Communication device, communication method, and integrated circuit

Abstract

To provide a plurality of mechanisms for achieving flexibility in M-TRP URLLC operation and reducing measurement effort and power consumption of transmitting / receiving devices such as UE.SOLUTION: A communication device includes: a transmitter that transmits a first set of beam failure detection (BFD) reference signal settings, a second set of BFD reference signal settings, a first set of candidate new beam detection (CBD) reference signal settings, and a second set of CBD reference signal settings; and a receiver that receives a signal including a result of a first beam failure detection for a first transmitting / receiving point based on the first set of BFD reference signal settings, a result of a second beam failure detection for a second transmitting / receiving point based on the second set of BFD reference signal settings, and also receives at least one result of a candidate new beam detection for the first transmitting / receiving point based on the first set of CBD reference signal settings and a candidate new beam detection for the second transmitting / receiving point based on the second set of CBD reference signal settings.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to communication devices, and more particularly to beam failure recovery mechanisms for such communication devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Communication devices are prevalent in modern society in many forms. Examples include phones, tablets, computers, cameras, digital audio / video players, wearable devices, game consoles, telehealth and telemedicine devices, communication-enabled vehicles, and combinations of the above. Communications include data transmission via cellular systems, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite systems, and combinations of these.

[0003] As communication generations advance (e.g., 5G new Radio (NR)), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) will be required for many applications (e.g., Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR / VR), e-health, e-safety, and mission-critical applications). URLLC has stringent performance requirements for throughput, latency, and availability, and is expected to be one of the enablers for future vertical applications, such as wireless control of industrial production and manufacturing processes, remote medical surgery, power distribution automation in smart grids, and road safety. 5G NR also features multiple transmission and reception points (M-TRP) to improve reliability, coverage, and capacity performance through flexible deployment scenarios. For example, user equipment (UE) (i.e., communication device) is expected to access a network consisting of M-TRPs (e.g., macrocells, small cells, picocells, femtocells, remote radio heads, relay nodes) to accommodate the rapid increase in mobile data traffic in 5G and to expand coverage. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] During operation, the UE has access to signals from the M-TRPs. The UE determines that the signal from one of the M-TRPs is lost through a beam failure detection (BFD) procedure. The UE then attempts to restore communication through a process that includes new beam identification (NBI) (also known as candidate new beam detection (CBD)). While both BFD and CBD are essential UE processes for maintaining ultra-high reliability and low latency in URLLC communications, beam failure recovery, including the BFD and CBD processes, requires measurement effort and power consumption.

[0005] Therefore, what is needed is a communication device and system that conserves power without losing reliability of URLLC communications during recovery from a beam failure condition. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and their background. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure contribute to providing multiple mechanisms to enable flexibility in the operation of M-TRP multiple transmission and reception point ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) and reduce measurement effort and power consumption in transmitting and receiving devices such as UEs.

[0007] In one embodiment, the disclosed technology features a transceiver device having a transceiver unit and circuitry. The transceiver unit, in operation, receives signals on at least a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from multiple transmission and reception points (M-TRPs) in a network. The circuitry, in operation, performs beam failure detection (BFD) and candidate new beam detection (CBD) evaluations on the signals from a first TRP among the M-TRPs. The signals from the first TRP among the M-TRPs include signals received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the circuitry determines, in response to one or more conditions, to skip evaluation of one or both of the BFD and the CBD for one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs.

[0008] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0009] Further advantages and benefits of an embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or benefits may be provided by some of the embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of them may be provided to obtain one or more identical features. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] In the following, exemplary embodiments are explained in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. [Figure 1]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a 3GPP NR system architecture. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the division of functions between NG-RAN and 5GC. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram for a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup / reconfiguration procedure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing usage scenarios for enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC). [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a 5G system architecture for a non-roaming scenario. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates a multiple transmission / reception point (M-TRP) ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) system based on one downlink control information (DCI). [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates a general beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure. [Figure 8] This is a diagram showing a user equipment (UE) receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) simultaneously from a first TRP and a second TRP. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the operation time lengths of beam failure detection (BFD) and candidate new beam detection (CBD) in the BFR procedure. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates a first BFR procedure according to the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 illustrates a second BFR procedure according to the present disclosure.

[0011] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the example embodiments or the application and uses of the example embodiments. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description. The present disclosure is intended to present example embodiments of a communications device and communications system that conserve power during recovery from a beam failure condition without losing the reliability of ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), thereby reducing measurement effort and power consumption during BFR while maintaining ultra-reliable and low-latency communications.

[0013] <5G NR system architecture and protocol stack> The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) is working on the next release of fifth-generation cellular technology (also known simply as 5G), which includes the development of new radio access technology (NR) operating in the frequency range up to 100 GHz. The first version of the 5G standard was completed at the end of 2017, allowing for the trial and commercial deployment of smartphones compliant with the 5G NR standard.

[0014] Referring to FIG. 1 , in particular, the overall system architecture assumes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 102 including gNodeBs (gNBs) 104. The gNBs provide UE-side termination of the NG radio access user plane (SDAP / PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY) and Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocols. The gNBs 104 are interconnected by Xn interfaces 106. The gNBs are also connected to a Next Generation Core (NGC) 112 by Next Generation (NG) interfaces, more specifically to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 108 (e.g., a specific core entity that implements AMF) by an NG-C interface 112a and to a User Plane Function (UPF) 110 (e.g., a specific core entity that implements UPF) by an NG-U interface 112b. The NG-RAN architecture 100 is shown in FIG. 1 (see, for example, section 4 of 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.6.0).

[0015] The NR user plane protocol stack (see, for example, Section 4.4.1 of 3GPP TS 38.300) includes a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) sublayer (see, for example, Section 6.4 of TS 38.300), a Radio Link Control (RLC) sublayer (see, for example, Section 6.3 of TS 38.300), and a Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer (see, for example, Section 6.2 of TS 38.300). Furthermore, a new Access Stratum (AS) sublayer (Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP)) is introduced above PDCP (see, for example, Sub-clause 6.5 of 3GPP TS 38.300). NR also defines a control plane protocol stack (see, for example, Section 4.4.2 of TS 38.300). An overview of Layer 2 functions is provided in Sub-clause 6 of TS 38.300. The functions of the PDCP sublayer, RLC sublayer, and MAC sublayer are described in sections 6.4, 6.3, and 6.2 of TS 38.300, respectively. The functions of the RRC layer are listed in sub-clause 7 of TS 38.300.

[0016] For example, the MAC layer is responsible for multiplexing logical channels and scheduling and scheduling-related functions, including handling various numerologies.

[0017] The physical layer (PHY) is responsible for, for example, coding, PHY HARQ processing, modulation, multi-antenna processing, and mapping of signals to appropriate physical time-frequency resources. It also maps transport channels to physical channels. The physical layer provides services to the MAC layer in the form of transport channels. A physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for transmitting a specific transport channel, and each transport channel is mapped to a corresponding physical channel. For example, the physical channels are the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) in the uplink, and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) in the downlink.

[0018] NR use cases / deployment scenarios include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), which have diverse requirements for data rate, latency, and coverage. For example, eMBB requires peak data rates (20 Gbps downlink, 10 Gbps uplink) and effective (user-experienced) data rates three times higher than those offered by IMT-Advanced. On the other hand, URLLC has more stringent requirements for ultra-low latency (user plane latency of 0.5 ms for both UL and DL) and high reliability (1-10 Mbps latency within 1 ms). -5) is imposed. Finally, mMTC preferably requires a high connection density (1 million devices per square kilometer in an urban environment), wide coverage in harsh environments, and an ultra-long-life battery (15 years) for low-cost devices.

