Demodulation reference signal sequence initialization offset values

Abstract

Disclosed is a method comprising: receiving a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; receiving a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; and performing a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, where the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following exemplary embodiments relate to wireless communication. Background Art

[0002] Some wireless communication networks are capable of operating with multiple transmit - receive points. There are challenges in achieving simultaneous transmissions to multiple transmit - receive points. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The scope of protection sought for the various exemplary embodiments is set forth by the independent claims. Exemplary embodiments and features (if any) described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims should be construed as examples useful for understanding the various embodiments.

[0004] According to one aspect, there is provided an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; receive a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; perform a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; and perform a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0005] According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus including: means for receiving a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; means for receiving a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; means for performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; and means for performing a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0006] According to another aspect, there is provided a method including: receiving a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; receiving a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; and performing a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0007] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: receiving a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; receiving a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; and performing a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0008] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: receiving a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; receiving a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; and performing a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0009] According to another aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: receiving a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; receiving a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; and performing a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0010] According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: transmit a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value via a first network node; transmit a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via a second network node; receive a first uplink transmission based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the first network node; and receive a second uplink transmission based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0011] According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus including: means for transmitting a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value via a first network node; means for transmitting a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via a second network node; means for receiving a first uplink transmission based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the first network node; and means for receiving a second uplink transmission based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0012] According to another aspect, there is provided a method including: transmitting a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value via a first network node; transmitting a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via a second network node; receiving a first uplink transmission based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the first network node; and receiving a second uplink transmission based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0013] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform the following operations: transmit a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value via a first network node; transmit a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via a second network node; receive a first uplink transmission based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the first network node; and receive a second uplink transmission based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0014] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium including program instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: sending a first indication indicating a first initialization offset value of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence via a first network node; sending a second indication indicating a second initialization offset value of a second DMRS sequence via a second network node; receiving a first uplink transmission based on the first initialization offset value of the first DMRS sequence via the first network node; and receiving a second uplink transmission based on the second initialization offset value of the second DMRS sequence via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0015] According to another aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: sending a first indication indicating a first initialization offset value of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence via a first network node; sending a second indication indicating a second initialization offset value of a second DMRS sequence via a second network node; receiving a first uplink transmission based on the first initialization offset value of the first DMRS sequence via the first network node; and receiving a second uplink transmission based on the second initialization offset value of the second DMRS sequence via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time. List of Drawings

[0016] Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, where Figure 1A an example of a cellular communication network is shown; Figure 1B an example of a system is shown; Figure 2 a signaling diagram is shown; Figure 3 a signaling diagram is shown; Figure 4 a signaling diagram is shown; Figure 5 a flowchart is shown; Figure 6 a flowchart is shown; Figure 7 a flowchart is shown; Figure 8 a flowchart is shown; Figure 9 an example of a device is shown; and Figure 10 an example of a device is shown. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0017] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "one," "a," or "some" embodiments in several places in the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is to the same embodiment, or that a particular feature applies only to a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0018] In the following, the following will be used to describe different example embodiments as examples of access architectures to which the example embodiments can be applied: radio access architectures based on Advanced Long-Term Evolution (LTE-A), New Radio (NR, 5G), Beyond 5G, or Sixth Generation (6G), but the example embodiments are not limited to such architectures. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that by appropriately adjusting the parameters and processes, the example embodiments can also be applied to other types of communication networks with suitable means. Some examples of other options for suitable systems can be Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Radio Access Network (UTRAN or E-UTRAN), Long-Term Evolution (LTE, substantially the same as E-UTRA), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN or Wi-Fi), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Personal Communication Service (PCS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET), and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or any combination thereof.

[0019] Figure 1A An example of a simplified system architecture showing some elements and functional entities is depicted. All elements and functional entities are logical units, and their implementation may be different from that shown. Figure 1A The connections shown are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the system may also include other functions and structures in addition to Figure 1A the functions and structures shown.

[0020] However, the example embodiments are not limited to the system given as an example, but those skilled in the art can apply the solution to other communication systems with the necessary attributes.

[0021] Figure 1A The example of... shows a part of an exemplary radio access network.

[0022] Figure 1AUser equipments 100 and 102 are shown, which are configured to wirelessly connect with an access node (AN) 104 (such as evolved Node B (abbreviated as eNB or eNodeB) or next generation Node B (abbreviated as gNB or gNodeB)) on one or more communication channels in a radio cell, so as to provide a radio cell. The physical link from the user equipment to the access node can be referred to as the uplink (UL) or reverse link, while the physical link from the access node to the user equipment can be referred to as the downlink (DL) or forward link. The user equipment can also communicate directly with another user equipment via sidelink (SL) communication. It should be understood that the access node or its functionality can be implemented by using any entity such as a node, host, server, or access point suitable for this purpose.

[0023] The communication system can include more than one access node. In this case, the access nodes can also be configured to communicate with each other via wired or wireless links designed for this purpose. These links can be used for signaling purposes and also for routing data from one access node to another. The access node can be a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. The access node can also be referred to as a base station, base transceiver station (BTS), access point, or any other type of interface device including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. The access node can include or be coupled to a transceiver. From the transceiver of the access node, a connection can be provided to an antenna unit that establishes a bi-directional radio link to the user equipment. The antenna unit can include multiple antennas or antenna elements. The access node can also be connected to the core network 110 (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the deployed technology, the corresponding entity that the access node can be connected to on the CN side can be a serving gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW) for providing a connection from the user equipment to an external packet data network, a user plane function (UPF), a mobility management entity (MME), or an access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.

[0024] The user equipment shows a type of device to which resources on the air interface can be allocated and assigned, and thus any feature of the user equipment described herein can be implemented by using a corresponding device (such as a relay node).

[0025] Examples of such relay nodes can be a Layer 3 relay towards the access node (self-backhaul relay). The self-backhaul relay node can also be referred to as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. The IAB node can include two logical parts: a mobile terminal (MT) part, which is responsible for the backhaul link (i.e., the link between the IAB node and the donor node (also called the parent node)); and a distributed unit (DU) part, which is responsible for the access link (i.e., the sub-link between the IAB node and the user equipment and / or the sub-link between the IAB node and other IAB nodes (multi-hop scenario)).

[0026] Another example of such a relay node can be a Layer 1 relay, referred to as a repeater. The repeater can amplify the signal received from the access node and forward it to the user equipment, and / or amplify the signal received from the user equipment and forward it to the access node.

[0027] The user equipment can also be referred to as a subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, terminal device, or user equipment (UE), to name just a few. The user equipment can refer to a portable computing device including a wireless mobile communication device operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile stations (mobile phones), smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, devices using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement devices, etc.), laptop and / or touchscreen computers, tablet computers, game consoles, notebooks, multimedia devices, reduced-capability (RedCap) devices, wireless sensor devices, or any device integrated in a vehicle.

[0028] It should be understood that the user equipment can also be an almost exclusive uplink-only device, examples of which can be a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips onto the network. The user equipment can also be a device capable of operating in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, which is a scenario where the ability to provide objects with the ability to transfer data over the network without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The user equipment can also utilize the cloud. In some applications, the user equipment can include small portable or wearable devices with radio components (such as watches, headphones, or glasses), and the computing can be performed in the cloud or in another user equipment. The user equipment (or in some example embodiments, the Layer 3 relay node) can be configured to perform one or more user equipment functions.

[0029] The various techniques described herein can also be applied to network - physical systems (CPSs), which are systems of collaborative computing elements that control physical entities. A CPS can support the implementation and utilization of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors, microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. A mobile network - physical system, in which the physical systems discussed therein can have inherent mobility, is a sub - category of network - physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals.

[0030] Additionally, although the apparatus has been depicted as a single entity, different units, processors, and / or memory units ( Figure 1A not all shown in) can be implemented.

[0031] 5G supports the use of multiple - input - multiple - output (MIMO) antennas, far more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so - called small cell concept), including macro sites, which operate in cooperation with smaller stations and employ various radio technologies depending on service requirements, use cases, and / or available spectrum. 5G mobile communications can support a wide range of use cases and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing, and various forms of machine - type applications (such as (massive) machine - type communication (mMTC), including vehicle safety, different sensors, and real - time control). 5G can have multiple radio interfaces, namely, below 6 GHz, cmWave, and mmWave, and can also be integrated with existing traditional radio access technologies such as LTE. The integration with LTE can be implemented as a system at least in the early stages, where macro coverage can be provided by LTE, and 5G radio interface access can come from small cells by aggregating to LTE. In other words, 5G can support inter - RAT operability (such as LTE - 5G) and inter - RI operability (inter - radio - interface operability, such as below 6 GHz - cmWave - mmWave). One of the concepts considered to be used in 5G networks can be network slicing, where multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub - networks (network instances) can be created within substantially the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput, and mobility.

