Terminal devices and network devices

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium. [Solution] The method in a wireless communication system includes, in a terminal device, receiving at least one downlink control information (DCI) message, determining at least one transmit setting indicator (TCI) state based on at least one DCI message, and performing a transmission with the network based on at least one TCI state. The at least one DCI message indicates at least one of a first TCI instruction, a second TCI instruction, or a third TCI instruction. In this way, multiple TCI states can be indicated for multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) transmission.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, apparatus and computer storage media for communications. [Background technology]

[0002] MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology is widely used in current wireless communication systems, where network devices use multiple antenna elements to communicate with terminal devices. Furthermore, to improve the reliability and robustness of communication between network devices and terminal devices, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) Release 16 proposed and discussed multi-transmit / receive point (multi-TRP / MTRP) (and multi-panel receive) technology for downlink data transmission (physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc.). In Release 17, multi-TRP transmission is extended for other physical channels (physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), etc.), building upon the 3GPP's Unified Transmit Setting Indicator (TCI) / Spatial Relations Framework Releases 15 / 16. Simultaneously, in Release 17, a unified TCI framework is being developed to replace / supplement the TCI / Spatial Relations Framework of Releases 15 / 16 for beam indication.

[0003] Generally, network devices can use Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages to provide scheduling information to terminal devices. Several proposals regarding DCI messages for enabling multi-TRP and / or multi-panel transmissions have been discussed and some agreements have been reached, but there is still a need to extend the structure of DCI to better support multi-TRP transmissions. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] Generally, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide methods, apparatus and computer storage media for communication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method includes, in a terminal device, receiving at least one DCI message, determining at least one TCI state based on the at least one DCI message, and performing a transmission to a network based on the at least one TCI state. The at least one DCI message indicates at least one of a first TCI instruction associated with a first control resource set pool, a second TCI instruction associated with a second control resource set pool, or a third TCI instruction associated with either or both of the first and second control resource set pools. The at least one TCI state includes at least one of a first TCI state applicable to the first control resource set pool, or a second TCI state applicable to the second control resource set pool.

[0006] In a second embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method includes a terminal device receiving at least one DCI message indicating at least one TCI state applied by the terminal device, and performing a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the most recent Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission transmitted in at least one indicated TCI state, or, if the most recent SRS transmission has been transmitted based on at least one indicated TCI state, applying at least one indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission.

[0007] In a third embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method includes, in a terminal device, detecting a beam fault and, if an available uplink TCI state exists, sending a beam fault recovery request to the network in the available uplink TCI state.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, in a network device, transmitting at least one DCI message, determining at least one TCI state based on at least one DCI message, and performing a transmission with a terminal device based on at least one TCI state. The at least one DCI message indicates at least one of a first TCI instruction associated with a first control resource set pool, a second TCI instruction associated with a second control resource set pool, or a third TCI instruction associated with either or both of the first and second control resource set pools. The at least one TCI state includes at least one of a first TCI state applicable to the first control resource set pool, or a second TCI state applicable to the second control resource set pool.

[0009] A fifth embodiment provides a communication method, the method comprising: a network device transmitting at least one DCI message indicating at least one TCI state applied by a terminal device; receiving a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in at least one indicated TCI state; or, if the latest SRS transmission has been transmitted based on at least one indicated TCI state, applying at least one indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission; and receiving a PUSCH transmission by at least one of these.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes a network device receiving a beam fault recovery request transmitted by a terminal device while the uplink TCI is available, and transmitting a response to the beam fault recovery request to the terminal device.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a circuit configured to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure described above.

[0012] In the eighth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a circuit configured to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure described above.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a circuit configured to perform the method according to the third aspect of the present disclosure described above.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes circuitry configured to perform the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure described above.

[0015] In the eleventh aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes circuitry configured to perform the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure described above.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes circuitry configured to perform the method according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure described above.

[0017] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided on which instructions are stored. When executed on at least one processor, the instructions cause at least one processor to perform the methods according to the first to fourth aspects of the present disclosure described above.

[0018] It should be understood that the summary portion of the invention is not intended to identify any important or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure should be readily apparent through the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0019] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, and the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure should become more apparent.

[0020] [Figure 1A] An exemplary communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. [Figure 1B] An exemplary communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. [Figure 1C] An exemplary communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown.

[0021] [Figure 2] Examples of multi-TRP transmission by the above four transmission methods are shown.

[0022] [Figure 3A] The signaling flow of communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 3B] The signaling flow of communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 3C] The signaling flow of communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 3D] The signaling flow of communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] [Figure 4] Exemplary application timings of multi-DCI are shown.

[0024] [Figure 5] Exemplary application timings of multi-DCI are shown.

[0025] [Figure 6] A flowchart of an exemplary method executed by a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] [Figure 7] A flowchart shows an exemplary method performed by a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Figure 8] A flowchart shows an exemplary method performed by a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 9] A flowchart shows an exemplary method performed by a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 10] A flowchart shows an exemplary method performed by a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] [Figure 11] A flowchart shows an exemplary method performed by a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] [Figure 12] This is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Throughout all drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0033] The principles of this disclosure will be described with reference to several exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and should be understood as helpful to those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and should not be considered as limiting the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

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

[0035] References in this disclosure to “one embodiment,” “embodiment,” “exemplary embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiments described may include certain features, structures, or characteristics, but not all embodiments are required to include such features, structures, or characteristics. Furthermore, these expressions do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, if certain features, structures, or characteristics are described in relation to an embodiment, it is considered within the knowledge of those skilled in the art that they may affect such features, structures, or characteristics in relation to other embodiments, whether or not they are explicitly described.

[0036] In this specification, various elements may be described using terms such as “first,” “second,” etc., but it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the terms “and / or” include any one or more of the enumerated items, and all combinations thereof.

[0037] The terms used herein are intended solely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. Where used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural form unless otherwise explicitly indicated in the context. Furthermore, the terms “contain,” “equip,” “have,” “possess,” “include,” and / or “contain,” where used herein, specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0038] In some examples, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "optimal," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It is understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a choice is available from among several functional alternatives, and that such a choice does not necessarily have to be superior, smaller, more expensive, or more preferable than the other choices.