[0019] Therefore, an OFDM numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing, OFDM symbol length, cyclic prefix (CP) length, number of symbols per scheduling interval) suitable for one use case may not be effective for other use cases. For example, low-latency services may preferably require a shorter symbol length (and thus a larger subcarrier spacing) and / or fewer symbols per scheduling interval (in other words, TTI) than mMTC services. Furthermore, in a deployment scenario with a large channel delay spread, a longer CP length may preferably be required than in a scenario with a short delay spread. To maintain a similar CP overhead, the subcarrier spacing needs to be optimized as appropriate. In NR, multiple values of subcarrier spacing may be supported. Correspondingly, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz,... are currently under consideration. The symbol length T u and the subcarrier spacing Δf are directly related by the equation Δf = 1 / T u Similar to the LTE system, the term "resource element" can be used to indicate the smallest resource unit composed of one subcarrier for the length of one OFDM / SC-FDMA symbol.

[0020] In the new radio system 5G-NR, for each numerology and carrier, a resource grid of subcarriers and OFDM symbols is defined for each of the uplink and downlink respectively. Each element in the resource grid is called a resource element and is identified based on the frequency index in the frequency domain and the symbol position in the time domain (see 3GPP TS 38.211 v15.6.0).

[0021] <Functional Split between NG-RAN and 5GC> (control signal) In the present disclosure, the downlink control signal (information) related to the present disclosure may be a signal (information) transmitted by a PDCCH in a physical layer, a signal (information) transmitted by a MAC CE (Control Element) or RRC in a higher layer, or a signal (information) defined in advance.

[0022] The uplink control signal (information) related to the present disclosure may be a signal (information) transmitted by a PUCCH in the physical layer, or may be a signal (information) transmitted by a MAC CE or RRC in a higher layer. It may also be a predefined signal (information). It may also be replaced with UCI (uplink control information), 1st stage SCI (sidelink control information), or 2nd stage SCI.

[0023] (base station) In the present disclosure, the base station may be a TRP (Transmission Reception Point), a cluster head, an access point, an RRH (Remote Radio Head), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a BS (Base Station), a BTS (Base Transceiver Station), a parent device, a gateway, or the like. Furthermore, in sidelink communication, the base station may be a terminal instead of a base station. Alternatively, the base station may be a relay device that relays communication between an upper node and a terminal. Alternatively, the base station may be a roadside unit.

[0024] (Uplink / Downlink / Sidelink) The present disclosure may be applied to any of the uplink, downlink, and sidelink.

[0025] For example, the present disclosure may be applied to uplink PUSCH, PUCCH, and PRACH, downlink PDSCH, PDCCH, and PBCH, and sidelink PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel), PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), and PSBCH (Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel).

[0026] The PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH are examples of a downlink control channel, a downlink data channel, an uplink data channel, and an uplink control channel. The PSCCH and PSSCH are examples of a sidelink control channel and a sidelink data channel. The PBCH and PSBCH are examples of broadcast channels, and the PRACH is an example of a random access channel.

[0027] (Data channel / Control channel) The present disclosure may be applied to both data channels and control channels. For example, the channels of the present disclosure may be replaced with data channels such as PDSCH, PUSCH, and PSSCH, and control channels such as PDCCH, PUCCH, PBCH, PSCCH, and PSBCH.

[0028] (reference signal) In the present disclosure, a reference signal is a signal known by both a base station and a mobile station, and may also be referred to as an RS (Reference Signal) or a pilot signal. The reference signal may be any of DMRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information-Reference Signal), TRS (Tracking Reference Signal), PTRS (Phase Tracking Reference Signal), CRS (Cell-specific Reference Signal), and SRS (Sounding Reference Signal).

[0029] (time interval) In the present disclosure, the unit of time resource is not limited to one or a combination of slots and symbols, but may be, for example, a time resource unit such as a frame, a superframe, a subframe, a slot, a time slot subslot, a minislot, or a symbol, an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbol, an SC-FDMA (Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbol, or another time resource unit. Furthermore, the number of symbols included in one slot is not limited to the number of symbols exemplified in the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be another number of symbols.

[0030] (frequency band) The present disclosure may be applied to both licensed and unlicensed bands.

[0031] (communication) The present disclosure may be applied to communication between a base station and a terminal (Uu link communication), communication between terminals (sidelink communication), and V2X (Vehicle to Everything) communication. For example, the channels of the present disclosure may be replaced with PSCCH, PSSCH, PSFCH (Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel), PSBCH, PDCCH, PUCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, or PBCH.

[0032] The present disclosure may be applied to a terrestrial network, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) using a satellite or a high altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS), or a terrestrial network with a large cell size, such as an ultra-wideband transmission network, in which the transmission delay is large compared to the symbol length or slot length.

[0033] (antenna port) An antenna port refers to a logical antenna (antenna group) consisting of one or more physical antennas. In other words, an antenna port does not necessarily refer to a single physical antenna, but can also refer to an array antenna consisting of multiple antennas. For example, the number of physical antennas an antenna port consists of is not specified, but it is specified as the smallest unit that a terminal can use to transmit a reference signal. An antenna port may also be specified as the smallest unit to which a precoding vector weight is multiplied.

[0034] Figure 2 shows the functional division between the NG-RAN 200 and the 5GC 250. The NG-RAN logical node is the gNB or ng-eNB 210. The 5GC 250 includes the AMF 260, UPF 270, and SMF 280 logical nodes.

[0035] Specifically, the gNB and ng-eNB 210 provide the following main functions: Radio resource management functions 212, such as radio bearer control 214, radio admission control 218, connection mobility control 216, and dynamic resource allocation (scheduling) 222 to UEs in both uplink and downlink. IP header compression, encryption, and integrity protection of data AMF selection at UE attach time if routing to AMF cannot be determined from information provided by the UE Routing of user plane data towards UPF Routing of control plane information towards AMF Setting up and disconnecting connections Scheduling and sending paging messages Scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (originating from AMF or OAM) Measurement and measurement reporting configuration for mobility and scheduling 220 Transport-level packet marking in the uplink Session management Network slicing support QoS flow management and allocation to data radio bearers Support for UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state NAS message delivery function Radio access network sharing Dual Connectivity Close cooperation between NR and E-UTRA

[0036] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 260 provides the following main functions: Termination of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling · NAS Signaling Security 262 Access Stratum (AS) security control Core Network (CN) inter-node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks Idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmissions) 264 ·Registration area management Support for intra-system and inter-system mobility Access authentication Access authorization, including roaming permission checks Mobility management control (subscription and policy) Network slicing support Session Management Function (SMF) selection

[0037] Additionally, the User Plane Function (UPF) provides the following main functions: · Anchor points for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (if applicable) 272 External PDU session point 274 for interconnection with data networks Packet routing and forwarding · Packet inspection and enforcement of policy rules in the user plane part (Policy rule enforcement) · Reporting of traffic usage · Uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network · Branch point to support multi-home PDU sessions · QoS processing for the user plane, such as packet filtering, gating, UL / DL (uplink / downlink) rate enhancement · Uplink traffic verification (placement for QoS flows of SDFs) · Downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification trigger

[0038] Finally, the Session Management Function (SMF) 280 provides the following main functions. · Session management 284 · Allocation and management of IP addresses for the UE 282 · Selection and control of the UPF · Configuration of traffic steering in the User Plane Function (UPF) to route traffic to the appropriate destination · Enforcement of policies and QoS in the control part · Notification of downlink data

[0039] <RRC connection setup and reconfiguration procedures> Figure 3 shows a part of the interaction between the UE 310, the gNB 320, and the AMF 330 (5GC entity) when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED in the NAS part (see TS 38.300 v15.6.0).

