Transmit configuration indicator (TCI) state switching improvement for multi-panel user equipment

Abstract

A method for a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes determining UE capabilities associated with a multi-transmit configuration indicator (TCI) state handover based on a candidate combination of known or unknown states of a target TCI state of the multi-transmit TCI state handover; and reporting the determined UE capability to the network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to improved transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state switching for multi-panel user equipment (UE). Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between a base station and a wireless communication device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE); the 5th Generation (5G) 3GPP New Radio (NR) standard; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, which is commonly referred to by industry organizations as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN), which is commonly referred to by industry organizations as Wi-Fi. In the 3GPP radio access network (RAN) of an LTE system, a base station may include RAN nodes such as evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) node B (also commonly denoted as evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a radio network controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with a wireless communication device referred to as user equipment (UE). In a 5th Generation (5G) wireless RAN, the RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, new radio (NR) nodes, or g-node B (gNB), which communicate with a wireless communication device (also referred to as user equipment (UE)). Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a user equipment (UE) (e.g., a multi-panel UE) is provided, the method including determining UE capabilities associated with a multi-TCI state switch based on a candidate combination of known or unknown states of a target TCI state of the multi-transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state switch; and reporting the determined UE capabilities to a network.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a network device is provided, the method including receiving, from a UE, UE capabilities associated with a multi-TCI state switch, where the UE capabilities are reported by the UE based on a candidate combination of known or unknown states of a target TCI state of the multi-TCI state switch; and determining a TCI state switch delay for the multi-TCI state switch for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) is provided, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method for the UE according to the present disclosure.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus for a network device, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to perform the steps of a method for a network device according to the present disclosure.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program, which when executed by one or more processors causes the apparatus to perform the steps of a method according to the present disclosure.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus for a communication device, the apparatus including means for performing the steps of a method according to the present disclosure.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product including a computer program, which when executed by one or more processors causes the apparatus to perform the steps of a method according to the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate, by way of example, the features of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system including a base station and a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 2A Illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method for a UE according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 2B Illustrates an exemplary UE implementation according to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 3 Illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method for a network device according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 4 Illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a UE according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 5 Illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a network device according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 6 Illustrates example components of a communication device (e.g., a UE or a network device) according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 7 Illustrates an example interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 8 Illustrates components according to some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 9 Illustrates the architecture of a wireless network according to some embodiments. Detailed Description

[0021] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of illustration and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who have benefited from the present disclosure that various aspects of the embodiments may be practiced in other examples without these specific details. In some instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail.

[0022] In the description of the various examples in this disclosure, the terms used are for the purpose of describing particular examples only and are not intended to be limiting. If the number of elements is not specifically limited, it may be one or more, unless otherwise expressly stated. Additionally, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise indicated or clear from the context, "A or B" or "A / B" is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement, that is, A, B, or both A and B. Further, where the terms "comprising", "having", or variations thereof are used in the scope of the detailed description or claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "including".

[0023] Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the terms "first", "second", etc. used to describe various elements are not intended to limit the position, time, or relative importance of these elements, but are only used to distinguish one component from another. In some examples, the first element and the second element may refer to the same instance of the element, and in some cases, based on the context description, the first element and the second element may also refer to different instances.

[0024] Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to a 5G New Radio (NR) network. However, it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments may also be implemented in other types of networks, including but not limited to LTE networks, future evolutions of cellular protocols, or any other type of network.

[0025] In New Radio (NR), the frequency bands can be divided into two or more different frequency ranges. For example, Frequency Range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands operating at frequencies below 6 gigahertz (GHz), some of which are available for previous standards and can potentially be extended to cover new spectrum products from 410 megahertz (MHz) to 7125 MHz. Frequency Range 2 (FR2) may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. Note that in some systems, in addition to the frequency band from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz (FR2-1), FR2 may also include a frequency band from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (or higher) (referred to as FR2-2). The frequency bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 may have a smaller coverage area but potentially a higher available bandwidth than the frequency bands in FR1. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these frequency ranges provided by way of example may change over time or by region.

[0026] Currently, in 3GPP Release 18, there is a Work Item (WI) "Requirements for NR Frequency Range 2 (FR2) Multi-Rx Chain DL Reception" with the following objectives: Introduce the necessary requirements for enhanced FR2-1 UEs with simultaneous downlink (DL) reception from different directions on a single component carrier using different Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) type D reference signals (RSs).

[0027] Regarding aspects of enhanced Radio Resource Management (RRM) requirements, if necessary, the following requirements should be studied and specified: 1) Layer 1 - Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) measurement delay; 2) Layer 3 (L3) measurement delay (both cell detection delay and measurement period can be considered), where the starting point is the enhancement related to the enhancement of L1-RSRP measurement; 3) Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) and Beam Failure Detection (BFD) / Candidate Beam Detection (CBD) requirements; 4) Scheduling / measurement limitations; 5) TCI state switching delay with dual Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI); and 6) Reception timing difference between different directions (different QCL type D RSs).

[0028] On this basis, the present disclosure aims to provide requirements for the TCI state switching delay with multiple TCI states (e.g., dual TCI states).

[0029] In New Radio (NR), the TCI state is used to establish a Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) connection between a target reference signal (RS) and a source reference signal (RS). Two antenna ports are considered quasi-co-located if the properties of the channel for transmitting symbols on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel for transmitting symbols on another antenna port. Antenna port QCL types (QCL types A - D) are defined in Section 5.1.5 of 3GPP TS38.214.

[0030] The TCI state is configured for the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) to convey the QCL indication of the corresponding RS. In Frequency Range (FR1), QCL types A - C apply, and in FR2, QCL types A - D apply. The QCL Type D in FR2 indicates that the PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS is transmitted using the same spatial filter as the reference signal associated with the TCI. In FR2, the network can indicate a transmission beam change of the PDSCH or PDCCH by switching the TCI state.

[0031] Currently, the TCI state can be known or unknown to the UE (i.e., by the UE), as defined in Section 8.10.2 of 3GPP TS38.133 in the following way:

[0032] The TCI state is known if the following conditions are met:

[0033] - During the period from the last transmission of the RS resource for the L1-RSRP measurement report for the target TCI state to the completion of the active TCI state switch, where the RS resource for the L1-RSRP measurement is in the target TCI state or QCL to the target TCI state RS

[0034] - The TCI state switch command is received within 1280 ms after the last transmission of the RS resource for beam reporting or measurement

[0035] - The UE has transmitted at least 1 L1-RSRP report for the target TCI state before the TCI state switch command

[0036] - The TCI state remains detectable during the TCI state switch period

[0037] - The SSB associated with the TCI state remains detectable during the TCI switch period

[0038] - The -SNR of the TCI state ≥ -3 dB

[0039] Otherwise, the TCI state is unknown.

[0040] For dual TCI, i.e., two TCI states, there are the following combinations for a target TCI state (i.e., the TCI state to be switched to): (known, known), (known, unknown), (unknown, unknown). The present disclosure aims to provide solutions for handling these situations, such as aiming to provide suitable requirements for TCI state transition delays for these situations. In addition, it provides a mechanism for the UE to notify the network in case the configured TCI state is invalid.

[0041] Figure 1 Illustrates a wireless network 100 according to some embodiments. The wireless network 100 includes a UE 101 and a base station 150 connected via an air interface 190.

[0042] The UE 101 and any other UE in the system can be, for example, a laptop computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a printer, a machine-type device, such as a smart meter or a dedicated device for healthcare monitoring, remote security monitoring, intelligent transportation systems, or any other wireless device with or without a user interface. The base station 150 provides a network connection to a wider network (not shown) to the UE 101 via the air interface 190 within the base station service area provided by the base station 150. In some embodiments, such a wider network can be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider or can be the Internet. Each base station service area associated with the base station 150 is supported by an antenna integrated with the base station 150. The service area is divided into a plurality of sectors associated with certain antennas. Such sectors can be physically associated with fixed antennas or can be assigned to a physical area with tunable antennas or antenna settings that can be adjusted during a beamforming process for directing signals to a specific sector. For example, one embodiment of the base station 150 includes three sectors, each sector covering a 120-degree region, where the antenna array is directed towards each sector to provide 360-degree coverage around the base station 150.

