Enhanced beam management in cellular communication networks

Abstract

According to an example aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a downlink control message by a user equipment, the downlink control message including a configuration for performing a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval; and performing a TCI state switch by the user equipment based on the configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The various example embodiments generally relate to cellular communication networks, and more specifically to beam management in such networks. Background Technology

[0002] Beam management can refer to a set of functions that can be used to enhance the operation of beam-based wireless communication systems. Beam management can be used in various cellular communication networks, such as those operating under 5G radio access technology. 5G radio access technology can also be referred to as New Radio (NR) access technology. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed standards for 5G / NR, and beam management is one of the topics discussed in 3GPP discussions. According to the discussions, there is a need to provide enhancement methods, apparatus, and computer programs related to beam management in cellular communication networks. Such enhancements may also be beneficial in other wireless communication networks. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The subject matter of the independent claims is provided in several respects. Several example embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

[0004] The scope of protection sought by the various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure is set forth in the independent claims. Exemplary embodiments and features (if any) described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims are to be construed as examples useful for understanding the various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0005] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: receive a downlink control message including a time-domain configuration for a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and perform the TCI state switch based on the time-domain configuration. The apparatus may be a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein. Example embodiments of this aspect may include at least one feature from the following bullet point list or any combination of the following features: ● The time-domain configuration includes at least one of the following: an indication of the time-domain sequence of the TCI state, the time-domain sequence of the TCI state, and a switching interval or switching period; ● At least one processing core and at least one memory further enable the device to at least: perform TCI switching based on at least one time interval, wherein the at least one time interval determines when to switch from at least one TCI state to at least one other TCI state; ● The downlink control message includes one or more code points, and each code point indicates a time interval and at least one TCI state to be switched to within the time interval; ● The downlink control message includes a field indicating whether the one or more code points are a time-domain sequence indicating a TCI state to be activated or a set of TCI states to be activated; ● The one or more code points are listed in the order in which the device will use the TCI states indicated by the one or more code points; ● The one or more code points include a first code point and a second code point, the first code point indicating at least one first TCI state to be used for a first time interval, and the second code point indicating at least one second TCI state to be used for a second time interval, wherein the first time interval and the second time interval do not overlap. ● The downlink control message includes a time interval field, which indicates the time interval for the TCI state transition; ● The downlink control message includes a time interval field, where each time interval field indicates the time interval for a TCI state transition; ● At least one processing core and at least one memory further enable the device to at least: determine that the last configured TCI state of the TCI switch has been reached and that the time interval associated with the last configured TCI state has elapsed; and based on the determination, use the last configured TCI state until another downlink control message is received, or the wireless network is indicated to the wireless network that the time interval associated with the last configured TCI state has elapsed. ● The downlink control message includes the Media Access Control (MAC) element CE.

[0006] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: determine a time-domain configuration for a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and transmit a downlink control message including the time-domain configuration to a user equipment (UE) to configure the UE to perform the TCI state switch. The apparatus may be a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, including at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: receive a downlink control message including a configuration, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to which to be switched for the time interval, for performing a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switching; and perform the TCI state switching based on the configuration. The apparatus may be a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein. Example embodiments of this aspect may include at least one feature from the following bullet point list or any combination of the following features: ● Each code point is associated with a specific time interval; ● The downlink control message includes one or more time interval fields, each time interval field indicating a specific time interval for each of the one or more code points; ● Wherein one or more code points share a common time interval; ● The downlink control messages include a common time interval; ● The TCI state switching includes using at least one first TCI state for a first time interval and at least one second TCI state for a second time interval, wherein the first time interval and the second time interval do not overlap; ● The first code point of the one or more code points indicates at least one first TCI state to be used during the first time interval, and the second code point of the one or more code points indicates at least one second TCI state to be used during the second time interval, wherein the first time interval and the second time interval do not overlap; ● The downlink control message includes a field indicating whether one or more code points are a time-domain sequence of TCI states to be activated or a set of TCI states to be activated; ● The one or more code points are listed in the order in which the TCI states indicated by the one or more code points will be used by the device; ● At least one processing core and at least one memory further enable the device to switch to the next code point at least: after a time interval has elapsed since the previous switch; ● At least one processing core and at least one memory further enable the device to at least: initiate TCI state switching after confirming the downlink control message; or initiate TCI state switching after a delay timer; or initiate TCI state switching after confirming the downlink control message after a delay timer.

[0008] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, including at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: determine a configuration for configuring a user equipment to perform a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch, said configuration including one or more code points, each code point associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to for said time interval; and transmit a downlink control message including said configuration to the user equipment to configure the user equipment to perform the TCI state switch. The apparatus may be a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0009] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: receive a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a periodic configuration for performing a periodic Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and perform a periodic TCI state switch based on the periodic configuration. The apparatus may be a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein. Example embodiments of this aspect may include at least one feature from the following bullet point list or any combination of the following features: ● The periodic TCI state switching includes using at least one first TCI state for a first time interval and using at least one second TCI state for a second time interval, wherein the first time interval and the second time interval do not overlap and have the same length; ● At least one processing core and at least one memory further enable the device to at least: perform the periodic TCI switching based on a time interval, wherein the time interval determines when to switch from at least one TCI state to at least one other TCI state; ● The downlink control message includes a media access control element, and the periodic configuration is indicated as part of the downlink control message in the periodic configuration field; ● One of the time intervals determines the periodicity of the TCI state switching; ● The downlink control message includes one or more code points, and each code point indicates at least one TCI state, wherein the one or more code points share the same periodic configuration; ● The downlink control message includes a time interval field, which indicates the time interval used for the periodic TCI state switching; ● The time interval for the periodic TCI state switching is fixed; ● The time interval of the periodic TCI switching is expressed in milliseconds; ● At least one of the processing cores and at least one memory further enable the device to switch to the next code point after the time interval for the periodic TCI state switching has elapsed since the previous switch. ● The downlink control message includes one or more TCI states, wherein the one or more TCI states correspond to reference signals from one of the following: a first set of predicted reference signals, a second set of measured reference signals, or a third set of a mixture of measured reference signals and predicted reference signals.