[0032] The current architecture in LTE networks can be fully distributed in the radio and fully centralized in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G may require bringing content closer to the radio, which leads to local breakout and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analytics and knowledge generation to occur at the data source. This approach may require leveraging resources that are not continuously connected to the network, such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and sensors. MEC can provide a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It can also have the ability to store and process content very close to the cellular subscriber for faster response times. Edge computing can cover various technologies, such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer ad-hoc networking and processing, and can also be classified as local cloud / fog computing and grid / mesh computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, microclouds, distributed data storage and retrieval, self-healing autonomous networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and / or latency-critical), mission-critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analytics, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0033] The communication system is also capable of communicating with one or more other networks 113, such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet, or of utilizing the services provided by them. The communication network is also capable of supporting the use of cloud services. For example, at least a part of the core network operation can be performed as a cloud service (which is depicted by the "cloud" 114 in Figure 1A ). The communication system may also include a central control entity, etc., which provides facilities for the networks of different operators to cooperate, for example, in spectrum sharing.

[0034] The access node can also be split into: a radio unit (RU), which includes a radio transceiver (TRX), i.e., a transmitter (Tx) and a receiver (Rx); one or more distributed units (DU) 105, which can be used for so-called layer 1 (L1) processing and real-time layer 2 (L2) processing; and a central unit (CU) 108 (also referred to as a centralized unit), which can be used for non-real-time L2 and layer 3 (L3) processing. The CU 108 can be connected to one or more DUs 105, for example, via an F1 interface. Such a split can enable the centralization of the CU with respect to the cell site and the DU, while the DU can be more distributed and can even remain at the cell site. The CU and the DU together can also be referred to as the baseband or baseband unit (BBU). The CU and the DU can also be included in a radio access point (RAP).

[0035] CU 108 can be defined as a logical node hosting higher layer protocols of an access node, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and / or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). DU 105 can be defined as a logical node hosting the Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and / or Physical (PHY) layer of an access node. The operation of the DU can be at least partially controlled by the CU. The CU can include a Control Plane (CU-CP), which can be defined as a logical node hosting the control plane part of the PDCP protocol of the CU for the access node and the RRC. The CU can also include a User Plane (CU-UP), which can be defined as a logical node hosting the user plane part of the PDCP protocol and the SDAP protocol of the CU for the access node.

[0036] The cloud computing platform can also be used to run the CU 108 and / or the DU 105. The CU can run in a cloud computing platform, which can be referred to as a virtualized CU (vCU). In addition to the vCU, there can also be a virtualized DU (vDU) running in the cloud computing platform. Furthermore, there can be a combination where the DU can use a so-called bare metal solution, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or a Customer-Specific Standard Product (CSSP) System-on-Chip (SoC) solution. It should also be understood that the functional distribution between the above access node units or different core network operations and access node operations may vary.

[0037] Edge cloud can be brought into the Radio Access Network (RAN) by leveraging Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Network (SDN). Using edge cloud means that access node operations should be at least partially performed in a server, host, or node operably coupled to a Remote Radio Head (RRH) or Radio Unit (RU), or an access node including a radio part. Node operations can also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. The application of the cloud RAN architecture enables RAN real-time functions to be executed on the RAN side (e.g., in the DU 105), and non-real-time functions to be executed in a centralized manner (e.g., in the CU 108).

[0038] It should also be understood that the functional distribution between core network operations and access node operations can be different from that of LTE, or may not even exist. Some other technological advancements that can be used include big data and all-IP, which can change the way the network is built and managed. The 5G (or New Radio NR) network can be designed to support multiple tiers, where the MEC server can be placed between the core node and the access node. It should be understood that MEC can also be applied to 4G networks.

[0039] 5G can also utilize non-terrestrial communications, e.g., satellite communications, to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services, for example, by providing backhaul. Possible use cases can be to provide service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (IoT) devices or for passengers on vehicles, or to ensure the service availability of critical communications and future railway / sea / air communications. Satellite communications can utilize geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems and can also utilize low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, especially mega-constellations (systems in which hundreds (nanosatellites) are deployed). A given satellite 106 in a mega-constellation can cover a network entity of several supporting satellites that create a terrestrial cell. The terrestrial cell can be created by terrestrial relay nodes or by access nodes 104 located on the ground or in the satellite.

[0040] It is expected that 6G networks will adopt flexible decentralized and / or distributed computing systems and architectures and ubiquitous computing, where local spectrum licensing, spectrum sharing, infrastructure sharing, and intelligent automation management are determined by mobile edge computing, artificial intelligence, short-packet communications, and blockchain technologies. Key features of 6G can include management and control functions for intelligent connections, programmability, integrated sensing and communication, reduced energy occupancy, trusted infrastructure, scalability, and affordability. In addition to these, 6G also targets new use cases for integrating positioning and sensing capabilities into the system definition for coverage to unify the user experience across the physical and digital worlds.

[0041] It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the depicted system is only an example of a part of a radio access system, and in practice, the system can include multiple access nodes, user equipment can access multiple radio cells, and the system can also include other devices, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements, etc. At least one of the access nodes can be a home eNodeB or a home gNodeB.

[0042] In addition, in the geographical area of a radio communication system, multiple different types of radio cells and multiple radio cells can be provided. The radio cell can be a macro cell (or umbrella cell), which can be a large cell with a diameter of up to dozens of kilometers, or a smaller cell, such as a micro cell, a femto cell, or a pico cell. Figure 1A The access nodes can provide any of these types of cells. A cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network including several radio cells. In a multi-layer network, one access node can provide one or more radio cells of one type, so multiple access nodes may be required to provide such a network structure.

[0043] To meet the need for improving the deployment and performance of communication systems, the concept of "plug-and-play" access nodes can be introduced. In addition to the home eNodeB or home gNodeB, networks that can use "plug-and-play" access nodes can also include a home Node B gateway or HNB-GW ( Figure 1A not shown in Figure 1A ). The HNB-GW can be installed within the operator network and can aggregate traffic from a large number of home eNodeBs or home gNodeBs back to the core network.

[0044] There can be at least two types of uplink (UL) transmissions: dynamic grant (DG) transmission and configured grant (CG) transmission. In DG transmission, the UE sends a scheduling request (SR) to an access node (e.g., gNB) and receives a UL grant with resource allocation. In CG transmission, the UE sends UL data in configured resources without sending an SR and UL grant, so using CG transmission can reduce latency compared to DG transmission. Currently, there are two types of CG configurations: type 1 CG and type 2 CG.

[0045] In type 1 CG, radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicates the complete time-domain resource allocation, including the periodicity, offset, start symbol, and length of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and K repetitions (repK) over K time slots / sub-slots without any physical layer signaling such as downlink control information (DCI). In this document, the term "slot" refers to a time slot.

[0046] In type 2 CG, the periodicity and repK can be indicated via RRC signaling. Other time-domain related parameters can be indicated by activating DCI.

[0047] In both DG and CG transmissions, it may not be allowed for one PUSCH transmission instance to cross a time slot boundary. Therefore, to avoid sending a long PUSCH across a time slot boundary, the UE can send a smaller PUSCH in several repetitions scheduled by a UL grant or RRC in consecutive available transmission opportunities. Using PUSCH repetitions for one transport block (TB) can also reduce latency and increase the reliability of PUSCH transmission, where the UE can be configured to send multiple repetitions across consecutive transmission opportunities without feedback.

[0048] In PUSCH repetition type A, a given time slot can include one repetition, and the time domain for the repetitions for the TB is the same in those time slots.

[0049] In PUSCH repetition type B, the repetition can be performed in consecutive mini-slots such that one slot can include more than one repetition of the TB. Due to the slot boundary, downlink (DL) symbols, and symbols in the invalid pattern, the repetition can be segmented into smaller repetitions.

