Systems and methods for identifying times associated with beams

Abstract

The present disclosure proposes a system and method for identifying a time associated with a beam, wherein a network node can receive beam information from a wireless communication node to be used for a first forwarding link between a wireless communication device and the network node, the beam information can be associated with multiple beams.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Technical Field FIELD This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including, but not limited to, systems and methods for identifying a time associated with a beam. [Background technology]

[0002] Background technology The standardization organization 3GPP (registered trademark) (Third Generation Partnership Project) is currently defining a new air interface called 5G New Radio (5G NR) and the Next Generation Packet Core Network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR has three main components: 5G Access Network (5G-AN), 5G Core Network (5GC), and User Equipment (UE). To easily realize various data services and needs, the elements of 5GC (also called network functions) have been simplified, with some being software-based and some being hardware-based so that they can be adjusted as needed. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] Summary of the Invention The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving problems associated with one or more problems existing in the prior art and provide additional features that will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It should be understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure that various modifications can be made to the disclosed embodiments (including, for example, combining features from various disclosed examples, embodiments, and / or implementations) while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0004] At least one aspect relates to the following system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium: A network node (e.g., a secondary node (SN)) can receive beam information for a first forward link (e.g., an access link) between a wireless communication device and the network node from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS). The beam information can be associated with a plurality of beams. The beams used by the network node on the first forward link may include a first type of beam and a second type of beam. The beam information may include at least one of a beam index, a beam mode index, a bit flag for indicating the beam index or the beam mode index, and a beam number. The beam number may be used to indicate the number of beams in each indication.

[0005] In some embodiments, the beam index may include at least one of an index of a first type beam, an index of a second type beam, or a bit flag used to distinguish between the first type beam and the second type beam.

[0006] In some embodiments, the network node may receive a list from a wireless communication node. The list may include one or more beam information and one or more associated time information. The list may be indicated to the network node via at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI signaling. A new field may be added to the DCI signaling to simultaneously indicate the beam information and the associated time information. One of the existing fields in the DCI signaling may be reused to simultaneously indicate the beam information and the associated time information.

[0007] In some embodiments, one of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit in the DCI signaling can be used to indicate whether an existing field is used for legacy purposes or for time information associated with beam information, and to indicate to the network node the associated time information of the beam.

[0008] In some embodiments, the beam information and associated time information may be indicated to the network node via the same signaling or different signaling. A new field can be added to the DCI signaling to indicate the beam information of the first forward link. One of the existing fields in the DCI signaling can be reused to indicate the beam information of the first forward link. One of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit to the DCI signaling can be used to distinguish and indicate whether an existing field is used for legacy applications or for beam information of the first forward link.

[0009] In some embodiments, a new field may be added to the DCI signaling to indicate the associated time information of the first forward link. One of the existing fields in the DCI signaling may be reused to indicate the associated time information of the first forward link. One of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit to the DCI signaling may be used to indicate whether the existing field is used for legacy purposes or for the associated time information of the first forward link.

[0010] In some embodiments, the wireless communication node can transmit to the network node a beam indication for a first forward link between the wireless communication device and the network node. The beam indication can be associated with multiple beams.

[0011] Brief description of the accompanying drawings Various exemplary embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following attached drawings. The attached drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and depict only exemplary embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the attached drawings should not be considered as limiting the scope, range, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that these attached drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for clarity and ease of illustration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an exemplary cellular communication network in which the techniques disclosed herein can be implemented, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station and user equipment device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates an exemplary network controlled repeater (NCR) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates a flowchart for identifying a time associated with a beam, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Specific Embodiments 1. Mobile communication technology and the environment FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network and / or system 100 capable of implementing the techniques disclosed herein, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following discussion, wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as “network 100.” Such exemplary network 100 includes base stations 102 (hereinafter “BSs 102,” also referred to as wireless communication nodes), user equipment devices 104 (hereinafter “UEs 104,” also referred to as wireless communication devices), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 covering a geographic region 101, which may communicate with each other via communication links 110 (e.g., wireless communication channels). In FIG. 1, BSs 102 and UEs 104 are contained within corresponding geographic boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating at an allocated bandwidth to provide sufficient radio coverage for its expected users.

[0014] For example, the BS 102 may operate under an allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to the UE 104. The BS 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 may be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which may include data symbols 122 / 128. In this disclosure, the BS 102 and the UE 104 are generally described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes" capable of practicing the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of the present solution, such communication nodes may engage in wireless and / or wired communication.

[0015] 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) in accordance with some embodiments of the present solution. System 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating characteristics that need not be described in detail herein. As noted above, in one exemplary embodiment, system 200 may be used to transmit (e.g., send and receive) data symbols in a wireless communication environment, such as wireless communication environment 100 of FIG. 1.

[0016] System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter "BS 202") and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter "UE 204"). BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled and interconnected, as needed, via a data communication bus 220. UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled and interconnected, as needed, via a data communication bus 240. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which may be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for data transmission as described herein.

[0017] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, system 200 may include any number of additional modules other than those illustrated in FIG. 2 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any specific combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative elements, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether these functions are implemented as hardware, firmware, or software may depend on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art, familiar with the concepts described herein, will be able to implement such functionality in a manner applicable to each particular application, and such implementation decisions should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0018] According to some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an “uplink” transceiver 230, which includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to an antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively connect the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-duplex manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a “downlink” transceiver 210, which includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to an antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively connect the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time-duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in a timely manner, with the uplink receiver circuitry coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for receiving transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 can be coordinated in a timely manner, with the downlink receiver connected to the downlink antenna 212 to receive transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the uplink transmitter is connected to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is strict time synchronization with minimal guard time between changes in duplex direction.

[0019] The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via a wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with appropriately configured RF antenna arrangements 212 / 232 capable of supporting a particular wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some demonstrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to application of a particular standard and associated protocol. Conversely, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variants thereof.

[0020] According to various embodiments, the BS 202 may be, for example, an evolved Node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop computer, a wearable computing device, etc. The processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented, performed, or designed to perform the functions described herein using a general-purpose processor, a content-addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware elements, or any combination thereof. As such, a processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, etc. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0021] Furthermore, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, firmware, a software module executed by processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or any specific combination thereof. Memory modules 216 and 234 may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 may be connected to processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that processor modules 210 and 230 can read information from and write information to memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their corresponding processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of commands executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Each of the memory modules 216 and 234 may further include non-volatile memory for storing commands executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0022] The network communications module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and / or other elements of the base station 202 that enable bidirectional communications between the base station transceiver 210 and other network elements and communications nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communications module 218 may be configured to support Internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical (but not limited to) arrangement, the network communications module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface to enable the base station transceiver 210 to communicate with conventional Ethernet-based computer networks. As such, the network communications module 218 may include a physical interface for connecting to a computer network (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)). As used herein with respect to specified operations or functions, the terms “configured for,” “configured to,” and conjugations thereof refer to devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, signals, etc. that are physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform the specified operations or functions.

