Pre-configured grants for multi-panel uplink transmission

Abstract

A system and method are provided for configured grants for multi-panel uplink (UL) transmission. In some embodiments, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) for transmitting PUSCH configured grants to multiple TRPs includes receiving at least one configuration of an integrated TCI state indicating mTRP operation, receiving an indication of the configured grant indicating either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using simultaneous transmission over multiple panels (STxMP), and transmitting PUSCH according to the configuration. In this way, the integrated TCI state framework can be extended to mTRP and multi-panel transmission for configured grants. In the integrated TCI state framework, a separate spatial relationship does not need to be configured for UL transmission. Thus, the integrated TCI state framework can provide some upper layer overhead savings. By extending the integrated TCI state framework for mTRP and multi-panel transmission for configured grants, configured grant-based PUSCH can also take advantage of this advantage.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to transmitting with multiple transmit receive points (TRPs). [Background technology]

[0002] In NR, several signals may be transmitted from different antenna ports of the same base station. These signals may have the same large-scale characteristics, such as Doppler shift / spread, average delay spread, or average delay. These antenna ports are then said to be quasi co-located (QCL).

[0003] If the UE knows that two antenna ports are QCL'd with respect to a certain parameter (e.g., Doppler spread), the UE can estimate that parameter based on one of the antenna ports and apply the estimate to receive signals on the other antenna port.

[0004] For example, there may be a QCL relationship between the CSI-RS for tracking RS (TRS) and the PDSCH DMRS. When the UE receives the PDSCH DMRS, the UE may use measurements already made on the TRS to assist in DMRS reception.

[0005] Information regarding what assumptions can be made regarding the QCL is signaled from the network to the UE. In NR, four types of QCL relationships between the transmitted source RS and the transmitted target RS have been defined. Type A: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, delay spread} Type B: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread} Type C: {average delay, Doppler shift} Type D: {Spatial Rx parameters}

[0006] QCL type D was introduced to facilitate beam management using analog beamforming and is known as spatial QCL. Currently, there is no strict definition of spatial QCL in NR, but the understanding is that if two transmitted antenna ports are spatially QCLed, the UE can use the same Rx beam to receive those antenna ports. This is helpful for a UE that uses analog beamforming to receive a signal, as the UE needs to adjust its RX beam in a direction before receiving a signal. If the UE knows that a signal is spatially QCLed with some other signal that the UE received before, the UE can safely use the same RX beam to receive this signal as well. Note that for beam management, the discussion mostly revolves around QCL type D, but it is also necessary to convey the type A QCL relationship for the RS to the UE so that the UE can estimate all the relevant large-scale parameters.

[0007] Typically, this is achieved by configuring the UE with a CSI-RS (TRS) to track for time / frequency offset estimation. To be able to use any QCL reference, the UE will have to receive that QCL reference with a sufficiently good SINR. In many cases, this means that the TRS must be transmitted to a UE in a preferred beam.

[0008] To introduce dynamics in beam and transmission reception point (TRP) selection, up to 128 transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states can be configured in the UE through RRC signaling. The TCI state information elements are shown below (excerpted from 3GPP TS38.331): TIFF2024542152000002.tif89170

[0009] Each TCI state contains QCL information related to one or two RSs. For example, a TCI state may contain CSI-RS1 associated with QCL type A and CSI-RS2 associated with QCL type D. If a third RS, for example, PDCCH DMRS, has this TCI state as a QCL source, it means that when the UE performs channel estimation for the PDCCH DMRS, it can derive the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread from CSI-RS1 and the spatial Rx parameters (i.e., the RX beam to use) from CSI-RS2.

[0010] A first list of available TCI states is configured for the PDSCH and a second list of TCI states is configured for the PDCCH. Each TCI state contains a pointer, known as a TCI state ID, that points to the TCI state. The network then activates, via the MAC CE, one TCI state for the PDCCH (i.e. provides a TCI state for the PDCCH) and up to eight TCI states for the PDSCH. The number of active TCI states that a UE supports is a UE capability, with a maximum value of eight.

[0011] Assume that the UE has four activated TCI states (out of a list of 64 configured TCI states overall). Thus, 60 TCI states are inactive for this particular UE, and the UE does not need to be ready to have large scale parameters estimated for those inactive TCI states. However, the UE continuously tracks and updates the large scale parameters for RSs in the four active TCI states. When scheduling a PDSCH to the UE, the DCI contains a pointer to one activated TCI state. The UE then knows which large scale parameter estimate to use when performing PDSCH DMRS channel estimation, and therefore PDSCH demodulation.

[0012] As long as the UE can use any of the currently activated TCI states, it is sufficient to use DCI signaling. However, at a certain point in time, none of the source RSs currently in the activated TCI states can be received by the UE, i.e., when the UE moves outside the beam where the source RSs in the activated TCI states are transmitted. When this happens (or before this actually happens), the gNB will have to activate a new TCI state. Since the maximum number of activated TCI states is generally fixed, the gNB will also have to deactivate one or more of the currently activated TCI states.

[0013] The two-step procedure involved in TCI state update is shown in Figure 1, which illustrates the two-stage TCI state update. The selected TCI state is selected from the activated set of TCI states using the DCI, and the set of activated TCI states is updated using the MAC CE.

[0014] Currently, there exists one or more problems: TCI state activation / deactivation for UE specific PDSCH via MAC CE

[0015] Next, details of the MAC CE signaling used to activate / deactivate the TCI state for a UE-specific PDSCH are provided. The structure of the MAC CE for activating / deactivating the TCI state for a UE-specific PDSCH is given in Figure 2 (Activate / Deactivate TCI State for UE-Specific PDSCH MAC CE (Extracted from Figure 6.1.3.14-1 of 3GPP TS38.321)).

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the MAC CE includes the following fields: Serving Cell ID: This field indicates the identity of the serving cell to which the MAC CE applies. The length of the field is 5 bits. BWP ID: This field contains the ID corresponding to the downlink bandwidth portion to which the MAC CE applies. The BWP ID is given by the higher layer parameter BWP-Id specified in 3GPP TS 38.331. The length of the BWP ID field is 2 bits since up to 4 BWPs for DL ​​can be configured in the UE. A variable number of fields T i If the UE is configured with a TCI state IDi, the field T i indicates the activation / deactivation status of the TCI state with TCI state IDi. If the UE does not have a TCI state with TCI state IDi, the MAC entity i The field shall be ignored. i The field is set to "1" to indicate that the TCI state with TCI state IDi is activated and shall be mapped to the codepoint of the DCI transmission configuration indication field, as specified in 3GPP TS 38.214 / 38.321. i The field is set to '0' to indicate that the TCI state with TCI status IDi shall be deactivated and shall not be mapped to a code point in the DCI transmission configuration indication field. i Note that the TCI state is determined by its ordinal position among all TCI states with a TCI field set to "1". i The first TCI state with the field shall be mapped to code point value 0 of the DCI transmission configuration indication field, and the T iThe second TCI state with field shall be mapped to code point value 1 in the DCI transmission configuration indication field, and so on. In NR Rel-15, the maximum number of activated TCI states is 8. Reserved Bit R: This bit is set to “0” in NR Rel-15.

[0017] It should be noted that the TCI state activation / deactivation for the UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE is identified by the MAC PDU subheader with the Logical Channel ID (LCID) specified in Table 6.2.1-1 of 3GPP TS38.321 (this table is reproduced below in Table 1). The MAC CE for TCI state activation / deactivation for the UE-specific PDSCH has a variable size.

[0018] TCI Status Indication for UE Specific PDSCH via DCI

[0019] The gNB can use DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 to indicate to the UE that the UE shall use one of the activated TCI states for subsequent PDSCH reception. The field used in the DCI is the transmission configuration indication, which is 3 bits if tci-PresentInDCI is "enabled" by higher layer signaling or tci-PresentForDCI-Format1-2-r16 is present for DCI formats 1_1 and DCI1_2, respectively. An example of such a DCI indication is shown in Figure 3 (example of DCI indication for TCI states. DCI gives a pointer to an ordered list of activated TCI states).

[0020] In the example of Figure 3, DCI codepoint 0 indicates the first TCI state index (e.g., TCI3) in a list of TCI states, DCI codepoint 1 indicates the second TCI state index (e.g., TCI7) in the list, and so on.