[0010] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: determine a periodic configuration for configuring a user equipment to perform a periodic Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and transmit a downlink control message including the periodic configuration to the user equipment to configure the user equipment to perform the periodic TCI state switch. The apparatus may be a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0011] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, including at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions causing the apparatus, when executed by the at least one processing core, to at least: receive a downlink control message including a configuration for a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state switching; determine, based on the configuration, at least one first TCI state to be used during a first time interval; determine, based on the configuration, at least one second TCI state to be used during a second time interval, wherein the first and second time intervals do not overlap; and perform the TCI state switching based on the determination. The apparatus may be a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein. Example embodiments of this aspect may include at least one feature from the following bullet point list or any combination of the following features: ● The device is further configured to apply the at least one first TCI state at least during a first time interval, and to apply at least one second TCI state during a second time interval after the first time interval; ● The device is further configured to determine, based at least a first TCI state during a first time interval, based on a first code point in the downlink control message, and to determine, based on a second code point in the downlink control message, to apply at least a second TCI state during a second time interval. ● The device is further configured to apply at least one first TCI state sequentially before at least one second TCI state, based at least on determining that the first code points are listed sequentially before the second code points in the downlink control message. ● The device is further configured to at least determine that the downlink control message includes a field indicating whether one or more code points in the downlink control message are a time-domain sequence indicating a TCI state to be activated or a set of TCI states to be activated; ● The configuration mentioned therein is a time-domain configuration that includes at least one of the following: an indication of the time-domain sequence of the TCI state, a time-domain sequence of the TCI state, a switching interval, or a switching period; ● The device is further configured to at least determine that the configuration is a periodic configuration for periodic TCI state switching, and to perform the TCI switching by performing the periodic TCI state switching; ● The at least one processing core and the at least one memory further enable the device to at least determine that the configuration includes one or more code points, and each code point is associated with a time interval and indicates at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval, for performing TCI state switching, and performing the TCI switching based on the one or more code points; ● The device is further configured to receive at least another control message, the other control message including configuration for configuring the device to perform at least one of the following: beam prediction, reporting or reporting measurement of the result of the beam prediction, and performing at least one of the following based on the other control message: beam prediction, reporting or reporting measurement of the result of the beam prediction; ● The device is further configured to determine at least one time interval for the TCI state transition based on at least one of the following: ○ Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration; ○ Forecast period and / or multiple forecast periods; ○ Forecast report period; ○ The measurement period used as input to the predictor; or ○ The measurement period used for measurements to be reported to the network; ● The device is further configured to at least: determine that at least one time interval TCI state is associated with a plurality of TCI states; determine that the plurality of TCI states will serve as active TCI states for beam indication based on downlink control indication (DCI); receive a DCI indicating one or more code points, wherein each code point indicates at least one TCI state from the active TCI state; and apply at least one TCI state as the indicated TCI state within at least one time interval. ● The apparatus is further configured to apply the TCI switching to the reception or transmission of at least one of the following physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), uplink signal / channel, or downlink signal / channel.

[0012] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: determine at least one first Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state for use by a user equipment during a first time interval; determine at least one second TCI state for use by the user equipment during a second time interval, wherein the first and second time intervals do not overlap; and transmit a downlink control message to the user equipment, the downlink control message including a time-domain configuration for switching TCI states using at least one first TCI state and at least one second TCI state. The apparatus may be a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0013] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a downlink control message including a time-domain configuration for a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and performing the TCI state switch based on the time-domain configuration. The method can be performed by a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0014] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: determining a time-domain configuration for Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switching; and transmitting a downlink control message including the time-domain configuration to a user equipment (UE) to configure the UE to perform the TCI state switching. The method can be performed by a radio network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0015] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a downlink control message including a configuration, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state to be switched to within the time interval, for performing a TCI state switch; and performing the TCI state switch based on the configuration. The method can be performed by a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0016] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: determining a configuration for configuring a user equipment to perform a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval; and transmitting a downlink control message including the configuration to the user equipment to configure the user equipment to perform the TCI state switch. The method can be performed by a radio network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0017] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a periodic configuration for performing a periodic Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and performing the periodic TCI state switch based on the periodic configuration. This method can be performed by a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0018] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: determining a periodic configuration for configuring a user equipment (UE) to perform a periodic Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state transition; and transmitting a downlink control message including the periodic configuration to the UE to configure the UE to perform the periodic TCI state transition. This method can be performed by a radio network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0019] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a downlink control message including a configuration for transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state switching; determining, based on the configuration, at least one first TCI state to be used during a first time interval; determining, based on the configuration, at least one second TCI state to be used during a second time interval, wherein the first and second time intervals do not overlap; and performing the TCI state switching based on the determination. The method can be performed by a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0020] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: determining at least one first Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state for use by a user equipment (UE) during a first time interval; determining at least one second TCI state for use by the UE during a second time interval, wherein the first and second time intervals do not overlap; and transmitting a downlink control message to the UE, the downlink control message including a time-domain configuration for switching TCI states using at least one first TCI state and at least one second TCI state. The method can be performed by a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0021] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for receiving a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a time-domain configuration for a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and components for performing the TCI state switch based on the time-domain configuration. The apparatus of this aspect may be a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0022] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for determining a time-domain configuration for transmitting a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and components for transmitting a downlink control message including the time-domain configuration to a user equipment (UE) to configure the UE to perform the TCI state switch. The apparatus of this aspect may be a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0023] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for receiving a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a configuration, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state to be switched to for the time interval, for performing a TCI state switch; and components for performing the TCI state switch based on the configuration. The apparatus of this aspect may be a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein.

[0024] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for determining a configuration for configuring a user equipment to perform a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to during the time interval; and components for transmitting a downlink control message including the configuration to the user equipment to configure the user equipment to perform the TCI state switch. The apparatus of this aspect may be a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0025] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for receiving a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a periodic configuration for performing a periodic Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and components for performing the periodic TCI state switch based on the periodic configuration. The apparatus of this aspect may be a user equipment or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0026] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for determining a periodic configuration for configuring a user equipment to perform a periodic Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and components for transmitting a downlink control message including the periodic configuration to the user equipment to configure the user equipment to perform the periodic TCI state switch. The apparatus of this aspect may be a wireless network node or a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0027] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a computer program including instructions is provided that, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform one or more methods.

