Multi-link based communication

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses, methods, and computer readable media for multi-link based communications. In one method, a first apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell. The second identifier is associated with at least one transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the second cell. The first apparatus performs communications with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and performs communications with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to the telecommunications field, and more particularly to apparatus, methods, and computer-readable media for multi-link-based communications. Background Technology

[0002] Moving an ongoing connection from one network to another is generally referred to as a handover. In traditional handovers, such as Basic Handover (BHO), Conditional Handover (CHO), and Lower Layer Triggered Mobility (LTM), when a User Equipment (UE) is accessing a new cell, the Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) is changed via Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration during the Random Access Channel (RACH) process or in a handover without RACH. During this process, it is necessary to maintain the UE's privacy while changing the cell within the Radio Access Network (RAN). Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to at least: receive from a second apparatus a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and perform communication with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier, and perform communication with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0004] In a second aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to at least: send to a first apparatus a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and send to the first apparatus an indication that the first apparatus will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0005] In a third aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving from a second device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and performing communication with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier, and performing communication with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: sending to a first device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and sending to the first device an indication that the first device will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: means for receiving from a second means a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and means for performing communication with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and performing communication with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: a unit for transmitting to a first apparatus a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and a component for transmitting to the first apparatus an indication that the first apparatus will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to a third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the summary portion is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 Signaling diagram 100 of an ICBM within a DU according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; Figure 2 Options for multi-DCI multi-TRP according to some example embodiments of this disclosure are shown; Figure 3A An example ICBM usage of a link between two cells according to some example embodiments of this disclosure is shown; Figure 3B Another example ICBM usage for a link between two cells is shown according to some example embodiments of this disclosure; Figure 4 An example communication environment in which example embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented is shown; Figure 5 Signaling diagrams for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown; Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating example signaling diagrams for C-RNTI handover according to some example embodiments of this disclosure is shown; Figure 7 A flowchart is shown showing an example method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 8 A flowchart is shown illustrating an example method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 9 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and Figure 10 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0013] In all the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0015] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0016] References to "an embodiment," "embodiment," "example embodiment," etc., in this disclosure indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Additionally, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed that incorporating other embodiments, whether explicitly described or not, to affect such a feature, structure, or characteristic is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0017] It should be understood that although terms such as "first," "second," etc., preceding nouns may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another, and they do not restrict the order of the nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0018] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording (where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0019] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the execution step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0020] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that, when used herein, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” and / or “including” specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0021] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one or more of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only) and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor having software (including digital signal processors, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions), and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when the software is not required to operate.

[0022] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term in this application (including in any claim). As another example, as used herein, the term "circuit" also encompasses only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion thereof and its accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term "circuit" also encompasses, for example and if applicable to a particular claim element, baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0023] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), sixth-generation (6G) communication protocols and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to a variety of communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that embody the future types of this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the aforementioned systems.

[0024] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communications network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Header (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femtosecond or picosecond), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device), a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a spacecraft network device, etc. In some example embodiments, the Radio Access Network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at the IAB donor node. The IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves as a UE toward the parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node behaves as a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0025] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal equipment may also correspond to the mobile termination (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment," "communication equipment," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0026] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, including resources in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, code domain, or any other combination of time, frequency, spatial, and / or code domain resources used to enable communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated otherwise, resources in the frequency and time domains will be used as examples of transmission resources used to describe some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Note that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0027] As used herein, Inter-cell Beam Management (ICBM) is based on the features of the Unified Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) framework, and it refers to borrowing beams from neighbors for uplink and downlink transmission. ICBM allows a serving cell to borrow beams from neighboring cells for beam management, thereby effectively extending the serving cell's coverage. ICBM utilizes a unified TCI state framework. In the Release-17 (Rel-17) unified TCI state framework, the TCI state can be indicated in the DCI, and changes to the TCI state can be applied to both uplink and downlink beams. Furthermore, because the user-specific search space (USS) can be preserved, and because the user-specific physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can be transmitted on neighboring cell beams with the same configuration and scrambling.

[0028] The RRC configuration steps for ICBM may include configuring TCI status for both the source cell and neighboring cells by the network (e.g., a centralized unit), performing beam switching using medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) signaling, activating and indicating TCI status using MAC control elements (CE), and indicating TCI status using DCI.

[0029] In some scenarios, ICBM can be executed within a distributed unit (DU). Figure 1 Signaling diagram 100 of an ICBM within a DU according to some example embodiments of this disclosure is shown. For example... Figure 1 As shown, in this CU-DU split case, signaling diagram 100 involves UE 102, DU 104 and CU 106.

[0030] At 110, CU 106 sends an RRC reconfiguration to UE 102, including a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) for Cell 2 or a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) for Cell 2. Normal Layer 1 (L1) measurement reports from neighboring cells can be configured, which can be initiated, for example, by Layer 3 (L3) A3.