[0021] Multi-TRP TCI state operation

[0022] In Release 16, multi-TRP (multiple transmit receive point) operation is specified, which has two operation modes: single DCI based multi-TRP and multiple DCI based multi-TRP.

[0023] In NR Rel-16, multiple DCI scheduling is for multi-TRP where a UE may receive two DCIs, each of which schedules a PDSCH / PUSCH. Both the PDCCH and the PDSCH scheduled via the PDCCH are transmitted from the same TRP.

[0024] For multi-DCI multi-TRP operation, two CORESET pools, each associated with a TRP, need to be configured in the UE. Each CORESET pool is a collection of CORESETs that belong to the same CORESET pool. The CORESET pool index can be set to a value of 0 or 1 in each CORESET. For the two DCIs in the above example, they are transmitted in two CORESETs that belong to different CORESET pools (i.e., with CORESETPoolIndex 0 and 1, respectively). For each CORESET pool, the same TCI state operation methods for activation / deactivation / indication as those described in 2.2-2.3 are assumed.

[0025] The other multi-TRP mode, single DCI based mTRP, requires two DL TCI states to be associated with one DCI code point in the TCI field in the DCI, i.e., when the TCI field code point in the DCI indicates two TCI states, each TCI state corresponds to a different beam or a different TRP. The activation and mapping of the two TCI states for the code points in the TCI field of the DCI is performed using the following MAC CE from 3GPP TS38.321:

[0026] Enhanced TCI state activation / deactivation for UE specific PDSCH MAC CE

[0027] The enhanced TCI state activation / deactivation for UE specific PDSCH MAC CE is identified by a MAC PDU subheader with the eLCID specified in Table 6.2.1-1b. An example of this is shown in Figure 4. It has a variable size consisting of the following fields: - Serving Cell ID: This field indicates the identity of the serving cell to which the MAC CE applies. The length of the field is 5 bits. - BWP ID: This field indicates the DL BWP to which the MAC CE applies as a code point of the DCI Bandwidth Fraction Indicator field specified in TS 38.212 [9]. The length of the BWP ID field is 2 bits. - C i :This field is the TCI state ID i,2 If this field is set to "1", it indicates whether an octet containing the TCI status ID is present. i,2 If this field is set to "0", the TCI state ID is i,2 There is no octet containing - TCI Status ID i,j This field indicates the TCI state identified by TCI-StateId as specified in TS 38.331 [5], where i is the index of the codepoint of the DCI transmission configuration indication field as specified in TS 38.212 [9], and the TCI state ID i,j indicates the j-th TCI state indicated for the i-th code point in the DCI transmission configuration indication field. The TCI code point to which the TCI state is mapped is the TCI state ID i,jThe TCI status is determined by the ordinal position of the TCI codepoint among all TCI codepoints that accompany the set of fields, i.e., the TCI status ID. 0,1 and TCI State ID 0,2 shall be mapped to codepoint value 0, and the first TCI codepoint with 1,1 and TCI State ID 1,2 The second TCI codepoint with a TCI status ID shall be mapped to codepoint value 1, and so on. i,2 is C i Optional, as indicated by the fields. The maximum number of activated TCI codepoints is 8, and the maximum number of TCI states mapped to a TCI codepoint is 2. - R: Reserved bit set to "0".

[0028] Rel-17 TCI State Framework

[0029] 3GPP Rel-17 will specify a new unified TCI state framework that aims to streamline the indication of transmit / receive spatial filters (and other QCL characteristics) to the UE by having a single TCI state indicate QCL characteristics for multiple different DL and / or UL signals / channels.

[0030] At meeting RAN1#103-e, it was agreed that the new unified TCI state framework should include a three-stage TCI state indication (in a manner similar to that described above for PDSCH) for all or a subset of all DL and / or UL channels / signals. In the first stage, RRC is used to configure a pool of TCI states. In the second stage, one or more of the RRC configured TCI states are activated via MAC-CE signaling and associated with different TCI field code points in DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2. Finally, in the third stage, DCI signaling is used to select one of the TCI states (or two TCI states, if separate TCI states are used for DL ​​and UL channels / signals) activated via MAC-CE.

[0031] In the RAN1#103-e meeting, it was agreed to support both joint beam indication ("joint DL / UL TCI") and separate DL / UL beam indication ("separate DL / UL TCI"), as seen in the following agreement. In the case of joint DL / UL TCI, a single TCI state (which may be, for example, a DL TCI state or a joint TCI state) is used to determine the transmit / receive spatial filters for both DL and UL signals / channels. In the case of separate DL / UL TCI, one TCI state (e.g., DL TCI state) may be used to indicate the receive spatial filters for DL ​​signals / channels, and a separate TCI state (e.g., UL TCI state) may be used to indicate the transmit spatial filters for UL signals / channels.

[0032] agreement

[0033] On the beam direction signaling medium to support joint DL / UL beam direction or separate DL / UL beam direction in the Rel.17 unified TCI framework, Support L1 based beam direction using at least UE specific (unicast) DCI to indicate joint DL / UL beam direction or separate DL / UL beam direction from active TCI state Existing DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2 are reused for beam direction Supports activation of one or more TCI states via MAC CE, similar to Rel.15 / 16

[0034] agreement

[0035] To accommodate the case of separate beam pointing for UL and DL on the Rel-17 unified TCI framework, Utilizes two separate TCI states, one TCI state for DL ​​and one TCI state for UL. For separate DL TCI, o The source reference signal(s) in the M TCIs provide QCL information at least for UE-dedicated reception on the PDSCH and for UE-dedicated reception on all or a subset of the CORESET in the CC For separate UL TCI, o The source reference signal(s) in the N TCIs provide a reference for determining the common UL TX spatial filter(s) for at least dynamic grant / configured grant based PUSCH, all or a subset of the dedicated PUCCH resources in the CC Optionally, this UL TX spatial filter may also be applied to all SRS resources in the resource set(s) configured for antenna switched / codebook-based / non-codebook-based UL transmission FFS: Whether the UL TCI state is taken from a common / same TCI state pool or a separate TCI state pool from the DL TCI state

[0036] It was further agreed that in the "Joint DL / UL TCI" case and in the "Separate DL / UL TCI" case, DL large-scale QCL characteristics similar to the Rel-15 / 16 TCI state framework will be inferred from one RS (qcl-Type1) or two RSs (qcl-Type1 and qcl-Type2). Also, in the "Joint DL / UL TCI" case, the UL spatial filter will be derived from the DL QCL Type D RS.

[0037] URLLC reliability for mTRP operation

[0038] In NR rel-16 mTRP (multi-TRP) reliability enhancement, as specified for PDSCH, by repeating PDSCH transmission (using TDM / FDM or SDM) on two different TRPs. In NR Rel-17, URLLC reliability enhancement will also be extended for PUSCH and PUCCH by using TDM repetition from two different TRPs. In order to quickly switch between sTRP (single-TRP) operation (typically useful for eMBB applications) and mTRP operation (typically useful for URLLC applications), it was agreed to support dynamic switching between these two operating modes. See the following agreement from RAN1#105e.

[0039] agreement

[0040] Verify the working assumptions (which involve supporting 2 bits for the new field). For indicating STRP / MTRP dynamic switching for non-CB / CB-based MTRP PUSCH repetition, o Introduce a new field in the DCI to indicate at least S-TRP or M-TRP operation. The new field is 2 bits

[0041] agreement

[0042] Supports Alternative 1 (Modified) for new fields in DCI for dynamic switching.

[0043] Alternative 1 supports 2 bits with the following combinations: The SRS resource set with an ID lower than TIFF2024542152000003.tif77170 is the first SRS resource set, and the other SRS resource set is the second SRS resource set.

[0044] In the above agreement, two SRI (SRS resource indicator) fields in the DCI are used to indicate SRS resources corresponding to two TRPs. The SRS resources provide spatial relationships corresponding to the two TRPs, which are used to derive spatial transmit filters (one or more) corresponding to the two TRPs. For example, a first SRI field provides a first spatial relationship corresponding to a first TRP, which is used to transmit one or more PUSCH transmission opportunities (or PUSCH repetitions) corresponding to the first TRP. Similarly, a second SRI field provides a second spatial relationship corresponding to a second TRP, which is used to transmit one or more PUSCH transmission opportunities (or PUSCH repetitions) corresponding to the second TRP. It should be noted that the term TRP may not be specified in the 3GPP specifications. Instead, the term SRI may be used in the 3GPP specifications, which is understood to represent a TRP.

