Operation in uplink MTRP TDM

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes providing time information from a terminal to a network, the time information informing a correlation time, where the correlation time is based on a switching time required for the terminal to switch between an earlier transmission and a later transmission after the earlier transmission, wherein the earlier transmission is one of: a first transmission of a first time slot to a first transmission reception point using a first beamformer, the first time slot comprising a predefined number of symbols; and a second transmission of a second time slot to a second transmission receiving point using a second beamformer different from the first beamformer, the second time slot comprising the predefined number of symbols; and the later transmission is the other of the first transmission and the second transmission.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to operations in uplink MTRP TDM, particularly for UEs that do not support STxMP. Abbreviations

[0002] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0003] 5G / 6G / 7G (Fifth Generation / Sixth Generation / Seventh Generation)

[0004] CP cyclic prefix

[0005] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0006] DL downlink

[0007] FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing)

[0008] FR frequency range

[0009] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0010] Inter-carrier interference (ICI)

[0011] ISI Inter-symbol Interference

[0012] MAC-CE Media Access Control - Control Elements

[0013] MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output)

[0014] MRTD Maximum Receive Timing Difference

[0015] MTTD Maximum Transmission Timing Difference

[0016] NCJT Non-coherent Joint Transmission

[0017] NR New Radio

[0018] NW Network

[0019] OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing)

[0020] PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel)

[0021] PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel)

[0022] PRB (Physical Resource Block)

[0023] PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel)

[0024] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0025] RF (Radio Frequency)

[0026] RRC (Radio Resource Control)

[0027] RTD Receive Timing Difference

[0028] SCS Subcarrier Spacing

[0029] SDM (Space Division Multiplexing)

[0030] STxMP Synchronous Multi-Panel Transmission

[0031] TA scheduled in advance

[0032] TAC timed advance command

[0033] TCI Transport Configuration Indicator

[0034] TDM (Time Division Multiplexing)

[0035] TRP Transmit and Receive Points

[0036] UCI uplink control information

[0037] UE User Equipment

[0038] UL uplink Background Technology

[0039] Downlink multi-TRP schemes transmit information from spatially separated TRPs (spatial diversity). For the downlink, 3GPP has standardized several multi-TRP schemes (single DCI and multiple DCI, i.e., each TRP has its own DCI and coordination between TRPs via (non-ideal) backhaul)), such as spatial division multiplexing (SDM), noncoherent joint transport (NCJT), time division multiplexing (TDM), and frequency division multiplexing (FDM). Figure 1 An example of a multi-DCI multi-TRP NCJT scheme for PDSCH is shown. DCI can include scheduling information for the UE. For the uplink (i.e., the transmission from the UE to multiple spatially separated TRPs), only the TDM scheme has been defined until version 17.

[0040] If there are different propagation delays between the UE and the TRP, the timing advance values ​​to different TRPs can be different. Timing advance (TA) is used to control the uplink transmission timing of each UE. It helps ensure that uplink transmissions from all UEs are synchronized when received by the base station.

[0041] 3GPP agrees that for both intra-cell and inter-cell multiple TRPs, the MRTD between multiple TRPs can be assumed to be within the CP length as a baseline. Using OFDM modulation, the transmitter (UE or gNB) copies a portion (some samples) of the end of each OFDM symbol to the beginning of the same symbol and transmits the resulting signal. This additional portion copied to the beginning of the symbol is called the cyclic prefix. That is, the information contained in the cyclic prefix preceding the symbol is redundant with the information contained at the end of the symbol.

[0042] A time slot comprises multiple symbols. For example, according to several 3GPP specifications, a time slot may include 14 symbols. Each symbol includes several samples. Summary of the Invention

[0043] The goal is to improve existing technologies.

[0044] According to a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: One or more processors, and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to perform: The terminal provides time information to the network, which indicates the relevant time based on the handover time required for the terminal to switch between an earlier transmission and a later transmission following the earlier one. The earlier transmission is one of the following: a first transmission to a first transmission receiver using a first beamformer in a first time slot, the first time slot including a predefined number of symbols; and a second transmission to a second transmission receiver using a second beamformer different from the first beamformer in a second time slot, the second time slot including a predefined number of symbols; and The later transmission is the other of the first and second transmissions.

[0045] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: The measurement is the time difference between the reference signal received by the terminal from the first transmission receiving point and the reference signal received by the terminal from the second transmission receiving point. Provide the network with a receiving time difference, where The relevant time is the switching time.

[0046] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: The measurement is the time difference between the reference signal received by the terminal from the first transmission receiving point and the reference signal received by the terminal from the second transmission receiving point. The relevant time is calculated based on the handover time and the time difference between receiving.

[0047] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Under the assumption that one of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission, check whether the time slots transmitted in the later transmission overlap with the time slots transmitted in the earlier transmission; In response to the detection, under the assumption, of an overlap between a time slot transmitted in a later transmission and a time slot transmitted in an earlier transmission: Provide the network with an indication of the overlap between time slots transmitted in later transmissions and time slots transmitted in earlier transmissions, under the assumption. Provide the network with instructions specifying at least one of the following: - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; Calculate the correlation time so that it is the sum of the handover time and the reception time difference.

[0048] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Under the assumption that one of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission, check whether there is a gap between the time slots sent in the earlier transmission and the time slots sent in the later transmission; In response to the detection of a gap between a time slot transmitted in an earlier transmission and a time slot transmitted in a later transmission, under the assumption that: Provide the network with an indication that, under the assumption, there is a gap between time slots sent in earlier transmissions and time slots sent in later transmissions; Provide the network with instructions specifying at least one of the following: - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; Calculate the correlation time so that it is the difference between the switching time and the receiving time.

[0049] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: The transmission caused by the gap is determined in the first transmission and the second transmission, such that, under the assumption that the transmission caused by the gap is the earlier transmission, there is a gap between the time slots transmitted in the earlier transmission and the time slots transmitted in the later transmission. Provide the network with an indication that one of the first and second transmissions is the transmission caused by the gap; Calculate the correlation time so that it is the difference between the switching time and the receiving time.

[0050] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: In the first and second transmissions, the transmission caused by the overlap is determined such that, under the assumption that the transmission caused by the overlap is the earlier transmission, the time slot transmitted in the later transmission overlaps with the time slot transmitted in the earlier transmission. Provide the network with an indication that one of the first and second transmissions is a transmission caused by the overlap; Calculate the correlation time so that it is the sum of the handover time and the reception time difference.

[0051] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: In response to the provision of time information, receive scheduling information from the network; The first and second transmissions are executed according to the scheduling information; wherein... The scheduling information determines which of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission.

[0052] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Calculate the number of samples overlapping between earlier and later transmissions; At the beginning of the first symbol at the start of a later transmission, that number of samples is discarded.

[0053] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Monitor whether a drop instruction is received along with network and scheduling information; In response to the detection that no disposal instruction has been received, the disposal of this number of samples is prohibited.

