Scheduling restrictions for user equipments with multiple reception capabilities

Abstract

A method is provided. The method includes receiving, by a user equipment (UE) from a base station, a signal configuring the UE to perform a measurement. The method includes indicating to the base station that the UE has a scheduling restriction capability. The method includes determining one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement occasions, the one or more first beams associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE. The method includes determining a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, the second beam associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels. The method includes determining whether the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams based on the second beam. The method includes applying a scheduling restriction according to the TCI in response to the determination of the conflicting beam.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 446,131, filed on February 16, 2023, entitled “SCHEDULING RESTRICTION FOR USEREQUIPMENT WITH MULTI-RECEPTION CAPABILITY,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication networks provide integrated communication platforms and telecommunication services to wireless user devices. Example telecommunication services include telephony, data (e.g., voice, audio, and / or video data), messaging, internet access, and / or other services. Wireless communication networks have radio access nodes that exchange wireless signals with wireless user devices using wireless network protocols (such as protocols described in various telecommunication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). Example wireless communication networks include time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks, long term evolution (LTE), and fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR). Wireless communication networks use technologies such as OFDM, multiple input multiple output (MIMO), advanced channel coding, massive MIMO, beamforming, and / or other features to facilitate mobile broadband services. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) is disclosed. The method includes receiving a signal from a base station configuring the UE to perform measurements. The method includes indicating to the base station that the UE has scheduling restriction capabilities. The method includes determining one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, wherein the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE. The method includes determining a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second beam is associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels. The method includes determining whether the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams based on the second beam. The method includes applying scheduling restrictions according to a transmit configuration indicator (TCI) in response to determining that the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams.

[0005] In some implementations, the method includes, in response to determining that the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams, indicating the scheduling restriction to the base station.

[0006] In some implementations, the measurement comprises a layer 3 (L3) measurement.The UE performs beam scanning using the one or more first beams.

[0007] In some implementations, the one or more conflicting beams are associated with the first antenna panel.

[0008] In some specific implementations, applying the scheduling restriction includes at least one of: indicating to the base station one or more restricted measurement opportunities corresponding to the one or more conflicting beams, indicating to the base station one or more unrestricted measurement opportunities that do not correspond to the one or more conflicting beams, or indicating to the base station a ratio between (i) the number of the one or more restricted measurement opportunities and (ii) the total number of the one or more measurement opportunities.

[0009] In some implementations, the UE indicates to the base station, and before each of the measurement occasions, whether the measurement occasion is restricted.

[0010] In some implementations, the measurement includes a layer 1 (L1) measurement.

[0011] In some implementations, the one or more conflicting beams are associated with the first antenna panel, or an angular distance between (i) the one or more conflicting beams and (ii) the second beam is below a threshold.

[0012] In some implementations, the one or more conflicting beams are arranged radially within the coarse beam, and an angular distance between the coarse beam and the second beam is below a threshold.

[0013] In some implementations, applying the scheduling restriction includes disabling the reception of the data signal or the control signal during one or more restricted measurement occasions corresponding to the one or more conflicting beams.

[0014] In some implementations, the one or more measurement opportunities are within a measurement period. Applying the scheduling restriction includes: determining that all of the one or more measurement opportunities occur during a period of high-priority data or control reception; and extending the measurement period by a ratio of (i) the number of the one or more conflicting beams to (ii) the total number of the one or more first beams.

[0015] In some implementations, the one or more measurement opportunities are within a measurement period. Applying the scheduling restriction includes: determining that a subset of the one or more measurement opportunities occur during a period of high-priority data or control reception; performing the measurement during the subset of the one or more measurement opportunities; and disabling the measurement outside of the subset of the one or more measurement opportunities.

[0016] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, one or more processors are provided, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions, and the instructions enable a UE to perform the above method.

[0017] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method to be performed by a base station is provided. The method includes configuring a UE to perform measurements using one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, wherein the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE. The method includes configuring the UE with a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second beam is associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels. The method includes receiving an indication from the UE that the UE has scheduling restriction capability. The method includes determining scheduling restrictions applied by the UE.

[0018] In some implementations, determining the scheduling restriction includes receiving an indication from the UE indicating whether the UE implements the scheduling restriction. The indication indicates at least one of: one or more restricted measurement opportunities; one or more unrestricted measurement opportunities; or a ratio of (i) the number of the one or more restricted measurement opportunities to (ii) the total number of the one or more measurement opportunities.

[0019] In some implementations, determining the scheduling restriction performed by the UE includes receiving, from the UE and prior to each of the measurement opportunities, an indication of whether the measurement opportunity is restricted.

[0020] In some implementations, the base station determines the scheduling restriction based on whether (i) a beam used to send the measurement signal and (ii) a beam used to send the data signal or the control signal are type D quasi-co-located with the same reference signal.

[0021] In some implementations, the base station determines the scheduling restriction based on whether an angular distance between (i) a beam used to send the measurement signal and (ii) a beam used to send the data signal or the control signal is below a threshold.

[0022] In some implementations, the one or more first beams are radially arranged within a coarse receive beam used by the UE to receive the measurement signal. The coarse receive beam corresponds to a coarse transmit beam used by the base station to transmit the measurement signal. The base station determines the scheduling restriction based on (i) the coarse transmit beam and (ii) whether a beam used to transmit the data signal or the control signal is type D quasi-co-located with the same reference signal.