[0039] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage from which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, Node B (NB or NB), Evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), Node B for new radio access (gNB), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Head (RH), Remote Radio Head (RRH), low-power nodes such as femtonodes and piconodes, satellite network devices, and aircraft network devices. For discussion purposes, several exemplary embodiments will be described below, with reference to an eNB as an example of a network device.

[0040] As used herein, the term “terminal equipment” refers to any end device capable of wireless communication. For the purposes of this specification, terminal equipment may also be referred to as communication equipment, user terminal (UE), subscriber equipment (SS), portable subscriber equipment, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cell phones, smartphones, VoIP (Voice over IP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable devices, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), portable computers, desktop computers, imaging terminals such as digital cameras, gaming terminals, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminals, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearables such as watches, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics, and devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user terminal," and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0041] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network conforming to any appropriate communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA®), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), and Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network may be performed by any appropriate generation of communication protocol. Communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, it is natural that there will be future communication technologies and systems that embody this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure should not be considered to be limited to the aforementioned systems only.

[0042] As used herein, the term “core device” means any device or entity that provides access and mobility management functions (AMF), session management functions (SMF), user plane functions (UPF), etc. For example, but not limited to, the core device may be an AMF, SMF, UPF, etc. In other embodiments, the core device may be any other suitable device or entity.

[0043] As used herein, the term “end marker” means a single message between two ends / devices / elements of the user plane of an interface such as Iu, Gn, Gp, S1-U, S11-U, S2a, S2b, S4, S5, S8, S12, X2, M1, Sn, Xn, N3, and N9. As an example, and not an limitation, an end marker may also be a GPT-U (GPRS Tunnel Protocol-user plane) end marker.

[0044] As used herein, the terms “UL Transmission,” “SDT,” and “UL Data” are equivalent to each other.

[0045] As used herein, the term “circuit” may mean a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of an analog hardware circuit and / or a digital hardware circuit and software / firmware. As a further example, a circuit may be any part of a software-equipped hardware processor, such as a digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a terminal or network device to perform various functions. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or processor such as a microprocessor or a part of a microprocessor that requires software / firmware for operation, but where the software may not be present when not needed for operation. As used herein, the term “circuit” also encompasses a mere hardware circuit or processor, or a part of a hardware circuit or processor, and the implementation of its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0046] The functions described herein can be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes in various exemplary embodiments, but in other exemplary embodiments, the functions may be performed in a user terminal device (such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile IoT device, or fixed IoT device). Such a user terminal device may, as necessary, include corresponding functions, for example, those described in relation to fixed and / or wireless network nodes. The user terminal device may be a user terminal and / or a control device such as a chipset or processor configured to control the user terminal when installed in the user terminal. Examples of such functions include a bootstrap server function and / or a home subscriber server. These functions may be implemented in a user terminal device by providing the user terminal device with software configured to run in terms of these functions / nodes.

[0047] A wireless communication network includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device. Furthermore, the network device and the terminal device may communicate with each other via uplink transmission (such as PUSCH or PUCCH) or downlink transmission (such as PDSCH or PDCCH). Furthermore, the network device may configure / indicate resources for performing uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0048] To improve reliability and robustness, network devices and terminal devices communicate with each other via different beams that enable directional communication. In the relevant solution, for a target channel / signal, the terminal device must assume the same transmit and receive beams as the reference signal. Therefore, information including the reference signal index constitutes the beam indication.

[0049] As mentioned earlier, 3GPP Release 16 has proposed and discussed multi-TRP technology, primarily for downlink data transmission (such as physical downlink shared channels (PDSCH)). Furthermore, it has been agreed that different channels / signals may be configured by different TCI instruction schemes. Specifically, different signaling combinations may be used for configuring / activating different channel transmissions. In other words, each channel transmission requires individual configuration / activation, which increases signaling overhead.

[0050] Release 17 explored enhanced support for multi-TRP deployments. For example, based on 3GPP TCI / Spatial Relations Framework Releases 15 / 16, it was proposed to identify and define features that improve the reliability and robustness of physical channels other than the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, etc.) by using multi-TRP and / or multi-panel configurations. Furthermore, the concept of a unified TCI was introduced. By using a unified TCI, downlink / uplink channels / signals can share the same indicated TCI state. In this way, signaling overhead is reduced.

[0051] While a unified TCI framework concept has been introduced, the actual communication environment for multi-TRP is relatively complex, and further discussion is needed regarding the details.

[0052] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, procedures for setting / activating beam / TCI states / channel resources and procedures for beam fault recovery can be improved.

[0053] In some embodiments, several signals / channels may be grouped into different combinations so that different signals / channels within the same combination are processed by the same transmission parameters. Some exemplary combinations are listed below. - Combination #1: Used for normal UE-specific downlink scheduling, including channels PDCCH, PDSCH, and PUCCH. Here, PDCCH schedules PDSCH, and PUCCH transmits feedback information to PDSCH (e.g., Hybrid Auto Retransmission Request-Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK)). - Combination #2: Used for normal UE-specific uplink scheduling, including PDCCH and PUSCH. Here, PDCCH schedules PUSCH. - Combination #3: Used for DCI-based beam instruction ACK procedures, including PDCCH and PUCCH. Here, PDCCH indicates beam information without downlink / uplink assignment, and PUCCH transmits the HARQ-ACK for the beam instruction. - Combination #4: Used for RS configuration, including PDCCH and RS. - Combination #5: Includes PDCCH and signaling for other functions such as Transmit Power Control (TPC) for PUCCH / SRS.