[0054] According to a second aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: One or more processors, and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to perform: Receive time information from the terminal, which indicates the relevant time. The omitted quantity is calculated based on the relevant time, the first timing advance value, and the second timing advance value. The system schedules a first transmission of a first number of symbols in a first time slot from the terminal to a first transmission receiving point, and a second transmission of a second number of symbols in a second time slot from the terminal to a second transmission receiving point; wherein, The later transmission in the first and second transmissions follows the earlier transmission in the first and second transmissions. The duration of the first time slot and the duration of the second time slot are each equal to the duration of a predefined number of subsequent symbols; The number of symbols scheduled for transmission in an earlier transmission time slot is the first symbol count, which is equal to the predefined number minus the first omitted portion number; The number of symbols scheduled for transmission in a later transmission slot is the second symbol count, which is equal to the predefined number minus the number of the second omitted portion. The quantity of the first omitted part is 0 or greater than 0; The quantity of the second omitted part is 0 or greater than 0; The sum of the number of the first omitted part and the number of the second omitted part equals the number of omitted parts; In an earlier transmission time slot, the first symbol count of symbols is continuously scheduled at the beginning of the earlier transmission time slot; In a later transmission slot, the symbols of the second symbol count are continuously scheduled at the end of the later transmission slot; The first timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and a transmission receiving point to which the earlier transmission of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed; and The second timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and the transmission receiving point to which the later transmission of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed.

[0055] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: In addition, the number of omissions is calculated based on the receiving time difference, and the receiving time difference is predefined.

[0056] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Receive the time difference from the terminal. Additionally, the amount of omission is calculated based on the receiving time difference, where... Based on the time information, the relevant time is the switching time required for the terminal to switch between the first beamformer to be used for earlier transmission and the second beamformer to be used for later transmission.

[0057] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Receive a hypothetical instruction from the terminal that specifies at least one of the following: - One of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; Schedule the first and second transmissions in accordance with the assumed instructions; Calculate a conservative estimate and then calculate the omission quantity based on the conservative estimate, where the conservative estimate is calculated as ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2), where Trel indicates the relevant time, TA1 indicates the first timing advance value, and TA2 indicates the second timing advance value.

[0058] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: In response to determining that there is an overlap between the assumed earlier transmission and the assumed later transmission, the terminal is configured such that the assumption indication specifies at least one of the following: - The one of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission.

[0059] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: The terminal receives an indication that there is a gap between a timeslot sent in an earlier transmission and a timeslot sent in a later transmission. In response to receiving from the terminal an indication that there is a gap between a time slot transmitted in an earlier transmission and a time slot transmitted in a later transmission: The calculation is prohibited if the conservative estimate is ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2); and The conservative estimate is calculated as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)).

[0060] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Receive a hypothetical instruction from the terminal that specifies at least one of the following: - One of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission, or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; Schedule the first and second transmissions in accordance with the assumed instructions; Calculate a conservative estimate and then calculate the omission amount based on the conservative estimate, where the conservative estimate is calculated as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)), where Trel indicates the relevant time, TA1 indicates the first timing advance value, and TA2 indicates the second timing advance value.

[0061] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: In response to determining that a gap exists between the assumed earlier transmission and the assumed later transmission, the terminal is configured such that the assumption indication specifies at least one of the following: - The one of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission.

[0062] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Receive from the terminal an indication that the timeslots transmitted in a later transmission overlap with the timeslots transmitted in an earlier transmission; In response to receiving from the terminal an indication that a timeslot transmitted in a later transmission overlaps with a timeslot transmitted in an earlier transmission: It is forbidden to calculate the conservative estimate as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)); and The conservative estimate is calculated as ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2).

[0063] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: Check if the number of omissions equals the conservative estimate minus 1, and whether the overlap between earlier and later transmissions will be less than the threshold; In response to the detection that if the omission amount equals the conservative estimate minus 1, and the overlap between earlier and later transmissions is less than the threshold, then the omission amount is calculated as the conservative estimate minus 1; where This threshold is the duration of the cyclic prefix of the later transmitted symbol multiplied by a predefined factor.

[0064] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: In response to a check that the number of omissions is equal to a conservative estimate minus 1, and the overlap between earlier and later transmissions is less than a threshold, a discard indication is provided to the terminal.

[0065] When executed by one or more processors, this instruction can also cause the device to perform: In response to the check that if the number of omissions is equal to the conservative estimate minus 1, and the earlier and later transmissions will not overlap less than the threshold, then the number of omissions is calculated to be equal to the conservative estimate.

[0066] According to the third aspect, a method is provided, comprising: The terminal provides time information to the network, which indicates the relevant time based on the handover time required for the terminal to switch between an earlier transmission and a later transmission following the earlier one. The earlier transmission is one of the following: a first transmission to a first transmission receiver using a first beamformer in a first time slot, the first time slot including a predefined number of symbols; and a second transmission to a second transmission receiver using a second beamformer different from the first beamformer in a second time slot, the second time slot including a predefined number of symbols; and The later transmission is the other of the first and second transmissions.

[0067] The method may also include: The measurement is the time difference between the reference signal received by the terminal from the first transmission receiving point and the reference signal received by the terminal from the second transmission receiving point. Provide the network with a receiving time difference, where The relevant time is the switching time.

[0068] The method may also include: The measurement is the time difference between the reference signal received by the terminal from the first transmission receiving point and the reference signal received by the terminal from the second transmission receiving point. The relevant time is calculated based on the handover time and the time difference between receiving.

[0069] The method may also include: Under the assumption that one of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission, check whether the time slots transmitted in the later transmission overlap with the time slots transmitted in the earlier transmission; In response to the detection, under the assumption, of an overlap between a time slot transmitted in a later transmission and a time slot transmitted in an earlier transmission: Provide the network with an indication of the overlap between time slots transmitted in later transmissions and time slots transmitted in earlier transmissions, under the assumption. Provide the network with instructions specifying at least one of the following: - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; Calculate the correlation time so that it is the sum of the handover time and the reception time difference.

[0070] The method may also include: Under the assumption that one of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission, check whether there is a gap between the time slots sent in the earlier transmission and the time slots sent in the later transmission; In response to the detection of a gap between a time slot transmitted in an earlier transmission and a time slot transmitted in a later transmission, under the assumption that: Provide the network with an indication that, under the assumption, there is a gap between time slots sent in earlier transmissions and time slots sent in later transmissions; Provide the network with instructions specifying at least one of the following: - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - Which of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; calculate the correlation time such that the correlation time is the difference between the switching time and the reception time.

[0071] The method may also include: The transmission caused by the gap is determined in the first transmission and the second transmission, such that, under the assumption that the transmission caused by the gap is the earlier transmission, there is a gap between the time slots transmitted in the earlier transmission and the time slots transmitted in the later transmission. Provide the network with an indication that one of the first and second transmissions is the transmission caused by the gap; wherein The correlation time is calculated such that the correlation time is the difference between the switching time and the receiving time.

[0072] The method may also include: In the first and second transmissions, the transmission caused by the overlap is determined such that, under the assumption that the transmission caused by the overlap is the earlier transmission, the time slot transmitted in the later transmission overlaps with the time slot transmitted in the earlier transmission. Provide the network with an indication that one of the first and second transmissions is a transmission caused by the overlap; The correlation time is calculated such that the correlation time is the sum of the handover time and the reception time difference.

[0073] The method may also include: In response to the provision of time information, receive scheduling information from the network; The first and second transmissions are executed according to the scheduling information; wherein... The scheduling information determines which of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission.

