User device and user device method

Abstract

To provide a method, a device, and a computer storage medium for beam management extension.SOLUTION: In a communication network, a terminal device receives 205, 210 a setting related to random resource selection and transmits 220 information about a target TCI state within a first set of TCI states for transmission between the terminal device and a network device to the network device. The first set of TCI states does not at least partially overlap with a second set of already activated TCI states. The target TCI state is outside the second set of TCI states. The terminal device then sets 225 at least the target TCI state within the first set of TCI states as active. As a result, no MAC CE activation is required. Thus, signaling overhead and delay are reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, apparatus, and computer storage media for beam management enhancements. [Background technology]

[0002] Mobile communications involve transmissions between terminal devices and network devices. In recent communication systems, such as New Radio Access Systems, also referred to as NR systems or NR networks, terminal devices and network devices can communicate via multiple beams. For this purpose, it has been proposed to use beam management to enhance transmissions between terminal devices and network devices. Beam management is a mechanism for acquiring and maintaining a set of beams for transmission and reception, and / or for detecting beam failures and recovering a beam for transmission. Work is underway to introduce beam management enhancements. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for beam management enhancements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In a first aspect, there is provided a method performed by a terminal device, the method including: transmitting to a network device information regarding a target transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state within a first set of TCI states for transmission between the terminal device and the network device, the target TCI state being outside a second set of already activated TCI states that does not at least partially overlap with the first set of TCI states; and setting as active at least the target TCI state within the first set of TCI states.

[0005] In a second aspect, there is provided a method performed by a network device, the method including: receiving, from a terminal device, information regarding a target TCI state belonging to a first set of TCI states for transmission between the terminal device and the network device, the target TCI state being outside a second set of already activated TCI states that do not at least partially overlap with the first set of TCI states; and performing communication with the terminal device based on at least the first set of TCI states.

[0006] In a third aspect, there is provided a method performed by a terminal device, the method including receiving, from a network device, information regarding a target TCI state within a first set of transmission configuration indicator TCI states for transmission between the terminal device and the network device, the first set of TCI states at least partially non-overlapping with a second set of already activated TCI states, and setting as active at least the target TCI state within the first set of TCI states.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a network device, the method including: transmitting, to a terminal device, information regarding a target TCI state belonging to a first set of transmission configuration indicator TCI states for transmission between the terminal device and the network device, the first set of TCI states at least partially non-overlapping with a second set of already activated TCI states; and performing communication with the terminal device based on at least the first set of TCI states.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a terminal device, the method including monitoring a beam failure detection BFD reference signal RS for a first TCI state in a set of TCI states, where a channel having the first TCI state is monitored by the terminal device, and monitoring a candidate beam detection CBD RS for each TCI state other than the first TCI state in the set of TCI states.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method executed by a terminal device, the method including receiving, from a network device, an indication of beam failure detection BFD suspension, stopping incrementing a counter of a beam failure instance BFI, and restarting the counter of the BFI after the BFD suspension.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a method performed by a network device, the method may include sending a beam failure detection BFD suspension indication to a terminal device.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device comprising: a processor; and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform a method according to any one of the first, third, fifth, and sixth aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a network device, the network device comprising: a processor; and a memory, the memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform a method according to any one of the second, fourth, and seventh aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to any of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] It should be understood that this Summary of the Invention is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of several embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings.

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0017] [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow for communication in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates a set of some example TCI states in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] [Figure 4] 10A-10C illustrate some exemplary sets of TCI states configured based on location, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 5] FIG. 10 illustrates another signaling flow for communication, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] [Figure 6] FIG. 10 illustrates a set of some other exemplary TCI states, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] [Figure 7] FIG. 10 illustrates another signaling flow for communication, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Figure 8] FIG. 10 illustrates another signaling flow for communication, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] [Figure 10] 1 is another flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] [Figure 11] 1 is another flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Figure 12] 1 is another flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 13] 1 is another flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 14] 1 is another flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] [Figure 15] 1 is another flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] In the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0034] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0035] As used herein, the term "network device" or "base station" (BS) refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage area over which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), a Node B for New Radio (NR) access (gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a low-power node such as a femto node, or a pico node. For purposes of explanation, some embodiments will be described below with reference to a gNB as an example of a network device.

[0036] As used herein, the term "terminal device" means any device with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktop computers, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, any Internet of Things (IoE) device, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, in-vehicle devices for V2X communications, etc., where the "X" in V2X represents a pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network, or an image capture device such as a digital camera, a gaming device, a music storage and playback device, or an internet appliance that enables wireless or wired internet access and browsing.

[0037] As used herein, the terms "resource," "transmission resource," "resource block," "physical resource block (PRB)," "uplink resource," or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource for performing communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the spatial domain, a resource in the code domain, or any other resource that enables communication. Hereinafter, resources in both the frequency domain and the time domain are used as examples of transmission resources to describe some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to other resources in other domains as well.

[0038] As used herein, the term "circuitry" can refer to a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. As yet another example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor with software, including a digital signal processor, software, and one or more memories, that cooperate to cause a device, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or a processor, such as a microprocessor or portion thereof, that requires software / firmware for operation, although the software may not be present if not necessary for operation. As used herein, the term "circuitry" also includes implementations of only a hardware circuit or one or more processors, or a portion of a hardware circuit or one or more processors and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0039] As used herein, the singular forms "a / an" and "the" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprises" and variations thereof should be understood as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on." The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," etc. may refer to different or the same object. The following may include other explicit and implicit definitions.

[0040] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," or "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to illustrate that choices may be made from among many functional alternatives used, and that such choices are not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or otherwise more preferable than other choices.

[0041] In some embodiments, the terms "transmission," "transmission occasion," and "repetition" may be used interchangeably. The terms "precoder," "precoding," "precoding matrix," "beam," "spatial relationship information," "spatial-domain transmit filter," "spatial-domain filter," "spatial parameters," "spatial relationship information," "spatial relationship info," "TPMI," "precoding information," "precoding information and layer number," "precoding matrix indicator (PMI)," "precoding matrix indicator," "transmit precoding matrix indication," "precoding matrix indication," "TCI state," "transmission configuration indicator," "quasi-co-location (QCL)," "quasi-co-location," "QCL parameters," and "spatial relationship" may be used interchangeably. The terms "SRI," "SRS resource set index," "UL TCI," "UL spatial-domain filter," "UL beam," and "combined TCI" may be used interchangeably. The terms "beam" and "link" may be used interchangeably.

[0042] In one embodiment, the terminal device may communicate with a terminal device in a communication network. Information about the configuration of the terminal device may be transmitted from a network device in the communication network or may be pre-configured. This information may be transmitted via any of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control (MAC) control elements (CE), Downlink Control Information (DCI), or pre-configuration.

[0043] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. Network 100 includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 served by network device 110. Network 100 may provide at least one serving cell 130 to serve terminal device 120. It should be understood that the numbers of network devices, terminal devices, and serving cells are given for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitations. Network 100 may include any appropriate number of network devices, terminal devices, and serving cells suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the terms “cell,” “serving cell,” “carrier component (CC),” and “bandwidth part (BWP)” may be used interchangeably herein.

[0044] In communication network 100, network devices 110 can communicate data and control information to terminal devices 120, and terminal devices 120 can also communicate data and control information to network devices 110. The link from network device 110 to terminal devices 120 is referred to as the downlink (DL) or forward link, and the link from terminal devices 120 to network devices 110 is referred to as the uplink (UL) or reverse link. The DL includes one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The UL includes one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0045] Communications in network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Furthermore, communications may be performed according to any currently known or future-developed generation of communications protocols. Examples of communications protocols include, but are not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), and 5G-advanced communications protocols.

[0046] In one embodiment, the network device 110 is configured to implement beamforming technology and transmit signals to the terminal device 120 via multiple beams. The terminal device 120 is configured to receive signals transmitted by the network device 110 via multiple beams. There may be different beams for transmission between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110. As shown in FIG. 1 , DL beams 140-1, 140-2, and 140-3 are configured for transmission. For convenience of explanation, DL beams 140-1, 140-2, and 140-3 are collectively or individually referred to as DL beams 140 or beams 140. It should be understood that the number of beams is given for illustrative purposes only and no limitation is implied.

[0047] As mentioned above, beam management has been used to enhance transmission between terminal devices and network devices. Beam management typically includes beam direction, beam failure detection (BFD), candidate beam detection (CBD), and beam failure recovery (BFR), etc. To better understand the principles and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a brief introduction to beam direction is provided below. BFD, CBD, and BFR will be described later.

[0048] Beam indication is typically used by network equipment to provide beam information to terminal equipment about which beam to use for transmission. Conventionally, for DL, beam indication based on transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status is used. For UL, beam indication is based on "spatial relationship". It has been proposed to use UL TCI or combined TCI for both DL and UL.

[0049] It has also been proposed to adopt a "QCL" concept. For example, two antenna ports are "QCLed" or "QCL'd" with respect to spatial receive (Rx) parameters, which means that, from the perspective of the terminal device, transmissions from these two antenna ports should share the same Rx beam. The QCL relationship between the demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) port of the PDSCH and the CSI-RS port of the CSI-RS resource indicates that the PDSCH uses the same beam as the CSI-RS.