[0054] The combinations described above are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limitations. In some other exemplary embodiments, signals / channels may be grouped into any suitable combination. This disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0055] In this disclosure, some terms may refer to the same or similar physical meanings and may be used interchangeably. Some examples are given below. - The terms "Control Resource Set Pool," "Control Resource Set," "CORESET," "CORESET Pool," "TRP," "TCI State," and "TCI" can be used interchangeably. - The terms "Control Resource Set Pool Identity / Index", "Control Resource Set Identity / Index", "CORESET Identity / Index", "CORESET Pool Identity / Index", "TRP Identity / Index", "TCI State Identity / Index", and "TCI Identity / Index" can be used interchangeably. - The terms "RS" and "RS Resources" can be used interchangeably. - The terms “indicated TCI state,” “new TCI state,” and “applied TCI state” can be used interchangeably. - The terms "old TCI state," "previously indicated TCI state," "active TCI state," "activated TCI state," "applied TCI state," "currently applied TCI state," and "current TCI state" can be used interchangeably. - The terms "beam interference," "link interference," and "wireless link interference" can be used interchangeably. The terms "precoder," "precoding," "precoding matrix," "beam," "spatial relationship information," "spatial relationship info," "TPMI," "precoding information," "precoding information and number of layers," "precoding matrix indicator (PMI)," "precoding matrix indicator," "transmit precoding matrix indication," "precoding matrix indication," "TCI status," "transmit setting indicator," "pseudo-collocation (QCL)," "pseudo-collocation," "QCL parameters," "QCL assumption," "QCL relationship," and "spatial relationship" can be used interchangeably. - The terms "Single TRP," "Single TCI State," "Single TCI," "S-TCI," "Single CORESET," "Single Controlled Resource Set Pool," "S-TRP," and "S-TCI State" can be used interchangeably. The terms "multiple TRPs," "multiple TCI states," "multiple CORESETs," and "multiple control resource set pools," "multi-TRP," "multi-TCI states," "multi-TCI," "multi-CORESETs," and "multiple control resource set pools," "MTRP," "M-TCI," and "M-TPR" can be used interchangeably.

[0056] In this specification, the term "TRP" refers to an antenna array (having one or more antenna elements) available to network equipment at a specific geographic location. Some embodiments of this disclosure are described with reference to, for example, multiple TRP scenarios (or single TRP scenarios), but these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and should be helpful to those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and should not imply any limitation to the scope of this disclosure. It should be understood that the disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0057] As used herein, the term “SRS transmission” refers to the transmission of an SRS resource identified by the SRS Signal Resource Indicator (SRI) in the DCI message for the uplink grant. Thus, the term “recent SRS transmission” refers to the most recent transmission of an SRS resource identified by the SRI in the DCI message for the uplink grant.

[0058] As used herein, the terms “network” and “network device” refer to one or more network devices. Therefore, the terms “network,” “network device,” and “one or more network devices” can be used interchangeably. Exemplary environment

[0059] Figure 1A shows an exemplary communication network 100 (sometimes referred to as the “Network” for brevity) that can implement embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication network 100 includes a network device 110-1 and optionally a network device 110-2 (collectively or individually referred to as network devices 110). Network devices 110 can provide services to terminal devices 120. For the purposes of discussion, network device 110-1 is referred to as the first network device 110-1, and network device 110-2 is referred to as the second network device 110-2. Furthermore, the first network device 110-1 and the second network device 110-1 can communicate with each other.

[0060] In environment 100, the link from network device 110 (such as the first network device 110-1 or the second network device 110-2) to terminal device 120 is called a downlink, while the link from terminal device 120 to network device 110 (such as the first network device 110-1 or the second network device 110-2) is called an uplink. In a downlink, the first network device 110-1 or the second network device 120-1 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 120 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In an uplink, terminal device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first network device 110-1 or the second network device 110-2 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0061] In some embodiments, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may communicate via a direct link / channel.

[0062] Furthermore, in the specific example shown in Figure 1A, multi-TRP transmission is also supported. As shown in Figure 1A, terminal device 120 may communicate with two TRPs, namely TRP130-1 and 130-2 (collectively or individually referred to as TRP130). For the purposes of discussion, TRP130-1 will be referred to as the first TRP130-1, and TRP130-2 will be referred to as the second TRP130-2.

[0063] Furthermore, to support multi-TRP and / or multi-panel configurations, the network device 110 may include one or more TRPs. For example, the network device 110 may be coupled with multiple TRPs located in different geographical locations to achieve better coverage. In one specific and exemplary embodiment, the first network device 110-1 includes a first TRP 130-1 and a second TRP 130-2. Alternatively, in another specific and exemplary embodiment, the first network device 110-1 and the second network device 110-2 each include a first TRP 130-1 and a second TRP 130-2, respectively.

[0064] In some embodiments, the first TRP130-1 and the second TRP130-2 are associated with different control resource set pools (CORESET pools). For example, the first TRP130-1 is associated with the first control resource set pool, while the second TRP130-2 is associated with the second control resource set pool.

[0065] Furthermore, in the specific example shown in Figure 1A, both single-TRP mode transmission and multi-TRP transmission are supported. Specifically, in single-TRP mode, the terminal device 120 communicates with the network via the first TRP 130-1 / second TRP 130-2, and transmission is performed accordingly based on the first / second control resource set pool.

[0066] Alternatively, in multi-TRP mode, the terminal device 120 communicates with the network via both the first TRP 130-1 and the second TRP 130-2, and accordingly, transmissions are performed based on both the first control resource set pool and the second control resource set pool.

[0067] Furthermore, the network device 110 may provide one or more serving cells, and the first TRP130-1 and the second TRP130-2 may be contained in the same serving cell or in different serving cells. In other words, in the specific example in Figure 1A, both inter-cell transmission and intra-cell transmission are supported.

[0068] Figure 1B shows an exemplary scenario of the communication network 100 shown in Figure 1A. In the specific example in Figure 1B, the first TRP 130-1 and the second TRP 130-2 are contained within the same serving cell 140. In this case, multi-TRP transmission is performed as intra-cell transmission.

[0069] Figure 1C shows another exemplary scenario of the communication network 100 shown in Figure 1A. In the specific example in Figure 1C, the first TRP 130-1 and the second TRP 130-2 are contained within different serving cells 140-1 and 140-2. In this case, multi-TRP transmission is performed as inter-cell transmission.

[0070] Furthermore, the communication network 100 supports a unified TCI framework. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may pre-set multiple TCI states for the terminal device 120 via RRC signaling or the like. Then, multi-TRP / single-TRP transmissions may be scheduled by either a single DCI message or multiple DCI messages (i.e., multi-DCI / M-DCI). Specifically, one or more pre-set TCI states may be indicated by a single / multiple DCI messages.

[0071] As shown in Figure 1A, when single DCI mode is applied, terminal device 120 receives a single DCI message from the first TRP 130-1. It should be understood that a single DCI message can also be received from the second TRP 130-2.

[0072] Alternatively, if multi-DCI mode is applied, terminal device 120 receives two DCI messages from the first TRP130-1 and the second TRP130-2, respectively.

[0073] By applying the indicated TCI state, the first TRP130-1 and the second TRP130-2 are selectively activated, enabling directional transmission.

