and the memory component can be coupled together. For example, the processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory component (e.g., a memory) can be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, electrically coupled, etc.

[0034] Generally, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographical area. Each wireless network can support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies. The RAT can also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, etc. The frequency can also be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographical area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, an NR or 5G RAT network can be deployed.

[0035] In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., communicate with each other without using the base station 110 as an intermediary). For example, the UE 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, etc.), mesh networks, and so on. In such a case, the UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station 110.

[0036] As indicated above, Figure 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example regarding Figure 1 described.

[0037] Figure 2 FIG. shows a block diagram of a design 200 of a base station 110 and a UE 120, and the base station 110 and the UE 120 may be Figure 1 one of the base stations and one of the UEs in. The base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234a to 234t, and the UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a to 252r, where generally T≥1 and R≥1.

[0038] At base station 110, transmit processor 220 may receive data for one or more UEs from data source 212, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for a UE at least in part based on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from each UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE at least in part based on the MCSs selected for each UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI), etc.) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRSs)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, position coding may be utilized to generate synchronization signals to convey additional information.

[0039] At the UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive downlink signals from the base station 110 and / or other base stations and may provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMOD) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain the received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols when applicable, and provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide the decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The channel processor may determine the reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing.

[0040] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.). The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266 when applicable, further processed by modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 110. At the base station 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 and other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the demodulator 232, detected by the MIMO detector 236 when applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The base station 110 may include a communication unit 244 and communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292.

[0041] The controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2Any other component(s) thereof may perform one or more techniques associated with beam hopping within a single physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 any other component(s) thereof may perform or direct operations of, for example Figure 4 procedure 400, Figure 5 procedure 500, and / or other procedures as described herein. The memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. In some aspects, the memories 242 and / or the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication. For example, when the one or more instructions are executed (e.g., directly executed, or after compilation, conversion, interpretation, etc.) by one or more processors of the base station 110 and / or the UE 120, they may perform or direct operations of, for example Figure 4 procedure 400, Figure 5 procedure 500, and / or other procedures as described herein. In some aspects, executing the instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, interpreting the instructions, etc. The scheduler 246 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0042] In some aspects, the UE 120 may include: means for receiving an activation command to activate multiple spatial relations for a single PUCCH resource, means for communicating in the single PUCCH resource using the multiple spatial relations, and so on. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of the UE 120 described in conjunction with Figure 2 such as the controller / processor 280, the transmit processor 264, the TX MIMO processor 266, the MOD 254, the antenna 252, the DEMOD 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, and so on.

[0043] In some aspects, the base station 110 may include: means for determining multiple spatial relations to be activated for a UE in a single PUCCH resource, means for transmitting an activation command to the UE to activate the multiple spatial relations for the single PUCCH resource, and so on. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of the base station 110 described in conjunction with Figure 2 such as the antenna 234, the DEMOD 232, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the controller / processor 240, the transmit processor 220, the TX MIMO processor 230, the MOD 232, the antenna 234, and so on.

[0044] As indicated above,Figure 2 are provided as examples. Other examples may be different from those Figure 2 described.

[0045] Wireless communication devices (such as UEs, BSs, TRPs, etc.) can communicate with each other using beams. In some cases, beam indications (e.g., transmission configuration indication (TCI) states, quasi co-location (QCL) relationships, spatial relationships, etc.) can be signaled separately for different resources. For example, for uplink communication, the BS can indicate a set of spatial relationships (e.g., a set consisting of eight spatial relationships) to be used for different PUCCH resources. Additionally, the BS can signal the activated spatial relationships for a specific PUCCH resource. For example, the BS can signal a first activated spatial relationship for a first PUCCH resource, a second activated spatial relationship for a second PUCCH resource, and so on.

[0046] In some cases, it may be beneficial for a UE to communicate using multiple beams that will be received by different receivers (e.g., different antennas, panels, TRPs, BSs, etc.), thereby improving the UE's communication performance. However, the UE may not be enabled to communicate using multiple beams in a single PUCCH resource. For example, the UE may use the same rate matching and resource mapping for a single PUCCH resource, which may degrade the performance and reliability of communication using multiple beams to be received by different receivers (e.g., when the backhaul conditions between different receivers are not ideal). Some of the techniques and apparatuses described herein enable a UE to communicate using multiple beams in a single PUCCH resource.

