Transmission configuration indicator state update

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state updating equipment, method and device considering spatial adaptation and a computer readable storage medium. The method includes receiving, at a terminal device, configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device; receiving an indication from the network device indicating which one of the two or more TCI state sets is suitable for association with the terminal device; and applying at least one TCI state from the applicable set of TCI states in a subsequent communication with the network device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status update considering spatial adaptation. Background Art

[0002] Network energy saving has been discussed in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and is of great significance for environmental sustainability, reducing environmental impact, and saving operating costs.

[0003] As fifth-generation mobile communications technology (5G) becomes ubiquitous across industrial and geographic areas to handle more advanced services and applications that require extremely high data rates, networks are becoming denser, using more antennas, greater bandwidth, and more frequency bands. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for TCI status update considering spatial adaptation.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the terminal device to: receive configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; receive an indication from the network device indicating which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device; and apply at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device.

[0006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes: one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the network device to: transmit configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets to a terminal device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; and transmit an indication to the terminal device indicating which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a terminal device, configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; receiving, from the network device, an indication indicating which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device; and applying at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes transmitting, from a network device to a terminal device, configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; and transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication indicating which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising a component for receiving configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; a component for receiving an indication from the network device indicating which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to be associated with the apparatus; and a component for applying at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising a component for transmitting configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets to a terminal device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the apparatus; and a component for transmitting an indication to the terminal device, the indication being associated with which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the terminal device to at least: receive configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; receive an indication from the network device indicating which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device; and apply at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the network device to at least: transmit configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets to a terminal device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; and transmit an indication to the terminal device, indicating which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, storing a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, implements the method according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0014] Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will also become apparent from the following description of the specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The embodiments of the present disclosure are presented by way of example, and their advantages will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] Figure 1 illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0017] Figure 2 Figure illustrates a signaling diagram of a TCI status update procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3A and Figure 3B shows an example of TCI status update according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an example method of TCI status update according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating an example method of TCI status update according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0022] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] The same or similar reference numbers may be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustrating and helping those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways except as described below.

[0025] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0026] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to combine such feature, structure, or characteristic with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0027] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0028] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0029] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step "in response to A" does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after "A" occurs and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0030] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "includes," "has," "has," "contains," and / or "comprising" when used herein specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0031] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog implementation and / or digital circuitry) and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) and software / firmware; and (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)) with software, software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions; and (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but where the software is not required for operation, the software may not be present.

[0032] This definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, the term "circuitry" also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, where applicable to the elements of a particular claim.

[0033] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any applicable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any applicable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered to be limited to the aforementioned systems.

[0034] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network equipment such as satellite network equipment, low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellites, aircraft network equipment, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion, which appears as a UE to a parent node, and a DU portion of an IAB node, which appears as a base station to a next-hop IAB node.

[0035] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local ring phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, portable embedded devices (LEEs), portable mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated process chains), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an IAB node (eg, a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0036] As used herein, the terms "resource," "transmission resource," "resource block," "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource," or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, for example, communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a spatial domain resource, a code domain resource, or any other resource capable of communication. Hereinafter, unless explicitly stated otherwise, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0037] Figure 1 1 shows an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110. Hereinafter, the terminal device 110 may also be referred to as a UE.

[0038] The communication network 100 may further include a network device 120. Hereinafter, the network device 120 may also be referred to as a gNB. The terminal device 110 may communicate with the network device 120.

[0039] It should be understood that Figure 1The number of network devices and terminal devices shown is given for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. Communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0040] In some example embodiments, the link from network device 120 to terminal device 110 may be referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 110 to network device 120 may be referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, network device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, terminal device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and network device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0041] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any applicable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) cellular communication protocols, wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. Furthermore, communications may utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread spectrum OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0042] As mentioned above, as networks become more dense, energy consumption has become a critical component of operational costs. The majority of energy consumption comes from the radio access network, particularly the active antenna units (AAUs). Radio access power consumption can be divided into two components: a dynamic component, consumed only when data transmission / reception is in progress, and a static component, consumed at all times to maintain the necessary operation of the radio access equipment, even when data transmission / reception is not in progress.