[0031] At 112, UE 102 sends an L1 report to DU 104. The L1 report can indicate that the beam strength of cell 2 is increasing. At 114, DU 104 determines to add ICBM. Serving DU 104 can perform access control (AC) for a target (e.g., the same DU with or without RRC signaling).

[0032] At 116, DU 104 initiates ICBM setup by requesting CU 106 to configure UE 102 for ICBM. In some cases, the aforementioned signaling with AC and current signaling can be combined.

[0033] At position 118, CU 106 sends an RRC reconfiguration for the TCI state of adding the beam for cell 2. UE 102 is configured to use cell 2 while maintaining serving cell 1. CU 106 configures a uniform TCI state for UE 102, which also includes the beam for cell 2. If the bandwidth portions (BWP) of cell 1 and cell 2 are the same, then the beam for cell 2 is the SSB. In one example, the beam for cell 2 may be a CSI-RS that can be agreed upon during ICBM setup. Furthermore, the data path for the beam for cell 2 may be via the serving cell.

[0034] At 120, DU 104 (e.g., serving cell 1) activates the TCI state and activates the beam of cell 2. The beam of cell 1 can be indicated. At 122, when the TCI state of UE 102 is pointed to cell 2, if the beam of cell 2 is indicated, UE 102 can monitor the PDCCH on the USS on the beam of cell 2.

[0035] For ICBM, it is expected that DCI is generated from the serving cell, and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) allocation is based on the available resources of the serving cell. Furthermore, this PDSCH is occupied at the target cell's resources, and the target cell cannot schedule on these resources. For the case within DU, a common scheduler for all cells can be considered.

[0036] As used in this paper, the multiple downlink control information (m-DCI) multiple transmit / receive point (m-TRP) technology refers to the enhancement of downlink control information (DCI) transmission, thereby allowing the use of multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs) and / or cells as well as cross-scheduling.

[0037] The PDCCH enhancement for m-DCI and m-TRP in Rel-17 allows for several operations. Figure 2 Options for multiple DCI multiple TRP according to some example embodiments of this disclosure are shown. For example... Figure 2As shown, DCI 1202 can be carried in PDCCH 1 204, and another DCI 2 206 can be carried in PDCCH 2 208. Alternatively, a single DCI 210 can be carried in both PDCCH 1 204 and PDCCH 2 208.

[0038] In m-DCI m-TRP operations, the UE is scheduled by independent TCIs from each TRP. In a single DCI operation, DCIs are repeated or transmitted from two TRPs in Single Frequency Network (SFN) mode. These operations can be implemented by linking search spaces from different Control Resource Sets (CORESETs). Therefore, the UE can monitor different PDCCHs. DCIs on the PDCCH can be transmitted in a resource-multiplexed manner.

[0039] Furthermore, DCI transmitted on one beam can be scheduled for PDSCH on another beam, where higher layers configure the search space for linking different CORESETs and the DCI indication for beam usage. Additionally, m-DCI and m-TRP can support uplink transmissions between links belonging to different cells with different timing advances (TAs).

[0040] As mentioned above, m-DCI, m-TRP, and ICBM can share common components, but these features may not handle mobility, such as changing serving cells. As used herein, LTM is a mobility feature that uses beam-level measurements. In LTM, the network prepares a set of candidate cells at the RRC level. The UE is then configured with L1 measurement reports. These L1 measurement reports are not RRC messages but are available at the MAC level. In the case of CU-DU splitting, this allows the DU to monitor link quality and quickly instruct the UE to switch cells to one of the prepared targets via MACCE signaling.

[0041] In one example, during LTM, for CU-DU splitting, intra-CU admission control and cell preparation can be performed. In future versions of the standard, the cells participating in LTM can be expanded to include target cells that are inter-DU cells or inter-gNB cells. The RRC configuration of the prepared cell can be sent from the network to the UE, and then L1 measurements can be sent from the UE to the network. MAC CE signaling can be sent from the network to the UE for cell handover. In response to receiving a cell handover command, the UE can activate a previously configured RRC reconfiguration and perform the reconfiguration. RRC reconfiguration can include the physical channel settings and protocol stack configuration of the target cell. In this case, the channel can be set to a new channel, and the MAC stack has an option not to be reset.

[0042] Comparing LTM and ICBM, the difference lies in the following: In LTM, a normal handover process involves performing an RRC reconfiguration to switch to the target cell's beam, and configuring the target cell's specific settings for the target beam. However, in ICBM, the beams of neighboring cells use the source cell's physical layer parameters, and no RRC reconfiguration is performed when switching beams.

[0043] The Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) is a 16-bit long number used to scramble the DCI (Digital Cipher Interface). A UE that has been configured with a C-RNTI and is configured to receive the DCI can descramble and decode it. This allows the network to configure an overlapping search space, but deliver the DCI to a specific UE. The C-RNTI can also be used in the uplink to distinguish the UE's uplink grant response to a Random Access Response (RAR) from another UE.