[0074] In some embodiments, the TCI state shown is one of the following: - Combined Downlink / Uplink TCI State (i.e., Combined DL / UL TCI State): Refers to at least one common source reference RS used to determine both downlink QCL information and uplink TX spatial filters. - Separate Downlink / Uplink TCI (i.e., Separate DL / UL TCI state): Downlink TCI and uplink TCI are distinguished.

[0075] Thus, the terminal device 120 may have M downlink TCI states and N uplink TCI states set. Here, M>=0 and N>=0.

[0076] In some embodiments, M downlink TCI state source RSs provide common QCL information for at least UE-dedicated reception in the PDSCH and for all or a subset of CORESETs in the component carrier (CC). Furthermore, M downlink TCI state source RSs provide common QCL information for non-UE-dedicated reception in the PDSCH and for all or a subset of non-UE-dedicated CORESETs in the CC.

[0077] In some embodiments, each of the M source reference signals (or 2M if qcl_Type2 is set in addition to qcl_Type1) in the M downlink TCIs provides QCL information for at least one of the M beampair links for UE-dedicated receivers in the PDSCH and / or a subset of CORESETs in the CC. Furthermore, each of the M source reference signals (or 2M if qcl_Type2 is set in addition to qcl_Type1) in the M downlink TCIs provides common QCL information for all or a subset of non-UE-dedicated receivers in the PDSCH and / or non-UE-dedicated CORESETs in the CC.

[0078] In some embodiments, the source reference signals in N uplink TCI states provide a reference for determining a common uplink TX spatial filter for at least all or a subset of dedicated PUCCH resources within a dynamic grant / configured grant-based PUCCH, CC. Optionally, the uplink TX spatial filter can also be applied to all SRS resources in a resource set configured for antenna switching, codebook-based (CB) uplink transmission, or non-CB (NCB) uplink transmission.

[0079] In some embodiments, each of the N source reference signals in N uplink TCI states provides a reference for determining the uplink TX spatial filter for at least one of the N beampair links associated with a subset of dynamic grant / set grant-based PUSCH and / or dedicated PUCCH resources within the CC.

[0080] Furthermore, to improve the reliability of downlink transmissions, different transmission schemes are supported and used, including frequency division multiplexing scheme A (FDMSchemeA), FDM scheme B (FDMSchemeB), time division multiplexing scheme A (TDMSchemeA, in-slot), and inter-slot based TDM scheme. Figure 2 shows an example of a multi-TRP transmission 200 using the four transmission schemes described above. As can be seen from Figure 2, each transmission may be associated with the same or different redundant versions (RVs) based on the different transmission schemes.

[0081] The communication in communication environment 100 may conform to any appropriate standard, which includes, but is not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Furthermore, the communication may be performed in accordance with any generation of communication protocol that is currently known or will be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, 5G-Advanced Network, or sixth generation (6G) communication protocols.

[0082] The number, connections, and types of devices shown in Figures 1A to 1C (i.e., terminal device 120, network device 110, TRP 130, and cell 140) are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limitations. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of devices appropriate for carrying out embodiments of the present disclosure. Exemplary process

[0083] The principles and implementation of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 3A to 3D. Figures 3A to 3D show signaling charts illustrating communication processes 300, 320, 340, and 360 according to some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. For discussion purposes, processes 300, 320, 340, and 360 will be described with reference to Figures 1A to 1C.

[0084] Processes 300, 320, 340, and 360 may involve terminal equipment 120, network equipment 110 (either or both of the first network equipment 110-1 or the second network equipment 110-2), and optionally TRP 130 (including the first TRP 130-1 and the second TRP 130-2). In other words, the implementation of some embodiments is independent of TRP 130.

[0085] Furthermore, the first TRP130-1 is connected to the first network device 110-1, while the second TRP130-2 is connected to both the first network device 110-1 and the second network device 110-2. In addition, the first TRP130-1 and the second TRP may be located in the same serving cell or in different serving cells.

[0086] In the following, several embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to two TRPs, but these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are intended to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0087] Furthermore, it should be understood that operations on terminal device 120 and network device 110 should be consistent. In other words, network device 110 and terminal device 120 should have a common understanding of settings, states, parameters, etc. Such a common understanding may be achieved through any appropriate interaction between network device 110 and terminal device 120, or by both network device 110 and terminal device 120 applying the same rules / policies. Below, some operations are described from the perspective of terminal device 120, but it should be understood that the corresponding operations should be performed by network device 110. Similarly, some operations are described from the perspective of network device 110, but it should be understood that the corresponding operations should be performed by terminal device 120. For the sake of brevity, some identical or similar content will be omitted here.

[0088] Furthermore, in the following description, several interactions are performed between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 (e.g., exchange of capability-related information, resource configuration / scheduling / activation, fault beam recovery, etc.). It should be understood that these interactions may be performed using either a single signaling / message or multiple signaling / messages, including system information, RRC messages, DCI messages, uplink control information (UCI) messages, media access control (MAC) control elements (CE), etc. This disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0089] Furthermore, while specific and exemplary embodiments will be discussed individually, it should be understood that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, these features / operations described in different exemplary embodiments may be used in any suitable combination. An exemplary process for exchanging competency-related information

[0090] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 may communicate capability-related information and associated settings to enable embodiments of this disclosure described later. During this interaction procedure, specific rules associated with embodiments of this disclosure may be defined, and relevant redefined / newly introduced parameters may be exchanged between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110.

[0091] Furthermore, capability-related information and associated settings may be transmitted in any appropriate signaling / message, including but not limited to RRC messages, DCI messages, MAC CEs, etc.

[0092] Please refer to Figure 3A. Figure 3 shows a communication signaling flow 300 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3A, the terminal device 120 transmits capability-related information to the network device 110 (302).

