Communication method and terminal device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, an apparatus, and a computer storage medium, the method including: receiving, in a terminal device, from a network device, a configuration of Channel State Information (CSI) reporting indicating at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the terminal device, or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports; and transmitting the CSI report based on the information, the CSI report including at least one of a periodic CSI report, a semi-persistent CSI report, and a first type CSI report.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for Channel State Information (CSI) prediction in the time domain. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) methods are being considered for application in wireless communications, especially in CSI or beam prediction in the time domain. CSI / beam prediction is a continuous process, which may lead to frequent setting / activation or release / deactivation of CSI reports by control signaling. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] In general, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for CSI prediction in the time domain. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In a first aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving, in a terminal device, from a network device, a configuration of Channel State Information (CSI) reporting indicating at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the terminal device, or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports, and transmitting the CSI report based on the information, wherein the CSI report includes at least one of a periodic CSI report, a semi-persistent CSI report, and a first type CSI report.

[0005] In a second aspect, a method is provided, the method including: determining, in a network device, a configuration of a Channel State Information (CSI) report, the configuration indicating at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from a terminal device, or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports, and transmitting the configuration to the terminal device.

[0006] In a third aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device comprising: a processor; and a memory, the memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform a method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a network device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform a method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a computer readable medium is provided having instructions stored thereon that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the first or second aspect.

[0009] It should be understood that the summary 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 description of the drawings]

[0010] 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.

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communications network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0012] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example CSI prediction process in the time domain, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for CSI prediction in the time domain in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] In the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] 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 assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0024] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0025] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but each embodiment does not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an example embodiment, it is believed to be within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0026] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish the function of the various elements. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0027] The terms used herein are used only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "said" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that, as used herein, the terms "including," "including," "having," "comprising," "having," and / or "having" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] As used herein, the term "communications network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable communications standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and the like. Additionally, embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation of communications protocols now known or developed in the future. 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) communications protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks, and / or any other protocols now known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will naturally be future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure can be embodied. This should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure only to the aforementioned systems.

[0029] The term "network device" as used herein means a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage in which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a transmit / receive point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), an IAB node, a femto node, a pico node, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), a low power node such as a network controlled repeater, etc.

[0030] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include User Equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communications where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network, devices for integrated access and integrated access and backhaul (IAB), Small Data Transmission (SDT), Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBS), positioning, dynamic / flexible duplication in commercial networks, reduced capability (RedCap), High Altitude Platforms (HAP) including satellites and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). These include, but are not limited to, satellite-mounted vehicles or airborne vehicles in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) including the ICT Platform, extended reality (XR) devices including different types of reality such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are aircraft without a human pilot and are commonly referred to as drones, devices on high speed trains (HSTs), image acquisition devices such as digital cameras, sensor game devices, music storage and playback devices, or Internet appliances that enable wireless or wired Internet access and browsing.The "Terminal Equipment" may further have "Multicast / Broadcast" capabilities to support public safety and mission critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, Smart TV, wireless services, over-the-air software distribution, group communication and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs. The term "Terminal Equipment" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0031] The terminal device or network device may have the capability of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning. Generally, it includes a model trained from a large amount of data collected for a specific function and can be used to predict some information.

[0032] The terminal device or network device may operate on several frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410 MHz-7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz-71 GHz), frequency bands greater than 100 GHz, and Tera Hertz (THz). It can also operate on licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. The terminal device may have two or more connections with the network device under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenarios. The terminal device or network device can operate in full duplex, flexible duplex, and cross division duplex modes.

[0033] The network device may have a function of network energy saving, Self-Organizing Networks (SON) / Minimization of Drive Test (MDT). The terminal may have a function of power saving.

[0034] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in test equipment, such as, for example, a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal equipment, a test network equipment, a channel emulator, and the like.

[0035] While the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes in various exemplary embodiments, in other exemplary embodiments the functions may be realized in a user equipment device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a mobile IoT device, or a fixed IoT device). For example, the user equipment device may include corresponding capabilities described in connection with the fixed and / or wireless network nodes, as appropriate. The user equipment device may be user equipment and / or a control device such as a chipset or processor configured to control the user equipment when installed within the user equipment. Examples of such functions include a bootstrap server function and / or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented within the user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to perform from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0036] The term "circuitry" as used herein may refer to hardware circuits and / or a combination of hardware circuits and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware. As yet another example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor having 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 a portion thereof, that requires software / firmware for operation, but the software may not be present if not required for operation. As used herein, the term "circuitry" also includes an implementation 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) associated software and / or firmware.

[0037] 1 illustrates an exemplary communications network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Network 100 includes a network device 120 and terminal devices 110-1, 110-2, ..., 110-N served by network device 120. The serving area of ​​network device 120 is referred to as a cell 102. Hereinafter, terminal devices 110-1, 110-2, ..., 110-N may be collectively referred to as "UE 110" or "terminal device 110", and network device 120 may be referred to as "gNB 120".

[0038] It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is given for illustrative purposes only and no limitation is to be implied. Communications network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] As mentioned above, the topic of AI / ML-based CSI or beam prediction in the time domain, especially AI / ML-based discontinuous periodic CSI / beam measurement and reporting, has already been discussed. For example, the discussion on CSI or beam prediction in the time domain may focus on scenarios such as UE mobility, e.g., train, hypersonic transporter (HST), or highway.

[0040] For CSI / beam prediction in the time domain, it may be necessary to use periodic or semi-persistent reporting, especially during the period in which inference data is collected. Periodic or semi-persistent reporting is not necessary for inference (prediction) and application.

[0041] The periodic reporting may be configured or released by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, which may indicate the periodicity, the offset (i.e., the starting slot), and may be associated with a periodic CSI Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resource.

[0042] Semi-persistent reporting may refer to Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)-based semi-persistent CSI reporting and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)-based semi-persistent CSI reporting. PUCCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting may be activated or deactivated by a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE), while PUSCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting may be activated or deactivated by Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0043] For PUCCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting, the CSI-ReportConfigID may be activated or deactivated by the MAC-CE. The period and / or offset may be configured by RRC signaling. PUCCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting may be associated with periodic / semi-persistent CSI-RS resources.

[0044] For PUSCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting, the trigger state may be selected by DCI from CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList, and the trigger state may be associated with semi-persistent CSI reporting. The period may be configured by RRC signaling. The offset may be selected by DCI from an offsetlist (configured by RRC). PUSCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting may be associated with periodic / semi-persistent CSI-RS resources.

