Techniques for beam configuration and indication for lower layer triggered mobility

Abstract

The application relates to devices and components including apparatuses, systems, and methods for beam configuration and indication of lower layer triggered mobility in wireless networks.

Description

[0001] Related patent applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 18 / 595,264, filed March 4, 2024, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 63 / 458,041, filed April 7, 2023, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates generally to wireless communication networks, and more specifically to techniques for beam configuration and indication for lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) in said networks. Background Technology

[0003] The 3GPP Technical Specifications (TS) provide details of the radio interface protocols to facilitate communication over wireless networks. These TS define how and when User Equipment (UE) can switch from a source cell to a target cell to improve coverage. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application relates to techniques for beam configuration and indication for lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) in the network. Attached Figure Description

[0005] Figure 1 Examples of network environments based on some implementation schemes are provided.

[0006] Figure 2 Examples of service cell configurations based on some implementation schemes are shown.

[0007] Figure 3 Examples of community configurations based on some implementation schemes are shown.

[0008] Figure 4 Examples of community and public pool configurations based on some implementation schemes are shown.

[0009] Figure 5 The signaling process according to some implementation schemes is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 6 Another signaling process according to some implementation schemes is illustrated.

[0011] Figure 7 Examples of Media Access Control (MAC) control elements (CEs) according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0012] Figure 8 Another MAC CE is illustrated according to some implementation schemes.

[0013] Figure 9Examples of MAC CE implementations are shown.

[0014] Figure 10 Examples of Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) commands for Downlink Control Information (DCI) according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0015] Figure 11 Examples of network environments based on some implementation schemes are provided.

[0016] Figure 12 The signaling diagrams are illustrated according to some implementation schemes.

[0017] Figure 13 Another signaling diagram based on some implementation schemes is shown.

[0018] Figure 14 The operational flow / algorithm structure according to some implementation schemes is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 15 Another operational flow / algorithm structure based on some implementation schemes is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 16 Examples of user equipment based on some implementation schemes are shown.

[0021] Figure 17 Examples of network nodes according to some implementation schemes are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, and / or techniques, are set forth for illustrative and non-limiting purposes to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of some embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various aspects may be practiced in other examples departing from these specific details. In some instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of various aspects with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this document, the phrase “A or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B); and the phrase “based on A” means “at least partially based on A,” for example, it can be “based solely on A” or it can be “partially based on A.”

[0023] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0024] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components such as electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or grouped) or memories (shared, dedicated, or grouped), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable system-on-chips (SoCs)), and / or digital signal processors (DSPs) configured to provide the described functionality. In some aspects, a circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) and program code for executing the functionality of that program code. In these aspects, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0025] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" means, is part of, or includes the following: circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations; or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuitry" may also refer to an application processor; a baseband processor; a central processing unit (CPU); a graphics processing unit; a single-core processor; a dual-core processor; a triple-core processor; a quad-core processor; or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code); a software module; or a functional process.

[0026] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" can refer to one or more hardware interfaces; for example, a bus, I / O interface, peripheral component interface, or network interface card.

[0027] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device with radio communication capabilities and can describe network resources in a communication network. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can be considered synonymous and can refer to a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Additionally, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can include any type of wireless / wired equipment or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0028] As used herein, the term "computer system" means any type of interconnected electronic device, computer device, or component thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" can refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" can refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing resources or network resources.

[0029] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to physical or virtual devices, physical or virtual components within a computing environment, or physical or virtual components within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power supply, input / output operations, port or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, databases and applications, units of workload, etc. "Hardware resource" can refer to computer, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware components. "Virtualized resource" can refer to computer, storage, or network resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The terms "network resource" or "communication resource" can refer to resources that computer equipment / systems can access via a communication network. The term "system resource" can refer to any kind of shared entity providing services and can include computing or network resources. System resources can be considered as a coherent set of functions, network data objects, or services that can be accessed through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0030] As used in this article, the terms “many,” “multiple,” “plural,” etc., refer to more than one item, instance, or event.

[0031] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium used to transmit data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a means or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices used for transmitting and receiving information.

[0032] As used in this article, the terms "instantiate" and "instantiate" refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to the concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0033] The term "connection" can refer to an established signaling relationship between two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0034] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as networked computers, network hardware, network equipment, network nodes, virtualized network functions, etc.

[0035] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to a single piece of content within an information element or a data element that contains content. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0036] New mobile services requiring low latency and high reliability, such as Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), are emerging. While the 3GPP fifth-generation (5G) standard was designed from the outset to address these services, the evolution of 5G New Radio (NR) and future sixth-generation (6G) Radio Access Networks (RAN) necessitates continuously enhancing mobility robustness for these challenging scenarios.

[0037] Layer 1 (L1) enhancements to inter-cell beam management (including L1 measurement and reporting and beam indication) are research areas that promote mobility improvements. As used in the beam management concept, the phrase "beam indication" refers to signaling in which a user equipment (UE) receives a new quasi-co-address (QCL) indication for receiving downlink (DL) signals, such as, for example, Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions. Beam indication can be associated with LTM operation, in which measurement and cell handover commands (CSCs) are executed at a lower layer of the communication protocol (e.g., L1 or L2). In the context of LTM, once the new QCL indication takes effect, for example after the beam application time, the UE will receive DL transmissions from the new transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0038] The QCL relationship between the source and target can be defined by the Transmit Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. The source and target can be reference signals, such as, for example, a Synchronization Block (SSB), a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) (used for beam management or Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) measurements), a Sound Reference Signal (SRS), or a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS). Channel properties determined for the source (e.g., spatial, temporal, or frequency domain properties) can be inferred relative to the target. Different QCL types indicate different inferred channel properties. For example, QCL type A corresponds to Doppler drift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread; QCL type B corresponds to Doppler drift and Doppler spread; QCL type C corresponds to Doppler drift and average delay; and QCL type D corresponds to the spatial Rx parameter.

[0039] Various embodiments of this disclosure describe indications of beam information for candidate cells in a manner that reduces cell handover latency. Some embodiments describe how to configure TCI state information associated with candidate cells. These embodiments provide a design that considers the impact on UE power consumption and complexity caused by resolving the Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration associated with candidate cells. This can be important given that network environments may have a large number of candidate cells, and processing the RRC configuration information element (IE) associated with each candidate cell can be computationally intensive. Other embodiments describe how to efficiently signal beam indication information to derive the TCI state of the target candidate cell, thereby facilitating the LTM process. These embodiments take into account scenarios where the Serving Distributed Unit (DU) may be unaware of the Measurement Reference Signal (RS) configuration and TCI state configuration of a cell served by another DU, which may be provided by another infrastructure vendor.

