Timing advance method and apparatus

Abstract

An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a timing advance operation. A terminal device acquires a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal. The terminal device also transmits an indication of the status of the time difference relative to a threshold. The timing advance operation solution provided in the present disclosure enables switching between multiple TAs and can achieve network energy savings.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to a timing advance terminal device, a network device, a plurality of network devices, a method, an apparatus, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] In New Radio (NR) systems, the concept and function of NR Timing Advance (TA) is substantially the same as Long Term Evolution (LTE) Timing Advance. Simply put, TA is a special command (e.g., notification) from network equipment to terminal equipment, allowing the terminal equipment to adjust its uplink transmissions. This type of uplink adjustment applies to the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), SRS, etc.

[0003] In 3GPP Release 18, it was agreed to support two-TA enhancement of uplink (UL) multi-downlink control information (DCI) for multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) operation, however the multi-TA solution remains to be explored. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for timing advance operation.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device comprising: at least one transceiver; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors configured to cause the terminal device to obtain a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; and transmit, by the terminal device, an indication of a status of the time difference relative to a threshold.

[0006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided, the network device may include one or more transceivers and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors configured to cause the network device to receive an indication regarding a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold, and to send, by the network device, a configuration to enable or disable use of a timing advance (TA).

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided that is implemented in a terminal device and may include: the terminal device obtaining a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; and the terminal device transmitting an indication of a status of the time difference relative to a threshold.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided that is implemented in a network device and may include: the network device receiving an indication regarding a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold; and the network device transmitting a configuration to enable or disable use of a timing advance (TA).

[0009] In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for a terminal device comprising: means for obtaining a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; and means for transmitting an indication regarding a status of the time difference relative to a threshold.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus of network equipment comprising: means for receiving an indication regarding a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold; and means for transmitting a configuration to enable or disable use of a timing advance (TA).

[0011] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the terminal device to perform the method of the third aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a network device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the network device to perform the method of the fourth aspect.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to carry out a method according to at least either the third or fourth aspect above.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least obtain a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal, and transmit an indication regarding a status of the time difference relative to a threshold.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least receive an indication regarding a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold value, and transmit a configuration to enable or disable the use of timing advance (TA).

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device may include: an acquisition circuit configured to acquire a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; and a transmission circuit configured to transmit an indication of a status of the time difference relative to a threshold.

[0017] In a thirteenth aspect, a network apparatus is provided, wherein a second device can include: a receiving circuit configured to receive an indication regarding a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold; and a transmitting circuit configured to transmit a setting to enable or disable use of a timing advance (TA).

[0018] It should be understood that the Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent through the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] Exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 200 for operating a TA in a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 illustrates an example flowchart of another method 300 of operation of a TA in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 400 of operation of a TA in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of another method 500 of operating a TA in a plurality of network devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates an example process 600 for the operation of a TA in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 for other operations of a TA, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows an example of a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for practicing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 9 shows a block diagram of an exemplary computer-readable medium in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] 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 to help those skilled in the art understand and practice the present disclosure, and are not intended to imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various forms other than those described below.

[0021] 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 belongs.

[0022] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments need include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is understood that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly stated.

[0023] Although terms such as "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various elements, it should be understood that these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0024] The terminology in the examples is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that as used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes," and / or "including" 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.

[0025] As used in this application, the term "circuit" means (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., analog and / or digital-only implementations); (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software (if applicable); (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware; (ii) software (including digital signal processors), hardware processor portions with software and memory that cooperate to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions; (c) A hardware circuit or processor, such as a microprocessor or part of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when not required for operation; It may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0026] This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, the term circuit in this embodiment covers simply a hardware circuit or processor (or processors) or part of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term circuit also covers, for example, a baseband or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network equipment, or other computing or network equipment, if applicable to particular claim elements.

[0027] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), or Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communications between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including, but not limited to, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, and future sixth-generation (6G) and / or later protocols. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will, of course, be future communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to only the above-mentioned systems.

[0028] As used herein, the term "network equipment" refers to a node in a communication network through which terminal equipment accesses the network and receives services therefrom. Network equipment may be a base station (BS) or access point (AP) or transmit / receive point (TRP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also referred to as gNB), remote radio unit (RRU), radio header (RH), remote radio head (RRH), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, relay, or low-power node such as femto or pico, depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0029] The term "terminal equipment" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, terminal equipment may also be referred to as communication equipment, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), mobile subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal equipment includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal equipment, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal equipment such as digital cameras, gaming terminal equipment, music storage and playback appliances, in-vehicle wireless terminal equipment, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearables such as watches, head-mounted displays (HMD), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronics devices, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms “terminal equipment,” “communications equipment,” “terminal equipment,” “user equipment,” and “UE” can be used interchangeably.

[0030] In this embodiment, the terms "resource," "transmission resource," "resource block," "physical resource block (PRB)," "uplink (UL) resource," or "downlink (DL) resource" may refer to any resource for performing communication, e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a space domain resource, a code domain resource, a combination of multiple domains, or any other resource that enables communication. Hereinafter, a time domain resource (e.g., a subframe) is used as an example of a transmission resource for describing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0031] As used herein, the term "TRP" refers to a transmission / reception point having a network-side antenna array (having one or more antenna elements) located at a specific geographic location and may be used to transmit and receive signals to and from terminal equipment. In embodiments of the present disclosure, a TRP may refer to a macrocell, a microcell, an RRH, a relay, a femto node, a pico node, etc. Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to two exemplary TRPs, these embodiments are for illustrative purposes and will help those skilled in the art to understand and practice the present disclosure, but do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the disclosure described herein may be implemented in various manners other than those described below.