[0045] Periodic CSI-RS resources may be configured or released by RRC signaling, while semi-persistent CSI-RS resources may be activated or deactivated by the MAC-CE.

[0046] CSI / beam prediction is a continuous process, which may refer to data collection procedures, inference procedures, and application procedures, etc. Periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting needs to be frequently set / activated or released / deactivated by control signaling, which leads to excessive signaling overhead and delays. For example, in the collection procedure, the gNB may need to collect input data required for the AI / ML network (or model), which may be CSI / beams reported N consecutive times in the past. Meanwhile, in the inference procedure, the gNB may need to predict the beam to be applied in the future period using the collected input data and the AI / ML network.

[0047] For example, assuming that an AI / ML model is deployed at the gNB side, the gNB may configure or enable periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting and associated CSI-RS resources. For a periodic CSI-RS reporting scenario, the gNB may configure the periodic CSI reporting and associated periodic CSI resources (e.g., periodic CSI-RS resources) via respective RRC. Then, assuming that the reported beams are beam 1 to beam 4 in sequence, the UE may perform beam measurement based on the periodic CSI-RS resources and beam reporting in uplink (UL) resources associated with the periodic CSI reporting. The gNB may predict the beam (e.g., beam-5) in the next period, e.g., periodic CSI reporting period. Then, the gNB may release the configuration of the periodic CSI reporting and associated periodic CSI resources to reduce the overhead of beam measurement and reporting. Until beam 5 is about to fail, the gNB may configure another periodic CSI report and associated periodic CSI resource via the respective RRC.

[0048] In this process, the delay of RRC signaling is large, for example 10 ms, and the overhead of frequent configuration or release of P CSI reports / resources is also large.

[0049] For a semi-persistent CSI reporting scenario, the gNB may activate the semi-persistent CSI reporting and the associated SP CSI resources (e.g., SP CSI-RS resources) via the respective MAC-CEs. Optionally, the semi-persistent CSI reporting may also be activated by DCI, and the associated CSI resources may be P CSI resources configured by RRC. Then, assuming that the reported beams are beams 1 to 4 in sequence, the UE may perform beam measurement based on the SP CSI-RS resources and beam reporting in the UL resources associated with the semi-persistent CSI reporting. The gNB may predict the beam (e.g., beam-5) in the next period, e.g., the period of the semi-persistent CSI reporting. Then, the gNB may disable the semi-persistent CSI reporting and the associated SP CSI resources via the respective MAC-CEs to reduce the overhead of beam measurement and reporting. Until beam 5 is about to fail, the gNB may activate another semi-persistent CSI report and associated SP CSI resources via the respective MAC-CE.

[0050] In this process, the delay of MAC-CE signaling is large, e.g., 3 ms, and the overhead of frequent activation or deactivation of semi-persistent CSI reports / resources is also large.

[0051] In order to reduce the overhead and delay of RRC / MAC-CE / DCI signaling for reconfiguring or activating periodic or semi-persistent reporting CSI reports / resources, an AI-based beam / CSI prediction mechanism in the time domain is expected to achieve and reduce unnecessary signaling and resource overhead.

[0052] In the solution of the present disclosure, the UE may receive a CSI reporting configuration from the gNB. The configuration indicates at least information regarding at least one of a collection procedure of the gNB for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the UE, or an inference procedure of the gNB for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports. Then, the UE may transmit a CSI report based on the information. The CSI report includes at least one of a periodic CSI report, a semi-persistent CSI report, and a first type CSI report.

[0053] In this way, the signaling overhead and delay due to RRC / MAC-CE / DCI signaling for configuring or activating periodic or semi-persistent reporting CSI reports / resources can be significantly reduced.

[0054] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

[0055] Reference is now made to Figure 2, which is a signaling diagram illustrating an example CSI prediction process in the time domain, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes, the process 200 will be described with reference to Figure 1. The process 200 may involve a UE 110 and a gNB 120 as shown in Figure 1.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 2, the gNB 120 may determine a CSI reporting configuration that indicates at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the gNB for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the UE, or an inference procedure of the gNB for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports (202).

[0057] The gNB 120 may then send 204 a CSI reporting configuration to the UE 110. Based on the received configuration, the UE 110 may obtain information regarding at least one of a gNB collection procedure for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the UE, or a gNB inference procedure for inferring one or more CSI based on the collected one or more CSI reports, and based on this information, may not expect the CSI to be reported to the gNB 120.

[0058] With reference to FIGS. 3-5, the process 200 may be described in further detail according to the following embodiments.

[0059] In an active Downlink (DL) Bandwidth Part (BWP) / Component Carrier (CC), the UE 110 may be configured by the gNB 120 to have periodic CSI reporting. The reporting resources (PUCCH) associated with the CSI reporting are allocated within the active UL BWP / CC with a subcarrier spacing (SCS) = 15KHz. Therefore, the number of slots in one frame is TIFF2025503952000002.tif1022 is 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, frame 301 contains 10 slots. The offset (i.e., starting slot) of the CSI report, T offset and period T CSI may be 2 slots and 5 slots, respectively. Assume that a CSI report takes effect in frame 301, for example in slot 331 of frame 301.

[0060] Based on the AI / ML network (or model), the CSI / beam corresponding to time point M (within slot 335 of frame 303) can be predicted based on the reported CSI / beam corresponding to time points M-4 (within slot 331 of frame 301), M-3 (within slot 332 of frame 301), M-2 (within slot 333 of frame 302), and M-1 (within slot 334 of SFN 302). Therefore, in slot 335 of SFN 303, UE 110 does not need to send a CSI report to gNB 120.

[0061] In some embodiments, the information included in the CSI reporting configuration may indicate at least one of a first duration (which may also be referred to hereinafter as "Duration of AI") including a second duration (which may also be referred to hereinafter as "Duration of Collection") for which the collection procedure is performed by the network device, and a third duration (which may also be referred to hereinafter as "Duration of Inference") for which the inference procedure is performed by the network device.

[0062] In this case, the UE may, based on this information, cause the CSI report not to be expected to be notified to the network device within the third duration.

[0063] In some embodiments, the periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting may be associated with a DurationofAI, which includes a DurationofCollection and a DurationofInference, where the DurationofCollection is used to indicate a number of slots in which the gNB or UE needs to collect input data required for inference of the AI / ML network, and where the DurationofInference is used to indicate a number of slots in which the gNB or UE needs to predict (or infer) future CSI or beams based on the AI / ML network. That is, the DurationofCollection is used to indicate a number of slots in which the UE needs to transmit periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting to the gNB, which may be similar to an active time of CSI reporting. That is, the DurationofInference is used to indicate a number of slots in which the UE does not need to transmit periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting to the gNB, which may be similar to an inactive time of CSI reporting.