[0023] In some implementations, the one or more first beams are radially arranged within a coarse receive beam used by the UE to receive the measurement signal. The coarse receive beam corresponds to a coarse transmit beam used by the base station to transmit the measurement signal. The base station determines the scheduling restriction based on whether an angular distance between (i) the coarse transmit beam and (ii) a beam used to transmit the data signal or the control signal is less than a threshold.

[0024] In some implementations, the method further includes scheduling the transmission of the data signal or the control signal regardless of the scheduling restriction.

[0025] The details of one or more specific implementations of these systems and methods are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, objects, and advantages of these systems and methods will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 An example wireless network according to some implementations is illustrated.

[0027] Figure 2 Example scenarios in which a UE applies scheduling restrictions according to some implementations are illustrated.

[0028] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Each illustrates an example scenario in which a UE applies scheduling restrictions according to some specific implementations.

[0029] Figure 4 Flowcharts illustrating example methods according to some implementations are shown.

[0030] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating another example method according to some implementations is shown.

[0031] Figure 6 An example UE according to some implementations is illustrated.

[0032] Figure 7 An example access node according to some implementations is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] User equipment (such as a UE) uses one or more receiver (RX) chains (e.g., antenna panels) to receive wireless signals from other devices (e.g., base stations). The received signals can include two types: (i) measurement signals that enable the UE to determine the quality of the communication, and (ii) non-measurement signals (such as data or control signals) used by the UE for other purposes. Wireless signals are transmitted and received via beams, which describe the spatial distribution of the electromagnetic field carrying the wireless signal.

[0034] The UE can perform measurements at different layers, such as Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 3 (L3). Depending on the configuration, the measurement process sometimes involves beam scanning. Assuming the UE has two antenna panels, and each antenna panel supports beam scanning with four beams, the UE can use its two antenna panels to perform beam scanning involving eight beams, each corresponding to a measurement opportunity. Receiving data or control signals typically involves only one beam without scanning.

[0035] When a base station schedules communication with a UE, the base station may schedule the UE to perform both measurements and data or control signal reception at approximately the same time. This may lead to conflict scenarios in which the UE cannot perform both types of communications as scheduled. For example, a beam used for data or control signal reception ("data / control beam") may be spatially too close to a beam involved in measurement ("measurement beam"), potentially increasing the risk of interference between the data or control signal and the measurement signal. To resolve this conflict, the UE may choose to apply scheduling restrictions by performing one type of communication (e.g., measurement) while suspending another type of communication (e.g., data or control signal reception). However, this may increase communication latency and undermine communication stability.

[0036] Some UEs support simultaneous reception of signals using multiple RX panels in certain frequency ranges (FR), such as FR2. For these UEs, the conflict may occur at one antenna panel but not at the other antenna panels. For example, assuming that the data / control beam is associated with the first antenna panel of the UE, the UE may only observe a conflict between the data / control beam and the measurement beam associated with the first antenna panel. For measurement beams associated with other antenna panels of the same UE, there may be no conflict with the data / control beam, and measurements may be performed on the other antenna panels as scheduled. Because scheduling restrictions are only partially applied in this scenario, the UE does not need to apply scheduling restrictions to all beams in this case, but can allow part of the communication to proceed uninterrupted.

[0037] The ability to apply partial scheduling restrictions is desirable because it reduces communication interruptions and improves communication latency. To support this capability, the UE and the base station need to agree on, for example, the conditions for applying scheduling restrictions, the actions after applying the scheduling restrictions, and the signaling between the UE and the base station regarding the applied scheduling restrictions. However, in existing systems, this capability is not supported.

[0038] This disclosure describes systems and methods for applying partial scheduling restrictions. As described in detail below, implementations of this disclosure provide mechanisms for a UE to determine scheduling restrictions in various scenarios. Implementations of this disclosure also provide mechanisms for a base station to determine the scheduling restrictions applied by a UE. By utilizing the features described below, the efficiency and reliability of communications between a UE and a base station are improved.

[0039] Figure 1 An example wireless network 100 is illustrated according to some implementations. Wireless network 100 includes UE 102 and base station 104 connected via one or more channels 106A, 106B across an air interface 108. UE 102 and base station 104 communicate using a system that supports control for managing UE 102 access to the network via base station 104.

[0040] In some implementations, the wireless network 100 may be a non-standalone (NSA) network that combines LTE and 5G NR communication standards as defined by 3GPP technical specifications. For example, the wireless network 100 may be an E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC) network or an NR-EUTRA dual connectivity (NE-DC) network. However, the wireless network 100 may also be a standalone (SA) network that combines only 5G NR. In addition, other types of communication standards are possible, including future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G) systems), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11a; IEEE 802.11b; IEEE 802.11g; IEEE 802.11-2007; IEEE 802.11n; IEEE 802.11-2012; IEEE 802.11ac; or other currently or future developed IEEE 802.11 technologies), IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), etc. Although various aspects may be described herein using terms generally associated with 5G NR, various aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other systems, such as 3G, 4G, and / or systems after 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0041] In wireless network 100, UE 102 and any other UEs in the system can be, for example, laptops, smartphones, tablet computers, machine-type devices such as smart meters or specialized devices for healthcare, intelligent transportation systems, or any other wireless device with or without a user interface. In network 100, base station 104 provides network connectivity to a broader network (not shown) for UE 102. This connectivity is provided via an air interface 108 within the base station service area provided by base station 104. In some implementations, this broader network can be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider, or it can be the Internet. Each base station service area associated with base station 104 is supported by an antenna integrated with base station 104. The service area is divided into multiple sectors associated with certain antennas. Such sectors can be physically associated with fixed antennas, or can be assigned to physical areas with tunable antennas or antenna settings that can be adjusted in a beamforming process used to direct signals to specific sectors.