[0047] Figures 3A - 3C is a diagram illustrating one or more examples 300 of beam hopping within a single PUCCH resource in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As Figures 3A - 3C shown, BS 110 and UE 120 can communicate with each other.

[0048] As Figure 3A shown and indicated by reference numeral 305, BS 110 can transmit and UE 120 can receive an activation command to activate for a single PUCCH resource (e.g., PUCCH resource 335, as described in connection with Figure 3BMultiple (e.g., two) spatial relations as described above. That is, BS110 can determine multiple spatial relations to be activated in a single PUCCH resource for a UE and transmit an activation command to activate the multiple spatial relations. The activation command can be included in a Media Access Control Control Element (MAC-CE) (such as MAC-CE 310a or MAC-CE 310b). For example, the MAC-CE can include the activation command by a Spatial Relation Identifier that identifies the multiple spatial relations to be activated (e.g., PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfoIds (PUCCH - spatial relation information ID)).

[0049] The MAC-CE can also identify the single PUCCH resource for which the multiple spatial relations are to be activated, such as by a PUCCH resource identifier. The spatial relation (e.g., spatial relation information) can identify the serving cell, reference signals (e.g., Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), etc.), power control parameters (e.g., PUCCH Path Loss Reference Signal (PL-RS), power control offset value (referred to as P0 parameter), closed-loop index, etc.), and so on.

[0050] In some aspects, MAC-CE 310a can include a bit map 315 for spatial relations. The bits of the bit map 315 (shown as S 0 -S 7 ) can be mapped to the spatial relations configured for UE 120. For example, the first bit of the bit map 315 (e.g., S 0 ) is mapped to the first spatial relation configured for UE 120, the second bit of the bit map 315 (e.g., S 1 ) is mapped to the second spatial relation configured for UE 120, and so on. In this example, multiple bits (e.g., two bits) of the bit map 315 can be set to indicate the spatial relations to be activated (e.g., according to the bit-to-spatial-relation mapping). The set bits can have a value of 1, while the unset bits can have a value of 0.

[0051] In some aspects, the MAC-CE 310b may include multiple fields for indicating the multiple spatial relationships. For example, the MAC-CE 310b may include a first field 320a for indicating a first spatial relationship to be activated and a second field 320b for indicating a second spatial relationship to be activated. In some aspects, the MAC-CE 310b may include additional fields for indicating additional spatial relationships to be activated. In some aspects, the MAC-CE 310b may include a flag 325 for indicating whether the second field 320b exists in the MAC-CE 310b. For example, the flag 325 may be set (e.g., set to a value of 1) to indicate that the second field 320b exists in the MAC-CE 310b.

[0052] The activated spatial relationships may be associated with beam hopping in the single PUCCH resource. For example, the first activated spatial relationship indicates a first beam hop in the single PUCCH resource (e.g., beam hop 340a, as described in connection with Figure 3B ), the second activated spatial relationship indicates a second beam hop in the single PUCCH resource (e.g., beam hop 340b, as described in connection with Figure 3B ), and so on. Beam hopping may refer to a specific portion (e.g., a time-domain portion) of the single PUCCH in which the UE 120 will communicate using a specific beam.

[0053] As in Figure 3B and by reference numeral 330, the UE 120 may perform processing related to the activated spatial relationships. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine a resource allocation of the single PUCCH resource 335 for the beam hops indicated by the activated spatial relationships. For example, the first beam hop 340a indicated by the first activated spatial relationship may use a first portion of the symbols allocated to the single PUCCH resource 335, and the second beam hop 340b indicated by the second activated spatial relationship may use a second portion of the symbols allocated to the single PUCCH resource 335. As an example, N symbols may be allocated to the single PUCCH resource 335, a first portion of the N symbols may be symbols, and a second portion of the N symbols may be symbols. In some aspects, the first portion of the symbols and the second portion of the symbols are separated by a gap of at least one symbol.