[0040] RRC is a higher layer signaling (protocol) used to configure the UE and the gNB. This transition specifically involves the AMF 330 preparing UE context data (including, for example, PDU session context, security keys, UE Radio Capabilities, UE Security Capabilities, etc.) and sending it to the gNB 320 along with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST 340. The gNB 320 then activates AS security with the UE 310. This operation is performed by the gNB sending a Security Mode Command message 342 to the UE, and the UE 310 responding with a Security Mode Complete message 344 to the gNB 320. The gNB 320 then sends an RRCReconfiguration message 346 to the UE 310, and upon receiving an RRCReconfigurationComplete 348 from the UE 310, the gNB 320 performs reconfiguration to set up a Signaling Radio Bearer 2 (SRB2) and a Data Radio Bearer (DRB). In the case of a signaling-only connection, SRB2 and DRB are not set up, so the steps related to RRC reconfiguration are omitted. Finally, the gNB 320 notifies the AMF 330 that the setup procedure is complete with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE 350.

[0041] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a fifth generation core (5GC) entity (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) including: a control circuit that, during operation, establishes a next generation (NG) connection with a gNodeB; and a transmitter that, during operation, transmits an initial context setup message to the gNodeB via the NG connection so that a signaling radio bearer between the gNodeB and a terminal (UE) is configured. Specifically, the gNodeB transmits Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, including a resource allocation configuration information element, to the UE via the signaling radio bearer. Then, the UE performs uplink transmission or downlink reception based on the resource allocation configuration.

[0042] <IMT usage scenarios from 2020 onwards> Figure 4 shows some of the use cases for 5G NR. The Third Generation Partnership Project NR (3GPP NR) is considering three use cases that are expected to support a wide variety of services and applications through IMT-2020. The first phase of specifications for enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) 410 has been completed. In addition to further expanding support for eMBB 410, current and future research is also underway on standardization of ultra-reliable and low-latency LTE (URLLC) 430 and massive simultaneous connections 450. Figure 4 shows examples of usage scenarios expected for IMT beyond 2020 (see, for example, Figure 2 in ITU-R M.2083).

[0043] The URLLC use case 430 has stringent performance requirements for throughput, latency, and availability, and is envisioned as one of the enablers of future vertical applications, such as wireless control of industrial production and manufacturing processes, remote medical surgery, smart grid power distribution automation, and road safety. URLLC 430's ultra-high reliability is supported by identifying technologies that meet the requirements set by TR 38.913. For NR URLLC in Release 15, a key requirement is a user-plane latency target of 0.5 ms on the uplink (UL) and 0.5 ms on the downlink (DL). A typical URLLC 430 requirement for a single packet transmission is a block error rate (BLER) of 1E-5 for a 32-byte packet size with a user-plane latency of 1 ms.

[0044] From a physical layer perspective, there are various ways to improve reliability. Currently, possible ways to improve reliability include defining a separate CQI table for URLLC430, a more compact downlink control information (DCI) format, PDCCH repetition, etc. However, as NR becomes more stable and developed (relative to the primary requirement of NR URLLC), the range of possible ways to achieve ultra-high reliability may expand. Specific use cases for NR URLLC in Release 15 include augmented reality / virtual reality (AR / VR), e-health, e-safety, and mission-critical applications.

[0045] Additionally, NR URLLC 430 targets technology enhancements for improved latency and reliability. Technology enhancements for latency improvement include configurable numerology, non-slot-based scheduling with flexible mapping, grant-free (configured grant) uplink, slot-level repetition of data channels, and downlink preemption. Preemption means stopping a transmission that already has allocated resources and using those already allocated resources for a later-requested transmission that requires less latency or higher priority. Therefore, a previously allowed transmission is preempted by a later transmission. Preemption can be applied regardless of the specific service type. For example, a transmission of service type A (URLLC) may be preempted by a transmission of service type B (e.g., eMBB). Technology enhancements for reliability improvement include dedicated CQI / MCS tables for a target BLER of 1E-5.

[0046] The mMTC (Massive Simultaneous Connections) 450 use case is characterized by a very large number of connected devices, each transmitting relatively small amounts of data that are typically not sensitive to latency. These devices are required to be low cost and have very long battery life. From an NR perspective, using very narrow bandwidth portions is one way to enable UEs to save power and extend battery life.

[0047] As mentioned above, the scope of reliability improvement in NR is expected to be broader. One of the key requirements common to all cases, and especially for URLLC430 and mMTC450, is high or ultra-high reliability. Several mechanisms can be considered to improve reliability from the radio and network perspectives. In general, there are several key areas that can help improve reliability. These areas include compact control channel information, data / control channel repetition, and diversity in the frequency, time, and spatial domains. These areas are generally applicable to reliability improvement, regardless of the specific communication scenario.

[0048] Further use cases with more stringent requirements have been identified for the NR URLLC430, such as factory automation, the transportation industry, and power distribution. These more stringent requirements include high reliability (up to 10 times faster) depending on the use case. -6 level), high availability, packet size up to 256 bytes, time synchronization to the order of a few microseconds (μs) (which can be 1 μs or a few μs depending on the frequency range and short latency on the order of 0.5 to 1 millisecond (ms) (e.g., 0.5 ms latency on the target user plane)).

[0049] Additionally, NR URLLC430 identifies several technology enhancements from a physical layer perspective. These include PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) enhancements for compact DCI, PDCCH repetition, and increased PDCCH monitoring. Also, uplink control information (UCI) enhancements relate to enhanced Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) and CSI feedback enhancements. Also identified are PUSCH enhancements and retransmission / repetition enhancements related to minislot-level hopping. A "minislot" refers to a transmission time interval (TTI) containing fewer symbols than a slot (a slot consisting of 14 symbols).

[0050] <QoS Control> The 5G QoS (Quality of Service) model is based on QoS flows and supports both QoS flows that require a guaranteed flow bit rate (GBR QoS flows) and QoS flows that do not require a guaranteed flow bit rate (non-GBR QoS flows). Therefore, at the NAS level, a QoS flow is the finest granularity QoS classification in a PDU session. A QoS flow is identified within a PDU session by a QoS flow ID (QFI) that is carried in the encapsulation header via the NG-U interface.

[0051] For each UE, the 5GC establishes one or more PDU sessions. For each UE, the NG-RAN establishes at least one data radio bearer (DRB) according to the PDU session, and additional DRBs for the QoS flows of that PDU session can be set later (when to set it depends on the NG-RAN). The NG-RAN arranges packets belonging to different PDU sessions in different DRBs. The NAS level packet filters in the UE and the 5GC associate UL packets and DL packets with QoS flows, while the AS level mapping rules between the UE and the NG-RAN associate UL QoS flows and DL QoS flows with DRBs.

[0052] Figure 5 shows the non-roaming reference architecture for 5G NR (see TS 23.501 v16.1.0, section 4.23). As illustrated in Figure 4, an application function (AF) 500, such as an external application server hosting 5G services, interacts with the 3GPP core network to provide services. For example, it accesses a network exposure function (NEF) 505 to support applications that affect traffic routing, and interacts with a policy framework for policy control such as QoS control (see Policy Control Function (PCF)). Based on operator deployment, application functions 500 that are deemed trusted by the operator can interact directly with the relevant network functions. Application functions 500 that are not authorized by the operator to directly access network functions interact with the relevant network functions using the external exposure framework via the NEF 505.