[0043] The UE 101 includes a control circuit 105 coupled to a transmit circuit 110 and a receive circuit 115. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. The one or more antennas may include antenna elements to convert an electrical signal into a radio wave to travel through the air and to convert a received radio wave into an electrical signal. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. The one or more antennas may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple-input / multiple-output communication. The one or more antennas may include a microstrip antenna; a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards; a patch antenna; or a phased array antenna. The one or more antennas may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band including a band in FR1 or FR2. The control circuit 105 may be adapted to perform operations associated with MTC. In some embodiments, the control circuit 105 of the UE 101 may perform calculations or may initiate measurements associated with the air interface 190 to determine the channel quality of the available connections to the base station 150. These calculations may be performed in conjunction with the control circuit 155 of the base station 150. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. The control circuit 105 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as the various operations associated with the UE described elsewhere in this disclosure. The transmit circuit 110 may transmit a plurality of multiplexed uplink physical channels. The plurality of uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to time-division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency-division multiplexing (FDM). The transmit circuit 110 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuit 105 for transmission across the air interface 190. Similarly, the receive circuit 115 may receive a plurality of multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 190 and relay these physical channels to the control circuit 105. The uplink and downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may transmit and receive control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, videos, etc.) structured within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0044] Figure 1 The base station 150 according to various embodiments is also illustrated. The base station 150 circuitry may include a control circuit 155 coupled to a transmit circuit 160 and a receive circuit 165. The transmit circuit 160 and the receive circuit 165 may each be coupled to one or more antennas that may be used to enable communication via the air interface 190.

[0045] The control circuit 155 may be adapted to perform operations associated with MTC. The transmitting circuit 160 and the receiving circuit 165 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, within a narrow system bandwidth that is narrower than the standard bandwidth used for personal communication. In some embodiments, for example, the transmission bandwidth may be set to or near 1.4 MHz. In other embodiments, other bandwidths may be used. The control circuit 155 may perform various operations, such as operations related to the base station described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[0046] Within the narrow system bandwidth, the transmitting circuit 160 may transmit a plurality of multiplexed downlink physical channels. The plurality of downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmitting circuit 160 may transmit the plurality of multiplexed downlink physical channels in a downlink superframe composed of a plurality of downlink subframes.

[0047] Within the narrow system bandwidth, the receiving circuit 165 may receive a plurality of multiplexed uplink physical channels. The plurality of uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The receiving circuit 165 may receive the plurality of multiplexed uplink physical channels in an uplink superframe composed of a plurality of uplink subframes.

[0048] As further described below, the control circuits 105 and 155 may be involved in measuring the channel quality of the air interface 190. The channel quality may be based, for example, on physical obstacles between the UE 101 and the base station 150, electromagnetic signal interference from other sources, reflections, or indirect paths between the UE 101 and the base station 150 or other such signal noise sources. Based on the channel quality, data block retransmissions may be scheduled multiple times such that the transmitting circuit 110 may transmit multiple copies of the same data, and the receiving circuit 115 may receive multiple copies of the same data multiple times.

[0049] The UE and various base stations (e.g., base stations acting as network devices for communicating with the UE) described in the following embodiments may be implemented by Figure 1 the UE 101 and the base station 150 described.

[0050] Figure 2A A flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for a user equipment according to some embodiments. Figure 2A The illustrated method 200 may be implemented by Figure 1 the UE 101 described.

[0051] Method 200 may start at step S202, where a UE (which may be a multi-panel UE having two or more panels) may determine UE capabilities associated with a multi-TCI state transition (i.e., a TCI state transition having multiple target TCI states) based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states of the multi-transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state transition. Method 200 may also include step S204, where the UE may report the determined UE capabilities to the network.

[0052] In some embodiments, the multi-TCI state transition (i.e., a TCI state transition having multiple target TCI states) is a dual-TCI state transition (i.e., a TCI state transition having dual target TCI states).

[0053] In such a case, the candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states include: 1) both target TCI states are known to the UE, which may be referred to as the (known, known) case / combination; 2) both target TCI states are unknown to the UE, which may be referred to as the (unknown, unknown) case / combination; and 3) one target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE, which may be referred to as the (known, unknown) case / combination.

[0054] Therefore, determining UE capabilities associated with a multi-TCI state transition based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states of the multi-TCI state transition includes: for each of the candidate combinations (e.g., each of the above three candidate combinations), determining UE capabilities for differentiating between a UE that is capable of meeting the legacy single-TCI state transition latency and a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single-TCI state transition latency (i.e., determining UE capabilities for differentiating between a UE that is capable of completing the multi-TCI state transition using the legacy TCI state transition latency of a single-TCI state transition and a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy TCI state transition latency of a single-TCI state transition to complete the multi-TCI state transition). Where a single-TCI state transition refers to a TCI state transition having a single target TCI state, and the legacy single-TCI state transition latency (i.e., the legacy TCI state transition latency of a single-TCI state transition) refers to, for example, the existing 3GPP R15 TCI state transition latency (for a single TCI state) defined in section 8.10 of 3GPP TS38.133.

[0055] In some embodiments, the additional latency is based on at least one of the following: the cross-panel switching time of the UE; or the L1-RSRP measurement and processing constraints of the UE.

[0056] In other words, for each of the (known, known), (known, unknown), and (unknown, unknown) cases, UE capabilities are required to distinguish between:

[0057] 1) UEs that can meet the existing 3GPP R15 TCI state transition latency (for a single TCI state), i.e., the TCI transition for each TCI state is independent; and

[0058] 2) UEs that require some additional latency compared to the existing 3GPP R15 TCI state transition latency (for a single TCI state) due to one or more of the following: cross-panel switching time, e.g., two panels cannot be disconnected or connected in parallel but sequentially; L1-RSRP measurement and processing constraints, i.e., there is some baseband (BB) resource sharing where two L1-RSRP measurement processes (e.g., for two unknown TCI states) are not completely independent; or other implementation-specific constraints.

[0059] Note that, for example, for TCI state transitions based on Medium Access Control (MAC)-Control Element (CE), the existing 3GPP R15 TCI state transition latency (for a single TCI state) is defined in 3GPP TS 38.133, section 8.10.3, in the following manner.

[0060] (1) If the target TCI state is known, the TCI state transition latency is:

[0061]

[0062] where T HARQ represents the timing between DL data transmission and the corresponding acknowledgement, as specified in 3GPP TS 38.213. T 第一-SSB represents the timing between the decoding of the MAC CE command by the UE and the transmission of the subsequent first Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), where the SSB shall be QCL-TypeA or QCL-TypeC for the target TCI state. T SSB-proc = 2 ms. If the target TCI state is not in the active TCI state list of the PDSCH, then TO k = 1, and if the target TCI state is in the active TCI state list of the PDSCH, then TO k = 0.

[0063] (2) If the target TCI state is unknown, the TCI state transition latency is:

[0064]

[0065] where T L1-RSRPIndicates the time for receiving (Rx) beam refinement L1-RSRP measurements and is defined as T for SSB L1-RSPR_Measurement_Period_SSB , as specified in Section 9.5.4.1 (e.g., for FR2, in Table 9.5.4.1-2), or is defined as T for CSI-RS L1-RSPR_Measurement_Period_CSI-RS , as specified in Section 9.5.4.2 (e.g., for FR2, in Table 9.5.4.2-2), subject to various other considerations defined in Section 8.10.3 of 3GPP TS 38.133. When the TCI state transition involves QCL-Type D, for CSI-RS-based L1-RSRP measurements, TO uk = 1, and for SSB-based L1-RSRP measurements, TO uk = 0. When the TCI state transition only involves other QCL types, TO uk = 1.

[0066] For clarity purposes, Tables 9.5.4.1-2 and 9.5.4.2-2 in 3GPP TS 38.133 are reproduced below in this disclosure:

[0067] Table 9.5.4.1-2: Measurement period T for FR2 L1-RSRP_Measurement_Period_SSB

[0068]

[0069] Table 9.5.4.2-2: Measurement period T for FR2 L1-RSRP_Measurement_Period_CSI-RS

[0070]

[0071]

[0072] Note that all values / definitions of the parameters in the above two tables for legacy TCI state transition delays and the above two formulas can be referred to the corresponding sections of 3GPP TS 38.133 and thus will not be repeated here.