[0043] In 5G New Radio (NR), TCI states may be used to establish a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between a source reference signal (RS) resource and a target RS resource, where two resources may be considered quasi-co-located if the properties of the channel over which symbols on one antenna port are conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which symbols on the other antenna port are conveyed.

[0044] TCI state or spatial relation information updates / indications for DL ​​and UL channels can rely on different operations with different capabilities, such as flexibility and speed of indication or updates. The TCI state is a container that includes (multiple) QCL source reference signals, whose spatial source characteristics can be provided from the QCL source reference signals to assist the UE in setting the UE's receive beam for DL ​​reception. Similarly, the spatial relation can carry a reference signal that can be used as a spatial source to instruct the UE how to set the UE's transmit beam for UL transmission.

[0045] Multiple QCL types are defined in 5G NR. For frequency range 1 (FR1), QCL type AC can be applied, while for frequency range 2 (FR2), QCL type AD is applicable. In addition, in FR2, the network can indicate the change of the transmit beam of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) by switching the TCI state. For the aperiodic sounding reference signal (A-SRS), the spatial relationship update based on MAC CE can be per resource level.

[0046] The following briefly describes the signaling of TCI status / spatial relationship information for both DL and UL channels / signals. Various spatial relationship information can be configured via radio resource control (RRC) for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). The selection and activation of a spatial relationship can be accomplished via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0047] In addition, RRC can configure up to 128 TCI states for PDSCH, and MAC-CE can be used to activate up to 8 TCI states. For PDSCH beam indication, downlink control information (DCI) has a 3-bit field for selecting a specific TCI state from 8 activated TCI states. For PDCCH, each control resource set (CORESET) can be configured with K TCI states, and which TCI state is used is indicated by MAC-CE signaling from the K TCI states.

[0048] Furthermore, a unified TCI framework has been specified, which means that the TCI states that have hitherto provided QCL assumptions for the reception of DL signals and channels can also be used to provide spatial sources for the transmission of UL signals and channels.

[0049] The unified TCI framework defines the concept of an indicated TCI state. An indicated TCI state can be a joint DL and UL TCI state, or a separate DL and separate UL TCI state. An indicated TCI state can provide QCL sources (DL) and spatial sources (UL) for downlink signals and channel sets, and uplink signals and channel sets, respectively. There can be one indicated joint DL and UL TCI state or one indicated DL and one indicated UL TCI state for a UE.

[0050] The unified TCI framework may include the following high-level functions. For example, a common TCI state (also referred to as indicated TCI) for a group of signals and channels at the same time. The TCI states may be joint DL / UL TCI states, or separate DL TCI states and separate UL TCI states, respectively. Joint and / or separate TCI state sets (or pools) may be configured by RRC. The MAC may activate multiple (e.g., 8) joint and / or separate TCI states. Prior to the indication, the first activated TCI state may be the currently indicated TCI state. The DCI may indicate one of the activated TCI states as the indicated TCI state, which may also be considered a common TCI state.

[0051] For DCI-based TCI status indication, DCI formats 1_1 / 1_2 with and without DL allocation can be used to carry the TCI status indication. The indication can be confirmed by the UE using a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK). For the application time of the beam indication, the first time slot can be at least X ms or Y symbols after the last symbol of the acknowledgment of the joint or individual DL / UL beam indication. The TCI field code point can be configured for both joint DL / UL or individual DL and UL cases. For the joint DL / UL case, the TCI field code point can refer to the TCI state for both DL and UL, while the TCI field code point for the individual DL and UL case can refer to a pair of DL TCI state and UL TCI state, or a DL TCI state and UL TCI state.