[0045] UL transmission to multiple transmission points (TRP)

[0046] PDSCH transmission using multiple transmission points has been introduced in 3GPP for NR Rel-16, where a transport block can be transmitted on multiple TRPs to improve transmission reliability.

[0047] In NR Rel-17, it was proposed to introduce UL enhancement with multiple TRPs by transmitting PUCCH or PUSCH towards different TRPs at different times (either in different slots or in different sets of symbols within a slot, also known as sometimes called subslots or minislots), as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 shows an example of PUCCH / PUSCH transmission towards multiple TRPs to increase reliability.

[0048] In one scenario, multiple PUCCH / PUSCH transmissions, each towards a different TRP, may be scheduled by a single DCI. For example, multiple spatial relationships (i.e., spatial beams) may be activated for PUCCH resources, and the PUCCH resources may be signaled in a DCI that schedules a PDSCH. The HARQ A / N associated with the PDSCH is then carried by the PUCCH, which is then repeated multiple times, either within a slot or across multiple slots, each repetition towards a different TRP. An example is shown in Figure 6, where a PDSCH is scheduled by a DCI, and a corresponding HARQ A / N is sent in a PUCCH, which is repeated twice in time, once towards TRP#1 and once more towards TRP#2. Each TRP is associated with a PUCCH spatial relationship. Figure 6 shows an example of a single DCI-triggered PUCCH repetition, each towards a different TRP.

[0049] An example of PUSCH repetition is shown in Figure 7, where two PUSCH repetitions for the same TB are scheduled by a single DCI, and each PUSCH opportunity is transmitted towards a different TRP. Figure 7 shows exemplary PUSCH repetitions, each towards a different TRP. Each TRP is associated with an SRI or UL TCI state signaled in the DCI. Note that the spatial transmit filter used to transmit a PUSCH repetition towards a given TRP is provided by the corresponding SRI or UL TCI state.

[0050] Power control for a new integrated DL / UL TCI framework

[0051] In Rel-17, it was agreed that a set of UL PC parameters (P0, alpha, closed loop index) may be associated with a joint / UL TCI state (joint / UL TCI states are described in Section 2.5). It was also agreed that there may be two different sets of UL PC parameters per joint / UL TCI state, one set for PUCCH and one set for PUSCH. It was also previously agreed that the PL-RS (path loss reference signal) may be associated with a joint / UL TCI state. Exactly how that association is configured and signaled to the UE is still under discussion in 3GPP.

[0052] Pre-defined grants in NR

[0053] In addition to dynamic scheduling, semi-persistent scheduling of PUSCH using configured grants (CGs) is also supported in NR. There are two types of CG-based PUSCH supported in NR: CG type 1 and CG type 2. In CG type 1 PUSCH, all parameters are configured by RRC, including periodicity and time domain offset, resource allocation, MCS, power control parameters (i.e., alpha, P0, closed-loop index, and PL-RS), SRS resource indicator, precoding matrix, and number of layers. Therefore, CG type 1 PUSCH is also called RRC-configured CG.

[0054] In CG type 2 PUSCH, CG PUSCH transmission is activated or deactivated by DCI. Some parameters, such as periodicity and some power control parameters (i.e., alpha, P0, closed loop index), are set by RRC. Other parameters, such as resource allocation, MCS, SRS resource indicator, precoding matrix, and number of layers, PL-RS, are indicated in the activation DCI.

[0055] The information element (IE) ConfiguredGrantConfig in RRC is used to configure PUSCH transmission without dynamic grant according to CG type 1 or CG type 2. Multiple CG configurations can be configured in one BWP of a serving cell. A part of the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE is shown below. ConfiguredGrantConfig Information Element TIFF2024542152000004.tif255170TIFF2024542152000005.tif51170

[0056] Some aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other problems. The configured grant operation for the integrated TCI state framework is currently specified mainly for sTRP operation in NR. How to support the configured grant operation for the integrated TCI state framework for mTRP operation and associated signaling details are still open issues that need to be resolved. In 3GPP, previous discussions on UL transmission for FR2 have been mainly for UEs with single panel transmission (at each time instance). How to enable simultaneous transmission across multiple panels (STxMP) is still an open issue, and some proposed methods to solve the issue for the new integrated TCI state framework were disclosed in a previous application entitled "Framework for simultaneous multi-panel UL transmission". Therefore, improved systems and methods for enabling transmission are needed. Summary of the Invention

[0057] A system and method are provided for configured grants for multi-panel uplink (UL) transmission. In some embodiments, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured grant to multiple transmit reception points (TRPs) includes receiving a configuration of at least one joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state indicating a multiple TRP (mTRP) operation, receiving an indication of the configured grant indicating either an mTRP operation using repetition or an mTRP operation using simultaneous transmission over multiple panels (STxMP), and transmitting a PUSCH according to the configuration of the joint TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant. In this manner, the joint TCI state framework can be extended to mTRP and multi-panel transmission for configured grants. In the joint TCI state framework, a separate spatial relationship does not need to be configured for UL transmission. Thus, the joint TCI state framework can provide some upper layer overhead savings. By extending the mTRP for configured grants and the unified TCI state framework for multi-panel transmissions, configured grant-based PUSCH can also leverage this advantage.

[0058] In some embodiments, a method performed by a network node for receiving a PUSCH configured grant includes transmitting to a UE at least one configuration of an integrated TCI state instructing an mTRP operation, transmitting to the UE an indication of the configured grant instructing either an mTRP operation using repetition or an mTRP operation using STxMP, and receiving from the UE a PUSCH in accordance with the configuration of the integrated TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant.

[0059] In some embodiments, the received configuration includes at least two aggregate TCI states.

[0060] In some embodiments, the received setting of at least one aggregate TCI state indicates UL transmission to two TRPs.

[0061] In some embodiments, the received configuration for at least one joint TCI state directs UL transmission to two TRPs by applying two joint / UL TCI states.

[0062] In some embodiments, the indication explicitly indicates mTRP operation using either STxMP or repetition. In some embodiments, the indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through one of the group consisting of RRC signaling and DCI.

[0063] In some embodiments, the indication of the configured grant includes a single CG PUSCH configuration associated with the first common beam and the second common beam using STxMP. In some embodiments, there is an association between coresetPoolIndex and CG-PUSCH.

[0064] In some embodiments, other indications of mTRP operation using repetition for configured grants are ignored by the UE. In some embodiments, the UE ignores the setting of one or both of the parameters "p0-PUSCH-Alpha" and "powerControlLoopToUse" configured in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE.

[0065] In some embodiments, the explicit indication is set in a new field in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE.

[0066] In some embodiments, the explicit indication is indicated in a field in the UL DCI, with one code point indicating mTRP operation using repetition and one code point indicating mTRP operation using STxMP.

[0067] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0068] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a two-step procedure involved in transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state updating. [Diagram 2] A diagram showing the structure of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for activating / deactivating a TCI state for a user equipment (UE) specific physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a Downlink Control Information (DCI) indication of a TCI state. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) subheader with extended Logical Channel ID (eLCID). [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) / Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission towards multiple transmit receive points (TRPs) to increase reliability. [Figure 6] 13A-13C are diagrams illustrating an example of single DCI-triggered PUCCH repetitions, each towards a different TRP. [Figure 7] 1A-1C each illustrate an exemplary PUSCH repetition for a different TRP. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system, according to some embodiments. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 illustrates a UE according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 illustrates a network node according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] 9 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of FIG. 8 in accordance with various aspects described herein. [Figure 12]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. [Figure 13] 1 is a communication diagram of a host communicating with a UE via a network node over a partial wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0069] The embodiments described below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best modes of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and recognize applications of these concepts not specifically addressed herein. It is to be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0070] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: The embodiments are provided by way of example and to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0071] Some embodiments herein include a signaling framework to support configured grant mTRP operation (for both repetition and STxMP) for an integrated TCI state framework.

[0072] Some embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages(s): In some embodiments, a method in a UE for transmitting a PUSCH configured grant for multiple TRPs using an integrated TCI state framework includes one or more of receiving a configuration of the integrated TCI state framework indicating mTRP operation, receiving an indication of the configured grant indicating either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP, and transmitting a PUSCH according to the configuration of the integrated TCI state and the configuration of the configured grant.