[0044] In connected mode, C-RNTI can also be used to initialize data scrambling and the cell's Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), as shown below: c_init = fct(n_RNTI, n_PCI) This type of initialization can be defined for PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH (e.g., format 2).

[0045] The C-RNTI space should be distinct across cells. The inventors noted that the C-RNTI is visible on the air interface. For privacy reasons, UE movement should not be traceable across cells via the air interface. Therefore, UEs should not continuously use the same C-RNTI, but rather change the C-RNTI for each cell. The segmentation of the C-RNTI space to cells is managed through higher-layer network functions, and the allocation of C-RNTI to the UE in the cell is signaled, for example, during initial access via RACH or during handover via RRC reconfiguration. Furthermore, dataScramblingIdentity PUSCH information element (IE) and dataScramblingIdentity PDSCH IE can be configured to initialize scrambling.

[0046] For Primary Cell Group (MCG) - Secondary Cell Group (SCG) operation, the UE can be configured with dual links to two separate cell groups, known as the MCG and SCG. The MCG and SCG can each be their own gNB, and links to the special cells (SpCells) of the MCG and SCG can be established using their own C-RNTIs. Furthermore, MCG-SCG requires two separate receive / transmit links. MCG-SCG operation does not include UE beam switching between the MCG and SCG cells via DCI commands (unlike ICBM), and does not include cell handover or HO via MAC CE (unlike LTM).

[0047] As described above, when a UE is accessing a new cell, the C-RNTI is changed during traditional or non-RACH handovers via RRC reconfiguration. A progressive mobility approach can be proposed for this, where a physical link to target cell 2 is established using ICBM or m-DCI technology before handover. For example, the ICBM / m-DCI m-TRP feature is designed for coverage extension and robustness of PDCCH transmissions. Therefore, transmissions on beams of neighboring cells can utilize the C-RNTI of the serving cell. Figure 3A An example ICBM usage of a two-cell link according to some example embodiments of this disclosure is shown. For example... Figure 3A As shown, a physical link 316 has been established between UE 310 and cell 1 312 before the handover from source cell 1 312 to target cell 2 314. UE 310 is configured with C-RNTI1 320 of cell 1 312. When UE 310 accesses cell 2, a physical link 318 can be established between UE 310 and target cell 2. Transmission on the beam of target cell 2 can also use C-RNTI1 320 of cell 1 312.

[0048] According to another approach, it is assumed that two physical links to two cells are established using ICBM / m-DCI m-TRP; however, it seems that these physical links can also be used for mobility. Figure 3B Another example ICBM usage for a two-cell link is shown, according to some example embodiments of this disclosure. For example... Figure 3BAs shown, a physical link 316 has been established between UE 310 and cell 1 312 before the handover from source cell 1 312 to target cell 2 314. UE 310 is already configured with C-RNTI1 320 for cell 1 312. When UE 310 moves from source cell 1 to target cell 2, ICBM-based mobility means that the network should maintain its established beam and eventually perform a role change, making cell 2 314 the serving cell. In this way, cell 2 cannot permanently use C-RNTI 1 312; instead, cell 2 314 should provide further C-RNTIs. For example, C-RNTI 1 320 may eventually no longer be used in cell 2 314, but a new C-RNTI2 should be provided to UE 310.

[0049] The problem with the aforementioned progressive mobility approach is the use of C-RNTIs. When a user equipment (UE) has moved into the coverage area of ​​cell 2, to protect UE privacy, the UE should adopt a unique C-RNTI for cell 2 and release its previous C-RNTIs to avoid potentially multiple UEs with the same C-RNTI in the same cell (keeping the cell's C-RNTI space separate). In other words, to utilize the dual-link mobility provided by ICBM or m-DCI m-TRP, ICBM or m-DCI m-TRP cannot be used without modification.

[0050] Therefore, new solutions are needed to ensure UE privacy, namely, UE untraceability should be achieved through its cross-cell C-RNTI and cell-level reuse of the C-RNTI space.

[0051] This disclosure provides an example embodiment of a multi-link (e.g., ICBM or m-DCI m-TRP) based communication scheme. Using this scheme, a second device (e.g., a network device) transmits a first identifier of a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier of a second beam of a second cell to a first device (e.g., a terminal device). The second device then sends an indication that the first device will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier. The first device uses the first identifier to perform communication with the first cell and uses the second identifier to perform communication with the second cell. The first and second identifiers are respectively included in a first TCI status information element (IE) and a second TCI status IE.

[0052] In this way, when the first device is outside the coverage of the previous serving cell (e.g., the first cell) and a new cell (e.g., the second cell) becomes the serving cell, the physical link between the first device and the second device does not need to be reconfigured.

[0053] The exemplary embodiments will now be discussed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 4 An example communication environment 400 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown.

[0054] The communication environment 400 includes a first device 410 and a second device 420. In some example embodiments, the first device 410 may operate as a terminal device (e.g., a UE). The device 420 may operate as a network device (e.g., a gNB).