[0054] In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine that the first beam hop 340a will use the same spatial domain filter as that used by the UE 120 for receiving reference signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, etc.) or transmitting reference signals (e.g., SRS) indicated by the first activated spatial relationship, and the second beam hop 340b will use the same spatial domain filter as that used by the UE 120 for receiving reference signals or transmitting reference signals indicated by the second activated spatial relationship. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine that the first beam hop 340a will use a first set of power control parameters (e.g., path loss reference signal (PL-RS), P0 parameter, closed-loop index, etc.) indicated by the first activated spatial relationship, and the second beam hop 340b will use a second set of power control parameters indicated by the second activated spatial relationship.

[0055] In some aspects, the UE 120 may apply time-domain orthogonal cover codes (OCC) to uplink control information (UCI) symbols (e.g., for sequence modulation) and / or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols (e.g., for sequence generation) of a single PUCCH resource 335 per beam hop. In other words, time-domain OCC may be applied to the symbols of the first beam hop 340a and the second beam hop 340b respectively. In some aspects, when a single PUCCH resource 335 is allocated for one or two UCI bits of some PUCCH formats (e.g., the single PUCCH resource 335 has PUCCH format 1), the UE 120 may apply time-domain OCC separately to each beam hop.

[0056] In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine a first number of DMRS symbols and the positions of these DMRS symbols in the first beam hop 340a of a single PUCCH resource 335, and a second number of DMRS symbols and the positions of these DMRS symbols in the second beam hop 340b of the single PUCCH resource 335. In some aspects, when a single PUCCH resource 335 is allocated for more than two UCI bits of some PUCCH formats (e.g., the single PUCCH resource 335 has PUCCH format 3 or PUCCH format 4), the UE 120 may determine the DMRS number and position separately for each beam hop. In some aspects, the first DMRS number and position and the second DMRS number and position may be at least partially based on the lengths of the first beam hop 340a and the second beam hop 340b respectively. For example, the UE 120 may be configured (e.g., by radio resource control (RRC) configuration) with a mapping identifying the DMRS number and position for different beam hop lengths.

[0057] In some aspects, the UE 120 may perform a first rate matching operation and / or a resource element (RE) mapping operation for the first beam hop 340a, and a second rate matching operation and / or an RE mapping operation for the second beam hop 340b. In some aspects, when a single PUCCH resource 335 is allocated more than two UCI bits (e.g., a single PUCCH resource 335 has PUCCH format 2, PUCCH format 3, or PUCCH format 4), the UE 120 may perform each rate matching operation and / or RE mapping operation separately. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine information bits 345 to be processed by rate matching operations, RE matching operations, etc. The information bits 345 may be the payload (e.g., UCI) to be transmitted by the UE 120. The UE 120 may encode the information bits 345 (e.g., using polar coding or coding for small block lengths) and determine a rate matching output sequence based at least in part on the encoded bits, as described below.

[0058] The UE 120 may determine a first rate matching output sequence length for the first beam hop 340a based at least in part on the resources (e.g., REs) available for UCI in the first beam hop 340a (e.g., excluding the resources to be used for DMRS), and determine a second rate matching output sequence length for the second beam hop 340b based at least in part on the resources available for UCI in the second beam hop 340b. The UE 120 may perform a first rate matching operation 350a for the information bits 345 (e.g., decoded information bits 345) according to the determined first rate matching output sequence length, and perform a second rate matching operation 350b for the information bits 345 (e.g., decoded information bits 345) according to the determined second rate matching output sequence length.

[0059] In addition, the UE 120 may use the output sequence of the first rate matching operation 350a to perform a first RE mapping operation for the first beam hop 340a (e.g., the modulated symbols corresponding to the output sequence of the first rate matching operation 350a are mapped to the resources of the first beam hop 340a), and use the output sequence of the second rate matching operation 350b to perform a second RE mapping operation for the second beam hop 340b (e.g., the modulated symbols corresponding to the output sequence of the second rate matching operation 350b are mapped to the resources of the second beam hop 340b). In this way, the performance of the PUCCH can be improved, especially when the first beam hop 340a and the second beam hop 340b are transmitted to different receivers.