[0073] In some embodiments, the received configuration for the unified TCI state framework indicates UL transmission to two TRPs (e.g., by applying two joint / UL TCI states). In some embodiments, the indication explicitly indicates mTRP operation using either STxMP or repetition. In some embodiments, the indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through DCI.

[0074] In some embodiments, other indications of mTRP operation using repetition for configured grants are ignored by the UE. In some embodiments, the UE ignores the setting of one or both of the parameters "p0-PUSCH-Alpha" and "powerControlLoopToUse" set in the ConfiguredGrantConfigIE as specified in TS38.331. In some embodiments, the explicit indication (of either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP) is set in a new bit field in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE as specified in TS38.331. In some embodiments, the explicit indication (of either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP) is indicated in a bit field in the UL DCI, with one code point indicating mTRP operation using repetition and one code point indicating mTRP operation using STxMP.

[0075] In the proposed solution, the unified TCI state framework can be extended to mTRP and multi-panel transmission for configured grants. In the unified TCI state framework, no separate spatial relationship needs to be configured for UL transmission. Thus, the unified TCI state framework can provide some upper layer overhead savings. By extending the unified TCI state framework for mTRP and multi-panel transmission for configured grants, configured grant-based PUSCH can also take advantage of this advantage.

[0076] A single CG is used for both sTRP and mTRP (STxMP and repetition) transmissions.

[0077] In one embodiment, for type 1 CG PUSCH, as specified in TS38.331, a new bit field is introduced in the ConfiguredGranConfig IE to indicate whether the UE shall implement CG-based mTRP PUSCH repetition or CG-based simultaneous mTRP PUSCH transmission across multiple panels (STxMP) when the UE is indicated by mTRP UL transmission (e.g., when the UE is configured with two applied joint / UL TCI states). Note that when the joint TCI state or UL TCI state is updated via DCI, the joint TCI state or UL TCI state is the applied joint TCI state or UL TCI state. When two joint TCI states or UL TCI states are updated via DCI, the joint TCI state or UL TCI state is the applied joint TCI state or UL TCI state. One schematic example of how this may look can be found in the table below. Here, a new parameter (herein called "mTRP-transmission-Type") is introduced. If the parameter "mTRP-transmission-Type" is set to STxMP, the UE should apply mTRP STxMP PUSCH transmission when configured for mTRP UL transmission for the configured grant. If the parameter "mTRP-transmission-Type" is set for mTRP PUSCH repetition (either within a slot or across multiple slots), the UE should implement mTRP PUSCH repetition (either within a slot or across multiple slots) when configured for mTRP UL transmission for the configured grant. ConfiguredGrantConfig Information Element TIFF2024542152000006.tif65170

[0078] In another embodiment, the "mTRP-transmission-Type" parameter shown in the above example is optionally configured in the UE. Based on the optional configuration of the "mTRP-transmission-Type" parameter, a new UE behavior is defined. If the optional parameter "mTRP-transmission-Type" is configured (e.g., the parameter is set to "STxMP"), the UE applies mTRP STxMP PUSCH transmission when configured for mTRP UL transmission for a configured grant. If the optional parameter "mTRP-transmission-Type" is not configured, the UE implements mTRP PUSCH repetition (either within a slot or across multiple slots) when configured for mTRP UL transmission for a configured grant.

[0079] In another variation of the above embodiment, if the optional parameter "mTRP-transmission-Type" is configured (e.g., the parameter is set to "STxMP"), the UE applies mTRP STxMP PUSCH transmission when configured for mTRP UL transmission for the configured grant. If the optional parameter "mTRP-transmission-Type" is not configured, the UE performs PUSCH transmission to a single TRP for the configured grant. This single TRP PUSCH transmission can consist of either a single repetition or multiple repetitions depending on the number of repetitions configured as part of the ConfiguredGrantConfig configuration in 3GPP TS38.331. It should be noted that for single TRP PUSCH transmission, the spatial transmission filter used is provided by the single SRI configured in the configured grant (i.e., the srs-ResourceIndicator configured as part of the ConfiguredGrantConfig information element in 3GPP TS38.331).

[0080] In one embodiment, for a UE with two joint / UL TCI states applied and with type 2 CG configured on the UE, a new (or old reused) bit field in the UL DCI is used to indicate whether the UE shall implement CG-based mTRP PUSCH repetition or CG-based mTRP PUSCH STxMP. In one alternative to this embodiment, the new bit field may also be used to indicate whether CG-based sTRP PUSCH transmission should be implemented (and if so, for which TRP). In one alternative to this embodiment, the new bit field introduced for the UL DCI in Rel-17 to indicate sTRP or mTRP PUSCH repetition is extended or reused such that at least one code point in this bit field is used to indicate CG-based mTRP PUSCH STxMP. Two schematic examples of how this bit field may look are shown below. TIFF2024542152000007.tif31170TIFF2024542152000008.tif36170

[0081] For simultaneous PUSCH transmission by a UE to multiple TRPs, the transmissions to the multiple TRPs may share the same time / frequency resources, referred to herein as spatial division multiplexing (SDM), or may use different frequency domain resources for different TRPs, referred to herein as frequency division multiplexing (FDM). Thus, the CG configuration may also indicate whether SDM or FDM is used.

[0082] Different data may be sent to different TRPs and may be associated with single or multiple transport blocks (TBs). In the case of a single TB, the TB will be coded in a single codeword (CW) and assigned a single MCS. In the case of multiple TBs, the TBs will be coded in different CWs, one for each TRP. Each of the CWs may have a different number of layers and a different MCS. Thus, the CG configuration may also indicate whether SDM or FDM is used, and further whether a single TB or multiple TBs are used. Alternatively, a single TB or multiple TBs are pre-determined by the specification. In the case of multiple TBs, a separate MCS for each CW may be set as part of the CG configuration.

[0083] For PUSCH transmission to multiple TRPs, the TRPs may be represented by a joint TCI state or a UL TCI state. Thus, multiple joint TCI states or UL TCI states may be configured for each CG PUSCH. A precoding matrix with the number of layers (in case of codebook-based PUSCH) and a set of power control parameters may be configured for each TRP.

[0084] In some embodiments, a precoding matrix with the number of layers (in case of codebook-based PUSCH) and / or a set of power control parameters may be configured as part of each integrated TCI state or UL TCI state. When multiple integrated TCI states or UL TCI states are configured for each CG PUSCH, the precoding matrix with the number of layers and / or the set of power control parameters configured in the multiple integrated TCI states or UL TCI states will be used for the CG PUSCH transmission.

[0085] In the case of SDM, different DMRS ports will be assigned for PUSCH transmission to different TRPs. The DMRS ports are assigned together and may be, for example, DMRS ports {x, y, z}, and their association to each TRP may be identified by the number of layers associated with each TRP. For example, if one layer is assigned to a first TRP and two layers are assigned to a second TRP, then DMRS port x is associated with the first TRP and DMRS port {y, z} is associated with the second TRP.

[0086] In the case of FDM, the same DMS port(s) may be used for PUSCH transmission to both TRPs. A single frequency domain resource may be assigned, and implicit rules may be used to partition resources among the multiple TRPs. For example, in the case of two TRPs and N RBs are assigned, the first TIFF2024542152000009.tif10170 RBs may be assigned to the first TRP, and the remaining PRBs may be assigned to the second TRP. In another example, in the case of two TRPs, and when N RBs are assigned, an odd number of RBs may be assigned to the first TRP, and an even number of RBs may be assigned to the second TRP.

[0087] For PUSCH transmission, the UE Tx antenna or panel is defined by the SRS resource. To transmit PUSCH simultaneously using two panels, two corresponding SRS resources need to be indicated to the UE. Note that when multiple UL TCI states or joint TCI states for CG PUSCH transmission are configured / instructed to the UE, the transmit spatial filter for CG PUSCH transmission is provided by the UL TCI state or joint TCI state. The spatial relationship associated with the SRS resource, if configured, does not provide the transmit spatial filter for CG PUSCH transmission in this embodiment. However, the SRS resource is used by the UE to determine the antenna port from which the CG PUSCH is transmitted.

[0088] In summary, for a CG PUSCH with STxMP to two TRPs, one or more of the following additional fields may be configured under ConfiguredGrantConfig as shown below (additional fields for configuring CG PUSCH): ConfiguredGrantConfig Information Element TIFF2024542152000010.tif151170

[0089] Multiple CGs are used for mTRP (STxMP and / or repetition) transmission.