[0055] It should be understood that, for the purpose of explanation, Figure 4 The number and type of devices are shown without implying any limitations. For example, communication environment 400 may include any suitable number of first and second devices.

[0056] In some example embodiments, the link from the first device 410 to the second device 420 may be referred to as an uplink (UL), and the link from the second device 420 to the first device 410 may be referred to as a downlink (DL). In the UL, the second device 420 is an RX device (or receiver), and the first device 410 is a TX device (or transmitter). In the DL, the second device 420 is a transmit (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 410 is a receive (RX) device (or receiver).

[0057] In the following description, for illustrative purposes, some exemplary embodiments are depicted in which the first device 410 operates as a terminal device and the second device 420 operates as a network device. However, in some exemplary embodiments, the operations described with respect to the terminal device may be implemented at the network device or other devices, and the operations described with respect to the network device may be implemented at the terminal device or other devices.

[0058] The first device 410 and the second device 420 can communicate with each other. Communication in the communication environment 400 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and sixth-generation (6G), wireless local network communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11, and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Furthermore, communication can utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other currently known or future-developed technologies.

[0059] Now for reference Figure 5 This illustrates a signaling diagram 500 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example... Figure 5 As shown, signaling diagram 500 relates to a first device 410 and a second device 420 in a communication environment 400. For example, the second device 420 may include a centralized unit of an access network device, a distributed unit of an access network device, or a C-RNTI management entity of an access network device, or any combination thereof.

[0060] like Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 As shown, the second device 420 sends (510) a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell to the first device 410, and the second identifier is associated with at least one TCI state of the second cell. Although in Figure 5 The message may be represented as a single message, but these messages may be sent simultaneously or at different times as separate messages. The first identifier and the second identifier may each include a first C-RNTI and a second C-RNTI unique within the corresponding cell. Alternatively or additionally, the first identifier and the second identifier may include a first PCI of the first cell and a second PCI of the second cell. Accordingly, the first device 410 receives the first identifier and the second identifier from the second device 420.

[0061] In one embodiment, the first identifier is included in the first TCI state information element (IE). In one embodiment, when the first device connects to the first cell, the first identifier (e.g., for the C-RNTI of the first cell) is provided to the first device. In one embodiment, at least some (or all) transmissions with the first cell are using the first identifier. In another embodiment, the first identifier is linked to (i.e., associated with) at least one TCI state of the first cell.

[0062] In one embodiment, the second identifier is linked to (i.e., associated with) at least one TCI state of the second cell. In another embodiment, the second identifier is received as part of (e.g., included therein) at least one TCI state information element (IE) of the second cell. Alternatively, the second cell identifier may be received as a separate message, such as an RRC configuration separate from the TCI state configuration message.

[0063] In some example embodiments, the second device 420 may include a distributed unit of the access network device. At least one of the first identifier of the first cell or the second identifier of the second cell may be received by the second device 420 from the centralized unit of the access network device or the cell identifier management entity of the access network device.

[0064] In some example embodiments, the second device 420 may include an access network device serving the first cell. The second identifier of the second cell may be received by the second device 420 from another access network device serving the second cell.

[0065] The second device 420 sends an instruction (530) to the first device 410, the instruction (530) stating that the first device 410 will communicate with a first cell via a first beam using a first identifier and with a second cell via a second beam using a second identifier. Correspondingly, the first device 410 receives the instruction from the second device 420.

[0066] In some example embodiments, the instruction may be explicit. For example, the second device 420 may explicitly instruct the first device to communicate with both the first and second cells by sending an explicit instruction. For example, the explicit instruction may be information indicating permission to communicate with both cells.

[0067] In some other example embodiments, the indication can be implicit. For example, the second device 420 can implicitly indicate to the first device 410 to communicate with both the first and second cells by sending both the first identifier and the second identifier (alone or simultaneously, as described above) to the first device 410. That is, when the first device 410 has both identifiers, the first device 410 knows that it is permitted to communicate with both cells, rather than receiving an explicit indication. In one example, the transmission of the second identifier and the transmission of the indication are therefore performed in one step. That is, when the second device 420 sends (510) the second identifier to the first device 410 (while the first device 410 already knows the first identifier), the indication for triggering communication with both the first and second cells is also implicit.

[0068] It should be understood that, for illustrative purposes only, the transmission of the first and second identifiers, as well as the transmission of the indication, are described in... Figure 5 The symbols are shown as separate without implying any limitation. In some example embodiments, the transmission of the first identifier and the second identifier, as well as the transmission of the indication, may be integrated into a single operation, action, or step, for example, where the transmission of the first identifier and the second identifier implicitly indicates communication with both the first and second cells using the first and second identifiers, as described above.

[0069] In some example embodiments, in order to at least send (510) the second identifier, the second device 420 may send a configuration message via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, the configuration message indicating the configuration of the TCI state of one or more cells, including at least the second cell. The configuration also indicates at least the second identifier. For example, in an example embodiment using a second C-RNTI as the second identifier, the TCI state of the second cell may be attached to the second C-RNTI. The message may also carry the same information for the first cell (e.g., the TCI state and / or the first identifier configured for the first cell), or a separate message may exist for the TCI state configuration of the first cell (i.e., the serving cell).