[0040] Figure 1 A network environment 100 according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. Network environment 100 may include a UE 104 communicatively coupled to a base station 108 providing a serving cell 112. The serving cell 112 provides an air interface compatible with 3GPP TS (such as those defining 5G NR or subsequent system standards). The operations described herein with respect to the serving cell 112 may be performed by the base station 108, and vice versa. Depending on the technology, the base station 108 may be referred to as an eNB, gNB, ng-NB, etc. The base station 108 may provide the UE 104 with access to other networks (e.g., core network, data network, etc.).

[0041] Network environment 100 may also include two candidate cells: candidate cell 116 provided by base station 120 and candidate cell 124 provided by base station 128. Base stations 120 and 128 may provide access technologies similar to those described above regarding base station 108.

[0042] Base stations 108, 120, and 128 can be DUs provided by one or more vendors. Serving cell 112 and candidate cells 116 and 124 can each be associated with a separate Physical Cell Identifier (PCI). For example, serving cell 112 can have a PCI of 6, candidate cell 116 can have a PCI of 10, and candidate cell 124 can have a PCI of 20.

[0043] To facilitate LTM operation, serving cell 112 can configure TCI status information corresponding to candidate cells 116 and 124 to UE 104. This can be done through one or more of the following options.

[0044] In the first option, the TCI status associated with candidate cells 116 and 124 can be provided via dedicated RRC signaling under serving cell 112. For example, according to some implementations, serving cell 112 can send RRC messages to configure, for example... Figure 2 The serving cell configuration shown is 200. To facilitate this operation, an additional PCI index can be configured for each cell. additional PCIIndex )value. additional PCIIndex The value can be a logical identifier that is different from but related to the PCI. For example, serving cell 112 can be... additional PCIIndex Associated with a value of 0, candidate cell 116 can be associated with additional PCIIndex Value 1 is associated with, and candidate cell 116 can be associated with additional PCIIndex Value 2 is associated. The network (e.g., serving cell 112) may provide RRC configuration to UE 104, for example... additional PCIIndex IE provides a mapping between the additional PCIndex value and the PCI value for candidate cells. This RRC configuration can be provided separately from the serving cell configuration 200.

[0045] Serving cell configuration 200 can combine individual TCI states from the TCI status list with... additional PCIIndex The values ​​are associated. Specifically, TCI states 0 and 1 can correspond to PCI 6 of serving cell 112. additional PCIIndex Value 0 is associated with TCI states 2 and 3, which correspond to PCI 10 for candidate cell 116. additional PCIIndex Value 1 is associated with TCI state 4, and TCI state 4 corresponds to PCI 20 of candidate cell 124. additional PCIIndex Value 2 is associated.

[0046] As described additional PCIIndex Using the value as an index to the configured PCI can save a significant amount of signaling resources used for providing the TCI status list configuration. Assuming the UE 104 is configured with eight PCIs, three bits are sufficient. additional PCIIndex The value indicates each PCI. If UE 104 wants to directly signal the PCI, each PCI ID can consume 12 bits, thus requiring... 12 8 = 96 Signaling overhead for individual digits.

[0047] In some implementations, the TCI state configuration may include additional PCIIndex IE indicates the PCI of the associated candidate cell.

[0048] In the second option, a list of TCI states associated with each candidate cell can be provided as part of the cell group (CG) configuration. As an example, this can be provided to UE 104 via serving cell 112. Figure 3 The configuration of 300 is based on some implementation schemes.

[0049] Configuration 300 may include a serving cell configuration 304 corresponding to serving cell 112, a candidate cell #1 configuration 308 corresponding to candidate cell 116, and a candidate cell #2 configuration 312 corresponding to candidate cell 124. Each configuration may provide a corresponding TCI status list. Serving cell configuration 304 may include a TCI status list 306, which includes the TCI status of serving cell 112. Candidate cell #1 configuration 308 may include a TCI status list 310, which includes the TCI status of candidate cell 116. And candidate cell #2 configuration 312 may include a TCI status list 314, which includes the TCI status of candidate cell 124.

[0050] In the third option, a list of TCI statuses associated with candidate cells can be provided in a public pool configuration that is independent of the serving / candidate cell configuration. Figure 4 Configuration 400, which can be used as a third option according to some implementation schemes, is illustrated.

[0051] Configuration 400 may include serving cell configuration 404, public pool configuration 408, candidate cell #1 configuration 424, and candidate cell #2 configuration 428.

[0052] Cell configurations—Serving Cell Configuration 404, Candidate Cell #1 Configuration 424, and Candidate Cell #2 Configuration 428—may include information beyond the TCI status list, which can be used to configure (e.g., add or modify) different cells for the UE 104. This additional information may include, for example, Bandwidth Partial (BWP) information, Time Division Duplex (TDD) information, measurement configuration, etc. In some implementations, the cell configuration may resemble the Serving Cell Configuration defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 Release 17.4.0 (2023-03).

[0053] The public pool configuration 408 may include multiple TCI status lists that correspond to the respective multiple PCIs (cells). For example, the public pool configuration 408 may include a TCI status list 412 for PCI 6 (serving cell 112), a TCI status list 416 for PCI 10 (candidate cell 116), and a TCI status list 420 for PCI 20 (candidate cell 124).

[0054] Providing common pool configuration 408 allows UE 104 to avoid resolving the full configuration of the candidate cell before receiving the CSC. Instead, UE 104 only needs to resolve common pool configuration 408 to determine various TCI states. For example, if UE 104 receives an instruction to switch to the CSC of candidate cell 116, UE 104 can then resolve candidate cell #1 configuration 424, but may not need to resolve other configurations, such as, for example, candidate cell #2 configuration 428. This reduces power consumption at UE 104.

[0055] The TCI state of a candidate cell can be activated based on a measurement report received by the network. Activation of the TCI state associated with a candidate cell can be performed according to a first option or a second option. In the first option, the serving base station 108 selects the TCI state to be activated. In the second option, the serving base station 108 provides the UE 104 with indications of target RSs, which are then mapped by the UE 104 to TCI states.

[0056] Figure 5 An example of signaling procedure 500 for TCI state activation based on a first option, according to some embodiments, is illustrated. Signaling procedure 500 may include signals between UE 104, serving DU 504, and target DU 508, and the operations performed by them. Serving DU 504 may correspond to... Figure 1 Base station 108, and target DU 508 can correspond to Figure 1 The base stations are 120 or 128.

[0057] Signaling procedure 500 may include: at 512, UE 104 transmits a measurement report to the serving DU. Measurement report 512 may be based on measurements of various RSs configured for measurement. RSs may include SSBs or Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) transmitted in various cells, including both serving cells and candidate cells. In some embodiments, measurement report 512 may include an indication of a desired RS (e.g., an RS that meets predetermined criteria for supporting communication). Predetermined criteria may be, for example, an RS L1 reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement that is higher than a predetermined threshold.