[0064] Therefore, if a UE is configured to have DurationofAI, DurationofCollection or DurationofInference, the UE transmits a CSI report within DurationofCollection and the UE drops the CSI report within DurationofInference, or the UE does not expect to report CSI within DurationofInference, which may indicate that the gNB cannot allocate CSI reporting resources.

[0065] In some embodiments, DurationofAI, DurationofCollection, or DurationofInference may be set or updated by control signaling, for example, RRC signaling, MAC-CE, DCI.

[0066] In some embodiments, DurationofAI includes Offset_DurationofAI, which indicates the starting slot (ie, offset) of DurationofAI, and Period_DurationofAI, which indicates the duration of DurationofAI.

[0067] In some embodiments, Offset_DurationofAI or Period_DurationofAI may be set or updated by control signaling, such as RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or DCI.

[0068] In some embodiments, the UE may assume that the offset or period of the DurationofAI is the same as the offset or period of the associated periodic or semi-persistent report. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the DurationofCollection 311 and DurationofInference 312 are 16 slots and 5 slots, respectively (i.e., DurationofAI 310 is 21 slots), and the offset and period of DurationofAI 320 are 2 slots and 5 slots, respectively.

[0069] In some embodiments, it may be that the duration of DurationofAI is 0, i.e., after the first DurationofAI ends, the UE should assume that the second DurationofAI starts immediately after the first DurationofAI. As shown in FIG. 4, DurationofCollection 411 and DurationofInference 412 are 16 and 9 slots, respectively, and the offset and duration of DurationofAI are 2 and 0 slots, respectively.

[0070] 3 and 4, DurationofCollection and DurationofInference do not overlap, i.e., DurationofInference starts in the first slot after the end of DurationofCollection. It is also possible that DurationofInference starts before the end of DurationofCollection, i.e., DurationofCollection and DurationofInference may partially overlap or even completely overlap.

[0071] In some embodiments, the information included in the CSI reporting configuration may include a first number (hereinafter, N C ), and a second number associated with the inference procedure (hereafter N I (also referred to as "interface") may also be indicated.

[0072] In this case, the UE may determine resources in the time domain where no CSI report is expected to be reported to gNB 120 based on the first number and the second number.

[0073] In some embodiments, the periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting is C (N C ≧1) and N I (N I ≧1), where N C is N C This means that N consecutive reported CSI / beams need to be used as input data for the AI / ML network, while N I N refers to the number of prediction results output by the AI / ML network. C =4, N I = 1 and N C =4, N I 5A shows an example of CSI prediction corresponding to N = 2. In other words, for example, as shown in FIG. CWithin N consecutive CSI reporting times, e.g., time instants M-4 (slot 551), M-3 (slot 552), M-2 (slot 553), and M-1 (slot 554), the UE needs to transmit a CSI report. I Within consecutive CSI reporting times, eg, time instant M (slot 555), the UE does not need to report CSI (or transmit a CSI report).

[0074] Therefore, the UE is NofAI, N C Or N I , then the UE may drop the Mth CSI report until the value of M satisfies: TIFF2025503952000003.tif8110, where n I =1,2...,N I , m=1,2, ...... (1)

[0075] Specifically, the UE may drop the Mth CSI report, which corresponds to the UE not expecting to report CSI (or transmit a CSI report) in (a slot corresponding to) the Mth PUCCH resource associated with the CSI report. Furthermore, the Mth PUCCH resource associated with the CSI report refers to the Mth P / SP PUCCH transmission according to the RRC configuring P CSI reporting or the MAC-CE activating semi-persistent CSI reporting. For example, the first PUCCH resource associated with the CSI report refers to the first periodic PUCCH transmission according to the RRC configuring periodic CSI reporting.

[0076] In some embodiments, the NofAI, NC, or NI may be set or updated by control signaling, such as RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or DCI.

[0077] According to existing standards, for configured periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting, the UE must report the SFN n f Slots This CSI report may be sent in TIFF2025503952000004.tif99, where SFN n f and the slot number within the frame TIFF2025503952000005.tif99 must satisfy the following:

[0078] In the case of PUCCH-based periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting, CSI and slot offset T offset is configured by the higher layer parameter reportSlotConfig. Unless otherwise specified, the UE shall use SFN n f and the slot number within the frame The CSI report should be sent in a frame with TIFF2025503952000006.tif1011. TIFF2025503952000007.tif10141Here, μ is the SCS setting of the UL BWP from which the CSI is transmitted.

[0079] For PUSCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting, CSI is configured by the higher layer parameter reportSlotConfig. Unless otherwise specified, the UE shall use SFN n f and the slot number within the frame The CSI report should be sent in a frame with TIFF2025503952000008.tif1011. TIFF2025503952000009.tif9148, where TIFF2025503952000010.tif815 and TIFF2025503952000011.tif815 are the SFN and slot number within the frame, respectively, of the initial semi-persistent PUSCH transmission according to the activation DCI.

[0080] The above conditions (abbreviated as n f and TIFF2025503952000012.tif1011) f and It should be understood that TIFF2025503952000013.tif1011 may have multiple values. In practice, each CSI report associated with a periodic or semi-persistent report may have a specific n f and It may also support TIFF2025503952000014.tif1011.

[0081] In some embodiments, the plurality of determined n f and TIFF2025503952000015.tif1011 is, TIFF2025503952000016.tif812 and TIFF2025503952000017.tif1016 in ascending order, TIFF2025503952000018.tif616. Specifically, TIFF2025503952000019.tif812 and TIFF2025503952000020.tif1016 is the (i+1)th determined n f and Points to TIFF2025503952000021.tif1011.

[0082] For PUCCH-based periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting, TIFF2025503952000022.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000023.tif1016 refers to the SFN and slot number within a frame of the initial periodic or semi-persistent PUCCH transmission according to the DCI that configures the periodic CSI reporting or the MAC CE that activates the semi-persistent CSI reporting, respectively.

[0083] For PUSCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting, TIFF2025503952000024.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000025.tif1016 refer to the SFN and slot number within frame, respectively, of the initial semi-persistent PUSCH transmission according to the DCI that activates the semi-persistent CSI reporting.