[0050] The TCI state may be configured by a network device. For example, a list of TCI states may be configured per CC, per BWP, or per CC group. The TCI state configuration may be transmitted to a terminal device via RRC. The TCI state configuration may include a corresponding identifier (ID), a QCL type, and a corresponding reference signal (RS). As an example, the QCL attributes may be, for example, delay spread, mean delay, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, and spatial reception (RX). QCL type A represents Doppler spread, Doppler shift, delay spread, and / or mean delay, and QCL type D represents spatial RX. Currently, the QCL types are defined as follows: - "QCL-TypeA": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread} - "QCL-TypeB": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread} - "QCL-TypeC": {Doppler shift, average delay} - "QCL-TypeD": {Spatial reception parameters}

[0051] For example, the TCI status signaling and QCL information signaling may be shown as follows: TIFF2025172912000002.tif142151

[0052] After TCI configuration, the terminal device uses MAC CE to activate a subset of TCI states for the terminal device. For example, the MAC CE may activate a subset of TCI states configured by Radio Resource Control (RRC). Alternatively, the MAC CE may indicate the TCI state configured by RRC. MAC CE activation may be used for the PDSCH TCI state. MAC CE activation may also be used to map a TCI state identifier to a code point of a TCI field in downlink control information (DCI). The TCI field in the DCI may indicate a TCI state for the PDSCH from the activated subset of TCI states. If there is no TCI field in the DCI, the PDSCH beam follows the PDCCH.

[0053] As used below, the term "activation" means that for a corresponding activated TCI state, the terminal device must tune its Rx parameters, including its Rx beam, time / frequency synchronization, etc., to be ready to immediately receive using the TCI state when the TCI state is indicated in the TCI field of the DCI. As used below, the term "tracking" means more power and complexity than simply measuring the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or the Signal-to-Interference-and-Noise Ratio (SINR).

[0054] As used hereinafter, if the TCI state is an activated TCI state, the TCI state may be referred to as a "known TCI state." Additionally, if the terminal device has already transmitted information about the TCI state, the TCI state may be referred to as a "known TCI state." If the TCI state is an inactive TCI state, the TCI state may be referred to as an "unknown TCI state."

[0055] If the terminal device receives DCI indicating an activated TCI state in slot n, the terminal device may be able to transmit or receive PDSCH / PDCCH / CSI-RS / PUSCH / PUCCH / SRS with the TCI state of the serving cell or serving cell group for which TCI state switching occurs in the first slot after slot n+T1, where T1 includes at least the time required by the terminal device to perform PDCCH reception and apply spatial parameters.

[0056] If the terminal device receives a DCI indicating an inactive TCI state in slot n, the terminal device may be able to transmit or receive a PDSCH / PDCCH / CSI-RS / PUSCH / PUCCH / SRS with a TCI state of the serving cell or serving cell group for which a TCI state switch occurs in the first slot after slot n+T2, where T2 includes at least the time required by the terminal device to perform PDCCH reception, set the TCI state as activated, and apply spatial parameters.

[0057] However, for a moving terminal, such as a terminal in a high-speed train, frequent MAC CE activation is required, which causes delay and signaling overhead that affects transmission performance.

[0058] It has been proposed to indicate multiple TCI states for consecutive transmit beams for a terminal. It has also been proposed to extend the set of beams that can be applied by associating beams with time slots. However, these methods cannot provide protection or validation from terminals whose speed or position may change, which makes preset beam patterns less useful.

[0059] As described above, it is very difficult to enhance beam management, especially beam direction. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for enhancing beam management is proposed to address any of the above problems. If the target TCI state is outside the second set of already activated TCI states, the terminal device transmits information about the target TCI state to the network device. Then, the terminal device sets as active at least the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states that does not at least partially overlap with the second set of TCI states. By setting at least the target TCI state as active by the terminal device, MAC CE activation from the network device is not required, thereby reducing delay and signaling overhead.

[0060] The above describes beam indication. Below, information regarding BFD, CBD, and BFR will be described. Generally, a terminal device performs BFD to detect when one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) links are considered to be in a failed state. When the terminal device detects a beam failure, the terminal device performs CBD to detect new potential beams, referred to as candidate beams. The terminal device may also perform BFR to recover from the beam failure.

[0061] In this disclosure, several methods for improving BFD, CBD and BFR are also proposed, which will be described in detail later.

[0062] To better understand solutions for beam management enhancements, several embodiments will now be described with reference to FIGS. Beam Directing Extension

[0063] 2 is a diagram illustrating a signaling flow 200 for communication in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, signaling flow 200 involves terminal device 120 and network device 110, as shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration, one terminal device and one network device are shown in FIG. 2. It should be understood that signaling flow 200 may involve more terminal devices or more network devices, and the number of terminal devices or network devices shown in FIG. 2 is used for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation.

[0064] During operation, network device 110 may transmit (205) a TCI state set configuration to terminal device 120. For example, the TCI state set configuration may be transmitted via RRC, MAC CE, DCI, or may be preconfigured. The TCI state set configuration may indicate at least a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states. Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit an acknowledgement to network device 120 indicating that the TCI state set configuration is complete.

[0065] FIG. 3 illustrates several example TCI state sets according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, TCI state set 300 includes TCI state set 310 and TCI state set 320. TCI state set 310 includes TCI states with illustrated identifiers 1, 2, 3, and 4, and TCI state set 320 includes TCI states with illustrated identifiers 5, 6, 7, and 8. Within TCI state set 300, TCI state set 310 and TCI state set 320 do not overlap. It should be understood that TCI state set 300 may include more TCI state sets other than TCI state set 310 and TCI state set 320. Within TCI state set 300, all TCI states may be grouped into non-overlapping TCI state sets.

[0066] 3 , TCI state set 350 includes TCI state set 360 and TCI state set 370. TCI state set 360 includes TCI states with illustrated identifiers 4, 3, 5, and 6, and TCI state set 370 includes TCI states with illustrated identifiers 7, 6, 8, and 9. Within TCI state set 350, TCI state set 360 and TCI state set 370 do not overlap. A TCI state with identifier 4 is associated with TCI state set 360, and a TCI state with identifier 7 is associated with TCI state set 370. For each TCI state in TCI state set 350, a respective TCI state set may be configured by network device 110. 3, for a TCI state with identifier 4, associated TCI state set 360 may include TCI states with identifiers 4, 3, 5, and 6, while for a TCI state with identifier 7, associated TCI state set 370 may include TCI states with identifiers 7, 6, 8, and 9. It should be understood that TCI state sets 360 and 370 are for illustrative purposes only, and TCI state set 350 may include more TCI state sets other than TCI state set 360 and TCI state set 370.

[0067] The examples of TCI state set 300 and TCI state set 350 are shown for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. TCI state sets may be set using other suitable rules.

[0068] In some demonstrative embodiments, the TCI state set may be configured by the network device 110 based on either location, prediction, or other pre-configured rules. For example, the network device 110 may configure the TCI state set based on a TCI state-location association. FIG. 4 illustrates several TCI state sets configured based on location. In TCI state set 400, the terminal device 120 is moving along a trajectory 410, e.g., the terminal device 120 is on a highway or a railway. The TCI state set 400 may be configured based on the trajectory 410. As shown, the TCI state set 420 includes TCI states with identifiers 1, 2, 3, and 4, while the TCI state set 425 includes TCI states with identifiers 5, 6, 7, and 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 120 is located at a location associated with the TCI state with identifier 4 in the TCI state set 420 and moves to a location associated with the TCI state with identifier 5 in the TCI state set 425. For example, the terminal device 120 is located within the coverage area of ​​a beam corresponding to a TCI state with identifier 4 and moves to a location within the coverage area of ​​a beam corresponding to a TCI state with identifier 5.

[0069] In TCI state set 450, terminal device 120 is moving along trajectory 460. TCI state set 400 may be established based on trajectory 410. As shown, TCI state set 470 includes TCI states with identifiers 1, 2, 3, and 4, while TCI state set 475 includes TCI states with identifiers 5, 6, 7, and 8. As shown in FIG. 4 , terminal device 120 is located at a location associated with a TCI state with identifier 4 in TCI state set 470 and moves to a location associated with a TCI state with identifier 5 in TCI state set 475. It should be understood that these example TCI state sets are described for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure.

[0070] In some exemplary embodiments, the TCI state set may be configured by the network device 110 based on prediction. For example, the network device may configure the TCI state set based on TCI state transition probabilities. The TCI state transition probabilities may be calculated using statistical data or reports (e.g., historical data) collected from other terminal devices. If the current TCI state has identifier "x" at time t, the transition probability represents the probability that the terminal device will be served by a TCI state with identifier "y" for a duration of t+T, where T is a duration determined by the network device 110, reported by the terminal device 120, or pre-configured or pre-defined. Table 1 below shows the transition probabilities for the TCI state with identifier 4. It should be understood that although Table 1 only shows the transition probabilities for the TCI state with identifier 4, Table 1 may also include transition probabilities for other TCI states. TIFF2025172912000003.tif92168

[0071] The network device 110 may set the TCI state set based on transition probabilities, as shown in Table 1. For example, within the TCI state set 300 shown in FIG. 3, two TCI states within the same TCI state set have higher transition probabilities, for example, the transition probabilities from the TCI state with identifier 4 to the TCI states with identifiers 1, 2, 3, and 4 are relatively high (0.10, 0.20, 0.30, and 0.40 shown in Table 1), while two TCI states from different TCI state sets have lower transition probabilities, for example, the transition probabilities from the TCI state with identifier 4 to the TCI states with identifiers 5, 6, 7, or 8 are relatively low (0.05, 0.05, 0.00, and 0.00 shown in Table 1).