[0050] The network (e.g., Figure 1A the network shown in

[0051] Figure 1B Figure 1A

[0052] Figure 1B

[0053] Reference Figure 1B shows two TRPs 104-1, 104-2. The UE 100 can send a first uplink transmission to the first TRP 104-1 (e.g., the TRP associated with CORESETPoolIndex 0) via the first antenna panel 100-1 of the UE 100, and the UE 100 can send a second uplink transmission to the second TRP 104-2 (e.g., the TRP associated with CORESETPoolIndex 1) via the second antenna panel 100-2 of the UE 100. The first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission can be sent simultaneously, i.e., they can at least partially overlap in time. Alternatively, the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission can be sent non-simultaneously, i.e., one at a time.

[0053] In other words, the UE 100 may send the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission from different antenna panels of the UE. A given UE antenna panel may be identified by an index of a corresponding UE capability value set or by an antenna panel identifier (ID). Alternatively or additionally, a given UE antenna panel may be identified by or associated with at least one reference signal (e.g., a DL reference signal resource such as a non-zero power channel state information reference signal NZP-CSI-RS, or a synchronization signal block SSB), or a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state (e.g., a DL TCI state or a UL TCI state or a combined DL and UL TCI state), or a UL beam or a UL reference signal.

[0054] In this document, M-TRP operation may refer to single downlink control information (S-DCI) or multiple downlink control information (M-DCI) operation.

[0055] In S-DCI operation, one serving TRP may schedule UL transmissions from the UE to multiple TRPs and / or DL transmissions from multiple TRPs to the UE. Different CORESETs may or may not be grouped, i.e., the same CORESET pool index value may be configured or assumed for all CORESETs; alternatively, in this case, the CORESET Pool Index may not be configured. When more than one CORESET Pool Index value is configured (e.g., two sets of CORESETs may be configured in M-DCI operation), it may be expected that the UE monitors downlink control information (DCI) transmissions from CORESETs associated with different CORESET Pool Index values simultaneously. Currently, up to two values (k = 0, 1) may be configured.

[0056] In M-DCI operation, each TRP may operate independently such that a given TRP schedules UL transmissions from the UE to itself and / or DL transmissions from itself to the UE. The CORESET Pool Index value may be used to group CORESETs under separate groups. In other words, when CORESETs share the same group ID or CORESET pool index value, they may be considered to be in the same group.

[0057] NR Release 17 supports S-DCI for time division multiplexing (TDM) M-TRP PUSCH repetition and antenna panel selection. NR Release 17 is specified to enhance the reliability of uplink transmissions in the context of the M-TRP scenario. Based on the NR Release 17 capability value set index report, the network may know the UE antenna panel (including information on the number of UL sounding reference signal SRS antenna ports) specific transmission capabilities for UL SRS codebook-based transmissions to a specific spatial UL direction.

[0058] Based on this information, the network can use the use of the codebook to trigger the transmission of two different UL SRS resource sets to obtain a TRP-specific transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) assumption (i.e., determine the precoder index and rank selection) for PUSCH transmission for an antenna panel. These two different UL SRS resource sets can be configured with two different DL transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, or two combined DL and UL TCI states, or two separate UL TCI states associated with spatial sources.

[0059] NR Release 17 introduced a unified TCI framework. The unified TCI framework means that the TCI states that have previously been used to provide quasi-co-location (QCL) assumptions for the reception of DL signals and channels can also be used to provide spatial sources for the transmission of UL signals and channels. In addition, the unified TCI framework defines the concept of an "indicated TCI state". The indicated TCI state can be a combined DL and UL TCI state, or a separate DL TCI state and a separate UL TCI state. The indicated TCI state provides a QCL source for a set of DL signals and channels and a spatial source for a set of UL signals and channels.

[0060] Based on the obtained TRP-specific TPMI and SRS resource indicator (SRI) information, the network can trigger non-simultaneous TRP-specific Rel-17 PUSCH transmission by indicating, via DCI, the code point for a single SRS resource set indicator, where 2 bits can be reserved when two SRS resource sets are configured with the use of a codebook or non-codebook, thus reserving 4 values, or 0 bits otherwise. The first of the four possible values of the DCI code point can be used to indicate which of the two SRIs (first or second) is used to achieve dynamic switching between single-TRP (e.g., TRP1 or TRP2) PUSCH transmissions in a TDM manner, and the other remaining two bits can be used to utilize repetition to achieve M-TRP PUSCH transmission between TRP1 and TRP2 in a TDM manner. In addition, cyclic or sequential mapping can be configured via RRC for mapping the two SRIs to PUSCH repetition.

[0061] In addition, for codebook-based transmission, the DCI may include two separate code point fields for the SRI, as well as two precoding information and transport layer number fields. It is worth noting that the first field indicates the number of transport layers, while the second field does not indicate the number of transport layers. For non-codebook-based transmission, the DCI may include two SRI code point fields, where the first field indicates the transport layer and the second field does not indicate the transport layer. Based on the received S-DCI, the UE can then use multiple antenna panels (one panel at a time in NR Release 17) to send PUSCH transmissions.

[0062] The NR Release 17 specification enables the UE to be configured for codebook-based or non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission. In other words, based on this configuration, the UE can assume that when receiving DCI with or without uplink grant, the SRS resource indicator and precoding information are associated with codebook-based PUSCH transmission or non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission.

[0063] In NR Release 18, there are targets for identifying and specifying enhancements for uplink MIMO. For Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2), enhancements to downlink MIMO that help use large antenna arrays may also be required to meet the requests for NR deployment evolution.

[0064] Higher peak data rates for UL may be beneficial, for example, in short-range applications such as home entertainment, video surveillance / monitoring in industrial / healthcare / security, IAB, and other applications where UE power and / or form factor may not be as stringent as in traditional handheld devices. In both FR1 and FR2, UL transmissions with more than four transmit antenna ports can be used to bridge the gap between DL and UL spectral efficiency. Therefore, methods and / or signaling solutions may be required to overcome this problem for NR Release 18 and above.

[0065] One of the goals of NR Release 18 is to define how to provide specification support for simultaneous UL transmission across two panels (STx2P).

[0066] Compared with the S-DCI-based TDM repetition scheme in NR Release 17, NR Release 18 will specify support for simultaneous uplink multi-panel PUSCH schemes based on S-DCI and M-DCI with spatial division multiplexing (SDM) and single-frequency network (SFN), with the goal of enhancing throughput and reliability and reducing latency.

[0067] In the SDM-based scheme, different layers or demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports of one PUSCH are precoded separately and sent simultaneously from different UE antenna panels.

[0068] In an SFN-based transmission scheme, all the same layers or DMRS ports of a PUSCH are transmitted simultaneously from two different UE antenna panels.

[0069] The NR Release 17 specification does not provide support for simultaneous UL PUSCH transmission based on S-DCI or M-DCI with multiple antenna panels. For S-DCI, it can be assumed that the network has a centralized scheduler with ideal backhaul between multiple TRPs, while for M-DCI, a distributed scheduler with non-ideal backhaul can be assumed.

[0070] For the M-DCI-based simultaneous multi-panel DG PUSCH+DGPUSCH transmission within the same component carrier (CC) in NR Release 18, the UE can assume that different PUSCH transmissions are associated with different CORESETPoolIndex values, which can be implicitly determined according to the CORESET associated with the triggering DCI configuration.

[0071] For CG-PUSCH, the association with the CORESETPoolIndex value has not been agreed upon yet. However, for Type 2 CG, the association may be similar to that of DG-PUSCH, i.e., based on the activating DCI. For Type 1 CG, the association may follow the higher-layer configuration for a given CG configuration.

[0072] For NR Release 18, in a multi-DCI-based system, there is protocol support for simultaneous transmission across multiple panels (STxMP) PUSCH+PUSCH transmission. Two independent PUSCHs associated with different TRPs can be transmitted simultaneously by the UE in the same active bandwidth part (BWP). For example, the total number of layers of these two PUSCHs can be up to 4.

[0073] However, it is currently unclear whether and how different DMRS configurations can be applied to overlapping (simultaneous) PUSCH transmissions for M-DCI-based simultaneous multi-panel transmission. Therefore, there are challenges in how to use the same or different DMRS configurations with overlapping PUSCH transmissions in the M-DCI scenario.