[0084] 6 illustrates an example diagram of CSI prediction in the time domain, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, assume that the configured P CSI report originates from SFN 1. The UE needs to transmit CSI reports in slot 661 of frame 601, slot 602 of frame 601, slot 663 of frame 602, slot 664 of frame 602, slot 665 of frame 603, slot 665 of frame 603, .... Therefore, TIFF2025503952000026.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000027.tif1016 are 1 and 2, respectively. TIFF2025503952000028.tif913 and TIFF2025503952000029.tif1017 is 1 and 7, TIFF2025503952000030.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000031.tif1118 is 2 and 2, respectively. TIFF2025503952000032.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000033.tif1118 are 2 and 7, respectively. TIFF2025503952000034.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000035.tif1017 is 3 and 2, respectively. TIFF2025503952000036.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000037.tif1017 are 3 and 7, respectively. TIFF2025503952000038.tif914 and TIFF2025503952000039.tif1118 is 4 and 2, respectively, i.e. The file is TIFF2025503952000040.tif12144.

[0085] UE is NofAI, N C Or N I If the UE is configured to have SFN n f and the slot number within the frame You may drop the CSI report in TIFF2025503952000041.tif99. TIFF2025503952000042.tif1030 TIFF2025503952000043.tif1337 TIFF2025503952000044.tif8121, where n I =1,2...,N I , m=1,2, ...... (4)

[0086] In other words, the UE is not expected to report CSI within a slot number within a frame and SFN that satisfies the above condition.

[0087] FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of an example of CSI prediction in the time domain, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, C =4, N I Assume that i = 1. The value of i is N C and N I The value of i is 4. Therefore, the UE can select the SFN n f and the slot number within the frame The CSI report may be dropped within TIFF2025503952000045.tif99, i.e., within slot 775 of frame 703.

[0088] In some embodiments, the gNB 120 may indicate to the UE that the reported CSI report is a discontinuous periodic type CSI report (DP CSI).

[0089] For the settings or parameters of DP CSI reporting, the settings or parameters related to periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting in Release 15 or 16 can be reused, except that DP CSI reporting is associated with new parameters, e.g., DurationofAI, NofAI, etc.

[0090] In some embodiments, DP CSI reporting may be configured or released by RRC and activated or deactivated by MAC-CE / DCI. For example, similar to periodic CSI reporting, DP CSI reporting (period and offset) may be configured by RRC. As another example, similar to PUCCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting, DP CSI reporting (period and offset) may be configured by RRC and activated by MAC-CE. It is also possible that similar to PUSCH-based semi-persistent CSI reporting, a trigger state list associated with multiple DP CSI reports (period) may be configured by RRC and the trigger state (offset) may be activated by DCI. For example, DCI may be scrambled by a new radio network temporary identity (RNTI), e.g., DP-CSI-RNTI.

[0091] For CSI-RS resource configuration capable of DP CSI reporting, periodic or semi-persistent CSI-RS resources may be supported.

[0092] Specifically, if DL reporting is configured by RRC, only periodic CSI-RS resources can be supported. If DL reporting is configured and activated by MAC-CE / DCI, periodic or semi-persistent CSI-RS resources can be supported. For example, the supported combinations of CSI reporting configuration and CSI-RS resource configuration and how CSI reporting is triggered for each CSI-RS resource configuration can be shown as follows: Table 1: Supported combinations of CSI reporting configurations and CSI-RS resource configurations and how CSI reporting is triggered for each CSI-RS resource configuration TIFF2025503952000046.tif143163

[0093] In some embodiments, to reduce Central Processing Unit (CPU) for configured CSI reporting, the UE may release the CPU during periods when CSI reporting is not required.

[0094] Specifically, for CSI reporting, when the following conditions are met, for example, when periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting is associated with DurationofAI, DurationofCollection, or DurationofInference, or when periodic or semi-persistent CSI reporting is associated with NofAI, N C Or N I , or if the CSI report is a DP CSI report (hereinafter may be referred to as satisfying the first type condition), the UE may occupy the CPU only within DurationofCollection, or occupy the CPU except for the report within DurationofInference. Also, the UE may determine whether to occupy the CPU based on the value of M corresponding to the report satisfying Equation (1), or based on the value of SFN n corresponding to the report satisfying Equation (4). f and the slot number within the frame Based on TIFF2025503952000047.tif1112, CPU may be reduced.

[0095] For an unnecessary CSI report, the UE may not receive the CSI-RS associated with the report to reduce power consumption. At the same time, the CSI-RS resource may not be configured by the gNB to reduce the overhead of CSI measurement. FIG. 8 illustrates an example diagram of CSI prediction in the time domain according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the UE does not expect to report CSI within time point M (in the UL: slot 885 of frame 803), and no transmission or reception of the CSI-RS associated with the CSI report within M (in the DL: slot 886 of frame 802) is expected.

[0096] In the case of CSI reporting, if the first type of condition is met, for periodic or semi-persistent CSI-RS, optionally, the UE omits the CSI-RS resource for channel measurement in the latest CSI-RS occasion prior to the CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within DurationofInference. As another option, the UE does not receive the CSI-RS for channel measurement from the first symbol after the PUCCH / PUSCH carrying the latest CSI report until the last symbol prior to the CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within DurationofInference.

[0097] The UE also receives a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report, a value of M corresponding to the report that satisfies equation (1), or an SFN n f and the slot number within the frame It is also possible to omit the CSI-RS resources for channel measurements within the latest CSI-RS opportunity prior to TIFF2025503952000048.tif1112.

[0098] In other words, the UE may determine, from the first symbol after the PUCCH / PUSCH carrying the latest CSI report, the CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report, the value of M corresponding to the report satisfying equation (1), or the SFN n corresponding to the report satisfying equation (4). fand the slot number within the frame No CSI-RS is received for channel measurements until the last symbol before TIFF2025503952000049.tif1112.

[0099] Furthermore, if the gNB does not need to transmit periodic or semi-persistent CSI-RS within a certain period of time, the corresponding physical resource may be used for data transmission, e.g., PDSCH. Therefore, for PDSCH mapping to virtual resource blocks, the UE should assume that the corresponding physical resource block used for CSI-RS (i.e., Non Zero Power (NZP) CSI-RS) is available for PDSCH.

[0100] Also, the time interval between an activation command indicating / updating a beam (i.e., a Transmission Coordination Indicator (TCI) state) and the last recent CSI-RS must be within 1280 ms. When multiple beams can be predicted, if the UE does not receive the above CSI-RS corresponding to the CSI report within DurationofInference, the time interval is likely to be longer than 1280 ms (considering that the maximum period of periodic CSI is 640 ms). Therefore, to solve this problem, the value of DurationofInference may be optionally limited to a threshold value smaller than 1280 ms. As another option, the above CSI report must also satisfy the time interval between the CSI report and the last CSI-RS must be shorter than 1280 ms.