[0052] Dynamic spatial adaptation will now be further studied and developed, which can refer to enhancements to channel state information (CSI) and beam management related procedures, including measurement, reporting and signaling, to enable efficient adaptation of spatial elements.

[0053] Such dynamic spatial adaptation may have an impact on beam management related processes, and in particular may have an impact on the TCI state update / indication process. For example, due to logical antenna port muting and reduced beam rotation, the beam pattern may become wider, which may affect the QCL information and therefore the indicated or applicable TCI state.

[0054] Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure propose a TCI update / indication mechanism that takes spatial adaptation into account. In this solution, a terminal device receives a configuration of two or more TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna spatial pattern deployed at a network device. The terminal device also receives an indication of which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device. The terminal device applies at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device. In this way, a flexible, fast, and efficient TCI state update / indication process that takes into account dynamic spatial adaptation can be implemented.

[0055] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0056] Now refer to Figure 2 , which shows a signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the signaling diagram 200 involves the terminal device 110 and the network device 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 2. Signaling diagram 200 is described below.

[0057] like Figure 2 As shown, the network device 120 transmits (202) configuration information of two or more TCI state sets to the terminal device 110. Each TCI state set in the two or more TCI state sets may be associated with at least one antenna mode and / or at least one spatial mode and / or at least one antenna setting deployed at the network device 120. In some embodiments, the at least one antenna mode and / or at least one spatial mode and / or at least one antenna setting deployed at the network device 120 may also be referred to as spatial adaptation.

[0058] It should be understood that two or more TCI state sets used hereinafter may also refer to two or more TCI state subsets of one or more TCI state sets.

[0059] In some example embodiments, a TCI state set (or subset) may correspond to an active TCI state in a MAC CE. In some other example embodiments, a set of TCI states may correspond to a TCI state configured via RRC. That is, network device 120 may indicate configuration information of two or more TCI state sets to a terminal device via a MAC CE or RRC.

[0060] For example, when the terminal device 110 is close to the network device or the traffic / cell load is low, the capacity of using a higher number of antennas is not fully utilized. From the perspective of network energy saving, the network device 120 can turn off some transceivers to achieve better energy efficiency without significantly affecting the service of the terminal device 110. In this case, the network device 120 can have the freedom to decide which transceivers to silence based on different deployments, where different antenna / spatial silencing patterns can actually be deployed at the network device.

[0061] Figure 3A Multiple antenna / space patterns are shown in FIG. As shown, each of antenna panels 301-306 may have a region where antenna / space elements are muted. For example, in antenna panel 301, antenna / space elements within region 311 are muted. When different antenna / space elements are muted, different antenna / space patterns are deployed at network device 120.

[0062] Optionally, or alternatively, the at least one antenna / spatial pattern or at least one antenna / spatial configuration used below may also be associated with one or more other parameters. For example, the at least one antenna / spatial pattern or at least one antenna / spatial configuration may also be represented by, correspond to, or be replaced by at least one of one or more antenna muting patterns, one or more numbers or sets of active antennas / spatial elements or muted antennas / spatial elements, one or more numbers or sets of active antenna ports or muted antenna ports, one or more reporting configurations or reporting settings, one or more codebook configurations, one or more spatial configurations, one or more CSI-RS resources or resource sets, corresponding values ​​of one or more parameters of a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, a configuration of a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, one or more energy or power levels, or one or more energy saving levels.

[0063] As described above, among the two or more TCI state sets, each TCI state set may correspond to at least one antenna mode and / or at least one spatial mode and / or at least one antenna setting deployed at the network device 120 .

[0064] As an option, the terminal device 110 may learn the association between two or more TCI state sets and corresponding antenna / spatial patterns or settings. For example, the network device 120 may transmit an indication / configuration to the terminal device, indicating that each TCI state set in the two or more TCI state sets may correspond to at least one antenna pattern and / or at least one spatial pattern and / or at least one antenna setting deployed at the network device 120 via, for example, a system information block (SIB), RRC, MAC CE, and / or DCI. In other words, the correspondence between each TCI state set in the two or more TCI state sets and at least one antenna / spatial pattern or setting is visible to the terminal device 110.