[0070] For example, to carry the C-RNTI, the TCI state IE of the configuration message can be enhanced using the C-RNTI field ('additional_crnti-rXY') set when an additional PCI-r17 IE is present. The configuration message (partially shown in the table below) can indicate the TCI-State IE to the first device 410. When the additional PCI-r17 IE is not present, the indicated TCI state can be used for communication with the serving cell (e.g., the cell from which the configuration message is received). When the additional PCI-r17 IE is present, the indicated TCI state can be used for communication with the cell whose PCI is included in the additional PCI-r17 IE.

[0071] Each configured TCI state can have one C-RNTI. In this case, the C-RNTI may differ between different TCI states. Alternatively, the C-RNTI may be the same for all TCI states indicated by the TCI state for a specific cell (e.g., the second cell). Therefore, the configuration message may indicate one or more C-RNTIs for one or more TCI states for a specific cell (e.g., the second cell).

[0072] The configuration message may include a set of C-RNTIs for a plurality of cells (e.g., for a first cell and for a second cell). Therefore, the configuration message may provide the first device 410 with a set or list of TCI states, some of which are used for communication with the first cell, and some of which are used for communication with the second cell. The configuration message may also include a second identifier for the set of TCI states for the second cell.

[0073] The table below shows how to indicate the C-RNTI (or any identifier typically associated with the TCI status) for the second cell (corresponding to the cell indicated by IEadditionalPCI-r17) in the UE's 'additional_crnti-rXY'. In this way, the second identifier is associated with or linked to at least one TCI status of the second cell.

[0074]

[0075] In this way, for example, when the first device 410 is configured with a second identifier (e.g., a link-specific second C-RNTI for the second cell) and is instructed to use scrambling on the second beam (e.g., a beam on the second cell), another field with the C-RNTI can be added to the TCI state IE.

[0076] In some other embodiments, other messages or IEs may also be used to carry the identifier of the second cell. In a variant, the first device 410 may be provided with a second C-RNTI for the second cell in a separate message (e.g., in the VarResumeMAC-Input variable):

[0077] In one example, whenever the TCI state corresponding to CellIdentity is used, the C-RNTI provided in the “cell-c-RNTI”IE will be used.

[0078] exist Figure 5 In one example embodiment, the first device 410 may receive a first identifier of a first cell from the second device, and then may receive an indication of at least one TCI state of a first beam of the first cell at a later point in time. The first device 410 may also receive at least one TCI state for a second beam of the second cell, and receive a second identifier (e.g., C-RNTI2) linked to the TCI state of the second cell. This C-RNTI2 may be included in a configuration message for the TCI state of the second beam (possibly transmitted using an RRC configuration message), or may be provided in a separate message (possibly an RRC configuration message).

[0079] After configuration is sent via RRC signaling, the second device 420 can send an indication for activating the TCI state for the second cell via at least one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI). For example, this indication can be used as... Figure 5 The instruction 530 in the diagram. For example, the TCI state of the second cell can be activated via MAC CE (as in ICBM). A DCI command (network to UE) can be used to instruct the UE (410) to use a specific TCI state from the configured TCI states of the particular cell. Therefore, the DCI command can also be used to select the scrambling to be used for the physical channel between the first device 410 and the second device 420. Thus, communication can be controlled by a DCI that indicates to the first device 410 which TCI state and therefore which beam and which identifier will be used for communication with one or more particular cells.

[0080] If the second C-RNTI for the beam used for cell 2 (the possible target cell) is provided separately from the TCI state configuration as described above, for example, possibly in the cell-c-RNTI IE, then the second C-RNTI can be used for transmissions with the second cell that use those TCI states in the UE's TCI state set, including the PCI of cell 2 in the "Additional PCI" IE.

[0081] The first device 410 performs communication with the first cell via a first beam using a first identifier, and performs communication with the second cell via a second beam using a second identifier.

[0082] In some example embodiments, upon receiving the configuration of the TCI state and an indication for activating the TCI state of the second cell, the first device 410 may perform communication after activating the TCI state of the second cell. In some example embodiments, the first device 410 may apply resource multiplexing and a single transceiver to the communication. For example, resource multiplexing may be time-domain multiplexing, and a single transmitter / receiver may be used.

[0083] In some example embodiments, a first identifier can be used to scramble communications via a first beam, and a second identifier can be used to scramble communications via a second beam. For example, a first C-RNTI and / or a first PCI for a first cell can be used to scramble communications via the first beam, and a second C-RNTI and / or a second PCI for a second cell can be used to scramble communications via the second beam. According to embodiments of this disclosure, the scrambling configuration is beam-specific and linked to TCI state selection.