[0101] According to existing standards, a UE supports only a limited number of active CSI-RS resources within an active BWP. In some embodiments, if a CSI report associated with a CSI-RS satisfies a first type of condition, the CSI-RS is inactive within a duration from the first symbol after the PUCCH / PUSCH carrying the latest CSI report to the last symbol before the CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report associated with the CSI-RS, where the CSI report is inactive within, for example, DurationofInference or a value of M corresponding to a report satisfying Equation (1) or SFN n corresponding to a report satisfying Equation (4). f and the slot number within the frame meet TIFF2025503952000050.tif1112.

[0102] Furthermore, a periodic or semi-persistent CSI report associated with DurationofAI or NofAI, or a DP CSI report, may collide with another CSI report, especially another periodic or semi-persistent CSI report, in the time domain. In this case, the priority of these CSI reports needs to be clarified. In general, the collected data is used to predict future CSI or beams, so if the time domain type of these colliding CSI reports is the same, the CSI report used for AI / ML-based CSI / beam prediction should have a higher priority.

[0103] Therefore, when a CSI report associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI collides with another CSI report not associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI and they are of the same type, the UE preferentially transmits the CSI report associated with the DurationofAI or NofAI.

[0104] For example, for a semi-persistent CSI report carried on a PUSCH and associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI, y=1; for a semi-persistent CSI report carried on a PUSCH and not associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI, y=2; for a semi-persistent CSI report carried on a PUCCH and associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI, y=3; for a semi-persistent CSI report carried on a PUCCH and not associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI, y=4; for a semi-persistent CSI report carried on a PUSCH and associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI, y=5; and for a semi-persistent CSI report carried on a PUSCH and not associated with a DurationofAI or NofAI, y=6.

[0105] As another option, the priority value may be determined according to y, w, k, c, and s. For example, where y=0 for aperiodic CSI reporting carried on PUSCH, y=1 for semi-persistent CSI reporting carried on PUSCH, y=2 for semi-persistent CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, y=3 for periodic CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, k=0 for CSI reporting carrying Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP), k=1 for CSI reporting not carrying L1-RSRP or L1, c is the serving cell index, and N cells is the value of the upper layer parameter maxNrofServingCells, s is the reportConfigID, and M s is the value of the higher layer parameter maxNrof-ReportConfigurations, where w=0 for a CSI report associated with DurationofAI or NofAI, and w=1 for a CSI report not associated with DurationofAI or NofAI.

[0106] Furthermore, when a DP CSI report associated with DurationofAI or NofAI collides with a periodic or semi-persistent CSI report, the UE may preferentially transmit the DP CSI report.

[0107] For example, DP CSI reporting may be configured by RRC in the same way as periodic CSI reporting, with the following options: y=3 for DP CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, and y=4 for periodic CSI reporting carried on PUCCH. Another option is y=1 for DP CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, y=2 for semi-persistent CSI reporting carried on PUSCH, y=3 for semi-persistent CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, and y=4 for periodic CSI reporting carried on PUCCH.

[0108] For example, DP CSI reporting may be activated by MAC-CE / DCI in the same way as semi-persistent CSI reporting, with the options y=1 for DP CSI carried on PUSCH, y=2 for DP CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, y=3 for semi-persistent CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, y=4 for semi-persistent CSI reporting carried on PUCCH, and y=5 for periodic CSI reporting carried on PUCCH.

[0109] As described above, the gNB may determine a CSI reporting configuration that includes information that causes the UE to determine that reporting of CSI reports within a particular duration is to be dropped. In some embodiments, the gNB may set the above parameters based on the UE indicating support for CSI / beam prediction for an AI / ML-based duration or the UE indicating support for AI / ML.

[0110] For example, the gNB may report the DurationofAI, DurationofCollection or DurationofInference, N according to the capabilities reported by the UE. C Or N I For example, the value of DurationofAI may be determined based on the UE capability maxDurationofAI, which refers to the maximum value of DurationofAI that the UE can support, the value of DurationofCollection may be determined based on the UE capability maxDurationofCollection, which refers to the maximum value of DurationofCollection that the UE can support, the value of DurationofInference may be determined based on the UE capability maxDurationofInference, which refers to the maximum value of DurationofInference that the UE can support, and N C The value of N that the UE can support C The UE's capability, maxN C can be determined based on N I The value of N that the UE can support I The UE's capability, maxN I It can be determined based on:

[0111] In some embodiments, for the UE, the AI / ML (inference) functionality can be controlled by the gNB. Specifically, the gNB can turn on or off the AI / ML functionality through specific control signaling (RRC / MAC-CE / DCI). For example, the UE may be configured by RRC with an enablement parameter that is used to enable the AI / ML functionality, otherwise the AI / ML functionality is not allowed on the UE side. In this case, when the AI / ML functionality is disabled, the UE may need to stop the current AI / ML related behavior. Therefore, enabling the AI / ML functionality should be a prerequisite for all UE behaviors mentioned above.

[0112] In some embodiments, the UE may receive a control command indicating that the AI / ML capability has been enabled.

[0113] The solution of the present disclosure described with reference to Figures 2-8 proposes a mechanism for AI-based beam / CSI prediction in the time domain, which can significantly reduce the signaling overhead and delay due to RRC / MAC-CE / DCI signaling for configuring or activating periodic or semi-persistent reporting CSI reports / resources.

[0114] 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 110, 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 that are shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0115] At 910, the terminal device receives from a network device a Channel State Information (CSI) reporting configuration indicating at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the terminal device, or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports.

[0116] At 920, the terminal device transmits the CSI report based on the information, where the CSI report includes at least one of a periodic CSI report, a semi-persistent CSI report, and a first type CSI report.

[0117] In some embodiments, the information indicates at least one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration, including a second duration for which the collection procedure is performed by the network device and a third duration for which the inference procedure is performed by the network device.

[0118] In some embodiments, the second duration and the third duration are non-overlapping or at least partially overlapping with each other.

[0119] In some embodiments, the configuration is received via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0120] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving an indication from the network device of an offset of the first duration and a period of the first duration.

[0121] In some embodiments, the indication is received via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0122] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining an offset of the first duration and a duration of the first duration based on a starting point and a duration associated with the CSI report.

[0123] In some embodiments, the method further includes causing the terminal device to not report the CSI report within the third duration.