[0074] According to the NR version 17 specification, the UE can be configured with PUSCH parameters (i.e., PUSCH-Config) for a specific BWP, which are common within a cell, and also includes uplink DMRS parameters (i.e., DMRS-UplinkConfig). Therefore, for M-DCI-based simultaneous multi-panel PUSCH transmission, a single DMRS type (i.e., type 1 or type 2) can be semi-statically configured and defined to be valid for all PUSCH transmissions within the serving cell. For M-DCI, due to independent scheduling decisions for uplink transmissions between TRPs, different DG-PUSCH transmissions associated with different TRPs can overlap completely or partially in time, and can overlap completely, partially, or not at all in the frequency domain. When a TRP schedules a PUSCH transmission via M-DCI, the antenna port for the DMRS of the PUSCH can be independently indicated using the code point field associated with the antenna port, where the indicated DMRS antenna ports can be the same or different.

[0075] Since PUSCH-Config and the corresponding DMRS-RS-UplinkConfig can be valid for all PUSCH transmissions associated with different TRPs in the serving cell, where the DMRS-RS-UplinkConfig may have the same scrambling ID (e.g., scramblingID0, scramblingID1), different TRPs may not be able to perform DMRS channel estimation for each TRP-specific PUSCH transmission. In other words, the DMRS antenna ports indicated by different TRPs cannot currently be distinguished from each other (e.g., when the UE is scheduled for simultaneous multi-panel PUSCH transmission, where the same DMRS antenna port combination is indicated by two TRPs).

[0076] Similar problems may occur when the UE performs simultaneous multi-panel transmission in the following combinations: DG-PUSCH + CG-PUSCH or CG-PUSCH + CG-PUSCH. DG-PUSCH refers to PUSCH transmission with dynamic authorization (e.g., by the gNB), and CG-PUSCH refers to configured authorization for PUSCH transmission (e.g., periodic UL authorization can be used for the UE without the UE explicitly requesting resources for each transmission).

[0077] As described above, the current specification does not provide a solution to distinguish different UL DMRS antenna ports for simultaneous DG-PUSCH+DG-PUSCH or DG-PUSCH+CG-PUSCH or CG-PUSCH+CG-PUSCH transmissions to different TRPs. Therefore, the network may not be able to correctly perform DMRS channel estimation associated with TRP-specific PUSCH transmissions. In addition, it may not be feasible for the network to coordinate CG / DG resource allocation between TRPs for each UE, and thus a more efficient solution may be required.

[0078] Some example embodiments relate to NR physical layer designs for MIMO enhancements in NR versions 18 and above. Some example embodiments can solve the above problems by providing an explicit or implicit indication mechanism to initialize UL DMRS sequences for M-DCI-based simultaneous multi-panel PUSCH transmissions.

[0079] Some example embodiments enable the network to specifically initialize different UL DMRS antenna port TRPs, such as for simultaneous DG-PUSCH+DG-PUSCH, or DG-PUSCH+CG-PUSCH, or CG-PUSCH+CG-PUSCH transmissions. Therefore, the network can specifically distinguish different DMRS antenna port TRPs and perform DMRS channel estimation associated with TRP-specific PUSCH transmissions.

[0080] In the context of M-DCI, simultaneous multi-panel transmission means that the UE can simultaneously send PUSCH to at least two different TRPs, but the PUSCH transmissions can be different. For example, one of the PUSCH transmissions can have two layers (corresponding to two DMRS antenna ports), while the other PUSCH transmission can have one layer (corresponding to one DMRS antenna port). In this document, the term "layer" can refer to a MIMO layer.

[0081] However, a common PUSCH configuration can be used for all TRPs in the cell. By using a TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value, a given DMRS sequence (associated with an uplink transmission to a specific TRP) can be initialized in a TRP-specific manner, resulting in a TRP-specific DMRS sequence (i.e., a TRP-specific pseudo-random sequence) being mapped onto the physical transmission resource element pattern of the DMRS. This enables the distinction of DMRS sequences for different TRPs.

[0082] For example, when the first TRP schedules an uplink transmission from the first antenna panel of the UE to the first TRP, and the second TRP schedules an uplink transmission from the second antenna panel of the UE to the second TRP, DMRS sequence initialization means that the DMRS sequence will have a TRP-specific initialization. With the TRP-specific initialization, the DMRS sequence will also be generated in a TRP-specific manner. Thus, the output of the TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization can be a first DMRS sequence for the first TRP and a second DMRS sequence for the second TRP.

[0083] Even if the uplink transmissions to the first TRP and the second TRP have the same resource allocation / configuration (e.g., resource element pattern structure), and the UE transmits the uplink transmissions simultaneously, the TRP-specific DMRS sequences enable the uplink transmissions to be separable in the sequence domain. Knowing the TRP-specific DMRS sequences helps a given TRP determine the TRP-specific DMRS channel estimation for the TRP-specific PUSCH transmission.

[0084] As a result of the TRP-specific DMRS channel estimation, the TRP can demodulate the PUSCH layer transmitted towards that specific TRP, even if the simultaneous uplink PUSCH transmissions to different TRPs may interfere with each other. Thus, when a given TRP knows the reference signal specific to that TRP, the TRP can estimate the interference, for example, by first estimating the DMRS channel estimation using the known DMRS sequence. Thereafter, the TRP can regenerate the target TRP-specific DMRS transmission by using the estimated DMRS channel estimation, the known DRMS sequence, and the corresponding DMRS RE pattern. Then, the TRP can subtract the regenerated TRP-specific DMRS transmission from the received signal to obtain the residual received interference, and then calculate the interference covariance matrix for the residual received interference signal. Then, the interference covariance matrix will correspond to the interference that can be used with an advanced receiver, such as an interference rejection combiner (IRC) minimum mean square error (MMSE) or any linear or non-linear detector for PUSCH demodulation.

[0085] Alternatively, when the TRP is aware of the DMRS sequence and the corresponding RE pattern of the interfering PUSCH transmission, the TRP can explicitly estimate the interference covariance matrix based on the calculated DMRS channel estimation of the interfering PUSCH transmission to another TRP and the target PUSCH transmission. Then, this interference covariance matrix can be used with an advanced receiver for the demodulation of the target PUSCH transmission.

[0086] Some example embodiments are described below using the principles and terms of 5G technology, but the example embodiments are not limited to 5G communication systems.

[0087] Figure 2 shows a signaling diagram according to an example embodiment of an explicit indication mechanism. Although two TRPs are shown in Figure 2 , it should be noted that the number of TRPs can also be more than two. In other words, there can be two or more TRPs. In addition, Figure 2 the signaling process shown in can be extended and applied according to the actual number of TRPs. In this document, the terms TRP and gNB can be used interchangeably.

[0088] In this example embodiment, for example, for M-DCI-based simultaneous multi-panel PUSCH transmission (e.g., DG-PUSCH or CG-PUSCH transmission), the user equipment explicitly indicates an offset value (denoted as β) initialized with a TRP-specific DMRS sequence.

[0089] For example, for DG-PUSCH or CG-PUSCH (both type 1 and type 2), a specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value β (which can be TRP-specific) can be explicitly indicated via RRC signaling.

[0090] Alternatively, the β value can be, for example, part of the configuration information for CG-PUSCH. For example, one of the DCI formats (e.g., DCI format 0_1 or a new DCI format) can have a new code point field for DMRS initialization offset, and when the user equipment receives DCI format 0_1, it can determine the DMRS sequence initialization value associated with the TRP-specific PUSCH transmission by using the DMRS sequence initialization offset value indicated by the DCI in the DMRS sequence initialization. If the DMRS sequence initialization offset value is not included in the triggering DCI, the user equipment can use the RRC-configured (TRP-specific) DMRS initialization offset.

[0091] Alternatively, for DG-PUSCH or CG-PUSCH, a MAC CE can be used to dynamically indicate a TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value for DMRS sequence initialization. For example, a MAC CE can be used to refer to a specific CG-PUSCH configuration index and provide the applied β value associated with the CG-PUSCH.

[0092] Referring to Figure 2 , in block 201, a first TRP sends a first indication to the user equipment, where the first indication indicates a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for the first TRP. In this document, the first TRP can also be referred to as the first network node.

[0093] For example, the first indication may be sent via first Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, or first Downlink Control Information (DCI), or first Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0094] In the case where the first indication is sent via the first RRC signaling, the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be provided, for example, in a configured grant configuration (e.g., in the configuredGrantConfig information element).

[0095] In block 202, a second TRP (which is different from the first TRP) sends a second indication to the user equipment, where the second indication indicates a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for the second TRP. Here, the second TRP may also be referred to as a second network node.

[0096] For example, the second indication may be sent via second RRC signaling, or second DCI, or second MAC CE.

[0097] In the case where the second indication is sent via the second RRC signaling, the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be provided, for example, in a configured grant configuration (e.g., in the configuredGrantConfig information element).