[0058] Upon receiving a measurement report that may constitute a combined report or multiple separate reports, at 516, service DU504 may select the TCI state to activate based on the reported RS.

[0059] The signaling procedure 500 may then include, at 520, the serving DU 504 sending a beam indication message. This beam indication message may indicate the beam to be activated. N There are TCI states, among which N It is an integer greater than zero. NEach TCI state can be associated with at least one candidate cell.

[0060] The signaling procedure 500 may also include: at 524, UE 104 and target DU 508 use N Communication may be performed using one or more of the active TCI states. For example, UE 104 may receive DL signals based on the DL TCI state associated with the target DU.

[0061] If the serving DU 504 knows the TCI status list of the candidate cell (e.g., target DU 508), TCI status activation can be performed using signaling procedure 500. If the serving DU 504 does not know the TCI status list, a second option can be used. The second option can use two-step signaling to indicate the beam information of the candidate cell.

[0062] Figure 6 An example of a signaling procedure 600 for TCI activation based on a second option, according to some embodiments, is illustrated. The signaling procedure 600 may include signals between UE 104, serving DU 504, and target DU 508, as well as operations performed by them.

[0063] Signaling procedure 600 may include: at 604, UE 104 transmits a measurement report to the serving DU. The measurement report at 604 may be similar to the one described above relative to... Figure 5 The described measurement report.

[0064] Upon receiving a measurement report, at 608, service DU 504 can select the RS for indication from the reported RSs.

[0065] Signaling procedure 600 may then include, at 612, service DU 504 sending a beam indication message. This beam indication message may provide an RS ID or index to indicate selection from the measurement report. N Each RS can be an SSB or CSI-RS of a candidate cell, which can be configured via RRC signaling.

[0066] The signaling procedure 600 may also include: at 616, UE 104 maps the indicated RS to the TCI state to be activated. The UE may derive the TCI state associated with the indicated RS based on a list of TCI states previously provided for the corresponding candidate cell (e.g., via configuration 300 or 400).

[0067] The signaling procedure 600 may also include: at 620, UE 104 and target DU 508 communicate using an active TCI state. Communication may include, for example, UE 104 receiving DL signals based on the DL TCI state associated with the target DU, or transmitting UL signals based on the UL TCI state associated with the target DU.

[0068] If the serving DU 504 is unaware (or not fully aware) of the TCI status list of the candidate cell (e.g., target DU 508), but the UE 104 has been configured with this information, TCI status activation can be performed using signaling procedure 600. It can be noted that even if the serving cell 112 configures the TCI status list of the candidate cells to the UE 104 (e.g., by providing configuration 200 or 300), the serving base station 108 may still not be able to directly know the configured information. Therefore, in this case, the base station 108 may rely on the UE 104 to provide the association based on the configured information.

[0069] Various signaling methods can be used in Figure 6 The beam indication message provides beam information (e.g., RS ID or index). This can be based on one or more of the following three aspects.

[0070] In a first aspect, the TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE can be enhanced to explicitly indicate the RS ID. The MAC CE indicating the RS ID for TCI state activation / deactivation can be identified by a new dedicated MAC subheader with an extended logical channel identifier (eLCID). The MAC CE for indicating the RS ID in the first aspect can be based on, for example... Figure 7 and Figure 8 It can be generated using one or more of the following two options.

[0071] Figure 7 An example of a MAC CE 700, according to some implementations, is shown that can be used to indicate an RS ID for TCI state activation / deactivation based on a first option. The MAC CE 700 can indicate one or more RS IDs for a single candidate cell.

[0072] The MAC CE 700 may include the target candidate cell ID in the first octet. The RS ID is provided in each of the following octets. The RS ID is shown as six bits, which allows indication of one of the typically configurable sixty-four TCI states. As shown in the figure, the MAC CE 700 can indicate... MAn RS ID. The octet may also include a "D / U" bit to indicate whether the RS ID in the same octet will be used to derive the joint / downlink or uplink TCI state. If the D / U bit is set to a first value (e.g., "0"), the associated TCI state can be a joint TCI state (e.g., for both UL and DL) or a DL TCI state. If the D / U bit is set to a second value (e.g., "1"), the associated TCI state can be a UL TCI state. If the UL TCI state is active, it can be paired with an active joint / DL TCI state.

[0073] Figure 8 An example of a MAC CE 800, according to some implementations, is shown that can be used, based on a second option, to indicate the RS ID for TCI state activation / deactivation. The MAC CE 800 can indicate one or more RS IDs for multiple candidate cells.

[0074] The first octet of the MAC CE 800 can provide the IDs of the multiple candidate cells. As shown in the figure, the first octet may include the IDs of candidate cells #1 and #2, while the second octet may include the IDs of candidate cells #3 and #4.

[0075] Following the candidate cell ID, the MAC CE 800 may include the RS ID. Furthermore, similar to the MAC CE 700, each octet may also include a "D / U" bit to indicate whether the RS ID in the same octet will be used to derive the joint / downlink or uplink TCI status.

[0076] Each candidate cell in the list may have one or both of the indicated RS IDs to derive DL and UL TCI states for potential LTM operations. The association between RS IDs and TCI states may be based on the order of presentation. For example, the ID of candidate cell #1 may be associated with RS ID #1 (if RS ID #1 is indicated as a joint / DL TCI state and RS ID #2 is indicated as a joint / DL state), or it may be associated with both RS IDs #1 and #2 (if RS ID #1 is indicated as a joint / DL TCI state and RS ID #2 is indicated as a UL TCI state); the ID of candidate cell #2 may be associated with one or two subsequent TCI states, and so on.

[0077] exist Figure 5The second aspect of providing beam information in the beam indication message can be based on the RS ID reported by the UE in the measurement reports sent at 512 and 604. According to this aspect, a new MAC CE can be introduced to signal the index to be used for TCI state mapping, which corresponds to the RS reported by UE 104 in the most recent measurement report. This can be based on, for example... Figure 9 It shall be performed according to one or more of the following two options as illustrated in some implementations of MAC CE 900.