[0028] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided having a set of computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor, cause a device to perform at least one or more methods. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 Examples of network scenarios according to at least some example embodiments are shown; Figure 2 A sequence of code points indicating a TCI state ID is shown according to at least some example embodiments, wherein each code point represents a TCI state ID; Figure 3 Indications for sequential or non-sequential TCI state activation are shown according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a field in a control message indicating a switching period between sequence code points, according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 5 The downlink control messages illustrate a set of TCI states for each step of a provided sequence according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 6 The TCI state ID / code point specific SI field is shown according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 7 The diagram illustrates a signaling diagram according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 8 An example apparatus capable of supporting at least some of the example embodiments is shown; Figure 9 The illustration shows a flowchart of a first method according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 10 The illustration shows a flowchart of a second method according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 11 The illustration shows a flowchart of a third method according to at least some example embodiments; Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating a fourth method according to at least some example embodiments is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Figure 1 Examples of network scenarios according to at least some example embodiments are shown. Figure 1 An example scenario could be a beam-based wireless communication system comprising a UE 110, a wireless network node 120, and a core network element 130. The UE 110 can connect to the wireless network node 120 simultaneously or one at a time via the air interface using beam 115.

[0031] UE 110 may include, for example, smartphones, cellular phones, machine-to-machine (M2M) nodes, machine-type communication (MTC) nodes, Internet of Things (IoT) nodes, automotive telemetry units, laptops, tablets, or virtually any kind of suitable wireless terminal. Figure 1 In the example system, UE 110 can wirelessly communicate with wireless network node 120 via at least one beam 115. Wireless network node 120 can be considered as a serving node of UE 110, and a cell of wireless network node 120 can be a serving cell of UE 110.

[0032] The air interface between UE 110 and wireless network node 120 can be configured according to whether both UE 110 and wireless network node 120 are configured to support a Radio Access Technology (RAT). Examples of cellular RATs include Long Term Evolution (LTE), New Radio (NR), which can also be referred to as 5G Radio Access Technology, 6G Radio Access Technology, and MulteFire.

[0033] For example, in the context of LTE, Radio Network Node 120 may be referred to as an eNB, while in the context of NR, Radio Network Node 120 may be referred to as a gNB. In some example embodiments, Radio Network Node 120 may be referred to as a Transceiver Point (TRP), or multiple TRPs that can be co-located or non-co-located. In any case, the example embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to any particular wireless technology. Rather, the example embodiments can be utilized in any beam-based wireless communication system where beam management would be beneficial.

[0034] Wireless network node 120 can connect to core network 130 directly or via at least one intermediate node through interface 125. Core network 130 can also connect to another network (…) via interface 135. Figure 1 (Not shown in the image) Coupled, the wireless network node 120 can obtain connectivity to other networks, for example, via a global interconnection network. The wireless network node 120 can be connected to the core network 130 or another core network directly or via at least one intermediate node.

[0035] In some example embodiments, the network scenario may include a relay node in place of or in addition to UE 110 and / or radio network node 120. For example, a relay may be used when operating on millimeter-wave frequencies. One example of a relay node may be an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node. An IAB node may also be referred to as a self-backhaul relay. Another example of a relay may be an out-of-band relay. Typically, a relay node may include two parts: 1) The distributed unit (DU) portion facilitates the functionality of the wireless network node 120 (such as a gNB). Therefore, in some example embodiments, the relayed DU portion may be referred to as the wireless network node 120, and the DU may perform the tasks of the wireless network node 120; 2) The mobile terminal MT portion, which facilitates the functionality of UE 110, namely, the backhaul link, which can be a communication link between a parent node (DU) (such as the DU portion of wireless network node 120) and a relay (such as an IAB node). In some example embodiments, the MT portion may be referred to as UE 110 and performs the tasks of UE 110.

[0036] Quasi-co-located QCL indication functionality can be used for beam management. If the properties of a channel transmitting symbols via the first antenna port can be derived from the properties of a channel transmitting symbols via the second antenna port, then the two antenna ports can be considered quasi-co-located. Regarding downlink beam indication, the QCL indication functionality can be defined as follows. The principle of receiving a physical signal or physical channel can be that UE 110 is configured with, or UE 110 implicitly determines, a source / reference reference signal RS that UE 110 has previously received and measured, which defines how to set the UE 110's receive beam for receiving the downlink (target) physical signal or channel to be received. To provide UE 110 with the QCL characteristics of the (target) signal to be received, the TCI framework can be used.

[0037] According to the TCI framework, UE 110 can be configured with TCI states to provide UE 110 with source RSs for determining QCL characteristics. Each TCI state may include, for example, one or two source RSs that provide UE 110 with QCL Type A, Type B, Type C, and / or Type D parameters, as follows: ● QCL-TypeA: {Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread} ● QCL-TypeB: {Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread} ● QCL-TypeC: {Doppler frequency shift, average delay} ● QCL-TypeD: {Space Rx parameter}.

[0038] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide enhancements at least for beam prediction in the time domain / temporal domain, which may be referred to as BM-case2. In the case of temporal beam prediction, UE 110 can be configured to predict a beam sequence, i.e., a downlink reference signal, which may form a first beam set, such as set A. UE 110 can also be configured to predict a beam sequence based on a measurement sequence of (historical) measurements from an indicator beam (such as a downlink reference signal) from a second beam set (such as set B).

[0039] The first beam set can be a prediction set, i.e., the output set as the result of inference, and the second beam set can be a measurement set, i.e., the input set used for inference. UE 110 can be configured to report the prediction results of the AI / ML model (the first beam set, set A), and in response, the radio network node 120 can activate (and / or indicate) the TCI state corresponding to the prediction beam from the first beam in the context of the UE-side model. As a prerequisite, the beams in the second beam, i.e., RS, can be signaled to UE 110 according to the RS configuration and QCL assumptions. Alternatively, UE 110 can be configured to report measurements on the second beam set (set B), and the radio network node 120 can perform inference in the context of the network-side model.

[0040] Radio network node 120 can activate one or more TCI states and indicate at least one TCI state that may be used jointly for uplink and downlink, or a pair of TCI states for UE 110 to apply to uplink and downlink channels, such as at least one of Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). As a result of time-domain prediction, a sequence of RS resources associated with the TCI states configured for UE 110 can be obtained. The RS resource sequence mapped to the TCI states enables radio network node 120 to switch downlink and / or uplink transmission beams for UE 110 in a "transparent" manner, i.e., the switching is indicated individually for each predicted RS.