[0072] For another example, TCI states with higher transition probabilities may be set in one TCI state set, and TCI states with lower transition probabilities may be set in another TCI state set. The network device 110 may also set a threshold probability, such as 0.10, such that TCI states with transition probabilities higher than the probability threshold (TCI states with identifiers 1, 2, 3, and 4) may be set in one TCI state set, and TCI states with transition probabilities lower than the probability threshold (TCI states with identifiers 5, 6, 7, and 8) may be set in another TCI state set. The threshold probability may be determined by the network device 110, reported by the terminal device 120, or pre-set or pre-defined.

[0073] For example, within TCI state set 350, each TCI state associated with one TCI state set has a probability higher than a probability threshold. In some exemplary embodiments, network device 110 may transmit information regarding the transition probability of a certain TCI state to each TCI state in the associated TCI state set to terminal device 120. For example, network device 110 may transmit the transition probability of a certain TCI state to each TCI state in the associated TCI state set to terminal device 120. Alternatively, network device 110 may rank the TCI states in the associated TCI state set in ascending / descending order of transition probability. Then, network device 110 may transmit information regarding the TCI state set in ascending / descending order. In this manner, terminal device 120 is notified of the transition probability information of each TCI state in the TCI state set.

[0074] As described above, the TCI state set may be set by the network device 110 based on location or prediction. Additionally or alternatively, the TCI state set may be set by the network device 110 based on some settings or pre-configured rules, which will be described in more detail below. If the TCI state set may be set based on pre-defined or pre-configured rules, the network device 110 may further send instructions regarding the rules for setting the TCI state set to the terminal device 120.

[0075] Referring again to FIG. 2, the network device 110 may transmit 210 a DL reference signal (RS) to the terminal device 120. Alternatively, the terminal device 120 may perform DL RS measurements. For example, the DL RS may include an RS for the terminal device 120 to track a current TCI state and an RS for the terminal device 120 to report a new TCI state. In some exemplary embodiments, the RS may include one RS configured via a referenceSignal, e.g., having a QCL type D. Alternatively, the RS may be another RS ​​associated with the one RS configured via the referenceSignal or that is type D QCLed. In some exemplary embodiments, the DL RS transmission or measurements may be performed periodically.

[0076] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may measure RS only for first tier neighbors of the current TCI state. In the example of TCI state set 350, if the current TCI state is a TCI state with identifier 4, terminal device 120 may measure RS only for TCI states in TCI state set 360, i.e., for TCI states with identifiers 4, 3, 5, and 6.

[0077] The terminal device 120 may perform TCI state determination (215). For example, the terminal device 120 may track all TCI states in a set that includes the current TCI state. For example, if the current TCI state is a TCI state with identifier 4, the set that includes the current TCI state may be TCI state set 310 as shown in FIG. 3. In this case, the terminal device 120 may track TCI states with identifiers 1, 2, 3, and 4. All TCI states in TCI state set 310 may be set as active. The mapping from TCI states to TCI codepoints in the DCI may be automatically updated in Table 2 below. TIFF2025172912000004.tif67168

[0078] As shown in Table 2, the TCI field in the DCI may be fixed at 3 bits, and the mapping may be ordered by TCI state identifier (ID) (e.g., from lowest ID). Alternatively, the TCI fields in the DCI may be ordered in ascending / descending order of the transition probability of each TCI state. The width of the TCI field in the DCI may depend on the TCI state set size N, for example, ceil(log2(N)), where ceil() represents a ceiling function. The TCI states in the corresponding TCI state set may be automatically mapped to TCI code points in the DCI with aligned rules between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110. The network device 120 may use the conventional TCI field in the DCI to inform the terminal device 120 of the applied TCI state in the current TCI state set.

[0079] In some exemplary embodiments, all TCI states in the set are activated and no further tuning is required, so the application timing may follow the conventional definition for DCI-based TCI state switching. Initially, "current TCI state" = "initial TCI state", where "initial TCI state" may be defined by default behavior or signaled in a conventional manner. This reduces delay and signaling overhead since MAC CE activation is not required.

[0080] Terminal device 120 transmits (220) to network device 110 information regarding a target TCI state within a first set of TCI states for transmission between terminal device 120 and network device 110. The first set of TCI states does not at least partially overlap with a second set of already activated TCI states. The target TCI state is outside the second set of TCI states. For example, if the second set of already activated TCI states is TCI state set 310 as shown in FIG. 3, a target TCI state with identifier 5 is outside TCI state set 310 but within TCI state set 320. Terminal device 120 may transmit information regarding a target TCI set with identifier 5 within TCI state set 320 to the network device. It should be understood that in some embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit information regarding some target TCI states within the first set of TCI states for transmission.

[0081] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit information about the target TCI state when at least one of the following conditions is met: a first channel quality associated with the target TCI state is higher than a threshold quality; the first channel quality is higher than a second channel quality associated with a current TCI state in a second set of TCI states and a channel having the current TCI state is monitored by the terminal device; the first channel quality is higher than the second channel quality by an offset; or the first channel quality is higher than the second channel quality by multiple offsets. Examples of channel quality include, but are not limited to, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR).

[0082] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit information regarding the target TCI status in reporting resources on at least one of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical random access channel (PRACH). Additionally or alternatively, the reporting resources may be multiplexed with resources for beam reporting, CSI reporting, or beam failure recovery requests (BFRQ). Alternatively, the reporting resources may be dedicated resources reserved for terminal device to transmit information regarding the target TCI status.

[0083] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit a synchronization signals / physical broadcast channel block resource indicator (SSBRI) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI) for the target TCI state. Alternatively, terminal device 120 may transmit the SSBRI or CRI for the target TCI state together with the beam switching instruction. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 120 may transmit the SSBRI or CRI for the target TCI state together with the TCI state activation instruction. Alternatively, terminal device 120 may transmit information regarding a first set of TCI states. For example, the information regarding the first set of TCI states may include an identifier of the first set of TCI states and / or an identifier of a state within the first set of TCI states.

[0084] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit information about a target TCI state to trigger at least one of a channel acquisition procedure or a fine-tuning procedure. As used hereinafter, the term “fine-tuning” may refer to terminal device measuring, acquiring, or calculating time-, frequency-, spatial-, or power-domain parameters related to the target TCI state. More specifically, the time-, frequency-, or spatial-, or power-domain parameters may include average delay, delay rate, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average gain, spatial-domain Rx, etc. For example, the channel acquisition procedure may include one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) associated with the terminal device report for channel acquisition or a CSI report associated with the terminal device report for channel acquisition. The fine-tuning procedure may include a tracking reference signal (TRS) transmission for fine-tuning. In some exemplary embodiments, the time / frequency / spatial-domain resources of the SRS, the CSI report, and the TRS are associated with the information. Additionally, for terminal device 120, a spatial-domain transmit filter and transmit power for SRS transmission are related to the target TCI state. For the network device 110, the spatial domain transmit filter for the CSI resource for CSI reporting is associated with the target TCI state. For the terminal device 120, the QCL Type-D reference signal for the CSI resource for CSI reporting relates to the target TCI state. For example, the TRS transmission and CSI reporting may be aperiodic, or alternatively, may be repeated or semi-periodic.

[0085] After the terminal device 120 transmits (220) information about the target TCI state, the terminal device 120 sets (225) at least the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active. For example, the terminal device 120 may set the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active. The terminal device 120 may also update the mapping relationship between the TCI state identifier and the TCI codepoint in the DCI with the identifier of the target TCI state.

[0086] Additionally or alternatively, terminal device 120 may set each TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active. Terminal device 120 may further update the mapping relationship between TCI state identifiers and TCI code points in the DCI with the identifier of each TCI state in the first set of TCI states. For example, some or all TCI states in the first set of TCI states may be set as active after a duration X. Duration X may be equal to 0 or another suitable duration. Duration X for each TCI state in the first set of TCI states may be different.

[0087] For example, the updated mapping relationship between the TCI status identifier and the TCI codepoint in the DCI is shown in Table 3 below. TIFF2025172912000005.tif70125

[0088] In Table 3, the TCI codepoints in the DCI may be fixed or variable bit width, similar to Table 2. Table 3 also shows a reserved TCI codepoint (i.e., 111) in the DCI, which will be described later.

[0089] Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 120 may set at least one TCI state in the second set of TCI states as inactive. For example, in an example where the target TCI state is a TCI state with identifier 5 and the second set of TCI states is TCI state set 310 shown in FIG. 3 , some or all of the TCI states in TCI state set 310 may be set as inactive after duration Y. Duration Y may be equal to 0 or another suitable duration. Duration Y for each TCI state in the second set of TCI states may be different. It should be understood that durations X and Y may be configured or pre-configured by the network device 110, reported by the terminal device 120, or pre-configured or pre-defined. Duration Y may be equal to or greater than duration X. If duration Y is greater than duration X, the terminal device 120 may set the two sets of TCI states as active for duration YX. Durations X and Y may be counted from the time terminal device 120 transmits information about the target TCI state to network device 220. Durations X and Y may be counted when terminal device 120 receives confirmation from the network device indicating that the information about the target TCI state has been received by the network device. Alternatively, durations X and Y may be counted from the completion of the channel acquisition procedure and / or the fine-tuning procedure. For example, durations X and Y may be counted from the completion of SRS, the completion of CSI report transmission, or the completion of TRS transmission.