[0078] MAC CE 900 may include MAC CE 904, which can be used in the first option, in which bitmap-based signaling is used relative to the RS ID reported by the UE. The total number of RSs reported by UE 104 for each measurement report (denoted as "...") N This can be configured via RRC signaling. MAC CE 904 may include... RS(i) Fields. Assuming UE 104 reports eight RSs, for example... N = 8 Therefore, MAC CE 904 can include eight fields: RS(0) – RS(7) . RS(i) Fields can be arranged to increase i The value is associated with a decrease in the L1-RSRP value. For example, RS(0) Associated with RS having the largest L1-RSRP measurement, RS(1) Associated with the RS having the second largest L1-RSRP measurement, and so on. The first value (e.g., "1") signals that the corresponding RS ID (and associated RS) is indicated for the TCI state activation basis (e.g., for activating the TCI state corresponding to the RS), while the second value (e.g., "0") signals that no associated RS is indicated for the TCI state activation basis. Therefore, the value 10101100 signals that the RS reported as having the largest, third largest, fifth largest, and sixth largest L1-RSRP is indicated. Thereafter, UE 104 can activate the TCI state associated with the indicated RS.

[0079] MAC CE 900 may also include MAC CE 908, which can be used in a second option that depends on the total number of RS IDs reported by the UE. The second option may include a first step in which the RS IDs reported by the UE 104 in the measurement report are consecutively numbered in descending order of L1-RSRP values. MAC CE 908 may then include a Total RS Count (TNR) field, which can be used to signal the total number of consecutive RS IDs starting with the RS ID with the largest L1-RSRP value, which are indicated for the TCI state activation basis. The 3-bit TNR field may be able to indicate up to eight RSs in total. This option may be based on the premise that the base station 108 will likely indicate the strongest RS for the TCI state activation basis. Compared to the first option, the second option may lose some flexibility in terms of the number of RSs that can be indicated, but it also saves overhead because it requires only three bits compared to the eight bits needed to indicate up to eight RSs.

[0080] Given that each RS ID can be a six-bit identifier, such as Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the use of indexing techniques in the second aspect can significantly reduce signaling overhead.

[0081] MAC CE 900 can be identified by a MAC subheader with an LCID and a fixed size, the fixed size depending on... N The value of .

[0082] In some implementations, rules can be predefined in, for example, a 3GPP TS, indicating which RS reported by UE 104 will be used to derive the TCI state. For example, in some instances, it can be predefined that the RSID with the largest L1-RSRP value will be used for TCI state activation. In other examples, additional or alternative criteria can be predefined.

[0083] The third aspect of providing beam information may involve in Figure 6 The beam indication message provides an SSB index. In this respect, the PDCCH command can be used as a beam indication message to determine the active TCI state of a candidate cell. The PDCCH command may include a DCI format 1_0 transmission, which instructs UE 104 to trigger a random access procedure for uplink synchronization. The PDCCH command can be used to identify the SSB index used for uplink synchronization. Given channel reciprocity assumptions, for example, the uplink channel may resemble the downlink channel, some implementations may use this SSB index as a basis for also determining the DL TCI state. The PDCCH command can be used for TCI state activation according to one or more of the following options.

[0084] In the first option, the SSB index and the corresponding candidate cell identifier are explicitly indicated by the payload of the PDCCH command DCI. The SSB index can be used to determine the TCI state for activation operations and can be associated with one or more candidate cells to trigger the CFRA procedure, thereby obtaining timing advance (TA).

[0085] Figure 10 An example of the PDCCH command DCI 1000 according to some implementation schemes is shown. The PDCCH command DCI 1000 may have Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits scrambled by a new Private Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

[0086] The PDCCH command DCI 1000 may include multiple blocks: block #1 to block #N. The number of blocks can be configured via RRC signaling or fixed in the specification (e.g., 3GPP TS). Each block may include fields for candidate cell ID, SSB index, and PRACH index. The candidate cell ID can be a physical cell ID or logical ID (e.g., additionalPCIIndex value) that can be configured via RRC signaling.

[0087] The payload size of the PDCCH command DCI 1000 used for LTM can be equal to or smaller than the payload size of DCI format 1_0 monitored in the common search space of the same serving cell. If the payload size is small, zero padding can be used until the payload is equal to the DCI format 1_0 size.

[0088] Figure 11 An example of a network environment 1100 used to describe a third aspect is illustrated according to some implementation schemes.

[0089] Network environment 1100 may include UE 1104, base station 1108 providing serving cell 1112, base station 1116 providing candidate cell #1 with PCI#2, base station 1120 providing candidate cell #2 with PCI#6, and base station 1108 providing candidate cell #3 with PCI#18. The components of network environment 1100 may be similar to those described above with respect to network environment 100.

[0090] UE 1104 can receive SSB#3 from candidate cell #1 and SSB#8 from candidate cell #2.

[0091] UE 1104 can receive TCI state configuration 1124 that maps various SSB indices to TCI states.

[0092] Figure 12 A signaling diagram 1200 for activating the TCI state in network environment 1100 is illustrated according to some implementation schemes.

[0093] Signaling diagram 1200 may include PDCCH command 1204, which configures UE 1104 with a first block including SSB#3, preamble #36, and PCI#2, and a second block including SSB#8, preamble #48, and PCI#6. Therefore, the first block can trigger CFRA towards candidate cell #1 (using preamble #36), and the second block can trigger CFRA towards candidate cell #2 (using preamble #48). UE 104 may then assume, based on TCI state configuration 1124, that TCI state #10 is activated for LTM operation for candidate cell #1, and TCI state #6 is activated for LTM operation for candidate cell #2.

[0094] In the second option of the third aspect, a two-step RS indication can be used. In the second option, instead of explicitly indicating SSB / PRACH in the PDCCH command payload as done in the first option, the CFRA resource configuration is first provided via RRC signaling during the LTM pre-configuration phase, and subsequently an index referring to the CFRA resource configuration is provided to the PDCCH command.

[0095] Figure 13 A signaling diagram 1300 for activating the TCI state in network environment 1100 is illustrated according to some implementation schemes. In the first step, CFRA resource configuration 1304 can be provided to UE 104 via RRC signaling during the LTM pre-configuration phase. CFRA resource configuration 1304 can configure a CFRA preamble index (e.g., RACH index) and an associated SSB index for each candidate cell.

[0096] In the second step, a PDCCH command 1308, including a configuration index referring to the CFRA resource configuration, may be sent to UE 104. UE 104 can obtain the configuration index from the PDCCH command 1308 and determine the active TCI state based on the SSB index associated with the indicated configuration index. As shown, the PDCCH command 1308 provides configuration indices #1 / #2. Then, UE 104 can assume, based on the TCI state configuration 1124 and the CFRA resource configuration 1304, that TCI state #10 is activated for candidate cell #1 for LTM operation, and TCI state #6 is activated for candidate cell #2 for LTM operation.

[0097] Compared to the first option, the second option reduces the signaling overhead of the PDCCH command. However, given that the second option relies on the previously configured CFRA resource configuration 1304, it may also offer less flexibility compared to the first option. In some implementations, if the desired TCI state activation cannot be achieved via the second option, the UE 104 may fall back to using the option described above. Figure 12 The first option described.