[0023] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the "Open Systems Interconnection Model") is a conceptual and logical layout that defines network communications open by systems (e.g., wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes) for interconnecting and communicating with other systems. The model is divided into seven subcomponents or layers, with each subcomponent or layer representing a conceptual set of services provided to its upper and lower layers. The OSI model further defines logical networks and effectively describes computer packet transfers through the use of different layer protocols. The OSI model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI model or seven-layer model. In some embodiments, layer 1 may be the physical layer. In some embodiments, layer 2 may be the medium access control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 3 may be the radio link control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 4 may be the packet convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, layer 5 may be the radio resource control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 6 may be the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer or the Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and layer 7 is some other layer.

[0024] Various exemplary embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to enable those skilled in the art to implement and use the present solution. After reading this disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present solution. Therefore, the present solution is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and shown herein. Furthermore, any specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely exemplary. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in a disclosed method or process may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or operations in a sample order, and that, unless expressly stated, the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0025] 2. Systems and methods for identifying times associated with beams As New Radio (NR) systems move to higher frequencies (approximately 4 GHz for FR 1 and above 24 GHz for FR 2), propagation conditions may worsen and coverage challenges may worsen compared to lower frequencies. Therefore, further increasing cell density may be a solution. While traditional full-stack cell deployments are preferred, they may not be an economically viable option. In cellular network deployments, radio frequency (RF) repeaters with full-duplex amplify-and-forward operation can be used in 2G, 3G, and / or 4G systems to provide comprehensive coverage at a relatively low cost. However, the main problem posed by RF repeaters is that they amplify both signals and noise, potentially increasing interference within the system.

[0026] Another characteristic of NR systems may be the use of multi-beam operation with associated beam management in the higher frequency bands defined for time division duplexing (TDD). Multi-antenna technologies, including massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) for FR1 and analog beamforming for FR2, facilitate addressing the challenging propagation conditions of these higher frequency bands. RF repeaters without beam management capabilities may not provide beamforming gain during their signal transfer.

[0027] To address unwanted interference, a network-controlled repeater (NCR) can be considered, which utilizes control information from the connected base station (BS) to realize intelligent amplify-and-forward operations. In this disclosure, beam information indication and associated time indication methods for cellular networks with NCR are considered.

[0028] RF repeaters can be used in 2G, 3G, and / or 4G deployments to complement the coverage provided by traditional full-stack cells with various transmit power characteristics. RF repeaters offer a simple, economical, and effective method for improving network coverage. Their main advantages are low cost, ease of deployment, and the fact that they do not increase latency. Their main disadvantage is that they amplify signals and noise. Therefore, RF repeaters can increase interference (e.g., pollution) within the system. RF repeaters may be categorized differently depending on their power characteristics and the amount of spectrum they are configured to amplify (e.g., single-band or multi-band). RF repeaters may also be non-regenerative relay nodes. RF repeaters can easily amplify and forward signals omnidirectionally.

[0029] From a functional perspective, Figure 3 shows the structure of the Network Control Repeater (NCR). The NCR-Mobile Terminal (MT) is defined as a functional entity for communicating with the gNB via the control link (C-link) to enable the exchange of control information (e.g., side control information for controlling at least the NCR-Fwd). The C-link is based on the NR Uu interface. The NCR-Forwarding (Fwd) is defined as a functional entity for performing amplification and forwarding of uplink / downlink (UL / DL) RF signals between the gNB and the UE via the backhaul link and the access link. The operation of the NCR-Fwd can be controlled based on the side control information received from the gNB.

[0030] Implementation Example 1: Beam Numbering Mechanism The beam index may be used to indicate the beam information of the access link. There may be different types of beams on the access link. Different numbering mechanisms may be considered to index the physical beams on the access link.

[0031] In some embodiments, a unified numbering mechanism can be considered for the beams of the access link. For example, in the case of an NCR, there may be four narrowband beams and two broadband beams for the access link. These six beams can be unified and numbered as beam 1 to beam 6. In this case, the BS can directly use the index number to indicate beam information to the NCR. For example, if the BS wants to indicate beam 2 to the NCR, the BS can directly use "0010" to represent the index of beam 2.

[0032] In some embodiments, an NCR may have different types of beams, including a first type of beam (e.g., a broadband beam) and a second type of beam (e.g., a narrowband beam). The different types of beams may be individually numbered. A unified numbering mechanism may be used to index all first type beams. A unified numbering mechanism may be used to index all second type beams. In this case, to distinguish between different types of beams, a bit may be used as a flag to distinguish whether the indicated index information refers to a first type beam or a second type beam. In this case, the definition of a beam index for a beam includes bit flag information and beam number / index information. The beam index may also be used to indicate beam information. For example, in the case of an NCR, there may be four narrowband beams and two broadband beams for an access link. The broadband beams may be numbered 0 to 1, and the narrowband beams may be numbered 0 to 3. A bit flag may be used to distinguish between beam types, where bit 0 may represent a broadband beam and bit 1 may represent a narrowband beam. In this case, if the BS wants to instruct the NCR to use narrowband beam 2, the BS can use bit information "110" as the beam index of narrowband beam 2, where the first bit may be a bit flag and the following two bits may be number / index information of narrowband beam 2. In some embodiments, the BS can instruct the NCR to use the bit flag via at least one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The bit flag instruction and the beam number / index information can be located in the same signaling or in different signaling.In some embodiments, a bit flag may be indicated with beam number / index information within the same field of the signaling, where one bit (e.g., the first bit) within the field may be used as a bit flag to distinguish the type of beam indicated, and the remaining bits within the field may be used to indicate beam number / index information.

[0033] In some embodiments, a group numbering mechanism may be considered for use with beams on an access link. The beams of the NCR may be divided into different beam groups. Each beam group may include one first type beam (e.g., a broadband beam) and multiple second type beams (e.g., narrowband beams). In this case, the group numbering method may be used to number the beams of the NCR using at least one of the following methods:

[0034] Alt 1: All first-type beams may be assigned a uniform number, and multiple second-type beams in each group may be assigned a uniform number. To indicate beam information, a first bit portion including one or more bits may be used to indicate number / index information of a first-type beam, and a second bit portion including one or more bits may be used to indicate number / index information of a second-type beam. These two bit portions may be indicated via at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, or DCI signaling. These two bit portions may be indicated in the same field of the same signaling, or in different fields of the same signaling, or in different signaling. In some embodiments, a bit may be used as a flag to indicate the number / index information of a first-type beam or the number / index information of a second-type beam. For example, if the bit flag is 0, it may indicate that the indicated beam information is a first-type beam, and if the bit flag is 1, it may indicate a second-type beam. In some embodiments, when the bit flag represents / indicates a first type of beam, the second bit portion may not be required. Also, when the value of the bit flag represents / indicates a second type of beam, these two bit portions may be required. In this case, the definition of the beam index includes at least one of number / index information of the first type of beam, number / index information of the second type of beam, and bit flag information. The beam index may be used to indicate beam information.