[0090] Additionally, the terminal device report may be acknowledged by the network device 110 to ensure correct reception of the PRACH / PUCCH / PUSCH. If the transmission is via PUSCH, the conventional method for ACKing the PUSCH may be reused, e.g., a DCI carrying the same HARQ process ID and toggling new data indicator (NDI). If the transmission is via PUCCH / PRACH, a dedicated PDCCH / RNTI may be considered for receiving acknowledgement, e.g., a dedicated control resource set (CORESET) / search space / Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) may be configured.

[0091] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may monitor a PDCCH having a target TCI state. For example, terminal device 120 may monitor a PDCCH having a target TCI state with identifier 5. Additionally, in a DCI mapping, a reserved state with a reserved TCI codepoint, such as TCI codepoint 111, may be mapped to a most recent TCI state, such as a TCI state with identifier 4. In this case, network device 110 may transmit an instruction to reject monitoring the target TCI state and return to monitoring the most recent TCI state. For example, the instruction to reject monitoring the target TCI state may include the reserved TCI codepoint in the DCI.

[0092] Additionally or alternatively, terminal device 120 may monitor a PDCCH having the latest TCI state, for example, a TCI state with identifier 4. In this case, the TCI state with identifier 4 may not be set as inactive. Terminal device 120 may then receive confirmation from network device 110 that a target TCI state, for example, a TCI state with identifier 5, will be used for future transmissions. In this case, in the DCI mapping, a reserved state with a reserved TCI codepoint, such as TCI codepoint 111, may be mapped to a target state, such as a TCI state with identifier 5. The reserved state may be used for network device 110 to confirm that a new set of TCI states has been activated. Terminal device 120 may further update the mapping relationship between TCI state identifiers and TCI codepoints in the DCI. In this case, the updated TCI states to TCI codepoints in the DCI mapping are shown in Table 4 below. In this case, if the TCI state with identifier 4 is active, the timing for setting the TCI state with identifier 5 as active may be, for example, a threshold duration X1 based on the terminal device capability timeDurationForQCL. If the TCI state with identifier 4 is inactive and the network device 110 sends a confirmation that a reserved TCI state, such as the TCI state with identifier 5, will be used for future transmissions, the timing for setting the TCI state with identifier 5 as active may be, for example, a threshold duration X2 greater than or equal to X1. For example, X2 may be set by adding a time for the activation delay to X1. TIFF2025172912000006.tif70128

[0093] In some exemplary embodiments, after setting some or all of the TCI states in the first set of TCI states as active, terminal device 120 may monitor a BFD RS for the first TCI state in the first set of TCI states. A channel having the first TCI state may be monitored by terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may also monitor a CBD RS for each state other than the first TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0094] Before transmitting (220) information about the target TCI state, terminal device 120 may monitor BFD RSs for the second TCI state in the second set of TCI states. A channel having the second TCI state may be monitored by terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may also monitor CBD RSs for each state other than the second TCI state in the second set of TCI states.

[0095] This eliminates the need for the terminal device 120 to measure all configured DL RSs for CBD, thereby reducing the complexity and power consumption of the terminal device 120. Details regarding BFD and CBD according to the present disclosure will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0096] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit to network device 110 a notification regarding whether terminal device 120 has the capability to support the above process, and / or information regarding at least one of the maximum number of TCI states in a TCI state set and the maximum number of TCI state sets, information regarding conditions for transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, or information regarding UL resources. The above process may be referred to as predictive beam direction or terminal device initiated / assisted beam direction. Network device 110 may switch between the conventional beam direction method and predictive beam direction via dedicated and / or explicit signaling, e.g., RRC information elements (IEs).

[0097] After setting at least the target TCI state as active, beam measurement and / or reporting may be performed between terminal device 120 and network device 110. In some exemplary embodiments, the reported TCI state applies to the PDCCH / PDSCH. For example, the reported TCI state may apply only to the PDSCH. Alternatively, terminal device 120 may report information about the TCI state for a specific channel / RS, e.g., a TCI state with identifier x for the PDCCH and a TCI state with identifier y for the PDSCH.

[0098] In some exemplary embodiments, network device 110 may be configured to change to a new set of TCI states. Network device 110 may update within the active TCI states and send a DCI indication of the TCI states to terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may then apply the indicated TCI states. Alternatively, network device 110 may need to reset the TCI state set. Network device 110 may then send the reset TCI state set to terminal device 120.

[0099] Such predictive beam directing can reduce delay and signaling overhead since MAC CE activation is not required, thereby improving beam directing.

[0100] In some exemplary embodiments, when a combined TCI may be applied to both DL and UL, the beam direction process described above may also be applied to UL. Additionally, the terminal device 120 may maintain or acquire a path loss for UL power control in a configured TCI state set. Alternatively, the beam direction process described above may be applied to UL without using a combined TCI. In this case, the terminal device 120 transmitting information regarding the target TCI state may be used as a "spatial relationship" or "activation" of the "UL TCI." In this case, MAC-CE signaling may be required. This allows the beam direction according to the present disclosure to be applied to both DL and UL, thereby reducing delay and signaling overhead.

[0101] Details regarding predictive beam pointing have already been described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Another exemplary embodiment of beam pointing according to the present disclosure is described below with reference to Figures 5-6.

[0102] 5 is a diagram illustrating a signaling flow 500 for communication in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, signaling flow 500 involves terminal device 120 and network device 110, as shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration, one terminal device and one network device are shown in FIG. 5. It should be understood that signaling flow 500 may involve more terminal devices or more network devices, and the number of terminal devices or network devices shown in FIG. 5 is used for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation.

[0103] During operation, the network device 110 may send an instruction regarding the rule for setting the TCI state set to the terminal device 120 (505). For example, the instruction regarding the TCI state set setting and / or the rule for setting the TCI state set may be sent via RRC, MAC CE, DCI, or may be pre-configured. The network device 110 may set the TCI state set according to a sliding window or other suitable rule. Both the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may be aware of the rule. For example, the rule for setting the TCI state set may include information regarding the sliding window.

[0104] FIG. 6 illustrates some exemplary TCI state sets established by a sliding window. As shown in FIG. 6, TCI state set 600 illustrates a TCI state set established by a one-dimensional (1D) sliding window. A rule for the 1D sliding window may be that for a TCI state having identifier n, TCI states having identifiers n-1, n, n+1, and n+2 may form a TCI state set for the TCI state having identifier n. As shown in FIG. 6, for a TCI state having identifier 5, TCI state set 620 is formed with TCI states having identifiers 4, 5, 6, and 7. TCI state sets 610 and 630 are formed similarly.

[0105] 6 also illustrates an example of a two-dimensional (2D) sliding window. Within TCI state set 650, TCI state set 660, set 670, and set 680 are formed based on configured or pre-configured 2D sliding windows. It should be understood that network device 110 may configure the TCI state set using any suitable rule or sliding window, and the example TCI state sets 600 and 650 are used for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitations.

[0106] Referring now to FIG. 5, network device 110 may transmit 510 a DL reference signal (RS) to terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may perform DL-RS measurements. For example, DL RSs may include an RS for terminal device 120 to track a current TCI state and an RS for terminal device 120 to report a new TCI state. In some exemplary embodiments, the RS may be one RS configured via a referenceSignal, e.g., having a QCL type D. Alternatively, the RS may be another RS ​​associated with one RS configured via the referenceSignal or that is type D QCLed. In some exemplary embodiments, DL RS transmission or measurements may be performed periodically.

[0107] The terminal device 120 may perform TCI state determination (515). For example, the terminal device 120 may track all TCI states in a set that includes the current TCI state. For example, if the current TCI state is a TCI state with identifier 4, the set that includes the current TCI state may be TCI state set 610 as shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the terminal device 120 may track TCI states with identifiers 3, 4, 5, and 6. All TCI states in TCI state set 610 may be set as active. The mapping from TCI states to TCI codepoints in the DCI may be automatically updated.

[0108] In some exemplary embodiments, all TCI states in the set are activated and no further tuning is required, so the application timing may follow the conventional definition for DCI-based TCI state switching. Initially, "current TCI state" = "initial TCI state", where "initial TCI state" may be defined by default behavior or signaled in a conventional manner. This reduces delay and signaling overhead since MAC CE activation is not required.

[0109] Network device 110 transmits (520) to terminal device 120 information regarding target TCI states within a first set of TCI states for transmission between terminal device 120 and network device 110. The first set of TCI states does not overlap, at least in part, with a second set of already activated TCI states. For example, network device 110 may transmit information regarding a target TCI set with identifier 5 within TCI state set 620. It should be understood that in some embodiments, network device 110 may transmit information regarding several target TCI states within the first set of TCI states for transmission.

[0110] In some example embodiments, network device 110 may transmit a TCI state identifier for the target TCI state to terminal device 120. For example, network device 110 may transmit the TCI state identifier for the target TCI state via a DCI or via a MAC CE.

[0111] After the network device 110 transmits (520) the information regarding the target TCI state, the terminal device 120 sets (525) at least the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active. For example, the terminal device 120 may set the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active. The terminal device 120 may also update the mapping relationship between the TCI state identifier and the TCI codepoint in the DCI with the identifier of the target TCI state.