[0098] Figure 14 An operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 for beam configuration and indication for LTM operation is illustrated according to some implementation schemes. The operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may be implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104, UE 1104, UE 160) or a component therein (e.g., processor 1604).

[0099] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1404, receiving configuration information to configure the TCI state associated with the candidate cell. In some implementations, the configuration information may be a serving cell configuration that configures a list of TCI states, which has multiple TCI states including the TCI state. The configuration information may additionally associate the TCI state with its corresponding... additional PCIIndex Values ​​are related. additional PCIIndex The value can be associated with the PCI of various cells in the network environment. This association can be based on configuration information provided together with or separately from the serving cell configuration.

[0100] In some implementations, the configuration information may be a candidate cell configuration that configures the TCI status list associated with a candidate cell, or a common pool configuration that configures the TCI status list for individual cells within the network environment. The candidate cell configuration or common pool configuration may be separate from the serving cell configuration that configures the TCI status list for the serving cell.

[0101] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1400 may also include: at 1408, sending a measurement report. The measurement report may be based on measurements of reference signals transmitted by cells in the network environment. The reference signal may be an SSB signal or a CSI-RS signal. In some embodiments, the measurement report may include reference signal identifiers. In some embodiments, the reference signal identifiers may be ordered within the measurement report based on measured values ​​associated with the reference signals corresponding to the reference signal identifiers. For example, the measurement report may first include reference signal identifiers associated with the highest reported measured value, and subsequent reference signal identifiers may be associated with decreasing measured values.

[0102] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1400 may further include: at 1408, receiving a beam indication message. In some embodiments, the beam indication message may indicate one or more TCI states associated with at least one candidate cell to be activated. In other embodiments, the beam indication message may include one or more reference signal identifiers, and the UE may map the identifiers to the TCI states to be activated. In these embodiments, the beam indication message may be a MAC CE including a reference signal identifier corresponding to one candidate cell, or a MAC CE including reference signal identifiers corresponding to multiple candidate cells. The MAC CE may include a MAC subheader with an eLCID to indicate that the MAC CE is an activated / deactivated MAC CE of a TCI state including a reference signal identifier.

[0103] In some implementations, the beam indication message may include reference signal indices that correspond to reference signal identifiers in the measurement report. For example, the beam indication message may include a bitmap with individual values ​​corresponding to reference signal identifiers included in the measurement report. The individual bit values ​​may indicate whether the corresponding reference signal identifier will serve as the basis for TCI activation.

[0104] In some embodiments, the beam indication message may indicate the total number of consecutive reference signal identifiers for a TCI state activation basis indication, starting with a reference signal identifier associated with the highest measurement value among that total. In these embodiments, the measurement report may include reference signal identifiers arranged in descending order of associated measurements. Therefore, the total number signal may indicate one or more reference signal identifiers among those associated with the highest measurement value.

[0105] In some implementations, the beam indication message may be a PDCCH command for uplink synchronization. The PDCCH command may include one or more blocks, each containing a candidate cell identifier (e.g., PCI or logical identifier), an SSB index, and a PRACH index. In these implementations, the SSB index may serve as the basis for TCI state activation.

[0106] In some implementations, the RRC signal can be used to configure a table that associates the CFRA preamble and SSB index with candidate cells. Subsequently, the PDCCH command, used as a beam indication message, can simply include an index to the configured table to indicate the SSB index that will serve as the basis for TCI state activation.

[0107] The operation process / algorithm structure 1400 may also include: at 1408, activating the TCI state based on the beam indication message for communication with candidate cells.

[0108] Figure 15 An operational flow / algorithm structure 1500 for beam configuration and indication for LTM operation is illustrated according to some implementation schemes. The operational flow / algorithm structure 1500 may be implemented by a base station (such as, for example, BS 108, BS 1108 or BS 1700) or a component therein (e.g., processor 1704).

[0109] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1500 may include: at 1504, sending configuration information to configure the TCI state associated with the candidate cell. This configuration information may be similar to the above description relative to... Figure 14 The configuration information described.

[0110] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1500 may also include: at 1508, receiving a measurement report based on the UE's measurements of one or more reference signals. This measurement report may be similar to the one described above relative to... Figure 14 The described measurement report.

[0111] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1500 may also include: at 1512, sending a beam indication message to activate the TCI state for communication with candidate cells. This beam indication message may be similar to the one described above relative to... Figure 14 The described beam indication message.

[0112] Figure 16 An example of UE 1600 according to some implementation schemes is shown. UE 1600 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 104 or Figure 11 The UE 1104 is essentially interchangeable with it.

[0113] The UE 1600 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, computer, tablet, XR device, glasses, industrial wireless sensors (e.g., microphone, carbon dioxide sensor, pressure sensor, humidity sensor, thermometer, motion sensor, accelerometer, laser scanner, fluid level sensor, inventory sensor, voltmeter / ammeter, or actuator), video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., camera or camcorder), wearable device (e.g., smartwatch), or Internet of Things device.

[0114] UE 1600 may include a processor 1604, RF interface circuitry 1608, memory / storage device 1612, user interface 1616, sensor 1620, drive circuitry 1622, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1624, antenna structure 1626, and battery 1628. The components of UE 1600 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of such ICs, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 16The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 1600. 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 specific implementations.

[0115] The components of UE 1600 can be coupled to a variety of other components via one or more interconnects 1632, which can represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmit line, trace, or optical connection, allowing various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0116] Processor 1604 may include processor circuitry, such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB) 1604A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 1604B, and graphics processing unit circuitry (GPU) 1604C. Processor 1604 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage device 1612) to cause UE 1600 to perform beam configuration and instruction operations for LTM as described herein.

[0117] In some implementations, the baseband processor circuit 1604A can access the communication protocol stack 1636 in the memory / storage device 1612 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor circuit 1604A can access the communication protocol stack 1636 to: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC sublayer, PDCP sublayer, SDAP sublayer, and upper layers; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC sublayer, PDCP sublayer, RRC layer, and NAS layer. In some implementations, PHY layer operations may additionally / optionally be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1608.

[0118] The baseband processor circuit 1604A can generate or process baseband signals or waveforms carrying information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some implementations, the waveforms used for NR can be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0119] The memory / storage device 1612 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions (e.g., a communication protocol stack 1636) that can be executed by one or more processors in processor 1604 to cause UE 1600 to perform beam configuration and indication operations for LTM as described herein. For example, processor 1604 may cause the UE to perform operation flow / algorithm structure 1400 or any other method or process described herein.

[0120] Memory / storage device 1612 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout the UE 1600. In some embodiments, some memory / storage devices in memory / storage device 1612 may be located on the processor 1604 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage devices 1612 may be located outside the processor 1604 but accessible via a memory interface. Memory / storage device 1612 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.