[0093] Here are some examples of competency-related information. - Whether S-DCI mode is supported by terminal device 120 - Whether the multi-DCI mode is supported by the terminal device 120 - Whether S-TCI mode is supported by terminal device 120 - Whether the multi-TCI mode is supported by the terminal device 120 - Maximum number of TCI states supported by terminal device 120 - Maximum number of coupled TCI states supported by terminal device 120 - Maximum number of uplink TCI states supported by terminal device 120 - Maximum number of downlink TCI states supported by terminal device 120 - Maximum number of TRPs supported by terminal device 120 - Whether terminal device 120 supports the setting of a unified TCI state, a coupled DL / UL TCI state, and / or a separated DL / UL TCI state for multi-TRP. - Whether the terminal device 120 supports the setting of additional downlink TCI states and / or additional uplink TCI states in addition to the coupled TCI state. - Whether terminal device 120 supports setting more uplink TCI states compared to downlink TCI states. - Whether terminal device 120 supports setting more downlink TCI states compared to uplink TCI states. - Capabilities related to transmission methods in multiple TCI state modes, including coherent joint transmission (CJT), non-coherent joint transmission (NCJT), repetition, time division multiplexing (TDM) (inter-slot or intra-slot), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), spatial domain multiplexing (SDM), high-speed train (HST), etc. - Whether the terminal device 120 supports dynamic switching between single TCI transmission and multi-TCI state transmission. - Whether terminal device 120 supports pre-configured resources for multi-TCI status transmission. - Whether terminal device 120 supports reporting beam fault recovery requests via available uplink TCI states (sometimes referred to as "extra UL TCI states"). - Whether terminal device 120 supports reporting of beam fault recovery requests via available uplink TCI status and new beams identified during candidate beam detection procedures.

[0094] Please understand that the capability-related information described above is provided for illustrative purposes only. At this stage, any appropriate capability-related information associated with the embodiments discussed in the specification may be communicated. This disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0095] Continuing to refer to Figure 3A, the network device 110 may transmit the relevant settings to the terminal device 120 (304). In one exemplary embodiment, the relevant settings may be generated based on capability-related information received from the terminal device 120. In another exemplary embodiment, the relevant settings are generated independently of the capability-related information.

[0096] In some embodiments, the relevant settings are higher-layer settings from the network device 110 (via RRC messages, etc.). In one specific and exemplary embodiment, an RRC message sets up multiple TCI states. The following is an example of two parts of RRC signaling for setting TCI states. TIFF2026076238000002.tif33110 TIFF2026076238000003.tif55150

[0097] Alternatively, or additionally, the relevant settings can also be used for resource allocation, enabling one or more features / functions, etc. Below, we discuss some relevant settings in specific embodiments.

[0098] At this stage, it should be understood that any appropriate relevant settings associated with the embodiments discussed in the specification may be communicated. This disclosure is not limited in this respect. An exemplary process demonstrating the TCI state

[0099] In multi-TRP transmission scenarios, DCI messages need to indicate the respective TCI states of different TRPs. According to some embodiments of this disclosure, multiple TCI states may be indicated for multiple TRPs.

[0100] Please refer to Figure 3B. Figure 3B shows a communication signaling flow 320 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0101] As shown in Figure 3B, the terminal device 120 may receive at least one DCI message (324). The terminal device 120 may then determine a first TCI state based on at least one DCI message (326), and the first TCI state is applied to the first control resource set pool (i.e., the first TRP 130-1). Alternatively, or additionally, the terminal device 120 may determine a second TCI state based on at least one DCI message. The second TCI state is applied to the second control resource set pool (i.e., the second TRP 130-2). Based on the determined first TCI state and / or second TCI state, the terminal device 120 may perform a transmission to the network (via either or both of the first TRP and the second TRP 130-2) (328).

[0102] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission based on a first TCI state and / or a second TCI state. Specifically, in one specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in at least one TCI state. Alternatively, in another specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 performs a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the most recent first SRS transmission transmitted in the first TCI state. Alternatively, in a further specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 performs a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in the second TCI state.

[0103] Furthermore, the most recent SRS transmission refers to the most recent transmission of an SRS resource identified by the SRI within the DCI message for the uplink grant.

[0104] In this way, multiple TCI states may be displayed to the terminal device 120.

[0105] The following describes several exemplary embodiments of methods for representing multiple TCI states. More specifically, the signaling configuration and signaling interactions have been improved to enable the representation of multiple TCI states. In single DCI mode

[0106] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message, which includes a first TCI field indicating a first TCI state and a second TCI field indicating a second TCI state.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first TCI field is a bit string of length K1. Thus, the first TCI field is applied to the first TPR130-1. K1 This can represent one of two distinct TCI states (or pairs of TCI states, groups of TCI states, or combinations of TCI states). K1 It may have multiple values.

[0108] In some embodiments, the second TCI field is a bit string of length K2. Thus, the second TCI field is applied to the second TPR130-2. K2 This can represent one of two distinct TCI states (or pairs of TCI states, groups of TCI states, or combinations of TCI states). K2 It may have multiple values.

[0109] Furthermore, before sending a single DCI message, the terminal device 120 may receive more than one message (such as a MAC CE message) that establish a mapping between all or a subset of the configured TCI states (via RRC signaling, etc.) and the TCI code points in the single DCI message (322). Specifically, the terminal device 120 receives a first MAC CE message indicating at least one first mapping and a second message indicating at least one second mapping. In particular, each first mapping indicates a first correspondence between a first TCI code point and a first TCI state (or a pair of TCI states, a group of TCI states, or a combination of TCI states), while each second mapping indicates a second correspondence between a second TCI code point and a second TCI state (or a pair of TCI states, a group of TCI states, or a combination of TCI states).

[0110] Optionally, in some embodiments, the TCI state indicated in the first MAC CE message is associated with / set to a first CORESET pool, and the TCI state indicated in the second MAC CE message is associated with / set to a second CORESET. Furthermore, the TCI state indicated in the first MAC CE message may be different from the TCI state indicated in the second MAC CE message.

[0111] Furthermore, more than one message activates all or a subset of the configured TCI states mapped to the TCI code point. In some embodiments, the first TCI state is associated with the first TRP130-1, and the second TCI state is associated with the second TRP130-2. In some embodiments, the first TCI state is associated with the first CORESET pool, and the second TCI state is associated with the second CORESET pool. Table 1 below shows an example of the first mapping. TIFF2026076238000004.tif53150

[0112] Table 2 below shows an example of the second mapping. TIFF2026076238000005.tif53150

[0113] Thus, by reusing the current MAC CE message configuration to establish the first and second mappings, multiple TCI states can be represented by a single DCI message.

[0114] In some embodiments, the instruction used to indicate the presence of a second TCI field may be indicated by the network. In one specific and exemplary embodiment, network device 110 transmits an RRC signaling / MAC CE message containing the instruction “secondTCIPresentInDCI”. The instruction “secondTCIPresentInDCI” is configured to indicate whether this second TCI field is present. In another specific and exemplary embodiment, the instruction (e.g., “secondTCIPresentInDCI”) is contained in a single DCI message. In this way, the operation of the resolution means at terminal device 120 is simplified.