[0112] Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 120 may set each TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active. The terminal device 120 may further update the mapping relationship between the TCI state identifiers and the TCI code points in the DCI with the identifiers of each TCI state in the first set of TCI states. For example, some or all of the TCI states in the first set of TCI states may be set as active after a duration X. The duration X may be equal to 0 or another suitable duration. The duration X for each TCI state in the first set of TCI states may be different. For example, in an example where the target TCI state is a TCI state with identifier 5 and the second set of TCI states is the set 620 of TCI states shown in FIG. 6 , the TCI state with identifier 7 is set as active X durations after the network device 110 transmits information about the target TCI state.

[0113] Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 120 may set at least one TCI state in the second set of TCI states as inactive. For example, in an example where the target TCI state is a TCI state with identifier 5 and the second set of TCI states is the TCI state set 610 shown in FIG. 6 , some or all of the TCI states in the TCI state set 610, such as the TCI state with identifier 4, may be set as inactive after a duration Y. The duration Y may be equal to 0 or another suitable duration. The duration Y for each TCI state in the second set of TCI states may be different. It should be understood that the durations X and Y may be configured or preset by the network device 110, reported by the terminal device 120, or preset or predefined. The duration Y may be equal to or greater than the duration X. The durations X and Y may be counted when the terminal device 120 receives a confirmation from the network device indicating that information regarding the target TCI state has been received by the network device. Alternatively, durations X and Y may be counted from the completion of the channel acquisition procedure and / or the fine tuning procedure.

[0114] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may monitor a PDCCH having a target TCI state. For example, terminal device 120 may monitor a PDCCH having a target TCI state with identifier 5. Additionally, in the DCI mapping, a reserved TCI codepoint, such as TCI codepoint 111, may be mapped to the most recent TCI state, e.g., a TCI state with identifier 4. In this case, network device 110 may reject monitoring the target TCI state and transmit an instruction to return to monitoring the most recent TCI state.

[0115] Additionally or alternatively, terminal device 120 may receive confirmation from network device 110 that a target TCI state, e.g., a TCI state with identifier 5, will be used for future transmissions. In response to receiving the confirmation, terminal device 120 may start monitoring a PDCCH having the target TCI state. In this case, in the DCI mapping, a reserved TCI codepoint, e.g., TCI codepoint 111, may be mapped to a target state, such as a TCI state with identifier 5. The reserved state may be used for network device 110 to confirm that a new set of TCI states has been activated.

[0116] In some exemplary embodiments, after setting some or all of the TCI states in the first set of TCI states as active, terminal device 120 may monitor a BFD RS for the first TCI state in the first set of TCI states. A channel having the first TCI state may be monitored by terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may also monitor a CBD RS for each state other than the first TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0117] Before receiving 520 information about the target TCI state, terminal device 120 may monitor BFD RSs for the second TCI state in the second set of TCI states. A channel having the second TCI state may be monitored by terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may also monitor CBD RSs for each state other than the second TCI state in the second set of TCI states.

[0118] This eliminates the need for the terminal device 120 to measure all configured DL RSs for CBD, thereby reducing the complexity and power consumption of the terminal device 120. Details regarding BFD and CBD according to the present disclosure will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0119] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit to network device 110 a notification regarding whether terminal device 120 has the capability to support the above process, and / or information regarding at least one of the maximum number of TCI states in a TCI state set and the maximum number of TCI state sets, information regarding conditions for transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, or information regarding UL resources. The above process may be referred to as predictive beam direction or terminal device initiated / assisted beam direction. Network device 110 may switch between the conventional beam direction method and predictive beam direction via dedicated and / or explicit signaling, e.g., RRC information elements (IEs).

[0120] After setting at least the target TCI state as active, beam measurement and / or reporting may be performed between terminal device 120 and network device 110. In some exemplary embodiments, the reported TCI state applies to the PDCCH / PDSCH. For example, the reported TCI state may apply only to the PDSCH. Alternatively, terminal device 120 may report information about the TCI state for a specific channel / RS, e.g., a TCI state with identifier x for the PDCCH and a TCI state with identifier y for the PDSCH.

[0121] In some exemplary embodiments, network device 110 may be configured to change to a new set of TCI states. Network device 110 may update within the active TCI states and send a DCI indication of the TCI states to terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may then apply the indicated TCI states. Alternatively, network device 110 may need to reset the TCI state set. Network device 110 may then send the reset TCI state set to terminal device 120.

[0122] Such predictive beam directing can reduce delay and signaling overhead since MAC CE activation is not required, thereby improving beam directing.

[0123] In some exemplary embodiments, when a combined TCI may be applied to both DL and UL, the beam direction process described above may also be applied to UL. Additionally, the terminal device 120 may maintain or acquire a path loss for UL power control in a configured TCI state set. Alternatively, the beam direction process described above may be applied to UL without using a combined TCI. In this case, the terminal device 120 transmitting information regarding the target TCI state may be used as a "spatial relationship" or "activation" of the "UL TCI." In this case, MAC-CE signaling may be required. This allows the beam direction according to the present disclosure to be applied to both DL and UL, thereby reducing delay and signaling overhead.

[0124] Details of prediction-based beam direction have already been described with reference to Figures 2 to 6. Hereinafter, extensions to BFD and CBD will be described with reference to Figure 7. BFD and CBD extensions

[0125] The network device may configure the terminal device with a set of reference signals (RSs) for monitoring link quality. This set of RSs may be referred to as Q0 or beam failure detection RSs (BFD-RSs). Typically, the BFD-RSs are configured to be spatially QCLed with the PDCCH demodulation reference signals (DMRSs). That is, these RSs correspond to the downlink beams used for the PDCCH. The downlink beams are identified by the RSs by the synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block index (time position index) or the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource (set) index. The network device may configure the BFD-RS list using radio resource control (RRC) signaling or by combined RRC and medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling.

[0126] The physical layer periodically evaluates the quality of the radio link based on the BFD-RSs in the Q0 set. The evaluation is performed for each BFD-RS, and if the radio link status of each BFD-RS in the beam failure detection set is considered to be in a failed state, a beam failure instance (BFI) indication is provided to a higher layer, e.g., the MAC layer. The evaluation and indication may be performed periodically.

[0127] The MAC layer implements a counter that counts BFI indications from the physical layer and declares a beam failure if the BFI counter reaches a maximum value (configured by the network device). This counter may be configured to be managed by a timer, such that the timer is started each time the MAC receives a BFI indication from the lower layer. When the timer expires, the BFI counter is reset (the counter value is set to zero).

[0128] The network device may provide the terminal device with a list of candidate RSs for recovery, which can be indicated using dedicated signals. Candidate beam L1 reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements may be provided to the MAC layer, which performs selection of a new candidate beam and determines uplink resources for indicating the new candidate beam to the network device. The network device may configure the terminal device to have dedicated signaling resources, such as contention-free random access (CFRA) resources, dedicated PUCCH, PUCCH-SR, and PUSCH, specific to the candidate beam. For example, the terminal device may indicate the new candidate beam by transmitting a preamble or a channel containing information about the new candidate beam. The candidate RSs may include SSB and / or CSI-RS.

[0129] The beam failure recovery procedure is initiated when the terminal device declares a beam failure and / or when the terminal device detects one or more new candidate beams based on L1 measurements (e.g., L1-RSRP). A dedicated signal that can be used to indicate candidate beams, or in other words, beams identified by downlink RSs (reference signals, SSBs, or CSI-RSs), may be configured (e.g., from the PRACH pool) for beam failure recovery purposes. This dedicated signal may be referred to as a BFR resource or a CFRA resource. Note that for the gNB response to preamble reception, the beam recovery procedure using a CFRA signal is slightly different from the random access (RA) process. A dedicated preamble may be configured for each candidate RS in the Candidate-Beam-RS-List. A certain threshold may be configured such that a dedicated signal (a set of resources or a list of candidate beams in set Q1) can be used to indicate new candidate beams if any of the new beam candidates (e.g., based on L1-RSRP measurements) is higher than the threshold. The terminal device first selects candidate beams from the set, and if there are no beams higher than a set threshold, the terminal device indicates new candidate beams using contention-based signaling. Contention-based random access (CBRA) preamble resources are mapped to specific downlink RSs (SSB or CSI-RS).

[0130] During the beam recovery response window (similar to the RAR window), the terminal device monitors the network response to the BFRR (or BFRQ) using the same beam alignment used to transmit the recovery signal (i.e., the same beam direction used for transmission (TX) is used for RX). The terminal device expects the network device to provide a response using a beam that is spatially QCLed with the indicated downlink reference signal.

[0131] This disclosure proposes several ways to improve the BFD and CBD described above. Details regarding BFD and CBD extensions are described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0132] Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which illustrates a signaling flow 700 for communication in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, signaling flow 700 involves terminal device 120 and network device 110, as shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration, one terminal device and one network device are shown in FIG. 7. It should be understood that signaling flow 700 may involve more terminal devices or more network devices, and the number of terminal devices or network devices shown in FIG. 7 is used for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation.

[0133] During operation, the network device 110 may send 705 a configuration for BFR to the terminal device 120 via an RRC or MAC CE or DCI. The configuration may indicate at least a set of TCI states including a first TCI state. The network device 110 may send 710 DL RSs for BFD and / or CBD for each link.