[0035] Alt 2: All different groups may be assigned a uniform number, and multiple second-type beams within each group may be assigned a uniform number. Since the number / index information may implicitly indicate the number / index information of the first-type beams, it may not be necessary to number the first-type beams within each group. To indicate beam information, a first bit portion including one or more bits may be used to indicate the number / index information of the group, and a second bit portion including one or more bits may be used to indicate the number / index information of the second-type beams. These two bit portions may be indicated via at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, or DCI signaling. These two bit portions may be indicated in the same field of the same signaling, or may be indicated in different fields of the same signaling, or may be indicated in different signaling. In some embodiments, a bit may be used as a flag to indicate the number / index information of the group or the number / index information of the second-type beam to represent the indicated beam information. For example, if the bit flag is 0, it may indicate that the indicated beam information is the number / index information of the group, and if the bit flag is 1, it may represent the number / index information of a second type of beam. In some embodiments, when the bit flag represents / indicates the number / index information of the group, it may not be necessary to configure the second bit portion. Also, when the value of the bit flag represents / indicates the number / index information of a second type of beam, these two bit portions may be required. Similarly, the definition of a beam index includes at least one of the number / index information of the group, the number / index information of the second type of beam, and bit flag information. The beam index may be used to indicate beam information.

[0036] In some embodiments, the beam index on the access link may be reported by the NCR, may be configured by the BS to the NCR, or may be configured by the OAM.

[0037] In some embodiments, the beams used on the NCR-Fwd access link may be different from the beams supported on the NCR-Fwd access link. The above beam numbering mechanism may be used to index the beams supported on the NCR-Fwd access link and / or may also be used to index the beams used or configured on the NCR-Fwd access link. In some embodiments, the NCR may report the beam indexes of all beams supported on the access link to the BS, or the OAM may configure the beam indexes of all beams supported on the access link to the BS and the NCR. If the BS indicates to the NCR that a subset of beams can be used on the access link, the BS may consider at least one of the following methods to index the subset of beams:

[0038] Alt1: The BS can re-index the subset of beams used on the access link and indicate to the NCR the mapping relationship between the new index of the beam subset and the index of the beam subset. For example, there may be four broadband beams indexed 0-3 and eight narrowband beams indexed 0-7. If the BS configures the NCR with a subset of beams including broadband beams 2-3 and narrowband beams 4-7 that can be used on the access link, the BS can re-index the subset of beams to broadband beams 0-1 and narrowband beams 0-3 and indicate the mapping relationship between the new index of the beam subset and the index of the beam subset. The BS can directly use the new index to indicate the corresponding beam. In this case, signaling costs can be reduced because only one bit is required to indicate a broadband beam and two bits are required to indicate a narrowband beam, compared to two bits required to indicate a wideband beam and three bits required to indicate a narrowband beam if the BS directly uses the index without re-indexing the subset of beams.

[0039] Alt2: There is no need to re-index the subset of beams. The BS can directly indicate the beam information using the beam index corresponding to each beam.

[0040] Implementation example 2: Beam application time information The BS can instruct the NCR with beam information. The NCR can use the received beam information to forward signals using the corresponding beam. The beam of the NCR can be represented / identified by a beam index or TCI state. In each instruction, one or multiple beams can be instructed. Considering the beam instruction method, there are three options:

[0041] Option 1: The BS can indicate one or more beams in each instruction. The beams in the instruction can be represented / identified by a beam index or TCI state. The definition of the beam index can be determined based on the different beam numbering mechanisms shown in Implementation Example 1.

[0042] Option 2: The BS can indicate one or more beam modes in each indication. A beam mode can be an ordered sequence of beams of the NCR to be used one by one. Beams in a beam mode can be represented / identified by a beam index or TCI state. The definition of the beam index can be determined based on the different beam numbering mechanisms shown in Implementation Example 1. Beams in each beam mode can be the same or different. If all beams in a beam mode are the same, it can indicate that the beam mode contains only one beam.

[0043] Option 3: The BS constructs a list of applicable beams that includes one or more beam modes. A beam in a beam mode can be represented / identified by a beam index or TCI state. The definition of the beam index can be determined based on different beam numbering mechanisms shown in Implementation Example 1. Each beam mode in the list may have a corresponding beam mode index. The beams in each beam mode may be the same or different. If all beams in a beam mode are the same, the BS can indicate that the beam mode includes only one beam. The BS can directly indicate one or more beam mode indexes to the NCR in each indication.

[0044] In addition to the beam information, the BS may also indicate to the NCR relevant time-domain information of the beam information. In some embodiments, the time-domain information may be used to indicate the application time of other operations of the NCR (e.g., power control, on / off). The time-domain information may include at least one of: (1) parameters related to the time resource of the beam information; (2) time offset; (3) time granularity; or (4) periodicity.

[0045] The time offset may be the time interval between the BS's transmission of the control information and the NCR's earliest applicable forwarding time after receiving the control information. The BS may configure the time offset in the NCR, including a time slot level value K1 and / or a symbol level value K2. In some embodiments, configuring K2 may be omitted. For example, the BS may transmit an indication of beam information to the NCR. The transmission of the indication may end in time slot n. The time offset may be symbol K2 in time slot n+K1. In some embodiments, both K1 and K2 may be zero. In this case, the NCR may apply the beam (with time domain information) upon receiving the beam information (e.g., from time slot n).

[0046] For parameters related to time resources of beam information, different parameters can be considered when the beam instructions are different. For the case of beam mode, NCR can know the start time and duration of the beam mode. NCR can also know the time length of each beam in the beam mode. For the applicable time information for beam mode, the following two cases can be considered:

[0047] Case 1: Time resource of the beam mode when the beam in the beam mode is used continuously.

[0048] In this case, the beams in the beam mode can be used one after the other consecutively without any time gap. The time domain information of the beam mode may include at least one of (1) a parameter related to the time resource of the beam mode, (2) a time offset, (3) a time granularity, or (4) a periodicity. The parameters related to the time resource of the beam mode may include a start time and a duration of the beam mode. In some embodiments, the time length of each beam in the beam mode may also be indicated.

[0049] First, the time length of each beam in the beam mode may have at least one of the following alternatives:

[0050] Alt 1: Default duration. The default duration may represent a duration that applies to all beams in a beam mode. The default duration may be predefined or known by the NCR and / or gNB.

[0051] Alt 2: Duration. The duration applicable to all beams in the beam mode may be instructed to the NCR by the BS.

[0052] Alt 3: Multiple time lengths. Each of the multiple time lengths may be associated with a beam in the beam mode, which may be instructed by the BS to the NCR.

[0053] Alt 4: Multiple time lengths. Each of the multiple time lengths may be associated with multiple beams in beam mode, which may be instructed by the BS to the NCR.

[0054] Second, the start time and duration of the beam mode can be indicated by at least one of a start time, an end time, a start-length indicator value (SLIV), or a duration of the beam mode.

[0055] The start time may be used to indicate the start time of a beam mode. The start time may be indicated via a start time slot and / or a start symbol. The start time of a beam mode in the time domain information may include a start time slot index (e.g., Sslot) and / or a start symbol index (e.g., Ssymbol). In some embodiments, the start time may be indicated implicitly, or in the absence of an explicit start time indication, may follow a predefined rule. For example, if the BS does not indicate a start time to the NCR but indicates a time offset (e.g., time offset parameters K1 and / or K2) to the NCR, the start time of the indicated beam information may be symbol K2 in time slot n+K1. For example, if the BS does not indicate a start time to the NCR but indicates a time offset (e.g., time offset parameters K1 and / or K2) to the NCR, the NCR may start transmission operations using the indicated beam from X (X≧1) time slots after the application time defined by the time offset, where X may be predefined by the NCR and the BS or may be indicated to the NCR by the BS.