[0042] UE 102 includes control circuitry 110 coupled to transmit circuitry 112 and receive circuitry 114. Transmit circuitry 112 and receive circuitry 114 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. Control circuitry 110 may include various combinations of dedicated circuitry and baseband circuitry. Transmit circuitry 112 and receive circuitry 114 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, and may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry or front-end module (FEM) circuitry.

[0043] In various implementations, aspects of the transmit circuitry 112, receive circuitry 114, and control circuitry 110 may be integrated in various ways to implement the operations described herein. The control circuitry 110 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as the UE-related operations described elsewhere in this disclosure. For example, the control circuitry 110 may control the transmit circuitry 112 and receive circuitry 114 to exchange wireless signals, such as measurement signals, data, or control signals, with the base station 104. The control circuitry 110 may also determine to apply scheduling restrictions when applicable.

[0044] The transmit circuitry 112 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) as well as carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 112 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuitry 110 for transmission across the air interface 108.

[0045] The receiving circuit 114 may receive a plurality of multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 108 and relay these physical channels to the control circuit 110. The plurality of downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM and carrier aggregation. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may transmit and receive both control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, video, etc.) structured within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0046] As an illustrative example of operations performed by various component circuits of UE 102, receive circuitry 114 may receive a signal from base station 104 that configures UE 102 to perform measurements by including a measurement object in the signal, the measurement object indicating, for example, whether the measurement is an L3 measurement or an L1 measurement, whether the measurement involves beam scanning, and / or a measurement period. In response to receiving the signal, transmit circuitry 112 may send a message to base station 104 indicating that UE 102 has scheduling restriction capabilities, including, for example, whether UE 102 can partially restrict measurements or data / control reception while maintaining another portion uninterrupted. Control circuitry 110 may determine one or more first measurement beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, wherein the one or more first measurement beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of UE 102. Control circuitry 110 may also determine a second data / control beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second data / control beam is associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels. Based on the second data / control beam, the control circuit 110 may determine whether the one or more first measurement beams include one or more conflicting beams. In response to determining that the one or more first measurement beams include one or more conflicting beams, the control circuit 110 may apply scheduling restrictions according to the TCI.

[0047] Figure 1 Also illustrated is a base station 104. In a specific implementation, the base station 104 may be an NG radio access network (RAN) or 5G RAN, E-UTRAN, a non-terrestrial cell, or a traditional RAN such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN" or the like may refer to a base station 104 operating in an NR or 5G wireless network 100, and the term "E-UTRAN" or the like may refer to a base station 104 operating in an LTE or 4G wireless network 100. The UE 102 utilizes connections (or channels) 106A, 106B, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer.

[0048] Base station 104 circuitry may include control circuitry 116 coupled to transmit circuitry 118 and receive circuitry 120. Transmit circuitry 118 and receive circuitry 120 may each be coupled to one or more antennas that may be used to enable communication over air interface 108. Transmit circuitry 118 and receive circuitry 120 may be adapted to transmit data to and receive data from any UE connected to base station 104, respectively. Transmit circuitry 118 may transmit downlink physical channels including a plurality of downlink subframes. Receive circuitry 120 may receive a plurality of uplink physical channels from various UEs, including UE 102.

[0049] As an illustrative example of operations performed by various component circuits of base station 104, transmit circuitry 118 may transmit a signal to UE 102 to configure the UE to perform measurements using one or more first measurement beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, where the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of the UE. Transmit circuitry 118 may also convey further instructions to configure UE 102 with a second data / control beam for receiving data or control signals, where the second data / control beam is associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels. Receive circuitry 120 may receive an indication from UE 102 that the UE has scheduling restriction capabilities, including whether the UE can partially restrict measurements or data / control reception while maintaining another portion uninterrupted. Control circuitry 116 may determine the scheduling restrictions implemented by UE 102. Control circuitry 116 may make this determination based on an indication received from UE 102 regarding its scheduling restriction capabilities, or based on an inference made by the base station.

[0050] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment, one or more channels 106A, 106B are illustrated as air interfaces for implementing communication coupling and may conform to a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, an advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) protocol, an LTE-based unlicensed spectrum access (LTE-U), a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, an NR-based unlicensed spectrum access (NR-U) protocol, and / or any other communication protocol discussed herein. In a specific implementation, the UE 102 may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface. The ProSe interface may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface and may include one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0051] Figure 2An example scenario 200 is illustrated in which a UE 202 applies scheduling restrictions according to some implementations. The scenario 200 may occur when the UE 202 performs L3 measurements using beam scanning. The UE 202 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 102.