[0065] As another option, the terminal device 110 may not be able to learn the correspondence, which means that the correspondence between each TCI state set in the two or more TCI state sets and the at least one antenna / spatial mode or setting is not visible to the terminal device 110 .

[0066] In addition, if Figure 2 As shown, the network device 120 may also transmit (204) an indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable or "active" to the terminal device 110. Accordingly, the terminal device 110 may determine (206) an applicable TCI state set from the two or more TCI state sets based on the indication.

[0067] For example, the network device 120 may transmit an indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable via a MAC CE. Alternatively, the network device 120 may transmit an indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable via a DCI.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the indication may explicitly indicate which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable. For example, since each TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets may be configured with an identifier, the indication may indicate the identifier of the applicable TCI state set.

[0069] For the case where the network device 120 updates or indicates one or more (multiple) TCI states in the MAC CE, the terminal device can be indicated via the same or different MAC CE or via DCI by using newly added, existing, or reserved (multiple) bits or (multiple) fields, which indicate which set these one or more TCI states belong to.

[0070] For example, for activated TCI states (via MAC CE) for DL ​​and / or UL channels or signals, such as PDSCH, PDCCH, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), CSI-RS, tracking reference signal (TRS), etc., there will be two such activated TCI state sets (e.g., each corresponding to an antenna mode). When updating one of these TCI state sets, the network device 120 can indicate which set the indicated TCI state in the MAC CE corresponds to. Based on this indication or a separate indication, the terminal device 110 can be informed of which TCI state set is applicable.

[0071] For the case where the network device 120 updates or indicates one or more TCI states indicated in the DCI, the terminal device can be indicated by using newly added, existing, or reserved (multiple) bits or (multiple) fields in the same DCI or different DCI or MAC CE, which (multiple) bits or (multiple) fields indicate which set these one or more TCI states belong to. For example, for activated TCI states (via MAC CE) for DL ​​and / or UL channels or signals, such as PDSCH, PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, SRSCSI-RS, TRS, etc., there will be two such activated TCI state sets (e.g., each TCI state corresponds to an antenna mode). When a TCI state is indicated in a DCI, for example, the network device 120 can indicate which set the indicated TCI state belongs to. The terminal device 110 can then understand which set to obtain the TCI state from. Based on the indication or a separate indication, the UE can be informed which TCI state set is applicable.

[0072] That is, the terminal device 110 may determine, based on the MAC CE or DCI, at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set to be applied in subsequent communications with the network device 120. Based on the MAC CE or DCI, the value of the at least one TCI state may be retrieved by the terminal device 110. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may determine, via the same or separate indications, which TCI state set of two or more applicable TCI state sets is applicable and the at least one TCI state to be applied.

[0073] In some other example embodiments, the indication may implicitly indicate which of two or more TCI state sets is applicable. For example, where the terminal device 110 learns an association between two or more TCI state sets and corresponding antenna / spatial modes or settings, the indication may indicate the (applicable) antenna / spatial mode or setting, where the indication may be explicit or implicit and carried using at least one of RRC, MAC CE, or DCI. The terminal device 110 may then consider the TCI state set corresponding to the indicated / applicable antenna / spatial mode or setting. In some embodiments, after the antenna mode is indicated to the terminal device 110, the terminal device 110 may consider that the TCI state set is applicable immediately after the mode is indicated, or that the TCI state set is applicable after a set time period after the setting is indicated.

[0074] Therefore, when the network device 120 updates or indicates one or more TCI states via a MAC CE, the terminal device 110 can understand that the one or more TCI states correspond to the applicable TCI state set. Similarly, when the network device 120 indicates (multiple) TCI states in the DCI, the terminal device 110 understands that the TCI state set from which the one or more TCI states are selected is the applicable TCI state set.