[0056] The end time may be used to indicate the end time of a beam mode. The end time may be indicated via an end time slot and / or an end symbol. The end time of a beam mode in the time domain information may include an end time slot index (e.g., Eslot) and / or an end symbol index (e.g., Esymbol).

[0057] The duration of a beam mode may include a number of time slots and / or a number of symbols. The duration may include multiple time slot indices and / or multiple symbol indices.

[0058] The start time and duration of the beam mode can be indicated by a combination parameter. A start-length indicator (SLIV) can be defined for a duration with a predefined maximum time length. If the duration does not exceed one time slot, the start-length indicator (SLIV) can be used to indicate the start symbol (S) and the duration of the beam mode (e.g., the number of symbols (L)). If the duration has time slot-level granularity and does not exceed a subframe, the SLIV can be used to indicate the start time slot (S) and the duration (e.g., the number of symbols (L)).

[0059] Specifically, the above parameters can be combined to indicate the start time and duration of the beam mode, for example, one or more of the following options:

[0060] OP 1.1 (Start time): The BS can only indicate the start time to the NCR, and the duration of the beam mode can be implicitly indicated by the sum of the time lengths of each beam in the beam mode.

[0061] OP 1.2 (Time Offset): The start time of a beam mode can be implicitly indicated by a time offset. The duration of a beam mode can be implicitly indicated by the sum of the time lengths of each beam in the beam mode.

[0062] OP 1.3 (Start Time + Duration): The BS can instruct the NCR on the start time and duration of the beam mode. In this case, the duration of the beam mode may be equal to the sum of the application time lengths of each beam in the beam mode.

[0063] OP 1.4 (Start Time + End Time): The BS can instruct the NCR to specify the start time and end time. The time interval between the start time and end time must be equal to the sum of the application time lengths of each beam in beam mode.

[0064] OP 1.5 (End Time): The BS can only indicate the end time to the NCR. If the BS indicates a time offset to the NCR, the start time can be implicitly indicated by the time offset. If the BS does not indicate a time offset to the NCR, the BS can indicate / indicate that the NCR can transmit signals using beam mode after receiving beam information.

[0065] OP 1.6 (SLIV): The BS can indicate the start time and duration of the beam mode by instructing the NCR with the SLIV value. The duration calculated by the SLIV may be equal to the sum of the application time lengths of each beam in the beam mode.

[0066] In some embodiments, for the beam mode application time information, the BS can only indicate the application time length of each beam in the beam mode to the NCR, and the mechanism for the application time length of each beam may be the same as Alt1 to Alt4 in Case 1 of Implementation Example 2. The start time of the beam mode can be implicitly indicated by a time offset, or if a time offset is not configured in the NCR, the NCR can forward signals using the beam mode after receiving the beam information. The duration of the beam mode can be implicitly indicated by the sum of the application time lengths of each beam in the beam mode.

[0067] Case 2: Parameters related to the time resources of the beam mode when the beams in the beam mode are used discontinuously.

[0068] In this case, the application time of each beam in the beam mode may not be used consecutively, which may represent / indicate that the application time of adjacent beams in the beam mode may have a time gap. Similarly, the time information of the beam mode may include at least one of (1) a parameter related to the time resource of the beam mode, (2) a time offset, (3) a time granularity, or (4) a periodicity. For the parameter related to the time resource of the beam mode in this case 2, at least one of the following two options may be considered:

[0069] Option 1: Individual time resource parameters for each beam in beam mode. In this case 2, because the beams in the beam mode are not used continuously, time parameters can be defined for each beam in the beam mode. For each beam in the beam mode, the time resource information of each beam can be indicated by at least one of a start time, an end time, a beam duration, or a SLIV.

[0070] The start time may be used to indicate the start time of a beam and may be indicated via a start time slot and / or a start symbol. The start time of a beam in the time domain information may include a start time slot index (e.g., Sslot) and / or a start symbol index (e.g., Ssymbol). The start time of the first beam in a beam mode may not be earlier than the time offset of the beam mode. In some embodiments, the start time of the first beam in a beam mode may be implicitly indicated by the time offset, or may follow a predefined rule if there is no explicit indication of the start time. For example, if the BS does not indicate the start time of the first beam in a beam mode to the NCR but indicates a time offset of the beam mode (e.g., time offset parameters K1 and / or K2) to the NCR, the start time of the first beam in the beam mode may be symbol K2 in time slot n+K1. For another example, if the BS does not instruct the NCR on a start time but instructs the NCR on a time offset (e.g., time offset parameters K1 and / or K2), the NCR can start transmission operations using the instructed beam from X (X≧1) time slots after the application time defined by the time offset, where X may be predefined by the NCR and the BS or instructed to the NCR by the BS.

[0071] The end time may be used to indicate the end time of a beam and may be indicated via an end time slot and / or an end symbol. The end time of a beam in the time domain information may include an end time slot index Eslot and / or an end symbol index Esymbol.

[0072] The duration of a beam may include a number of time slots and / or a number of symbols. The duration may include multiple time slot indices and / or multiple symbol indices.

[0073] The start time and duration of the beam can be indicated by a combination parameter. A start-length indicator (SLIV) can be defined for durations with a predefined maximum time length. If the duration does not exceed one time slot, the start-length indicator (SLIV) can be used to indicate the start symbol (S) and the duration of the beam mode (e.g., the number of symbols (L)). If the duration has time slot level granularity and does not exceed a subframe, the SLIV can be used to indicate the start time slot (S) and the duration (e.g., the number of symbols (L)).

[0074] Specifically, the above parameters can be combined to indicate the start time and duration of the beam. For example, at least one of the following options can be mentioned:

[0075] Alt 1.1: Start time + End time. Alt 1.2: Start time + duration.

[0076] Alt 1.3:SLIV. Alt 1.4: Time offset + duration, in which case the start time can be implicitly indicated by the time offset.

[0077] Alt 1.5: Duration. Option 2: The time-related parameters and mechanisms may be the same as those in Case 1 of Implementation Example 2. In addition to the parameters and mechanisms described in Case 1 of Implementation Example 2, at least one of the following alternatives may be used to instruct the NCR on the time gap between adjacent beams in the beam mode, taking into account that the beams in the beam mode may not be used in sequence.

[0078] Alt 2.1: Default time gap. The default time gap indicates that the time interval between every two adjacent beams in a beam mode is the same and may be predefined and / or known by the NCR and the gNB.

[0079] Alt 2.2: Time Gap. A time gap can represent / indicate that the time interval between every two adjacent beams in a beam mode is the same. The time gap may be instructed by the BS to the NCR.

[0080] Alt 2.3: Multiple time gaps. Each time gap in the multiple time gaps can be associated with two adjacent beams in beam mode. Multiple time gaps can be instructed by the BS to the NCR.

[0081] Implementation Example 3: Signaling of Access Link Beam Information and Related Time Information Case 1: Each indicated single beam or multiple beams.

[0082] For each indicated single beam or multiple beams, the signaling of the beam information and associated time information may have at least one of the following options: The beam information includes a beam index, where the definition of the beam index can be determined based on different beam numbering mechanisms shown in implementation example 1.

[0083] Op 1.1: Beam information and associated time information can be indicated in different fields.