[0115] Alternatively, in single DCI mode, multiple TCI states may be indicated by a combined TCI instruction (referred to as a third TCI instruction), which is associated with either or both of the first and second control resource set pools. Specifically, a single DCI includes a third TCI state field indicating the third TCI instruction. Thus, multiple TCI states may be indicated by a single TCI state field, which means that the current DCI configuration may be reused.

[0116] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the third TCI field is a bit string of length K. Thus, the third TCI field is applied to either or both of the first TPR130-1 and the second TRP130-2. KThis can represent one of two distinct TCI states (or pairs of TCI states, groups of TCI states, or combinations of TCI states). K It may have multiple values.

[0117] Furthermore, in order to enable the interpretation of the third TCI instruction at terminal device 120, terminal device 120 must receive a third MAC CE message indicating at least one third mapping, each third mapping indicating a third correspondence between a third TCI code point and at least one third TCI state (or pair of TCI states, group of TCI states, or combination of TCI states), each of which is set for either the first control resource set pool or the second control resource set pool. Table 3 below shows an example of a third mapping. TIFF2026076238000006.tif77150

[0118] In some embodiments, the third code point is mapped to a pair of coupled TCI states, where M=N. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the third code point is mapped to a group of M downlink TCI states and N uplink states. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the third code point is mapped to a group of L coupled TCI states, (ML) downlink TCI states, and / or (NL) uplink states. The parameters M / N / L are positive integers.

[0119] Furthermore, some code points may be reserved to indicate reserved TCI states. In one specific and exemplary embodiment, one code point may be reserved to indicate "no TCI update".

[0120] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the bit size of the third TCI state field may be redefined. In particular, the bit size of the third TCI state field may be defined as greater than 3, such as 4 or 5. Thus, the third TCI state field may represent more combined TCI states.

[0121] The terminal device 120 may determine a first TCI state applied to the first control resource set pool and a second TCI state applied to the second control resource set pool in accordance with the procedure described above.

[0122] Furthermore, the scope of application of a single DCI message can also be defined. In one specific and exemplary embodiment, the indicated TCI states (i.e., the first TCI state and the second TCI state) apply to all channels (including PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, and PUSCH).

[0123] Alternatively, the scope of application can be limited to specific combinations of several physical channels. Specifically, the terminal device 120 applies a first TCI state to the combination of physical channels associated with a first control resource set pool, and further applies a second TCI state to the combination of physical channels associated with a second control resource set pool. Furthermore, the combination of physical channels may be any of the combinations #1 to #5 described herein.

[0124] In summary, the signaling configuration and signaling interaction procedures are improved so that multiple TCI states can be represented in a single DCI message. In multi-DCI mode

[0125] As mentioned above, multi-DCI modes are also supported by some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0126] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is multiple DCI messages. Specifically, terminal device 120 receives a first DCI message and a second DCI message, the first DCI message includes a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction, and the second DCI message includes a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction. In some embodiments, each of the multiple DCI messages corresponds to a TRP identity (such as CORESETPoolIndex).

[0127] Based on multiple DCI messages, the terminal device 120 may determine a first TCI state to be applied to the first control resource set pool and a second TCI state to be applied to the second control resource set pool.

[0128] Unlike legacy solutions where the indicated first and second TCI states apply to all physical channels, the scope of application of the indicated first and second TCI states may be limited. Specifically, the terminal device 120 applies the first TCI state to the combination of physical channels associated with the first control resource set pool, and further applies the second TCI state to the combination of physical channels associated with the second control resource set pool. Furthermore, the combination of physical channels may be any of the combinations #1 to #5 described herein. In other words, the indicated TCI state for each DCI message applies to a subset of channels, for example, these channels associated with the same TRP ID.

[0129] In this way, a more flexible solution for indicating TCI states is realized. Specifically, the scope of application of multiple TCI states may be limited to a subset of all physical channels.

[0130] By following the above procedure, multiple TCI states can be shown in different TRPs, regardless of whether it is a single DCI mode or multiple DCI mode.

[0131] In some embodiments, the total bit size for representing TCI information (in either a single DCI or multiple DCIs) is determined based on several factors. One exemplary factor is whether at least one DCI message is a single DCI or multiple DCI messages. Another exemplary factor is the number of TCI fields contained in at least one DCI message. A further exemplary factor is the number of TCI states represented by at least one DCI message. Other exemplary factors may be the bit size of each TCI field.

[0132] It should be understood that the elements described above are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute any limitation. In other examples, other elements may be considered when determining the total bit size for representing TCI information. It should also be understood that the elements described above may be applied separately or in any appropriate secondary combination. Exemplary process of timing application

[0133] In the related solution, after receiving at least one DCI message, the terminal device 120 responds with an ACK to at least one DCI message. The terminal device 120 may then apply the TCI state indicated by at least one DCI message after an offset of X time units after sending the ACK (i.e., immediately after the beam application timing BAT).

[0134] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, when applying the indicated TCI states, multiple factors may be considered to suppress the delay in switching between TCI states.

[0135] In some embodiments, the timing of application of a indicated TCI state is performed based on the number of indicated TCI states. Alternatively, or additionally, in some embodiments, the timing of application of a indicated TCI state is performed based on whether there are any overlapping TCI states between the indicated TCI state and the currently applied TCI state. Alternatively, or additionally, in some embodiments, the timing of application of a indicated TCI state is performed based on whether at least one DCI triggers a switch between multiple TCI mode and single TCI mode (or a switch between single TRP transmission and multi-TRP transmission). Alternatively, or additionally, in some embodiments, the timing of application of a indicated TCI state is performed based on whether single DCI mode or multi-DCI mode has been triggered.

[0136] The following text describes several illustrative processes for single-DCI mode and multi-DCI mode separately. In single DCI mode

[0137] In some embodiments, if there are overlapping TCI states between the indicated TCI state and the currently applied TCI state, the terminal device 120 applies the overlapping TCI state before applying any other TCI states to at least one TCI state.

[0138] Furthermore, in some embodiments, when the terminal device 120 sends an ACK for at least one DCI message to the network, it applies overlapping TCI states without waiting for an offset of X time units. In response to this, the terminal device 120 sends an acknowledgment for at least one DCI message to the network, and then applies other TCI states after a certain period of time (i.e., an offset of X time units).