[0053] Figure 5 shows further functional units of the 5G architecture, namely Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 510, Network Repository Function (NRF) 515, Unified Data Management (UDM) 520, Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 525, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 530, Session Management Function (SMF) 535, and Data Network (DN) 540 (operator services, internet access, third-party services, etc.). All or some of the core network functions and application services may be deployed and run on a cloud computing environment.

[0054] Therefore, the present disclosure provides an application server (e.g., AF500 in a 5G architecture) that includes: a transmitter that, in operation, transmits a request including QoS requirements for at least one of URLLC, eMBB, and mMTC services to at least one of 5GC functions (e.g., NEF505, AMF530, SMF535, PCF545, UPF550, etc.) to establish a PDU session including a radio bearer between a gNodeB and a UE according to the QoS requirements; and a control circuit that, in operation, performs a service using the established PDU session.

[0055] 6 illustrates an example of a multiple transmission / reception point (M-TRP) ultra-reliable and low-latency (URLLC) network 600 based on a single downlink control information (DCI). M-TRP transmissions are used to overcome interference and improve the performance of cell-edge UEs 602. In a single DCI-based M-TRP URLLC transmission, the network 600 schedules PDSCH transmissions 610, 612 from multiple TRPs (i.e., TRP1 620 and TRP2 622), and the PDSCHs 610, 612 from different TRPs 620, 622 are transmitted on different layers (i.e., Layer 1 630 and Layer 2 632).

[0056] To facilitate further down-selection of one or more schemes in RAN1#96bis, schemes for multi-TRP-based URLLC scheduled by at least one DCI are clarified by the following Schemes 2, 2a, and 2b for Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), and Schemes 3 and 4 for Time Division Multiplexing (TDM).

[0057] Scheme 2 (FDM): n (n ≤ N) in a single slot with no overlap in frequency resource allocation. f) TCI states. Each non-overlapping frequency resource allocation is associated with one TCI state, and the same single / multiple DMRS ports are associated with all non-overlapping frequency resource allocations.

[0058] Scheme 2a (FDM): One codeword of one RV is used across all resource allocations. From the UE perspective, a common RB mapping (codeword to layer mapping, such as Rel-15) is applied across the resource allocations.

[0059] Scheme 2b (FDM): One codeword with one RV is used for each non-overlapping frequency resource allocation. The RVs corresponding to each non-overlapping frequency resource allocation may be the same or different. It may be considered to apply different MCS / modulation orders to different non-overlapping frequency resource allocations.

[0060] The details of the frequency resource allocation mechanism of FDM2a / 2b regarding allocation granularity and time domain allocation can also be considered.

[0061] Scheme 3 (TDM): n (n≦Nt1) TCI states within a single slot with no overlap in time resource allocation. Each TB transmission opportunity has one TCI and one RV with minislot time granularity. All transmission opportunities within a slot use a common MCS, which may contain the same, single, or multiple DMRS ports. RV / TCI states may be the same or different between transmission opportunities. Channel estimation interpolation (detailed discussion) is performed across minislots with the same TCI index.

[0062] Scheme 4 (TDM): n (n≦Nt2) TCI states in K (n≦K) different slots. Each TB transmission opportunity has one TCI and one RV. All transmission opportunities across K slots use a common MCS, which may contain the same, single, or multiple DMRS ports. The RV / TCI states may be the same or different between transmission opportunities. Channel estimation interpolation (detailed discussion) is then performed across slots with the same TCI index.

[0063] Note that M-TRP / panel-based URLLC schemes should be compared in terms of reliability improvement, efficiency, and impact on specifications, and support for the number of layers per TRP may be considered.

[0064] For FDM, schemes 2a and 2b support up to two transmission layers, with the number of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states set to two according to scheme 2a. For TDM, schemes 3 and 4 also support the number of TCI states set to two. The resource allocation in the time domain supports the same number of consecutive symbols being scheduled for each transmission opportunity. For scheme 3, the network (NW) implementation ensures that all transmission opportunities reside in one slot without dropping, and that downlink / uplink (DL / UL) switching within a slot is considered in detail.

[0065] The UE can be configured to receive PDSCH from up to two TRPs depending on the number of configured TCI states. Figure 7 shows a general beam failure recovery procedure 700, which includes four main steps. The first step is beam failure detection (BFD) 702. The UE is provided with a list of reference signals (RS) for detecting beam failure via failureDetectionResources. Alternatively, if no RS is provided via failureDetectionResources, the UE performs BFD 702 based on the TCI state for PDCCH / PDSCH reception (see Section 6 of TS 38.213 and Section 8.5 of TS 38.133).

[0066] The next step is new beam identification (NBI) (also known as candidate new beam detection (CBD)). The UE is provided with a list of CBD RSs via candidateBeamRSList.

[0067] Steps 702 and 704 occur in the UE 705. Once a new beam is identified, the UE 705 sends a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ) 706 to the associated gNB 710. In response, the gNB 710 sends a beam failure recovery response (BFRR) 708, and the BFR procedure 700 is complete.

[0068] As shown in Figure 6, the UE 602 is configured to receive PDSCHs 610, 612 from both TRP#1 620 and TRP#2 622, and the TRP configured to transmit a PDCCH 640 via higher layer signaling is called TRP#1 620. Figure 8 is a diagram 800 of a user equipment (UE) simultaneously receiving physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) 610, 612 from a first TRP (TRP#1) 620 and a second TRP (TRP#2) 622, respectively. The UE 602 is configured to simultaneously receive PDSCHs 610, 612 from TRP#1 620 and TRP#2 622 during an operating time (T_state02) 802 according to two TCI states 810 indicated by TCI code points 820.

[0069] FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating the operation time lengths of beam failure detection (BFD) 910 and new beam candidate detection (CBD) 920 in the BFR procedure. The UE utilizes measurement effort and power consumption to evaluate the BFD and / or CBD for TRP#2, while not improving performance if the operation time length 802 is not longer than the requested BFD evaluation time 910 and / or CBD evaluation time 920. The UE requested BFD evaluation time 910 (T_evaluate_BFD) and CBD evaluation time 920 (T_evaluate_CBD) are defined in Section 8.5.3 of 38.133 and Section 5.17 of 38.321, respectively.

[0070] According to this embodiment, a UE, in operation, includes circuitry for receiving signals from an M-TRP and performing BFR from two or more M-TRPs by (a) evaluating BFD and CBD for signals, including a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), from at least a first TRP, and (b) skipping evaluation of one or both of BFD and CBD depending on one or more operating conditions. In this manner, the UE reduces measurement effort and power consumption. Furthermore, the adoption of measurement effort and power consumption by the UE within the network enables flexibility in M-TRP URLLC.

[0071] To evaluate the BFD of two or more M-TRPs, multiple sets of BFD reference signals (BFD-RSs) may be explicitly or implicitly configured for the UE, with one set configured for each of multiple TRPs (i.e., a per-TRP BFD-RS set). In the explicit method, the per-TRP BFD-RS set can be configured as a set of periodic channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) or synchronization signal blocks (SSBs). In the implicit method, the per-TRP BFD-RS set can be implicitly configured as quasi-co-location (QCL) reference signals for the TRP's corresponding CORESET based on its TCI state. Similarly, to evaluate the CBD of two or more M-TRPs, multiple sets of CBD reference signals (CBD-RSs) (or NBI reference signals (NBI-RSs)) can be explicitly or implicitly configured for each TRP. It should be understood that such independent configuration of a BFD-RS set per TRP and / or a CBD-RS set per TRP is applicable throughout all embodiments.