[0084] First, for beam information indication, beam information including one or more beams may be indicated by the BS to the NCR via at least one of a new information element (IE) in RRC signaling, a new MAC CE signaling, or a DCI signaling.

[0085] Second, for the relevant time information, the relevant time information including one or more time resource information may be indicated by the BS to the NCR via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, a new MAC CE signaling, or a DCI signaling.

[0086] Third, the BS can indicate an association between beam information and time domain information to the NCR via an RRC / MAC CE / DCI message. The association can refer to (1) being used to indicate a beam (e.g., beam information) and an associated time via the same signaling, or (2) having a defined mapping relationship. For example, the BS can indicate a 1-to-N (where N>=1) mapping between beam information and time domain information. As another example, if the NCR supports simultaneous communication with multiple beams, the BS can indicate an N-to-1 (where N>=1) mapping between beam information and time domain information.

[0087] Op 1.2: Beam information and related time information can be linked and specified. A list containing one or more transmission resources may be indicated by the BS to the NCR via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, a new MAC CE signaling, or a DCI signaling, where each transmission resource in the list may have at least one of beam information or an associated time resource.

[0088] In some embodiments, a list including one or more beam information and one associated time information may be indicated by the BS to the NCR via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, a new MAC CE signaling, or a DCI signaling. In this case, only one time resource information may be shared by all beam information in the list, which may represent / indicate that the beams configured in the list are used simultaneously.

[0089] In some embodiments, a list including one beam information and one or more time information may be indicated by the BS to the NCR via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, a new MAC CE signaling, or a DCI signaling, in which case only one beam in the list may be applicable to all configured time information in the list, which may represent / indicate that a configured beam has multiple applicable time resources.

[0090] Case 2: Each indicated beam mode index. For the case of beam modes, the BS may construct a list containing one or more beam modes, where each beam mode in the list may include one or an ordered sequence of beams.

[0091] A beam in a beam mode can be represented / identified by a beam index. The definition of the beam index can be determined based on different beam numbering mechanisms shown in Implementation Example 1. Each beam mode in the list may have a corresponding beam mode index. The beams in each beam mode may be the same or different. If all beams in a beam mode are the same, it can indicate that the beam mode may include only one beam. The BS can directly indicate one or more beam mode indexes to the NCR in each indication.

[0092] Op 2.1: Beam modes and associated time information can be configured in the same list.

[0093] A list of transmission resources may be configured by the BS or indicated to the NCR. Each transmission resource in the list may include at least one of a beam mode or associated time information. The list may include one or more transmission resources. Each transmission resource in the list may have a corresponding resource index. In some embodiments, all defined beam modes in the list may have the same associated time information. In this case, the list may include one or more beam mode and time information resources. The resource index may be used to represent different beam modes. The BS can directly indicate the resource index to the NCR to represent the corresponding beam mode. The associated time information can directly point to a common time information resource defined in the list. In some embodiments, the list may include one beam mode and one or more time information resources, which can represent / indicate that the beam mode can be applied at different times. In this case, the list may include one or more time information resources and a common beam mode. The resource index can point to different time resource information. The BS can directly indicate the resource index to the NCR to represent the corresponding time information. The beam information can directly point to common beam modes defined in a list.

[0094] In this case, the beam information and the associated time information can be jointly indicated by a resource index in the list. At least one of the following methods can be considered for signaling the beam information and the associated time information:

[0095] Alt 1: The list may be indicated to the NCR by the BS via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling or DCI signaling.

[0096] Alt 2: The list can be configured by the BS to the NCR via a new IE in RRC signaling. New MAC CE or DCI signaling can be used to indicate one or more resource indexes in the list to represent the corresponding beam information and associated time information.

[0097] Alt 3: The list can be configured by the BS to the NCR via new MAC CE signaling. DCI signaling can be used to indicate one or more resource indexes in the list to represent the corresponding beam information and associated time information.

[0098] Alt 4: The list can be configured by the BS into the NCR via a new IE in RRC signaling. New MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate a set of resource indexes from the list. DCI signaling can be used to indicate one or more resource indexes from the set of resource indexes indicated by MAC CE signaling.

[0099] Op 2.2: The beam mode and associated time information can be configured individually. The beam mode and the associated time information can be indicated separately. First, for the beam information, at least one of the following methods can be considered:

[0100] Alt 1: The BS can directly instruct the NCR of one or more beam modes via at least one of RRC signaling, new MAC CE signaling, or DCI signaling.

[0101] Alt 2: The BS may indicate a list containing one or more beam modes. Each beam mode in the list may have a beam mode index. The BS may indicate beam information to the NCR directly using the beam mode index. The BS may indicate beam information to the NCR using at least one of the following methods:

[0102] Alt 2.1: The list may be indicated by the BS to the NCR via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling or DCI signaling.

[0103] Alt 2.2: The list can be configured by the BS to the NCR via a new IE in RRC signaling. To represent the corresponding beam information, new MAC CE signaling or DCI signaling can be used to indicate one or more beam mode indexes in the list.

[0104] Alt 2.3: The list can be configured by the BS to the NCR via new MAC CE signaling. DCI signaling can be used to indicate one or more beam mode indexes in the list to represent the corresponding beam information.

[0105] Alt 2.4: The list can be configured by the BS to the NCR via a new IE in RRC signaling. New MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate a set of beam mode indices from the list. DCI signaling can be used to indicate one or more beam mode indices from the set of resource indices indicated by MAC CE signaling.

[0106] Second, for the time information, at least one of the following methods can be considered:

[0107] Alt A: The BS can directly indicate to the NCR one or more time information resources associated with the indicated beam information via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, new MAC CE signaling or DCI signaling.

[0108] Alt B: The BS can construct a list containing one or more time information. Each time information in the list may also have a resource index. The BS can directly use the resource index to indicate the time information to the NCR. The BS can indicate the time information used by the indicated beam to the NCR using at least one of the following methods:

[0109] Alt B.1: The list may be indicated to the NCR by the BS via at least one of a new IE in RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling or DCI signaling.

[0110] Alt B.2: The list can be configured by the BS into the NCR via a new IE in RRC signaling. To represent the corresponding time information, new MAC CE signaling or DCI signaling can be used to indicate one or more time resource indexes in the list.

[0111] Alt B.3: The list can be configured by the BS to the NCR via new MAC CE signaling. DCI signaling may be used to indicate one or more time resource indexes in the list to represent the corresponding time information.

[0112] Alt B.4: The list can be configured by the BS in the NCR via a new IE in RRC signaling. New MAC CE signaling can be used to indicate a set of time resource indices from the list. DCI signaling may be used to indicate one or more time resource indices from the set of time resource indices indicated by MAC CE signaling.

[0113] The BS can indicate beam information (e.g., beam mode) and associated time information to the NCR in the same signaling. In some embodiments, the BS can indicate beam information and associated time information in different signaling. For example, the BS can configure a beam mode list and a time information list to the NCR in the same IE in RRC signaling. The BS can indicate beam mode indexes and time resource indexes to the NCR directly using MAC CE signaling to represent the beam information and associated time information. For example, the BS can configure a beam mode list and a time information list to the NCR in the same IE in RRC signaling. The BS can indicate a set of beam mode indexes from the beam mode list using first MAC CE signaling and can indicate a set of time resource indexes from the time information list using second MAC CE signaling. The BS can use DCI signaling to indicate one beam mode index from a set of beam information indicated by the first MAC CE signaling and one time resource index from a set of time information indicated by the second MAC CE signaling. For example, the BS can configure a beam mode list in RRC signaling. The BS can use MAC CE signaling to indicate the beam mode index and associated time resource information.