[0041] Therefore, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide enhancements to the beam management BM and TCI state framework to support beam indication of the RS set obtained from time-domain beam prediction, thereby enabling efficient beam switching operations.

[0042] In some example embodiments, the radio network node 120 may transmit downlink control messages to configure the UE 110 to perform a sequential TCI state handover operation. The downlink control messages may include a time-domain configuration for performing the TCI state handover, and the UE 110 may perform the TCI state handover based on the received time-domain configuration. The time-domain configuration may include at least one of the following: an indication of a time-domain sequence of TCI states, a time-domain sequence of TCI states, a handover interval, or a handover period.

[0043] In some example embodiments, the downlink control message may include a configuration that includes one or more code points. Each code point may be associated with a time interval and indicates at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval, for performing a TCI state handover. That is, the downlink control message may include one or more TCI state code points mapped to one or more TCI states for downlink only (no uplink) or downlink and uplink. UE 110 may also perform the TCI state handover based on this configuration.

[0044] In some example embodiments, the downlink control message may include a field indicating whether one or more code points indicate a time-domain sequence of TCI states to be activated or a set of TCI states to be activated. That is, the field may indicate whether one or more code points listed in the downlink control message are to be interpreted as a time-domain sequence of activated / indicated TCI states to UE 110, or as a set of activated TCI states (at each time period / moment in the sequence).

[0045] In some example embodiments, the downlink control message may include one or more code points, each code point may be associated with a time interval, and the code point may indicate at least one TCI state to be switched to for the duration of the time interval. That is, the downlink control message may indicate one or more code points for sequential TCI state switching. In some examples, the downlink control message may indicate one or more code points for sequential TCI state switching and include at least one field indicating the periodicity / interval for the switching sequence. In some examples, the downlink control message may indicate one or more code points for sequential TCI state switching according to a time interval (which may be configured by the network). Each code point may indicate an identifier ID for at least one TCI state and is therefore associated with at least one TCI state.

[0046] In some example embodiments, the downlink control message may include a periodic configuration for performing periodic TCI state switching, and the UE 110 may perform the periodic TCI state switching based on the received periodic configuration. This configuration may be used to configure the activation / indication of the TCI state, wherein the time interval for the periodic TCI state switching may be fixed (e.g., predefined or configured). In some example embodiments, the UE 110 may determine that the configuration received in the downlink control message is a periodic configuration for periodic TCI state switching, and based on this determination, perform TCI switching by performing the periodic TCI state switching.

[0047] Figure 2 A sequence of code points indicating TCI state IDs according to at least some example embodiments is shown, wherein each code point represents a TCI state ID. The downlink control message may include a sequence of first indicating TCI state 210, a first code point 215 indicating the first indicating TCI state 210, a sequence of second indicating TCI state 220, a second code point 225 indicating the second indicating TCI state 220, a sequence of third indicating TCI state 230, and a third code point 235 indicating the third indicating TCI state 230. The downlink control message may be used to configure UE 110 to perform a sequential TCI state switching operation. The downlink control message may include one or more TCI state code points 215, 225, 235 mapped to one or more TCI states 210, 220, 230 for downlink only or for both downlink and uplink. That is, each code point 215, 225, 235 may include or indicate a TCI state ID. For example, jointly used for uplink and downlink; or two TCI state IDs, one for downlink and one for uplink.

[0048] One or more code points 215, 225, 235 may be listed in the order in which TCI states 210, 220, 230 indicated by one or more code points 215, 225, 235 will be used by UE 110. For example, the code points may be listed in the order of the code point IDs in the downlink control message. The first code point 215 listed may indicate the first code point that UE 110 is configured to switch to, the second code point 225 may indicate the second code point in the sequence, and the third code point 225 may indicate the third code point in the sequence. For example, UE 110 may, based on determination, list the first code point 215 sequentially before the second code point 225 in the downlink control message and apply at least one first TCI state 210 sequentially before at least one second TCI state 220.

[0049] UE 110 may determine the handover from the Nth code point to the N+1th code point based on at least one criterion (such as a time interval). The time interval may also be referred to as a period. During this time interval, at least one TCI state in at least one code point may be considered to be activated / indicated. UE 110 may perform the TCI handover based on at least one time interval, wherein the at least one time interval determines when to switch from at least one TCI state to at least one other TCI state.

[0050] The downlink control message may include one or more code points 215, 225, 235, and each code point may indicate a time interval and at least one TCI state 210, 220, 230 to be switched to for that time interval. The downlink control message may include a time interval field, wherein each time interval field indicates a time interval for a TCI state switch.

[0051] One or more code points may include, for example, a first code point 215 indicating at least one first TCI state 210 to be used for a first time interval (i.e., the ID of at least one first TCI state 210) and a second code point 225 indicating at least one second TCI state 220 to be used for a second time interval (i.e., the ID of at least one second TCI state 220), wherein the first time interval and the second time interval do not overlap. Therefore, UE 110 may apply at least one first TCI state 210 during the first time interval and at least one second TCI state 220 during the second time interval.

[0052] Alternatively, the downlink control message may include a time interval field indicating the time interval for the TCI state transition, i.e., the same time interval for all code points and associated TCI states. In this case, the first time interval (for the first TCI state 210) and the second time interval (for the second TCI state 220) may not overlap but have the same length for performing periodic TCI state transitions. Thus, a time interval can determine the periodicity of the periodic TCI state transitions. For example, UE 110 may switch to the next code point, such as the second code point 225, after the time interval for the periodic TCI state transition has changed from a previous switch to the first code point 210. Similarly, after the time interval for the periodic TCI state transition has changed from a previous switch to the second code point 220, UE 110 may switch to the next code point, such as the third code point 235.

[0053] In some example implementations, downlink control messages that configure time-domain sequences can be identified by control message identifiers such as logical channel IDs (LCIDs).

[0054] In some example implementations, the downlink control message may include a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0055] Figure 3 Indications for sequential or non-sequential TCI state activation according to at least some example embodiments are shown. Field 310 in the downlink control message can be used to indicate whether one or more code points 215, 225, 235 listed in the message are to be interpreted as a time-domain sequence of TCI states to be activated / indicated to UE 110, or as a set of activated TCI states. That is, field 310 can indicate whether one or more code points 215, 225, 235 indicate a time-domain sequence of TCI states to be activated or a set of activated TCI states (i.e., conventional activation).