[0139] Alternatively, or additionally, beam / TCI state mapping may also be determined based on whether there are overlapping TCI states between the indicated TCI states and the currently applied TCI states. Specifically, overlapping beams are applied first, followed by the newly indicated TCI states. An example of a TCI state mapping pattern for a two-TRP scenario, assuming continuous TCI state mapping, is {overlapping TCI state, overlapping TCI state, newly indicated TCI state, newly indicated TCI state, ...}. Another example of a TCI state mapping pattern for a two-TRP scenario, assuming periodic TCI state mapping, is {overlapping TCI state, newly indicated TCI state, overlapping TCI state, newly indicated TCI state, ...}.

[0140] In this way, by applying overlapping TCI states first, transmission can be started earlier during TCI state / beam switching.

[0141] First, a specific and exemplary embodiment in which a single DCI triggers a switch from single TRP transmission / single TCI mode to multi-TRP transmission / multi-TCI mode will be described. Specifically, terminal device 120 is operated under a single TCI state / TRP transmission mode, for example, terminal device 120 is applying TCI state #1. Next, terminal device 120 receives a single DCI indicating two TCI states, including the currently applied TCI state #1 and a newly indicated TCI state #2. In this specific and exemplary embodiment, terminal device 120 first applies the overlapping TCI state #1. For example, terminal device 120 applies the overlapping TCI state #1 when transmitting an ACK, while applying the newly indicated TCI state #2 after an offset of X time units from the transmission of the ACK.

[0142] The procedure for switching from multi-TRP transmission / multi-TCI mode to single-TRP transmission / single-TCI mode is similar. Specifically, terminal device 120 operates under multi-TCI state / TRP transmission mode, for example, terminal device 120 is applying TCI states #1 and #2. Next, terminal device 120 receives a single DCI indicating TCI state #1. In this specific and exemplary embodiment, terminal device 120 first applies the duplicate TCI state #1. For example, terminal device 120 applies the duplicate TCI state #1 to an ACK transmission.

[0143] In a further specific and exemplary embodiment, terminal device 120 operates under a multi-TCI state / TRP transmission mode, for example, terminal device 120 is applying TCI states #1 and #2. Next, terminal device 120 receives a single DCI indicating two TCI states, including the currently applied TCI state #1 and a newly indicated TCI state #3. In this specific and exemplary embodiment, terminal device 120 first applies the overlapping TCI state #1. For example, terminal device 120 applies the overlapping TCI state #1 when transmitting an ACK, while applying the newly indicated TCI state #3 after an offset of X time units from the transmission of the ACK.

[0144] Furthermore, in this specific and exemplary embodiment, an example of a TCI state mapping pattern is {overlapping TCI state #1, overlapping TCI state #1, newly revealed TCI state #3, newly revealed TCI state #3, ...}. Another example of a TCI state mapping pattern is {overlapping TCI state #1, newly revealed TCI state #3, overlapping TCI state #1, newly revealed TCI state #3, ...}.

[0145] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 transmits the last symbol of PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information corresponding to a DCI that transmits a TCI state instruction, and if the indicated TCI state overlaps with a previously indicated one (i.e., the currently applied TCI-State), the indicated TCI state (e.g., indicated [TCI-State] having [tci-StateId_r17]) should be applied from the last symbol of PUCCH to the first slot which is at least the BeamAppTime_r17 symbol. In multi-DCI mode

[0146] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the application timing of the different TCI states shown may be determined separately. In other words, the beam application timing is determined for each TRP.

[0147] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a plurality of DCI messages, such as a first DCI message indicating a first TCI state and a second DCI message indicating a second TCI state. The terminal device 120 applies the first TCI state and the second TCI state, respectively, at a first start point associated with a first control resource set pool and a second start point associated with a second control resource set pool.

[0148] In some embodiments, the starting point for applying a specified TCI state of a TRP is X time units after an ACK transmitted by a PUCCH associated with that TRP. Specifically, terminal device 120 applies the first TCI state after an offset of X time units after sending an ACK for the first DCI message, and terminal device 120 applies the second TCI state after an offset of X time units after sending an ACK for the second DCI message.

[0149] Next, refer to Figure 4. Figure 4 shows an exemplary application timing 400 for multi-DCI. As shown in Figure 4, terminal device 120 applies TCI state #1 to TRP #1 and TCI state #2 to TRP #2. At time T1, terminal device 120 receives a first DCI message indicating TCI state #3 from TRP #1, while receiving a second DCI indicating TCI state #4 from TRP #2. Next, terminal device 120 sends an ACK for the first DCI message at time T2, while terminal device 120 sends an ACK for the second DCI message at time T3. After time T4 (X time units after T2), a newly indicated TCI state #3 may be applied. After time T4 (X time units after T3), a newly indicated TCI state #4 may be applied.

[0150] In some other embodiments, the starting point for applying the indicated TCI states of a multi-TRP is X time units after a plurality of ACKs sent later in time. Specifically, if the ACK for the second DCI message is sent later in time than the ACK for the first DCI message, the terminal device 120 applies the first TCI state after an offset of X time units from the time the ACK for the second DCI message is sent, and the terminal device 120 applies the second TCI state after an offset of X time units from the time the ACK for the second DCI message is sent (i.e., both the first and second TCI states are applied after an offset of X time units from the time the ACK for the second DCI message is sent). An exemplary process for resource allocation

[0151] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, resource allocation for multi-TRP transmission can also be improved. Specifically, a plurality of transmission opportunity sets may be pre-configured in the terminal device 120, and each transmission opportunity set may correspond to each TCI state (or each control resource set pool / TRP). The plurality of transmission opportunity sets may be activated / deactivated according to the activation / deactivation of the corresponding TCI state.

[0152] Thus, no additional resource allocation procedures are required when switching to multi-TRP transmission / multi-TCI state mode.

[0153] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 receives a configuration message from the network device 110. The configuration message indicates at least one first transmission opportunity associated with a first TCI state and at least one second transmission opportunity associated with a second TCI state.

[0154] In some embodiments, at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity are associated with a specific physical channel or a specific combination of physical channels (such as one of the combinations #1 to #5 described above). The physical channels include PDSCH, PDCCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH.