[0073] In some embodiments, determining the UE capabilities associated with multi-TCI state transitions based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states for multi-TCI state transitions further includes:

[0074] For a candidate combination where one of the target TCI states is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE, further determining the UE capabilities for a beam scanning factor that indicates a reduction in the beam scanning factor with respect to the time for determining Rx beam refinement in single-TCI state transitions.

[0075] In other words, for the (known, unknown) case, in addition to determining the first UE capability for differentiating between different UEs that can or cannot meet the existing 3GPP R15 TCI state handover delay, the second UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor can also be determined, because:

[0076] For the known target TCI state of the (known, unknown) case, no L1-RSRP measurement is required, and thus the UE can use two panels (taking the UE with two panels as an example) to perform L1-RSRP measurements for the unknown target TCI state. Therefore, according to the UE implementation (as Figure 2B shown), the beam scanning factor (e.g., the parameter "N" in Tables 9.5.4.1-2 and 9.5.4.2-2) can be reduced from its legacy value defined in 3GPP TS38.133 (and subsequently the value of T L1-RSRP can be reduced).

[0077] In some embodiments, the reduced beam scanning factor is based on the maximum number of layer 1 (L1) beams supported by the corresponding panel of the UE.

[0078] Taking the T L1-RSRP_Measurement_Period_SSB defined in Table 9.5.4.1-2 for FR2 as an example, the legacy beam scanning factor N has a value equal to 8. When the UE adopts the implementation shown on the left in Figure 2B (i.e., the UE has two panels, and each panel supports four L1 beams), then the new beam scanning factor (i.e., the reduced beam scanning factor N') can be 4. When the UE adopts the implementation shown on the right in Figure 2B (i.e., the UE has two panels, one panel supports two L1 beams, and the other panel supports six L1 beams), then the new beam scanning factor (i.e., the reduced beam scanning factor N') can be 6. It should be understood that although the exemplary embodiments describe the value of the reduced beam scanning factor N' as, for example, 4 or 6, other values can also be adopted for the reduced beam scanning factor N' as long as it is less than the value of the legacy beam scanning factor N (e.g., N' < 8). In addition, the reduced beam scanning factor N' (e.g., the range of its value) can be hard-coded in the 3GPP specification.

[0079] In addition, taking the T L1-RSPR_Measurement_Period_CSI-RS defined in Table 9.5.4.2-2 for FR2 as an example, the legacy beam scanning factor N = ceil(maxNumberRxBeam / N res_per_set )(e.g., in the case where the periodic CSI-RS resource in the resource set configured with higher layer parameter repetition is set to ON). When the UE adopts Figure 2BWhen the specific implementation shown on the left (i.e., the UE has two panels and each panel supports four L1 beams), the parameter "maxNumberRxBeam" can be reduced from 8 to 4, and thus the beam scanning factor can be reduced from its legacy value (in this case, the reduced "maxNumberRxBeam" can also be considered as a reduced beam scanning factor). When the UE adopts Figure 2B the specific implementation shown on the right (i.e., the UE has two panels, one panel supports two L1 beams and the other panel supports six L1 beams), the parameter "maxNumberRxBeam" can be reduced from 8 to 6, and thus the beam scanning factor can be reduced from its legacy value. Similarly, although the exemplary embodiments describe the reduced values of "maxNumberRxBeam" as, for example, 4 or 6, other values can also be adopted for the reduced "maxNumberRxBeam" as long as it is less than the legacy value of "maxNumberRxBeam". In addition, the reduced "maxNumberRxBeam" (e.g., the range of its values) can be hard-coded in the 3GPP specifications.

[0080] In some embodiments, the determined UE capabilities can be reported by the UE to the network via radio resource control (RRC) messages. Note that when the UE first attaches to the network, i.e., before the UE enters the RRC_connected mode (i.e., establishes an RRC connection with the network) for data transmission and receives a TCI state switching command from the network at some point during the data transmission, the UE capabilities are typically reported to the network.

[0081] In some embodiments, the reported UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor can be overridden by the UE via at least one of the following: layer 1 (L1) messages (i.e., physical layer messages), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0082] In some embodiments, to allow the UE to save power, the UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are reported to the network together with a timer that sets the expiration time of the reduced beam scanning factor. When the timer expires, the UE reverts to the default case, e.g., N = 8 (or maxNumberRxBeam = 8).

[0083] In some embodiments, the UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are enabled or disabled at the UE via network signaling from the network.

[0084] For example, when the network determines that single downlink control information (DCI) is configured for a UE, the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor is enabled at the UE via network signaling; and when the network determines that multi-DCI is configured for the UE, the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor is disabled at the UE via network signaling.

[0085] In other words, the network can control this reduced beam scanning factor capability via signaling, for example, based on the following different deployment scenarios / configurations:

[0086] 1) For the single-DCI case, this reduced beam scanning factor capability can be enabled because dual TCI switching needs to be completed before the UE can be configured to support 4-layer DL multi-input multi-output (MIMO); and

[0087] 2) For the multi-DCI case, this reduced beam scanning factor capability can be disabled because dual TCI switching does not need to be completed before the UE can be configured to support 2-layer DL MIMO at each angle of arrival (AoA).

[0088] It should be understood that when the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor is disabled, the UE will not determine the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor and will not report it to the network.

[0089] In some embodiments, the network signaling can be cell-specific signaling, for example, included in a system information block (SIB); or UE-specific signaling, such as RRC, MAC CE, or DCI signaling.

[0090] In some embodiments, after reporting the determined UE capabilities to the network, the method of the UE may further include: receiving from the network a TCI state switching command indicating multiple target TCI states (e.g., two target TCI states in the case of dual TCI state switching). Then, the UE can use the indicated target TCI states to perform a multi-TCI state switching (e.g., dual TCI state switching in the case of indicating two target TCI states). Note that based on the target TCI states indicated to the UE and the UE capabilities reported by the UE, the network can learn the expected UE TCI state switching time (e.g., the expected UE TCI state switching delay), and expect the UE to complete the switching within the expected time period. Details of the determination of the expected UE TCI state switching time (e.g., the expected UE TCI state switching delay) will be further described in the embodiments of the method for network devices.

[0091] In some embodiments, a TCI state switching command may be sent from the network to the UE in an RRC message, a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), or a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.

[0092] So far, it has been assumed that the network will configure two target TCI states for the UE based on UE reports, which means that the UE can support simultaneous reception of two target TCI states in the DL. However, the two target TCI states indicated / configured by the network may not be supported by the UE simultaneously. In this case (i.e., in response to determining that the UE does not support simultaneous reception of two target TCI states), the method may further include: reporting to the network the beam pairs supported by the UE, or notifying the network (e.g., in the UE's old TCI state) that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work.

[0093] In some embodiments, reporting to the network the beam pairs supported by the UE includes one of the following operations: if the UE knows one or more valid beam pairs, reporting the beam pairs supported by the UE via a group-based beam reporting mechanism; or in response to determining that the UE is configured with two Channel Measurement Resources (CMRs) sets for beam measurement, performing L1-RSRP measurement and reporting whether a suitable beam pair is found.

[0094] That is, in the case where the UE cannot support two indicated target TCI states simultaneously, the UE may adopt one of the following alternatives in terms of UE behavior:

[0095] 1) If the UE knows one or more valid beam pairs, the UE will report the two beams it can support via a group-based beam reporting mechanism;

[0096] 2) If the UE is configured with two CMR sets to measure beams, the UE will perform L1-

[0097] RSRP measurement and report whether a suitable beam pair is found; or

[0098] 3) The UE will continue communication with the old TCI state and notify the network in its old TCI state that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work.