[0121] RF interface circuitry 1608 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM) that allows UE 1600 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. RF interface circuitry 1608 may include various components arranged in the transmit or receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, and control circuitry.

[0122] In the receiving path, the RFEM can receive the radiated signal from the air interface via antenna structure 1626, and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). This signal can be provided to the receiver of the transceiver, which downconverts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 1604.

[0123] In the transmission path, the transceiver's transmitter up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM can then amplify the RF signal using a power amplifier before it is radiated across the air interface via antenna structure 1626.

[0124] In various implementations, the RF interface circuit 1608 can be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technologies.

[0125] Antenna structure 1626 may include antenna elements for converting electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and for converting received radio waves back into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged in one or more antenna panels. Antenna structure 1626 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication. Antenna structure 1626 may include a microstrip antenna, a patch antenna, a phased array antenna, or a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. Antenna structure 1626 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band, including bands in FR1 or FR2.

[0126] User interface 1616 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable users to interact with UE 1600. User interface 1616 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual components for accepting input, particularly including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, or a headset. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual components for displaying information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information. Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs (e.g., display devices or touchscreens such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, and projectors)), wherein the output of characters, graphics, and multimedia objects is generated or produced by the operation of UE 1600.

[0127] Sensor 1620 may include devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in their environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to other devices, modules, or subsystems. Examples of such sensors include: inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) including 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless aperture sensors); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; and microphones or other similar audio capture devices.

[0128] The driving circuitry 1622 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1600. The driving circuitry 1622 may include various drivers that allow other components to interact with or control various I / O devices that may exist within or be connected to the UE 1600. For example, the driving circuitry 1622 may include circuitry for facilitating the coupling of a UICC (e.g., UICC 168) to the UE 1600. In additional examples, the driving circuitry 1622 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device; a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface; a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of a sensor 1620 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor 1620; 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.

[0129] The PMIC 1624 manages the power supplied to various components of the UE 1600. Specifically, relative to the processor 1604, the PMIC 1624 controls power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0130] In some implementations, the PMIC 1624 may control or otherwise become part of various power-saving mechanisms of the UE 1600, including DRX, as discussed herein.

[0131] Battery 1628 can power UE 1600, but in some examples, UE 1600 may be installed and deployed in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the mains grid. Battery 1628 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, battery 1628 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0132] Figure 17 An example of a base station 1700 according to some implementation schemes is shown. Base station 1700 may be similar to... Figure 1 Base station 108 or Figure 11 The base station 1108 is basically interchangeable with it.

[0133] Base station 1700 may include processor 1704, RF interface circuitry 1708 (if implemented as an access node), core network (CN) interface circuitry 1712, memory / storage device 1716, and antenna structure 1726.

[0134] The components of base station 1700 can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnectors 1732.

[0135] The processor 1704, RF interface circuit 1708, memory / storage device 1716 (including communication protocol stack 1710), antenna structure 1726, and interconnect 1732 can be similar to those relative to... Figure 16 Similar named elements are shown and described.

[0136] The memory / storage device 1716 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, including instructions (e.g., a communication protocol stack 1710) that can be executed by one or more processors in processor 1704 to cause base station 1700 to perform beam configuration and indication operations for LTM as described herein. For example, processor 1704 may cause base station 1700 to perform operation flow / algorithm structure 1500 or any other method or process described herein.

[0137] The CN interface circuit 1712 can provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a fifth-generation core network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol (such as Carrier Ethernet) or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to / from base station 1700 via fiber optic or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 1712 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 1712 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0138] In some implementations, base station 1700 may be coupled to transmit / receive point (TRP) using antenna structure 1726, CN interface circuitry or other interface circuitry.

[0139] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting 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 explained to users.

[0140] For one or more aspects, at least one component of the components illustrated in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the Embodiments section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more embodiments described below. Similarly, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more embodiments described in the Embodiments section below.

[0141] Example Further exemplary aspects are provided in the following sections.

[0142] Example 1 includes a method for operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information from a serving cell to configure a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state associated with a candidate cell; sending a measurement report to the serving cell based on measurements of one or more reference signals; receiving a beam indication message from the serving cell; and activating the TCI state based on the beam indication message for communicating with the candidate cell.

[0143] Example 2 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other example herein, wherein: the configuration information is a serving cell configuration, the serving cell configuration: configuring a list of TCI states including the TCI state; and associating the TCI state with an additional physical cell identifier (PCI) index associated with the PCI of the candidate cell.

[0144] Example 3 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprising: receiving a serving cell configuration from the serving cell, the serving cell configuration being used to configure a first TCI status list associated with the serving cell; and receiving a candidate cell configuration including the configuration information from the serving cell, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a second TCI status list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI status list includes the TCI status.

[0145] Example 4 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprising: receiving a public pool configuration including the configuration information from the serving cell, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a first TCI status list associated with the serving cell and a second TCI status list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI status list includes the TCI status.

[0146] Example 5 includes the method according to Example 4 or some other embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprising: receiving serving cell configuration and candidate cell configuration, wherein the serving cell configuration and the candidate cell configuration are independent of the public pool configuration.

[0147] Example 6 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more TCI states associated with at least one candidate cell to be activated, wherein the at least one candidate cell includes the candidate cell, and the one or more TCI states include the TCI state.

[0148] Example 7 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more reference signal identifiers associated with at least one candidate cell, wherein the at least one candidate cell includes the candidate cell, and the method further includes: mapping a first reference signal identifier in the one or more reference signal indices to the TCI state; and activating the TCI state based on the mapping.

[0149] Example 8 includes the method according to Example 7 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message includes a TCI state-activated / deactivated medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) having a single candidate cell identifier and one or more reference signal identifiers associated with the candidate cell, wherein all of the one or more reference signal identifiers are associated with the single candidate cell identifier.

[0150] Example 9 includes the method according to Example 7 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the candidate cell is a first candidate cell, the at least one candidate cell includes the first candidate cell and a second candidate cell, the one or more reference signal identifiers include the first reference signal identifier and the second reference signal identifier, and the beam indication message includes a TCI state activation / deactivation medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) having: a first candidate cell identifier associated with the first candidate cell; a second candidate cell identifier associated with the second candidate cell; the first reference signal identifier associated with the first candidate cell; and the second reference signal identifier associated with the second candidate cell.

[0151] Example 10 includes the method according to Example 8, Example 9, or some other embodiment herein, wherein the TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE includes a MAC subheader with an extended logical channel identifier (eLCID) to indicate that the TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE includes a reference signal identifier corresponding to one or more candidate cells.