[0056] For example, if the downlink control message indicates a time-domain sequence, the set of code points signaled in the message will be interpreted as the code point sequence to which UE 110 switches in the sequence. Alternatively, if the downlink control message indicates conventional activation (the set of active TCI states to be activated, i.e., non-sequential activation) or sequential activation without indicating TCI states, UE 110 may interpret the downlink control message as an activation message for one or more code points 215, 225, 235.

[0057] As an example, field 310 could be like this: Figure 3 The “N / S” field shown indicates that the first value (e.g., 0 / N) can indicate (non-sequential) TCI state activation / indication, and the second value (e.g., 1 / S) can indicate sequential TCI state activation / indication.

[0058] In some example embodiments, for the duration of the Nth time interval / period, one or more code points associated with the time interval may be considered as an active / indicating TCI state (e.g., before switching to the N+1 time interval / period).

[0059] In some example embodiments, the downlink control message configuring TCI state activation / indication / switching may further include an indication or configuration that indicates the message for prediction-based beam management (e.g., TCI state switching / activation / indication). The indication may be, for example, a field in the message. Alternatively or additionally, the indication may be, for example, a header field of the message that indicates the control message is used for prediction-based TCI state activation / indication / switching.

[0060] In some example embodiments, the time interval for periodic TCI state switching can be fixed. Downlink control messages can be used to configure the activation / indication of TCI states, and the TCI state switching interval for the configured TCI state switching sequence can be fixed. The time interval for the periodic TCI switching can be expressed in milliseconds, such as 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms. In some examples, the time interval can be expressed in terms of the number of symbols, time slots, frames, etc. The time interval can be configured using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0061] Each TCI state indicated by the code point can be activated sequentially, where the time interval for switching can be based on the network configuration (such as wireless network node 120). A prediction period, a multiple of the prediction period, or a measurement period based on the measurement can be used as input to the predictor. UE 110 can be configured to switch sequentially between code points based on a fixed time interval.

[0062] In some example embodiments, code points 215, 225, and 235 may be associated with specific different time intervals. For example, a first code point 215 may be associated with a first time interval (such as 20 ms), while a second code point 225 may be associated with a second time interval (such as 40 ms). That is, at least one first TCI state 210 indicated by the first code point 215 may be used during the first time interval (possibly using a first TCI state ID), while at least one second TCI state 220 indicated by the second code point 225 may be used during the second time interval (possibly using a second TCI state ID). In this case, the downlink control message may include one or more time interval fields, each time interval field indicating a specific time interval for each code point in a set of one or more code points.

[0063] Alternatively, one or more code points 215, 225, 235 may share a common time interval, such as 20 ms. That is, the common time interval can define how long at least one first TCI state 210, at least one second TCI state 220, and at least one third TCI state 230 should be used. Downlink control messages may include the common time interval.

[0064] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a field in a control message indicating a switching period between sequence code points, according to at least some example embodiments. Field 410 may be used in a downlink control message to indicate periodic configuration. Field 410 may thus be referred to as a periodic configuration field. Periodic configuration may be part of the downlink control message.

[0065] Downlink control messages may indicate one or more code points 215, 225, 235 for sequential TCI state switching and include a field 410 indicating the periodicity / interval of the switching sequence. Field 410 may indicate the time interval for at least one first TCI state 210, at least one second TCI state 220, and at least one third TCI state 230. That is, field 410 may indicate a common time interval for one or more code points 215, 225, 235. Field 410 may be a switching interval SI field. Alternatively, field 410 may refer to an active / indicating period or active / indicating duration of a TCI state indicated by one or more code points associated with a time period. As an example, a TCI state ID indicated by a TCI code point associated with a time period (indicated by field 410) may be considered an active (or indicated) TCI state during the duration of that time period.

[0066] As an example, field 410 can be an N-bit field, and it can indicate a predefined set of time interval values ​​applied to each code point listed in the message. Using 2-bit values, {00, 01, 10, 11} can be code points and are mapped to, for example, a set of periodic values ​​configured by RRC (such as 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, 160ms, etc.). If a code point is associated with a 20ms time interval, UE 110 can determine to switch to the next code point after 20ms. Alternatively or additionally, if a code point is associated with a 20ms time interval, the code point is considered an active (or indicated) code point (i.e., the TCI status ID of the code point).

[0067] Figure 5 A downlink control message is shown, illustrating a set of TCI states for each step of a provided sequence according to at least some example embodiments. Each field 510 in the downlink control message may indicate a time interval for a different code point and at least one TCI state. Field 510 may be an SI field. Field 510 may indicate the duration for which the associated TCI state indicated by the (TCI) code point is considered to be activated / indicated.

[0068] Downlink control messages may indicate one or more code points for sequential TCI state switching and include a separate field 510 for each code point 215, 225, 235 listed in the downlink control message. That is, a field 510 may indicate the time interval for switching to the next code point in the time-domain configuration. In one example, field 510 associated with one or more code points may indicate the time interval / period / duration during which the associated TCI state ID is considered to be activated / indicated.

[0069] As an example, field 510 can be an N-bit field, and it can indicate a predefined set of time interval values ​​applied to each code point listed in the message. Using 2-bit values, {00, 01, 10, 11} can be code points and mapped to, for example, a set of periodic values ​​configured by RRC (20ms, 40ms, 80ms, 160ms, etc.). If a code point is associated with a 20ms time interval, UE 110 can determine to switch to the next code point after 20ms.

[0070] Figure 6 The TCI state ID / code point-specific SI field is illustrated according to at least some example embodiments. A set of code points can be associated with the same time period. As an example, the set of code points could be, for example, code points 1 through K associated with the same time period. If multiple TCI states are associated with the same time period, the code points at each time period can be considered "active TCI states". If multiple active TCI states are provided, these multiple active TCI states can be associated with the same time period and indicated using beam indication based on downlink control information (DCI) during the period when the TCI state is active.