[0099] In some embodiments, in response to determining that at least one of the following occurs, notifying the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work is performed:

[0100] Case 1: The Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) is used to activate two TCI states (CORESET reception) for the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), but the UE cannot receive from two active TCI states simultaneously;

[0101] Scenario 2: The network configures search space links for PDCCH repetitions, and the search spaces of the two links overlap in the time domain. The UE cannot receive the search spaces of the two links with the corresponding active TCI states simultaneously;

[0102] Scenario 3: The network activates TCI code points for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the activated TCI code points include two TCI states that the UE cannot receive simultaneously;

[0103] Scenario 4: The UE is scheduled by the network to receive two PDSCHs simultaneously (e.g., using two DCIs), but for two TCI states corresponding to different PDSCHs that overlap in time, the UE cannot receive them simultaneously;

[0104] Scenario 5: For a unified TCI state, the unified TCI code point is activated with two TCI states that the UE cannot receive simultaneously;

[0105] Scenario 6: The UE is scheduled by the network to transmit two physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) / physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) simultaneously (e.g., using two DCIs or a single DCI), but for two TCI / spatial relationships corresponding to different PUSCHs that overlap in time, the UE cannot transmit them simultaneously; or

[0106] Scenario 7: The network configures two sounding reference signal (SRS)-resource sets for the "codebook" or "non-codebook" for simultaneous PUSCH transmission, and some SRS-resources pairs in different SRS-resource sets cannot be used by the UE for simultaneous transmission.

[0107] In some embodiments, notifying the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work is performed via one of the following: uplink control information (UCI), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0108] In some embodiments, if at least one of the following criteria is met, notifying the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work is performed via MAC-CE:

[0109] 1) The UE has a PUSCH grant, and the UE can use the existing PUSCH grant to transmit the MAC-CE;

[0110] 2) The UE does not have a PUSCH grant, but the UE can use a scheduling request (SR) to request a PUSCH grant; or

[0111] 3) The UE may use random access (RA) to request the transmission of a report on the invalidation of network TCI activation / indication (i.e., a report that one or both of the target TCI states are not working).

[0112] In some embodiments, the SR is configured separately and / or assigned a different priority compared to other SRs.

[0113] In some embodiments, the RA is contention-free random access (CFRA) or contention-based random access (CBRA). In some embodiments, when CFRA is not configured, or when CFRA fails, CBRA may be used.

[0114] It should be understood that the term "delay" refers to the maximum time threshold / period acceptable for processing / completing the corresponding process. For example, the term "TCI state transition delay" may refer to the maximum time threshold acceptable for completing the corresponding TCI state transition.

[0115] By introducing new UE capabilities to distinguish different UEs that can or cannot meet the existing 3GPP R15 TCI state transition delay, and / or determining or indicating a reduced beam scanning factor, the network can have an accurate understanding of the UE capabilities for multi-TCI state transitions, and thus can avoid a mismatch in delay between the network and the UE during multi-TCI state transitions, thereby providing a smoother process for multi-TCI state transitions and improving the performance of the communication device or system accordingly.

[0116] Note that in the present disclosure, when describing communication between the UE and the network (e.g., sending to the network, receiving from the network), the communication between the UE and the network may include communication between the UE / device of the UE and the network / network device (node) in the network. Note also that the expressions "network device" and "node" may be used interchangeably herein. In other words, when referring to a "network device", it also refers to a "node".

[0117] Figure 3 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a network device (e.g., a base station, a network controller, or any other network device that can configure / indicate multiple target TCI states of the UE) according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, Figure 3 The illustrated method 300 may be implemented by Figure 1 the described base station 150.

[0118] The method 300 may start at step S302, where the network device may receive UE capabilities associated with multi-TCI state transitions from the UE (which may be a multi-panel UE), where the UE capabilities are reported by the UE based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states of the multi-TCI state transitions.

[0119] Method 300 may further include step 304, where the network device may determine a TCI state switching delay for multi-TCI state switching of the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities.

[0120] In some embodiments, the multi-TCI state switching is a dual-TCI state switching.

[0121] As previously described in embodiments of the method at the UE, when the multi-TCI state switching is a dual-TCI state switching, the reported UE capabilities (i.e., the UE capabilities received at the network device) include the UE capabilities reported for the following candidate combinations of known or unknown states for the target TCI states: 1) both target TCI states are known to the UE; 2) both target TCI states are unknown to the UE; and 3) one target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE.

[0122] In some embodiments, the UE capabilities reported for each of the above three candidate combinations include: UE capabilities for distinguishing whether the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single-TCI state switching delay or a UE that requires additional delay compared to the legacy single-TCI state switching delay.

[0123] In some embodiments, the UE capabilities reported for the candidate combination where one target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE further include: UE capabilities for indicating a beam scanning factor reduction for a beam scanning factor relative to the time for determining receive beam refinement in single-TCI state switching.

[0124] Therefore, determining the TCI state switching delay for multi-TCI state switching of the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities includes, in response to determining that the network device is to indicate two known target TCI states or two unknown target TCI states to the UE, i.e., in response to determining that the two target TCI states to be indicated belong to the (known, known) case or the (unknown, unknown) case:

[0125] 1) Determine that the UE is a UE capable of meeting the legacy single-TCI state transition latency, and determine the TCI state transition latency for multi-TCI state transition based on the legacy single-TCI state transition latency (i.e., determine the legacy single-TCI state transition latency as the TCI state transition latency for multi-TCI state transition. For example, for a known target TCI state, determine the legacy single-TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state as the TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition; or for an unknown target TCI state, determine the legacy single-TCI state transition latency of the unknown target TCI state as the TCI state transition latency of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition); and

[0126] 2) Determine that the UE is a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single-TCI state transition latency, and determine the TCI state transition latency for multi-TCI state transition based on the additional latency and the legacy single-TCI state transition latency (i.e., determine the sum of the legacy single-TCI state transition latency and the additional latency as the TCI state transition latency for multi-TCI state transition. For example, for a known target TCI state, determine the sum of the legacy single-TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state and the additional latency as the TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition; or for an unknown target TCI state, determine the sum of the legacy single-TCI state transition latency of the unknown target TCI state and the additional latency as the TCI state transition latency of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition).

[0127] In some embodiments, determining the TCI state transition latency for multi-TCI state transition for a UE based at least on the received UE capabilities includes, in response to determining that the network device is to indicate a known target TCI state or an unknown target TCI state to the UE, i.e., in response to determining that the two target TCI states to be indicated belong to the (known, unknown) case:

[0128] 1) For a known target TCI state:

[0129] Determine that the UE is a UE capable of meeting the legacy single-TCI state transition latency, and determine the TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition based on the legacy single-TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state (i.e., determine the legacy single-TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state as the TCI state transition latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition), and

[0130] Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional delay compared to the legacy single TCI state transition delay, determine the TCI state transition delay of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition based on the additional delay and the legacy single TCI state transition delay of the known target TCI state (i.e., determine the TCI state transition delay of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition by adding the additional delay to the legacy single TCI state transition delay of the known target TCI state); and

[0131] 2) For an unknown target TCI state:

[0132] Based on determining that the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single TCI state transition delay, determine the TCI state transition delay of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition by replacing the beam scanning factor (e.g., the legacy beam scanning factor "N" or

[0133] "maxNumberRxBeam") used in the determination of the legacy single TCI state transition delay in the unknown target TCI state with a reduced beam scanning factor, and

[0134] Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional delay compared to the legacy single TCI state transition delay, determine the TCI state transition delay of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state transition by replacing the beam scanning factor used in the determination of the legacy single TCI state transition delay in the unknown target TCI state with a reduced beam scanning factor and adding the additional delay to the legacy single TCI state transition delay in the unknown target TCI state.

[0135] In some embodiments, the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is attached with a timer that sets the expiration time of the reduced beam scanning factor. When the timer expires, the UE reverts to the default case, e.g., N = 8 (or maxNumberRxBeam = 8), and the network device will use the default value of the beam scanning factor (i.e., the legacy value) to determine the TCI state transition delay of the multi-TCI state transition.

[0136] In some embodiments, the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is enabled or disabled at the UE via network signaling of the network device.

[0137] For example, when the network device determines that single downlink control information (DCI) is configured for the UE, the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is enabled at the UE via network signaling; and when the network device determines that multi-DCI is configured for the UE, the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is disabled at the UE via network signaling.