[0114] Case 3: Detailed signaling design of beam information and associated time information. The DCI signaling may be used to indicate time information associated with the beam information. The beam information indicated in the DCI may include at least one of the following information:

[0115] (1) Beam index: The definition of the beam index can be determined based on the beam numbering mechanism shown in implementation example 1. In some embodiments, when the beams of the access link of the NCR have different types of beams, the definition of the beam index may include beam flag information, which is used to distinguish whether the indicated index is used for a first type of beam or a second type of beam.

[0116] (2) Beam mode index (3) Bit flag: A bit flag may be used to distinguish whether the index indicated in the DCI refers to a beam index or a beam mode index.

[0117] (4) Number of each indicated beam: If the number of each indicated beam is 1, the DCI can indicate / indicate that a single beam index is indicated, and if the number of each indicated beam is greater than 1, the indication can indicate that multiple beams are indicated, which indicates / indicates that the DCI can indicate a beam mode index.

[0118] In some embodiments, the beam information indicated in the DCI may include at least one of the following information:

[0119] (1) The number of each indicated beam. If the value of the beam number is 1, it may indicate that only a single beam index is indicated in the DCI. If the value of the beam number is greater than 1, it may indicate that multiple beams are indicated and the index indicated in the DCI is a beam mode index. The bit width may depend on the maximum number of beams in a beam mode.

[0120] (2) Index information. If the number of each designated beam is 1, the designated index information may be a beam index. The definition of the beam index may be determined based on different numbering mechanisms in the implementation example 1. The bit width may depend on the beam layout and beam numbering mechanism of the NCR.

[0121] If the number of each indicated beam is greater than 1, the indicated index information may be a beam mode index. The beam mode list may be defined in RRC signaling. The selected beam mode index may be indicated in DCI. Thus, the bit width may depend on the number of beam modes in the list.

[0122] For the detailed signaling design of DCI, at least one of the following methods can be considered:

[0123] Op 3.1: Beam information and associated time information can be indicated in the same field in the DCI. The beam information may be one or more beam indices or one or more beam mode indices. The definition of the beam index can be determined based on different numbering mechanisms in the first implementation example.

[0124] Since the beam information and the associated time information are indicated in the same list, it may be considered to indicate the beam and the associated time information simultaneously in the same field in the DCI signaling. For example, as described in Option 2.1 of Case 2, the beam information and the associated time information may be configured in the same list. A resource index may be used to indicate the corresponding beam information and time information simultaneously. For the specific design of the DCI signaling, at least one of the following alternatives may be considered:

[0125] Alt 1: A new DCI format with a separate Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) can be defined for NCR-Fwd to indicate one or more beams and associated time information to be used for the access link. When the DCI is scrambled by the NCR-MT's RNTI, the NCR-MT can communicate with the BS (e.g., the UE with assigned time-frequency resources, MCS, and / or other control parameters). When the DCI is scrambled by the NCR-Fwd's RNTI, the NCR-MT can decode the new DCI format of NCR-Fwd and control the amplification and forwarding behavior of NCR-Fwd accordingly. The new DCI format of NCR'Fwd may include at least one of: (1) beam information of the backhaul link indicating the beam information of the backhaul link (e.g., TCI state ID); (2) time resource information of the backhaul link indicating the associated time information of the indicated beam information; (3) time information associated with the beam information of the access link using the above field to simultaneously indicate the associated time information with the beam information (e.g., the resource index indicated in Option 2.1 of Case 2); (4) frequency resource information indicating the frequency resource to be used by NCR-Fwd; and (5) panel resource information indicating the panel information to be used by NCR-Fwd.

[0126] Alt 2: A new field can be added to the DCI signaling to simultaneously indicate the beam information and associated time information of the access link.

[0127] Alt 3: One existing field in DCI signaling can be used to simultaneously indicate access link beam information and associated time information. One existing bit in DCI signaling can be used to indicate whether the field is used for legacy applications or to indicate beam and time information. For example, the current "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" in DCI signaling can be reinterpreted to indicate beam information and associated time information, where the first bit in the "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" can be used as a flag. When the first bit is set to 0, it can indicate / indicate that the remaining bits in the "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" are used to indicate frequency information for NCR-MT. When the first bit is set to 1, it can indicate / indicate that the remaining bits in the "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" are used to indicate access link beam information and associated time information. For example, the current "Time Domain Resource Allocation", "Modulation and Coding Scheme", or "Bandwidth Portion Indicator" can be reinterpreted, where one bit in the field can be used as a flag.

[0128] Alt 4: One existing field in DCI signaling can be used to simultaneously indicate access link beam information and associated time information. A new bit can be added to DCI signaling to indicate whether the field is used for legacy purposes or to indicate access link beam and time information. For example, the current "Modulation and Coding Scheme" field in DCI signaling can be reinterpreted to indicate beam information and associated time information, where a new bit can be added to DCI signaling as a flag. When the new bit is set to 0, it can indicate / indicate that the "Modulation and Coding Scheme" field is used to indicate modulation and coding information for NCR-MT. When the new bit is set to 1, it can indicate / indicate that the "Modulation and Coding Scheme" field is used to indicate access link beam information and associated time information.

[0129] Alt 5: The current "Transmission Configuration Indicator" field can be reinterpreted to indicate access link beam information and associated time information. A bit or a new bit in the DCI signaling can be added to indicate whether the field is used for control link beam information or for indicating access link beam and time information. In some embodiments, a bit or a new bit in the DCI signaling can be added to indicate whether the field is used for backhaul link beam information or for indicating access link beam and time information.

[0130] Op 3.2: Beam information and associated time information can be indicated in different fields in the DCI. The beam information can be one or more beam indices or one or more beam mode indices. The definition of the beam index can be determined based on different numbering mechanisms in the first implementation example.

[0131] Since beam information (e.g., beam index or beam mode index) and associated time information are indicated in different fields of DCI signaling, a field for indicating beam information in DCI and a field for indicating time information in DCI can be considered, respectively.

[0132] (1) First, to indicate the beam information of the access link, at least one of the following methods can be considered:

[0133] Alt 1: A new field can be added to the DCI signaling to indicate the beam information of the access link.

[0134] Alt 2: One existing field in DCI signaling can be used to indicate access link beam information. One existing bit in DCI signaling can be used to indicate whether the field is used for legacy applications or for access link beam indication. For example, to indicate access link beam information, the current "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" in DCI signaling can be reinterpreted, where the first bit in the "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" can be used as a flag. When the first bit is set to 0, it can indicate / represent that the remaining bits in the "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" are used to indicate frequency information for NCR-MT. When the first bit is set to 1, it can indicate / represent that the remaining bits in the "Frequency Domain Resource Allocation" are used to indicate access link beam information. For example, the current "Time Domain Resource Allocation", "Modulation and Coding Scheme", or "Bandwidth Fraction Indicator" can also be reinterpreted, where one bit in the field can be used as a flag.