[0052] like Figure 2 As shown, UE 202 has two antenna panels 210 and 220. Each of antenna panels 210 and 220 supports measurement beam scanning with four beams. That is, antenna panel 210 supports beam scanning with four beams, collectively referred to as measurement beams 230. Similarly, antenna panel 220 supports beam scanning with four beams, collectively referred to as measurement beams 240. Measurement beams 230 and 240 together correspond to the measurement beams that UE 202 can scan from a base station (e.g., Figure 1 Eight measurement opportunities when the base station 104 receives the measurement signal.

[0053] The base station may send a TCI to UE 202 to schedule UE 202 for data or control signal reception. The TCI may specify the antenna panel for the data / control beam, as well as the time and duration of data or control signal reception. In scenario 200, UE 202 is scheduled to perform data or control signal reception using data / control beam 250 associated with antenna panel 210. As previously described, the same antenna panel 210 is associated with measurement beam 230.

[0054] In this case, a conflict may arise between data or control signal reception and measurement. For example, UE 202 may not support using the same antenna panel 210 to perform L3 measurements and receive data or control signals at (approximately) the same time. Therefore, UE 202 can apply scheduling restrictions by disabling data or control signal reception at measurement opportunities corresponding to measurement beams 230. In this case, measurement beams 230 are considered to be conflicting beams, and their corresponding measurement opportunities are considered to be restricted measurement opportunities. Because measurement beam 240 is associated with antenna panel 220 (different from antenna panel 210), there is no conflict between measurement beam 240 and data / control beam 250. Therefore, when UE 202 uses measurement beam 240 to perform measurement beam scanning, UE 202 can use beam 250 to receive data or control signals at the same time. In this case, measurement beams 240 are considered to be non-conflicting beams, and their corresponding measurement opportunities are considered to be non-restricted measurement opportunities.

[0055] In keeping with scenario 200, UE 202 may indicate its scheduling restriction capabilities to the base station that schedules measurement and data or control signal reception. UE 202 may also indicate to the base station how the scheduling restrictions are applied. For example, UE 202 may indicate to the base station all restricted measurement opportunities among restricted measurement opportunities. Alternatively or additionally, UE 202 may indicate to the base station all unrestricted measurement opportunities among unrestricted measurement opportunities. Alternatively or additionally, UE 202 may indicate to the base station a ratio between (i) the number of restricted measurement opportunities and (ii) the total number of measurement opportunities (e.g., 4 / 8=0.5 in scenario 200). Alternatively or additionally, prior to each of the eight measurement opportunities, UE 202 may dynamically indicate to the base station whether the measurement opportunity is restricted.

[0056] In the description of reference scenario 200, the scheduling restriction applied is to disable data or control signal reception at restricted measurement occasions. The method prioritizes L3 measurement signal reception over data or control signal reception. In some specific implementations, the UE may apply scheduling restrictions that follow different methods by, for example, prioritizing data or control signal reception over L3 measurement signal reception. As a first example, when data or control signals have high priority, the UE may keep data or control signal reception uninterrupted while disabling measurement beam scanning at restricted measurement occasions. The UE may extend the measurement period to compensate for the disabled measurement occasions. For example, when four of eight measurement occasions are restricted and all four restricted measurement occasions coincide with data or control signal reception, the UE disables measurement at the four restricted measurement occasions. In order to compensate for the four disabled measurement occasions, the UE may extend the measurement period to (4 / 8) times the original measurement period, resulting in a 50% increase in the measurement period.

[0057] As a second example of prioritizing data or control signal reception over L3 measurement signal reception, when high-priority data or control signal reception coincides with a subset of restricted measurement opportunities, the UE can maintain uninterrupted data or control signal reception while performing measurements only on measurement opportunities that do not coincide with data or control signal reception. In this way, the UE does not extend the measurement period, but instead performs measurements on a reduced number of opportunities. For example, when two of the four restricted measurement opportunities coincide with high-priority data or control signal reception, the UE performs measurements only on the other two opportunities that do not coincide with data or control signal reception.

[0058] Figure 3A and Figure 3BEach illustrates example scenarios 300A and 300B, respectively, in which a UE 302 applies scheduling restrictions according to some implementations. Scenarios 300A and 300B may occur when the UE 302 performs L1 measurements such as L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), L1 signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR), radio link monitoring (RLM), bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD), and candidate beam detection (CBD). The UE 302 having antenna panels 310 and 320 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 102 or Figure 2 UE 202.

[0059] Starting from scenario 300A, UE 302 does not perform measurement beam scanning in scenario 300A. Instead, UE 302 is configured to simultaneously have measurement beam 330 associated with antenna panel 310 and measurement beam 340 associated with antenna panel 320. In addition, UE 302 is configured to perform data or control signal reception using data / control beam 350 associated with antenna panel 310 via TCI from a base station.

[0060] Conflicts may arise between data or control signal reception and measurements. Similar to the L3 measurements described with reference to scenario 200, measurement beam 330 and data / control beam 350 may conflict because both beams are associated with the same antenna panel 310. Furthermore, conflicts may occur in L1 measurements if the angular distance between the measurement beam and the data / control beam is below a threshold (meaning the two beams are too close to receive a signal). In some implementations, the threshold is expressed as an angle of departure (AoD) and is predefined by UE 302 or the base station.