[0098] The user equipment may correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1B UE 100. The first TRP may correspond to Figure 1B TRP1 104-1. The second TRP may correspond to Figure 1B TRP2 104-2. The first TRP and the second TRP may be controlled by the same access node (e.g., gNB), for example, by Figure 1A or Figure 1B access node 104.

[0099] Here, the terms "first TRP" and "second TRP" are used to distinguish the TRPs, and they do not necessarily represent specific identifiers of the TRPs.

[0100] The terms "first indication" and "second indication" are used to distinguish the indications, and they do not necessarily represent a specific order of the indications.

[0101] In block 203, the user equipment determines a first DMRS sequence initialization value based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value, and determines a second DMRS sequence initialization value based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value. In other words, the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be used to initialize the generation of the first DMRS sequence, and the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be used to initialize the generation of a second DMRS sequence different from the first DMRS sequence.

[0102] For example, for DG-PUSCH and CG-PUSCH (both type 1 and type 2), the TRP-specific DMRS initialization value (c init ) can be determined based on the TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value (β) as follows: Where is the number of symbols in a time slot, is the time slot number within a frame, l is the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol number within the time slot, and and are the higher layer parameters scramblingID0 and scramblingID1. When λ = 0 or λ = 2, and when λ = 1, Where λ represents the code division multiplexing (CDM) group, and where n SCID ∈ {0, 1}.

[0103] In block 204, the user equipment transmits two simultaneous uplink transmissions, where the first uplink transmission is sent to the first TRP using the first DMRS sequence, and the second uplink transmission is sent to the second TRP using the second DMRS sequence. In other words, the user equipment initializes the offset value based on the first DMRS sequence and performs the first uplink transmission to the first TRP. Additionally, the user equipment initializes the offset value based on the second DMRS sequence and performs the second uplink transmission to the second TRP, where the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission can at least partially overlap in time and / or at least partially overlap in frequency.

[0104] The first uplink transmission can be performed based on the first TCI state, and the second uplink transmission can be performed based on the second TCI state. A given TCI state can include DL / UL reference signal resources, and the user equipment can determine the uplink beam or antenna panel for a given UL transmission based on the DL / UL reference signal resources. For example, the first uplink transmission can be performed via the first antenna panel of the user equipment, and the second uplink transmission can be performed via the second antenna panel of the user equipment.

[0105] The first uplink transmission can include, for example, a first dynamic grant physical uplink shared channel (DG-PUSCH) transmission or a first configured grant physical uplink shared channel (CG-PUSCH) transmission (type 1 or type 2).

[0106] The second uplink transmission may include, for example, a second DG-PUSCH transmission or a second CG-PUSCH transmission (type 1 or type 2).

[0107] In block 205, the first TRP performs channel estimation on the first uplink transmission based on the offset value initialized by the first DMRS sequence.

[0108] In block 206, the second TRP performs channel estimation on the second uplink transmission based on the offset value initialized by the second DMRS sequence.

[0109] The DMRS sequence initialization information (e.g., the DMRS sequence initialization offset value) may or may not be shared between the TRPs. In the case where the DMRS sequence initialization information is not shared between the TRPs, since each M-DCI scheduling for a TRP-specific PUSCH transmission is specific to the TRP, a given TRP does not have to know the DMRS initialization value associated with the PUSCH transmission to other TRPs. It is sufficient that the DMRS sequence associated with a given PUSCH transmission to a specific TRP is different from the other PUSCH transmissions targeted at other TRPs. For M-DCI, it can be assumed that different TRPs independently schedule their own TRP-specific PUSCH transmissions.

[0110] In the case where the DMRS sequence initialization information is shared between the TRPs, for example, in the case where one TRP also wants to demodulate the PUSCH transmission associated with another TRP, the DMRS initialization value can be exchanged between the TRPs via the backhaul network using corresponding signaling.

[0111] Figure 3 A signaling diagram showing another exemplary embodiment according to the explicit indication mechanism is shown. Although two TRPs are shown in Figure 3 , it should be noted that the number of TRPs can also be more than two. In other words, there can be two or more TRPs. In addition, Figure 3 the signaling procedure shown in can be extended and applied according to the actual number of TRPs. In this document, the terms TRP and gNB can be used interchangeably.

[0112] In this exemplary embodiment, for example, for M-DCI-based DG-PUSCH or CG-PUSCH type 2, the DMRS sequence initialization offset value (β) can be dynamically indicated, for example, via DCI (e.g., as a new code point field or by reusing an existing code point field) or MAC CE, to override the RRC-configured (TRP-specific) DMRS initialization offset value. The β value can be TRP-specific (e.g., based on the CORESETPoolIndex value).

[0113] Refer toFigure 3 In block 301, the second TRP sends a third indication to the user equipment, where the third indication indicates a third demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for the second TRP (i.e., the TRP that sends the third indication).

[0114] For example, the third indication can be sent via a third radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a third downlink control information (DCI), or a third medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0115] In the case of sending the third indication via the third RRC signaling, the third DMRS sequence initialization offset value can be provided, for example, in a configured grant configuration (e.g., in the configuredGrantConfig information element).

[0116] In block 302, the first TRP sends a first indication to the user equipment, where the first indication indicates a first DMRS sequence initialization offset value for the first TRP. Herein, the first TRP can also be referred to as the first network node.

[0117] For example, the first indication can be sent via a first RRC signaling or a first DCI or a first MAC CE.

[0118] In the case of sending the first indication via the first RRC signaling, the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value can be provided, for example, in a configured grant configuration (e.g., in the configuredGrantConfig information element).

[0119] In block 303, the second TRP sends a second indication to the user equipment, where the second indication indicates a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for the second TRP. Herein, the second TRP can also be referred to as the second network node.

[0120] For example, the second indication can be sent via a second RRC signaling, or a second DCI, or a second MAC CE.

[0121] In the case of sending the second indication via the second RRC signaling, the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value can be provided, for example, in a configured grant configuration (e.g., in the configuredGrantConfig information element).

[0122] In addition, a fourth indication can be sent from TRP1 ( Figure 3 not shown therein) before sending the first indication. Alternatively, at block 301, the third indication can be sent from TRP1 instead of TRP2.

[0123] The user equipment can correspond to Figure 1A orFigure 1B UE 100. The first TRP may correspond to Figure 1B TRP1 104-1. The second TRP may correspond to Figure 1B TRP2 104-2. The first TRP and the second TRP may be controlled by the same access node (e.g., gNB), such as by Figure 1A or Figure 1B access node 104.

[0124] In this document, the terms "first TRP" and "second TRP" are used to distinguish TRPs, and they do not necessarily represent specific identifiers of the TRPs.

[0125] The terms "first indication", "second indication", "third indication", and "fourth indication" are used to distinguish indications, and they do not necessarily represent a specific order of the indications.

[0126] In block 304, the user equipment overrides the third DMRS sequence initialization offset value (and / or the fourth DMRS sequence initialization offset value) with the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value and / or the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value. In other words, when an alternative indication is received within a predetermined time, the user equipment may ignore the third and / or fourth DMRS sequence initialization offset values.

[0127] For example, if the user equipment receives a third indication from the first TRP via the third RRC signaling, and the user equipment subsequently receives a first indication from the first TRP via the first DCI or the first MAC CE, the user equipment may override the third DMRS sequence initialization offset value with the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value.

[0128] As another example, if the user equipment receives a third indication from the second TRP via the third RRC signaling, and the user equipment subsequently receives a second indication from the second TRP via the second DCI or the second MAC CE, the user equipment may override the third DMRS sequence initialization offset value with the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value.

[0129] In block 305, the user equipment determines a first DMRS sequence initialization value based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value, and determines a second DMRS sequence initialization value based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value. In other words, the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be used to initialize the generation of the first DMRS sequence, and the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be used to initialize the generation of a second DMRS sequence different from the first DMRS sequence.

[0130] For example, for DG-PUSCH and CG-PUSCH (both type 1 and type 2), the TRP-specific DMRS initialization value (c) can be determined based on initializing the offset value (β) with a TRP-specific DMRS sequence as follows init ): where is the number of symbols in a time slot, is the time slot number within a frame, l is the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol number within the time slot, and and are the higher layer parameters scramblingID0 and scramblingID1, where when λ = 0 or λ = 2, and when λ = 1, where λ represents a code division multiplexing (CDM) group, and where n SCID ∈ {0, 1}.