[0152] Example 11 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: receiving in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling an indication of the total number of reference signals that can serve as the basis for a measurement report; ensuring that the one or more reference signals do not exceed the total number of reference signals; and generating the measurement report to include one or more reference signal identifiers corresponding to the one or more reference signals, wherein the beam indication message includes a bitmap of one or more bits corresponding to the one or more reference signal identifiers, and a first value is used to indicate that a corresponding reference signal identifier is indicated for a TCI state activation basis.

[0153] Example 12 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the one or more reference signals include a plurality of reference signals, each of the plurality of reference signals having a corresponding measurement value, and the method further includes: generating the measurement report to include a plurality of reference signal identifiers respectively associated with the plurality of reference signals, wherein the plurality of reference signal identifiers are ordered within the measurement report based on descending order of the measurement values ​​of the associated reference signals; and wherein the beam indication message includes an indication of the total number of consecutive reference signal identifiers for a TCI state activation basis indication starting with a reference signal identifier, the reference signal identifier being associated with the highest measurement value among the total number of consecutive reference signal identifiers.

[0154] Example 13 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command for uplink synchronization, the PDCCH command including an identifier associated with the candidate cell, a synchronization signal block (SSB) index and a physical random access channel (PRACH) index, and the method further includes: determining the TCI state based on the SSB index.

[0155] Example 14 includes the method according to Example 13 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the candidate cell is a first candidate cell, the PDCCH instruction includes a first block of identifiers, SSB indexes and PRACH indexes for association with the first candidate cell, and the PDCCH instruction also includes a second block of identifiers, SSB indexes and PRACH indexes for association with a second candidate cell.

[0156] Example 15 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signal for providing a first configuration that associates a Contention-Free Random Access (CFRA) preamble and synchronization signal block (SSB) index with the candidate cell, wherein the beam indication message includes a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) command for uplink synchronization, the PDCCH command including an index corresponding to the first configuration; and determining the TCI state based on the SSB index of the first configuration.

[0157] Example 16 includes a method to be implemented by a base station, the method comprising: sending configuration information to a user equipment (UE) to configure a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state associated with a candidate cell; receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report being based on measurements of one or more reference signals; and sending a beam indication message to the UE to activate the TCI state for communication with the candidate cell.

[0158] Example 17 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, wherein: the configuration information is a serving cell configuration, the serving cell configuration: configuring a list of TCI states including the TCI state; and associating the TCI state with an additional physical cell identifier (PCI) index associated with the PCI of the candidate cell.

[0159] Example 18 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: sending a serving cell configuration to the UE, the serving cell configuration being used to configure a first list of one or more TCI states associated with the serving cell; and sending a candidate cell configuration to the UE including the configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a second TCI state list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI state list includes the TCI state.

[0160] Example 19 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: sending a public pool configuration including configuration information to the UE, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a first TCI state list associated with the serving cell and a second TCI state list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI state list includes the TCI state.

[0161] Example 20 includes the method according to Example 19 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: sending a serving cell configuration and a candidate cell configuration to the UE, wherein the serving cell configuration and the candidate cell configuration are independent of the common pool configuration.

[0162] Example 21 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more TCI states associated with at least one candidate cell to be activated, wherein the at least one candidate cell includes the candidate cell, and the one or more TCI states include the TCI state.

[0163] Example 22 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more reference signal identifiers associated with at least one candidate cell, the at least one candidate cell including the candidate cell.

[0164] Example 23 includes the method according to Example 22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message includes a TCI state-activated / deactivated medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) having a single candidate cell identifier and one or more reference signal identifiers associated with the candidate cell, wherein all or more identifiers are associated with the single candidate cell identifier.

[0165] Example 24 includes the method according to Example 22 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the candidate cell is a first candidate cell, the at least one candidate cell includes the first candidate cell and a second candidate cell, the one or more reference signal identifiers include a first reference signal identifier and a second reference signal identifier, and the beam indication message includes a TCI state activation / deactivation medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) having: a first candidate cell identifier associated with the first candidate cell; a second candidate cell identifier associated with the second candidate cell; the first reference signal identifier associated with the first candidate cell; and the second reference signal identifier associated with the second candidate cell.

[0166] Example 25 includes the method according to Example 23, Example 24 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE includes a MAC subheader with an extended logical channel identifier (eLCID) to indicate that the TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE includes a reference signal identifier corresponding to one or more candidate cells.

[0167] Example 26 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: sending a radio resource control (RRC) signaling to the UE, the radio resource control (RRC) signaling including an indication of the total number of reference signals that can serve as the basis for a measurement report, wherein: the measurement report includes one or more reference signal identifiers corresponding to the one or more reference signals respectively; and the beam indication message includes a bitmap of one or more bits corresponding to the one or more reference signal identifiers respectively, and the first bit value is used to indicate that a corresponding reference signal identifier is indicated for a TCI state activation basis.

[0168] Example 27 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, wherein: the one or more reference signals include a plurality of reference signals; each of the plurality of reference signals has a corresponding measurement value; the measurement report includes a plurality of reference signal identifiers associated with the plurality of reference signals respectively; the plurality of reference signal identifiers are ordered in the measurement report in descending order based on the measurement values ​​of the associated reference signals; and the beam indication message includes an indication of the total number of consecutive reference signal identifiers for a TCI state activation basis indication.

[0169] Example 28 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the beam indication message includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command for uplink synchronization, the PDCCH command including an identifier associated with the candidate cell, a synchronization signal block (SSB) index and a physical random access channel (PRACH) index, and the SSB index will be used to activate the TCI state.

[0170] Example 29 includes the method according to Example 28 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the candidate cell is a first candidate cell, the PDCCH instruction includes a first block of identifiers, SSB indexes and PRACH indexes for association with the first candidate cell, and the PDCCH instruction also includes a second block of identifiers, SSB indexes and PRACH indexes for association with a second candidate cell.

[0171] Example 30 includes the method according to Example 16 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signal for providing a first configuration that associates a Contention-Free Random Access (CFRA) preamble and synchronization signal block (SSB) index with the candidate cell, wherein the beam indication message includes a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) command for uplink synchronization, the PDCCH command including an index corresponding to the first configuration; and determining the TCI state based on the SSB index of the first configuration.

[0172] Example 31 includes a method for operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information from a serving cell to configure a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state associated with a candidate cell; sending a measurement report to the serving cell, the measurement report being based on measurements of one or more reference signals; selecting a reference signal from the one or more reference signals based on predefined rules; determining that the reference signal is associated with the TCI state; and activating the TCI state for communication with the candidate cell based on the selection of the reference signal and the determination that the reference signal is associated with the TCI state.