[0074] The method may also include: Calculate the number of samples overlapping between earlier and later transmissions; At the beginning of the first symbol at the start of a later transmission, that number of samples is discarded.

[0075] The method may also include: Monitor whether a drop instruction is received along with network and scheduling information; In response to the detection that no disposal instruction has been received, the disposal of this number of samples is prohibited.

[0076] According to the fourth aspect, a method is provided, comprising: Receive time information from the terminal, which indicates the relevant time. The omitted quantity is calculated based on the relevant time, the first timing advance value, and the second timing advance value. The system schedules a first transmission of a first number of symbols in a first time slot from the terminal to a first transmission receiving point, and a second transmission of a second number of symbols in a second time slot from the terminal to a second transmission receiving point; wherein, The later transmission in the first and second transmissions follows the earlier transmission in the first and second transmissions. The duration of the first time slot and the duration of the second time slot are each equal to the duration of a predefined number of subsequent symbols; The number of symbols scheduled for transmission in an earlier transmission time slot is the first symbol count, which is equal to the predefined number minus the first omitted portion number; The number of symbols scheduled for transmission in a later transmission slot is the second symbol count, which is equal to the predefined number minus the number of the second omitted portion. The quantity of the first omitted part is 0 or greater than 0; The quantity of the second omitted part is 0 or greater than 0; The sum of the number of the first omitted part and the number of the second omitted part equals the number of omitted parts; In an earlier transmission time slot, the first symbol count of symbols is continuously scheduled at the beginning of the earlier transmission time slot; In a later transmission slot, the symbols of the second symbol count are continuously scheduled at the end of the later transmission slot; The first timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and a transmission receiving point to which the earlier transmission of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed; and The second timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and the transmission receiving point to which the later transmission of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed.

[0077] The method may also include: The omitted quantity is calculated based on the reception time difference, and the reception time difference is predefined.

[0078] The method may also include: The time difference received from the terminal, where The omitted quantity is calculated separately based on the receiving time difference, where, Based on the time information, the relevant time is the switching time required for the terminal to switch between the first beamformer to be used for earlier transmission and the second beamformer to be used for later transmission.

[0079] The method may also include: Receive a hypothetical instruction from the terminal that specifies at least one of the following: - One of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; Schedule the first and second transmissions in accordance with the assumed instructions; Calculate a conservative estimate and then calculate the omission quantity based on the conservative estimate, where the conservative estimate is calculated as ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2), where Trel indicates the relevant time, TA1 indicates the first timing advance value, and TA2 indicates the second timing advance value.

[0080] The method may also include: In response to determining that there is an overlap between the assumed earlier transmission and the assumed later transmission, the terminal is configured such that the assumption indication specifies at least one of the following: - The one of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission.

[0081] The method may also include: The terminal receives an indication that there is a gap between a timeslot sent in an earlier transmission and a timeslot sent in a later transmission. In response to receiving from the terminal an indication that there is a gap between a time slot transmitted in an earlier transmission and a time slot transmitted in a later transmission: The calculation is prohibited if the conservative estimate is ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2); and The conservative estimate is calculated as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)).

[0082] The method may also include: Receive a hypothetical instruction from the terminal that specifies at least one of the following: - One of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission, or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; A conservative estimate is calculated, and the omission quantity is calculated based on the conservative estimate, where the conservative estimate is calculated as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)), Trel indicates the relevant time, TA1 indicates the first timing advance value, and TA2 indicates the second timing advance value; where The first and second transmissions are scheduled in accordance with the assumed instructions.

[0083] The method may also include: In response to determining that a gap exists between the assumed earlier transmission and the assumed later transmission, the terminal is configured such that the assumption indication specifies at least one of the following: - The one of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission.

[0084] The method may also include: Receive from the terminal an indication that the timeslots transmitted in a later transmission overlap with the timeslots transmitted in an earlier transmission; In response to receiving from the terminal an indication that a timeslot transmitted in a later transmission overlaps with a timeslot transmitted in an earlier transmission: It is forbidden to calculate the conservative estimate as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)); and The conservative estimate is calculated as ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2).

[0085] The method may also include: Check if the number of omissions equals the conservative estimate minus 1, and whether the overlap between earlier and later transmissions will be less than the threshold; In response to the detection that if the omission amount equals the conservative estimate minus 1, and the overlap between earlier and later transmissions is less than the threshold, then the omission amount is calculated as the conservative estimate minus 1; where This threshold is the duration of the cyclic prefix of the later transmitted symbol multiplied by a predefined factor.

[0086] The method may also include: In response to a check that the number of omissions is equal to a conservative estimate minus 1, and the overlap between earlier and later transmissions is less than a threshold, a discard indication is provided to the terminal.

[0087] The method may also include: In response to the check that if the number of omissions is equal to the conservative estimate minus 1, and the earlier and later transmissions will not overlap less than the threshold, then the number of omissions is calculated to be equal to the conservative estimate.

[0088] Each of the methods in the third and fourth aspects can be an uplink MTRP TDM method.

[0089] According to a fifth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a set of instructions that, when executed on a device, are configured to cause the device to perform the method according to either the third or fourth aspect. The computer program product may be embodied in a computer-readable medium or directly loadable into a computer.

[0090] According to some example embodiments, at least one of the following advantages can be achieved: • It can avoid symbol overlap with no (or only a very small) throughput loss; • Compared to a conservative baseline scenario, throughput can be (significantly) enhanced; • Only a small amount of signaling work.

[0091] It should be understood that any of the above modifications may be applied individually or in combination to the aspects they pertain to, unless they are explicitly stated to exclude alternatives. Attached Figure Description

[0092] Further details, features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0093] Figure 1 A multi-DCI multi-TRP NCJT scheme for PDSCH is shown;

[0094] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates the overlap and gaps between time slots in a time-slot TDM.

[0095] Figure 3 The illustration shows a message sequence according to some example embodiments;

[0096] Figure 4 The illustration shows a message sequence according to some example embodiments;

[0097] Figure 5 The illustration shows a message sequence according to some example embodiments;

[0098] Figure 6 An apparatus according to an example embodiment is shown;

[0099] Figure 7 A method according to an example embodiment is shown;

[0100] Figure 8 An apparatus according to an example embodiment is shown;

[0101] Figure 9 A method according to an example embodiment is shown; and

[0102] Figure 10 An apparatus according to an example embodiment is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0103] In the following detailed description, certain exemplary embodiments are given with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein features of the embodiments may be freely combined with each other unless otherwise described. However, it should be clearly understood that the description of certain embodiments is given by way of example only and is in no way intended to be construed as limiting this disclosure to the details disclosed.

[0104] Furthermore, it should be understood that the apparatus is configured to perform the corresponding method, although in some cases only the apparatus or only the method is described.

[0105] When a UE (e.g., in FR2) is equipped with (and can use) multiple Tx RF chains, it can configure its panels / sub-panels so that each chain transmits using a specific TA for each TRP (if there are no obstructions / blocks). Therefore, in such a case, even large differences in the two propagation delays (and corresponding large differences in the TA values) can be handled.