[0060] In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine a first PUCCH power value to be used for the first beam hop 340a and a second PUCCH power value to be used for the second beam hop 340b. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine the PUCCH power value according to Equation 1 (as detailed in Section 7.2.1 of 3GPP Technical Specification 38.213):

[0061]

[0062] The UE 120 may determine the first PUCCH power value for the first beam hop 340a at least in part based on the power control parameters indicated by the first spatial relationship (e.g., PL-RS, P0 parameter, and / or closed-loop index), and determine the second PUCCH power value for the second beam hop 340b at least in part based on the power control parameters indicated by the second spatial relationship.

[0063] In some aspects, the corresponding closed-loop indices indicated by the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship may be different. In this case, to determine the first PUCCH power value, the UE 120 may determine the first transmit power control (TPC) cumulative function value (i.e., g b,f,c (i, l)) at least in part based on the first closed-loop index indicated by the first spatial relationship. To determine the second PUCCH power value, the UE 120 may determine the second TPC cumulative function value at least in part based on the second closed-loop index indicated by the second spatial relationship.

[0064] In addition, the downlink control information (DCI) that schedules the transmission of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication and UCI (e.g., the acknowledgement feedback for PDSCH communication) in a single PUCCH resource 335 may indicate a TPC command (e.g., a value from 0 to 3). The TPC command may be mapped to a specific power adjustment to be used for determining the TPC cumulative function value. Accordingly, the UE 120 may apply the TPC command to the first closed-loop index (when determining the first TPC cumulative function value), the second closed-loop index (when determining the second TPC cumulative function value), or both the first and second closed-loop indices (when determining the first and second TPC cumulative function values). In some aspects, the DCI may indicate the corresponding TPC commands for the first closed-loop index and the second closed-loop index, and the UE 120 may determine the first and second TPC cumulative function values at least in part based on the corresponding TPC commands. For example, multiple TPC commands may be indicated in respective TPC fields of the DCI, or a single TPC field of the DCI may indicate multiple TPC commands.

[0065] In some aspects, such as when the UE 120 performs separate rate matching operations and RE mapping operations for the first beam hop 340a and the second beam hop 340b (e.g., when a single PUCCH resource 335 has PUCCH format 2, PUCCH format 3, or PUCCH format 4), the number of REs mapped and / or the number of symbols carrying UCI may be different for the first beam hop 340a and the second beam hop 340b. This can affect the Δ in Equation 1 TF,b,f,c (i) parameter. In this case, to determine the first PUCCH power value, the UE 120 may determine a first number of REs and / or a first number of symbols (e.g., for UCI) for the first beam hop 340a. To determine the second PUCCH power value, the UE 120 may determine a second number of REs and / or a second number of symbols for the second beam hop 340b.

[0066] As shown in Figure 3C and indicated by reference numeral 355, the UE 120 may communicate in a single PUCCH resource 335 using multiple spatial relationships. For example, the UE 120 may transmit and the BS 110 may receive PUCCH communications (e.g., UCI, such as hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback, channel state information, etc.) in the first beam hop change 340a and the second beam hop change 340b. In some aspects, the UE 120 may use a first beam (as indicated by a first activated spatial relationship) in the first beam hop 340a and a second beam (as indicated by a second activated spatial relationship) in the second beam hop 340b to transmit PUCCH communications. In some aspects, the PUCCH communication in the first beam hop 340a may be received by a first receiver (e.g., a first antenna, panel, TRP, BS, etc.), and the PUCCH communication in the second beam hop 340b may be received by a second receiver (e.g., a second antenna, panel, TRP, BS, etc.).

[0067] In some aspects, the UE 120 may start communicating using beam hopping upon receiving a MAC-CE (e.g., MAC-CE 310a or MAC-CE 310b) including activation commands for multiple spatial relationships. For example, the UE 120 may apply the activation commands after a time window (e.g., 3 milliseconds) after the UE 120 transmits an acknowledgement feedback (e.g., HARQ-ACK feedback) for the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 120 may start communicating using beam hopping upon receiving a configuration (e.g., RRC configuration) for multi-beam hopping for a single PUCCH resource 335 (e.g., the RRC parameter intraSlotBeamHopping is enabled).