[0072] By configuring an independent BFD-RS set for each TRP, if a BFD-RS set from one of the TRPs is identified as faulty (i.e., one beam of the TRPs is identified as faulty), a beam failure recovery procedure for this specific TRP can be triggered. This can be considered as partial or TRP-specific beam failure recovery. Compared to use case scenarios where the beam failure recovery procedure is triggered only when all BFD-RS sets configured on all TRPs are identified as faulty (or all beams of all TRPs are identified as faulty), this has the benefit of reducing the overall beam failure recovery delay and improving the transmission efficiency of multi-TRP / panel systems.

[0073] Furthermore, there may be some other BFR parameters that are set based on the TRP level. For example, assume that two TRPs (e.g., TRP#1 and TRP#2) are operational. Therefore, two sets of thresholds, such as the BFD threshold (Q_out) and the CBD threshold (Q_in), two sets of timers, such as the BFD timer and the BFR timer, and two sets of beam failure instance (BFI) counters and their corresponding maximum number of BFI indications (BFIIs), can be set independently for TRP#1 and TRP#2, respectively.

[0074] Figure 10 shows a first BFR procedure according to the present disclosure. The first BFR procedure queues off the operation time length as shown in Figure 9. Furthermore, TRP#1 620 is one of the M-TRPs that transmits the PDCCH 640 by higher layer signaling.

[0075] First, the UE receives 1002 configuration parameters from higher layer signaling from the M-TRP (i.e., on the PDCCH 640 from the TRP#1 620), including at least a notification (e.g., T_state02 802) indicating an appropriate operation time length for the TRP#2 622. The appropriate operation time length can be a static value for the network (e.g., T_state02 can be defined based on the operation time length of the TRP#1 620 plus an offset), or can be dynamically determined by the network based on realistic environmental conditions or network configuration. An example of dynamically calculating the appropriate operation time using at least DCI, MAC CE, or RRC signaling is shown in Equation (1).

number

[0076] The offset may be the active time or delay (if any) of TRP#2.

[0077] Furthermore, unlike the above description, it is possible that T_state02 may be configured as an operating time period or window during which both TCI states are activated, or during which both TRP#1 and TRP#2 are activated during operation.

[0078] Next, the UE performs beam failure detection and recovery as specified in Rel-15 / 16 for TRP#1 by performing BFD 1004 and CBD 1006 for TRP#1.

[0079] Specifically, the UE continuously monitors the BFD-RS set configured for TRP#1 to detect beam failure (1004). If the link-level quality of all corresponding BFD-RS resources exceeds a threshold at a certain point in time (this BFD threshold Q_out is defined as the level at which the downlink radio link cannot be reliably received, and corresponds to the block error rate outage (BLER_out) of the virtual PDCCH transmission), a BFI can be identified. The physical layer (PHY) provides a BFI notification to the media access control (MAC) layer. The BFD procedure in the MAC 1004 is guided by a timer and a counter that counts the number of BFIIs. Each time a BFII is received, the timer is restarted, and if the timer expires, the counter is reset. Meanwhile, if N consecutive BFIIs are received, the BFII notification is notified. max Upon detecting (beamFailureInstanceMaxCount) BFIIs, the UE can declare that a beam failure has occurred for TRP#1. Subsequently, a CBD 1006 for TRP#1 is triggered. The UE monitors the link-level quality of the CBD-RS set (e.g., a set of CSI-RS or SSB) to re-establish connectivity. The UE measures the L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) for the reference signals of multiple CBD-RSs. If the measured L1-RSRP exceeds a predetermined value, a new beam can be identified.

[0080] The UE can skip or perform BFD and / or CBD evaluation based on the value of T_state02. If the UE determines that T_state02 is less than or equal to the time to evaluate BFD for TRP#2 (e.g., T_evaluate_BFD 910 in FIG. 9) (1008), the UE skips both BFD and CBD (1010). If the UE determines that T_state02 is greater than T_evaluate_BFD (1008), the UE performs BFD for TRP#2 (1012). The UE then compares the length of T_state02 with T_evaluate_CBD 920 to determine whether T_state02 is less than T_evaluate_CBD (1014). If the UE determines 1014 that T_state02 is less than or equal to the time to evaluate CBD for TRP#2 (e.g., T_evaluate_CBD 920), the UE skips CBD 1016. If the UE determines 1014 that T_state02 is greater than T_evaluate_CBD, the UE performs CBD for TRP#2 1018.

[0081] When BFD is performed for TRP#2 (1012), the UE performs N max1018 consecutive BFIIs must be detected before it can declare a beam failure based on the BFD-RS set of TRP#2. Next, CBD evaluation is triggered (1018), and the UE measures link-level quality, such as L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), for the reference signals in the CBD-RS set of TRP#2. In this way, the BFD procedure (1012) for TRP#2 at the MAC layer, guided by timers and counters, is configured independently compared to TRP#1. In step 1020, the UE declares a beam failure event if beam failure is identified for TRP#1 and / or TRP#2 during BFRQ (step 706 in FIG. 7). For TRP#2, if CBD is skipped, no action or no new beam information due to no action as the default behavior is reported. The UE reports beam failure content including (a) beam failure (BF) information for TRP#1 and / or TRP#2, (b) new beam information for TRP#1 (if any), and (c) new beam information, no action, or no new beam information due to no action (if any) for TRP#2. The UE then receives a BF R from the network providing the corresponding beam from TRP#1 and / or TRP#2 (1022).

[0082] The BFRQ generated in step 1020 may include beam failure information for each failed TRP, such as the beam failure index, TRP index, or configuration index of the corresponding TRP. The BFRQ sent in step 1020 also includes report content for TRP#1 and / or TRP#2, which is reported to the network via at least an uplink control information (UCI) message, a medium access control layer control element (MAC CE) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0083] In this way, if the UE detects a beam failure of any TRP among multiple TRPs (for example, TRP#2 fails in this example), the UE can send a BFRQ including the beam failure information of the failed TRP and new beam information to the active TRP#1. The active TRP#1 can then forward the BFRQ to the failed TRP#2 via the backhaul because the backhaul can have the latest available uplink resources to carry the BFRQ. In other words, the BFRQ procedure for M-TRP operation should be transmitted via a link with good channel conditions. If the backhaul is optimal, i.e., if the backhaul delay is assumed to meet the requirements or be close to zero, the BFR procedure can work well. If the backhaul is not optimal or if new beam information of the failed TRP#2 is not reported by the UE, the active TRP#1 can decide to instruct the UE to switch from multi-TRP operation mode to single-TRP operation mode. This situation occurs when the backhaul delay is not suitable for the BFR procedure delay requirement set by the BFR timer, or when the UE may be completely blocked and therefore unable to reach the failed TRP#2. The TRP transmitting the PDCCH at a higher level can be configured based on the RRC configuration. For example, assuming two TRPs (TRP A and TRP B) are operational, in a first RRC configuration, TRP A may be configured to transmit the PDCCH, so that TRP A becomes the primary TRP or TRP#1, and TRP B becomes TRP#2. In a second RRC configuration, TRP B may be configured to transmit the PDCCH, so that TRP B becomes the primary TRP or TRP#1, and TRP A becomes TRP#2. In this way, flexibility in M-TRP URLLC operation is achieved.

[0084] Additionally, multiple TRPs can be configured via higher layer parameters to operate under a carrier aggregation (CA) framework. Specifically, TRP A can be configured to operate as a primary cell (PCell) or primary TRP, and TRP B can be configured to operate as a secondary cell (SCell) or secondary TRP. In this way, either the BFR procedure proposed in this embodiment or Rel-16 BFR for multiple SCells with some extensions can be used.