[0075] Furthermore, the two or more TCI state sets described above may be configured, mapped, or defined for each one or more UL / DL channels or signals. Specifically, as an example, antenna / spatial adaptation may only be applicable / valid for some or all of the dedicated channels and signals of a terminal device, such as PDSCH, PDCCH, CSI-RS, and TRS. Therefore, the operations and instructions proposed above may only apply to the channels / signals to which adaptation is applicable.

[0076] Furthermore, if the new indicated / applicable antenna / spatial pattern does not affect the reference signal provided as the source reference signal in the information provided by the TCI state, then the TCI state may still apply. The impact on the reference signal may be a change in the corresponding number / set of ports or the number of (active or silent) antennas / spatial elements.

[0077] In other words, the change in TCI state may apply only to (based on a defined association / correspondence) (multiple) channels or (multiple) signals for which the TCI state includes the source RS affected by the (new) indicated / applicable antenna / spatial pattern.

[0078] Thus, the terminal device 110 may determine that there are, for example, two applicable sets of active TCI states, where each set corresponds to or is valid for certain UL / DL signals and channels. The suitability or association of a channel / signal for antenna / spatial adaptation or for a particular antenna / spatial pattern may be configured or indicated to the terminal device.

[0079] In some example embodiments, if terminal device 110 can determine one or more antenna muting modes based on an applicable TCI state set (e.g., Figure 3A If the terminal device 110 is indicated with an applicable set of TCI states for a given antenna / spatial pattern, for example, if the antenna / spatial pattern is associated with an antenna muting pattern, the terminal device 110 may apply transmission and / or reception for channels and signals with certain antenna muting patterns based on the indication received from the associated TCI indication.

[0080] For examples of TCI status indication or update, please refer to Figure 3B is further described. Figure 3B As shown, at block 321, the terminal device 110 may be configured with a TCI state pool and maintain at least two active TCI state sets, each corresponding to one or more antennas / spatial modes that may be configured via RRC. For example, TCI state sets 331 and 332 may be configured, and each TCI state set may have up to eight activated TCI states / codepoints.

[0081] The terminal device 110 may then receive a MAC CE indicating one or more TCI state sets of at least two active TCI state sets that may be activated / updated / indicated. The terminal device may then determine, at block 322, which is the applicable TCI state set based on an indication of an identifier of a TCI state set deployed at the network device 120 or an indication of an applicable antenna / spatial pattern.

[0082] If a set of TCI states is considered, and the network device 120 updates the (“indicated”) TCI state via the TCI state in the DCI or MAC CE, then at block 323 , the terminal device 110 may retrieve the TCI state value from the applicable TCI state set of active TCI states.

[0083] Based on the solution of the present disclosure, a flexible, fast, and efficient TCI status update / indication process can be applied by taking into account dynamic spatial adaptation. In addition, the solution can allow (quickly and efficiently) adaptation and determination of the active / indicated TCI status of the applicable antenna / spatial (silence) pattern.

[0084] Figure 4FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 400 for updating TCI status according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be referred to as Figure 1 Be described.

[0085] At 410 , the terminal device 110 receives configuration information of two or more TCI state sets from a network device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device.

[0086] At 420 , the terminal device 110 receives an indication from the network device, the indication being associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

[0087] At 430 , the terminal device 110 applies at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also obtain a configuration indicating that at least one TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to one or more antennas / spatial patterns of at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

[0089] In some example embodiments, at least one antenna / spatial pattern is associated with at least one of: one or more antenna muting patterns, one or more numbers or sets of active antennas / spatial elements or muted antennas / spatial elements, one or more numbers or sets of active antenna ports or muted antenna ports, one or more reporting configurations or reporting settings, one or more codebook configurations, one or more spatial configurations, one or more CSI-RS resources or resource sets, corresponding values ​​of one or more parameters for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, a configuration for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, one or more energy or power levels, or one or more energy savings levels.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also determine an applicable TCI state set from two or more TCI state sets based on the indication.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable comprises at least one of: an identifier of the applicable TCI state set, or an applicable antenna / spatial pattern of the network device.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also receive configuration information of two or more TCI state sets via RRC signaling.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also receive at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE from the network device; and determine at least one TCI state from an applicable TCI state set based on the at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE.