[0061] Assuming the angular distance between data / control beam 350 and measurement beam 340 is greater than a threshold, data / control beam 350 only conflicts with measurement beam 330. Therefore, UE 302 can apply scheduling restrictions by disabling data or control signal reception during measurement opportunities corresponding to measurement beam 330. In this case, measurement beam 330 is considered a conflicting beam, and its corresponding measurement opportunity is considered a restricted measurement opportunity. On the other hand, measurement beam 340 is considered a non-conflicting beam, and its corresponding measurement opportunity is considered a non-restricted measurement opportunity.

[0062] Moving to scenario 300B, UE 302 in scenario 300B can perform beam scanning for L1 measurements. Measurement beams, collectively referred to as measurement beams 370, are associated with antenna panel 320. On the other hand, UE 302 is configured to use data / control beams 350 associated with antenna panel 310 to perform data or control signal reception.

[0063] UE 302 in scenario 300B is also configured with a coarse beam 360 associated with antenna panel 320. The term "coarse beam" as opposed to "fine beam" means that the beam has relatively low directivity and relatively wide radial coverage. Figure 3B As illustrated, coarse beam 360 has a wider radial coverage than each and all of the measurement beams 370 radially arranged within coarse beam 360. Thus, when UE 302 performs L1 beam scanning between measurement beams 370, the beam scanning is radially bounded by coarse beam 360. In some implementations, UE 302 determines coarse beam 360 by selecting the strongest beam from the L3 beam scan, and then performs L1 beam scanning between measurement beams 370 within the radial coverage of coarse beam 360. An example of coarse beam 360 is a beam used to receive synchronization signal blocks (SSBs).

[0064] Even though data / control beam 350 is associated with a different antenna panel than the antenna panel associated with measurement beam 370, a conflict between data / control beam 350 and measurement beam 370 still exists if the angular distance between them is below a threshold. Because measurement beam 370 is bounded by coarse beam 360 for L1 beam scanning purposes, UE 302 can determine that a conflict exists if the angular distance between data / control beam 350 and coarse beam 360 is below a threshold. Based on this determination, UE 302 can apply scheduling restrictions by disabling data or control signal reception during measurement opportunities corresponding to measurement beam 370. In this case, measurement beam 370 is considered a conflicting beam, and the corresponding measurement opportunity is considered a restricted measurement opportunity.

[0065] In scenarios 300A and 300B, UE 302 may indicate its scheduling restriction capabilities to the base station. UE 302 may also indicate to the base station how scheduling restrictions are applied. These indications may be similar to those described above with reference to FIG. 200. For the sake of brevity, a description of these indications is omitted.

[0066] In some implementations, the base station may determine that scheduling restrictions are applied to L1 measurements without an explicit indication from the UE. This determination may be based on an inference of a conflict from quasi co-location (QCL) of transmit beams or from an angular distance between transmit beams. For example, the base station may determine whether (a) a beam used to transmit a measurement signal (e.g., a measurement signal received by the UE using a measurement beam) and (b) a beam used to transmit a data or control signal (e.g., data or control signal received by the UE using a data / control beam) are quasi co-located (QCL-Type D) with the same reference signal. If the answer is yes, the base station may infer that there is a conflict between the receive beams corresponding to (a) and (b). For another example, the base station may determine whether the angular distance between (a) and (b) is below a threshold. If yes, the base station may also infer that there is a conflict between the two receive beams corresponding to (a) and (b). Through this inference of a conflict, the base station may also infer that the UE applied scheduling restrictions as a result of the conflict. In scenarios such as 300B where the receive measurement beam is bounded by the coarse receive beam, the base station may make inferences using the corresponding coarse transmit beam (such as the beam used to transmit the L3 reference signal).

[0067] Conversely, in some implementations, the base station may infer that the scheduling restriction is not applied during the L1 measurement (e.g., the scheduling restriction is "none" or "not applicable"). The base station may make this inference when the UE reports a group-based L1 measurement result (e.g., an L1 measurement result based on two reference signals RS1 and RS2). For example, if the target L1 measurement reference signal TCI and the data or control signal TCI are quasi-co-located (QCL) with RS1 and RS2, respectively, the base station may infer that the scheduling restriction is not applied during the L1 measurement. In this way, the data or control signal quasi-co-located with RS2 may be scheduled in parallel to the target L1 measurement whose reference signal is quasi-co-located with RS1. Alternatively or additionally, if the first target L1 measurement reference signal TCI and the second target L1 measurement reference signal TCI are quasi-co-located with RS1 and RS2, respectively, the base station may infer that the scheduling restriction is not applied during the L1 measurement between the first target L1 measurement and the second target L1 measurement. In this way, the UE may be scheduled to perform the first target L1 measurement and the second target L1 measurement simultaneously. For example, in some implementations, a UE (such as UE 302) may be configured to receive two data or control signal transmission opportunities (e.g., physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) from two different QCL sources on a primary cell (PCell). In such implementations, there are no scheduling restrictions for the two data or control signal transmission opportunities due to beam failure detection performed based on reference signals (e.g., channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS) when the following conditions are met:

[0068] The CSI-RS is not in a CSI-RS resource set with repeated ON,

[0069] The CSI-RS has the same QCL source as the active TCI state of one of the PDSCHs and a different QCL-Type D than the other PDSCH,

[0070] The CSI-RS and two of the PDSCHs are on the same OFDM symbol, or the CSI-RS and only one of the PDSCHs with different QCL-TypeD are on the same OFDM symbol,

[0071] • The resources of the active TCI state for the two PDSCHs have been reported as a resource group in the group-based RSRP report.