[0138] It should be understood that when the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor is disabled, the UE will not determine the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor and will not report it to the network. In such a case, similar to the (known, known) and (unknown, unknown) cases, the received UE capability in the (known, unknown) case will include the UE capability for distinguishing whether the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single TCI state handover delay or a UE that requires additional delay compared to the legacy single TCI state handover delay, and will not include the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor. Therefore, the determination of the TCI state handover delay for multi-TCI state handover for this case will be similar to the determination in the (known, known) and (unknown, unknown) cases, and thus will not be repeated herein.

[0139] In some embodiments, the network signaling is cell-specific signaling or UE-specific signaling.

[0140] In some embodiments, the method of the network device may further include: sending a TCI state handover command to the UE indicating multiple target TCI states (e.g., two target TCI states in the case of dual TCI state handover). In some embodiments, the TCI state handover command may be sent from the network to the UE in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message. As described above, based on the target TCI states indicated for the UE and the UE capabilities reported by the UE, the network can know the expected UE TCI state handover time (e.g., the expected UE TCI state handover delay), and expects the UE to complete the handover within the expected time period.

[0141] In some embodiments, after sending a TCI state handover command to the UE indicating two target TCI states, the method of the network device may further include: receiving from the UE the beam pairs supported by the UE; or receiving from the UE a notification that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work for the UE.

[0142] This occurs when the UE does not support the simultaneous reception of the two indicated target TCI states, and this case has been described in detail with reference to the method of the UE, and thus will not be repeated herein. Additionally, in response to receiving from the UE the beam pairs supported by the UE or a notification that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work for the UE, the network device may indicate to the UE one or two new target TCI states (e.g., based on the beam pairs reported by the UE).

[0143] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a device for a User Equipment (UE) according to some embodiments is illustrated. Figure 4 The illustrated device 400 may be used to implement as described in connection withFigure 2A The illustrated method 200.

[0144] As Figure 4 illustrated, the apparatus 400 includes a determination unit 410 and a reporting unit 420.

[0145] The determination unit 410 may be configured to determine UE capabilities associated with multi-TCI state switching based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI state of the multi-TCI state switching.

[0146] The reporting unit 420 may be configured to report the determined UE capabilities to the network.

[0147] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a network device according to some embodiments is illustrated. Figure 5 The illustrated apparatus 500 may be used to implement the method 300 as illustrated in connection with Figure 3 the illustrated method 300.

[0148] As Figure 5 illustrated, the apparatus 500 includes a receiving unit 510 and a determination unit 520.

[0149] The receiving unit 510 may be configured to receive, from a UE, UE capabilities associated with multi-TCI state switching, where the UE capabilities are reported by the UE based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI state of the multi-TCI state switching. The determination unit 520 may be configured to determine a TCI state switching delay for multi-TCI state switching for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities.

[0150] Figure 6 Example components of a device 600 according to some embodiments are illustrated. In some embodiments, the device 600 may include at least an application circuit 602, a baseband circuit 604, a radio frequency (RF) circuit (shown as RF circuit 620), a front-end module (FEM) circuit (shown as FEM circuit 630), one or more antennas 632, and a power management circuit (PMC) (shown as PMC 634) coupled together as shown. The illustrated components of the device 600 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 600 may include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize the application circuit 602 but include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, the device 600 may include additional elements such as, for example, a memory / storage device, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuits may be separately included in more than one device for a cloud RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0151] The application circuit 602 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 602 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). These processors may be coupled to the memory / storage or may include the memory / storage, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 600. In some embodiments, the processors of the application circuit 602 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0152] The baseband circuit 604 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 604 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 620 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 620. The baseband circuit 604 may interact with the application circuit 602 to generate and process baseband signals and to control the operation of the RF circuit 620. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 604 may include a third-generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 606), a fourth-generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 608), a fifth-generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 610), or other baseband processors 612 of other existing generations, generations under development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second-generation (2G), sixth-generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuit 604 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors) may process various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 620. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the illustrated baseband processors may be included in modules stored in the memory 618 and executed via the central processing unit (CPU 614). The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuit of the baseband circuit 604 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), pre-coding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 604 may include convolutional, tail-biting convolutional, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0153] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 604 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSPs 616. The one or more audio DSPs 616 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuitry may be appropriately combined on a single chip, in a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 604 and the application circuitry 602 may be implemented together, such as on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0154] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 604 may provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 604 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), or wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 604 is configured to support radio communication for more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0155] The RF circuitry 620 may implement communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 620 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 620 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for down-converting an RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 630 and providing a baseband signal to the baseband circuitry 604. The RF circuitry 620 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for up-converting a baseband signal provided by the baseband circuitry 604 and providing an RF output signal to the FEM circuitry 630 for transmission.

[0156] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 620 may include mixer circuit 622, amplifier circuit 624, and filter circuit 626. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 620 may include filter circuit 626 and mixer circuit 622. RF circuit 620 may also include synthesizer circuit 628, which is used to synthesize the frequencies for the mixer circuits 622 of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 622 of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from FEM circuit 630 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 628. Amplifier circuit 624 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 626 may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or a band-pass filter (BPF), which is configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuit 604 for further processing. In some embodiments, although not necessary, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 622 of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0157] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 622 of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 628 to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 630. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuit 604 and may be filtered by filter circuit 626.

[0158] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 622 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 622 of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 622 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 622 of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 622 of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 622 may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 622 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 622 of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0159] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 620 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuit and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 604 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 620.

[0160] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0161] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 628 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 628 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0162] The synthesizer circuit 628 may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a frequency divider control input for use by the mixer circuit 622 of the RF circuit 620. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 628 may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0163] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The frequency divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuit 604 or the application circuit 602 (such as an application processor) based on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the frequency divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application circuit 602.

[0164] The synthesizer circuit 628 of the RF circuit 620 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide an input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal phase bins, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO period.

[0165] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 628 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency), and is used in conjunction with the quadrature generator and divider circuits to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 620 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0166] The FEM circuit 630 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 632, amplify the received signals and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuit 620 for further processing. The FEM circuit 630 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuit 620 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 632. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be accomplished only in the RF circuit 620, only in the FEM circuit 630, or in both the RF circuit 620 and the FEM circuit 630.

[0167] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 630 may include a TX / RX switch for switching between transmit mode and receive mode operations. The FEM circuit 630 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 630 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 620). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 630 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 620), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., via one or more of the one or more antennas 632).

[0168] In some embodiments, the PMC 634 may manage the power provided to the baseband circuit 604. Specifically, the PMC 634 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When the device 600 is capable of being powered by a battery, e.g., when the device 600 is included in an EGE, the PMC 634 may generally be included. The PMC 634 may improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired form factor and thermal characteristics.

[0169] Figure 6PMC 634 is shown coupled only to the baseband circuitry 604. However, in other embodiments, PMC 634 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 602, RF circuitry 620, or FEM circuitry 630 and perform similar power management operations for such components.

[0170] In some embodiments, PMC 634 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of device 600. For example, if device 600 is in an RRC connected state in which the device remains connected to a RAN node because it expects to receive communications soon, the device may enter a state called discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after an inactive period. During this state, device 600 may power down for short intervals, thus saving power.

[0171] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, device 600 may transition to an RRC idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. Device 600 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device wakes up periodically again to listen for the network and then powers down again. Device 600 cannot receive data in this state, and to receive data, the device transitions back to the RRC connected state.

[0172] Additional power saving modes may render the device unable to use the network for periods of time that exceed the paging interval (from seconds to hours). During this time, the device is completely disconnected from the network and may be completely powered down. Any data transmitted during this time incurs a significant delay, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0173] The processors of application circuitry 602 and baseband circuitry 604 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuitry 604 may be used, either alone or in combination, to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of application circuitry 602 may utilize the data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., transport control protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a media access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0174] Figure 7Illustrates an example interface 700 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. As discussed above, Figure 6 The baseband circuit 604 may include a 3G baseband processor 606, a 4G baseband processor 608, a 5G baseband processor 610, other baseband processors 612, a CPU 614, and a memory 618 used by the processors. As illustrated, each of the processors may include a memory interface 1402 for sending / receiving data to / from the memory 618.