[0085] Furthermore, up to two separate scheduling request (SR) configurations, each including separate PUCCH resources (i.e., SR-PUCCH resources), can be assigned to transmit the BFRQs of the two TRPs, TRP#1 and TRP#2. If one common SR-PUCCH resource is assigned to both TRP#1 and TRP#2, and one TRP fails, the UE can transmit the BFRQ of the failed TRP to the active TRP based on this common SR-PUCCH resource. If two separate SR-PUCCH#1 and SR-PUCCH#2 resources are assigned to TRP#1 and TRP#2, respectively, and TRP#2 fails, the UE can transmit the BFRQ information of TRP#2 to the active TRP#1 based on one of the assigned SR-PUCCH#1 and SR-PUCCH#2 resources. If three or more TRPs are active, the TRPs can be grouped into multiple groups, and each group can be assigned an SR-PUCCH resource for transmitting BFRQ information. For example, if there are two TRP groups, with the first group including the primary TRP (or TRP#1) and the second group including the remaining TRPs (or secondary TRPs), SR-PUCCH#1 and SR-PUCCH#2 resources can be allocated to the first and second groups, respectively. However, as mentioned above, a common SR-PUCCH resource may be allocated to both groups for transmitting BFRQ information. This may be up to the network implementation or a predefined provision in the specification.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 8, the UE is configured to simultaneously receive an independent PDSCH 610 from TRP#1 and an independent PDSCH 612 from TRP#2 during T_state02. FIG. 11 illustrates a second BFR procedure according to the present disclosure. First, the network configures 1102 parameters to transmit PDSCHs from up to two TRPs (e.g., TRP#1 and TRP#2). As shown in FIG. 10, the UE always performs both BFD and CBD for TRP#1. To help the UE save power, the network determines whether the UE should perform BFD and CBD or both for TRP#2 and sends an explicit notification to the UE.

[0087] The network first determines whether the UE will perform BFD, CBD, or both for TRP#2 by determining (1104) whether T_state02 is less than or equal to T_evaluate_BFD. If T_state02 is greater than T_evaluate_BFD (1104), the network sets the parameter BFDTRP2 to enable (1106), indicating that the UE will perform normal BFD / BFR for TRP#2. If T_state02 is less than or equal to T_evaluate_BFD (1104), the network sets the parameter BFDTRP2 to disable (1108), indicating that the UE will perform neither BFD nor CBD for TRP#2.

[0088] Next, the network determines whether T_state02 is less than or equal to T_evaluate_CBD (1110). If T_state02 is greater than T_evaluate_CBD (1110), the network sets parameter CBDTRP2 to enable (1112), indicating that the UE will perform normal CBD for TRP#2. If T_state02 is less than or equal to T_evaluate_CBD (1110), the network sets parameter CBDTRP2 to disable (1114), indicating that the UE will not perform CBD for TRP#2.

[0089] The decision criteria in steps 1104 and 1110 depend on the implementation of the gNB, and other criteria may be used. Then, the network transmits the parameters BFDTRP2 and CBDTRP2, and the UE receives them (1116). The values ​​of BFDTRP2 and CBDTRP2 can be set and updated by using at least DCI, MAC CE, or RRC signaling.

[0090] Alternatively, the BFD and / or CBD parameters can be implicitly configured in the UE by interpreting the notification to configure the BFD-RS and / or NBI-RS sets. For example, assume that two sets of BFD-RS and two sets of CBD-RS are configured for TRP#1 and TRP#2. The UE implicitly understands that it needs to perform BFD and CBD evaluation for both TRP#1 and TRP#2.

[0091] Next, similar to the BFD (1004) and CBD (1006) procedures, the UE performs beam failure detection and recovery for TRP#1 as specified in Rel-15 / 16 by performing BFD (1118) and CBD (1120) for TRP#1. The UE performs beam failure detection and recovery for TRP#2 according to the values ​​of BFDTRP2 (1122) and CBDTRP2 (1124). In step 1122, if the value of BFDTRP2 is "disable", no BFD action is performed for TRP#2; otherwise, BFD is performed for TRP#2. In step 1124, if the value of CBDTRP2 is "disable", no CBD action is performed for TRP#2; otherwise, CBD is performed for TRP#2.

[0092] The UE declares a BF event if a beam failure for TRP#1 and / or TRP#2 is identified during the BFRQ (1126). The UE reports BF content, which may include BF information for TRP#1 and / or TRP#2, new beam information for TRP#1 (if present), and / or new beam information for TRP#2, no action, or no new beam information due to no action (if present). Finally, in step 1128, the network generates and transmits a BFRR including the corresponding beam information from TRP#1 and / or TRP#2.

[0093] In this way, the network reduces the number of reference signals (RS) for the UE by not configuring BFD and / or CBD RSs and by not sending T_state02 to the UE, and furthermore, the UE reduces its measurement effort and power consumption.

[0094] Because the operation of Figure 11 involves explicit network notification of the TRPs, the specific conditions based on the explicit network notification described above can be extended to more than two TRPs. That is, the BFDTRP (disable / enable) and / or CBDTRP (disable / enable) can be determined individually for each TRP and transmitted to the UE for use in the corresponding TRP. Alternatively, a common BFDTRP value (i.e., disable / enable) and / or a common CBDTRP value (i.e., disable / enable) can be signaled to all TRPs, respectively.

[0095] Another operating condition according to the present disclosure that enables reducing the measurement effort and power consumption of the UE is to define a new timer value (i.e., active operating time length T_state02) for each TRP. The new timer is configured in the UE. In this way, the TRP is activated for communication with the UE via a TCI state activation MAC CE and is deactivated either when the UE receives a TCI state deactivation MAC CE or when the timer expires. The timer value is signaled to the UE by using at least a DCI (per TCI state), a MAC CE, or RRC signaling.

[0096] Because BFD and CBD for TRP#1 are always performed, the timer value for TRP#1 is set as a symbolic value, such as infinity, so that timer-based deactivation does not occur. For TRP#2, the timer value (T_state02) is set as a finite value (i.e., TRP#2 is activated upon request). Because the timer value is a finite value, the evaluation of BFD / CBD for TRP#2 can be skipped as follows: if T_state02≦T_evaluate_BFD, the UE skips BFD and CBD; if T_state02>T_evaluate_BFD and T_state02≦T_evaluate_CBD, the UE performs BFD and skips CBD.

[0097] A beam failure for TRP#2 is identified and reported, and no action or no new beam information due to no action as default behavior is reported. This allows for more flexibility in M-TRP URLLC operation and reduces UE measurement effort and power consumption. Furthermore, since TRP#2 is deactivated upon timer expiry, no explicit deactivation (i.e., TCI State Deactivate MAC CE) for TRP#2 is required.

[0098] The network is N with one DCI. maxEnabled to support sending TRPs. max is a value (pre-configured) in the network specification. For a high-level solution, the evaluation of BFD and CBD is based on the maximum number of TRPs that a UE can associate with, N UE are skipped based on a flexible value of N UE The value of is signaled by using at least DCI, MAC CE, or RRC signaling.

[0099] N max >N UE In the case of (N max -N UE ) TRPs will have their BFD and CBD evaluations skipped. UE The list of values ​​of N can be selected by a set rule, such as a list of TRPs with the strongest RSRP, ascending / descending order of index, or other rules. UE The setting value of N depends on the UE capability. UE The value of is flexible, which can realize flexibility in M-TRP URLLC operation and reduce the measurement effort and power consumption of the UE.

[0100] In another high-level solution, the evaluation of BFD and CBD is min N min is the number of TRPs that need to be evaluated by the UE. max >N min In the case of (N max -N min ) TRPs will have their BFD and CBD evaluations skipped. min The list of N can be selected by (pre)configured rules, such as the list of TRPs with the strongest RSRP, ascending / descending order of index, or other rules. min This method of setting the value of N provides consistency across the network. min Since only the BFD and CBD of a single TRP need to be evaluated, the BFD measurement effort of the UE can be reduced.