[0068] In some aspects, the UE 120 may communicate using beam hopping and frequency hopping (e.g., when the RRC parameter intraSlotFrequencyHopping is enabled for a single PUCCH resource 335). For example, the first beam hop 340a may use the first frequency hop and the second frequency hop, and the second beam hop 340b may use the first frequency hop and the second frequency hop. In this case, the UE 120 may apply time-domain OCC on the UCI symbols (e.g., for sequence modulation) and / or DMRS symbols (e.g., for sequence generation) of a single PUCCH resource 335 per beam hop and per frequency hop. In other words, time-domain OCC may be applied to the symbols of the first beam hop 340a using the first frequency hop, the first beam hop 340a using the second frequency hop, the second beam hop 340b using the first frequency hop, and the second beam hop 340b using the second frequency hop, respectively.

[0069] As shown by reference numerals 360 and 365, a first portion of the symbols of a single PUCCH resource 335 (e.g., for the first beam hop 340a) is divided into a plurality of segments, and a second portion 335 of the symbols of a single PUCCH resource (e.g., for the second beam hop 340b) is divided into a plurality of segments. For example, a single PUCCH resource 335 (the allocated N symbols, as described above) is divided into four segments. In this case, the segments may have one or

[0070] As shown by reference numeral 360, the UE 120 may communicate using respective beam hops within a plurality of frequency hops. For example, in the first frequency hop 370, the UE 120 may employ beam hopping using the first beam hop 340a and the second beam hop 340b. Continuing with the previous example, in the second frequency hop 375, the UE 120 may also employ beam hopping using the first beam hop 340a and the second beam hop 340b. Thus, as shown, the symbols for the first frequency hop 370 may be consecutive symbols of a single PUCCH resource 335, and the symbols for the second frequency hop 375 may be consecutive symbols of a single PUCCH resource 335. In some aspects, the UE 120 may receive a configuration (e.g., an RRC configuration) from (e.g., the BS 110) that configures the UE 120 to communicate using respective beam hops within a plurality of frequency hops.

[0071] As shown by reference numeral 365, the UE 120 may communicate using respective frequency hops within multiple beam hops. For example, in the first beam hop 340a, the UE 120 may employ frequency hopping using the first frequency hop 370 and the second frequency hop 375. Continuing the previous example, in the second beam hop 340b, the UE 120 may also employ frequency hopping using the first frequency hop 370 and the second frequency hop 375. Thus, as shown, the symbols for the first beam hop 340a may be consecutive symbols of a single PUCCH resource 335, and the symbols for the second beam hop 340b may be consecutive symbols of a single PUCCH resource 335. In some aspects, the UE 120 may receive a configuration (e.g., an RRC configuration) from, e.g., the BS 110 that configures the UE 120 to communicate using respective frequency hops within multiple beam hops.

[0072] In this manner, the UE 120 may communicate according to multiple spatial relationships within a single PUCCH resource 335. This may improve the throughput, reliability, performance, etc. of the communication of the UE 120.

[0073] As indicated above, Figures 3A - 3C is provided as one or more examples. Other examples may be different from the examples described with respect to Figures 3A - 3C the examples.

[0074] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example process 400, e.g., performed by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The example process 400 is an example in which a UE (e.g., the UE 120, etc.) performs operations associated with beam hopping within a single PUCCH resource.

[0075] As Figure 4 shown, in some aspects, process 400 may include receiving an activation command to activate multiple spatial relationships for a single PUCCH resource (block 410). For example, a UE (e.g., using antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, controller / processor 280, etc.) may receive an activation command to activate multiple spatial relationships for a single PUCCH resource, as described above.

[0076] As Figure 4 further shown, in some aspects, process 400 may include communicating within the single PUCCH resource using the multiple spatial relationships (block 420). For example, a UE (e.g., using controller / processor 280, transmit processor 264, TXMIMO processor 266, MOD 254, antenna 252, etc.) may communicate within the single PUCCH resource using the multiple spatial relationships, as described above.

[0077] Procedure 400 may include additional aspects, such as any individual aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in combination with one or more other procedures described elsewhere herein.

[0078] In a first aspect, the activation command is received via a MAC-CE.

[0079] In a second aspect, either alone or in combination with the first aspect, the MAC-CE includes a bit mapping for spatial relationships, and a plurality of bits of the bit mapping are set to indicate the plurality of spatial relationships to be activated.

[0080] In a third aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the MAC-CE includes a first field indicating a first spatial relationship to be activated and a second field indicating a second spatial relationship to be activated.