[0094] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device may also obtain the value of at least one TCI state from an applicable TCI state set based on at least one of the DCI or MAC CE.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also receive at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE together with an indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable.

[0096] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is indicated via at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE using at least one of: a newly added field, an existing field, or a reserved field.

[0097] In some example embodiments, each TCI state set in the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to information comprising at least one of: one or more uplink channels or signals, or one or more downlink channels or signals, and wherein the terminal device is caused to obtain a configuration indicating an association between at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device and the information.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also determine at least one antenna / spatial pattern corresponding to an applicable TCI state set; and perform transmission or reception for the channel and signal using the at least one antenna / spatial pattern.

[0099] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example method 500 for updating TCI status according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 The method 500 is implemented at the network device 120 shown. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will refer to Figure 1 Be described.

[0100] At 510 , the network device 120 transmits configuration information of two or more TCI state sets to the terminal device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device.

[0101] At 520 , the network device 120 transmits an indication to the terminal device, the indication being associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the network device may further transmit a configuration to the terminal device, the configuration indicating that at least one TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to one or more antennas / spatial patterns of at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the antenna / spatial pattern is associated with at least one of: one or more antenna muting patterns, one or more numbers or sets of active antennas / spatial elements or muted antennas / spatial elements, one or more numbers or sets of active antenna ports or muted antenna ports, one or more reporting configurations or reporting settings, one or more codebook configurations, one or more spatial configurations, one or more CSI-RS resources or resource sets, corresponding values ​​of one or more parameters for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, a configuration for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, one or more energy or power levels, or one or more energy saving levels.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable comprises at least one of: an identifier of the applicable TCI state set, or an applicable antenna / spatial pattern of the network device.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the network device may also transmit configuration information of two or more TCI state sets via RRC signaling.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the network device may also transmit at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE to the terminal device, the at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE indicating at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set to be applied.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the network device may also transmit at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE along with an indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable.

[0108] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is indicated via at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE using at least one of: a newly added field, an existing field, or a reserved field.

[0109] In some example embodiments, each TCI state set in the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to information comprising at least one of: one or more uplink channels or signals, or one or more downlink channels or signals, and wherein the network device is caused to transmit a configuration to the terminal device, the configuration indicating an association between at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device and the information.

[0110] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 400 (e.g., implemented at terminal device 110) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 400. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving, from a network device, configuration information for two or more TCI state sets, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; means for receiving, from the network device, an indication as to which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to be associated with the apparatus; and means for applying at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for acquiring a configuration indicating that at least one TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to one or more antennas / spatial patterns of at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

[0113] In some example embodiments, at least one antenna / spatial pattern is associated with at least one of: one or more antenna muting patterns, one or more numbers or sets of active antennas / spatial elements or muted antennas / spatial elements, one or more numbers or sets of active antenna ports or muted antenna ports, one or more reporting configurations or reporting settings, one or more codebook configurations, one or more spatial configurations, one or more CSI-RS resources or resource sets, corresponding values ​​of one or more parameters for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, a configuration for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, one or more energy or power levels, or one or more energy saving levels.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for determining an applicable TCI state set from two or more TCI state sets based on the indication.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable comprises at least one of: an identifier of the applicable TCI state set, or an applicable antenna / spatial pattern of the network device.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for receiving configuration information of two or more TCI state sets via RRC signaling.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for receiving at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE from a network device; and determining at least one TCI state from an applicable TCI state set based on the at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for retrieving a value of at least one TCI state from an applicable TCI state set based on at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE along with an indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable.