[0101] Note that although the flowcharts and their descriptions in Figures 10 and 11 and the description of timer configuration discuss a scenario with two TRPs, the methods proposed there are also directly applicable to a scenario with N TRPs (i.e., T_stateN, BFDTPRN, and CBDTRPN to support URLLC transmission of N TRPs using one DCI). The value of N can be configured (pre-configured) or flexibly signaled by using at least DCI, MAC CE, or RRC signaling, depending on the UE capabilities.

[0102] Also, while the description here focuses on the scenario of M-TRP transmission based on one DCI, the discussed method is applicable to the scenario of M-TRP transmission based on multiple DCIs with some modifications. In particular, the evaluation of BFD and / or CBD for each individual TRP can be skipped according to certain conditions based on one or a combination of (a) the operating time length for each individual TRP, (b) explicit notification by the network, (c) timer settings (active time length for each individual TRP), (d) UE capabilities, and (e) the minimum number of TRPs.

[0103] It can thus be seen that the exemplary embodiments provide multiple mechanisms for enabling flexibility in M-TRP URLLC operation and reducing UE measurement effort and power consumption.

[0104] The present disclosure may be realized by software, hardware, or software interlocked with hardware. Each functional block described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely realized by an LSI (Large Scale Integration) such as an integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment may be partially or entirely controlled by the same LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be formed as an individual chip, or a single chip may be formed to include some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may also include data input / output devices coupled thereto. Here, LSI may be referred to as an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI depending on the degree of integration. However, the technology for realizing an integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and may be realized using dedicated circuits, general-purpose processors, or application-specific processors. Furthermore, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which allows reconfiguration of the connections and settings of circuit cells arranged within the LSI or a reconfigurable processor that can be programmed after fabrication, may also be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital processing or analog processing. As a result of advances in semiconductor technology and other derivative technologies, if future integrated circuit technologies replace LSI, functional blocks can be integrated using future integrated circuit technologies. Biotechnology is also applicable.

[0105] The present disclosure can be implemented by any type of apparatus, device, or system having a communication function, referred to as a communications apparatus. A communications apparatus may include a transceiver and processing / control circuitry. A transceiver may include and / or function as a receiver and a transmitter. A transceiver as a transmitter and receiver may include a radio frequency (RF) module including an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, etc., and one or more antennas. The processing / control circuitry may include a power management circuit, which may include dedicated circuitry, a processor, and instructions for power management control, either as firmware or instructions stored in a memory provided by the processor.

[0106] Some non-limiting examples of such communication devices include telephones (e.g., mobile (cell) phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, netbooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smart watches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine (remote health and remote medical) devices, and vehicles (e.g., automobiles, airplanes, ships) that provide communication capabilities, and various combinations thereof.

[0107] The communications apparatus is not limited to being portable or mobile, but may include any type of apparatus, device or system that is non-portable or fixed, such as smart home devices (e.g., appliances, lighting, smart meters, control panels), vending machines and any other "thing" in an "Internet of Things (IoT)" network.

[0108] The communications may include, for example, exchanging data via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, satellite systems, etc., and various combinations thereof. A communications device may include devices such as controllers or sensors coupled to the communications device that perform the communications functions described in this disclosure. For example, a communications device may include a controller or sensor that generates control or data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications device.

[0109] Communications equipment may also include infrastructure facilities such as base stations, access points, and any other equipment, device, or system that communicates with or controls equipment such as those in the above non-limiting examples.

[0110] While exemplary embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing detailed description of the present invention, it should be understood that numerous variations exist. It should further be understood that these embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, operation, or configuration of the present disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description provides those skilled in the art with a useful roadmap for implementing the exemplary embodiments, and it will be appreciated that various changes can be made in the functionality and arrangement of the network and / or UE transceiver devices described in the exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

[0111] 1. A transceiver that, in operation, receives signals on at least a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from multiple transmission and reception points (M-TRPs) in a network; A transceiver device comprising: a circuit for performing beam failure recovery (BFR) by evaluating beam failure detection (BFD) and candidate new beam detection (CBD) for the signal from a first TRP of the M-TRP during operation; A transceiver device in which the signal from the first TRP among the M-TRPs includes a signal received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the circuit determines, in response to one or more conditions, to skip evaluation of one or both of the BFD and the CBD for one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs.

[0112] 2. The transceiver device of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions include an operating time length of the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs determined by the circuit in accordance with an operating time length for performing BFR on signals from the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs.

[0113] 3. The transceiver device of claim 2, wherein the operation time length of the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs is notified from one of the M-TRPs using at least one of a DCI (downlink control information) message, a MAC CE (medium access control layer control element) message, or an RRC (radio resource control) message.

[0114] 4. The transceiver device of claim 2, wherein the one or more conditions include the operating time length of the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs determined according to an operating time length and an offset value for the first TRP among the M-TRPs to perform BFR.

[0115] 5. The transceiver device of claim 4, wherein the one or more conditions include the operation time length of the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs, determined by the circuit further depending on the PDCCH transmission time.

[0116] 6. A transceiver device as described in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the circuit skips evaluation of both the BFD and the CBD of the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs in response to the operation time length of the one or more additional TRPs being not longer than the evaluation time of the BFD.

[0117] 7. A transceiver device described in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the circuit skips evaluation of the CBD of the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs and evaluates the BFD when the operation time length of the one or more additional TRPs is longer than the evaluation time of the BFD and not longer than the evaluation time of the CBD.

[0118] 8. The transceiver unit declares a beam failure event and sends a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ) to one or more of the M-TRPs, the BFRQ identifying one or more of the beam failure (BF) events and reporting content including BF information and CBD information for one or more of the M-TRPs, and for each of the M-TRPs, the BF information includes a beam failure index, a TRP index, or a configuration index, and the CBD information includes corresponding new beam information (if present) and default information if no new beam information is available. A transceiver device as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

[0119] 9. A transceiver device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the circuit declares a beam failure event and generates beam failure report content for one or more of the M-TRPs, and the transceiver unit transmits the report content to the network via at least one of a UCI (uplink control information) message, a MAC CE (medium access control layer control element) message, or an RRC (radio resource control) message.

[0120] 10. The transceiver device of claim 9, wherein the report content generated by the circuit includes beam obstruction information (if identified) and CBD information for one or more of the additional TRPs of the M-TRP, and the CBD information consists of new beam information (if present) for the first TRP of the M-TRP, and default information if there is no new beam information for the one or more additional TRPs of the M-TRP.

[0121] 11. A transceiver device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the one or more conditions further include the operating time length of each independent TRP of the M-TRP.

[0122] 12. The transceiver of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions include information received by the transceiver.

[0123] 13. The transceiver device of claim 12, wherein the information is communicated using at least one of a downlink control information (DCI) message, a MAC medium access control layer control element (CE) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0124] 14. A transceiver device as described in claim 12 or 13, wherein the information includes BFD parameters and / or CBD parameters corresponding to one or more of the additional TRPs of the M-TRP, and the circuit skips evaluation of BFD depending on the BFD parameters corresponding to one or more of the additional TRPs of the M-TRP, and / or skips evaluation of CBD depending on the CBD parameters corresponding to one or more of the additional TRPs of the M-TRP.

[0125] 15. The transceiver device of claim 14, wherein the one or more conditions include not receiving reference signals for BFD and / or CBD for one or more of the additional TRPs of the M-TRP, and instead receiving the BFD parameters and / or the CBD parameters.