[0134] The terminal device 120 monitors (715) a BFD RS for a first TCI state in the TCI state set. A channel having the first TCI state may be monitored by the terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 monitors (720) a CBD RS for each TCI state other than the first TCI state in the set of TCI states. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, if the first TCI state is a TCI state with identifier 5 and the TCI state set is TCI state set 320, the terminal device 120 monitors (725) a BFD RS for the TCI state with identifier 5 and CBD RSs for TCI states with identifiers 6, 7, and 8. It should be understood that the network device 110 may periodically transmit (725) a DL RS to the terminal device 120 for each link. The terminal device 120 monitors (730) a BFD RS for the first TCI state and periodically monitors a CBD RS for each state other than the first TCI state in the TCI state set.

[0135] This eliminates the need for the terminal device 120 to monitor a CBD RS for each TCI state set by the network device 110. The terminal device 120 may monitor only a CBD RS for each state other than the first TCI state in a TCI state set that includes the first TCI state, thereby reducing the complexity and power consumption of the terminal device.

[0136] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine, based on information about the TCI state transition associated with the first TCI state, whether a probability that the first TCI state will be out of service during a predetermined or configured period is higher than a first threshold. In response to determining that the probability is higher than the first threshold, the terminal device 120 monitors the CBD RS. For example, the terminal device 120 may monitor a set of TCI states that does not include the first TCI state itself, or may monitor a set of TCI states with the first TCI state ranked lowest. If the probability is lower than the first threshold, the terminal device 120 does not monitor the CBD RS. For example, the terminal device 120 may not monitor a set of TCI states that includes the first TCI state, and the first TCI state may be ranked at the top or beginning of the set of TCI states. The first threshold is configured or preset. This allows the terminal device 120 to perform fewer CBD operations, further reducing the complexity and power consumption of the terminal device.

[0137] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may determine, based on the information about the TCI state transitions associated with the first TCI state, whether a probability that the first TCI state will be unavailable for a period of time is lower than a second threshold. Following a determination that the probability is lower than the second threshold, terminal device 120 may skip monitoring the BFD RS and / or CBD RS. This may allow terminal device 120 to perform fewer BFD and / or CBD, thereby reducing terminal complexity and power consumption.

[0138] The extensions for BFD and CBD have been described with reference to Fig. 7. Hereinafter, the extensions for BFD and BFR will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Extensions for BFD and BFR

[0139] Conventionally, in BFD, the physical layer may notify higher layers if the radio link quality is worse than a threshold Qout,LR by a period determined by the maximum of 2 ms and the shortest period between SS / PBCH blocks on the cell and / or periodic CSI-RS configurations in the set q0 used by the terminal device to evaluate the radio link quality. If BFI_COUNTER ≥ beamFailureInstanceMaxCount, a beam failure is declared and BFRQ is triggered.

[0140] However, in some scenarios, the obstacle may move periodically, causing a false failure. As used herein, the term "false failure" means that the network device may not transmit to the terminal device because it is aware of the blocking. However, a terminal device following conventional procedures will declare a failure and initiate BFRQ. False failures and unnecessary BFRQ procedures will further waste power and UL resources of the terminal device. For this reason, several methods are proposed to solve the above problems by improving BFD and BFR according to the present disclosure. An extension to BFD and BFR will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

[0141] Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which illustrates a signaling flow 800 for communication in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, signaling flow 800 involves terminal device 120 and network device 110, as shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration, one terminal device and one network device are shown in FIG. 8. It should be understood that signaling flow 800 may involve more terminal devices or more network devices, and the number of terminal devices or network devices shown in FIG. 8 is used for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation.

[0142] During operation, the network device 110 sends a BFD suspension instruction to the terminal device 120 (805). For example, the network device 110 may decide to suspend BFD based on predicted blocking failure or other rules. The rules for deciding to suspend BFD may include, but are not limited to, reports from other terminal devices, such as sensing, other auxiliary information from cameras, or planning on the network device side.

[0143] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit the indication of BFD suspension via a DL RS configuration for BFD. For example, the DL RS configuration for BFD may include at least one of a time domain location for a periodic DL RS associated with the BFD suspension, or a slot number or frame number of the BFD suspension. For example, the time domain location may be every nth transmission occasion of the periodic DL RS, or every n1, n2, or n1 transmission occasion of the periodic DL RS. It should be understood that n, n1, n2, and n2 may be any appropriate numbers. For example, the BFD suspension may include every X time units (X may be any appropriate number). The time unit may be ms / frame / slot / minislot / symbol, etc.

[0144] In some example embodiments, network device 110 may send an indication of BFD suspension via a MAC CE or DCI indication. The MAC CE or DCI indication may inform terminal device 120 not to count the next few RS measurements. Additionally, the MAC CE or DCI indication may inform terminal device 120 that the BFD suspension has ended.

[0145] After receiving the BFD suspension indication, terminal device 120 stops incrementing a beam failure instance (BFI) counter (810). For example, terminal device 120 may stop incrementing the BFI counter at the time domain position, slot number, or frame number indicated by the BFD suspension. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may set the BFI counter to 0.

[0146] After the BFD suspension, the terminal device 120 restarts the counters of the BFI (815). For example, the terminal device 120 may restart the counters of the BFI after the end of the BFD suspension indicated by the MAC CE or DCI indication.

[0147] By utilizing the above process, the terminal device does not need to increment the BFI counter based on the BFD suspension indication, thereby avoiding false failures due to periodic blocking, thereby avoiding unnecessary BFRQ procedures, reducing the terminal device's power consumption, and saving UL resources. Exemplary Methods and Apparatus

[0148] Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which is a flowchart of an example method 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 900 may be implemented in terminal device 120, such as that shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 900 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 900 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of terminal device 120.

[0149] In block 910, terminal device 120 transmits to network device 110 information regarding a target TCI state within a first set of TCI states for transmission between terminal device 120 and network device 110. The first set of TCI states does not at least partially overlap with a second set of already activated TCI states. The target TCI state is outside the second set of TCI states. In block 920, terminal device 120 sets as active at least the target TCI state within the first set of TCI states.

[0150] In some exemplary embodiments, transmitting information regarding the target TCI state includes transmitting information regarding the target TCI state when at least one of the following is met: a first channel quality associated with the target TCI state is higher than a threshold quality; the first channel quality is higher than a second channel quality associated with a current TCI state in a second set of TCI states and a channel having the current TCI state is monitored by the terminal device; the first channel quality is higher than the second channel quality by an offset; and the first channel quality is higher than the second channel quality by a plurality of offsets.

[0151] In some example embodiments, transmitting information regarding the target TCI condition includes transmitting information regarding the target TCI condition in a reporting resource on at least one of a PUCCH, a PUSCH, or a PRACH.

[0152] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 900 further includes receiving, from the network device 110, a confirmation regarding receipt of the information regarding the target TCI state.

[0153] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting resources are multiplexed with resources for beam reporting, CSI reporting, or beam failure recovery requests (BFRQ), or the reporting resources are dedicated resources reserved by the terminal device for transmitting information regarding the target TCI status.

[0154] In some exemplary embodiments, transmitting information regarding the target TCI state includes at least one of transmitting an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state, transmitting an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state together with an instruction for beam switching, or transmitting information regarding the first set of TCI states.

[0155] In some exemplary embodiments, transmitting information regarding the target TCI state includes transmitting information to trigger at least one of a channel acquisition procedure or a fine-tuning procedure, where the channel acquisition procedure includes one of an SRS associated with a terminal device report for channel acquisition or a CSI report associated with a terminal device reporting channel acquisition, and the fine-tuning procedure includes a tracking reference signal TRS transmission for fine-tuning.

[0156] In some exemplary embodiments, setting the target TCI state in at least the first set of TCI states as active includes monitoring a PDCCH having the target TCI state.

[0157] In some exemplary embodiments, setting at least one target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active includes starting monitoring for a PDCCH having the target TCI state in response to receiving confirmation from network device 110 that the target TCI state will be used for future transmissions.

[0158] In some exemplary embodiments, setting a target TCI state in at least the first set of TCI states as active includes setting a target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active, and updating a mapping relationship between a TCI state identifier and a TCI codepoint in the downlink control information DCI with the identifier of the target TCI state.

[0159] In some exemplary embodiments, setting at least the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active includes setting each TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active, and updating a mapping relationship between TCI state identifiers and TCI codepoints in the downlink control information DCI with the identifiers of each TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0160] In some embodiments, the method 900 further includes setting at least one TCI state in the second set of TCI states as inactive.

[0161] In some exemplary embodiments, the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states do not overlap. Method 900 further includes receiving, from network device 110, a TCI state set configuration indicating at least the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states.

[0162] In some exemplary embodiments, method 900 further includes receiving, from network device 110, a TCI state set configuration indicating at least a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states, wherein the first TCI state is associated with the first set of TCI states and the second TCI state is associated with the second set of TCI states.

[0163] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 900 further includes receiving, from the network device 110, an indication regarding a rule for setting the TCI state set indicating at least a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states.

[0164] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 900 further includes monitoring a BFD RS for a first TCI state in a first set of TCI states, wherein a channel having the first TCI state is monitored by the terminal device 120, and monitoring a CBD RS for each state other than the first TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0165] In some exemplary embodiments, method 900 further includes, before transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, monitoring a BFD RS for a second TCI state in a second set of TCI states, wherein a channel having the second TCI state is monitored by terminal device 120, and monitoring a CBD RS for each state other than the second TCI state in the second set of TCI states.