[0106] On the other hand, when a UE is equipped with only one active Tx RF chain (e.g., because it is equipped with only a single panel, or because it is multi-panel but has only a single shared UL digital baseband), in the time domain, UL signals with different TA values ​​may overlap due to the different propagation delays of the two links TRP1-UE and TRP2-UE.

[0107] Figure 2 An example is shown below. Figure 2 As shown, the UE uses inter-slot TDM to transmit to two TRPs in the UL; that is, the UE alternately transmits one time slot to TRP1 and one time slot to TRP2. The uplink shows the transmission of time slots n, n+2, n+4, etc., to TRP1, and the downlink shows the transmission of time slots n+1, n+3, etc., to TRP2. In this example, it is assumed that the time slot to TRP2 (e.g., time slot n+1) begins "before" the end of the previous time slot to TRP1 (e.g., time slot n). This situation may occur in this example because the TA value for UL1 (to TRP1) is less than the TA value for UL2 (to TRP2), and therefore there is an overlap in the transmission times for UL1 and UL2. Another reason for the overlap may be that the reference signals used by the UE to determine the reference timing for UL1 and UL2 are different; for example, the RS for UL1 is received with a smaller delay compared to the RS for UL2.

[0108] If the UE is in such Figure 2 The scenario shown is equipped with multiple Tx RF chains, so different Tx RF chains can be used for each TRP, and some overlap in the transmission of UL1 and UL2 will be supported.

[0109] However, if the UE is equipped with a single Tx RF chain (or multiple Tx RF chains but only one is used for any reason, such as UE power saving, obstructions in front of some panel, etc.), this overlap in the time domain may force the UE to choose to transmit UL1 or UL2. If it transmits both UL1 and UL2, the UE may lose one or more symbols in two time slots.

[0110] Some example implementations provide a time gap between two UL transmissions to allow a UE not using STxMP to switch between two UL transmissions to two different TRPs. This time gap depends on four parameters: • RTD: Receive Timing Difference; • TA1: Timing advance value from TRP1; • TA2: Timing advance value from TRP2; • Ts: Switching time, i.e., the time it takes for the UE to switch from a beamformer used for the first TRP to a beamformer used for the second TRP.

[0111] In some example embodiments, symbols are not transmitted at the beginning of a later-scheduled time slot during this time gap. In some example embodiments, symbols are not transmitted at the end of an earlier-scheduled time slot during this time gap. In some example embodiments, some symbols are not transmitted at the end of an earlier-scheduled time slot and some symbols are not transmitted at the beginning of a later-scheduled time slot during this time gap. The number of symbols that could be transmitted (but are not transmitted) during this time gap is called the omission quantity X. The omission quantity X can be divided into a first omission quantity and a second omission quantity, where the first omission quantity indicates the number of symbols omitted at the end of an earlier-scheduled time slot, and the second omission quantity indicates the number of symbols omitted at the beginning of a later-scheduled time slot. The first omission quantity can be 0 or greater. The second omission quantity can be 0 or greater. The sum of the first and second omission quantities equals the omission quantity X.

[0112] like Figure 2 As shown, due to different TA values, two different scenarios are possible: • There is an overlap between the two time slots (such as between time slot n to TRP1 and time slot n+1 to TRP2). • There is a gap between the two time slots (such as between time slot n+1 to TRP2 and time slot n+2 to TRP1). Even with the gap, the UE may not be able to switch between the two beamformers fast enough due to the handover time Ts required by the UE.

[0113] Therefore, X indicates the number of symbols that cannot be used for information transmission due to overlap of time slots to different TRPs or because the gap between time slots to different TRPs is too small compared to the UE's handover time. In X During the duration of (symbol duration), the symbol is not transmitted in at least one of the (immediately) numbered time slots.

[0114] The network can know TA1 and TA2. There are different ways for the network to obtain TA1 and TA2, such as: • Tracking all TACs that have been sent to the UE at the gNB, or • Utilizing some TA reporting procedures, such as for NTN, see Sections 5.4.8 of 3GPP TS 38.321 and 6.3.2 of 3GPP TS 38.331.

[0115] Normally, the network neither knows the RTD nor the switching time Ts of the UE.

[0116] Therefore, normally, the TRP (or the network (e.g., represented by the gNB)) may not have knowledge about overlaps or gaps. For such knowledge, the network should know the four parameters RTD, TA1, TA2, and Ts. Therefore, normally, the TRP (or the network (gNB)) can only mitigate overlaps when they assume the worst conditions allowed by the corresponding standards. Such a baseline scheme is as follows:

[0117] The network can apply scheduling restrictions by calculating the worst case with the maximum switching time allowed by the requirements (e.g., assuming the transient period requirement Ts = 10 μs [3GPP TS 38.101-1]) and the maximum RTD (e.g., MRTD = 8 μs [3GPP R4-2217278]), which may result in omitting X = 3 OFDM symbols (for SCS = 120 kHz). The disadvantage of this baseline scheme is that the performance loss in terms of throughput is the largest among possible cases.

[0118] The number X of OFDM symbols to be omitted where transmission of symbols to one of the TRPs must not be scheduled (although the time slot to this TRP is scheduled) varies depending on whether there is an overlap or a gap between two time slots. Represented by Dt = RTD + TA1 - TA2, there are the following cases: • If there is a gap: o If Ts < Dt, the beamformer switch can occur before the start of the next time slot transmission, i.e., no scheduling restriction is required, i.e., X = 0. o Otherwise, the time occupied by the first " X = ceil(Ts - Dt) " OFDM symbols in the next time slot transmission is required to complete the beamformer switch. That is, during this time at the start of the next time slot or at the end of the previous time slot, OFDM symbols must not be transmitted. ceil Denotes the ceiling operation. • If there is an overlap: o Then, there is an overlap with the next time slot transmission of "X = ceil(Ts + Dt)" OFDM symbols.

[0119] Some example implementations allow the network to know the RTD and Ts (or at least the time derived from Ts), enabling the network to apply scheduling constraints that are largely avoided or reduced compared to the baseline scheme. That is, compared to the baseline scheme (i.e., the conservative X = 3 OFDM symbols according to the current standard), it allows the value of X to be reduced to 2, 1, or even 0 in certain situations (e.g., when gaps exist and the handover time is sufficiently small). Therefore, throughput can be (significantly) enhanced. For example, considering a time slot comprising 14 OFDM symbols, reducing X from 3 to 0 (i.e., sending 14 OFDM symbols per time slot instead of 11 OFDM symbols per time slot) can be interpreted as an approximately 27% throughput gain.

[0120] According to some example embodiments, the UE sends a report including information about Ts and optionally some information about RTD. This information indicates at least the relevant time Trel based on Ts.

[0121] Example Implementation 1: The UE provides the network with both RTD and Ts as separate values. • For example, the UE can send RTD via MAC-CE or as a CSI report, while the UE can send Ts as a UE capability via RRC signaling. The UE can be configured to determine (measure) the RTD based on reference signals from two TCI states, two TAGs, or two coresetPoolIndex from different TRPs. CSI reports can be configured to be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. The advantage of periodic reporting is that the gNB can keep the information up-to-date by taking into account timing advance commands received by TRP1 and TRP2, changes in synchronization between TRPs, and autonomous adjustments performed by the UE. o Ts can be a fixed value representing a UE capability or a requirement for a UE to support that feature.