[0071] The DCI can indicate code points #1…L. This indication can refer to a set of S1-Sy (step) TCI states active within a given time interval. In some example embodiments, one of the TCI states can be defaulted to the indicated TCI state. As an example, the lowest code point of the currently active TCI state can be the indicated TCI state. Alternatively, the network (such as radio network node 120) can (further) use the DCI to indicate one of the code points as the indicated TCI state (or state or set of states). In some example embodiments, the UE 110 can reach the end of the time interval of the last code point listed in the downlink control message providing the code point sequence. In this case, the UE 110 can determine that the last active TCI state indicated by the code point is valid until a new control message for TCI state indication or activation is received. Alternatively, the UE 110 can determine an event indicating the use of the last active TCI state and transmit a request related to a new TCI sequence to the network (such as radio network node 120). The request can be provided via L1 signaling (e.g., a scheduling request SR) or MAC signaling (e.g., a MAC CE via PUSCH). Therefore, UE 110 can determine that the last configured TCI state of the TCI handover has been reached and the time interval associated with the last configured TCI state has elapsed, and based on this determination, uses the last configured TCI state until another downlink control message is received, or until the radio network indicates to the network that the time interval associated with the last configured TCI state has elapsed.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the TCI code point may include a downlink or joint TCI state ID. In some example embodiments, the TCI code point may include both downlink and uplink TCI state IDs.

[0073] In some example embodiments, TCI code points may indicate two or more sets of TCI states. Each set may correspond to a TCI state ID for the CORESETpoolindex or a TCI state for a first indicated TCI state. Alternatively, each set may correspond to a TCI state ID for the CORESETpoolindex or a TCI state ID for a second indicated TCI state, or each set may include DL and / or UL TCI state IDs.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the TCI state indicated in the sequence may refer to a reference signal originating only from the second beam set (set B), only from the first beam set (set A), or a mixture of reference signals originating from sets B and A. When there is no distinction between the TCI states based on the source of the reference signals from sets B and A, UE 110 may be instructed to perform TCI state selection according to the rules. Alternatively, UE 110 may be instructed to perform TCI state selection only for beams corresponding to set B, ignoring TCI states representing beams from set A. Alternatively, UE 110 may be instructed to perform TCI state selection only for beams corresponding to set A, ignoring TCI states representing beams from set B.

[0075] In some example embodiments, UE 110 may be configured to switch to a first TCI state ID associated with a first code point (set) in the sequence provided by the downlink control message after acknowledging the downlink control message, or after a delay or application time, or after a period of time following the acknowledgment of the downlink control message.

[0076] Figure 7 The diagram illustrates a signaling diagram according to at least some example embodiments. UE 110 and wireless network node 120 are arranged from left to right on the vertical axis. Time progresses from top to bottom.

[0077] At step 710, the radio network node 120 may determine at least one first TCI state for use by the UE 110 during a first time interval and at least one second TCI state for use by the UE 110 during a second time interval, wherein the first and second time intervals do not overlap. At step 720, the radio network node 120 may transmit a downlink control message to the UE 110, the downlink control message including a configuration for switching TCI states using at least one first TCI state and at least one second TCI state. This configuration may be a time-domain configuration or a periodic configuration.

[0078] At step 730, UE 110 may determine, based on this configuration, at least one first TCI state to be used during the first time interval and at least one second TCI state to be used during the second time interval. For example, UE 110 may determine the application of at least one first TCI state during the first time interval based on a first code point in the downlink control message. UE 110 may also determine the application of at least one second TCI state during the second time interval based on a second code point in the downlink control message.

[0079] At step 740, UE 110 may perform the TCI state handover based on the determination. For example, UE 110 may apply at least one first TCI state 210 during a first time interval and apply at least one second TCI state 220 during a second time interval after the first time interval. In some example embodiments, UE 110 may determine that the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point associated with a time interval, and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to for that time interval, for performing the TCI state handover, and perform the TCI handover based on the one or more code points.

[0080] Therefore, upon receiving (and / or acknowledging receipt) a downlink control message configuring UE 110 to perform sequential TCI state handover operations, UE 110 can determine the handover to a TCI state ID or a set of TCI state IDs, based on a configured or indicated period (i.e., a time interval), for example, according to the code point indicated by the downlink control message. For example, UE 110 can determine to apply at least one first TCI state 210 during a first time interval based on a first code point 215 in the downlink control message, and determine to apply at least one second TCI state 220 during a second time interval based on a second code point 225 in the downlink control message.

[0081] In some example embodiments, UE 110 may determine, based on receiving a downlink control message that configures UE 110 to perform a sequential TCI state switching operation, a TCI state ID indicated by a sequence of TCI code points for a predetermined duration / interval.

[0082] In some example embodiments, UE 110 may determine, within a predetermined duration, to sequentially apply at least one next TCI state ID indicated by the next TCI code point when a predetermined time interval has elapsed (or the next interval / duration begins) for determining that the TCI state currently applied for the TCI code point has been applied.

[0083] In some example embodiments, based on receiving a downlink control message configuring UE 110 to perform sequential TCI state switching operations, UE 110 can determine to apply each TCI state indicated by the TCI code point sequence for a predetermined time interval. The predetermined time interval may be based at least in part on a duration value received via RRC signaling.

[0084] In some example embodiments, when the downlink control message configuring the UE 110 to perform a sequential TCI state switching operation includes an indication of a time interval, the UE 110 may apply at least one TCI state indicated by a code point to the time interval provided by the downlink control message as the indicated TCI state.

[0085] In some example embodiments, UE 110 may, upon receiving a control message configuring UE 110 to perform, at least one of beam prediction (UE beam prediction) and / or reporting or measurement of prediction results (e.g., for NW beam prediction). For example, UE 110 may receive another control message including configuration for configuring UE 110 to perform at least one of the following: beam prediction, reporting or measurement of the results of beam prediction, and performing at least one of the following based on the other control message: beam prediction, reporting or measurement of the results of beam prediction.

[0086] Upon receiving a configuration from UE 110 to perform a sequential TCI state switching operation, UE 110 may apply at least each of the TCI states within a duration / interval, and determine the time interval based on at least one of the following: ● Based at least in part on RRC configuration; ● Based at least in part on the forecast period / multiple of the forecast period; ● Based at least in part on the forecast reporting period; ● Based at least in part on the measurement period of the measurement used as input to the predictor; ● Based at least in part on the measurement period of the measurement to be reported to the network.

[0087] In some example embodiments, based on receiving a downlink control message configuring UE 110 to perform sequential TCI state switching operations, UE 110 can determine that at least one instance in a predetermined duration or TCI state instance sequence is associated with multiple TCI states. UE 110 can then determine the TCI state as an activated TCI state for DCI-based beam indication and receive a DCI indicating a code point value from the set of activated TCI states. UE 110 can also apply the TCI state as an indicated TCI state for a predetermined duration. For example, UE 110 can determine that at least one time interval TCI state is associated with multiple TCI states, determine the multiple TCI states as activated TCI states for beam indication based on downlink control indication DCI, receive a DCI indicating one or more code points, where each code point indicates at least one TCI state from the activated TCI states, and apply the at least one TCI state as an indicated TCI state for the at least one time interval.