[0084] In some example embodiments, more than one first identifier including both a first C-RNTI and a first PCI is received from the second device 420, and more than one second identifier including both a second C-RNTI and a second PCI is received from the second device 420. In some other example embodiments, one of the C-RNTI and PCI is included in the identifier received from the second device 420, and the other of the C-RNTI and PCI may be separately identified or obtained by the first device 410.

[0085] According to embodiments of this disclosure, to avoid altering the C-RNTI of an established connection, the ICBM or m-DCI m-TRP features are configured to use separate C-RNTIs for the beams of adjacent cells (e.g., a second cell) from the beginning. Furthermore, scrambling of the physical channel can be initialized using cell-specific methods.

[0086] In some example embodiments, at the start of communication prior to 510, the first device 410 may send an indication to the second device 420 regarding its capability to support communication with the first cell using a first identifier and communication with the second cell using a second identifier. For example, the capability indication may be a "beam / link-specific scrambling" capability that indicates to the second device 420 support for the solution proposed in this disclosure and allows the second device 420 to begin operation of the proposed solution.

[0087] The following will refer to Figure 6 Provide a detailed description of an example process for multi-link-based communication.

[0088] Figure 6 A flowchart of an example signaling diagram 600 for C-RNTI handover according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In this example, UE 602 acts as... Figure 4 The example implementation of the first device 410 in the example operates, and the distributed unit (DU) for cell 1 604, the DU serving cell 2 606, and the centralized unit (CU) 608 can be used as... Figure 4 The example implementation of the second device 420 is used for operation. The first cell may be referred to as cell 1, and the first identifier may be referred to as C-RNTI 1. The second cell may be referred to as cell 2, and the second identifier may be referred to as C-RNTI 2.

[0089] like Figure 6 As shown, in procedure 600, at 610, UE 602 sends a measurement report to CU 608 and DU serving cell 1 604. At 612, CU 608 determines a multi-link configuration suitable for mobility. For example, the multi-link configuration could be based on ICBM and / or m-DCI m-TRP. In the case of in-DU, the DUs of serving cell 1 and cell 2 can determine a multi-link configuration suitable for mobility.

[0090] At 614, the target cell (e.g., cell 2) is prepared for multi-link use. A cell-2 specific C-RNTI 2 is obtained by CU608 and provided to the target cell. In the case of a DU, this step can be performed at both the DU serving cell 1 and cell 2. The DU serving cell 1 and cell 2 can request C-RNTI 2 from the network C-RNTI management entity.

[0091] In one example, the TCI state of a neighboring cell is associated with C-RNTI 2 assigned by cell 2. This association between C-RNTI and TCI states can be interpreted as beam transmission and reception should use C-RNTI. Furthermore, beam scrambling can be modified to be initialized by the beam's PCI and C-RNTI. This will be done for PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, and PUSCH.

[0092] At position 618, CU 608 sends the TCI status of the multi-link to DU serving cell 1 604. The DU serving cell 1 can be configured with TCI status that can be used for cell 2. Cell 2 specific TCI status can be attached to C-RNTI 2.

[0093] At position 620, CU 608 can send the TCI status configuration to UE 602 via RRC signaling. The TCI status of cell 2 can be activated for ICBM via MAC CE. Figure 6 (Not shown in the image). If multiple links have been configured according to Rel-18m-DCI m-TRP, the TCI state will also be attached to C-RNTI 2. When scheduling data after the link on cell 2 is established (622), the scrambling of the physical link can be associated with C-RNTI 2 and the physical cell identifier (PCI, n_ID) of cell 2, and can be initialized as follows: c_init = fct(C-RNTI 2, n_ID = cell 2). This can be applied to uplink and downlink, shared and control channels. DCI on cell 2 can use C-RNTI 2, while DCI on cell 1 can use C-RNTI 1. It should be noted that the UE needs to apply cell-specific physical layer settings depending on which beam is used. It also needs to use the correct scrambling initialization.

[0094] At 622, complete the multi-link setup (for intra-DU or inter-DU cases of ICBM or m-DCI m-TRP). TCI status can include PCI and link-specific C-RNTI for the same or separate MAC entities.

[0095] Following step 622, (not shown) the network can instruct the UE via DCI to use a specific TCI state that has been previously configured (e.g., in step 620) for transmission. By linking C-RNTI information to the TCI state, the effect achieved is that DCI also enables the use of beam-specific scrambling.

[0096] At 624, UE 602 can move into the coverage of cell 2. At 626, after UE 602 has fully moved into the coverage of cell 2, cell 2 can be configured as the serving cell, which means that the common search space (CSS) is reconfigured. During reconfiguration, physical links do not necessarily need to be reconfigured because they already have the correct C-RNTI and scrambling. Reconfiguration can maintain the multi-link setup or it can be released. In the case of a DU, role switching can be handled by the DUs of serving cell 1 and cell 2. According to embodiments of this disclosure, repeated beam switching can result in repeated physical channel reconfiguration without affecting higher layers. Furthermore, according to embodiments of this disclosure, transmissions occur on the same protocol stack compared to MCG-SCG transmissions with separate protocol stacks on different cells.