[0120] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is indicated via at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE using at least one of: a newly added field, an existing field, or a reserved field.

[0121] In some example embodiments, each TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to information comprising at least one of: one or more uplink channels or signals, or one or more downlink channels or signals, and the apparatus further comprises means for obtaining a configuration indicating an association between the information and at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

[0122] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 500 (e.g., implemented at network device 120) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 500. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for transmitting configuration information of two or more TCI state sets to a terminal device, each TCI state set corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the apparatus; and means for transmitting an indication to the terminal device, the indication being associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for transmitting a configuration to the terminal device, the configuration indicating that at least one TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to one or more antennas / spatial patterns of at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the antenna / spatial pattern is associated with at least one of: one or more antenna muting patterns, one or more numbers or sets of active antennas / spatial elements or muted antennas / spatial elements, one or more numbers or sets of active antenna ports or muted antenna ports, one or more reporting configurations or reporting settings, one or more codebook configurations, one or more spatial configurations, one or more CSI-RS resources or resource sets, corresponding values ​​of one or more parameters for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, a configuration for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, one or more energy or power levels, or one or more energy saving levels.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable comprises at least one of: an identifier of the applicable TCI state set, or an applicable antenna / spatial pattern of the network device.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for transmitting configuration information of two or more TCI state sets via RRC signaling.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting to the terminal device at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE indicating at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set to be applied.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE along with an indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable.

[0130] In some example embodiments, at least one TCI state is indicated via at least one of a DCI or a MAC CE using at least one of: a newly added field, an existing field, or a reserved field.

[0131] In some example embodiments, each TCI state set in the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to information including at least one of the following: one or more uplink channels or signals, or one or more downlink channels or signals, and the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting a configuration to the terminal device, the configuration indicating an association between the information and at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

[0132] Figure 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be used to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 110 or the network device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0133] The communication module 640 is configured for bidirectional communication. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. A communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

[0134] As non-limiting examples, processor 610 can be of any type suitable for use in a local technology network and can include one or more of the following: a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips, that are time-slave to a clock synchronized with a master processor.

[0135] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), optical disks, laser disks, and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not retain data after power is removed.

[0136] The computer program 630 includes computer-executable instructions executed by the associated processor 610. The instructions of the program 630 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 630 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any applicable actions and processes by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

[0137] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented with the aid of the program 630 so that the device 600 may execute the procedures described in the reference Figures 2 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or in another storage device accessible to the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0139] Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disc. The computer readable medium 700 has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0140] In general, the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or a controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0141] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in a program module, which are executed in a target physical or virtual processor to implement any of the methods described above. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. As required by various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0142] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller in a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device so that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0143] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0144] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0145] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order or timing shown, or that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as describing features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the various features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless expressly stated otherwise, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any applicable subcombination.

[0146] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: one or more transceivers; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the terminal device to: receiving configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each of the TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; receiving an indication from the network device, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device; as well as At least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set is applied in subsequent communications with the network device.

2. The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is caused to obtain a configuration indicating that at least one of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to one or more of the at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

3. The terminal device of claim 2 , wherein the at least one antenna / spatial pattern is associated with at least one of: One or more antennas in silent mode, one or more numbers or sets of active antennas / space elements or silent antennas / space elements, one or more numbers or sets of active or silent antenna ports, One or more report configurations or report settings, one or more codebook configurations, One or more spatial configurations, one or more channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources or resource sets, corresponding values ​​of one or more parameters for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, For the configuration of CSI-RS resources or CSI-RS resource sets, one or more energy or power levels, or One or more energy saving levels. 4 . The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the applicable TCI state set from the two or more TCI state sets based on the indication.

5. The terminal device of any preceding claim, wherein the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable comprises at least one of: The identifier of the applicable TCI state set, or Applicable antenna / spatial pattern of the network device.