[0072] In some implementations, the base station may ignore scheduling restrictions applied by the UE. For example, in a scenario involving L3 measurements, the base station may calculate a ratio by dividing (i) the number of reference signal symbols used for L3 measurements plus a margin by (ii) the periodicity of the reference signal measured in number of symbols. If the ratio is less than a threshold (e.g., 0.5%), the base station may infer that the density of L3 measurement symbols in each reference signal period is too low to justify scheduling restrictions. The base station may therefore schedule data or control signals on any symbol, regardless of the L3 measurement symbol, and allow the UE to experience interruptions when receiving data or control signals on some L3 measurement symbols.

[0073] While the scheduling restrictions described with reference to scenarios 300A and 300B prioritize L1 measurement signal reception over data or control signal reception, the UE can instead apply scheduling restrictions that prioritize data or control signal reception over L1 measurement signal reception. For example, the UE can disable L1 measurements during restricted occasions and extend the measurement period, or perform L1 measurements only during restricted measurement occasions that do not coincide with data or control signal reception. These scheduling restrictions for L1 measurements are similar to those described above for L3 measurements. For the sake of brevity, the description of these scheduling restrictions for L1 measurements is omitted.

[0074] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an example method 400 according to some specific implementations is shown. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes the method 400 in the context of other figures in this specification. For example, the method 400 may be performed by Figures 1 to 3BUE 102, 202, or 302. It should be understood that method 400 can be performed by any suitable system, environment, software, hardware, or a combination of systems, environments, software, and hardware, as appropriate. In some specific implementations, the steps of method 400 can be executed in parallel, in combination, in a loop, or in any order.

[0075] At 402, method 400 involves receiving a signal from a base station configuring a UE to perform measurements. In the signal, the base station may provide the UE with information about measurement objects, such as whether the measurement is an L3 measurement or an L1 measurement, whether the measurement involves beam scanning, and / or a measurement period.

[0076] At 404, method 400 involves indicating to the base station that the UE has scheduling restriction capability. The indicated scheduling restriction capability may specifically include whether the UE can partially restrict measurement or data / control reception while keeping another portion uninterrupted.

[0077] At 406, method 400 involves determining one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, wherein the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE. The one or more first beams may be similar to Figure 2 The measurement beams 230 and 240 in Figure 3A The measurement beams 330 and 340 in Figure 3B The measurement beam 370 in .

[0078] At 408, method 400 involves determining a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second beam is associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels. The second beam may be similar to Figure 2 Data / control beam 250 or Figure 3A and Figure 3B Data / control beam 350 in.

[0079] At 410, method 400 involves determining whether the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams based on the second beam. This determination of conflicting beams can be similar to any of those described with reference to scenarios 200, 300A, and 300B.

[0080] At 412, method 400 involves applying scheduling restrictions based on the TCI in response to determining that the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams. The application of the scheduling restrictions can be similar to any of those described with reference to scenarios 200, 300A, and 300B.

[0081] Figure 5A flowchart illustrating an example method 500 according to some specific implementations is shown. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes the method 500 in the context of other figures in this specification. For example, the method 500 may be performed by Figure 1 It should be understood that the method 500 can be performed by any suitable system, environment, software, hardware, or a combination of systems, environments, software, and hardware. In some implementations, the steps of the method 500 can be performed in parallel, in combination, in a loop, or in any order.

[0082] At 502, method 500 involves configuring a UE to perform measurements using one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, wherein the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE. The one or more first beams may be similar to Figure 2 The measurement beams 230 and 240 in Figure 3A The measurement beams 330 and 340 in Figure 3B The measurement beam 370 in .

[0083] At 504, method 500 involves configuring the UE with a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second beam is associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels. The second beam may be similar to Figure 2 Data / control beam 250 or Figure 3A and Figure 3B Data / control beam 350 in.

[0084] At 506, method 500 involves receiving an indication from the UE that the UE has scheduling restriction capability. The indicated scheduling restriction capability may specifically include whether the UE can partially restrict measurement or data / control reception while keeping another portion uninterrupted.

[0085] At 508, method 500 involves determining scheduling restrictions implemented by the UE. The determination can be based on an indication from the UE, or can be based on an inference by the base station.

[0086] Figure 6 An example UE 600 according to some implementations is illustrated. The UE 600 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 102, and can basically be used with Figure 1 UE 102 is swapped.

[0087] UE 600 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a pressure sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, etc.), a video device (e.g., a camera, a camcorder, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or a loose IoT device.

[0088] UE 600 may include a processor 602, RF interface circuitry 604, memory / storage 606, a user interface 608, sensors 610, driver circuitry 612, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 614, antenna structures 616, and a battery 618. The components of UE 600 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 6 The block diagram is intended to show an overview view of some of the components of the UE 600. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0089] Components of the UE 600 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 620, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0090] The processor 602 may include processor circuits such as, for example, a baseband processor circuit (BB) 622A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 622B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 622C. The processor 602 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 606) to cause the UE 600 to perform operations as described herein.