[0097] It should be noted that cross-scheduling is possible when multiple links are configured with m-DCI and m-TRP. That is, the DCI on one link can indicate the transmission on another link. Therefore, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the DCI on cell 1 using C-RNTI 1 can contain a TCI state index pointing to the beam on cell 2, which will use C-RNTI 2 and the corresponding scrambled beam.

[0098] Figure 7 A flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a first device 410 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purposes of discussion, [the following will be discussed]. Figure 4 The method 700 is described by the angle of the first device 410 in the middle.

[0099] At block 710, a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell are received from a second device, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell.

[0100] At box 720, communication with the first cell is performed via the first beam using a first identifier, and communication with the second cell is performed via the second beam using a second identifier.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in at least one TCI status information element (IE) of the second cell.

[0102] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes: receiving a configuration of a TCI state via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the configuration including at least one TCI IE for the second cell; receiving an indication for activating the TCI state for the second cell via at least one of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI); and performing communication after activating the TCI state for the second cell.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in a message other than the message configuring at least one TCI state.

[0104] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes sending a capability indication to a second device, the capability indication relating to communication with the first cell using a first identifier and communication with the second cell using a second identifier being supported by the first device.

[0105] In some example embodiments, communication via the first beam is scrambled using a first identifier, and communication via the second beam is scrambled using a second identifier.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the second device includes at least one of the following: a centralized unit of the access network device, a distributed unit of the access network device, or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) management entity of the access network device.

[0107] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes applying a single transceiver and time-domain multiplexing to communications with the first cell and the second cell.

[0108] Figure 8 A flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a second device 420 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purposes of discussion, [the following will be discussed]. Figure 4 The method 800 is described by the angle of the second device 420 in the second device 420.

[0109] At block 810, a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell are sent to a first device, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell.

[0110] At box 820, an instruction is sent to the first device regarding that the first device will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using a first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using a second identifier.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in at least one TCI status information element (IE) of the second cell.

[0112] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: sending a configuration of TCI state via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the configuration including at least one TCI IE for the second cell; and sending an indication for activating the TCI state for the second cell via at least one of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI).

[0113] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in a message other than the message configuring at least one TCI state.

[0114] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes receiving a capability indication from a first device, the capability indication relating to communication with a first cell using a first identifier and communication with a second cell using a second identifier being supported by the first device.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the second device includes at least one of the following: a centralized unit of the access network device, a distributed unit of the access network device, or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) management entity of the access network device.

[0116] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes receiving at least one of a first identifier of a first cell or a second identifier of a second cell from a centralized unit of the access network device or a cell identifier management entity of the access network device.

[0117] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: receiving a second identifier of the second cell from another access network device serving the second cell.

[0118] In some example embodiments, a first device capable of performing any method 700 (e.g., Figure 4 The first device 410 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 700. This component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in... Figure 4 In the first device 410.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: components for receiving from the second device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and components for performing communication with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and performing communication with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in at least one TCI status information element (IE) of the second cell.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further includes: components for receiving a configuration of a TCI state via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, the configuration including at least one TCI IE for the second cell; components for receiving an indication for activating the TCI state for the second cell via at least one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI); and components for performing communication after activating the TCI state for the second cell.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in a message other than the message configuring at least one TCI state.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes a component for sending a capability indication to the second device, the capability indication relating to communication with the first cell using a first identifier and communication with the second cell using a second identifier being supported by the first device.

[0124] In some example embodiments, communication via the first beam is scrambled using a first identifier, and communication via the second beam is scrambled using a second identifier.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the second device includes at least one of the following: a centralized unit of the access network device, a distributed unit of the access network device, or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) management entity of the access network device.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes components for applying a single transceiver and time-domain multiplexing to communications with a first cell and a second cell.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes components for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 700 or the first device 410. In some example embodiments, the components include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform.

[0128] In some example embodiments, a second device capable of performing any method 800 (e.g., Figure 4 The second device 420 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 800. This component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in... Figure 4 In the second device 420.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: components for transmitting to the first device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and components for transmitting to the first device an indication that the first device will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in at least one TCI status information element (IE) of the second cell.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes: components for transmitting a configuration of the TCI state via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, the configuration including at least one TCI IE for the second cell; and components for transmitting an indication for activating the TCI state for the second cell via at least one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0132] In some example embodiments, the second identifier is included in a message other than the message configuring at least one TCI state.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the second device further includes: a component for receiving a capability indication from the first device, the capability indication relating to communication with the first cell using a first identifier and communication with the second cell using a second identifier being supported by the first device.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the second device includes at least one of the following: a centralized unit of the access network device, a distributed unit of the access network device, or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) management entity of the access network device.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes a distributed unit of the access network device, and the second apparatus further includes a component for receiving at least one of a first identifier of a first cell or a second identifier of a second cell from a centralized unit of the access network device or a cell identifier management entity of the access network device.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes an access network device serving a first cell, and the second apparatus further includes a component for receiving a second identifier of the second cell from another access network device serving a second cell.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the second device further includes components for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 800 or second device 420. In some example embodiments, the components include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to perform.