[0122] Regarding throughput gain, Example 1 is preferred because it allows the gNB to have all the information to optimize the omitting amount X. However, there may be UE implementations that always report the maximum allowed Ts, resulting in suboptimal performance. Furthermore, the signaling workload may be larger than in other example embodiments.

[0123] Figure 3 The signaling diagram for Example 1 is shown below: - In the initialization phase (1), the UE performs initial access (2) and is configured to transmit in the UL using mTRP TDM (3). - Then, the UE indicates Ts to the NW in the UE capability field (4). - During operation, the network (TRP) estimates the TA (5) to be used by the UE for the corresponding UL transmission and informs the UE of the TA value (6, 7). - In step 8, the UE uses the RS from both TRPs to measure the RTD and sends the measured RTD to the NW (9). In some example embodiments, steps 8 and 9 can be performed before, in parallel with, or after steps 6 and 7. In version 10, NW uses RTD, Ts, TA1, and TA2 to determine the values ​​of X (gap) and X (overlap) in both gap and overlap cases, respectively. Details are further described below. These can vary depending on the gNB implementation. In step 11, the NW schedules UL transmissions from the UE using a defined X value. The value of X can be different for the case of gaps (X(gap)) and overlaps (X(overlap)). - 12: In some example embodiments, the gNB may, in a radical approach, determine that the amount X omitted is such that the time gap between two UL transmissions is not large enough to allow the UE to switch between the two beamformers. The UE can then implement a "sample dropping scheme," for example, dropping some samples at the beginning of the CP of the later-scheduled time slot. See below for further details. - 13: The UE then begins sending to both TRPs on the scheduled resources, using sample dropping if necessary.

[0124] As another option for obtaining the TA value ( Figure 3 (as shown in 6 and 7) The UE can receive a TA value (via TAC) from one TRP, for example, TA1 for TRP1, and calculate a TA for another TRP based on an estimate of the RTD of another TRP, for example, TA2 for TRP2. In this case, as an option, the UE can report the calculated TA (e.g., TA2) to the network.

[0125] Example 2: In cases where there is only a single transition between different UL transmissions (transmissions to different TRPs) (e.g., transmissions from the UE are only continuously and alternately sent to two time slots of TRP1 and TRP2), overlaps or gaps may exist. In such a scenario, the UE sends the following to the network: o If a gap exists, then Ts-RTD (as relevant time). If there is overlap, then Ts+RTD (as the relevant time). However, sending Ts-RTD or Ts+RTD to the network is insufficient because the gNB does not know whether such a value refers to a TRP1->TRP2 transition or a TRP2->TRP1 transition, and therefore the UE sends the following additional information: ■ An indication of which TRP was scheduled earlier (first): A single bit can be used for this indication, such as bit 0 for TRP1 and bit 1 for TRP2. ■ Indication of the presence of gaps or overlaps: Similarly, a single bit can be used for this indication, such as bit 0 for gaps and bit 1 for overlaps. The relevant time and instructions can be sent to the network via MAC-CE or CSI reports.

[0126] Therefore, if there is only a single conversion between different UL transmissions, the gNB has all the information to optimize X.

[0127] In cases where there are multiple transitions between different UL transmissions (transmissions to different TRPs) (e.g., UL transmissions are continuously and alternately sent to many time slots of TRP1 and TRP2), the gNB can perform the following: For example, if the UE sends a Ts-RTD to the network for the gap situation, the gNB can: o Optimize X for gap conditions; For overlapping cases, a conservative baseline is applied, i.e., X=3.

[0128] The same operation applies to cases where the UE transmits relevant times for overlapping situations. Clearly, compared to Example 1, throughput may be reduced in the case of multiple conversions between UL transmissions to different TRPs, but signaling effort can also be reduced.

[0129] Figure 4 The signaling diagram for Example 2 is shown below: - In the initialization phase (1), the UE performs initial access (2) and is configured to transmit in the UL using mTRP TDM (3). - During operation, the network (TRP) estimates the TA (4) to be used by the UE for the corresponding UL transmission and informs the UE of the TA value (5, 6). - 7: The UE uses RS measurements from two TRPs to determine the RTD. 7 and 5, 6 can be executed in any order. They can be executed fully or partially in parallel. - 8: The UE will send the following back to the NW: • Relevant time Trel: Ts-RTD for gaps or Ts+RTD for overlaps. • FirstTRPIndex: The first TRP to be scheduled to obtain the gap or the overlap (bit 0 for TRP1 and bit 1 for TRP2). • OverlapIndex: Bit 0 for gaps and bit 1 for overlaps. In some example embodiments, gaps or overlaps may be the default and do not need to be indicated. In such embodiments, only the other case (overlap or gap) is indicated. - 9: NW uses Trel, TA1, TA2 and OverlapIndex to determine X(gap) (if OverlapIndex=0) or X(overlap) (if OverlapIndex=1). - Then, in the case of a single transition between transmissions to different TRPs (e.g., UE transmissions are continuously and alternately sent to two time slots of TRP1 and TRP2) (10): • NW uses the defined X and FirstTRPIndex to schedule UL transmissions from the UE. • In some example implementations, the UE assesses whether a “sample discarding scheme” is needed (12). See below for details. • The UE begins sending (13) to the two TRPs on the scheduled resources. - In cases where there is more than one transition between transmissions to different TRPs (e.g., UE transmissions are continuously sent alternately to TRP1 and TRP2 in more than two time slots) (not in Figure 4 (as shown in the image) • NW applies a conservative baseline for cases not covered by OverlapIndex, i.e., X=3, schedules UL transmission, and then the UE begins transmission.

[0130] Example 3: In cases where there is only one transition between two ULs (e.g., transmissions from the UE are continuously and alternately sent to two time slots of TRP1 and TRP2), the UE can be configured to indicate to the network which transmission (transmission to TRP1 or transmission to TRP2) should be performed first to have a gap between transmissions. In Example 3, the UE sends the following to the network: o Ts-RTD (as relevant time); Which TRP should be scheduled first (earlier) to obtain the gap. The corresponding transmission can be referred to as the "gap-induced transmission". A single bit can be used to indicate the TRP, for example, bit 0 for TRP1 and bit 1 for TRP2. This indication can be sent back via MAC-CE or CSI report.

[0131] Therefore, if there is a single transition between different UL transmissions, the gNB has all the information to optimize X by reducing signaling effort. Extensions for cases where there is more than one transition between transmissions to different TRPs (as in Example 2) also apply accordingly.