[0032] As mentioned above, a TA is a special command (e.g., notification) from an eNB to a terminal device that allows the terminal device to adjust its uplink transmission. A TA is a special command (e.g., notification) from a network device to a terminal device that allows the terminal device to adjust its uplink transmission.

[0033] The TA may be delivered to the terminal equipment through a random access response (RAR) or a MAC CE (medium access control element). A TA loop can be used to maintain the TA to enable alignment of UL signals (transmitted from the terminal equipment) at network nodes within a certain time resolution. For example, in a random access procedure, the terminal equipment may receive an initial TA value (e.g., an absolute TA value) in an RAR message. The TA value may then be updated, for example, in a MAC CE containing a timing advance command (TAC) indicating a relative TA value. Furthermore, the UE may also autonomously update the TA by spontaneously requesting an updated TA value. The operation of maintaining the TA may be referred to as a TA loop. Typically, a TA loop may correspond, for example, to a UL transmission toward a given TRP. Furthermore, a TA loop may correspond to a TA maintained within a TAG. Therefore, one TA loop may correspond to one TA, and the number of TA loops may indicate the number of TAs used. Therefore, in this disclosure, a TA loop may implicitly refer to a TA.

[0034] As used herein, a timing advance group (TAG) refers to a group of one or more serving cells with the same uplink TA and the same downlink timing reference cell. Each TAG includes at least one serving cell with an uplink configured, and the mapping of each serving cell to the TAG is configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling. 3GPP® Release 18 has already agreed to support two TAs for UL multi-DCI in multi-TRP operation in NR systems. Furthermore, 3GPP® Release 18 has agreed to support two TA extensions in both intra-cell and inter-cell multi-DCI multi-TRP scenarios.

[0035] The inventors have realized that one important aspect to consider is that it may not always be necessary to operate with two TA loops, for example, perhaps depending on the location of the terminal equipment relative to the two TRPs, in the case of dynamic TRP unmuting / muting to achieve network energy savings, etc. In other words, in some conditions, two TAs may not be required for the terminal equipment.

[0036] Therefore, there is a need to provide specific methods, conditions, and techniques that allow a network to decide whether to operate a terminal device in two (or more) TAs or only one TA in a given situation. There is also a need for new solutions that allow switching between one TA loop or two (or more) TA loops depending on different situations.

[0037] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for TA operation is provided, in which a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal is obtained, and an indication of the status of the time difference relative to a threshold is transmitted by the terminal device to the network. This solution can realize multi-TA operation in the case of multiple TRPs and dynamic TA mode adaptation. Therefore, the efficiency of the network system can be improved accordingly.

[0038] While the functions described in this example may be performed in a fixed network node and / or a wireless network node in various exemplary embodiments, in other exemplary embodiments, the functions may be implemented in user equipment (such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile IoT device, or fixed IoT device). The user equipment in this example may include corresponding functions, such as those described in connection with fixed and / or wireless network nodes, as appropriate. The user equipment may be user equipment and / or a control device, such as a chipset or processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed therein. Examples of such functions include a bootstrap server function and / or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented in the user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to execute in terms of these functions / nodes.

[0039] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to implement the solutions proposed herein, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way.

[0040] Reference is first made to FIG. 1 , which illustrates an exemplary communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1 , the system 100 includes two network devices, such as TRPs 111 and 112. For clarity, TRP 111 may also be referred to as the first TRP, and TRP 112 may also be referred to as the second TRP. The network devices 111 and 112 may have one respective group of antenna ports. Thus, the network devices 111 and 112 may be associated with or function as two respective TRPs, and thus may also be referred to as TRPs 111 and 112 in the present disclosure. The TRPs 111 and 112 may transmit respective reference signals. That is, TRP 111 corresponds to its reference signal (referred to as the first retransmission signal for clarity), and TRP 112 corresponds to its reference signal (referred to as the second retransmission signal for clarity).

[0041] The system 100 also includes a terminal device, such as a terminal device 101. The terminal device 101 can communicate with TRPs 111 and 112. The terminal device 101 can receive uplink reference signals (DL RSs) from two TRPs. The terminal device 101 can determine, obtain, or measure a time difference (or propagation delay difference) between the two DL RSs or based on the two DL RSs or CORESETPoolIndex(ies). It can be seen that two DL RSs may be transmitted from two TRPs, respectively.

[0042] In the solution of the present disclosure, the terminal device 101 can transmit an instruction indicating the state and threshold of the time difference. The network device can determine a setting for the TA based on the state and transmit the setting to the terminal device 101. The setting can instruct the terminal device 101 to enable an operation to further use a second TA associated with the second TRP or to disable one or more TAs depending on the state of the time difference. Thus, the TA loops corresponding to the TRPs 111 and 112 can be enabled or disabled based on the instruction.

[0043] In a communication system, "UL" refers to a communication link in the direction from the terminal equipment to the network equipment, and "DL" refers to a communication link in the direction from the network equipment to the terminal equipment.