[0088] In some example embodiments, UE 110 may apply at least one TCI state indicated by code points in a code point sequence for a defined duration to receive or transmit at least one of the following: PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, probe reference signal, SRS, uplink signal / channel, or downlink signal / channel.

[0089] Figure 8 Example apparatus capable of supporting at least some example embodiments is shown. A device 800 is shown, which may include, for example, a UE 110 or a wireless network node 120, or a control device configured to potentially control its functionality when installed therein. Device 800 includes a processor 810, which may include, for example, a single-core or multi-core processor, wherein a single-core processor includes one processing core, and a multi-core processor includes more than one processing core. Processor 810 typically includes a control device. Processor 810 may include more than one processor. Processor 810 may be a control device. Processor 810 may include at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Processor 810 may include at least one field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Processor 810 may be means for performing method steps in device 800. Processor 810 may be configured at least partially by computer instructions to perform actions.

[0090] A processor may include, or be configured as, one or more circuits configured to perform stages of the methods according to the exemplary embodiments described herein. As used herein, the term “circuit” may refer to one or more of the following: (a) a hardware-only circuit implementation, such as an 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) a hardware processor with any part of software (including (multiple) digital signal processors, software, and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions); and (c) a hardware circuitry and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion thereof, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation is not required.

[0091] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term in this application (including in any claim). As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit" also covers implementations of hardware circuitry or processors (or processors in general) and their accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuit" also covers, 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.

[0092] Device 800 may include memory 820. Memory 820 may include random access memory and / or permanent memory. Memory 820 may include at least one RAM chip. For example, memory 820 may include solid-state, magnetic, optical, and / or holographic memory. Memory 820 may be at least partially accessible by processor 810. Memory 820 may be at least partially included in processor 810. Memory 820 may be a means for storing information. Memory 820 may include computer instructions configured to be executed by processor 810. When computer instructions configured to cause processor 810 to perform certain actions are stored in memory 820, and device 800 as a whole is configured to operate under the guidance of processor 810 using computer instructions from memory 820, processor 810 and / or at least one of its processing cores may be considered to be configured to perform said certain actions. Memory 820 may be at least partially included in processor 810. Memory 820 may be at least partially external to device 800, but accessible by device 800.

[0093] Device 800 may include a transmitter 830. Device 800 may include a receiver 840. Transmitter 830 and receiver 840 may be configured to transmit and receive information according to at least one cellular or non-cellular standard, respectively. Transmitter 830 may include more than one transmitter. Receiver 840 may include more than one receiver. For example, transmitter 830 and / or receiver 840 may be configured to operate according to Global System for Mobile Communications System (GSMA), GSM, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE, and / or 5G / NR standards.

[0094] Device 800 may include a near-field communication (NFC) transceiver 850. The NFC transceiver 850 may support at least one NFC technology, such as Bluetooth, Wibree, or similar technologies.

[0095] Device 800 may include a user interface (UI) 860. UI 860 may include at least one of a display, keyboard, touchscreen, vibrator arranged to signal to the user by causing device 800 to vibrate, speaker, and microphone. The user may be able to operate device 800 via UI 860, for example, to accept incoming telephone calls, initiate telephone or video calls, browse the internet, manage digital files stored in memory 820 or accessible in the cloud via transmitter 830 and receiver 840 or via NFC transceiver 850, and / or play games.

[0096] Device 800 may include or be arranged to accept a user identity module 870. User identity module 870 may include, for example, a subscriber identity module SIM card that can be installed in device 800. User identity module 870 may include subscription information identifying the user of device 800. User identity module 870 may include password information that can be used to verify the identity of the user of device 800 and / or facilitate the encryption of transmitted information and billing of the user of device 800 for communications performed via device 800.

[0097] Processor 810 may be equipped with a transmitter arranged to output information from processor 810 to other devices included in device 800 via electrical leads within device 800. Such a transmitter may include a serial bus transmitter arranged to output information to memory 820 for storage, for example, via at least one electrical lead. Alternatively, the transmitter may include a parallel bus transmitter. Similarly, processor 810 may include a receiver arranged to receive information from other devices included in device 800 via electrical leads within device 800. Such a receiver may include a serial bus receiver arranged to receive information from receiver 840, for example, via at least one electrical lead, for processing within processor 810. Alternatively, the receiver may include a parallel bus receiver.

[0098] Device 800 may include Figure 8 Other devices not shown. For example, in the case where device 800 includes a smartphone, it may include at least one digital camera. Some devices 800 may include a rear camera and a front camera, wherein the rear camera may be designed for digital photography and the front camera for video calling. Device 800 may include a fingerprint sensor arranged to at least partially authenticate the user of device 800. In some example embodiments, device 800 lacks at least one of the above-mentioned devices. For example, some devices 800 may lack an NFC transceiver 850 and / or a user identity module 870.

[0099] Processor 810, memory 820, transmitter 830, receiver 840, NFC transceiver 850, UI 860, and / or user identity module 870 can be interconnected in various ways via electrical leads within device 800. For example, each of the above devices can be individually connected to the main bus within device 800 to allow the devices to exchange information. However, as those skilled in the art will understand, this is merely an example, and various ways of interconnecting at least two of the above devices can be chosen depending on the exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment.

[0100] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of a first method according to at least some example embodiments. The stages of the first method shown can be performed by the UE 110 or by a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0101] The first method may include, at step 910, receiving a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a time-domain configuration for TCI state switching. The first method may further include, at step 920, performing the TCI state switching based on the time-domain configuration.

[0102] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a second method according to at least some example embodiments. The stages of the first method shown can be performed by the UE 110 or by a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0103] The second method may include, at step 1010, receiving a downlink control message including a configuration, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval, for performing a TCI state switch. The second method may further include, at step 1020, performing the TCI state switch based on the configuration.

[0104] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of a third method according to at least some example embodiments. The stages of the first method shown can be performed by the UE 110 or by a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0105] The third method may include: at step 1110, receiving a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a periodic configuration for performing periodic TCI state switching. The third method may further include: at step 1120, performing the periodic TCI state switching based on the periodic configuration.