[0135] Alt 3: One existing field in DCI signaling can be used to indicate access link beam information. A new bit can be added to DCI signaling to indicate whether the field is used for legacy applications or for access link beam indication. For example, the current "Modulation and Coding Scheme" field in DCI signaling can be reinterpreted to indicate access link beam information, where a new bit can be added to DCI signaling as a flag. When the new bit is set to 0, it can indicate / indicate that the "Modulation and Coding Scheme" field is used to indicate modulation and coding information for NCR-MT. When the new bit is set to 1, it can indicate / indicate that the "Modulation and Coding Scheme" field is used to indicate access link beam information.

[0136] Alt 4: The current "Transmission Configuration Indicator" field can be reinterpreted to indicate access link beam information. A bit or a new bit in the DCI signaling can be added to indicate whether the field is used for control link beam information or access link beam direction. In some embodiments, a bit or a new bit in the DCI signaling can be added to indicate whether the field is used for backhaul link beam information or access link beam direction.

[0137] (2) Secondly, for the relevant time information of the access link beam, at least one of the following methods can be considered:

[0138] Alt 1: A new field can be added to the DCI signaling to indicate the relevant time information of the directed beam of the access link.

[0139] Alt 2: The current "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field in the DCI signaling can be reused to indicate the associated time information of the indicated beam for the access link. One bit in the DCI signaling may be used to indicate whether the "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field is used for NCR-MT time information or for the associated time information for the access link. For example, the first bit in the "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field can be used as a flag. When the first bit is set to 0, it can indicate / indicate that the "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field is used to indicate the time resources for NCR-MT. When the first bit is set to 1, it can indicate / indicate that the "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field is used to indicate the associated time information of the beam for the access link.

[0140] Alt 3: The current "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field in the DCI signaling can be reused to indicate the associated time information of the indicated beam for the access link. A new bit can be added to the DCI signaling to indicate whether the "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field is used for the time information of NCR-MT or the associated time information of the access link. For example, if the new bit is set to 0, it can represent / indicate that the "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field is used to indicate the time resources for NCR-MT. If the new bit is set to 1, it can represent / indicate that the "Time Domain Resource Allocation" field is used to indicate the associated time information of the beam for the access link.

[0141] (3) In some embodiments, a new DCI format with a separate Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) can be defined for NCR-Fwd to indicate one or more beam indices to be used for the access link. When the DCI is scrambled with the NCR-MT's RNTI, the NCR-MT can communicate with the BS (e.g., the UE with assigned time-frequency resources, MCS, and / or other control parameters). When the DCI is scrambled with the NCR-Fwd's RNTI, the NCR-MT can decode the new DCI format of the NCR-Fwd and control the amplification and forwarding behavior of the NCR-Fwd accordingly. The new DCI format of NCR-Fwd may include at least one of: (1) backhaul link beam information indicating beam information of the backhaul link (e.g., TCI state ID); (2) backhaul link time resource information indicating associated time information of the indicated beam information on the backhaul link; (3) access link beam information indicating access link beam information (e.g., beam index or beam mode index); (4) access link time resource information indicating associated time information of the indicated beam on the access link; (5) frequency resource information indicating frequency resources to be used by NCR-Fwd; and (6) panel resource information indicating panel information to be used by NCR-Fwd.

[0142] Implementation example 4: Beam direction for NCR backhaul links In some embodiments, a set of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states configured by RRC signaling may be shared and used for both the control link and the backhaul link. MAC CE signaling may be used to activate a subset of TCI states from the TCI state configuration in RRC signaling. The subset of TCI states activated by MAC CE signaling may be shared and used for beam direction for the control link and the backhaul link. The value of N may be predefined for all NCRs, or the value of N may be different for each NCR. The value of N may be determined based on the capabilities of the NCR-MT. DCI signaling may be used to select a TCI state from the subset of TCI states activated by the MAC CE. In this case, the number of TCI states (e.g., the first N (N≧1) TCI states) in the activated subset of TCI states may be predefined for the BS and NCR to be used for beam direction for the backhaul link. In some embodiments, the BS may indicate to the NCR the number of TCI states (e.g., the first N (N≧1) TCI states) in the subset of TCI states activated by the BS to be used for beam direction for the backhaul link. Thus, when the NCR receives the selected TCI state indicated by the DCI, the NCR may verify whether the selected TCI state belongs to the TCI states applicable to the backhaul link. If the selected TCI state ID belongs to the TCI states applicable to the backhaul link, the selected TCI state may be used for beam direction for the backhaul link and the control link. If the selected TCI state ID does not belong to the TCI states applicable to the backhaul link, the selected TCI state may only be used for beam direction for the control link. For example, in some embodiments, there may be eight TCI states activated by MAC CE signaling.The BS may indicate to the NCR that only the first four TCI states activated in the MAC CE may be used by the backhaul link. In this case, if the TCI field in the DCI is set to 2, it may indicate that the TCI state may be simultaneously configured to be used for beam direction of the C-link and the backhaul link. If the TCI field in the DCI is set to 5, it may indicate that the selected TCI state is only applicable to beam direction of the C-link.

[0143] In some embodiments, a set of TCI states configured for the control link by RRC signaling may be used for the backhaul link. The number of TCI states (e.g., the first N (N≧1) TCI states) in the TCI state set configured by the RRC to be used for beam direction for the backhaul link may be predefined for the BS and the NCR. The value of N may be predefined for all NCRs, or the value of N may be different for each NCR. The value of N may be determined based on the capabilities of the NCR-MT. In some embodiments, the number of TCI states (e.g., the first N (N≧1) TCI states) in the TCI state set configured by the RRC to be used for beam direction for the backhaul link may be indicated by the BS to the NCR. In this case, when the NCR receives the selected TCI state indicated by the DCI, the NCR may verify whether the selected TCI state belongs to the TCI states applicable to the backhaul link. If the selected TCI state ID belongs to the TCI states applicable to the backhaul link, the selected TCI state may be used for beam direction for the backhaul link and the control link. If the selected TCI state ID does not belong to the TCI states applicable to the backhaul link, the selected TCI state may be used only for beam direction of the control link. For example, 20 types of TCI states can be configured by RRC signaling, and the BS can instruct the NCR that only the first 8 TCI states centrally configured by the RRC can be used by the backhaul link. In this case, when the NCR receives the indicated TCI state from the DCI, it can determine whether the indicated TCI state belongs to the TCI states applicable to the backhaul link.

[0144] Implementation Example 5: HARQ-ACK Feedback of PDCCH Carrying Side Control Information The side control information includes at least one of beam information, on / off information, power control information, timing information, or UL / DL time division duplex (TDD) configuration. The side control information may be indicated in the DCI or transmitted from the BS to the NCR. To ensure the reliability of the side control information, HARQ-ACK feedback for the DCI may be required. Regarding when and where to transmit HARQ-ACK feedback for the DCI carrying the side control information, at least one of the following options may be considered:

[0145] Op 1: The BS may transmit a DCI format carrying side control information ending in time slot n. The NCR may report HARQ-ACK feedback information via the PUCCH transmission closest to time slot n.

[0146] Op 2: The BS may transmit a DCI format carrying side control information ending in time slot n. The NCR may report HARQ-ACK feedback information by PUCCH transmission in time slot n+k, where k may be a time offset value provided to the NCR by the BS.