[0044] It should be understood that the number of network devices (TRPs) and terminal devices in Figure 1 is for illustrative purposes, without implying any limitation. System 100 may include any suitable number of network devices (TRPs) and terminal devices adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] Communications in communication system 100 may be conducted according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including, but not limited to, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), and fifth-generation (5G) or later cellular communication protocols, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or other protocols now known or developed in the future. Furthermore, communications may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including, but not limited to, code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or other technologies now known or developed in the future.

[0046] Please refer to Fig. 2, which illustrates a method 200 for operating a TA in a terminal device. In this method, a solution is provided for switching between one TA and two TAs by the terminal device. In the following, to explain the solution as proposed herein, reference may be made to two TAs, but it should be noted that this is only an example scenario and the present disclosure is not limited thereto; instead, the solution may also be applied to a scenario with more than two TAs.

[0047] In block 202, a time difference between the first downlink reference signal and the second downlink reference signal is obtained. For example, the terminal device 101 can obtain the time difference between the first downlink reference signal and the second downlink reference signal by, for example, measuring the first downlink reference signal and the second downlink reference signal.

[0048] In an exemplary embodiment, the network can configure or instruct the terminal device via RRC, MAC CE, and / or DCI (using new or existing / reserved bits or fields) two DL RSs to be used by the terminal device to measure the time difference. In one example, the at least two DL RSs may be at least two Tracking Reference Signals (TRSs), each configured for each TRP (or CORESETPoolIndex or PCI). The two TRSs may be periodic. In another example, measurements are performed on beams (SSB or CSI-RS) from two TRPs.

[0049] In some exemplary embodiments, the first downlink reference signal may correspond to a first TRP and the second downlink reference signal may correspond to a second TRP, e.g., the first downlink reference signal corresponds to TRP111 and the second downlink reference signal corresponds to TRP112.

[0050] In some exemplary embodiments, if the terminal is operating in a single TA, the indication may be triggered based on the time difference and a threshold value. In some exemplary embodiments, if the terminal is operating in multiple TAs, the indication may be triggered based on the time difference and another threshold value. The two threshold values may have the same value. In other words, the two trigger conditions may share a trigger threshold, or the first and second threshold values may be the same. Preferably, the two threshold values may have different set values. For example, the first threshold value for the signal TA may be greater than the second threshold value for the multiple TAs.

[0051] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication may be triggered if the time difference is greater than or equal to a threshold value or is not less than a threshold value, such as when the terminal is operating in a single TA. In other words, the indication may also be triggered based on whether the time difference is strictly greater than a threshold value, or in other words, if the time difference is equal to the threshold value, the indication is not triggered.

[0052] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device may operate using a first TA corresponding to a first TRP and a second TA corresponding to a second TRP, and the indication may indicate a state in which the time difference is less than a threshold, or a state in which the time difference is less than or equal to the threshold or not greater than the threshold.

[0053] In some examples of exemplary embodiments, an indication may be triggered when the number of times the time difference is greater than or equal to a threshold or is not less than a threshold exceeds a predetermined number, such as when the terminal is operating in a single TA. As an example, an indication may be sent when the number or count of times the time difference is greater than or equal to a threshold or is not less than a preset number. Alternatively, the indication may be triggered based on whether the number or count is strictly greater than the preset number; in other words, no indication is triggered if the number or count is equal to the preset number.

[0054] In some exemplary embodiments, such as when the terminal is operating in a single TA, an indication may be triggered if the time difference is greater than or equal to a threshold or if the duration that is not less than the threshold exceeds a predetermined duration. As an example, the predetermined duration and the threshold may be received from the network. The terminal device 101 compares the duration of the time difference that is greater than or equal to the threshold or is not less than the threshold with the predetermined duration. If the terminal device 101 determines that the duration exceeds the predetermined duration, an indication is triggered.

[0055] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device may operate using a first TA corresponding to a first TRP and a second TA corresponding to a second TRP, and the indication may indicate a state in which the time difference is less than a threshold, or a state in which the time difference is less than or equal to the threshold or not greater than the threshold.

[0056] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication may be triggered when the time difference is less than a threshold, such as when the terminal is operating in multiple TAs. In other words, the indication may be triggered based on whether the time difference is strictly less than a threshold.

[0057] In some exemplary embodiments, an indication may be triggered when the number of times the time difference is less than the threshold exceeds a predetermined number, such as when the terminal is operating in multiple TAs. As an example, an indication may be sent when the number or count of times the time difference is less than or equal to the threshold reaches a preset number. It should be understood that this is also applicable when the number or count is strictly less than the preset number is used as the trigger condition; in other words, no indication is triggered when the number or count is equal to the preset number.

[0058] In an exemplary embodiment, the indication may be triggered when the period during which the time difference is less than the threshold exceeds a predetermined period, such as when the terminal is operating in multiple TAs. As an example, the predetermined period and the threshold may be received from the network. The terminal device 101 compares the period of time difference that is less than or not greater than the threshold with the predetermined period. If the terminal device 101 determines that the period exceeds the predetermined period, the indication is triggered.

[0059] In an example embodiment, both intra-cell and inter-cell multi-TRPs may be configured, and obtaining the time difference may include obtaining the time difference of the intra-cell multi-TRP and one or more time differences of the inter-cell multi-TRP.