[0166] 10 is a flowchart of an example method 1000 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1000 may be implemented in network device 110 such as that shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 1000 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of network device 110.

[0167] In block 1010, network device 110 receives, from terminal device 120, information regarding a target TCI state belonging to a first set of TCI states for transmission between terminal device 120 and network device 110. The first set of TCI states does not at least partially overlap with a second set of already activated TCI states. The target TCI state is outside the second set of TCI states. In block 1020, network device 110 performs communication with terminal device 120 based on at least the first set of TCI states.

[0168] In some example embodiments, receiving information regarding the target TCI condition includes receiving information regarding the target TCI condition in a reporting resource on at least one of a PUCCH, a PUSCH, or a PRACH.

[0169] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 1000 further includes sending, to the terminal device, a confirmation regarding receipt of the information regarding the target TCI status.

[0170] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting resources are multiplexed with resources for beam reporting, CSI reporting, or beam failure recovery requests (BFRQ), or the reporting resources are dedicated resources reserved by the terminal device for transmitting information regarding the target TCI status.

[0171] In some exemplary embodiments, receiving information regarding the target TCI state includes at least one of receiving an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state, receiving an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state together with an instruction for beam switching, or receiving information regarding a first set of TCI states.

[0172] In some exemplary embodiments, receiving information regarding the target TCI state includes receiving information to trigger at least one of a channel acquisition procedure or a fine-tuning procedure, where the channel acquisition procedure includes one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) associated with a terminal device report for channel acquisition or a channel state information (CSI) report associated with the terminal device reporting channel acquisition, and the fine-tuning procedure includes a tracking reference signal (TRS) transmission for fine-tuning.

[0173] In some demonstrative embodiments, the method 1000 further includes transmitting, to the network device, a TCI state set configuration indicating at least the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states.

[0174] In some exemplary embodiments, the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states do not overlap, and the TCI state set configuration is determined by the network device based on at least one of a location associated with each TCI state in at least the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states, or information regarding a TCI state transition associated with each TCI state in at least the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states.

[0175] In some demonstrative embodiments, the method 1000 further includes setting a first set of TCI states based on information regarding a TCI state transition associated with the first TCI state, and setting a second set of TCI states based on information regarding a TCI state transition associated with the second TCI state.

[0176] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 1000 further includes sending, to the terminal device, an indication regarding a rule for setting the TCI state set, the indication indicating at least a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states.

[0177] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 1000 further includes updating a mapping relationship between the TCI state identifier and the TCI codepoint in the downlink control information DCI with the identifier of the target TCI state.

[0178] In some demonstrative embodiments, the method 1000 further includes updating a mapping relationship between a TCI state identifier and a TCI codepoint in downlink control information (DCI) with an identifier of each TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0179] Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which is a flowchart of an example method 1100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1100 may be implemented in terminal device 120, such as that shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 1100 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 1100 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of terminal device 120.

[0180] In block 1110, terminal device 120 receives from network device 110 information regarding a target TCI state within a first set of TCI states for transmission between terminal device 120 and network device 110. The first set of TCI states does not at least partially overlap with a second set of already activated TCI states. In block 1120, terminal device 120 sets as active at least the target TCI state within the first set of TCI states.

[0181] 12 is a flowchart of an example method 1200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1200 may be implemented in network device 110 such as that shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 1200 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 1200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of network device 110.

[0182] In block 1210, network device 110 transmits to terminal device 120 information regarding target TCI states belonging to a first set of TCI states for transmission between terminal device 120 and network device 110. The first set of TCI states does not at least partially overlap with a second set of already activated TCI states. In block 1220, network device 110 performs communication with terminal device 120 based at least on the first set of TCI states.

[0183] Reference is now made to FIG. 13, which is a flowchart of an example method 1300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1300 may be implemented in terminal device 120, such as that shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 1300 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 1300 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of terminal device 120.

[0184] In block 1310, the terminal device 120 monitors 1310 a beam failure detection BFD reference signal RS for a first TCI state in the set of TCI states. A channel having the first TCI state may be monitored by the terminal device 120. In block 1320, the terminal device 120 monitors candidate beam detection CBD RSs for each TCI state other than the first TCI state in the set of TCI states.

[0185] Reference is now made to FIG. 14, which is a flowchart of an example method 1400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1400 may be implemented in terminal device 120, such as that shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 1400 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 1400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of terminal device 120.

[0186] In block 1410, the terminal device 120 receives an indication of beam failure detection BFD suspension from the network device 110. In block 1420, the terminal device 120 stops incrementing the counter of the beam failure instance BFI. In block 1430, the terminal device 120 restores the counter of the BFI after the suspension.

[0187] 15 is a flowchart of an example method 1500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1500 may be implemented in network device 110 such as that shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 1500 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 1500 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of network device 110.

[0188] In block 1510, the network device 110 sends a beam failure detection BFD suspension indication to the terminal device 120.

[0189] Details of beam management extensions according to the present disclosure have been described with reference to Figures 1-15. An exemplary implementation of a terminal device 120 is now described below. In some embodiments, a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) comprises circuitry configured to transmit to a network device information regarding a target transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state within a first set of TCI states for transmission between the terminal device and the network device, the target TCI state being outside a second set of already activated TCI states that do not at least partially overlap with the first set of TCI states. The circuitry is configured to set as active at least a target TCI state within the first set of TCI states.

[0190] In some exemplary embodiments, when transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to transmit information regarding the target TCI state if at least one of the following is met: a first channel quality associated with the target TCI state is higher than a threshold quality; the first channel quality is higher than a second channel quality associated with a current TCI state in a second set of TCI states and a channel having the current TCI state is monitored by the terminal device; the first channel quality is higher than the second channel quality by an offset; and the first channel quality is higher than the second channel quality by a plurality of offsets.

[0191] In some exemplary embodiments, when transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to transmit the information regarding the target TCI state in a reporting resource on at least one of a PUCCH, a PUSCH, or a PRACH.

[0192] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive, from the network device, an acknowledgement regarding receipt of the information regarding the target TCI state.

[0193] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting resources are multiplexed with resources for beam reporting, CSI reporting, or beam failure recovery requests (BFRQ), or the reporting resources are dedicated resources reserved by the terminal device for transmitting information regarding the target TCI status.

[0194] In some exemplary embodiments, when transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to perform at least one of: transmitting an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state, transmitting an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state together with an instruction for beam switching, or transmitting information regarding a first set of TCI states.

[0195] In some exemplary embodiments, upon transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to transmit the information to trigger at least one of a channel acquisition procedure or a fine-tuning procedure, wherein the channel acquisition procedure includes one of an SRS associated with a terminal device report for channel acquisition or a CSI report associated with a terminal device reporting channel acquisition, and the fine-tuning procedure includes a tracking reference signal TRS transmission for fine-tuning.

[0196] In some exemplary embodiments, upon setting a target TCI state in at least a first set of TCI states as active, the circuitry is configured to monitor a PDCCH having the target TCI state.

[0197] In some exemplary embodiments, upon setting at least one target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active, the circuitry is configured to start monitoring a PDCCH having the target TCI state in response to receiving confirmation from the network device that the target TCI state will be used for future transmissions.

[0198] In some exemplary embodiments, when setting a target TCI state in at least a first set of TCI states as active, the circuitry is configured to set the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active and update a mapping relationship between a TCI state identifier and a TCI codepoint in downlink control information DCI with the identifier of the target TCI state.

[0199] In some exemplary embodiments, when setting at least the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active, the circuitry is configured to set each TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active and update a mapping relationship between TCI state identifiers and TCI codepoints in downlink control information DCI with the identifier of each TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0200] In some embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to set at least one TCI state in the second set of TCI states as inactive.

[0201] In some exemplary embodiments, the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states do not overlap, and the circuitry is further configured to receive a TCI state set configuration from the network device, the TCI state set configuration indicating at least the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states.

[0202] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive from the network device a TCI state set configuration indicating at least a first set of TCI states associated with a first TCI state and a second set of TCI states associated with a second TCI state.

[0203] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive, from the network device, an indication regarding a rule for setting a TCI state set indicating at least a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states.

[0204] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to monitor a BFD RS for a first TCI state in a first set of TCI states, a channel having the first TCI state being monitored by the terminal device, and to monitor a CBD RS for each state other than the first TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0205] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to, before transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, monitor a BFD RS for a second TCI state in a second set of TCI states, a channel having the second TCI state being monitored by the terminal device, and monitor a CBD RS for each state other than the second TCI state in the second set of TCI states.

[0206] In some embodiments, a network device (e.g., network device 110) comprises circuitry configured to receive, from a terminal device, information regarding a target TCI state belonging to a first set of TCI states for transmission between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110, the target TCI state being outside a second set of already activated TCI states that do not at least partially overlap with the first set of TCI states, and to perform communication with the terminal device 120 based on at least the first set of TCI states.

[0207] In some exemplary embodiments, upon receiving information regarding a target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to receive information regarding the target TCI state in a reporting resource on at least one of a PUCCH, a PUSCH, or a PRACH.

[0208] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to send to terminal device 120 an acknowledgment regarding receipt of the information regarding the target TCI status.