[0124] In some embodiments, the information indicates a first number associated with the collection procedure and a second number associated with the inference procedure, the first number being a number of consecutive CSI reports used as input data for the inference procedure and the second number being a number of predicted results output in the inference procedure.

[0125] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining which CSI reports to drop based on the first number and the second number.

[0126] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a target frame number and a target slot number within a target frame based on the first number and the second number, and determining the CSI reports to be dropped based on the target frame number and the target slot number.

[0127] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, via radio resource control signaling, from the network device an indication that the CSI reporting is configured as the first type CSI reporting, and that the first type CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting, or that the CSI reporting is released from the first type CSI reporting.

[0128] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the network device, an indication via at least one of a media access control control element or downlink control information that the CSI reporting is activated as the first type CSI reporting or deactivated from the first type CSI reporting, wherein the first type CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting.

[0129] In some embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled with a discontinuous periodic CSI radio network temporary identity.

[0130] In some embodiments, the method further includes occupying a central processing unit of the terminal device during the second duration or releasing a central processing unit of the terminal device within the third duration.

[0131] In some embodiments, the method further includes releasing a central processing unit of the terminal device for the CSI reporting determined based on the first number and the second number.

[0132] In some embodiments, the method further includes releasing a central processing unit of the terminal device for the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number.

[0133] In some embodiments, the method further includes omitting one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within the third duration, or preventing the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within the third duration.

[0134] In some embodiments, the method further includes omitting one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the first number and the second number, or preventing the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the first number and the second number.

[0135] In some embodiments, the method further includes omitting one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number, or preventing the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number.

[0136] In some embodiments, the third duration is less than a threshold duration that is less than 1280 ms.

[0137] In some embodiments, the time interval between a CSI report and the latest CSI-RS may be less than 1280 ms.

[0138] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining that a CSI reference signal is inactive within a duration from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol before a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report associated with the CSI reference signal.

[0139] In some embodiments, the method further includes performing reporting of the CSI report associated with the information in accordance with a determination that the CSI report associated with the information conflicts with another CSI report not associated with the information.

[0140] In some embodiments, the method further includes performing reporting of the CSI report according to a determination that the CSI report is configured as the first type CSI report and that the CSI report has collided with another CSI report configured as a periodic or semi-persistent type CSI report, wherein the first type CSI report is a discontinuous periodic type CSI report.

[0141] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a control command from the network device indicating that the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality is enabled, and wherein the collection procedure and the inference procedure are performed by the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality.

[0142] In some embodiments, the method further includes reporting to the network device one or more capabilities of the terminal device, including a maximum duration of the collection procedure and the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum value for a first number associated with the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, or a maximum value for a second number associated with the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device.

[0143] In some embodiments, the terminal device comprises an terminal device and the network device comprises a network device.

[0144] Reference is now made to Figure 10, which is a flow chart of an example method 1000 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1000 may be implemented in network device 120, such as that shown in Figure 1. It should be understood that method 1000 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some of the blocks shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0145] At 1010, the network device determines a Channel State Information (CSI) reporting configuration indicating at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the terminal device, or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports.

[0146] At 1020, the network device transmits this configuration to the end device.

[0147] In some embodiments, the information indicates at least one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration, including a second duration for which the collection procedure is performed by the network device and a third duration for which the inference procedure is performed by the network device.

[0148] In some embodiments, the second duration and the third duration are non-overlapping or at least partially overlapping with each other.

[0149] In some embodiments, the information indicates a first number associated with the collection procedure and a second number associated with the inference procedure, the first number being a number of consecutive CSI reports used as input data for the inference procedure and the second number being a number of predicted results output in the inference procedure.

[0150] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining the setting based on one or more capabilities of the terminal device, including a maximum duration of the collection procedure and the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum value for a first number associated with the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, or a maximum value for a second number associated with the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device.

[0151] In some embodiments, the configuration is transmitted via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0152] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting to the terminal device an indication of an offset of the first duration and a period of the first duration.

[0153] In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0154] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication via radio resource control signaling, that the CSI reporting is configured as the first type CSI reporting, that the first type CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting, or that the CSI reporting is released from the first type CSI reporting.

[0155] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication via at least one of a media access control control element or downlink control information, that the CSI report is activated as the first type CSI report or deactivated from the first type CSI report, wherein the first type CSI report is a discontinuous periodic type CSI report.

[0156] In some embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled with a discontinuous periodic CSI radio network temporary identity.

[0157] In some embodiments, the method further includes sending a control command to the terminal device indicating that the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality is enabled, and the collection procedure and the inference procedure are performed by the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality.

[0158] Details regarding time domain CSI prediction according to the present disclosure have already been described with reference to FIGS. 2-10. An exemplary implementation of terminal device 110 will now be described. In some embodiments, terminal device 110 comprises a circuit, the circuit comprising:

[0159] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises a circuit configured to receive, from a network device, a Channel State Information (CSI) reporting configuration indicating at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the terminal device, or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports, and to transmit the CSI report based on the information, the CSI report including at least one of a periodic CSI report, a semi-persistent CSI report, and a first type CSI report.

[0160] In some embodiments, the information indicates at least one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration, including a second duration for which the collection procedure is performed by the network device and a third duration for which the inference procedure is performed by the network device.

[0161] In some embodiments, the second duration and the third duration are non-overlapping or at least partially overlapping with each other.

[0162] In some embodiments, the configuration is received via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0163] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to receive an indication of an offset of the first duration and a period of the first duration from the network device.

[0164] In some embodiments, the indication is received via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0165] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to determine an offset of the first duration and a duration of the first duration based on a starting point and a duration associated with the CSI report.

[0166] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to prevent the terminal device from reporting the CSI report within the third duration.

[0167] In some embodiments, the information indicates a first number associated with the collection procedure and a second number associated with the inference procedure, the first number being a number of consecutive CSI reports used as input data for the inference procedure and the second number being a number of predicted results output in the inference procedure.

[0168] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to determine the CSI reports to be dropped based on the first number and the second number.

[0169] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to determine a target frame number and a target slot number within a target frame based on the first number and the second number, and to determine the CSI report to be dropped based on the target frame number and the target slot number.

[0170] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises a circuit configured to transmit, from the network device via radio resource control signaling, an indication that the CSI reporting is configured as the first type CSI reporting, that the first type CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting, or that the CSI reporting is released from the first type CSI reporting.

[0171] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises a circuit configured to receive, from the network device, an indication via at least one of a media access control control element or downlink control information, that the CSI reporting is activated as the first type CSI reporting or deactivated from the first type CSI reporting, wherein the first type CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting.