[0081] In a fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the MAC-CE includes a flag that is set when the second field is included in the MAC-CE.

[0082] In a fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, when the UE receives a MAC-CE indicating an activation command to activate the plurality of spatial relationships or receives a configuration for multi-beam hopping for the single PUCCH resource via RRC signaling, the UE will communicate in the single PUCCH resource.

[0083] In a sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, a first spatial relationship among the plurality of spatial relationships is associated with a first beam hop in the single PUCCH resource, and a second spatial relationship among the plurality of spatial relationships is associated with a second beam hop in the single PUCCH resource, and the first beam hop will use a first portion of the symbols allocated to the single PUCCH resource, and the second beam hop will use a second portion of the symbols allocated to the single PUCCH resource.

[0084] In a seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, the first beam hop will use a spatial domain filter for receiving or transmitting a reference signal indicated by the first spatial relationship, and the second beam hop will use a spatial domain filter for receiving or transmitting a reference signal indicated by the second spatial relationship.

[0085] In an eighth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the first beam hop will use a first set of power control parameters indicated by the first spatial relationship, and the second beam hop will use a second set of power control parameters indicated by the second spatial relationship.

[0086] In a ninth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, time-domain OCC will be applied separately to each beam hop.

[0087] In a tenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, the first beam hop and the second beam hop will use the corresponding DMRS symbol numbers and positions in the single PUCCH resource.

[0088] In an eleventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to tenth aspects, the first part of the symbol and the second part of the symbol are separated by a gap of at least one symbol.

[0089] In a twelfth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eleventh aspects, the first beam hop and the second beam hop will use corresponding rate matching operations and RE mapping operations.

[0090] In a thirteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twelfth aspects, the first rate matching output sequence length for the first beam hop is at least partially based on the available resources for UCI in the first beam hop, and the second rate matching output sequence length for the second beam hop is at least partially based on the available resources for UCI in the second beam hop.

[0091] In a fourteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to thirteenth aspects, the RE mapping for the first beam hop includes mapping the modulated symbols corresponding to the first rate matching output sequence for the first beam hop to the available resources of the first beam hop, and the RE mapping for the second beam hop includes mapping the modulated symbols corresponding to the second rate matching output sequence for the second beam hop to the available resources of the second beam hop.

[0092] In a fifteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourteenth aspects, the first beam hop uses a first PUCCH power value, and the second beam hop uses a second PUCCH power value.

[0093] In a sixteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifteenth aspects, the first PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a first PL-RS, a first offset value, or a first closed-loop index, and the second PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a second PL-RS, a second offset value, or a second closed-loop index.

[0094] In a seventeenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixteenth aspects, when the corresponding closed-loop index values indicated by the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship are different, the first PUCCH power value is at least partially based on a first TPC accumulation function value and the second PUCCH power value is at least partially based on a second TPC accumulation function value.

[0095] In an eighteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventeenth aspects, the first PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a first number of resource elements or a first number of symbols, and the second PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a second number of resource elements or a second number of symbols.

[0096] In a nineteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighteenth aspects, the corresponding closed-loop index values indicated by the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship are different, and the TPC command indicated for the single PUCCH resource is applied to the corresponding closed-loop index value, the TPC command indicated for the single PUCCH resource is applied to one of the corresponding closed-loop index values, or corresponding TPC commands are indicated for the corresponding closed-loop index values.

[0097] In a twentieth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to nineteenth aspects, the first beam hopping will use a first frequency hop and a second frequency hop of the single PUCCH resource, and the second beam hopping will use the first frequency hop and the second frequency hop.

[0098] In a twenty-first aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twentieth aspects, the first frequency hop includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource, and the second frequency hop includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource.

[0099] In a twenty-second aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-first aspects, the first beam hopping includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource, and the second beam hopping includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource.

[0100] In a twenty-third aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-second aspects, the frequency hopping patterns for the first beam hopping and the second beam hopping are indicated via RRC signaling.

[0101] In a twenty-fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-third aspects, time-domain OCC will be applied to beam hopping and frequency hopping respectively.

[0102] Although Figure 4An example block diagram of process 400 is shown, but in some aspects, process 400 may include Figure 4 Additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in the process 400. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of the process 400 may be executed in parallel.