6. A terminal device according to any preceding claim, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the configuration information of the two or more TCI state sets via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

7. A terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the terminal device is caused to: receiving at least one of downlink control information DCI or media access control MAC control element CE from the network device; and The at least one TCI state is determined from the applicable TCI state set based on at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE.

8. The terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the terminal device is caused to obtain the value of the at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set based on the at least one of DCI or MAC CE.

9. A terminal device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE together with the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable.

10. The terminal device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the at least one TCI state is indicated via the at least one of DCI or MAC CE by using at least one of: Add new fields, Existing fields, or Reserved field.

11. The terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the two or more TCI status sets corresponds to information including at least one of the following: one or more uplink channels or signals, or one or more downlink channels or signals, and wherein the terminal device is caused to acquire a configuration indicating an association between the at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device and the information.

12. A terminal device according to any preceding claim, wherein the terminal device is caused to: determining at least one antenna / spatial mode corresponding to said applicable said TCI state set; and Transmission or reception is performed for a channel and a signal using the at least one antenna / spatial pattern.

13. A network device comprising: one or more transceivers; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the network device to: Transmitting configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets to a terminal device, each of the TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; as well as An indication is transmitted to the terminal device, the indication being associated with which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

14. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the network device is caused to transmit a configuration to the terminal device, the configuration indicating that at least one of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to one or more of the at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device.

15. The network device of claim 13 or 14, wherein the antenna / spatial pattern is associated with at least one of: One or more antennas in silent mode, one or more numbers or sets of active antennas / space elements or silent antennas / space elements, one or more numbers or sets of active or silent antenna ports, One or more report configurations or report settings, one or more codebook configurations, One or more spatial configurations, one or more channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources or resource sets, corresponding values ​​of one or more parameters for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, For the configuration of CSI-RS resources or CSI-RS resource sets, one or more energy or power levels, or One or more energy saving levels.

16. The network device of any preceding claim, wherein the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable comprises at least one of: The identifier of the applicable TCI state set, or Applicable antenna / spatial pattern of the network device.

17. The network device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the configuration information of the two or more TCI state sets via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

18. A network device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the network device is caused to transmit at least one of downlink control information DCI or media access control MAC control element CE to the terminal device, and at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE indicates at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set to be applied.

19. The network device of claim 18, wherein the network device is caused to transmit at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE along with the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable.

20. The network device according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the at least one TCI state is indicated via at least one of the DCI or the MAC CE by using at least one of: Add new fields, Existing fields, or Reserved field.

21. The network device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the two or more TCI state sets corresponds to information including at least one of the following: one or more uplink channels or signals, or one or more downlink channels or signals, and wherein the network device is caused to transmit a configuration to the terminal device, the configuration indicating an association between the at least one antenna / spatial pattern deployed at the network device and the information.

22. A method comprising: Receiving, at a terminal device, configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each of the TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; receiving an indication from the network device, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device; as well as At least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set is applied in subsequent communications with the network device.

23. A method comprising: Transmitting configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device to a terminal device, each of the TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; as well as An indication is transmitted to the terminal device, the indication being associated with which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

24. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each of the TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; means for receiving an indication from the network device, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the apparatus; as well as Means for applying at least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set in subsequent communications with the network device.

25. An apparatus comprising: means for transmitting configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets to a terminal device, each of said TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at said apparatus; as well as means for transmitting an indication to the terminal device, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

26. A terminal device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: Receiving, at the terminal device, configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from a network device, each of the TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; receiving an indication from the network device, the indication associated with which of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device; as well as At least one TCI state from the applicable TCI state set is applied in subsequent communications with the network device.

27. A network device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least: Transmitting configuration information of two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state sets from the network device to the terminal device, each of the TCI state sets corresponding to at least one antenna / spatial mode deployed at the network device; as well as An indication is transmitted to the terminal device, the indication being associated with which TCI state set of the two or more TCI state sets is applicable to the terminal device.

28. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to at least perform the method of claim 22 or the method of claim 23.

Images