[0131] In block 306, the user equipment transmits two simultaneous uplink transmissions, where the first uplink transmission is sent to a first TRP using a first DMRS sequence, and the second uplink transmission is sent to a second TRP using a second DMRS sequence. In other words, the user equipment initializes the offset value based on the first DMRS sequence and performs the first uplink transmission to the first TRP. Additionally, the user equipment initializes the offset value based on the second DMRS sequence and performs the second uplink transmission to the second TRP, where the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission can at least partially overlap in time and / or at least partially overlap in frequency.

[0132] The first uplink transmission can be performed based on a first TCI state, and the second uplink transmission can be performed based on a second TCI state. For example, the first uplink transmission can be performed via a first antenna panel of the user equipment, and the second uplink transmission can be performed via a second antenna panel of the user equipment.

[0133] The first uplink transmission can include, for example, a first dynamic grant physical uplink shared channel (DG-PUSCH) transmission or a first configured grant physical uplink shared channel (CG-PUSCH) transmission (type 1 or type 2).

[0134] The second uplink transmission can include, for example, a second DG-PUSCH transmission or a second CG-PUSCH transmission (type 1 or type 2).

[0135] In block 307, the first TRP performs channel estimation on the first uplink transmission based on initializing the offset value with the first DMRS sequence.

[0136] In block 308, the second TRP performs channel estimation on the second uplink transmission based on the offset value initialized by the second DMRS sequence.

[0137] The DMRS sequence initialization information (e.g., the DMRS sequence initialization offset value) may or may not be shared between TRPs. In the case where the DMRS sequence initialization information is not shared between TRPs, since each M-DCI scheduling for a TRP-specific PUSCH transmission is specific to the TRP, a given TRP does not have to know the DMRS initialization value associated with the PUSCH transmission to other TRPs. It is sufficient that the DMRS sequence associated with a given PUSCH transmission to a specific TRP is different from the other PUSCH transmissions targeted at other TRPs. For M-DCI, it can be assumed that different TRPs independently schedule their own TRP-specific PUSCH transmissions.

[0138] In the case where the DMRS sequence initialization information is shared between TRPs, for example, in the case where one TRP also wants to demodulate the PUSCH transmission associated with another TRP, the DMRS initialization value can be exchanged between TRPs via the backhaul network using corresponding signaling.

[0139] Figure 4 A signaling diagram according to an example embodiment for an implicit indication mechanism is shown. Although Figure 4 two TRPs are shown, it should be noted that the number of TRPs can also be more than two. In other words, there can be two or more TRPs. Additionally, Figure 4 the signaling process shown in

[0140]

[0141] Figure 4

[0142] In this example embodiment, for example, for the M-DCI-based simultaneous multi-panel PUSCH transmission, the user equipment implicitly determines the TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value (denoted as β). For example, for CG-PUSCH type 2 and DG-PUSCH, the UE can determine a given DMRS sequence initialization offset value according to the CORESETPoolIndex value associated with the CORESET that triggers the DCI.

[0142] The first information may indicate at least one of the following: a first CORESET Pool Index value, a first TCI state, or a first PUSCH configuration. For example, the user equipment may determine the first CORESET Pool Index value based on the CORESET associated with the triggered PDCCH (i.e., the first DCI). The first TCI state may also be referred to as the first indicated TCI state.

[0143] In block 402, a second TRP (which is different from the first TRP) sends second information (e.g., a second DCI) to the user equipment to trigger simultaneous uplink transmissions from the user equipment. Herein, the second TRP may also be referred to as the second network node.

[0144] The second information may indicate at least one of the following: a second CORESET Pool Index value, a second TCI state, or a second PUSCH configuration. For example, the user equipment may determine the second CORESET Pool Index value based on the CORESET associated with the triggered PDCCH (i.e., the second DCI). The second TCI state may also be referred to as the second indicated TCI state.

[0145] The user equipment may correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1B UE 100. The first TRP may correspond to Figure 1B TRP1 104-1. The second TRP may correspond to Figure 1B TRP2 104-2. The first TRP and the second TRP may be controlled by the same access node (e.g., a gNB), such as by Figure 1A or Figure 1B the access node 104.

[0146] In this context, the terms "first TRP" and "second TRP" are used to distinguish between TRPs and do not necessarily represent specific identifiers of the TRPs.

[0147] The terms "first information" and "second information" are used to distinguish between information and do not necessarily represent a specific order of the information.

[0148] In block 403, the user equipment determines a TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value.

[0149] The user equipment determines a first DMRS sequence initialization offset value for the first TRP, where the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value is determined based on at least one of the following: the first CORESET Pool Index value associated with the first DCI, the first indicated TCI state, or the first PUSCH configuration.

[0150] The user equipment determines a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second TRP, where the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value is determined based on at least one of the following: a second CORESETPoolIndex value related to a second DCI, a second indicated TCI state, or a second PUSCH configuration.

[0151] For example, in the case of determining the DMRS sequence initialization offset value based on the CORESETPoolIndex value, the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be equal to the first CORESETPoolIndex value, and the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be equal to the second CORESETPoolIndex value. As a non-limiting example, when receiving DCI 0_1 with a CORESETPoolIndex value = 1, the user equipment may use the CORESETPoolIndex value = 1 as the DMRS sequence initialization offset value specific to the TRP, i.e., β = CORESETPoolIndex value. By using this value, the user equipment can determine the DMRS sequence initialization specific to the TRP for PUSCH transmission specific to the TRP.

[0152] In some examples, each CORESETPoolIndex may have one or more values. For example, the CORESETPoolIndex value = 1 may be associated with β values β 1 、β 2 、β n , and the CORESETPoolIndex value = 0 may be associated with β values β n+1 、β n+2 、β n+m . Any of these values may be indicated dynamically or semi-statically, or configured via RRC signaling.

[0153] In another example, the value of β may be fixed in the specification. For example, when configuring more than one CORESETPoolndex value for the user equipment, a specific β value may be used in association with the CORESETPoolIndex. That is, the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be equal to the first predefined DMRS sequence initialization offset value associated with the first CORESETPoolIndex value, and the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be equal to the second predefined DMRS sequence initialization offset value associated with the second CORESETPoolIndex value.

[0154] In another example, the user equipment may be configured to or the user equipment may determine at least one parameter value initialized with a DMRS sequence for uplink transmission, where the at least one parameter value depends on or is associated with the CORESETPoolIndex value, or depends on whether the user equipment is configured with more than one CORESETPoolIndex value.

[0155] In another example, β may be configured in a manner specific to indicating the TCI state, in which case the DMRS sequence will be beam-specific. For example, there may be a first TCI state indication and a second TCI state indication, in which case a first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be determined based on the first TCI state indication, and a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be determined based on the second TCI state indication.

[0156] In another example, if the user equipment is configured with multiple PUSCH configurations, the value of β may be specific to a given PUSCH configuration. For example, a first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be determined based on a first PUSCH configuration, and a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be determined based on a second PUSCH configuration.

[0157] In any of the above examples, β may have an integer value space. The value may be positive or negative. In the case where the value is not configured by the network, if β is used in an addition (+β) in a formula, a value of β = 0 may be used, or if β is used as a multiplier, a value of β = 1 may be used.

[0158] In block 404, the user equipment determines a first DMRS sequence initialization value based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value and determines a second DMRS sequence initialization value based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value. In other words, the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be used to initialize the generation of the first DMRS sequence, and the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value may be used to initialize the generation of a second DMRS sequence different from the first DMRS sequence.

[0159] For example, for DG-PUSCH and CG-PUSCH (both type 1 and type 2), the TRP-specific DMRS initialization value (c init ) can be determined based on the TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value (β) as follows: where is the number of symbols in a time slot, is the time slot number within a frame, l is the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol number within a time slot, and and are the higher layer parameters scramblingID0 and scramblingID1, where when λ = 0 or λ = 2, and where when λ = 1, where λ represents a code division multiplexing (CDM) group, and where n SCID ∈ {0, 1}.

[0160] In block 405, the user equipment transmits two simultaneous uplink transmissions, where the first uplink transmission is transmitted to a first TRP using a first DMRS sequence, and the second uplink transmission is transmitted to a second TRP using a second DMRS sequence. In other words, the user equipment initializes an offset value based on the first DMRS sequence and performs the first uplink transmission to the first TRP. Additionally, the user equipment initializes an offset value based on the second DMRS sequence and performs the second uplink transmission to the second TRP, where the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission can at least partially overlap in time and / or at least partially overlap in frequency.