[0060] As an example, in the case of inter-cell multi-TRP, if one of the TRPs is in a cell with a PCI different from the serving cell PCI, the above-proposed behavior of TA may also apply. Additionally or alternatively, in the case of both intra-cell multi-TRP and inter-cell multi-TRP, the terminal device may measure two (or more) time differences, e.g., one for the intra-cell multi-TRP and one (or more) for the inter-cell multi-TRP. The terminal device 101 may transmit an indication corresponding to those time differences as proposed above. Note that in this case, a primary TRP may be defined and time differences corresponding to the other TRP(s) may be measured with respect to the primary TRP.

[0061] As an example, if the terminal device needs to measure two or more time differences and corresponds to different DL RSs or beams (SSB or CSI-RS) from two TRPs (or corresponds to two or more TRPs, etc.), the terminal device may be configured to transmit the above suggested indication or report corresponding to only the smallest or largest of the measured time differences.

[0062] An indication of the status of the time difference relative to the threshold is transmitted by the terminal device to the network device in block 204. For example, terminal device 101 transmits an indication of the status of the time difference relative to the threshold.

[0063] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication may be carried in an uplink control information (UCI) or a medium access control element (MAC CE). In some embodiments, the status of the time difference relative to the threshold is: The time difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value, or is not less than the threshold value. The time difference is greater than the threshold, The time difference is less than or equal to the threshold value or is not greater than the threshold value. The time difference is less than a threshold, The number of times the time difference is equal to or greater than the threshold or is not less than the threshold exceeds a predetermined number. The number of times the time difference is greater than the threshold value exceeds a predetermined number. The time difference is equal to or greater than the threshold, or the period during which it is not less than the threshold exceeds a predetermined period. The period in which the time difference is greater than the threshold exceeds a predetermined period. The period during which the time difference is less than the threshold exceeds a predetermined period. The time period during which the time difference is less than or equal to the threshold or is not greater than the threshold exceeds a predetermined period; The number of times the time difference is less than the threshold exceeds a predetermined number, or The number of times the time difference is less than or equal to the threshold or is not greater than the threshold exceeds a predetermined number. It may include any of the following:

[0064] In an exemplary embodiment, such an indication may be transmitted, for example, in a UCI or any other suitable uplink message.

[0065] In some examples of exemplary embodiments, the indication can be transmitted using a bit (e.g., format 0 / 1) on a dedicated or shared PUCCH resource. For example, the indication is set as a predetermined value (value “0” or “1”) to indicate a first state that the time difference is greater than a threshold (e.g., either a “greater than” state) or a second state that the time difference is less than a threshold (e.g., either a “less than” state). In other words, the indication itself only notifies the network device of the trigger of the indication without indicating how the indication is triggered, such as when the time difference is greater than or equal to the threshold or when the time difference is less than the threshold. However, the network device can learn the TA mode of the terminal device and know the actual meaning of the indication based on the TA mode currently used by the terminal device. For example, when the terminal device operates in a single TA, it means the first state that the time difference is greater than or equal to the threshold or is not less than the threshold, and when the terminal device operates in multiple TAs, it means the second state that the time difference is, for example, less than the threshold.

[0066] In an exemplary embodiment, a first value of the bit (e.g., 1 or 0) may indicate a first state, such as that the time difference is greater than a threshold (e.g., either of the "greater than" states), and a second value of the bit (different from the first value, e.g., value "0" or "1") may indicate a second state, such that the time difference is less than the threshold (e.g., either of the "less than" states). In other words, the value of the bit may directly indicate different states of the time difference. In such a case, the network device may know the reported state of the time difference directly from the indication without any other information.

[0067] In some exemplary embodiments, the network equipment may (at least optionally) use the above suggested indications / reports to determine whether to enable one or two TA loops (or TAGs) for the terminal equipment, e.g., in a serving cell configured with multiple TRPs, or whether to enable secondary TA loops in the serving or non-serving cells (i.e., cells with a PCI different from the serving cell PCI) in addition to the active primary TA loop (e.g., the one corresponding to CORESETPoolIndex 0).

[0068] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device may be further configured to receive a configuration instructing the terminal device to enable further use of a second TA associated with the second TRP, or to receive a configuration instructing the terminal device to disable one of the first and second TAs corresponding to the first and second TRPs. For example, the terminal device 101 receives a configuration instructing the terminal device to enable further use of the second TA associated with the second TRP. For example, if the first condition is reported, the network device may decide to switch from one TA mode to two TA mode and transmit to the terminal device an instruction to enable further use of the second TA associated with the second TRP. On the other hand, if the second condition is reported, the network may decide to use only one TA for both the first and second TRPs and transmit to the terminal device an instruction to disable one of the first and second TAs so that the other TA is used for both the first and second TRPs.

[0069] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA may be maintained through a TA loop. For example, the TA may be delivered to the terminal device through the RAR or MAC CE. When delivered through the RAR, the terminal device determines the TA value from two different MAC layer commands, depending on the situation. For the first uplink message after the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), the terminal device applies the TA value extracted from the RAR (RACH response). After the first RACH processing, if the terminal device receives a TA MAC CE, it applies the TA value extracted from it.

[0070] In an exemplary embodiment, when delivered via MAC CE as described above, the terminal device adjusts the UL transmission timing based on the RAR during the RACH procedure, and once the initial attach is complete, the terminal device adjusts the UL transmission based on the MAC CE timing advance.

[0071] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device may further be configured to receive a configuration by the terminal device indicating that operation using the first TA or the second TA is to be stopped, or indicating that the first TA or the second TA is to be used for both the first TRP and the second TRP.