[0090] In one embodiment, a CG may be associated with one or more common beams through RRC signaling. In a detailed embodiment, a new RRC field is included in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE specified in TS38.331, which may indicate which common beam(s) the CG should be associated with. The new field consists of several codepoints, each codepoint is associated with one option, and the candidate options may be, for example, one or more of the following: CG PUSCH is associated with the first common beam CG PUSCH is associated with the second common beam The CG PUSCH is associated with a first common beam and a second common beam using repetition.

[0091] In the above example, when the CG PUSCH is associated with a single common beam (either the first common beam or the second common beam), the CG PUSCH is transmitted toward a single TRP. When the CG PUSCH is associated with two common beams, the CG PUSCH is transmitted toward two TRPs. It should be noted that the common beams in the above example may be derived from UL TCI states or joint TCI states, and one common beam is derived from a single UL TCI state or joint TCI state. One common beam is essentially a spatial filter used to transmit the CG PUSCH derived from a single UL TCI state or joint TCI state. In a particular example, to associate the CG PUSCH with a single common beam, the single UL TCI state or joint TCI state is mapped to one code point in the RRC field. Similarly, to associate the CG PUSCH with two common beams, the two UL TCI states or joint TCI states are mapped to one code point in the RRC field.

[0092] In one embodiment, STxMP may be configured for a UE by configuring the UE with two different CGs, one CG associated with a first common beam and a second CG associated with a second common beam (STxMP occurs if the PUSCH time allocations for the two CGs at least partially overlap).

[0093] In another embodiment, the STxMP may be configured for a UE by configuring the UE with a single CG PUSCH configuration, where the CG PUSCH is associated with a first common beam and a second common beam that use the STxMP.

[0094] In one embodiment, for mDCI-based mTRP operation for the unified TCI state framework, the operation may be such that coresetPoolIndex is associated with a common beam index (or associated with the applied joint / UL TCI state). In this case, there may be an association between coresetPoolIndex and CG. In one detailed embodiment, a new field is included in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE that is used to indicate the association to coresetPoolIndex. In another detailed embodiment, the association between the configured grant and coresetPoolIndex is indicated through a new information element.

[0095] In some embodiments, when the UE is configured with the integrated TCI state framework, the UE should ignore the power control parameter(s) "p0-PUSCH-Alpha" and "powerControlLoopToUse" configured in the ConfiguredGrantConfigIE as specified in TS38.331. Instead, the UE should use the power control parameters associated with the integrated TCI state framework for the configured grant PUSCH transmission.

[0096] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a communication system 800 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0097] In this example, the communications system 800 includes a communications network 802 including an access network 804, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 806 including one or more core network nodes 808. The access network 804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 810A and 810B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 810), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). The network nodes 810 facilitate direct or indirect connectivity of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 812A, 812B, 812C, and 812D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 812) to the core network 806 over one or more wireless connections.

[0098] Exemplary wireless communication over a wireless connection includes transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic, radio, infrared, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, communication system 800 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in communication of data and / or signals, whether via wired or wireless connections. Communication system 800 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, wireless networks, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0099] The UE 812 may be any of a wide variety of communications devices, including a wireless device configured, configured, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with the network node 810 and other communications devices. Similarly, the network node 810 is configured, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate, directly or indirectly, with the UE 812 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the communications network 802 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the communications network 802.

[0100] In the illustrated example, the core network 806 connects the network node 810 to one or more hosts, such as the host 816. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network nodes may be directly coupled to the hosts. The core network 806 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., the core network node 808) structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, and therefore those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 808. Exemplary core network nodes include one or more of the following functions: a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Subscription Identifier De-concealing Function (SIDF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), a Network Publishing Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0101] The host 816 may be owned or under the control of, and operated by or on behalf of, a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 804 and / or the communication network 802. The host 816 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data regarding various ambient conditions detected by multiple UEs, analytics functions, social media, functions for controlling or possibly interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such functions implemented by a server.

[0102] Overall, the communication system 800 of FIG. 8 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communications system 800 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as a particular standard, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable second, third, fourth, or fifth generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., sixth generation (6G)), a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi), and / or any low power wide area network (LPWAN) standard, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communications (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or LoRa and Sigfox.

[0103] In some examples, the communication network 802 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Thus, the communication network 802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the communication network 802. For example, the communication network 802 may provide ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or providing massive machine-based communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (IoT) services to still further UEs.

[0104] In some examples, the UE 812 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 804 on a predefined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the access network 804. Furthermore, the UE may be configured to operate in a single or multi-radio access technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate on any one or combination of Wi-Fi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Enhanced UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0105] In this example, the hub 814 communicates with the access network 804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 812C and / or 812D) and a network node (e.g., network node 810B). In some examples, the hub 814 may be a controller, a router, a content source and content analysis, or any of the other communication devices described herein with respect to UEs. For example, the hub 814 may be a broadband router that allows access to the core network 806 for the UE. As another example, the hub 814 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node 810, or may be due to executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in the hub 814. As another example, the hub 814 may be a data collector that serves as a temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a virtual reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media distribution device, the hub 814 may retrieve, via a network node, VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information, which the hub 814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, particularly in the case where one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

[0106] The hub 814 may have a full-time / permanent or intermittent connection to the network node 810B. The hub 814 may also enable different communication schemes and / or schedules between the hub 814 and the UEs (e.g., UEs 812C and / or 812D) and between the hub 814 and the core network 806. In other examples, the hub 814 is connected to the core network 806 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 814 may be configured to connect to a machine-to-machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 804 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 810 while still being connected via a wired or wireless connection through the hub 814. In some embodiments, the hub 814 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose main function is to route communications from the UE to / from the network node 810B to the UE. In other embodiments, the hub 814 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that is capable of operating to route communications between the UE and the network node 810B, but that is further capable of operating as a communication initiation and / or termination point for some data channels.

[0107] FIG. 9 illustrates a UE 900, according to some embodiments. A UE, as used herein, refers to a device capable of, set up, configured, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptop computers, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicle mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless devices, and the like. Other examples include any UE identified by 3GPP, including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0108] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates an associated device. Instead, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user, but may not be associated with or may not initially be associated with a particular human user. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user, but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user.

[0109] The UE 900 includes a processing circuit 902 operably coupled to an input / output interface 906, a power source 908, a memory 910, a communication interface 912, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, via a bus 904. Some UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 9. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Additionally, some UEs may include multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0110] The processing circuitry 902 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in memory 910 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuitry 902 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), programmable logic together with appropriate firmware, one or more stored computer programs, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) together with appropriate software, a general-purpose processor, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0111] In this example, the input / output interface 906 may be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information to the UE 900. Examples of input devices include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. A presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor for sensing input from a user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0112] In some embodiments, the power source 908 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power source 908 may further include a power circuit for delivering power to various parts of the UE 900 from the power source 908 itself and / or from an external power source via an input circuit, or an interface such as a power cable. Delivering power may be for charging the power source 908, for example. The power circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power source 908 to make it suitable for the respective component of the UE 900 to which it is powered.

[0113] The memory 910 may be or be configured to include memory, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrical EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 910 includes one or more application programs 914, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other applications, and corresponding data 916. The memory 910 may store any of a variety of different operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 900.

[0114] The memory 910 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical disk drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-Ray optical disk drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disk drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), an external micro-DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory, such as a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more SIMs, such as a universal subscriber identity module (SIM) (USIM) and / or an Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC, commonly known as a "SIM card." The memory 910 may enable the UE 900 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on a temporary or non-transitory memory medium, to offload data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0115] The processing circuit 902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other networks using a communication interface 912. The communication interface 912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 922. The communication interface 912 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 918 and / or a receiver 920 suitable for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Moreover, the transmitter 918 and receiver 920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 922) and may share circuit components, software or firmware or may alternatively be implemented separately.

[0116] In the embodiment shown, the communication capabilities of communication interface 912 may include cellular communications, WiFi communications, LPWAN communications, data communications, voice communications, multimedia communications, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communications such as using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication capability, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communications protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0117] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide an output of data captured by the UE's sensors to a network node through the UE's communications interface 912 or via a wireless connection. Data captured by the UE's sensors may be communicated to a network node via another UE through a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes when reporting detected temperature), in response to a triggering event (e.g., an alert is sent when humidity is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0118] As another example, the UE comprises an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight according to the received input, or a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0119] The UE, when in the form of an IoT device, may be a device for use in one or more application areas, including, but not limited to, urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are devices that are or are embedded in connected refrigerators or freezers, televisions, connected lighting devices, power meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electronic door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or VR, wearables for haptic augmentation or sensory augmentation, water sprinklers, animal or product tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical device such as a heart rate monitor or a remote-controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device, in addition to the other components described with respect to the UE 900 shown in FIG.