[0126] 16. A transceiver device as described in claim 14 or 15, wherein either or both of the BFD parameters and / or the CBD parameters are notified independently to each of the M-TRPs.

[0127] 17. A transceiver device as described in claim 14 or 15, wherein either or both of the BFD parameters and / or the CBD parameters are common to all of the M-TRPs.

[0128] 18. The transceiver device of claim 12 or 13, wherein the information includes a timer value corresponding to one of the one or more additional TRPs of the M-TRP, and the circuit skips evaluation of the BFD and / or the CBD for one of the one or more additional TRPs of the M-TRP depending on the timer value corresponding to one of the M-TRPs.

[0129] 19. The transceiver of claim 18, wherein the timer value comprises a finite value, and the transceiver is deactivated upon expiration of the timer.

[0130] 20. A transceiver device as described in claim 12 or 13, wherein the information includes a value corresponding to a maximum number of TRPs with which the transceiver device can be associated, and the circuit skips evaluation of the BFD and / or the CBD for one or more of the M-TRPs depending on the value corresponding to the maximum number of TRPs with which the transceiver device can be associated.

[0131] 21. A transceiver device as described in claim 12 or 13, wherein the information includes a value corresponding to the number of TRPs that need to be evaluated by the transceiver device, and the circuit skips evaluation of the BFD and / or the CBD for one or more of the M-TRPs depending on the value corresponding to the number of TRPs that need to be evaluated by the transceiver device.

[0132] 22. A transceiver device as described in claim 20 or 21, wherein the list of M-TRPs evaluated by the transceiver device is selected by a set rule such as a list of TRPs with the strongest RSRP, or in ascending / descending order of index, or by implementation of the transceiver device.

[0133] 23. A transceiver device according to any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the circuit identifies the first TRP among the M-TRPs in response to a signal received on a PDCCH in accordance with an RRC configuration of the network.

[0134] 24. A transceiver device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the transceiver unit simultaneously receives PDSCH from two or more of the M-TRPs, and the PDSCH received from each of the two or more M-TRPs is received at a different layer.

[0135] 25. A transceiver device according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the transceiver unit receives an M-TRP transmission signal based on one DCI.

[0136] 26. A transceiver device according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the transceiver receives signals for M-TRP transmission based on multiple DCIs.

[0137] 27. A network comprising multiple transmission and reception points (M-TRP) for transmitting and receiving signals; A system including a transceiver device having a transceiver unit that, during operation, receives signals from one or more of the M-TRPs; and a circuit that, during operation, performs beam failure recovery (BFR) by evaluating beam failure detection (BFD) and candidate new beam detection (CBD) on the signal from a first TRP among the M-TRPs, wherein the network generates one or more values ​​for performing BFD and CBD for one or more of the M-TRPs and transmits the one or more values ​​to the transceiver device, and the circuit skips evaluation of one or both of the BFD and CBD for the one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs depending on one of the one or more values ​​corresponding to one or more additional TRPs among the M-TRPs.

[0138] 28. The system of claim 27, wherein the one or more values ​​corresponding to one or more of the M-TRPs can be signaled using at least one of a downlink control information (DCI) message, a medium access control layer control element (MAC CE) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0139] 29. The system of claim 27 or 28, wherein the network generates the one or more values ​​for performing BFD and CBD for one or more of the M-TRPs depending on network implementation.

[0140] 30. A system according to any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein the transceiver receives the signals from one or more of the M-TRPs as M-TRP transmissions based on a single DCI.

[0141] 31. A system according to any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein the transceiver receives the signals from one or more of the M-TRPs as M-TRP transmissions based on multiple DCIs.

[0142] 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the one or more values ​​include an operating time length of each independent TRP or information about each independent TRP received by the transceiver unit of the transceiver device.

Claims

1. a transmitter that transmits a first set of beam failure detection (BFD) reference signal configurations, a second set of BFD reference signal configurations, a first set of candidate new beam detection (CBD) reference signal configurations, and a second set of CBD reference signal configurations; a receiver that receives a signal including a result of a first beam failure detection for a first transmission / reception point based on the first set of BFD reference signal configurations, a result of a second beam failure detection for a second transmission / reception point based on the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, and at least one result of a candidate new beam detection for the first transmission / reception point based on the first set of CBD reference signal configurations and a candidate new beam detection for the second transmission / reception point based on the second set of CBD reference signal configurations; Equipped with Communication equipment.

2. the transmitter indicates the first set of BFD reference signal configurations, the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, the first set of CBD reference signal configurations, and the second set of CBD reference signal configurations by Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; The communication device according to claim 1 .

3. the first set of BFD reference signal configurations and the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, and / or the first set of CBD reference signal configurations and the second set of CBD reference signal configurations are channel state information (CSI) reference signal configurations or synchronization signal block configurations; The communication device according to claim 1 .

4. Whether both the beam failure detection based on the first set of BFD reference signal configurations and the beam failure detection based on the second set of BFD reference signal configurations are performed is determined by a transmission configuration indication (TCI) of downlink control information, The communication device according to claim 1 .

5. receiving a signal including a first beam failure detection result associated with the first set of BFD reference signal configurations or a second beam failure detection result associated with the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, and a candidate new beam detection result associated with the first set of CBD reference signal configurations and a candidate new beam detection result associated with the second set of CBD reference signal configurations; The communication device according to claim 1 .

6. The communication device Transmitting a first set of beam failure detection (BFD) reference signal configurations, a second set of BFD reference signal configurations, a first set of candidate new beam detection (CBD) reference signal configurations, and a second set of CBD reference signal configurations; receiving a signal including a result of a first beam failure detection for a first transmitting / receiving point based on the first set of BFD reference signal configurations, a result of a second beam failure detection for a second transmitting / receiving point based on the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, and at least one result of a candidate new beam detection for the first transmitting / receiving point based on the first set of CBD reference signal configurations and a candidate new beam detection for the second transmitting / receiving point based on the second set of CBD reference signal configurations; Communication method.

7. Indicating the first set of BFD reference signal configurations, the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, the first set of CBD reference signal configurations, and the second set of CBD reference signal configurations by Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; The communication method according to claim 6.

8. the first set of BFD reference signal configurations and the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, and / or the first set of CBD reference signal configurations and the second set of CBD reference signal configurations are channel state information (CSI) reference signal configurations or synchronization signal block configurations; The communication method according to claim 6.

9. transmitting a signal including the result of the first beam failure detection and the result of the second beam failure detection to a base station; The communication method according to claim 6.

10. Whether both the beam failure detection based on the first set of BFD reference signal configurations and the beam failure detection based on the second set of BFD reference signal configurations are performed is determined by a transmission configuration indication (TCI) of downlink control information, The communication method according to claim 6.

11. receiving a signal including a first beam failure detection result associated with the first set of BFD reference signal configurations or a second beam failure detection result associated with the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, and a candidate new beam detection result associated with the first set of CBD reference signal configurations and a candidate new beam detection result associated with the second set of CBD reference signal configurations; The communication method according to claim 6.

12. transmitting a first set of beam failure detection (BFD) reference signal configurations, a second set of BFD reference signal configurations, a first set of candidate new beam detection (CBD) reference signal configurations, and a second set of CBD reference signal configurations; and receiving a signal including a result of a first beam failure detection for a first transmission / reception point based on the first set of BFD reference signal configurations, a result of a second beam failure detection for a second transmission / reception point based on the second set of BFD reference signal configurations, and at least one result of a candidate new beam detection for the first transmission / reception point based on the first set of CBD reference signal configurations and a candidate new beam detection for the second transmission / reception point based on the second set of CBD reference signal configurations. Integrated circuit.

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