[0091] In some implementations, the baseband processor circuit 622A can access the communication protocol stack 624 in the memory / storage 606 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 622A can access the communication protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the physical (PHY) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and the PDU layer; and to perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, the MAC layer, the RLC layer, the PDCP layer, the RRC layer, and the non-access stratum layer. In some implementations, PHY layer operations can additionally / alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 604. The baseband processor circuit 622A can generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in the 3GPP-compliant network. In some implementations, the waveform used for NR can be based on cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) "CP-OFDM" in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM "DFT-S-OFDM" in the uplink.

[0092] In some specific implementations, the RF interface circuit 604 may receive a signal from a base station that configures the UE 600 to perform measurements, wherein the signal provides the UE with a measurement object, for example, whether the measurement is an L3 measurement or an L1 measurement, whether the measurement involves beam scanning, and / or a measurement period. The baseband processor circuit 622A may obtain the signal from the RF interface circuit 604 and process the measurement object. The baseband processor circuit 622A may generate a message for sending to the base station, the message indicating that the UE has a scheduling restriction capability, the scheduling restriction capability including an indication of whether the UE can partially restrict measurement or data / control reception while keeping another part uninterrupted. The baseband processor circuit 622A may output the message to the RF interface circuit 604 and instruct the RF interface circuit 604 to send the message to the base station. The baseband processor circuit 622A may determine one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, wherein the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE 600. For example, the one or more first beams may be similar to Figure 2 The measurement beams 230 and 240 in Figure 3A The measurement beams 330 and 340 in Figure 3B The baseband processor circuit 622A may determine a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second beam is associated with a first antenna panel in the plurality of antenna panels. For example, the second beam may be similar to Figure 2 Data / control beam 250 or Figure 3A and Figure 3B300A and 300B. The baseband processor circuit 622A may determine, based on the second beam, whether the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams, for example, as described with reference to scenarios 200, 300A, and 300B. The baseband processor circuit 622A may apply scheduling restrictions based on the TCI in response to determining that the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams. The application of the scheduling restrictions may be similar to any of those described with reference to scenarios 200, 300A, and 300B. The baseband processor circuit 622A may generate a message for the base station indicating the scheduling restrictions and instruct the RF interface circuit 604 to transmit the message to the base station.

[0093] The memory / storage 606 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media containing instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 624) that are executable by one or more processors in the processor 602 to cause the UE 600 to perform the various operations described herein. The memory / storage 606 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 600. In some implementations, some of the memory / storage 606 may be located on the processor 602 itself (e.g., an L1 cache and an L2 cache), while other memory / storage 606 may be external to the processor 602 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 606 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, 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, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0094] The RF interface circuit 604 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM) that allow the UE 600 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 604 may include various components arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, and the like.

[0095] In the receive path, the RFEM receives the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 616 and further filters and amplifies the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). This signal is provided to the transceiver's receiver, which downconverts the RF signal to a baseband signal, which is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 602.

[0096] In the transmit path, the transceiver's transmitter upconverts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before radiating it across the air interface via the antenna 616. In various implementations, the RF interface circuit 604 may be configured to transmit and receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0097] Antenna 616 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves for propagation in the air, and to convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 616 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple-input, multiple-output communications. Antenna 616 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, and the like. Antenna 616 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band, including a band in FR1 or FR2.

[0098] The user interface 608 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 600. The user interface 608 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. The input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual component for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, or a head-mounted device. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual component for displaying or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 600.

[0099] Sensors 610 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in their environment and to communicate information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope, or magnetometer; a fluid level sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; and the like.

[0100] The driver circuit 612 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 600. The driver circuit 612 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 600. For example, the driver circuit 612 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings from the sensor circuit 628 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 628, a driver for obtaining actuator positioning of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0101] The PMIC 614 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 600. Specifically, with respect to the processor 602, the PMIC 614 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0102] In some implementations, the PMIC 614 can control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 600. A battery 618 can power the UE 600, but in some examples, the UE 600 can be installed and deployed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 618 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, or the like. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 618 can be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0103] Figure 7An example access node 700 (e.g., a base station or gNB) is illustrated according to some implementations. Access node 700 can be similar to base station 104 and substantially interchangeable therewith. Access node 700 can include a processor 702, RF interface circuitry 704, core network (CN) interface circuitry 706, memory / storage circuitry 708, and antenna structures 710.

[0104] The components of access node 700 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 712. Processor 702, RF interface circuitry 704, memory / storage circuitry 708 (including communication protocol stack 714), antenna structures 710, and interconnects 712 may be similar to those described with respect to FIG. Figure 6 Like-named elements are shown and described.For example, processor 702 may include processor circuits such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB) 716A, CPU 716B, and GPU 716C.