[0172] In some embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled with a discontinuous periodic CSI radio network temporary identity.

[0173] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to occupy a central processing unit of the terminal device during the second duration or release a central processing unit of the terminal device within the third duration.

[0174] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises a circuit configured to release a central processing unit of the terminal device for the CSI reporting determined based on the first number and the second number.

[0175] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to release a central processing unit of the terminal device for the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number.

[0176] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 includes circuitry configured to omit one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a most recent CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within the third duration, or to prevent the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a most recent CSI report to a last symbol prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within the third duration.

[0177] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 includes a circuit configured to omit one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the first number and the second number, or to prevent the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the first number and the second number.

[0178] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 includes a circuit configured to omit one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number, or to prevent the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number.

[0179] In some embodiments, the third duration is less than a threshold duration that is less than 1280 ms.

[0180] In some embodiments, the time interval between a CSI report and the latest CSI-RS may be less than 1280 ms.

[0181] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to determine that a CSI reference signal is inactive within a duration from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol before a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report associated with the CSI reference signal.

[0182] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 comprises a circuit configured to perform reporting of the CSI report based on the information pursuant to a determination that the CSI report configured to have the information and another CSI report configured to have the information collide.

[0183] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises a circuit configured to perform reporting of the CSI report in accordance with a determination that the CSI report is configured as the first type CSI report and that the CSI report collides with another CSI report configured as the first type CSI report, the first type CSI report being a discontinuous periodic type CSI report.

[0184] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to receive a control command from the network device indicating that the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality is enabled, and the collection procedure and the inference procedure are performed by the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality.

[0185] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to report to the network device one or more capabilities of the terminal device, including a maximum duration of the collection procedure and the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum value for a first number associated with the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, or a maximum value for a second number associated with the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device.

[0186] An exemplary implementation of the network device 120 is now described below. In some embodiments, the network device 120 comprises a circuit configured to determine a configuration of a Channel State Information (CSI) report indicating at least information related to at least one of a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the terminal device, or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports, and transmit the configuration to the terminal device.

[0187] In some embodiments, the information indicates at least one of the first duration, the second duration, or the third duration, including a second duration for which the collection procedure is performed by the network device and a third duration for which the inference procedure is performed by the network device.

[0188] In some embodiments, the second duration and the third duration are non-overlapping or at least partially overlapping with each other.

[0189] In some embodiments, the information indicates a first number associated with the collection procedure and a second number associated with the inference procedure, the first number being a number of consecutive CSI reports used as input data for the inference procedure and the second number being a number of predicted results output in the inference procedure.

[0190] In some embodiments, the network device 120 comprises circuitry configured to determine the setting based on one or more capabilities of the terminal device, including a maximum duration of the collection procedure and the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum duration of the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, a maximum value for a first number associated with the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device, or a maximum value for a second number associated with the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device.

[0191] In some embodiments, the configuration is transmitted via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0192] In some embodiments, network device 120 comprises circuitry configured to transmit to the terminal device an indication of an offset of the first duration and a period of the first duration.

[0193] In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a media access control control element, or downlink control information.

[0194] In some embodiments, the network device 120 comprises a circuit configured to send, via radio resource control signaling, to the terminal device an indication that the CSI reporting is configured as the first type CSI reporting, that the first type CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting, or that the CSI reporting is released from the first type CSI reporting.

[0195] In some embodiments, the network device 120 comprises a circuit configured to send, to the terminal device, an indication via at least one of a media access control control element or downlink control information that the CSI reporting is activated as the first type CSI reporting or deactivated from the first type CSI reporting, wherein the first type CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting.

[0196] In some embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled with a discontinuous periodic CSI radio network temporary identity.

[0197] In some embodiments, network device 120 comprises circuitry configured to send a control command to the terminal device indicating that the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality is enabled, and the collection procedure and the inference procedure are performed by the artificial intelligence or machine learning functionality.

[0198] Fig. 11 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1100 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1100 may be considered as another exemplary implementation of the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 shown in Fig. 1. Thus, the apparatus 1100 may be implemented in the terminal device 110 or the network device 120, or as at least a part thereof.

[0199] As shown, the apparatus 1100 comprises a processor 1110, a memory 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1140 coupled to the processor 1110, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1140. The memory 1110 stores at least a portion of a program 1130. The TX / RX 1140 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1140 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 an Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0200] The program 1130 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1110, enable the device 1100 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 2A-6. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized by computer software executable by the processor 1110 of the device 1100, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1110 may be configured to perform various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 1110 and the memory 1120 may form a processing means 1150 suitable for performing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0201] The memory 1120 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, 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. Although only one memory 1120 is shown in the device 1100, there may be several physically different memory modules in the device 1100. The processor 1110 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. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, for example application specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0202] 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 that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flow charts, or some 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 examples, in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0203] 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 a program module, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform a process or method as described above with reference to Figures 2-5. 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 appropriate. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0204] Program codes 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 apparatus, and when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may 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.

[0205] The above program code may be implemented 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 the 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 aforementioned.

[0206] It should be noted that although operations have been described in a particular order, it should not be understood that such operations need to be performed in the particular order shown, or in any sequential order, or that all of the operations shown need to be performed in order to achieve desired results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some 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 certain embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be realized in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0207] 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. a collection procedure of a network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from a terminal device; or an inference procedure of said network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on one or more collected CSI reports; receiving, at the terminal device, from the network device, a channel state information (CSI) reporting configuration indicating at least information related to at least one of the following: and transmitting the CSI report based on the information. The CSI report includes at least one of a periodic CSI report, a semi-persistent CSI report, and a first type of CSI report. method.

2. The information is a first duration including a second duration during which the collection procedure is performed by the network device and a third duration during which the inference procedure is performed by the network device; the second duration; or the third duration; The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of

3. The second duration and the third duration are non-overlapping or at least partially overlapping with each other. The method of claim 2.

4. The setting is: Radio resource control signaling; a media access control element, or Downlink control information; is received via at least one of The method of claim 1.

5. receiving an indication of an offset of the first duration and a period of the first duration from the network device; The method of claim 2 further comprising:

6. The instructions include: Radio resource control signaling; a media access control element, or Downlink control information; is received via at least one of The method according to claim 5.

7. determining a starting point and a duration of the first duration based on a starting point and a duration associated with the CSI report; The terminal device of claim 2 further comprising:

8. Transmitting the CSI report based on the information includes: preventing the terminal device from reporting the CSI report within the third duration; The terminal device according to claim 2 .