[0072] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device may instruct the UE via MAC CE and / or DCI (using new or existing / reserved bits or fields) and / or RRC (or via a broadcast message) to enable or disable / deactivate at least one TA loop (corresponding to at least one TAG or TRP) for at least one serving cell or even a non-serving cell (i.e., a cell having a PCI different from the serving cell PCI). In other words, the configuration may be conveyed by downlink control information (DCI), MAC CE, or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0073] In some exemplary embodiments, ceasing operations using the first TA or the second TA may include ceasing to maintain the first TA or the second TA.

[0074] In some exemplary embodiments, a first TA may be associated with a first TA group (TAG) or with a first TRP corresponding to the first TAG, and in some exemplary embodiments, a second TA may be associated with a second TAG or with a second TRP corresponding to the second TAG.

[0075] The meaning of a TAG can be thought of as follows: a group of serving cells configured by RRC that use the same timing reference cell and the same timing advance value for the UL configured cell. The timing advance group including the Sp cell of the MAC entity is called the Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG), and the term Secondary Timing Advance Group (STAG) refers to other TAGs. Thus, a TAG is understood to include one or more serving cells with the same uplink TA and the same downlink timing reference cell. Each TAG includes at least one serving cell with an uplink configured, and the mapping of each serving cell to a TAG is configured by RRC.

[0076] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device may be further adapted to receive a threshold setting, the threshold setting including one or more thresholds. As described herein above, it is possible to configure one single threshold for the terminal device or to configure two different thresholds for different situations.

[0077] In this embodiment, the network will be described to instruct the terminal device 101 to enable / disable at least one TA loop corresponding to the TRP / TAG. This instruction can be carried through DCI carried in the PDCCH of the RAR (Random Access Response). Alternatively, this instruction can be carried through MAC CE carried in the PDSCH of the RAR.

[0078] In some exemplary embodiments, the TRP for which the configuration is intended may be determined based on the control resource set, CORESET, on which the configuration is transmitted. As an example, the terminal device 101 may determine the TRP for which the instruction is intended through the CORESET used to transmit the PDCCH carrying the DCI containing the instruction. For example, if this CORESET belongs to CORESETPoolIndex 0, the terminal device 101 will recognize that the activation or deactivation instruction is for the TA loop corresponding to the TRP 111 or the TA loop corresponding to the TAG associated with the TRP 111.

[0079] The terminal device may receive a configuration of multiple TAs (e.g., two TAGs in a serving cell) for a multi-TRP scenario (e.g., at least two CORESETPoolIndexes are configured). Furthermore, the terminal device may configure or indicate (e.g., via RRC, MAC CE, or DCI (e.g., UE-specific DCI and group-common DCI), including a MAC CE / DCI corresponding to the RAR, or via a broadcast message), for example, immediately after RRC configuration or reconfiguration, whether to consider both TA loops active or only one TA loop active, and if so, which one. For example, the terminal device may configure or specify to start only one TA loop active, such as the TA loop corresponding to CORESETPoolIndex 0 or the TA loop corresponding to the TRP (or CORESETPoolIndex) for which the initial access or corresponding random access procedure was performed or executed. Then, the proposed method 200 for reporting an indication that the time difference is greater than a threshold and / or indicating the activation / deactivation of a TA loop may be used.

[0080] In some exemplary embodiments, both intra-cell and inter-cell multi-TRPs may be configured, and the terminal equipment may further be configured to report its capability to support multiple TAs. Considering a scenario in this embodiment in which both intra-cell and inter-cell multi-TRPs are configured, the terminal equipment may have, for example, three serving TRPs, two in the serving cell and one in a non-serving cell (i.e., a cell with a PCI different from the serving cell PCI). In this case, the terminal equipment may report its capability to support up to two TA loops at a time. Alternatively, the terminal equipment may report its capability to support up to three (or more) TA loops at a time, which may mean maintaining at least three (or more) TA loops.

[0081] 3, which illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 of another operation of a TA in a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 300 may be implemented in combination with those operations as described with reference to method 200, or may be implemented independently.

[0082] As shown, in block 302, the terminal receives a configuration for enabling or disabling the use of timing advance (TA), the configuration being based on an instruction or uplink transmission. In this embodiment, the decision to enable / disable the TA loop(s) may be performed by the network based on an UL transmission, such as a PRACH transmission. In this case, the terminal equipment may not be configured to measure the time difference and report events related to this measurement. Alternatively, the decision may depend on an instruction reported by the terminal equipment, as described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0083] In block 304, the terminal device enables or disables the use of the TA based on the configuration. As an example, if the configuration indicates that the terminal device enables the use of the second TA, the terminal device 101 enables the use of the second TA.

[0084] For the sake of brevity, operations similar to those in Figure 2 will not be described in detail, and other similar concepts and operations are described in detail in the corresponding description of Figure 2.

[0085] Therefore, the solution as proposed herein can enable switching of TA operation between one TA loop or two (or more) TA loops, improving network performance.

[0086] Reference is made to FIG. 4, which illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 of operation of a TA in a network device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0087] In block 402, a network device receives an indication, the indication indicating a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold. As an example, network device 111 and / or 112 may receive an indication regarding a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold.

[0088] In some embodiments, the first downlink reference signal corresponds to a first TRP and the second downlink reference signal corresponds to a second TRP, e.g., the first downlink reference signal corresponds to TRP111 and the second downlink reference signal corresponds to TRP112.