[0132] Figure 5 The signaling diagram for Example 3 is shown below: - During the initialization phase (1), the UE performs initial access (2) and is configured to transmit in the UL using mTRP TDM (3). Furthermore, in some example embodiments, the network configures the UE to always report "relevant time" and "firstTRPindex" for gap situations. In other example embodiments, the UE may be pre-configured to always report "relevant time" and "firstTRPindex" for gap situations (e.g., according to upcoming 3GPP standards). - During operation, the network (TRP) estimates the TA (4) to be used by the UE for the corresponding UL transmission and informs the UE of the TA value (5, 6). - 7: The UE uses RS measurements from two TRPs to determine the RTD. 7 and 5, 6 can be executed in any order. They can be executed fully or partially in parallel. - 8: The UE sends the following to the network: • Ts-RTD. • FirstTRPIndex: The first TRP to be scheduled to have a gap between the first and second time slots (bit 0 for TRP1 and bit 1 for TRP2). - 9: NW uses Ts-RTD, TA1, and TA2 to determine X (gap). - Then, in the case where there is only a single transition between transmissions to different TRPs (e.g., the UE transmission lasts only two time slots, one to TRP1 and one to TRP2) (10): • 11: NW uses a defined X (gap) and FirstTRPIndex to schedule UL transmissions from the UE. • In some example implementations, the UE assesses whether a “sample discarding scheme” is needed (12). See below for details. • The UE begins sending (13) to the two TRPs on the scheduled resources. - In cases where there are multiple transitions between transmissions to different UEs (e.g., UE transmissions are continuously and alternately sent to the TRP in more than two time slots) (14): • The network applies a conservative baseline for overlap, i.e., X(overlap) = 3 (15). • 16: The network uses a defined X (gap), X (overlap), and FirstTRPIndex to schedule UL transmissions from the UE. • In some example embodiments, the UE assesses whether a “sample discarding scheme” is needed (17). • The UE begins sending (18) to the two TRPs on the scheduled resources.

[0133] Example 4: This example corresponds to Example 3, except that the UE is configured to indicate to the network which transmission (to TRP1 or to TRP2) should be performed first to have transmission overlap. This earlier transmission can be referred to as the "overlap-induced transmission". In this case, the relevant time is Ts+RTD, and the UE indicates which TRP should be scheduled first to achieve overlap.

[0134] Depending on the implementation, in example embodiments 3 and 4, the UE can respectively indicate which transmission should be performed later to have gaps and overlaps.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the values ​​of RTD and / or TS can be quantized into categories. Therefore, the UE can indicate the corresponding category to the network, rather than the precise values ​​of RTD and / or TS.

[0136] For example, 3GPP has already defined two different categories for MRTD (which are UE requirements) in FR2: o MRTD=CP as the baseline; o MRTD=8μs.

[0137] Since RTD must be equal to or less than MRTD, the MRTD category can also be used to indicate the upper limit of RTD.

[0138] For Ts, the following categories can be defined, for example: o Ts=10μs as the baseline (from 3GPP TS 38.101); o Ts=1μs is used for fast switching; o Ts=100ns is used for ultra-fast switching.

[0139] If 1 μs < Ts ≤ 10 μs, the UE indicates class Ts = 10 μs. If 100 ns < Ts ≤ 1 μs, the UE indicates class Ts = 1 μs. And if Ts ≤ 100 ns, the UE indicates class Ts = 100 ns. For calculating the value of X, the gNB uses the value of RTD and / or Ts representing the corresponding class. Since the number of classes can be limited such that a few bits are sufficient to indicate the class (e.g., 2 bits for up to 4 classes), the signaling effort can be reduced compared to Example Embodiment 1 where the UE sends the actual value to the network. The corresponding classification can be used for the values of Ts+RTD and / or Ts-RTD.

[0140] gNB implementation for determining the number of omissions X

[0141] In all example embodiments, the NW (e.g., represented by the gNB) is provided with sufficient information to calculate the number of OFDM symbols X at the start of the time slot, where the UE cannot be properly scheduled due to the overlap with the transmission of the previous time slot to another TRP and / or the switching time required to change the beamformer. More specifically, the NW can calculate: - For the overlap case, X = ceil(Ts + RTD + TA1 - TA2); - For the gap case, X = max(0, ceil(Ts - RTD - TA1 + TA2)).

[0142] In fact, such a method can be considered conservative because when it is applied, it may happen that the UE is not scheduled in the OFDM symbol, although for example in the gap case, the switching time can be completed within the CP of such an OFDM symbol. In such a case, the NW can decide to schedule the UE in that OFDM symbol anyway, and the UE can for example discard a few samples at the start of the symbol with minimal performance degradation.

[0143] More generally, for example for the overlap case, the NW can calculate X in a more aggressive way as follows (e.g., in Figure 3 of 10): - The NW calculates Xt = Ts + RTD + TA1 - TA2; - If "ceil(Xt) - Xt > TH" • X = ceil(Xt) - Otherwise: • X = ceil(Xt) - 1

[0144] The threshold TH can be implementation-specific. For example, one or more of the following criteria can be used to determine the threshold TH: - The handover needs to be completed within the CP. However, in this case, it may cause ISI in the first scheduled OFDM symbol. The switch needs to be completed within a portion of the CP. That will limit the amount of ISI. - If the switching time is completed within a portion of the entire OFDM symbol duration (e.g., 10%), the switching time can be longer than the CP. However, this method may cause ICI in addition to ISI.

[0145] Samples dropped at UE

[0146] As outlined in the previous section, “gNB Implementation for Determining the Omission Quantity X,” if the NW adopts a more aggressive approach with a reduced omission quantity instead of a conservative one, the UE should discard some samples of the first symbol (OFDM symbol) transmitted in a later-scheduled slot. However, the gNB cannot schedule the transmission of every sample, but only the transmission of symbols comprising multiple samples. To make the UE discard a few samples of the first symbol transmitted in a later-scheduled slot, such as a small portion of the CP, at the beginning of the first OFDM symbol transmitted in the later-scheduled slot (e.g., ... Figure 3 (12) Figure 4 (12) and Figure 5 As reported in (12, 17), there are two options: - Sample drop is indicated by the NW to the UE (via a "drop indication"), for example, on the DCI that schedules UL transmissions (in... Figure 3 (11) Figure 4 (11) and Figure 5 (In (11, 16)), this informs the UE that it must discard some samples. Different implementation options exist. For example, a single bit can be used as follows: bit 0 → sample discarding is required at the UE, bit 1 → sample discarding is not required at the UE. In some example embodiments, the gNB can calculate the number of samples to be discarded and indicate this number to the UE, for example, as a discard instruction or as part of it. In such example embodiments, the UE may not calculate the number of samples to be discarded. - Sample dropping is not indicated to the UE by the NW, and the UE autonomously decides whether to drop some samples at the beginning of the first OFDM symbol to be transmitted in a later-scheduled time slot based on the UL resources scheduled by the NW.

[0147] Figure 6 An apparatus according to an example embodiment is shown. The apparatus may be a terminal (such as a UE or MTC device) or a component thereof. Figure 7 A method according to an example embodiment is shown. Figure 6 The device can perform Figure 7The methods are not limited to this one. Figure 7 The method can be derived from Figure 6 The device performs, but is not limited to, the execution by this device.

[0148] The device includes a component 110 for providing. The component 110 for providing may be a providing component. The component 110 for providing may be a provider. The component 110 for providing may be a providing processor.

[0149] The component 110 provides time information from the terminal to the network (S110). This time information indicates a relevant time. This relevant time is based on the handover time required for the terminal to switch between an earlier transmission and a later transmission following the earlier transmission. That is, the relevant time may be equal to the handover time or may be calculated based on the handover time.

[0150] The earlier transmission is one of the following: a first transmission to a first transmission receiving point in a first time slot using a first beamformer, the first time slot including a predefined number of symbols; and a second transmission to a second transmission receiving point in a second time slot using a second beamformer different from the first beamformer, the second time slot including the predefined number of symbols. The later transmission is the other of the first and second transmissions.