[0103] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example process 500, performed, for example, by a BS, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 500 is an example in which a BS (eg, BS 110, etc.) performs operations associated with beam hopping within a single PUCCH resource.

[0104] like Figure 5 As shown in , in some aspects, process 500 may include determining multiple spatial relationships to be activated for a UE in a single PUCCH resource (block 510). For example, the BS (e.g., using controller / processor 240, etc.) may determine multiple spatial relationships to be activated for a UE in a single PUCCH resource, as described above.

[0105] like Figure 5 As further shown in FIG. 5 , in some aspects, process 500 may include transmitting an activation command to the UE to activate the multiple spatial relationships for the single PUCCH resource (block 520). For example, the BS (e.g., using controller / processor 240, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, MOD 232, antenna 234, etc.) may transmit an activation command to the UE to activate the multiple spatial relationships for the single PUCCH resource, as described above.

[0106] Process 500 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in combination with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0107] In a first aspect, the activation command is transmitted via MAC-CE.

[0108] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the MAC-CE includes a bitmap for spatial relations, and a plurality of bits of the bitmap are set to indicate the plurality of spatial relations to be activated.

[0109] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the MAC-CE includes a first field indicating a first spatial relationship to be activated, and a second field indicating a second spatial relationship to be activated.

[0110] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the MAC-CE includes a flag that is set when the second field is included in the MAC-CE.

[0111] In a fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, when the UE receives a MAC-CE indicating an activation command to activate the multiple spatial relations or receives a configuration for multi-beam hopping for the single PUCCH resource via RRC signaling, the UE will communicate in the single PUCCH resource.

[0112] In a sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, a first spatial relation among the multiple spatial relations is associated with a first beam hop in the single PUCCH resource, and a second spatial relation among the multiple spatial relations is associated with a second beam hop in the single PUCCH resource, and the first beam hop will use a first portion of the symbols allocated to the single PUCCH resource, and the second beam hop will use a second portion of the symbols allocated to the single PUCCH resource.

[0113] In a seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, the first beam hop will use a spatial domain filter for receiving or transmitting a reference signal indicated by the first spatial relation, and the second beam hop will use a spatial domain filter for receiving or transmitting a reference signal indicated by the second spatial relation.

[0114] In an eighth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the first beam hop will use a first set of power control parameters indicated by the first spatial relation, and the second beam hop will use a second set of power control parameters indicated by the second spatial relation.

[0115] In a ninth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, time-domain OCC will be applied to each beam hop separately.

[0116] In a tenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, the first beam hop and the second beam hop will use the corresponding DMRS symbol numbers and positions in the single PUCCH resource.

[0117] In an eleventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to tenth aspects, the first portion of the symbol and the second portion of the symbol are separated by a gap of at least one symbol.

[0118] In a twelfth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eleventh aspects, the first beam hop and the second beam hop will use corresponding rate matching operations and RE mapping operations.

[0119] In a thirteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twelfth aspects, the length of the first rate-matched output sequence for the first beam hop is at least partially based on the available resources for UCI in the first beam hop, and the length of the second rate-matched output sequence for the second beam hop is at least partially based on the available resources for UCI in the second beam hop.

[0120] In a fourteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to thirteenth aspects, the RE mapping for the first beam hop includes mapping the modulated symbols corresponding to the first rate-matched output sequence for the first beam hop to the available resources of the first beam hop, and the RE mapping for the second beam hop includes mapping the modulated symbols corresponding to the second rate-matched output sequence for the second beam hop to the available resources of the second beam hop.

[0121] In a fifteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourteenth aspects, the first beam hop uses a first PUCCH power value, and the second beam hop uses a second PUCCH power value.

[0122] In a sixteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifteenth aspects, the first PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a first PL-RS, a first offset value, or a first closed-loop index, and the second PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a second PL-RS, a second offset value, or a second closed-loop index.

[0123] In a seventeenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixteenth aspects, when the corresponding closed-loop index values indicated by the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship are different, the first PUCCH power value is at least partially based on a first TPC cumulative function value and the second PUCCH power value is at least partially based on a second TPC cumulative function value.