[0089] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication may indicate that the time difference is greater than or equal to a threshold, or is not less than a threshold, or that the time difference is greater than a threshold. As an example, the indication may be conveyed as UCI, e.g., using dedicated or shared PUCCH resources (e.g., format 0 / 1).

[0090] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication may indicate a condition that the time difference is less than a threshold, or a condition that the time difference is less than or equal to or not greater than a threshold, as well as using dedicated or shared PUCCH resources (e.g., format 0 / 1).

[0091] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication may be carried in uplink control information (UCI) or medium access control element (MAC CE). In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration may be carried by downlink control information (DCI), MAC CE, or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0092] In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration for a TRP may be transmitted on a control resource set (CORESET) corresponding to the TRP, so that the TRP to be configured may be determined based on the control resource set (CORESET).

[0093] In some exemplary embodiments, both intra-cell multi-TRP and inter-cell multi-TRP may be configured, and the network equipment may be further configured to receive a report of the terminal equipment's capability to support multiple TAs. For example, TRP 111 or 112 may receive a report of the terminal equipment's capability to support multiple TAs.

[0094]

[0047] Reference is further made to Figure 5, which illustrates a flowchart of another method 500 of operation of a TA in a network device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 500 may be implemented together with method 400 or may be implemented separately.

[0095] In block 502, the network device determines that a configuration is determined based on an instruction or uplink transmission from the terminal device, the configuration enabling or disabling the use of timing advance (TA). As an example, the decision regarding enabling / disabling the TA loop(s) may be made by the network based on an UL transmission, such as a PRACH transmission, or based on the location / position of the UE relative to the TRP, or based on whether single-TRP or multiple-TRP operation is preferred at a given time. In other embodiments, the decision to enable / disable the TA loop may be made by the network according to an instruction reported based on this measurement.

[0096] In block 504, the network device transmits a setting for enabling or disabling the use of the TA. For example, in response to determining that the setting is to enable the use of the TA, the network device 111 and / or 112 transmits a setting for enabling the use of the TA to the terminal device 101. Alternatively, the network device 111 and / or 112 can transmit a setting for disabling the use of the TA to the terminal device 101.

[0097] It will be understood that method 400 corresponds to method 200, and method 500 corresponds to method 300. Similar technical features will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 and their corresponding descriptions. For the sake of brevity, similar operations of terminal equipment will not be described in detail.

[0098] Therefore, methods such as the proposed method 400 or 500 may allow switching between one TA loop or two (or more) TA loops active at a time, resulting in improved network performance.

[0099] Reference is now made to FIG. 6 , which illustrates a process 600 for TA operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For purposes of illustration, process 600 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . Process 600 may include terminal equipment 101 and TRPs 111 and 112, as shown in FIG. 1 . While process 600 has been described in the communication system 100 of FIG. 1 , it will be understood that this process may be similarly applied to other communication scenarios in which different network equipment are co-deployed to provide respective serving cells. Also, while the operation of TA between terminal equipment 101 and TRPs 111 and 112 has been described, it will be understood that a similar process may be applied to any other terminal equipment or network equipment.

[0100] In process 600, the terminal device 101 is operating using a first TA corresponding to TRP 111. The terminal device 101 obtains (610) a threshold set by the network device. Additionally, the terminal device 101 may obtain a report of the terminal device's 101's ability to support multiple TAs from the network. This report may be received via a message separate from the threshold setting. The terminal device 101 receives (602) a first downlink reference signal corresponding to TRP 111. The terminal device 101 receives (604) a second downlink reference signal corresponding to TRP 112. The terminal device 101 measures (612) the time difference between the first downlink reference signal and the second downlink reference signal and determines the status of the time difference relative to the threshold. In response to determining that the time difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value or is not less than the threshold value, or that the number of times that the time difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value or is not less than the threshold value exceeds a predetermined number, or that the period during which the time difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value or is not less than the threshold value exceeds a predetermined period, the terminal device 101 triggers an indication of such a condition (614). The terminal device 101 further sends an indication to the TRP 112 (606). Based on this indication, the network decides to enable the second TA corresponding to the TRP 112 (620). The TRP 112 sends a configuration to the terminal device 101 indicating to activate an operation to further use the second TA corresponding to the TRP 112 (608).

[0101] 6 refers to associating a TA Loop with a TRP, it should be noted that this association may be indirect. For example, a TA Loop may be associated only with a TAG and not with a TRP. In other examples, a TA Loop corresponds to a TAG, and the TAG is associated with a TRP or a CORESETPoolIndex (or PCI).

[0102] Reference is now made to FIG. 7 , which illustrates a process 700 for another operation of a TA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For purposes of illustration, the process 700 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . The process 700 may include the terminal device 101 and the TRPs 111 and 112, as illustrated in FIG. 1 . While the process 700 has been described in the communication system 100 of FIG. 1 , it will be understood that the process may be similarly applied to other communication scenarios in which different network devices are co-deployed to provide respective serving cells. Also, while the operation of the TA between the terminal device 101 and the TRPs 111 and 112 has been described, it will be understood that a similar process may be applied to any other terminal device or network device.