[0175] The baseband circuit 604 may further include: one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 704 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 604); an application circuit interface 706 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from Figure 6 the application circuit 602); an RF circuit interface 708 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from Figure 6 the RF circuit 620); a wireless hardware connection interface 710 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a near field communication (NFC) component, a component (e.g., low power), a component, and other communication components); and a power management interface 712 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from the PMC 634).

[0176] Figure 8 Is a block diagram illustrating a component 800 capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the method sets discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 8 Illustrates a schematic diagram of hardware resources 802, including one or more processors 812 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 818, and one or more communication resources 820, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 822. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 804 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 802.

[0177] The processor 812 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 814 and a processor 816.

[0178] The memory / storage device 818 may include a main memory, a disk memory, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 818 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state memory, etc.

[0179] The communication resources 820 may include an interconnect or network interface component or other suitable device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 806 or one or more databases 808 via the network 810. For example, the communication resources 820 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, a component (e.g., low power consumption), a component, and other communication components.

[0180] The instructions 824 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 812 to execute any one or more of the method sets discussed herein. The instructions 824 may reside wholly or partially within at least one of the processors 812 in the processor (e.g., within the cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage device 818, or any suitable combination thereof. Additionally, any portion of the instructions 824 may be transferred from any combination of the peripheral devices 806 or the database 808 to the hardware resources 802. Thus, the memory of the processor 812, the memory / storage device 818, the peripheral devices 806, and the database 808 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0181] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components illustrated in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more of the operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. As another example, the circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth in the example section below.

[0182] Figure 9Illustrates the architecture of system 900 of a network according to some embodiments. System 900 includes one or more user equipments (UEs), shown as UE 902 and UE 904 in this example. UE 902 and UE 904 are illustrated as smart phones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices that can be connected to one or more cellular networks), but it can also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), pager, laptop computer, desktop computer, wireless handheld terminal, or any computing device including a wireless communication interface.

[0183] In some embodiments, either of UE 902 and 904 can include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which can include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine type communication (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity-based service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange can be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which can include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE can execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connection to the IoT network.

[0184] UE 902 and UE 904 can be configured to connect (e.g., communicatively couple) to a radio access network (RAN), shown as RAN 906. The RAN 906 can be, for example, an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (EUMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a next-generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UE 902 and UE 904 respectively utilize connections 908 and 910, where each connection includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connections 908 and 910 are illustrated as air interfaces to achieve communicative coupling and can be consistent with cellular communication protocols, such as global system for mobile communications (GSM) protocol, code division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, push-to-talk (PTT) protocol, cellular PTT (POC) protocol, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) protocol, 3rd generation partnership project long term evolution (LTE) protocol, fifth generation (5G) protocol, new radio (NR) protocol, etc.

[0185] In this embodiment, UE 902 and UE 904 may also directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 912. The ProSe interface 912 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface including one or more logical channels, the one or more logical channels including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0186] UE 904 is shown as being configured to access an access point (AP) (shown as AP 914) via connection 916. Connection 916 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 914 will include a Wi-Fi router. In this example, AP 914 may be connected to the Internet without being connected to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0187] The RAN 906 may include one or more access nodes that implement connection 908 and connection 910. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), next-generation Node Bs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographical area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 906 may include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., macro RAN node 918) for providing macro cells, and one or more RAN nodes (e.g., low-power (LP) RAN nodes such as LP RAN node 920) for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macro cell).

[0188] Either the macro RAN node 918 or the LP RAN node 920 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for UE 902 and UE 904. In some embodiments, either the macro RAN node 918 or the LP RAN node 920 may fulfill various logical functions of the RAN 906, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0189] According to some embodiments, EGE 902 and EGE 904 may be configured to communicate with each other or with either the macro RAN node 918 and the LP RAN node 920 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication technologies, such as but not limited to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard. The OFDM signal may include a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0190] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from either the macro RAN node 918 and the LP RAN node 920 to the UEs 902 and 904, and uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resources in the downlink in each time slot. For OFDM systems, such time-frequency plane representations are common practice, which makes radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one time slot in the radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest amount of resources that can be currently allocated. Such resource blocks are used to convey several different physical downlink channels.

[0191] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 902 and 904. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information such as about the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It may also notify the UEs 902 and 904 of the transmission format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Generally, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to the UEs 904 within the cell) may be performed at either the macro RAN node 918 and the LP RAN node 920 based on the channel quality information fed back from either of the UEs 902 and 904. The downlink resource allocation information may be transmitted on the PDCCHs used for (e.g., allocated to) each of the UEs 902 and 904.

[0192] The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruples, and then a sub-block interleaver may be used to permute them for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs may be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE may correspond to four sets of nine physical resource elements, called resource element groups (REGs). Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel conditions, one or more CCEs may be used to transmit the PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0193] Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs) may be used to transmit the EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to four sets of nine physical resource elements, called enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). In some cases, an ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0194] RAN 906 is communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) (shown as CN 928) via an S1 interface 922. In an embodiment, CN 928 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next-generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment, the S1 interface 922 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 1124 that carries traffic data between the macro RAN node 918 and the LP RAN node 920 and the serving gateway (S-GW) (shown as S-GW 1132); and an S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface (shown as S1-MME interface 926), which is a signaling interface between the macro RAN node 918 and the LP RAN node 920 and the MME 930.

[0195] In this embodiment, CN 928 includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 930, a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 932, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) (shown as P-GW 934), and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (shown as HSS 936). The MME 930 can be functionally similar to the control plane of a legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME 930 can manage access-related mobility aspects, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 936 can include a database for network users, which includes subscription-related information for supporting network entities to process communication sessions. Depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc., CN 928 can include one or more HSSs 936. For example, the HSS 936 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, name / address resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0196] The S-GW 932 can terminate the S1 interface 322 towards the RAN 906 and route data packets between the RAN 906 and the CN 928. In addition, the S-GW 932 can be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handovers and can also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities can include lawful interception, charging, and enforcement of certain policies.

[0197] The P-GW 934 can terminate the SGi interface towards the PDN. The P-GW 934 can route data packets between the CN 928 (e.g., an EPC network) and an external network, such as a network including an Application Server 942 (alternatively referred to as an Application Function (AF)), via the Internet Protocol (IP) (shown as the IP communication interface 938). Generally speaking, the Application Server 942 can be an element that provides an application for using IP bearer resources together with the core network (e.g., an Evolved Multimedia Telephony Service (EMTMS) Packet Service (PS) domain, an LTE PS data service, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 934 is shown communicatively coupled to the Application Server 1 142 via the IP communication interface 938. The Application Server 942 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Internet Protocol Voice (VoIP) sessions, Push-to-Talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.) for the UEs 902 and 904 via the CN 928.

[0198] The P-GW 934 can also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) (shown as PCRF 940) is the policy and charging control element of the CN 928. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session of the ETE. In a roaming scenario with local traffic breakout, there may be two PCRFs associated with the IP-CAN session of the UE: the Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and the Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 940 can be communicatively coupled to the application server 942 via the P-GW 934. The application server 942 can signal the PCRF 940 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 940 can configure the rules for the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with appropriate Traffic Flow Templates (TFTs) and QoS Class Identifiers (QCIs), which initiate the QoS and charging specified by the application server 942.

[0199] Additional Embodiments

[0200] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components illustrated in one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to perform one or more of the operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods set forth in the Example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the embodiments set forth below. As another example, the circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the embodiments set forth in the Example section below.

[0201] The following examples relate to additional embodiments.

[0202] Example 1 includes a method for a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0203] determining UE capabilities associated with the multi-TCI state transition based on a candidate combination of known or unknown states of a target TCI state for a multi-Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state transition; and

[0204] reporting the determined UE capabilities to the network.

[0205] Example 2 includes the method according to Example 1, wherein the multi-TCI state transition is a dual-TCI state transition.