[0120] As yet another particular example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, airplane, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operating status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0121] In fact, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller that operates the drone. When a user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust a throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UE may also include two or more of the functions described above. For example, a UE may comprise a sensor and an actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0122] 10 illustrates a network node 1000 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, set up, configured, and / or operable to communicate, directly or indirectly, with UEs in a communication network and / or with other network nodes or devices. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., wireless APs), base stations (BSs) (e.g., wireless BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

[0123] BSs may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power level) and may therefore be referred to as femto, pico, micro, or macro BSs depending on the amount of coverage provided. A BS may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed wireless BS, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Parts of a distributed wireless BS may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0124] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, MSR equipment such as a multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a BS controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmitting node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or a minimization of drive test (MDT).

[0125] The network node 1000 includes a processing circuit 1002, a memory 1004, a communication interface 1006, and a power source 1008. The network node 1000 may be assembled from multiple physically separate components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In some scenarios in which the network node 1000 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS component and a BSC component), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control several Node Bs. In such scenarios, each unique Node B and RNC pair may be considered as a single separate network node in some cases. In some embodiments, the network node 1000 may be configured to support several RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 1004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., an antenna 1010 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 1000 may also include multiple sets of the various shown components for different wireless technologies, e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies, integrated into network node 1000. These wireless technologies may be integrated in the same or different chips or sets of chips and other components within network node 1000.

[0126] The processing circuitry 1002 may comprise one or more combinations of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resources, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coded logic operable to provide the network node 1000 functionality, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1000 components, such as memory 1004.

[0127] In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1002 comprises a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1002 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 1012 and a baseband processing circuit 1014. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 1012 and the baseband processing circuit 1014 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 1012 and the baseband processing circuit 1014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, board, or unit.

[0128] The memory 1004 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory, including, but not limited to, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable, and / or computer executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuit 1002. The memory 1004 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including applications including one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, codes, tables, and / or other instructions that may be executed by the processing circuit 1002 and utilized by the network node 1000. The memory 1004 may be used to store calculations performed by the processing circuit 1002 and / or data received via the communication interface 1006. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1002 and the memory 1004 are integrated.

[0129] The communication interface 1006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 1006 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1016 for sending and receiving data to and from a network, e.g., over a wired connection. The communication interface 1006 also includes a radio front-end circuit 1018 that is coupled to an antenna 1010 or, in some embodiments, may be part of the antenna 1010. The radio front-end circuit 1018 comprises a filter 1020 and an amplifier 1022. The radio front-end circuit 1018 may be connected to the antenna 1010 and the processing circuit 1002. The radio front-end circuit 1018 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 1010 and the processing circuit 1002. The radio front-end circuit 1018 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1020 and / or amplifiers 1022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1010 may collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1018. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1002. In other embodiments, the communication interface 1006 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0130] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 1000 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 1018, and instead the processing circuit 1002 includes the radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1010. Similarly, in some embodiments all or a portion of the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 is part of the communications interface 1006. In still other embodiments, the communications interface 1006 includes one or more ports or terminals 1016, the radio front-end circuitry 1018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communications interface 1006 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 1014 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0131] The antenna 1010 may include one or more antennas or an antenna array configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1018 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, the antenna 1010 is separate from the network node 1000 and may be connectable to the network node 1000 through an interface or port.

[0132] The antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuit 1002 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or some obtaining operation described herein as being performed by the network node 1000. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuit 1002 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by the network node 1000. Any information, data, and / or signal may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0133] The power source 1008 provides power to the various components of the network node 1000 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at voltage and current levels required for each respective component). The power source 1008 may further comprise or be coupled to a power management circuit for supplying the components of the network node 1000 with power for performing the functions described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid or an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source provides power to the power circuit of the power source 1008. As a further example, the power source 1008 may comprise a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated in the power circuit. The battery may provide backup power in the event that the external power source fails.

[0134] 10 to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1000 may include user interface devices to enable input of information into network node 1000 and output of information from network node 1000. This may enable a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 1000.

[0135] 11 is a block diagram of a host 1100, which may be an embodiment of the host 816 of FIG. 8, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1100 may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0136] The host 1100 includes a processing circuit 1102 operably coupled to an input / output interface 1106, a network interface 1108, a power source 1110, and a memory 1112 via a bus 1104. In other embodiments, other components may be included. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 9 and 10, and therefore those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1100.

[0137] The memory 1112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1114 and data 1116, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by the UE for the host 1100 or data generated by the host 1100 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 1100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9), and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). The host application program 1114 may also provide user authentication and license checks, and may periodically report health, route, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in the core network or on the edge of the core network. Thus, the host 1100 may select and / or direct different hosts for over-the-top (OTT) services for the UE. The host application program 1114 may support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0138] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1200 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualizing means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include virtualizing a hardware platform, storage devices, and networking resources. Virtualization as used herein may apply to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to implementations in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1200 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes, such as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a hardware computing device acting as a host. Furthermore, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require wireless connectivity (e.g., a core network node or a host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0139] An application 1202 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) is run in the virtualized environment 1200 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0140] Hardware 1204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. Software is executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1206 (also referred to as a hypervisor or VM monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 1208A and 1208B (one or more of which may be referred to generally as VMs 1208), and / or implement any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1206 may present to VMs 1208 a virtual operating platform that appears to be networking hardware.

[0141] The VMs 1208 may comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1206. Different embodiments of the virtual appliance 1202 instances may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 1208, and the implementation may be done in different ways. Hardware virtualization is referred to in some contexts as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that may be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0142] In the context of NFV, VMs 1208 may be software implementations of physical machines that run programs as if they were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1208 and the portion of the hardware 1204 on which it runs, whether hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with other ones of VMs 1208, form a separate virtual network element. Further in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling a particular network function running in one or more VMs 1208 on the hardware 1204 and corresponds to the application 1202.

[0143] The hardware 1204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. The hardware 1204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1204 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (such as in a data center or CPE, for example) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via a management and orchestration 1210 that oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of the application 1202. In some embodiments, the hardware 1204 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with wireless capabilities, such as a RAN or BS. In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided using a control system 1212, which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes and the radio units.

[0144] FIG 13 illustrates a communication diagram of a host 1302 communicating with a UE 1306 via a network node 1304 over a partial wireless connection according to some embodiments. Exemplary implementations according to various embodiments of a UE (such as UE 812A of FIG. 8 and / or UE 900 of FIG. 9), a network node (such as network node 810A of FIG. 8 and / or network node 1000 of FIG. 10), and a host (such as host 816 of FIG. 8 and / or host 1100 of FIG. 11) described in the previous paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG 13.

[0145] Similar to the host 1100, an embodiment of the host 1302 includes hardware, such as a communications interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1302 also includes software stored on or accessible by the host 1302 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 1306 connecting via an OTT connection 1350 extending between the UE 1306 and the host 1302. In providing services to a remote user, the host application may provide user data that is transmitted using the OTT connection 1350.

[0146] The network node 1304 includes hardware that enables the network node 1304 to communicate with the host 1302 and the UE 1306 over connections 1360. The connections 1360 may be direct or may pass through one or more other intermediate networks, such as a core network (similar to the core network 806 of FIG. 8) and / or one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0147] The UE 1306 includes hardware and software stored in or accessible by the UE 1306 and executable by the processing circuitry of the UE. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or an operator-specific "app," that may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 1306 with the support of the host 1302. At the host 1302, a running host application may communicate with a running client application via an OTT connection 1350 that terminates at the UE 1306 and the host 1302. In providing services to a user, the client application of the UE may receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application of the UE may interact with the user to generate user data that the client application of the UE provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1350.

[0148] The OTT connection 1350 may extend through a connection 1360 between the host 1302 and a network node 1304 and through a wireless connection 1370 between the network node 1304 and the UE 1306 to provide a connection between the host 1302 and the UE 1306. The connections 1360 and wireless connections 1370 through which the OTT connection 1350 may be provided are depicted abstractly to show communication between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 through the network node 1304, without explicit reference to intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices.