[0161] The first uplink transmission can be performed based on a first TCI state, and the second uplink transmission can be performed based on a second TCI state. For example, the first uplink transmission can be performed via a first antenna panel of the user equipment, and the second uplink transmission can be performed via a second antenna panel of the user equipment.

[0162] The first uplink transmission can include, for example, a first dynamic grant physical uplink shared channel (DG-PUSCH) transmission or a first configured grant physical uplink shared channel (CG-PUSCH) transmission (type 1 or type 2).

[0163] The second uplink transmission can include, for example, a second DG-PUSCH transmission or a second CG-PUSCH transmission (type 1 or type 2).

[0164] In block 406, the first TRP performs channel estimation on the first uplink transmission based on the offset value initialized with the first DMRS sequence.

[0165] In block 407, the second TRP performs channel estimation on the second uplink transmission based on the offset value initialized with the second DMRS sequence.

[0166] Rules indicating how to determine a TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value (as described in the above example) can be configured by the network for a user equipment. For example, the rule can be indicated in a first message from a first TRP or a second message from a second TRP. Thus, the network (e.g., the first TRP and the second TRP) can also know the rule used by the user equipment to determine the TRP-specific DMRS sequence initialization offset value, and the TRP can determine the same TRP-specific β value as that determined by the user equipment.

[0167] DMRS sequence initialization information (e.g., DMRS sequence initialization offset value) can or cannot be shared among TRPs. In the case where the DMRS sequence initialization information is not shared among TRPs, since each M-DCI scheduling a TRP-specific PUSCH transmission is associated with each TRP, a given TRP does not have to know the DMRS initialization value associated with PUSCH transmissions to other TRPs. It is sufficient that the DMRS sequence associated with a given PUSCH transmission to a specific TRP is different from other PUSCH transmissions targeted at other TRPs. For M-DCI, it can be assumed that different TRPs independently schedule their own TRP-specific PUSCH transmissions.

[0168] In the case where the DMRS sequence initialization information is shared among TRPs, for example, in the case where one TRP also wants to demodulate PUSCH transmissions associated with another TRP, the DMRS initialization value can be exchanged among TRPs via the backhaul network using corresponding signaling.

[0169] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating an example embodiment of a method performed by a device is shown. For example, the device can be, or include, or be included in a user equipment. A user equipment can also be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a terminal device, or a user equipment (UE). The user equipment can correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1B user equipment 100.

[0170] Referring to Figure 5 , in block 501, receive a first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node (e.g., a first TRP or a gNB).

[0171] In block 502, receive a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node (e.g., a second TRP or a gNB).

[0172] In block 503, an offset value is initialized based on a first DMRS sequence, and a first uplink transmission to a first network node is performed.

[0173] In block 504, an offset value is initialized based on a second DMRS sequence, and a second uplink transmission to a second network node is performed, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission overlap at least partially in time.

[0174] Figure 6 A flowchart of an example embodiment of a method performed by a device is shown. For example, the device may be, or include, or be included in a network node of a radio access network. The network node may correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1B access node 104.

[0175] Referring Figure 6 to, in block 601, a first indication is sent via a first network node (e.g., a first TRP or gNB), the first indication indicating a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value.

[0176] In block 602, a second indication is sent via a second network node (e.g., a second TRP or gNB), the second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value.

[0177] In block 603, a first uplink transmission based on a first DMRS sequence initialization offset value is received via the first network node.

[0178] In block 604, a second uplink transmission based on a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value is received via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission overlap at least partially in time.

[0179] Figure 7 A flowchart of an example embodiment of a method performed by a device is shown. For example, the device may be, or include, or be included in a user equipment. The user equipment may also be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a terminal device, or a user equipment (UE). The user equipment may correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1B user equipment 100.

[0180] Referring Figure 7, in block 701, determine a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node (e.g., a first TRP or gNB), where the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value is determined based on at least one of the following: a first control resource set pool index (CORESETPoolIndex) value associated with a first downlink control information (DCI), a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, or a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration.

[0181] In block 702, determine a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node (e.g., a second TRP or gNB), where the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value is determined based on at least one of the following: a second CORESETPoolIndex value associated with a second DCI, a second TCI state, or a second PUSCH configuration.

[0182] In block 703, perform a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value.

[0183] In block 704, perform a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, where the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

[0184] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating an example embodiment of a method performed by a device is shown. For example, the device may be, or include, or be included in a network node of a radio access network. The network node may correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1B access node 104.

[0185] Refer to Figure 8 , in block 801, receive, via a first network node (e.g., a first TRP or gNB), a first uplink transmission from a user equipment based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value, where the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value is based on at least one of the following: a first control resource set pool index (CORESETPoolIndex) value associated with a first downlink control information (DCI), a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, or a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration.

[0186] In box 802, a second uplink transmission based on a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value is received from a user equipment via a second network node (e.g., a second TRP or a gNB), wherein the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value is based on at least one of: a second CORESETPoolIndex value associated with a second DCI, a second TCI state, or a second PUSCH configuration, and wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission overlap at least partially in time.

[0187] Above through Figures 2 - 8 There is no absolute time order for the described frames, related functions and information exchanges (messages), and some of them may be performed simultaneously or in a different order than described. Other functions may also be performed between them or within them, and other information may be sent, and / or other rules may be applied. Some of the frames or a portion of the frames or one or more pieces of information may also be omitted or replaced by a corresponding frame or partial frame or one or more pieces of information.

[0188] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is combined 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 of the elements.

[0189] Figure 9 An example of an apparatus 900 including components for performing one or more of the above-described example embodiments is shown. For example, the apparatus 900 may be an apparatus such as a user device or including a user device or included in a user device. The user device may correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1B 1. A user device 100. A user device may also be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a terminal device, or a user equipment (UE).

[0190] The device 900 may include a circuit or chipset suitable for implementing one or more of the example embodiments described above. For example, the device 900 may include at least one processor 910. The at least one processor 910 interprets instructions (e.g., computer program instructions) and processes data. The at least one processor 910 may include one or more programmable processors. The at least one processor 910 may include programmable hardware with embedded firmware, and may alternatively or additionally include one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

[0191] At least one processor 910 is coupled to at least one memory 920. The at least one processor is configured to read data from and write data to the at least one memory 920. The at least one memory 920 may include one or more memory cells. The memory cells may be volatile or non-volatile. It should be noted that there may be one or more non-volatile memory cells and one or more volatile memory cells, or alternatively one or more non-volatile memory cells, or alternatively one or more volatile memory cells. Volatile memory may be, for example, random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). Non-volatile memory may be, for example, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical storage, or magnetic storage devices. Generally, the memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than a signal), rather than a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM). The at least one memory 920 stores computer-readable instructions that are executed by the at least one processor 910 to perform one or more of the above-described example embodiments. For example, the non-volatile memory stores the computer-readable instructions, and the at least one processor 910 uses the volatile memory to execute the instructions to temporarily store data and / or instructions. The computer-readable instructions may refer to computer program code.

[0192] The computer-readable instructions may be pre-stored in the at least one memory 920, or alternatively or additionally, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer-readable instructions by the at least one processor 910 causes the device 900 to perform one or more of the above-described example embodiments. That is, the at least one processor and the at least one memory storing the instructions may provide the components for providing or causing the execution of any of the above methods and / or blocks.

[0193] In the context of this document, "memory" or "computer-readable medium" or "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory medium or medium or component that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device such as a computer. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than a signal), rather than a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0194] Device 900 may also include or be connected to an input unit 930. The input unit 930 may include one or more interfaces for receiving inputs. The one or more interfaces may include, for example, one or more temperature, motion, and / or orientation sensors, one or more cameras, one or more accelerometers, one or more microphones, one or more buttons, and / or one or more touch detection units. Additionally, the input unit 930 may include an interface to which external devices may be connected.

[0195] Device 900 may also include an output unit 940. The output unit may include or be connected to one or more displays capable of rendering visual content, such as a light-emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and / or a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display. The output unit 940 may also include one or more audio outputs. The one or more audio outputs may be, for example, speakers.