[0124] In an eighteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventeenth aspects, the first PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a first number of resource elements or a first number of symbols, and the second PUCCH power value is at least partially based on at least one of a second number of resource elements or a second number of symbols.

[0125] In a nineteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighteenth aspects, the respective closed-loop index values indicated by the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship are different, and wherein the TPC command indicated for the single PUCCH resource will be applied by the UE to the respective closed-loop index value, the TPC command indicated for the single PUCCH resource will be applied by the UE to one of the respective closed-loop index values, or respective TPC commands are indicated for the respective closed-loop index values.

[0126] In a twentieth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to nineteenth aspects, the first beam hop will use a first frequency hop and a second frequency hop of the single PUCCH resource, and the second beam hop will use the first frequency hop and the second frequency hop.

[0127] In a twenty-first aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twentieth aspects, the first frequency hop includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource, and the second frequency hop includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource.

[0128] In a twenty-second aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-first aspects, the first beam hop includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource, and the second beam hop includes consecutive symbols of the single PUCCH resource.

[0129] In a twenty-third aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-second aspects, the frequency hopping patterns for the first beam hop and the second beam hop are indicated via RRC signaling.

[0130] In a twenty-fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-third aspects, time-domain OCC will be applied by the UE to the symbols of the beam hop and the frequency hop, respectively.

[0131] Although Figure 5 example blocks of process 500 are shown, in some aspects, process 500 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks compared to the blocks depicted in Figure 5 . Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 500 may be executed in parallel.

[0132] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be obtained by practicing the aspects.

[0133] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented with hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software.

[0134] As used herein, depending on the context, meeting a threshold can mean that a value is greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, and so on.

[0135] It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specific control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of these systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code—understanding that software and hardware can be designed to implement these systems and / or methods at least in part based on the description herein.

[0136] Although specific feature combinations are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the aspects. In fact, many of these features can be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or not disclosed in the specification. Although each of the following dependent claims may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of the aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with each other claim in this group of claims. The phrase "at least one" in reference to a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, and a - b - c, as well as any combination having multiple identical elements (e.g., a - a, a - a - a, a - a - b, a - a - c, a - b - b, a - c - c, b - b, b - b - b, b - b - c, c - c, and c - c - c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0137] Elements, acts, or instructions used herein should not be construed as critical or essential unless expressly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and can be used interchangeably with "one or more." Further, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related and unrelated items, etc.) and can be used interchangeably with "one or more." Where only one item is intended, the phrase "only one" or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms "having," "containing," "including," etc. are intended to be open - ended terms. Further, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "at least partially based on" unless otherwise expressly stated.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment UE, comprising: receiving an activation command to activate a plurality of spatial relationships for a single physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource; and communicating in the single PUCCH resource using the plurality of spatial relationships.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the activation command is received via a media access control control element MAC-CE.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the MAC-CE includes a bit mapping for the spatial relationships, and a plurality of bits of the bit mapping are set to indicate the plurality of spatial relationships to be activated.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the MAC-CE includes a first field indicating a first spatial relationship to be activated, and a second field indicating a second spatial relationship to be activated.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the MAC-CE includes a flag that is set when the second field is included in the MAC-CE.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a media access control control element indicating the activation command to activate the plurality of spatial relationships is received or a configuration for multi-beam hopping for the single PUCCH resource is received via radio resource control signaling, the UE will communicate in the single PUCCH resource.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a first spatial relationship among the plurality of spatial relationships is associated with a first beam hop in the single PUCCH resource, and a second spatial relationship among the plurality of spatial relationships is associated with a second beam hop in the single PUCCH resource, and wherein the first beam hop will use a first portion of the symbols assigned to the single PUCCH resource, and the second beam hop will use a second portion of the symbols assigned to the single PUCCH resource.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first beam hop will use a spatial domain filter for receiving or transmitting a reference signal indicated by the first spatial relationship, and the second beam hop will use a spatial domain filter for receiving or transmitting a reference signal indicated by the second spatial relationship.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first beam hop will use a first set of power control parameters indicated by the first spatial relationship, and the second beam hop will use a second set of power control parameters indicated by the second spatial relationship.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein time-domain orthogonal cover codes will be applied to each beam hop respectively.