[0138] Figure 9 This is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 can be provided to implement a communication device, for example, such as... Figure 4 The first device 410 or the second device 420 are shown. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processors 910, and one or more communication modules 940 coupled to the processors 910.

[0139] Communication module 940 is used for bidirectional communication. Communication module 940 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, communication module 940 may include at least one antenna.

[0140] As a non-limiting example, processor 910 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 900 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0141] Memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, optical disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), optical disc, laser disc, and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that will not persist for the duration of a power outage.

[0142] Computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 910. The instructions of program 930 may include instructions for performing operations / actions of some example embodiments of this disclosure. Program 930 may be stored in memory (e.g., ROM 924). Processor 910 can perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 930 into RAM 922.

[0143] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by program 930, enabling device 900 to perform as described in the reference. Figures 1 to 8 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0144] In some example embodiments, program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 900 (such as memory 920) or other storage device accessible by device 900. Device 900 may load program 930 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 922 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0145] Figure 10 An example of a computer-readable medium 1000 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disc. Program 930 is stored on the computer-readable medium 1000.

[0146] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0147] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions that execute in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, such as those included in a program module, to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular task or implement a particular abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functionality of a program module can be combined or split among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for a program module can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can reside in both local and remote storage media.

[0148] Program code used to perform the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0149] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0150] Computer-readable media can be computer-readable signal media or computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0151] Furthermore, although operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or that all shown operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the discussion above, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, certain features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated otherwise, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0152] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: The second device receives a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell. as well as Communication with the first cell is performed via the first beam using the first identifier, and communication with the second cell is performed via the second beam using the second identifier.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second identifier is included in at least one TCI status information element (IE) for the second cell.

3. The first apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor further enable the first apparatus to: The configuration for receiving TCI status via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, the configuration including the at least one TCI IE for the second cell; and Receive an indication for activating the TCI state for the second cell via at least one of a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI); and The communication is performed after the TCI state for the second cell is activated.

4. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second identifier is included in a message other than a message configuring at least one TCI state.

5. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor further enable the first device to: The first device sends a capability indication regarding communication with the first cell using the first identifier and communication with the second cell using the second identifier, which are supported by the first device.

6. The first apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the communication via the first beam is scrambled using the first identifier, and the communication via the second beam is scrambled using the second identifier.

7. The first apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second apparatus comprises at least one of: a centralized unit of the access network device, a distributed unit of the access network device, or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) management entity of the access network device.

8. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor further enable the first device to: A single transceiver and time-domain multiplexing are applied to communications with the first cell and the second cell.

9. A second device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: Send to a first device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; as well as Send an instruction to the first device that the first device will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

10. The second apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second identifier is included in at least one TCI status information element (IE) for the second cell.

11. The second apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor further enable the second apparatus to: A configuration for transmitting TCI status via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, the configuration including the at least one TCI IE for the second cell; and An indication for activating the TCI state for the second cell is sent via at least one of a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) or a Downlink Control Message (DCI).

12. The second apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second identifier is included in a message other than a message configuring at least one TCI state.

13. The second device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor further enable the second device to: The first device receives a capability indication regarding communication with the first cell using the first identifier and communication with the second cell using the second identifier, which are supported by the first device.

14. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the second apparatus comprises at least one of: a centralized unit of the access network device, a distributed unit of the access network device, or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) management entity of the access network device.

15. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the second apparatus comprises a distributed unit of an access network device, and the at least one memory and the at least one processor further enable the second apparatus to: Receive at least one of the first identifier of the first cell or the second identifier of the second cell from the centralized unit of the access network device or the cell identifier management entity of the access network device.

16. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the second apparatus comprises an access network device serving the first cell, and the at least one memory and the at least one processor further enable the second apparatus to: Receive the second identifier of the second cell from another access network device serving the second cell.

17. A method comprising: The second device receives a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell. as well as Communication with the first cell is performed via the first beam using the first identifier, and communication with the second cell is performed via the second beam using the second identifier.

18. A method comprising: Send to a first device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; as well as Send an instruction to the first device that the first device will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

19. A first device comprising components for operating as follows: Receives from the second device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and Communication with the first cell is performed via the first beam using the first identifier, and communication with the second cell is performed via the second beam using the second identifier.

20. A second device comprising components for operating as follows: Sending to a first device a first identifier for a first beam of a first cell and a second identifier for a second beam of a second cell, wherein the second identifier is associated with at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the second cell; and Send an instruction to the first device that the first device will communicate with the first cell via the first beam using the first identifier and with the second cell via the second beam using the second identifier.

21. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause a device to perform at least the method of claim 17 or the method of claim 18.

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