[0103] In process 700, the terminal device 101 operates using a first TA corresponding to TRP 111 and a second TA corresponding to TRP 112. The terminal device 101 obtains (710) thresholds set by the network device. Additionally, the terminal device 101 may obtain a report of the terminal device's 101's ability to support multiple TAs from the network. This report may be received via a message separate from the threshold setting. The terminal device 101 receives (702) a first downlink reference signal corresponding to TRP 111. The terminal device 101 receives (704) a second downlink reference signal corresponding to TRP 112. The terminal device 101 obtains a time difference between the first downlink reference signal and the second downlink reference signal, and in response to determining that the time difference is less than or not greater than a threshold, that the number of times that the time difference is less than or not greater than the threshold exceeds a predetermined number, or that the period during which the time difference is less than or not greater than the threshold exceeds a predetermined period, determines the status of the time difference relative to the threshold (712), and the terminal device 101 triggers an indication indicating such a condition (714). The terminal device 101 sends an indication to the TRP 112 (706). Based on this indication, the network decides to disable the second TA corresponding to the TRP 112, for example (720). The TRP 112 sends a configuration instructing the terminal device 101 to stop further use of the second TA corresponding to the TRP 112 (708).

[0104] 7 refers to the association of a TA Loop to a TRP, it should be noted that this association may be indirect. For example, a TA Loop may be associated only with a TAG and not with a TRP. In other examples, a TA Loop corresponds to a TAG, and the TAG is associated with a TRP or a CORESETPoolIndex (or PCI).

[0105] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 200 (exemplary terminal device 101) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 200. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0106] In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises means for obtaining a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal, and means for transmitting an indication regarding a status of the time difference relative to a threshold.

[0107] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps of some embodiments of method 200. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause the at least one processor to perform the capabilities of the apparatus. Alternatively, the means comprises at least one processor and one or more transceivers coupled to the at least one processor to perform the capabilities of the apparatus.

[0108] In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., terminal device 101) capable of performing any of method 300 may comprise means for performing each step of method 300. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0109] In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises means for receiving a configuration for enabling or disabling use of a timing advance (TA), the configuration being based on an instruction or an uplink transmission; and means for enabling or disabling use of the TA based on the configuration.

[0110] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps of some embodiments of method 300. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the steps.

[0111] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 400 (e.g., TRPs 111 and / or 112) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 400. The means may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0112] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for receiving an indication regarding a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold value, and means for transmitting a configuration to enable or disable use of a timing advance (TA).

[0113] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 400. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the steps. Alternatively, the means comprises at least one processor and one or more transceivers coupled to the at least one processor to perform the capabilities of the apparatus.

[0114] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 500 (e.g., the TRPs 111 and / or 112) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0115] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for determining, based on an indication or an uplink transmission, a configuration to enable or disable use of a timing advance (TA), means for transmitting the configuration to enable or disable use of the timing advance (TA), and means for transmitting the configuration to enable or disable use of the TA.

[0116] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps of some embodiments of method 500. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the steps. Alternatively, the means comprises at least one processor and one or more transceivers coupled to the at least one processor to perform the capabilities of the apparatus.

[0117] 8, which illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device 800 suitable for implementing some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement, for example, a communication device such as the terminal equipment 101 and the TRPs 111 and 112 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processors 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processors 810.

[0118] The communication module 840 is for two-way communication. The communication module 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0119] The communications module 840 may include, for example, one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers may be coupled to one or more antennas and may transmit and receive communication signals wirelessly. The one or more transceivers may enable the communications device to communicate with other devices wired and / or wirelessly. The transceivers may support one or more wireless technologies. For example, the one or more transceivers may include a cellular subsystem, a WLAN subsystem, and / or a Bluetooth subsystem. In some embodiments, the one or more transceivers may include a processor, a controller, a radio, sockets, plugs, buffers, and similar circuits / devices used to connect to and communicate over a network.

[0120] The processor 810 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 800 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes a main processor.

[0121] The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 824, electronically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that do not persist through power-down periods.

[0122] The computer program 830 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 810. The program 830 may be stored in the ROM 824. The processor 810 can load the program 830 into the RAM 822 to perform any suitable operations and processes.

[0123] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 830 such that the device 800 may execute any of the processes of the present disclosure, such as those described with reference to Figures 2 to 7. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0124] In some exemplary embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or other storage accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 822 and execute it. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage device, such as a ROM, an EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, etc.

[0125] 9, which illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer-readable medium 900 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer-readable medium 900 has stored thereon a program 830. It should be noted that although the computer-readable medium 900 is depicted in FIG. 9 in the form of a CD or DVD, the computer-readable medium 900 may be in any other form suitable for carrying or retaining the program 830.

[0126] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. While certain aspects may be implemented in hardware, other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or a controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof, in non-limiting examples.

[0127] 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 those included in program modules, that execute on a computing device on a target real or virtual processor to perform methods 200, 300, 400, or 500, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, or FIG. 5. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0128] Program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can 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, cause the specific functions / operations shown in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be performed. The program code can run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0129] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, computing device, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0130] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. Computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, 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 disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0131] Furthermore, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or to perform all of the operations shown, to achieve desirable results. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be preferred. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above description, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be unique to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0132] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure, as defined by 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 terminal device, one or more transceivers; one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors configured to: The terminal device obtains a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; transmitting, by the terminal device, an indication of the status of the time difference relative to a threshold; a terminal device configured to cause the

2. The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the first downlink reference signal corresponds to a first transmission / reception point (TRP), and the second downlink reference signal corresponds to a second TRP.