[0196] Device 900 further includes a connection unit 950. The connection unit 950 enables a wireless connection to one or more external devices. The connection unit 950 includes at least one transmitter and at least one receiver that may be integrated into the device 900 or to which the device 900 may be connected. The at least one transmitter includes at least one transmitting antenna, and the at least one receiver includes at least one receiving antenna. The connection unit 950 may include an integrated circuit or a set of integrated circuits that provides the wireless communication capabilities for the device 900. Alternatively, the wireless connection may be a hardwired application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The connection unit 950 may also provide components for performing at least some of the blocks of the one or more example embodiments described above. The connection unit 950 may include one or more components controlled by a corresponding control unit, such as: a power amplifier, a digital front end (DFE), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a frequency converter, a modulator (demodulator), and / or an encoder / decoder circuit.

[0197] It should be noted that device 900 may also include Figure 9 various components not shown in the figure. The various components may be hardware components and / or software components.

[0198] Figure 10 An example of a device 1000 is shown, which includes components for performing one or more of the example embodiments described above. For example, the device 1000 may be a device such as, including, or included in a network node of a radio access network. The network node may correspond to Figure 1A or Figure 1BAccess node 104. A network node may also be referred to as, for example, a network element, a radio access network (RAN) node, a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) node, NodeB, eNB, gNB, base transceiver station (BTS), base station, NR base station, 5G base station, access node, access point (AP), relay node, repeater, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, IAB donor node, distributed unit (DU), central unit (CU), baseband unit (BBU), radio unit (RU), radio head, remote radio head (RRH), or transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0199] Apparatus 1000 may include, for example, circuitry or a chipset suitable for implementing one or more of the above example embodiments. Apparatus 1000 may be an electronic device including one or more electronic circuits. Apparatus 1000 may include a communication control circuit 1010, such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 1020 storing instructions 1022 which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause apparatus 1000 to perform one or more of the above example embodiments. Such instructions 1022 may include, for example, computer program code (software), where the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause apparatus 1000 to perform one or more of the above example embodiments. The at least one processor and the at least one memory storing the instructions may provide means for providing or causing the execution of any of the above methods and / or blocks.

[0200] The processor is coupled to the memory 1020. The processor is configured to read data from and write data to the memory 1020. The memory 1020 may include one or more memory cells. The memory cells may be volatile or non-volatile. It should be noted that there may be one or more non-volatile memory cells and one or more volatile memory cells, or alternatively one or more non-volatile memory cells, or alternatively one or more volatile memory cells. Volatile memory may be, for example, random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). Non-volatile memory may be, for example, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical storage, or magnetic storage devices. Generally, the memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than a signal), rather than a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM). The memory 1020 stores computer-readable instructions executed by the processor. For example, non-volatile memory stores the computer-readable instructions, and the processor uses volatile memory to execute the instructions to temporarily store data and / or instructions.

[0201] The computer-readable instructions may be pre-stored in the memory 1020, or alternatively or additionally, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer-readable instructions causes the device 1000 to perform one or more of the above functions.

[0202] The memory 1020 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and / or removable memory. The memory may include a configuration database for storing configuration data. For example, the configuration database may store a list of current neighboring cells, and in some example embodiments, may store the structure of the frames used in the detected neighboring cells.

[0203] The apparatus 1000 may further include a communication interface 1030, which includes hardware and / or software for implementing a communication connection according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface 1030 includes at least one transmitter (Tx) and at least one receiver (Rx) that may be integrated into the apparatus 1000 or to which the apparatus 1000 may be connected. The communication interface 1030 may provide components for performing some of the blocks of the one or more example embodiments described above. The communication interface 1030 may include one or more components controlled by a corresponding control unit, such as: a power amplifier, a digital front end (DFE), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a frequency converter, a modulator (demodulator), and / or an encoder / decoder circuit.

[0204] The communication interface 1030 provides the apparatus with radio communication capabilities to communicate in a cellular communication system. The communication interface may, for example, provide a radio interface to one or more user devices. The apparatus 1000 may further include another interface towards a core network (such as a network coordinator device or an AMF) and / or an access node of the cellular communication system.

[0205] The apparatus 1000 may further include a scheduler 1040 configured to allocate radio resources. The scheduler 1040 may be configured together with the communication control circuit 1010 or may be configured separately.

[0206] It should be noted that the apparatus 1000 may further include Figure 10 various components not shown in the figure. The various components may be hardware components and / or software components.

[0207] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one or more or all of the following: a) only hardware circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuits); and b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (when applicable): i) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware, and ii) any part of a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone to perform various functions); and c) hardware circuits and / or processors, such as one or more microprocessors or a part of one or more microprocessors, which require software (such as firmware) to operate, but when software is not required to operate, the software may not be present.

[0208] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers implementations that are only hardware circuitry or a processor (or processors) or a portion of a hardware circuitry or a 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 a processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0209] The techniques and methods described herein can be implemented in a variety of ways. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the apparatus of an example embodiment can be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, the implementation can be through modules of at least one chip set (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. The software code can be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit can be implemented inside or outside the processor. In the latter case, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various components known in the art. Additionally, the components of the systems described herein can be rearranged and / or supplemented by additional components to facilitate the implementation of the various aspects described thereof, and they are not limited to the exact configurations set forth in a given drawing, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0210] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The embodiments are not limited to the above example embodiments, but can vary within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly and they are intended to illustrate rather than limit the example embodiments.

Claims

1. A device, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: Receive a first indication indicating a first Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) sequence initialization offset value for a first network node; Receive a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value for a second network node; Based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value, perform a first uplink transmission to the first network node; And Based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, perform a second uplink transmission to the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first uplink transmission is performed based on a first Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, and the second uplink transmission is performed based on a second TCI state.

3. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first indication is received via a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or a first Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a first Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), and Wherein the second indication is received via a second RRC signaling or a second DCI or a second MAC CE.

4. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, further caused to: Receive an indication of a third DMRS sequence initialization offset value for the first network node or the second network node; and Overwrite the third DMRS sequence initialization offset value with the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value or the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the third indication is received via a third RRC signaling, a third DCI, or a third MAC CE.

6. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first uplink transmission includes a first Dynamically Scheduled Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission or a first Configured Grant Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission, and Wherein the second uplink transmission includes a second Dynamically Scheduled PUSCH transmission or a second Configured Grant Physical Uplink Shared Channel transmission.

7. A device, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: Send, via a first network node, a first indication indicating a first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; Send, via a second network node, a second indication indicating a second DMRS sequence initialization offset value; Receive, via the first network node, a first uplink transmission based on the first DMRS sequence initialization offset value; And Receive, via the second network node, a second uplink transmission based on the second DMRS sequence initialization offset value, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, further configured to: perform channel estimation on the first uplink transmission based on an offset value initialized based on the first DMRS sequence; and perform channel estimation on the second uplink transmission based on an offset value initialized based on the second DMRS sequence.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 8, wherein the first indication is sent via a first radio resource control signaling or a first downlink control information or a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the second indication is sent via a second radio resource control signaling or a second downlink control information or a second MAC CE.

10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further configured to: send, via the first network node or the second network node, a third indication indicating an initialization offset value of a third DMRS sequence for the first network node or the second network node.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the third indication is sent via a third radio resource control signaling, a third downlink control information, or a third MAC CE.

12. A method, comprising: receiving a first indication indicating an initialization offset value of a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence for a first network node; receiving a second indication indicating an initialization offset value of a second DMRS sequence for a second network node; performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the initialization offset value of the first DMRS sequence; and performing a second uplink transmission to the second network node based on the initialization offset value of the second DMRS sequence, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

13. A method, comprising: sending, via a first network node, a first indication indicating an initialization offset value of a first DMRS sequence; sending, via a second network node, a second indication indicating an initialization offset value of a second DMRS sequence; receiving, via the first network node, a first uplink transmission based on the initialization offset value of the first DMRS sequence; and receiving, via the second network node, a second uplink transmission based on the initialization offset value of the second DMRS sequence, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising program instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receiving a first indication indicating an initialization offset value of a first DMRS sequence for a first network node; receiving a second indication indicating an initialization offset value of a second DMRS sequence for a second network node; performing a first uplink transmission to the first network node based on the initialization offset value of the first DMRS sequence; and Initialize an offset value based on the second DMRS sequence, and perform a second uplink transmission to the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the following operations: Send a first indication indicating an initialization offset value of a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence via a first network node; Send a second indication indicating an initialization offset value of a second DMRS sequence via a second network node; Receive a first uplink transmission based on the initialization offset value of the first DMRS sequence via the first network node; And Receive a second uplink transmission based on the initialization offset value of the second DMRS sequence via the second network node, wherein the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission at least partially overlap in time.

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