[0147] Op 3: The BS may transmit a DCI format carrying side control information ending in time slot n, and the NCR may report HARQ-ACK feedback information via a PUCCH transmission in time slot n+L, where L may be provided by the current "PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator" field in the DCI.

[0148] It should be understood that one or more features in the above implementation examples are not specific to a particular implementation example and may be combined in any manner (e.g., in any priority and / or order, simultaneously, or in any other combination).

[0149] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart for identifying a time associated with a beam, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 400 may be implemented using one or more elements and devices described in detail herein with respect to FIGS. 1-2. Generally, in some embodiments, method 400 may be performed by a network node. Depending on the embodiment, additional, fewer, or different operations may be performed in method 400. At least one aspect of the operations is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium.

[0150] At least one aspect is directed to the following system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium.

[0151] A network node (e.g., a secondary node (SN)) may receive beam information to be used for a first forward link (e.g., an access link) between a wireless communication device and the network node from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS). The beam information may be associated with a plurality of beams. The beams used for the network node on the first forward link may include a first type of beam and a second type of beam. The beam information may include at least one of a beam index, a beam mode index, a bit flag for indicating the beam index or the beam mode index, and a beam number. The beam number may be used to indicate the number of beams in each indication.

[0152] In some embodiments, the beam index may include at least one of an index of a first type beam, an index of a second type beam, or a bit flag used to distinguish between the first type beam and the second type beam.

[0153] In some embodiments, a network node may receive a list from a wireless communication node. The list may include one or more beam information and one or more associated time information. The list may be indicated to the network node via at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI signaling. A new field may be added to the DCI signaling to simultaneously indicate the beam information and the associated time information. One of the existing fields in the DCI signaling may be reused to simultaneously indicate the beam information and the associated time information.

[0154] In some embodiments, one of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit in the DCI signaling can be used to indicate whether an existing field is used for legacy purposes or for time information associated with beam information, and to indicate to the network node the associated time information of the beam.

[0155] In some embodiments, the beam information and associated time information can be indicated to the network node via the same signaling or different signaling. A new field can be added to the DCI signaling to indicate the beam information of the first forward link. One of the existing fields in the DCI signaling can be reused to indicate the beam information of the first forward link. One of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit to the DCI signaling can be used to distinguish and indicate whether an existing field is used for legacy applications or for beam information of the first forward link.

[0156] In some embodiments, a new field may be added to the DCI signaling to indicate the associated time information of the first forward link. One of the existing fields in the DCI signaling may be reused to indicate the associated time information of the first forward link. One of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit to the DCI signaling may be used to indicate whether the existing field is used for legacy purposes or for the associated time information of the first forward link.

[0157] In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may transmit to the network node a beam indication for a first forwarding link to be used between the wireless communication device and the network node, the beam indication being associated with multiple beams.

[0158] While various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that the embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Similarly, various figures may depict example architectures or configurations provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand example features and functionality of the present solution. However, such skilled artisans will understand that the solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Furthermore, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the scope and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the example embodiments described above.

[0159] It should also be understood that any reference to elements herein using designations such as "first," "second," etc., generally does not limit the number or order of those elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, reference to a first element and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

[0160] Additionally, those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, commands, instructions, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced in the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0161] Those skilled in the art will also understand that any of the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementations, analog implementations, or a combination of both), firmware, various forms of merge command programs or design code (which, for convenience, may be referred to herein as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these technologies. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative elements, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of these technologies depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. For each particular application, those skilled in the art may implement the described functions in various ways, but such implementation decisions do not cause a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0162] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various example logical blocks, modules, devices, elements, and circuits described herein can be implemented in or executed by integrated circuits (ICs), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits may further include an antenna and / or a transceiver for communicating with various elements within a network or device. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration, to perform the functions described herein.

[0163] If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more commands or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that can facilitate transfer of a computer program or code from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of commands or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0164] As used herein, the term "module" refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements used to perform the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purposes of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules, but it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according to embodiments of the present solution.

[0165] Furthermore, embodiments of the present solution may employ memory or other storage and communication components. It should be understood that, for purposes of clarity, the above description describes embodiments of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without departing from the present solution. For example, functions shown to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Thus, references to specific functional units are merely references to suitable apparatus for providing the described functionality and do not dictate a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0166] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Thus, as set forth in the claims below, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein.

Claims

1. 1. A wireless communication method comprising receiving, by a network node from a wireless communication node, beam information to be used for a first forwarding link between a wireless communication device and the network node, A wireless communication method in which the beam information is associated with a plurality of beams.

2. The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the beams used for the network node on the first forwarding link include a first type beam and a second type beam.

3. The wireless communication method of claim 2, wherein the beam information includes at least one of a beam index, a beam mode index, a bit flag used to indicate the beam index or the beam mode index, and a beam number.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 3 , wherein the beam number is used to indicate the number of beams in each instruction.

5. A wireless communication method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the beam index includes at least one of an index of the first type beam, an index of the second type beam, and a bit flag used to distinguish between the first type beam and the second type beam.

6. The method further comprises receiving, by the network node, a list from the wireless communication node; The wireless communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the list includes one or more beam information and one or more associated time information.

7. 7. The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the list is indicated to the network node by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE or DCI signaling.

8. The wireless communication method according to claim 7, further comprising adding a new field to the DCI signaling to simultaneously indicate the beam information and the associated time information.

9. The wireless communication method of claim 7, further comprising reusing one of the existing fields in the DCI signaling to simultaneously indicate the beam information and the associated time information.

10. 10. The wireless communication method of claim 9, wherein one of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit in the DCI signaling is used to indicate whether the existing field is used for legacy purposes or for the beam information and the associated time information.

11. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, further comprising instructing the network node about time information associated with the beam.

12. 12. The wireless communication method according to claim 11, wherein the beam information and the associated time information are indicated to the network node via the same signaling or different signaling.

13. The wireless communication method of claim 1, further comprising adding a new field to DCI signaling to indicate beam information of the first forwarding link.

14. The wireless communication method of claim 1, further comprising reusing one of the existing fields in DCI signaling to indicate beam information for the first forward link.

15. 15. The wireless communication method of claim 14, wherein one of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit in the DCI signaling is used to distinguish and indicate whether the existing field is used for legacy purposes or for beam information of the first forwarding link.

16. 12. The wireless communication method of claim 11, further comprising adding a new field to DCI signaling to indicate associated time information of the first forwarding link.

17. 12. The wireless communication method of claim 11, further comprising reusing one of the existing fields in DCI signaling to indicate the associated time information of the first forward link.

18. 18. The wireless communication method of claim 17, wherein one of the existing bits in the DCI signaling or a newly added bit in the DCI signaling is used to indicate whether the existing field is used for legacy purposes or for related time information of the first forwarding link.

19. 1. A method of wireless communication comprising transmitting, by a wireless communication node, to a network node, a beam indication to be used for a first forwarding link between a wireless communication device and the network node, A wireless communication method, wherein the beam designation is associated with multiple beams.

20. A wireless communication device comprising a processor and a memory, said processor configured to read code from said memory and to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. A computer program product having stored thereon a computer readable program medium code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 19.

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