[0209] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting resources are multiplexed with resources for beam reporting, CSI reporting, or beam failure recovery requests (BFRQ), or the reporting resources are dedicated resources reserved by the terminal device for transmitting information regarding the target TCI status.

[0210] In some exemplary embodiments, upon receiving information regarding the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to perform at least one of receiving an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state, receiving an SSBRI or CRI regarding the target TCI state together with an instruction for beam switching, or receiving information regarding a first set of TCI states.

[0211] In some exemplary embodiments, upon receiving information regarding a target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to receive the information to trigger at least one of a channel acquisition procedure or a fine-tuning procedure, wherein the channel acquisition procedure includes one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) associated with a terminal device report for channel acquisition or a channel state information (CSI) report associated with a terminal device reporting channel acquisition, and the fine-tuning procedure includes a tracking reference signal (TRS) transmission for fine-tuning.

[0212] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to transmit to the network device a TCI state set configuration indicating at least a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states.

[0213] In some exemplary embodiments, the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states do not overlap, and the TCI state set configuration is determined by the network device based on at least one of a location associated with each TCI state in at least the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states, or information regarding a TCI state transition associated with each TCI state in at least the first set of TCI states and the second set of TCI states.

[0214] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to set a first set of TCI states based on information regarding a TCI state transition associated with a first TCI state, and to set a second set of TCI states based on information regarding a TCI state transition associated with a second TCI state.

[0215] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to send to the terminal device an instruction regarding a rule for setting a TCI state set indicating at least a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states.

[0216] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to update a mapping relationship between a TCI state identifier and a TCI codepoint in downlink control information (DCI) with an identifier of the target TCI state.

[0217] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to update a mapping relationship between TCI state identifiers and TCI codepoints in downlink control information DCI with an identifier of each TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0218] In some embodiments, a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) comprises circuitry configured to receive from a network device information regarding a target TCI state within a first set of TCI states for transmission between the terminal device and the network device, the first set of TCI states not at least partially overlapping with a second set of TCI states that have already been activated, and to set at least the target TCI state within the first set of TCI states as active.

[0219] In some exemplary embodiments, upon setting a target TCI state in at least a first set of TCI states as active, the circuitry is configured to monitor a physical downlink control channel PDCCH having the target TCI state.

[0220] In some exemplary embodiments, when setting a target TCI state in at least a first set of TCI states as active, the circuitry is configured to set the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active and update a mapping relationship between a TCI state identifier and a TCI codepoint in downlink control information DCI with the identifier of the target TCI state.

[0221] In some exemplary embodiments, when setting at least the target TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active, the circuitry is configured to set each TCI state in the first set of TCI states as active and update a mapping relationship between TCI state identifiers and TCI codepoints in downlink control information DCI with the identifier of each TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0222] In some embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to set at least one TCI state in the second set of TCI states as inactive.

[0223] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive instructions from the network device regarding rules for setting the TCI state set.

[0224] In some embodiments, the rules for setting the TCI state set include information about a sliding window.

[0225] In some exemplary embodiments, upon receiving information regarding the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to receive from the network device a TCI state identifier for the target TCI state.

[0226] In some exemplary embodiments, upon receiving a TCI state identifier for the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to receive the TCI state identifier via downlink control information DCI or via a media address control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0227] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to monitor a beam fault detection BFD reference signal RS for a first TCI state in the first set of TCI states, a channel having the first TCI state being monitored by the terminal device, and to monitor a candidate beam detection CBD RS for each state other than the first TCI state in the first set of TCI states.

[0228] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to monitor a beam fault detection BFD reference signal RS for a second TCI state in the second set of TCI states before receiving information regarding the target TCI state, a channel having the second TCI state being monitored by the terminal device, and to monitor a candidate beam detection CBD RS for each state other than the second TCI state in the second set of TCI states.

[0229] In some embodiments, a network device (e.g., network device 110) comprises circuitry configured to transmit to a terminal device information regarding a target TCI state belonging to a first set of TCI states for transmission between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110, the first set of TCI states not at least partially overlapping with a second set of already activated TCI states, and to perform communication with the terminal device 120 based at least on the first set of TCI states.

[0230] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to send instructions to the terminal device regarding rules for setting the TCI state.

[0231] In some embodiments, the rules for setting the TCI state set include information about a sliding window.

[0232] In some exemplary embodiments, when transmitting information regarding the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to transmit to the terminal device a TCI state identifier for the target TCI state.

[0233] In some exemplary embodiments, when transmitting a TCI state identifier for the target TCI state, the circuitry is configured to transmit the TCI state identifier via downlink control information DCI or to transmit the TCI state identifier via a media address control MAC control element CE.

[0234] In some embodiments, a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) includes circuitry configured to monitor a beam fault detection BFD reference signal RS for a first TCI state in a set of TCI states, a channel having the first TCI state being monitored by the terminal device, and to monitor a candidate beam detection CBD RS for each TCI state other than the first TCI state in the TCI state set.

[0235] In some exemplary embodiments, when monitoring the CBD RS, the circuitry is configured to determine, based on information about a TCI state transition associated with a first TCI state, whether a probability that the first TCI state will be out of service during a predetermined period of time is greater than a first threshold, and monitor the CBD RS pursuant to a determination that the probability is greater than the first threshold.

[0236] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to determine, based on information about a TCI state transition associated with the first TCI state, whether a probability that the first TCI state will be out of service during a predetermined period of time is lower than a second threshold, and to skip monitoring the BFD RS and / or the CBD RS in accordance with a determination that the probability is lower than the second threshold.

[0237] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive, from a network device, a configuration for beam failure recovery BFR, the configuration indicating at least the set of TCI states.

[0238] In some embodiments, a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) comprises circuitry configured to receive from a network device an indication of a beam failure detection BFD suspension, stop incrementing a counter for a beam failure instance BFI, and restart the counter for the BFI after the BFD suspension.

[0239] In some exemplary embodiments, upon receiving the BFD suspension indication, the circuitry is configured to receive the BFD suspension indication via a downlink DL reference signal RS configuration for BFD, receive the BFD suspension indication via a media address control MAC control element CE, or receive the BFD suspension indication via a downlink control information DCI indication.

[0240] In some embodiments, the configuration of the DL RS for BFD includes one of at least one time domain location for a periodic DL RS associated with the BFD suspension, or a slot number or frame number of the BFD suspension.

[0241] In some embodiments, a network device (e.g., network device 110) comprises circuitry configured to transmit a beam failure detection BFD interruption indication to a terminal device.

[0242] In some exemplary embodiments, when sending the BFD suspend indication, the circuitry is configured to send the BFD suspend indication via a downlink DL reference signal (RS) configuration for BFD, send the BFD suspend indication via a media address control (MAC) control element (CE), or send the BFD suspend indication via a downlink control information (DCI) indication.

[0243] In some embodiments, the configuration of the DL RS for BFD includes one of at least one time domain location for a periodic DL RS associated with the BFD suspension, or a slot number or frame number of the BFD suspension.

[0244] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to determine the BFD suspension instruction based on at least one of reports from other terminal devices, auxiliary information from sensing or cameras, or a plan in the network device.

[0245] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1600 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1600 may be considered as another exemplary implementation of the network apparatus 110 or the terminal apparatus 120 shown in Figure 1. Thus, the apparatus 1600 may be implemented in or as at least a part of the network apparatus 110 or the terminal apparatus 120.

[0246] As shown, the apparatus 1600 includes a processor 1610, a memory 1620 coupled to the processor 1610, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1640 coupled to the processor 1610, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1640. The memory 1610 stores at least a portion of a program 1630. The TX / RX 1640 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access nodes referred to herein may actually have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a mobility management entity (MME) / serving gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0247] The program 1630 is envisioned to include program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 1610, enable the device 1600 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-15 . The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1610 of the device 1600, by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1610 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 1610 and the memory 1620 may form a processing means 1650 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0248] Memory 1620 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. While only one memory 1620 is shown in device 1600, several physically distinct memory modules may be present within device 1600. Processor 1610 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 1600 may have multiple processors, for example, application-specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0249] Overall, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software executable by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented, by way of non-limiting example, in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0250] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, that execute within a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above with reference to any one or any combination of Figures 9-15. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0251] Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when executed by the processor or controller, cause the program code to implement the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a separate software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0252] The above-described program code may be embodied on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or associated with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned media. More specific examples of a machine-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0253] Although operations have been described in a particular order, it should not be understood that performing these operations in the particular order shown, or in any sequential order, or performing all of the operations described, is required to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Some features that are described in the context of individual embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0254] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure, as defined in the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. means for transmitting information to a network device to initiate a channel state information (CSI) report; means for transmitting at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI) and a synchronization signals / physical broadcast channel block resource indicator (SSBRI) to the network device for the CSI reporting; Equipped with The information is transmitted if a first reference signal received power (RSRP) for a new reference signal (RS) is superior to a second RSRP for the reference signal in a current target transmission configuration indicator (TCI). User equipment.

2. sending information to the network device to initiate channel state information (CSI) reporting when a first reference signal received power (RSRP) for a new reference signal (RS) is superior to a second RSRP for the reference signal in the current target transmission configuration indicator (TCI); transmitting at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI) and a synchronization signals / physical broadcast channel block resource indicator (SSBRI) to the network device for the CSI reporting; A method for a user device.

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