[0151] Figure 8 An apparatus according to an example embodiment is shown. The apparatus may be a network, such as a base station (e.g., gNB or eNB), or an element thereof. Figure 9 A method according to an example embodiment is shown. Figure 8 The device can perform Figure 9 The methods are not limited to this one. Figure 9 The method can be derived from Figure 8 The device performs, but is not limited to, the execution by this device.

[0152] The device includes a receiving component 210, a calculation component 220, and a scheduling component 230. The receiving component 210, the calculation component 220, and the scheduling component 230 can be a receiving component, a calculation component, and a scheduling component, respectively. The receiving component 210, the calculation component 220, and the scheduling component 230 can be a receiver, a calculator, and a scheduler, respectively. The receiving component 210, the calculation component 220, and the scheduling component 230 can be a receiving processor, a calculation processor, and a scheduling processor, respectively.

[0153] The receiving component 210 receives time information from the terminal that informs it of the relevant time (S210).

[0154] The calculation component 220 calculates the omitted quantity (e.g., X, as described above) based on the relevant time, a first timing advance value, and a second timing advance value (S220). The first timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and a transmission receiving point to which the earlier of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed. The second timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and a transmission receiving point to which the later of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed. The later transmission in the first and second transmissions follows the earlier transmission in the first and second transmissions.

[0155] The first transmission is the transmission of a first number of symbols in a first time slot from the terminal to the first transmission receiving point. The second transmission is the transmission of a second number of symbols in a second time slot from the terminal to the second transmission receiving point. The duration of the first time slot and the duration of the second time slot are equal to each other and equal to the duration of a predefined number of subsequent symbols.

[0156] The scheduling component 230 schedules the first transmission and the second transmission (S230). The total number of symbols scheduled for transmission in the earlier transmission time slot and the later transmission time slot is twice the predefined number minus the omitted number.

[0157] The omitted symbols can be arbitrarily allocated between the earlier and later transmission time slots. This allocation can be indicated by first and second omission quantities, which indicate the number of symbols omitted from the earlier and later transmission time slots, respectively. Each of the first and second omission quantities can be 0 or greater than 0. The sum of the first and second omission quantities equals the omission quantity. That is, a first number of symbols transmitted in the earlier transmission time slot equals the predefined quantity minus the first omission quantity; and a second number of symbols transmitted in the later transmission time slot equals the predefined quantity minus the second omission quantity.

[0158] In the earlier transmission time slot, the first number of symbols are continuously scheduled at the beginning of the earlier transmission time slot. That is, the first number of symbols are transmitted in the earlier transmission time slot, and then no symbols are transmitted in the earlier transmission time slot for the duration of the first omitted number of symbols.

[0159] In the later transmission time slot, the second number of symbols is continuously scheduled at the end of the later transmission time slot. That is, symbols are not transmitted during the duration of the second omitted number of symbols in the later transmission time slot, and then the second number of symbols are transmitted in the later transmission time slot.

[0160] Figure 10 An apparatus according to an example embodiment is shown. The apparatus includes at least one processor 810 and at least one memory 820 storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 810, cause the apparatus to perform at least one method according to the related description and the following figures: Figure 7 or Figure 9 .

[0161] Some example embodiments are used in UEs that do not support STxMP. However, some example embodiments can be used in UEs that do support STxMP. For example, in UEs that support STxMP, these example embodiments can support power-saving modes.

[0162] The number of different TRPs that the UE performs uplink transmissions to is not limited to 2 and can be 2 or greater.

[0163] The gNB can schedule time slots alternately as described in the example embodiments above, one time slot per TRP. However, in some example embodiments, an arbitrary first number of time slots can be sent to one TRP, and then an arbitrary second number of time slots can be sent to another TRP. The first number can be different from or the same as the second number. Some example embodiments are applicable if two directly subsequent time slots are scheduled to different TRPs.

[0164] The example implementations can be applied to any generation of 3GPP networks, such as 4G, 5G, 6G, 7G, etc. They can also be applied to non-3GPP networks providing uplink transport to different TRPs.

[0165] A message can be sent in one or more messages from one entity to another. Each of these messages may include further (different) information.

[0166] The names of network elements, network functions, protocols, and methods are based on the current standard. In other versions or other technologies, the names of these network elements and / or network functions and / or protocols and / or methods may differ, as long as they provide the corresponding functionality. The same applies to terminals.

[0167] Unless otherwise explicitly stated or indicated in the context, different statements about two entities mean that they perform different functions. This does not necessarily mean that they are based on different hardware. That is, each entity described in this description may be based on different hardware, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same hardware. This does not necessarily mean that they are based on different software. That is, each entity described in this description may be based on different software, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same software. Each entity described in this description may be deployed in the cloud.

[0168] Based on the above description, it should be apparent that exemplary embodiments, for example, provide a terminal (such as a UE or MTC device) or a component thereof, means embodying the terminal or the component thereof, a method for controlling and / or operating the terminal or the component thereof, and multiple computer programs for controlling and / or operating the terminal or the component thereof, as well as a medium carrying such multiple computer programs and forming multiple computer program products. Based on the above description, it should be apparent that exemplary embodiments, for example, provide a base station (such as a gNB or eNB) or a component thereof, means embodying the base station or the component thereof, a method for controlling and / or operating the base station or the component thereof, and multiple computer programs for controlling and / or operating the base station or the component thereof, as well as a medium carrying such multiple computer programs and forming multiple computer program products.

[0169] Implementations of any of the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described above include (as a non-limiting example) implementations of hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers, or other computing devices or combinations thereof. Each entity described in this description may be embodied in the cloud.

[0170] It should be understood that the above description represents an example embodiment currently considered preferred. However, it should be noted that the description of the preferred example embodiment is given by way of example only and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