[0206] Embodiment 3 includes the method according to Embodiment 2, wherein the candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states include:

[0207] Both of the two target TCI states are known to the UE;

[0208] Both of the two target TCI states are unknown to the UE; and

[0209] One of the two target TCI states is known to the UE and the other is unknown to the UE.

[0210] Embodiment 4 includes the method according to Embodiment 3, wherein determining the UE capabilities associated with the multi-TCI state transition based on the candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states for the multi-TCI state transition includes:

[0211] For each of the candidate combinations, determining the UE capabilities for distinguishing whether the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single-TCI state transition latency or a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single-TCI state transition latency.

[0212] Embodiment 5 includes the method according to Embodiment 4, wherein determining the UE capabilities associated with the multi-TCI state transition based on the candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states for the multi-TCI state transition further includes:

[0213] For the candidate combination in which one of the two target TCI states is known to the UE and the other is unknown to the UE, further determining the UE capabilities for indicating a beam scanning factor reduction with respect to the time for determining the receive beam refinement in the single-TCI state transition.

[0214] Embodiment 6 includes the method according to Embodiment 4 or 5, wherein the additional latency is based on at least one of the following:

[0215] The cross-panel transition time of the UE; or

[0216] The layer 1-reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement and processing constraints of the UE.

[0217] Embodiment 7 includes the method according to Embodiment 5, wherein the reduced beam scanning factor is based on the maximum number of layer 1 (L1) beams supported by the respective panel of the UE.

[0218] Example 8 includes the method according to Example 5, wherein the reported UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor can be covered by the UE via at least one of the following: layer 1 (L1) messages, media access control - control element (MAC - CE), or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0219] Example 9 includes the method according to Example 5, wherein the UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are reported to the network together with a timer that sets the expiration time of the reduced beam scanning factor.

[0220] Example 10 includes the method according to Example 5, wherein the UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are enabled or disabled at the UE via network signaling from the network.

[0221] Example 11 includes the method according to Example 10, wherein:

[0222] When the network determines that single downlink control information (DCI) is configured for the UE, the UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are enabled at the UE via the network signaling; and

[0223] When the network determines that multi - DCI is configured for the UE, the UE capabilities indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are disabled at the UE via the network signaling.

[0224] Example 12 includes the method according to Example 10, wherein the network signaling is cell - specific signaling or UE - specific signaling.

[0225] Example 13 includes the method according to Example 2, the method further comprising:

[0226] Receiving a TCI state switching command from the network indicating two target TCI states; and

[0227] In response to determining that the UE does not support simultaneous reception of the two target TCI states, reporting to the network the beam pairs supported by the UE, or notifying the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work.

[0228] Example 14 includes the method according to Example 13, wherein reporting to the network the beam pairs supported by the UE includes one of the following:

[0229] When the UE knows one or more valid beam pairs, reporting the beam pairs supported by the UE via a group - based beam reporting mechanism; or

[0230] In response to determining that the UE is configured with two sets of channel measurement resources (CMRs) for beam measurement, perform layer 1-reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement and report whether a suitable beam pair is found.

[0231] Embodiment 15 includes the method according to Embodiment 13, wherein in response to determining that at least one of the following occurs, perform notifying the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work:

[0232] Media access control-control element (MAC-CE) is used to activate two TCI states for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), but the UE cannot receive from the two active TCI states simultaneously;

[0233] The network configures search space links for PDCCH repetition, and the two linked search spaces overlap in the time domain, and the UE cannot receive the search spaces of the two links with corresponding active TCI states simultaneously;

[0234] The network activates TCI code points for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the activated TCI code points include two TCI states that the UE cannot receive simultaneously;

[0235] The UE is scheduled by the network to receive two PDSCHs simultaneously, but for two TCI states corresponding to different PDSCHs that overlap in time, the UE cannot receive them simultaneously;

[0236] For a unified TCI state, activate a unified TCI code point with two TCI states that the UE cannot receive simultaneously;

[0237] The UE is scheduled by the network to transmit two physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) / physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) simultaneously, but for two TCI / space relationships corresponding to different PUSCHs that overlap in time, the UE cannot transmit them simultaneously; or

[0238] The network configures two sets of sounding reference signal (SRS)-resources for the "codebook" or "non-codebook" for simultaneous PUSCH transmission, and some SRS-resource pairs in different SRS-resource sets cannot be used by the UE for simultaneous transmission.

[0239] Embodiment 16 includes the method according to Embodiment 13, wherein notifying the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work is performed via one of the following: uplink control information (UCI), media access control-control element (MAC-CE), or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0240] Embodiment 17 includes the method according to Embodiment 16, wherein, when at least one of the following criteria is met, one or both of the indicated target TCI states notified to the network are not working via the MAC-CE:

[0241] The UE has a PUSCH grant, and the UE is capable of using the PUSCH grant to transmit the MAC-CE;

[0242] The UE does not have a PUSCH grant, but the UE is capable of using a scheduling request (SR) to request a PUSCH grant; or

[0243] The UE is capable of using random access (RA) to request the transmission of a report of an invalid network TCI activation / indication.

[0244] Embodiment 18 includes the method according to Embodiment 17, wherein the SR is configured separately and / or assigned a different priority compared to other SRs.

[0245] Embodiment 19 includes the method according to Embodiment 17, wherein the RA is contention-free random access (CFRA) or contention-based random access (CBRA).

[0246] Embodiment 20 includes a method for a network device, the method comprising:

[0247] Receiving, from a user equipment (UE), UE capabilities associated with a multi-transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state switch, wherein the UE capabilities are reported by the UE based on a candidate combination of known or unknown states of the target TCI states of the multi-TCI state switch; and

[0248] Determining a TCI state switch delay for the multi-TCI state switch for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities.

[0249] Embodiment 21 includes the method according to Embodiment 20, wherein the multi-TCI state switch is a dual-TCI state switch.

[0250] Embodiment 22 includes the method according to Embodiment 21, wherein the received UE capabilities include UE capabilities reported for the following candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI states:

[0251] Both target TCI states are known to the UE;

[0252] Both target TCI states are unknown to the UE; and

[0253] One target TCI state is known to the UE, while the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE.

[0254] Embodiment 23 includes the method according to Embodiment 22, wherein the UE capabilities reported for each of the candidate combinations include:

[0255] UE capabilities for distinguishing whether the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single TCI state handover delay or a UE that requires additional delay compared to the legacy single TCI state handover delay.

[0256] Embodiment 24 includes the method according to Embodiment 23, wherein the UE capabilities reported for a candidate combination where one target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE further include:

[0257] UE capabilities for indicating a beam scanning factor reduction for a beam scanning factor relative to the time for determining receive beam refinement in a single TCI state handover.

[0258] Embodiment 25 includes the method according to Embodiment 24, wherein determining the TCI state handover delay for the multi-TCI state handover for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities includes:

[0259] In response to determining that the network device is to indicate two known target TCI states or two unknown target TCI states to the UE:

[0260] Based on determining that the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single TCI state handover delay, determining the TCI state handover delay for the multi-TCI state handover based on the legacy single TCI state handover delay; and

[0261] Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional delay compared to the legacy single TCI state handover delay, determining the TCI state handover delay for the multi-TCI state handover based on the additional delay and the legacy single TCI state handover delay.

[0262] Embodiment 26 includes the method according to Embodiment 24, wherein determining the TCI state handover delay for the multi-TCI state handover for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities includes:

[0263] In response to determining that the network device is to indicate one known target TCI state or one unknown target TCI state to the UE:

[0264] For the known target TCI state:

[0265] Based on determining that the UE is a UE capable of meeting the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover based on the legacy single TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state, and

[0266] Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover based on the additional latency and the legacy single TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state; and

[0267] For the unknown target TCI state:

[0268] Based on determining that the UE is a UE capable of meeting the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover by replacing the beam scanning factor used in the determination of the legacy single TCI state handover latency in the unknown target TCI state with the reduced beam scanning factor, and

[0269] Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover by replacing the beam scanning factor used in the determination of the legacy single TCI state handover latency in the unknown target TCI state with the reduced beam scanning factor and adding the additional latency to the legacy single TCI state handover latency of the unknown target TCI state.