9. The information indicates a first number associated with the collection procedure and a second number associated with the inference procedure, the first number being a number of consecutive CSI reports used as input data for the inference procedure, and the second number being a number of predicted results output in the inference procedure. The method of claim 1.

10. determining a CSI report to be dropped based on the first number and the second number; The method of claim 9 further comprising:

11. determining a target frame number and a target slot number within the target frame based on the first number and the second number; determining the CSI report to be dropped based on the target frame number and the target slot number; The method of claim 9 further comprising:

12. Via radio resource control signaling, The CSI report is configured as the first type CSI report, and the first type CSI report is a discontinuous periodic type CSI report; or The CSI report is freed from the first type of CSI report. receiving an indication from the network device that: The method of claim 1 further comprising:

13. a media access control element, or via at least one of the downlink control information receiving an indication from the network device that the CSI report is to be activated as the first type CSI report or deactivated from the first type CSI report; The first type of CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting. The method of claim 1.

14. The downlink control information is scrambled with a discontinuous periodic CSI radio network temporary identity. The method of claim 13.

15. Occupying a central processing unit of the terminal device during the second duration; or releasing the central processing unit of the terminal device within the third duration; The method of claim 2 further comprising:

16. Releasing a central processing unit of the terminal device for the CSI report determined based on the first number and the second number; The method of claim 10 further comprising:

17. Releasing a central processing unit of the terminal device for the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number; The method of claim 11 further comprising:

18. omitting one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within the third duration; or preventing the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol before a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report within the third duration; The method of claim 2 further comprising:

19. omitting one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the first number and the second number; or preventing the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol before a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the first number and the second number; The method of claim 10 further comprising:

20. Omitting one or more CSI reference signal resources for channel measurement within a latest CSI reference signal opportunity prior to a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number; or Preventing the terminal device from receiving a CSI reference signal for channel measurement from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol before a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report determined based on the target frame number and the target slot number; The method of claim 11 further comprising:

21. The third duration is less than a threshold duration that is less than 1280 ms. The method of claim 2.

22. A time interval between the CSI report and the latest CSI reference signal is shorter than 1280 ms, and the latest CSI reference signal is the latest CSI reference signal associated with the CSI report. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 20.

23. determining that a CSI reference signal is inactive within a duration from a first symbol after an uplink channel carrying a latest CSI report to a last symbol before a CSI reference resource corresponding to the CSI report associated with the CSI reference signal; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

24. performing reporting of the CSI report associated with the information in accordance with a determination that the CSI report associated with the information conflicts with another CSI report not associated with the information; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

25. performing reporting of the CSI report according to a determination that the CSI report is configured as the first type CSI report and that the CSI report has collided with another CSI report configured as a periodic or semi-persistent type CSI report, wherein the first type CSI report is a discontinuous periodic type CSI report. The method of claim 1.

26. and receiving a control command from the network device indicating that an artificial intelligence or machine learning function is enabled, wherein the collection procedure and the inference procedure are performed by the artificial intelligence or machine learning function. The method of claim 1.

27. the maximum duration of the collection and inference procedures permitted to be supported by the terminal; the maximum duration of the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal; the maximum duration of the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device; a maximum value for a first number associated with the collection procedures permitted to be supported by the terminal device; or a second maximum number associated with the inference procedures permitted to be supported by the terminal device; reporting one or more capabilities of said terminal device to said network device; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

28. In the network device, a collection procedure of the network device based on the collected CSI report or reports for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from a terminal device; or determining a Channel State Information (CSI) reporting configuration indicating at least information related to at least one of: an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports; transmitting said configuration to said terminal device; The method includes:

29. The information is a first duration including a second duration during which the collection procedure is performed by the network device and a third duration during which the inference procedure is performed by the network device; the second duration; or the third duration; 30. The method of claim 28, further comprising at least one of:

30. The second duration and the third duration are non-overlapping or at least partially overlapping with each other.

30. The method of claim 29.

31. The information indicates a first number associated with the collection procedure and a second number associated with the inference procedure, the first number being a number of consecutive CSI reports used as input data for the inference procedure, and the second number being a number of predicted results output in the inference procedure.

29. The method of claim 28.

32. Determining the setting includes: The setting, the maximum duration of the collection and inference procedures permitted to be supported by the terminal; the maximum duration of the collection procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal; the maximum duration of the inference procedure permitted to be supported by the terminal device; a maximum value for a first number associated with the collection procedures permitted to be supported by the terminal device; or a second maximum number associated with the inference procedures permitted to be supported by the terminal device; determining based on one or more capabilities of the terminal device, 30. The method of claim 28, comprising:

33. The setting is: Radio resource control signaling; a media access control element, or Downlink control information; is transmitted via at least one of 29. The method of claim 28.

34. transmitting to the terminal device an indication of an offset of the first duration and a duration of the first duration; 30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

35. The instructions include: Radio resource control signaling; a media access control element, or Downlink control information; is transmitted via at least one of 35. The method of claim 34.

36. Via radio resource control signaling, The CSI report is configured as the first type CSI report, and the first type CSI report is a discontinuous periodic type CSI report; or The CSI report is freed from the first type of CSI report. sending an instruction to the terminal device; 30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

37. a media access control element, or downlink control information, and transmitting to the terminal device an indication that the CSI report is activated as the first type CSI report or deactivated from the first type CSI report; The first type of CSI reporting is a discontinuous periodic type CSI reporting.

29. The method of claim 28.

38. The downlink control information is scrambled with a discontinuous periodic CSI radio network temporary identity.

38. The method of claim 37.

39. and transmitting a control command to the terminal device indicating that an artificial intelligence or machine learning function is enabled, the collection procedure and the inference procedure being performed by the artificial intelligence or machine learning function.

29. The method of claim 28.

40. A terminal device including a processor, The processor, From the network device, a collection procedure of the network device for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from the terminal device; or receiving a Channel State Information (CSI) reporting configuration indicating at least information related to at least one of: an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports; and configured to transmit the CSI report based on the information, the CSI report including at least one of a periodic CSI report, a semi-persistent CSI report, and a first type of CSI report. Terminal device.

41. A network device comprising a processor, The processor, In the network device, a collection procedure of the network device based on the collected CSI report or reports for collecting one or more CSI reports collected from a terminal device; or an inference procedure of the network device for inferring one or more CSIs based on the collected one or more CSI reports; configured to transmit the settings to the terminal device Network device.

42. The device comprises program instructions for causing the device to carry out at least the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27 or the method according to any one of claims 28 to 39. Non-transitory computer-readable medium.

Images