3. The instructions are: If the time difference is equal to or greater than a threshold, The number of times the time difference is equal to or greater than the threshold value exceeds a predetermined number, or If the period during which the time difference is equal to or greater than the threshold value exceeds a predetermined period, The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal device is triggered by

4. The instructions are: If the time difference is less than a threshold, The number of times the time difference is less than the threshold value exceeds a predetermined number, or If the period during which the time difference is less than the threshold value exceeds a predetermined period, 4. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is triggered by a command.

5. A terminal device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the terminal device is operating using a first timing advance (TA) corresponding to a first TRP, and the indication indicates a state regarding the time difference being equal to or greater than the threshold, or a state regarding the time difference being greater than the threshold.

6. The terminal device further the terminal device receives a configuration instructing the terminal device to initiate an operation further using a second TA associated with the second TRP; The terminal device according to claim 5 .

7. A terminal device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the terminal device is operating using a first TA corresponding to a first TRP and a second TA corresponding to a second TRP, and the indication indicates a state regarding the time difference being smaller than the threshold or a state regarding the time difference being equal to or smaller than the threshold.

8. The terminal device further The terminal device receives a setting instructing the terminal device to stop using the first TA or the second TA, or a setting instructing the terminal device to use the first TA or the second TA for both the first TRP and the second TRP. The terminal device according to claim 7, wherein

9. The first TA is associated with a first TA group (TAG) or with the first TRP corresponding to the first TAG; The second TA is associated with a second TAG or with the second TRP corresponding to the second TAG; 9. The terminal device according to claim 7 or 8.

10. The terminal device further the terminal device is adapted to receive a threshold setting, the threshold setting indicating the threshold value; 10. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The terminal device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein stopping the operation using the first TA or the second TA includes stopping maintenance of the first TA or the second TA.

12. 12. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the indication is transmitted in an uplink control information (UCI) or a medium access control element (MAC CE).

13. The terminal device according to claim 6, 8 to 12, wherein the configuration is transmitted by Downlink Control Information (DCI), MAC CE, Radio Resource Control, or RRC signaling.

14. 13. The terminal device according to claim 6, wherein the TRP through which the configuration is transmitted is determined based on the control resource set (CORESET) through which the configuration is transmitted.

15. A terminal device as described in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein both intra-cell multi-TRP and inter-cell multi-TRP are configured, and obtaining the time difference includes obtaining the time difference of the intra-cell multi-TRP and one or more time differences of the inter-cell multi-TRP.

16. Both intra-cell multi-TRP and inter-cell multi-TRP are configured, and the terminal device further The terminal device reports its capability to support multiple TAs; 15. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is configured to:

17. A network device, one or more transceivers; one or more processors communicatively connected to the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors cause the network device to: receiving, by the network device, an indication of a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold; transmitting a configuration by the network device to enable or disable the use of Timing Advance (TA); 2. A network device configured to:

18. The network device of claim 17 , wherein the first downlink reference signal corresponds to a first transmission / reception point (TRP) and the second downlink reference signal corresponds to a second TRP.

19. 19. The network device of claim 17, wherein the indication indicates a condition regarding the time difference being equal to or greater than the threshold value, or a condition regarding the time difference being greater than the threshold value.

20. 19. The network device of claim 17, wherein the indication indicates a condition regarding the time difference being less than the threshold value or a condition regarding the time difference being equal to or less than the threshold value.

21. 21. The network equipment of claim 17, wherein the indication is transmitted in an uplink control information (UCI) or a medium access control element (MAC CE).

22. 21. The network equipment of claim 17, wherein the configuration is conveyed by Downlink Control Information (DCI), MAC CE, or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

23. 23. The network device according to claim 17, wherein a configuration for a TRP is transmitted on a control resource set (CORESET) corresponding to the TRP, and the TRP to which the configuration is directed is determined based on the control resource set (CORESET).

24. Both intra-cell multi-TRP and inter-cell multi-TRP are configured, and the network device further the network device receiving a report of the terminal device's capability to support multiple TAs; 24. The network device according to claim 17, wherein:

25. A method in a terminal device, comprising: The terminal device obtains a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; transmitting, by the terminal device, an indication regarding the status of the time difference relative to a threshold; A method comprising:

26. 1. A method in a network device, comprising: receiving, by the network device, an indication of a status of a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold; transmitting a configuration by the network device to enable or disable the use of Timing Advance (TA); A method comprising:

27. A terminal device, comprising: means for obtaining a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; means for transmitting an indication of the status of said time difference relative to a threshold; An apparatus comprising:

28. A network equipment device, means for receiving an indication of the status of a time difference between the first downlink reference signal and the second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold; means for transmitting a setting for enabling or disabling the use of Timing Advance (TA); An apparatus comprising:

29. A terminal device, at least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code being transmitted by said at least one processor to said terminal device; obtaining a time difference between a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal; transmitting an indication regarding the status of the time difference relative to a threshold; at least one memory configured to execute A terminal device comprising:

30. A network device, at least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code being transmitted by said at least one processor to said network device; receiving an indication of a status of a time difference between the first downlink reference signal and the second downlink reference signal relative to a threshold; Sending a setting to enable or disable the use of timing advance; at least one memory configured to execute A network device comprising:

31. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of claim 25 or 26.

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