[0105] The CN interface circuitry 706 can provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5th Generation Core Network (5GC) using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol, such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to / from the access node 700 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 706 can include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry 706 can include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0106] As used herein, the terms "access node," "access point," and the like may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BSs, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs, or TRPs, and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node" and the like may refer to access nodes 700 (e.g., gNBs) operating in NR or 5G systems, and the terms "E-UTRAN node" and the like may refer to access nodes 700 (e.g., eNBs) operating in LTE or 4G systems. Depending on the implementation, access node 700 may be implemented as one or more of the following: a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station, and / or a low-power (LP) base station for providing femtocells, picocells, or other similar cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macrocells.

[0107] In some implementations, all or part of the access node 700 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In a V2X scenario, the access node 700 may be or function as a "roadside unit." The term "roadside unit" or "RSU" may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, wherein an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU," and so on.

[0108] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to." Representing a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks expressly intends that the component not be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. §112(f).

[0109] For one or more specific implementations, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the following embodiments. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. For another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the embodiments described below in the embodiments section.

[0110] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the embodiments described above may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the specific implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various specific implementations.

[0111] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

[0112] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

Claims

1. A method to be performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a signal from a base station to configure the UE to perform measurements; Indicating to the base station that the UE has scheduling restriction capability; determining one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement opportunities, wherein the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE; determining a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second beam is associated with a first antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels; determining, based on the second beam, whether the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams; as well as In response to determining that the one or more first beams include one or more colliding beams, scheduling restrictions are applied according to a transmit configuration indicator (TCI).

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to determining that the one or more first beams include one or more conflicting beams, indicating the scheduling restriction to the base station.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The measurements include layer 3 (L3) measurements, and The UE performs beam scanning using the one or more first beams.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The one or more conflicting beams are associated with the first antenna panel.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein applying the scheduling constraints comprises at least one of: indicating to the base station one or more restricted measurement opportunities corresponding to the one or more conflicting beams, indicating to the base station one or more unrestricted measurement opportunities that do not correspond to the one or more conflicting beams, or A ratio between (i) the number of the one or more restricted measurement opportunities and (ii) the total number of the one or more measurement opportunities is indicated to the base station. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the UE indicates to the base station whether the measurement occasion is restricted before each of the measurement occasions. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurements comprise layer 1 (L1) measurements.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The one or more conflicting beams are associated with the first antenna panel, or an angular distance between (i) the one or more conflicting beams and (ii) the second beam is below a threshold.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The one or more conflicting beams are arranged radially within the coarse beam, and An angular distance between the coarse beam and the second beam is below a threshold.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the scheduling constraints comprises: The reception of the data signal or the control signal is disabled during one or more restricted measurement occasions corresponding to the one or more conflicting beams.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein: The one or more measurement opportunities are within a measurement period, and Applying the scheduling constraints includes: determining that all of the one or more measurement opportunities occur during a period of high priority data or control reception; and The measurement period is extended by a ratio of (i) the number of the one or more conflicting beams to (ii) the total number of the one or more first beams.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein: The one or more measurement opportunities are within a measurement period, and Applying the scheduling constraints includes: determining that a subset of the one or more measurement opportunities occurs during a period of high priority data or control reception; performing the measurements at the subset of the one or more measurement occasions; and The measurements are disabled outside of the subset of the one or more measurement occasions.

13. A method to be performed by a base station, the method comprising: configuring a user equipment (UE) to perform measurements using one or more first beams corresponding to one or more measurement occasions, wherein the one or more first beams are associated with at least one antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels of the UE; configuring the UE with a second beam for receiving a data signal or a control signal, wherein the second beam is associated with a first antenna panel among the plurality of antenna panels; receiving, from the UE, an indication that the UE has scheduling restriction capability; as well as Scheduling restrictions applied by the UE are determined.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the scheduling constraints comprises: receiving an indication from the UE indicating whether the UE performs the scheduling restriction, wherein the indication indicates at least one of: one or more restricted measurement opportunities; One or more unrestricted measurement opportunities; or A ratio of (i) the number of the one or more restricted measurement opportunities to (ii) the total number of the one or more measurement opportunities.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the scheduling restriction performed by the UE comprises: An indication of whether the measurement occasions are restricted is received from the UE and prior to each of the measurement occasions.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the base station determines the scheduling restriction based on whether (i) a beam used to send the measurement signal and (ii) a beam used to send the data signal or the control signal are type D quasi-co-located with the same reference signal.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the base station determines the scheduling restriction based on whether an angular distance between (i) a beam used to transmit a measurement signal and (ii) a beam used to transmit the data signal or the control signal is lower than a threshold.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein: The one or more first beams are radially arranged within a coarse receive beam for receiving measurement signals by the UE, The coarse receive beam corresponds to a coarse transmit beam used by the base station to transmit the measurement signal, and The base station determines the scheduling restriction based on (i) the coarse transmit beam and (ii) whether a beam used to transmit the data signal or the control signal is type D quasi-co-located with the same reference signal.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein: The one or more first beams are radially arranged within a coarse receive beam for receiving measurement signals by the UE, The coarse receive beam corresponds to a coarse transmit beam used by the base station to transmit the measurement signal, and The base station determines the scheduling restriction based on whether an angular distance between (i) the coarse transmit beam and (ii) a beam used to transmit the data signal or the control signal is lower than a threshold.

20. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: The transmission of the data signal or the control signal is scheduled regardless of the scheduling restriction.

21. One or more processors configured to execute instructions causing a user equipment (UE) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

Images