[0149] As an example of transmitting data over the OTT connection 1350, in step 1308, the host 1302 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 1306 sharing data with the host 1302 without explicit human interaction. In step 1310, the host 1302 initiates a transmission conveying the user data towards the UE 1306. The host 1302 may initiate the transmission in response to a request transmitted by the UE 1306. The request may be triggered by human interaction with the UE 1306 or by the operation of a client application executing on the UE 1306. The transmission may proceed via the network node 1304 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Thus, in step 1312, the network node 1304 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host 1302 to the UE 1306, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1314, the UE 1306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executing on the UE 1306 associated with the host application executed by the host 1302.

[0150] In some examples, the UE 1306 executes a client application that provides user data to the host 1302. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to data received from the host 1302. Thus, in step 1316, the UE 1306 may provide the user data, which may be implemented by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further take into account user input received from a user via an input / output interface of the UE 1306. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, the UE 1306 initiates transmission of the user data towards the host 1302 via the network node 1304 in step 1318. In step 1320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1304 receives the user data from the UE 1306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1302. In step 1322, the host 1302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1306.

[0151] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 1306 using the OTT connection 1350, of which the wireless connection 1370 forms the final segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve, for example, data rates, latency, power consumption, etc., thereby providing benefits such as, for example, reduced user latency, relaxed restrictions on file sizes, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, extended battery life, etc.

[0152] In an exemplary scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1302. As another example, the host 1302 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from the UE for use in creating a map. As another example, the host 1302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicular congestion (e.g., controlling traffic signals). As another example, the host 1302 may store surveillance videos uploaded by the UE. As another example, the host 1302 may store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR or AR, that the host 1302 may broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As other examples, the host 1302 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-constrained electrical loads to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams, etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0153] In some examples, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve upon. There may further be an optional network function to reconfigure the OTT connection 1350 between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 in response to fluctuations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or the network function to reconfigure the OTT connection 1350 may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1302 and / or the UE 1306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1350 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by providing values ​​of other physical quantities from which software may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1350 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not directly change the operation of the network node 1304. Such procedures and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements by the host 1302 of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented in causing messages to be sent, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, using the OTT connection 1350 while software monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

[0154] Although the computing devices (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) described herein may include the depicted combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. The determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, transforming the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained or transformed information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained or transformed information and as a result of said processing making a decision. Moreover, while a component is illustrated as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality the computing device may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single depicted component, and functionality may be partitioned among the separate components. For example, a communications interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of those components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communications interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functionality of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and computationally intensive functionality may be implemented in hardware.

[0155] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuit executing instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuit without executing instructions stored in a separate or distinct device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functionality, whether or not it executes instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Benefits provided by such functionality are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and wireless networks in general, but not limited to the processing circuit alone or other components of the computing device.

[0156] Embodiment

[0157] Group A Embodiments

[0158] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for transmitting a PUSCH configured grant to multiple TRPs, the method including one or more of: a. receiving a configuration of an integrated TCI state framework instructing mTRP operation; b. receiving an indication of the configured grant instructing either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP; and c. transmitting a PUSCH according to the configuration of the integrated TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant.

[0159]

[0023] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, in which the received configuration for the integrated TCI state framework indicates UL transmission to two TRPs.

[0160]

[0023] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the received configuration for the integrated TCI state framework instructs UL transmission to two TRPs by applying two joint / UL TCI states.

[0161] Embodiment 4: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the instructions explicitly instruct mTRP operation using either STxMP or repetition.

[0162] Embodiment 5: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein an indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through RRC signaling.

[0163] Embodiment 6: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein an indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through a DCI.

[0164] Embodiment 7: The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein other indications of mTRP operation using repetition for a configured grant are ignored by the UE.

[0165] Embodiment 8: The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the UE ignores the configuration of one or both of the parameters “p0-PUSCH-Alpha” and “powerControlLoopToUse” set in the ConfiguredGrantConfigIE as specified in TS38.331.

[0166] Embodiment 9: A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 8, in which an explicit indication (of either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP) is set in a new bit field in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE as specified in TS38.331.

[0167] Embodiment 10: A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 9, in which an explicit indication (of either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP) is indicated in a bit field in the UL DCI, with one code point indicating mTRP operation using repetition and one code point indicating mTRP operation using STxMP.

[0168]

[0023] Embodiment 11: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 10, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to the host via transmission to the network node.

[0169] Group B Embodiments

[0170] Embodiment 12: A method performed by a network node for receiving a PUSCH configured grant, the method including one or more of: a. sending a configuration of an integrated TCI state framework indicating mTRP operation; b. sending an indication of the configured grant indicating either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP; and c. sending a PUSCH according to the configuration of the integrated TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant.

[0171]

[0036] Embodiment 13: The method of embodiment 12, wherein the transmitted configuration for the integrated TCI state framework indicates UL transmission to two TRPs.

[0172]

[0036] Embodiment 14: The method of embodiment 12 or 13, wherein the transmitted configuration for the integrated TCI state framework instructs UL transmission to two TRPs by applying two joint / UL TCI states.

[0173] Embodiment 15: The method of any one of embodiments 12 to 14, wherein the instructions explicitly instruct mTRP operation using either STxMP or repetition.

[0174] Embodiment 16: The method of any one of embodiments 12 to 15, wherein an indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through RRC signaling.

[0175] Embodiment 17: The method of any one of embodiments 12 to 16, wherein an indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through DCI.

[0176]

[0033] Embodiment 18: The method according to any one of embodiments 12 to 17, wherein other indications of mTRP operation using repetition for a configured grant are ignored by the UE.

[0177] Embodiment 19: The method according to any one of embodiments 12 to 18, wherein the UE ignores the configuration of one or both of the parameters “p0-PUSCH-Alpha” and “powerControlLoopToUse” set in the ConfiguredGrantConfigIE as specified in TS38.331.

[0178] Embodiment 20: A method according to any one of embodiments 12 to 19, in which an explicit indication (of either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP) is set in a new bit field in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE as specified in TS38.331.

[0179] Embodiment 21: A method according to any one of embodiments 12 to 20, in which an explicit indication (of either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using STxMP) is indicated in a bit field in the UL DCI, with one code point indicating mTRP operation using repetition and one code point indicating mTRP operation using STxMP.

[0180]

[0046] Embodiment 22: The method of any one of embodiments 12 to 21, further comprising obtaining user data and forwarding the user data to a host or user equipment.

[0181] Group C Embodiments

[0182] Embodiment 23: A user equipment for transmitting a PUSCH configured grant to multiple TRPs, the user equipment comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of group A; and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0183] Embodiment 24: A network node for receiving a PUSCH configured grant, the network node comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of group B; and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0184] Embodiment 25: A user equipment (UE) for transmitting PUSCH configured grants to multiple TRPs, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive radio signals; a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and a processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit, the processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of group A; an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to enable input of information to the UE to be processed by the processing circuit; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information from the UE processed by the processing circuit; and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to provide power to the UE.

[0185] Embodiment 26: A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the UE comprising a communications interface and a processing circuit, the communications interface and processing circuit of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of group A to receive user data from the host.

[0186]

[0081] Embodiment 27: The host of embodiment 26, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit user data from the host to the UE.

[0187] Embodiment 28: A host as described in embodiment 26 or 27, wherein the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application thereby to provide user data, the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0188] Embodiment 29: A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method including providing user data for the UE and initiating a transmission conveying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, the UE performing any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of group A to receive the user data from the host.

[0189]

[0081] Embodiment 30: The method of embodiment 29, further comprising: executing, at the host, a host application associated with the client application executing on the UE to receive user data from the UE.

[0190] Embodiment 31: The method of embodiment 30, further comprising: in the host, transmitting input data to a client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, and the user data being provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0191] Embodiment 32: A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the UE comprising a communications interface and a processing circuit, the communications interface and processing circuit of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of group A to transmit the user data to the host.

[0192]

[0081] Embodiment 33: The host of embodiment 32, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit user data from the UE to the host.

[0193] Embodiment 34: A host as described in embodiment 32 or 33, wherein the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application thereby to provide user data, the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0194] Embodiment 35: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method including receiving, at the host, user data transmitted by the UE via the network node to the host, and the UE performing any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of group A to transmit the user data to the host.

[0195]

[0081] Embodiment 36: The method of embodiment 35, further comprising: executing, at the host, a host application associated with the client application executing on the UE to receive user data from the UE.