[0270] Example 27 includes the method according to Example 24, wherein the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is attached with a timer for setting the expiration time of the reduced beam scanning factor.

[0271] Example 28 includes the method according to Example 24, wherein the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is enabled or disabled at the UE via network signaling of the network device.

[0272] Example 29 includes the method according to Example 28, wherein:

[0273] When the network device determines that single downlink control information (DCI) is configured for the UE, the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is enabled at the UE via the network signaling; and

[0274] When the network device determines that multiple DCIs are configured for the UE, the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor is disabled at the UE via the network signaling.

[0275] Embodiment 30 includes the method according to Embodiment 28, wherein the network signaling is cell-specific signaling or UE-specific signaling.

[0276] Embodiment 31 includes the method according to Embodiment 21, the method further comprising:

[0277] After sending a TCI state switching command indicating two target TCI states to the UE:

[0278] Receiving, from the UE, a beam pair supported by the UE; or

[0279] Receiving, from the UE, a notification that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work for the UE.

[0280] Embodiment 32 includes an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

[0281] One or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 19.

[0282] Embodiment 33 includes an apparatus for a network device, the apparatus comprising:

[0283] One or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Embodiments 20 to 31.

[0284] Embodiment 34 is a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing an apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 31 when executed by one or more processors.

[0285] Embodiment 35 is an apparatus for a communication device, the apparatus comprising means for performing the steps of the method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 31.

[0286] Embodiment 36 is a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 31.

[0287] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any one of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings, or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0288] It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise partitioned or combined. Additionally, it is contemplated that the parameters / attributes / aspects, etc. of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. For clarity, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc. are described in only one or more embodiments, and it should be recognized that unless otherwise specifically stated herein, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for the parameters / attributes, etc. of another embodiment.

[0289] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

[0290] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatuses described herein. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: Determine UE capabilities associated with the multi-TCI state transition based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI state for the multi-transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state transition; And Report the determined UE capabilities to the network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the multi-TCI state transition is a dual-TCI state transition, the candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI state include: Both of the two target TCI states are known to the UE; Both of the two target TCI states are unknown to the UE; And One target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein determining the UE capabilities associated with the multi-TCI state transition based on the candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI state of the multi-TCI state transition includes: For each of the candidate combinations, determine UE capabilities for distinguishing whether the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single-TCI state transition latency or a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single-TCI state transition latency.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein determining the UE capabilities associated with the multi-TCI state transition based on the candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI state of the multi-TCI state transition further includes: For a candidate combination where one target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE, further determine UE capabilities for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor relative to a beam scanning factor that determines the time for receive beam refinement in a single-TCI state transition.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the UE capabilities for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor can be covered by the UE via at least one of the following: a Layer 1 (L1) message, a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE), or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the UE capabilities for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are reported to the network together with a timer that sets the expiration time of the reduced beam scanning factor.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the UE capabilities for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor are enabled or disabled at the UE via network signaling from the network.

8. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: Receive from the network a TCI state transition command indicating two target TCI states; And In response to determining that the UE does not support simultaneous reception of the two target TCI states, report to the network the beam pairs supported by the UE, or notify the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states are not working.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein reporting the beam pairs supported by the UE to the network includes one of the following: When the UE knows one or more valid beam pairs, reporting the beam pairs supported by the UE via a group-based beam reporting mechanism; or In response to determining that the UE is configured with two sets of channel measurement resources (CMRs) for beam measurement, perform layer 1-reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement and report whether a suitable beam pair is found.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein in response to determining that at least one of the following occurs, perform the notification to the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work: Media access control-control element (MAC-CE) is used to activate two TCI states for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), but the UE cannot receive from both active TCI states simultaneously; The network configures search space links for PDCCH repetition, and the two linked search spaces overlap in the time domain, and the UE cannot receive the search spaces of the two links with corresponding active TCI states simultaneously; The network activates TCI code points for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the activated TCI code points include two TCI states that the UE cannot receive simultaneously; The UE is scheduled by the network to receive two PDSCHs simultaneously, but for two TCI states corresponding to different PDSCHs that overlap in time, the UE cannot receive them simultaneously; For a unified TCI state, activate a unified TCI code point with two TCI states that the UE cannot receive simultaneously; The UE is scheduled by the network to transmit two physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) / physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) simultaneously, but for two TCI / spatial relationships corresponding to different PUSCHs that overlap in time, the UE cannot transmit them simultaneously; or The network configures two sets of sounding reference signal (SRS)-resources for the "codebook" or "non-codebook" for simultaneous PUSCH transmission, and some SRS-resource pairs in different SRS-resource sets cannot be used by the UE for simultaneous transmission.

11. The method according to claim 11, wherein the notification to the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work is performed via one of the following: uplink control information (UCI), media access control-control element (MAC-CE), or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein in the case of satisfying at least one of the following criteria, perform the notification to the network that one or both of the indicated target TCI states do not work via the MAC-CE: The UE has a PUSCH grant, and the UE is capable of using the PUSCH grant to transmit the MAC-CE; The UE does not have a PUSCH grant, but the UE is capable of using a scheduling request (SR) to request a PUSCH grant; or The UE is capable of using random access (RA) to request transmission of a report on invalid network TCI activation / indication.

13. A method for a network device, the method comprising: Receive from a user equipment (UE) UE capabilities associated with a multi-transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state transition, where the UE capabilities are reported by the UE based on candidate combinations of known or unknown states of the target TCI state for the multi-TCI state transition; And Determine a TCI state transition latency for the multi-TCI state transition for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein when the multi-TCI state transition is a dual-TCI state transition, the received UE capabilities include UE capabilities for reporting the following candidate combinations of known or unknown states for the target TCI state: Both target TCI states are known to the UE; Both target TCI states are unknown to the UE; and One target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the UE capabilities reported for each of the candidate combinations include: UE capabilities for distinguishing whether the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single-TCI state transition latency or a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single-TCI state transition latency.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the UE capabilities reported for the candidate combination in which one target TCI state is known to the UE and the other target TCI state is unknown to the UE further include: UE capabilities for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor relative to a beam scanning factor that determines the time for receive beam refinement in a single-TCI state transition.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein determining the TCI state transition delay for the multi-TCI state transition for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities includes: In response to determining that the network device is to indicate to the UE two known target TCI states or two unknown target TCI states: Based on determining that the UE is a UE that can meet the legacy single-TCI state transition latency, determine the TCI state transition latency for the multi-TCI state transition based on the legacy single-TCI state transition latency; and Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single-TCI state transition latency, determine the TCI state transition latency for the multi-TCI state transition based on the additional latency and the legacy single-TCI state transition latency.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein determining the TCI state transition delay for the multi-TCI state transition for the UE based at least on the received UE capabilities includes: In response to determining that the network device is to indicate to the UE one known target TCI state or one unknown target TCI state: For the known target TCI state: Based on determining that the UE is a UE capable of meeting the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover based on the legacy single TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state, and Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover based on the additional latency and the legacy single TCI state handover latency of the known target TCI state; and For the unknown target TCI state: Based on determining that the UE is a UE capable of meeting the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover by replacing the beam scanning factor used in the determination of the legacy single TCI state handover latency in the unknown target TCI state with the reduced beam scanning factor, and Based on determining that the UE is a UE that requires additional latency compared to the legacy single TCI state handover latency, determine the TCI state handover latency of the unknown target TCI state in the multi-TCI state handover by replacing the beam scanning factor used in the determination of the legacy single TCI state handover latency in the unknown target TCI state with the reduced beam scanning factor and adding the additional latency to the legacy single TCI state handover latency of the unknown target TCI state.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the UE capability for indicating a reduced beam scanning factor is enabled or disabled at the UE via network signaling of the network device.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: When the network device determines that single downlink control information (DCI) is configured for the UE, the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is enabled at the UE via the network signaling; And When the network device determines that multi-DCI is configured for the UE, the UE capability indicating the reduced beam scanning factor is disabled at the UE via the network signaling.

21. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: One or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

22. An apparatus for a network device, the apparatus comprising: One or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 13 to 20.

23. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program, when executed by one or more processors, causes the apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

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