[0106] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of a fourth method according to at least some example embodiments. The stages of the first method shown can be performed by the UE 110 or by a control device configured to potentially control its functions when installed therein.

[0107] The fourth method may include, at step 1210, receiving a downlink control message including configuration for transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state switching. The fourth method may further include, at step 1220, determining, based on the configuration, at least one first TCI state for use during a first time interval. Additionally, the fourth method may include, at step 1230, determining, based on the configuration, at least one second TCI state for use during a second time interval, wherein the first and second time intervals do not overlap. Finally, the fourth method may include, at step 1240, performing the TCI state switching based on the determination.

[0108] It should be understood that the disclosed example embodiments are not limited to the specific structures, process steps, or materials disclosed herein, but are extended to their equivalents, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art. It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0109] Throughout this specification, any reference to an exemplary embodiment or an exemplary embodiment implies that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the exemplary embodiment is included in at least one exemplary embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one exemplary embodiment" or "in an exemplary embodiment" appearing in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same exemplary embodiment. Precise numerical values ​​are also disclosed where terms such as, for example, approximately or substantially, are used to refer to numerical values.

[0110] As used herein, for convenience, multiple items, structural elements, constituent elements, and / or materials may be presented in a common list. However, these lists should be interpreted as if each member of the list were individually identified as a separate and unique member. Therefore, without indication to the contrary, any individual member of such a list should not be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in the common group. Furthermore, various exemplary embodiments and examples may be cited herein along with alternatives to their various components. It should be understood that such exemplary embodiments, examples, and alternatives should not be construed as de facto equivalents of each other, but should be considered as separate and autonomous representations.

[0111] In the example embodiments, an apparatus such as, for example, UE 110 or wireless network node 120 may include components for performing the example embodiments described above and any combination thereof.

[0112] In exemplary embodiments, a computer program may be configured to cause a method according to the above exemplary embodiments and any combination thereof. In exemplary embodiments, a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be configured to control a processor to perform processes including the above exemplary embodiments and any combination thereof.

[0113] In example embodiments, an apparatus such as, for example, UE 110 or wireless network node 120 may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured together with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform at least the example embodiments described above and any combination thereof.

[0114] Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more exemplary embodiments. Numerous specific details, such as examples of length, width, shape, etc., have been provided in the foregoing description to provide a thorough understanding of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that this disclosure can be practiced without one or more specific details or using other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations have not been shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of this disclosure.

[0115] While the foregoing examples illustrate the principles of exemplary embodiments in one or more specific applications, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications can be made to the form, use, and details of the implementations without inventive effort and without departing from the principles and concepts of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited except by the claims set forth below.

[0116] The verbs “comprising” and “including” are used herein as open-ended restrictions, neither excluding nor requiring the presence of any unlisted features. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the features recited in the dependent claims may be freely combined with each other. Furthermore, it should be understood that the use of “a” or “an,” i.e., the singular form, throughout this document does not exclude a plurality.

[0117] Industrial applicability At least some example embodiments have found industrial applications in cellular communication networks, such as in 3GPP networks using beamforming.

[0118] List of abbreviations 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project BM Beam Management BS base station CE control elements DCI Downlink Control Information DL downlink DU Distributed Unit GSM Global Mobile Communication System IAB Integration Access and Backhaul ID identifier IoT (Internet of Things) LTE Long Term Evolution MAC Media Access Control M2M (Machine-to-Machine) MT mobile terminal NFC (Near Field Communication) NR New Radio PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel QCL Quasi-co-located RAN (Radio Access Network) RAT Radio Access Technology RRC Radio Resource Control SI switching interval SR scheduling request SRS Detection Reference Signal TCI Transport Configuration Indicator UE User Equipment UI (User Interface) UL UL WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access WiMAX Global Microwave Access Interoperability WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) List of reference numerals

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by said at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: - Receive a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a configuration, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, wherein each code point is associated with a time interval and indicates at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval, for performing a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and - Perform the TCI state switch based on the configuration.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each code point is associated with a specific time interval.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the downlink control message includes one or more time interval fields, each time interval field indicating the specific time interval for each of the one or more code points.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more code points share a common time interval.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the downlink control message includes the common time interval.

6. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the TCI state switching includes using at least one first TCI state for a first time interval and using at least one second TCI state for a second time interval, wherein the first time interval and the second time interval do not overlap.

7. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a first code point of the one or more code points indicates at least one first TCI state to be used during a first time interval, and a second code point of the one or more code points indicates at least one second TCI state to be used during a second time interval, wherein the first time interval and the second time interval do not overlap.

8. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the downlink control message includes a field indicating whether the one or more code points are a time-domain sequence indicating a TCI state to be activated or a set of TCI states to be activated.

9. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more code points are listed in an order in which the apparatus will use the TCI states indicated by the one or more code points.

10. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one processing core and the at least one memory further enable the apparatus to at least: - Switch to the next code point after the time interval elapsed since the previous switch.

11. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one processing core and the at least one memory further enable the apparatus to at least: - The TCI state switch is initiated after the downlink control message is confirmed; or - The TCI state transition is initiated after the delay timer; or - The TCI state switch is initiated after the delay timer is completed and after the downlink control message is acknowledged.

12. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by said at least one processing core, causing the apparatus to at least: - Determine a configuration for configuring the user equipment to perform a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to which the user equipment should switch for the time interval; and - Transmit a downlink control message including the configuration to the user equipment to configure the user equipment to perform the TCI state handover.

13. A method comprising: - The user equipment receives a downlink control message, the downlink control message including a configuration, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, wherein each code point is associated with a time interval and indicates at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval, for performing a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; as well as The user equipment performs the TCI state switch based on the configuration.

14. A method comprising: - A configuration is determined by the wireless network node for configuring the user equipment to perform a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval; and - The wireless network node transmits a downlink control message, including the configuration, to the user equipment to configure the user equipment to perform the TCI state switch.

15. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform: - A downlink control message is received by the user equipment, the downlink control message including a configuration, wherein the configuration includes one or more code points, each code point being associated with a time interval and indicating at least one TCI state to be switched to for the time interval, for performing a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switch; and - The TCI state switch is performed by the user equipment based on the configuration.

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