[0196] Embodiment 37: The method of embodiment 36, further comprising: in the host, transmitting input data to a client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, and the user data being provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0197] Embodiment 38: A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, the host having a processing circuit configured to provide user data and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communications interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node configured to perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0198] Embodiment 39: A host as described in embodiment 38, wherein processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides user data, and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive transmissions of the user data from the host.

[0199] Embodiment 40: A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method including providing user data for the UE and initiating a transmission conveying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, the network node performing any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0200]

[0081] Embodiment 41: The method of embodiment 40, further comprising: transmitting, at the network node, user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0201] Embodiment 42: The method of embodiment 40 or 41, in which user data is provided in the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application running on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0202] Embodiment 43: A communications system configured to provide over-the-top services, the communications system comprising a host, the host comprising a processing circuit configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top services, and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data towards a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communications interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B to transmit user data from the host to the UE.

[0203] Embodiment 44: The communication system of embodiment 43, further comprising a network node and / or user equipment.

[0204] Embodiment 45: A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to initiate reception of user data; and a network interface configured to receive user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B to receive user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0205] Embodiment 46: A host as described in embodiment 45, wherein the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application thereby to provide user data, the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0206] Embodiment 47: The host of embodiment 45 or 46, wherein initiating the reception of user data includes requesting the user data.

[0207] Embodiment 48: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method including initiating, at the host, reception of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission received by the network node from the UE, the network node performing any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group B to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0208]

[0081] Embodiment 49: The method of embodiment 48, further comprising: at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

[0209] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. In case of inconsistencies between abbreviations, how the abbreviation is used above should be preferred. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over the subsequent listing(s). · 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G (fifth generation) 5GC 5th generation core 5GS 5th generation system AF Application Features AMF access and mobility features AN Access Network AP Access point ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit AUSF authentication server function · CG Set Grant CPU Central Processing Unit DCI Downlink Control Information ·DN Data Network ·DSP Digital Signal Processor eNB Enhanced or evolved Node B ·EPS Evolved Packet System · E-UTRA Enhanced Universal Terrestrial Radio Access ·FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array ··gNB New wireless base station · ·gNB-DU New Wireless Base Station Distributed Unit HSS Home Subscriber Server IE Information Elements IoT Internet of Things IP Internet Protocol LTE Long Term Evolution MME Mobility Management Entity MTC Machine Type Communication mTRP Multiple Transmission Reception Point NEF network publishing function NF network function · NR new radio NRF Network Function Repository Function NSSF network slice selection function OTT (Over the Top) PC Personal Computer PCF policy control function P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel QoS Quality of Service RAM Random Access Memory RAN Radio Access Network ROM Read-Only Memory RRC Radio Resource Control RRH Remote Radio Head RTT Round Trip Time SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function SMF session management function STxMP Simultaneous transmission across multiple panels TCI Transmit Configuration Indicator TRP Transmission Reception Point UDM Integrated Data Management UE User Equipment UL uplink UPF user plane function

[0210] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and all such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) (900) for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured grant to multiple transmit reception points (TRPs), the method comprising: receiving a setting of at least one combined transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state indicating multiple-TRP (mTRP) operation; receiving a configured grant (CG) indication indicating either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using simultaneous transmission across multiple panels (STxMP); transmitting a PUSCH according to the configuration of the aggregated TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant; Including, In the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE, Following a first common beam (i.e., a first activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., an sTRP UL transmission towards a first TRP); Following a second common beam (i.e., a second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., sTRP UL transmission towards a second TRP); Following both the first common beam and the second common beam (i.e., the first activated joint / UL TCI state and the second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., multi-TRP UL transmission toward the first TRP and the second TRP); A method in which a new field may be RRC configured to indicate one or more of:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received setting of the at least one aggregated TCI state indicates uplink (UL) transmission to two TRPs.

3. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received configuration for the at least one joint TCI state indicates uplink (UL) transmission to two TRPs by applying two joint UL TCI states.

4. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through downlink control information (DCI).

5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the configured grant includes a single CG PUSCH configuration associated with a first common beam and a second common beam using STxMP.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein there is an association between coresetPoolIndex and CG-PUSCH.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE (900) ignores the setting of one or both of the parameters "p0-PUSCH-Alpha" and "powerControlLoopToUse" set in the ConfiguredGrantConfig information element (IE).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein an explicit indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is set in a new field in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein an explicit indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is indicated in a field in the UL DCI, one code point indicating mTRP operation using repetition and one code point indicating mTRP operation using STxMP.

10. A method performed by a network node (1000) for receiving a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) Configured Grant (CG), the method comprising: transmitting to a user equipment (UE) a configuration of at least one consolidated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state indicating multiple transmit reception point (mTRP) operation; sending a configured grant indication to the UE instructing it to either operate mTRP using repetition or operate mTRP using simultaneous transmission over multiple panels (STxMP); receiving a PUSCH from the UE according to the configuration of the aggregated TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant; Including, In the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE, Following a first common beam (i.e., a first activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., an sTRP UL transmission towards a first TRP); Following a second common beam (i.e., a second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., sTRP UL transmission towards a second TRP); Following both the first common beam and the second common beam (i.e., the first activated joint / UL TCI state and the second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., multi-TRP UL transmission toward the first TRP and the second TRP); A method in which a new field may be RRC configured to indicate one or more of:

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the transmitted configuration for the at least one aggregated TCI state indicates uplink (UL) transmission to two TRPs.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the transmitted configuration for the at least one joint TCI state indicates UL transmission to two TRPs by applying two joint / UL TCI states.

13. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is conveyed through downlink control information (DCI).

14. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of the configured grant includes a single CG PUSCH configuration associated with a first common beam and a second common beam using STxMP.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein there is an association between coresetPoolIndex and CG-PUSCH.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the UE (900) ignores the setting of one or both of the parameters "p0-PUSCH-Alpha" and "powerControlLoopToUse" set in the ConfiguredGrantConfig information element (IE).

17. The method of claim 10, wherein an explicit indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is set in a new field in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein an explicit indication of mTRP operation using either repetition or STxMP is indicated in a field in the UL DCI, one code point indicating mTRP operation using repetition and one code point indicating mTRP operation using STxMP.

19. 1. A user equipment (UE) (900) for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured grant (CG) to multiple transmit reception points (TRPs), comprising: a processing circuit (902), the processing circuit (902) configured to transmit to the UE (900): receiving a setting of at least one combined transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state indicating multiple-TRP (mTRP) operation; receiving a configured grant indication indicating either mTRP operation using repetition or mTRP operation using simultaneous transmission across multiple panels (STxMP); transmitting a PUSCH according to the configuration of the aggregated TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant; is set to In the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE, Following a first common beam (i.e., a first activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., an sTRP UL transmission towards a first TRP); Following a second common beam (i.e., a second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., sTRP UL transmission towards a second TRP); Following both the first common beam and the second common beam (i.e., the first activated joint / UL TCI state and the second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., multi-TRP UL transmission toward the first TRP and the second TRP); A new field may be RRC configured in the user equipment (UE) (900) to indicate one or more of:

20. 20. The UE (900) of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry (902) is further configured to cause the UE (900) to perform any of the steps set forth in any one of claims 2 to 9.

21. 1. A network node (1000) for receiving a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) Configured Grant (CG), comprising: a processing circuit (1002), the processing circuit (1002) causing the network node (1000) to: transmitting to a user equipment (UE) a configuration of at least one consolidated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state indicating multiple transmit reception point (mTRP) operation; sending a configured grant indication to the UE instructing it to either operate mTRP using repetition or operate mTRP using simultaneous transmission over multiple panels (STxMP); receiving a PUSCH from the UE according to the configuration of the aggregated TCI state and / or the configuration of the configured grant; is set to In the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE, Following a first common beam (i.e., a first activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., an sTRP UL transmission towards a first TRP); Following a second common beam (i.e., a second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., sTRP UL transmission towards a second TRP); Following both the first common beam and the second common beam (i.e., the first activated joint / UL TCI state and the second activated joint / UL TCI state) (i.e., multi-TRP UL transmission toward the first TRP and the second TRP); A new field may be RRC configured to indicate one or more of the following:

22. 22. The network node (1000) of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit (1002) is further configured to cause the network node (1000) to perform any of the steps of any one of claims 11 to 18.

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