[0173] Example 32 includes the method according to Example 31 or some other embodiment herein, wherein selecting the reference signal based on the predefined rule includes: selecting the reference signal associated with the highest Layer 1-Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) value among the one or more reference signals.

[0174] Another embodiment may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of embodiments 1 to 32 or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0175] Another embodiment may include an apparatus comprising one or more elements for performing the methods described or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 32 or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0176] Another embodiment may include the methods, techniques or processes described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or any part or component thereof.

[0177] Another embodiment may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the methods, techniques, or processes described or associated with any one or more of embodiments 1 to 32.

[0178] Another embodiment includes the signal described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or a part or component thereof.

[0179] Another embodiment may include datagrams, information elements, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or any part or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0180] Another embodiment may include a data-encoded signal described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0181] Another embodiment may include signals encoded as datagrams, IEs, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages as described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or any part or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0182] Another embodiment may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform the methods, techniques or processes described or associated with any one or more of embodiments 1 to 32.

[0183] Another embodiment may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element will cause the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described or associated with any one or a portion thereof according to Embodiments 1 to 32.

[0184] Another embodiment may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0185] Another embodiment may include a method for communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0186] Another embodiment may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0187] Another embodiment may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0188] Unless otherwise expressly stated, 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 embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or may be obtained from practice in various aspects.

[0189] Although the foregoing aspects have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the foregoing disclosure is fully understood. It is intended that the following claims be construed as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, the method comprising: Process configuration information received from the serving cell, the configuration information being used to configure the Transmit Configuration Indicator (TCI) status associated with the candidate cell; A measurement report is generated based on measurements of one or more reference signals and sent to the serving cell; Process the beam indication message received from the serving cell; as well as The TCI state is activated based on the beam indication message for communication with the candidate cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The configuration information is a serving cell configuration, which includes a list of TCI states for the TCI states and associates the TCI states with an Additional Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) index, which is associated with the PCI of the candidate cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Processing serving cell configuration, the serving cell configuration being used to configure a first TCI state list associated with the serving cell; as well as The process includes the configuration information for configuring a candidate cell, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a second TCI status list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI status list includes the TCI status.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The process includes a public pool configuration containing the configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a first TCI status list associated with the serving cell and a second TCI status list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI status list includes the TCI status.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The serving cell configuration and the candidate cell configuration are processed, wherein the serving cell configuration and the candidate cell configuration are independent of the public pool configuration.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more TCI states associated with at least one candidate cell to be activated, wherein the at least one candidate cell includes the candidate cell, and the one or more TCI states include the TCI state, and the method further comprises: After processing the beam indication message received from the serving cell, a cell handover command is used to switch to communicating with the candidate cell using the TCI state.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more reference signal identifiers associated with at least one candidate cell, wherein the at least one candidate cell includes the candidate cell, and the method further comprises: Map the first reference signal identifier in the one or more reference signal indices to the TCI state; as well as The TCI state is activated based on the mapping.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Processing an indication of the total number of reference signals received in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling that can serve as the basis for measurement reports; Ensure that the number of the one or more reference signals does not exceed the total number of reference signals; as well as The measurement report is generated to include one or more reference signal identifiers, each corresponding to one or more reference signals. The beam indication message includes a bitmap of one or more bits corresponding to the one or more reference signal identifiers, and the first bit value is used to indicate that the corresponding reference signal identifier is indicated for the TCI state activation basis.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more reference signals comprise a plurality of reference signals, each of the plurality of reference signals having a corresponding measured value, and the method further comprises: The measurement report is generated to include a plurality of reference signal identifiers, each associated with one of the plurality of reference signals, wherein the plurality of reference signal identifiers are ordered within the measurement report based on descending order of the measured values ​​of the associated reference signals; and The beam indication message includes an indication of the total number of consecutive reference signal identifiers for a TCI state activation basis indication, starting with a reference signal identifier, which is associated with the highest measurement among the total number of consecutive reference signal identifiers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam indication message includes a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) command for uplink synchronization, the PDCCH command including an identifier associated with the candidate cell, a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) index, and a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) index, and the method further includes: The TCI status is determined based on the SSB index.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Processing Radio Resource Control (RRC) signals, the RRC signals providing a first configuration that associates a Contention-Free Random Access (CFRA) preamble and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) index with the candidate cell, wherein the beam indication message includes a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) command for uplink synchronization, the PDCCH command including an index corresponding to the first configuration; and The TCI status is determined based on the SSB index of the first configuration.

12. One or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause processing circuitry to: Configuration information is generated and sent to the user equipment (UE) to configure the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state associated with the candidate cell; Process measurement reports received from the UE, the measurement reports being based on measurements of one or more reference signals; as well as A beam indication message is generated and sent to the UE, thereby activating the TCI state for communication with the candidate cell.

13. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 12, wherein: The configuration information is a serving cell configuration, which includes a list of TCI states for the TCI states and associates the TCI states with an Additional Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) index, which is associated with the PCI of the candidate cell.

14. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: Generate a serving cell configuration, which will be sent to the UE to configure a first list of one or more TCI states associated with the serving cell; and Generate a candidate cell configuration that includes the configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a second TCI status list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI status list includes the TCI status.

15. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: Generate a public pool configuration including the configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a first TCI status list associated with the serving cell and a second TCI status list associated with the candidate cell, wherein the second TCI status list includes the TCI status. The public pool configuration is independent of the serving cell configuration and the candidate cell configuration.

16. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more TCI states associated with at least one candidate cell to be activated, wherein the at least one candidate cell includes the candidate cell, and the one or more TCI states include the TCI state.

17. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the beam indication message is used to indicate one or more reference signal identifiers associated with at least one candidate cell, the at least one candidate cell including the candidate cell.

18. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: Generate Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, which includes an indication of the total number of reference signals that can serve as the basis for measurement reporting. in: The measurement report includes one or more reference signal identifiers, each corresponding to one or more reference signals; and The beam indication message includes a bitmap of one or more bits corresponding to the one or more reference signal identifiers, and the first bit value is used to indicate that the corresponding reference signal identifier is indicated for the TCI state activation basis.

19. A baseband processor, the baseband processor comprising: Processing circuit, the processing circuit being used for: Process configuration information to configure the Transmit Configuration Indicator (TCI) state associated with the candidate cell; A measurement report is generated based on measurements of one or more reference signals and sent to the serving cell; Select a reference signal from the one or more reference signals based on predefined rules; The reference signal is determined to be associated with the TCI state; as well as The TCI state is activated for communication with the candidate cell based on the selection of the reference signal and the determination that the reference signal is associated with the TCI state.

20. The baseband processor of claim 19, wherein, in order to select the reference signal based on the predefined rule, the processing circuitry is configured to: The reference signal is selected as associated with the highest Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) value among the one or more reference signals.

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