[0171] The terms “first X” and “second X” include options where “first X” and “second X” are the same and options where “first X” and “second X” are different, unless otherwise specified. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, wherein the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, means at least one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: One or more processors, and a memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to perform: The terminal provides time information to the network, the time information indicating a relevant time, wherein the relevant time is based on the switching time required for the terminal to switch between an earlier transmission and a later transmission following the earlier transmission. The earlier transmission is one of the following: a first transmission to a first transmission receiving point in a first time slot using a first beamformer, the first time slot including a predefined number of symbols; and a second transmission to a second transmission receiving point in a second time slot using a second beamformer different from the first beamformer, the second time slot including the predefined number of symbols; and The later transmission is the other of the first and second transmissions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Measure the reception time difference between the reference signal received by the terminal from the first transmission receiving point and the reference signal received by the terminal from the second transmission receiving point; Provide the receiving time difference to the network, wherein The relevant time is the switching time.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Measure the reception time difference between the reference signal received by the terminal from the first transmission receiving point and the reference signal received by the terminal from the second transmission receiving point; The relevant time is calculated based on the switching time and the receiving time difference.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Under the assumption that one of the first transmission and the second transmission is the earlier transmission, check whether the time slot sent in the later transmission overlaps with the time slot sent in the earlier transmission; In response to the detection, under the assumption, that a time slot transmitted in the later transmission overlaps with a time slot transmitted in the earlier transmission: Provide the network with an indication of the overlap between time slots transmitted in the later transmission and time slots transmitted in the earlier transmission, under the assumption stated above; Provide the network with instructions specifying at least one of the following: - Which of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission under the stated assumption; or - Which of the first and second transmissions is the later transmission under the stated assumption; The correlation time is calculated such that the correlation time is the sum of the switching time and the reception time difference.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 4, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Under the assumption that one of the first transmission and the second transmission is the earlier transmission, check whether there is a gap between the time slot sent in the earlier transmission and the time slot sent in the later transmission; In response to the detection, under the assumption, of the gap existing between a time slot transmitted in the earlier transmission and a time slot transmitted in the later transmission: Provide the network with an indication that, under the assumption, there exists a gap between a time slot transmitted in the earlier transmission and a time slot transmitted in the later transmission; Provide the network with instructions specifying at least one of the following: - Which of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission under the stated assumption; or - Which of the first and second transmissions is the later transmission under the stated assumption; The correlation time is calculated such that the correlation time is the difference between the switching time and the receiving time difference.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: In the first transmission and the second transmission, a transmission caused by a gap is determined such that, under the assumption that the transmission caused by the gap is the earlier transmission, there is a gap between the time slots transmitted in the earlier transmission and the time slots transmitted in the later transmission. Provide the network with an indication that one of the first transmission and the second transmission is a transmission caused by the gap; The correlation time is calculated such that the correlation time is the difference between the switching time and the receiving time difference.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 3 and 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: In the first transmission and the second transmission, an overlapping transmission is determined such that, under the assumption that the overlapping transmission is the earlier transmission, the time slot transmitted in the later transmission overlaps with the time slot transmitted in the earlier transmission. Provide the network with an indication that one of the first transmission and the second transmission is a transmission caused by the overlap; The correlation time is calculated such that the correlation time is the sum of the switching time and the reception time difference.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: In response to providing the time information, scheduling information is received from the network; The first transmission and the second transmission shall be executed according to the scheduling information; in The scheduling information determines which of the first and second transmissions is the earlier transmission.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Calculate the number of samples that overlap between the earlier and later transmissions; The number of samples is discarded at the beginning of the first symbol at the start of the later transmission.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Monitor whether a drop instruction is received from the network along with the scheduling information; In response to the detection that the discard instruction has not been received, the number of samples to be discarded is prohibited.

11. An apparatus comprising: One or more processors, and a memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to perform: Receive time information from the terminal, the time information indicating the relevant time; The omitted quantity is calculated based on the relevant time, the first timing advance value, and the second timing advance value. The system schedules a first transmission of a first number of symbols in a first time slot from the terminal to a first transmission receiving point, and a second transmission of a second number of symbols in a second time slot from the terminal to a second transmission receiving point; wherein, The later transmission in the first and second transmissions follows the earlier transmission in the first and second transmissions. The duration of the first time slot and the duration of the second time slot are each equal to the duration of a predefined number of subsequent symbols; The number of symbols scheduled for transmission in the earlier transmission time slot is a first symbol count, which is equal to the predefined number minus the first omitted portion number; The number of symbols scheduled for transmission in the later transmission time slot is a second symbol count, which is equal to the predefined number minus the number of the second omitted portion. The quantity of the first omitted portion is 0 or greater than 0; The quantity of the second omitted part is 0 or greater than 0; The sum of the first number of omitted portions and the second number of omitted portions is equal to the number of omitted portions; In the earlier transmission time slot, the first symbol count number of symbols is continuously scheduled at the beginning of the earlier transmission time slot; In the later transmission time slot, the symbols of the second symbol count are continuously scheduled at the end of the later transmission time slot; The first timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and a transmission receiving point to which the earlier transmission of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed; as well as The second timing advance value indicates the timing advance between the terminal and a transmission receiving point to which the later transmission of the first and second transmission receiving points is directed.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Furthermore, the number of omissions is calculated based on the reception time difference, and the reception time difference is predefined.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Receive the reception time difference from the terminal. Furthermore, the omitted quantity is calculated based on the received time difference, wherein... According to the time information, the relevant time is the switching time required for the terminal to switch between a first beamformer to be used for the earlier transmission and a second beamformer to be used for the later transmission.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Receive a hypothetical instruction from the terminal specifying at least one of the following: - One of the first transmission and the second transmission is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; The first and second transmissions are scheduled in accordance with the assumed indication; A conservative estimate is calculated, and the omission quantity is calculated based on the conservative estimate, wherein the conservative estimate is calculated as ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2), where Trel indicates the relevant time, TA1 indicates the first timing advance value, and TA2 indicates the second timing advance value.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: In response to determining that the assumed earlier transmission and the assumed later transmission overlap, the terminal is configured such that the assumption indication indicates at least one of the following: - The one of the first transmission and the second transmission is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 14 and 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: The terminal receives an indication that there is a gap between the time slot sent in the earlier transmission and the time slot sent in the later transmission; In response to receiving from the terminal an indication that there is a gap between a time slot transmitted in the earlier transmission and a time slot transmitted in the later transmission: The calculation of the conservative estimate as ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2) is prohibited; and The conservative estimate is calculated as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)).

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Receive a hypothetical instruction from the terminal specifying at least one of the following: - One of the first transmission and the second transmission is assumed to be the earlier transmission, or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission; The first and second transmissions are scheduled in accordance with the assumed indication; A conservative estimate is calculated, and the omission quantity is calculated based on the conservative estimate, wherein the conservative estimate is calculated as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)), where Trel indicates the relevant time, TA1 indicates the first timing advance value, and TA2 indicates the second timing advance value.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: In response to determining that a gap exists between the assumed earlier transmission and the assumed later transmission, the terminal is configured such that the assumed indication indicates at least one of the following: - The one of the first transmission and the second transmission is assumed to be the earlier transmission; or - The other of the first and second transmissions is assumed to be the later transmission.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 and 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: The terminal receives an indication that the timeslot transmitted in the later transmission overlaps with the timeslot transmitted in the earlier transmission; In response to receiving from the terminal an indication that a timeslot transmitted in the later transmission overlaps with a timeslot transmitted in the earlier transmission: It is forbidden to calculate the conservative estimate as max(0, ceil(Trel-TA1+TA2)); and The conservative estimate is calculated as ceil(Trel+TA1-TA2).

20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: Check whether the earlier transmission and the later transmission will overlap by less than a threshold if the number of omissions is equal to the conservative estimate minus 1; In response to the detection that if the omission quantity is equal to the conservative estimate minus 1, and the earlier transmission and the later transmission overlap less than the threshold, then the omission quantity is calculated to be the conservative estimate minus 1; wherein The threshold is the duration of the cyclic prefix of the later transmitted symbol multiplied by a predefined factor.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: In response to a check that the number of omissions is equal to the conservative estimate minus 1, and the overlap between the earlier and later transmissions is less than the threshold, a discard indication is provided to the terminal.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 21, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to perform: In response to the detection that if the number of omissions is equal to the conservative estimate minus 1, and the earlier and later transmissions will not overlap less than the threshold, then the number of omissions is calculated to be equal to the conservative estimate.

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