[0155] In some embodiments, at least one second transmission opportunity is linked to at least one first transmission opportunity by at least one pre-configured parameter.

[0156] Specifically with respect to the PDCCH, at least one first transmission opportunity may be configured / indicated via a search space (SS) set configuration, while at least one second transmission opportunity may be an SS set linked to the PDCCH associated with at least one first transmission opportunity.

[0157] With respect to PDSCH, at least one first transmission opportunity may be set / indicated via the start and length indicator value (SLIV) in the DCI message, while at least one second transmission opportunity may be set by an offset from the first transmission opportunity.

[0158] With respect to PUCCH, at least one first transmission opportunity may be set / indicated via RRC signaling, while at least one second transmission opportunity may be set by an offset from the first transmission opportunity (e.g., the number of slots set in the RRC).

[0159] With respect to PUSCH, at least one first transmission opportunity may be set / indicated via SLIV in the DCI message for uplink grant, while at least one second transmission opportunity may be set by an offset from the first transmission opportunity.

[0160] In some embodiments, at least one second transmission opportunity may be set to a higher layer setting / parameter. Furthermore, at least one second transmission opportunity may be activated when two TCI states are indicated and deactivated when only one TCI state is indicated.

[0161] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 activates at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity based on the newly indicated TCI state. Alternatively, or additionally, in some embodiments, the terminal device 120 activates at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity when switching between multiple TCI mode and single TCI mode.

[0162] In some embodiments, at least one transmit parameter associated with at least one first transmit opportunity is, by default, the same as at least two transmit parameters associated with at least one second transmit opportunity. In particular, if there are two TRPs and two coupled TCI states are shown, at least one transmit parameter associated with at least one first transmit opportunity is the same as at least two transmit parameters associated with at least one second transmit opportunity.

[0163] One example of a transmission parameter is the transmission method. As used herein, the transmission method may refer to a repeating method (including at least inter-slot TDM and intra-slot TDM), CJT, NCJT, inter-cell mobility, etc.

[0164] At least another example of a transmission parameter is the number of repetitions (such as the number of TCI states indicated).

[0165] At least a further example of a transmission parameter is the beam / TCI mapping pattern, which is one of cyclic mapping, sequential mapping, and half-half mapping. In one specific and exemplary embodiment, the same beam / TCI mapping pattern is assumed when a number of repetitions greater than the number of TCI states shown is set.

[0166] In some embodiments, if the number of repetitions is greater than the number of TCI states, the terminal device 120 may be further configured to enable cyclic mapping or sequential mapping in the TCI mapping. Furthermore, in some embodiments, if cyclic mapping is enabled, the first TCI state and the second TCI state are applied to the first and second transmission resources, respectively, and the same TCI mapping pattern is continued for the remaining transmission resources.

[0167] Furthermore, in some embodiments, when sequential mapping is enabled, a first TCI state is applied to the first and second transmission resources, a second TCI state is applied to the third and fourth transmission resources, and the same TCI mapping pattern continues for the remaining transmission resources.

[0168] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the same beam / TCI state mapping pattern is conditionally applied to one or more specific channels. In one specific and exemplary embodiment, the same beam / TCI state mapping pattern is conditionally applied to PDSCH and PUSCH. In another specific and exemplary embodiment, the same beam mapping pattern is conditionally applied to PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH.

[0169] In some embodiments, at least one transmission parameter (such as transmission method, repetition rate, beam mapping, etc.) may be set individually for each channel / signal. Exemplary process of applying timing to PUSCH

[0170] In related solutions, precoding information is required for PUSCH transmission. However, according to legacy procedures, at least the DCI message indicates the TCI state and precoding information (SRI, or SRI and TPMI). However, the precoding information transmitted with the TCI state may not be the most up-to-date precoding information and may not be suitable for PUSCH transmission. In other words, the precoding information for PUSCH may become unknown after the beam switching timing (or beam application timing, BAT).

[0171] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, some additional time is taken to obtain and display precoding information for PUSCH.

[0172] Please refer to Figure 3C. Figure 3C shows a signaling flow 340 of communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3C, terminal device 120 receives at least one DCI message from network device 110 (342). The at least one DCI message indicates at least one TCI state applied by terminal device 120.

[0173] Next, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission (344). In one specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in at least one indicated TCI state. In another specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 applies at least one indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission if the most recent SRS transmission is transmitted based on at least one indicated TCI state. The most recent SRS transmission refers to the most recent transmission of an SRS resource identified by the SRI in the DCI message for the uplink grant.

[0174] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 performs a push transmission by continuing to apply the currently applied TCI state until it obtains precoding information corresponding to the indicated TCI state. In some other embodiments, the terminal device 120 does not expect to schedule a push transmission until it obtains precoding information corresponding to the indicated TCI state. In some other embodiments, the terminal device 120 does not expect to schedule a push transmission with more than one layer until it obtains precoding information corresponding to the indicated TCI state. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 performs a push transmission by applying specific precoding information / matrices (e.g., identity matrix, random precoding matrix, precoder cycling, latest precoding matrix, precoding matrix with lowest / highest identity, etc.).

[0175] Therefore, in some embodiments, after sending an acknowledgment to at least one DCI message, the terminal device 120 delays applying at least one TCI state to a PUSCH transmission with the network until it obtains precoding information corresponding to at least one TCI state.

[0176] In some embodiments, an SRS resource or SRS resource set is configured for CB and NCB PUSCH transmissions, respectively, and the latest precoding information may be obtained by SRS transmission between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110. For example, the PUSCH beam (corresponding to the indicated TCI state) is updated only after the corresponding SRS transmission.

[0177] In some embodiments, if the most recent SRS transmission is based on a newly indicated TCI state, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission using the newly indicated TCI state. Otherwise, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission by continuing to use the currently used TCI state.

[0178] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 performs an SRS transmission with the network by applying at least one TCI state (i.e., the uplink beam for SRS resource transmission is updated by the newly indicated TCI state), and then receives information from the network for determining precoding information corresponding to at least one TCI state. With this information, the terminal device 120 may apply the newly indicated TCI state to a PUSCH transmission.

[0179] Furthermore, additional related RSs (such as CSI-RS) may be set for NCB PUSCH transmission, and these related RSs are transmitted and received in the newly indicated TCI state. In addition, the terminal device 120 determines candidate precoding information (i.e., performs precoder calculation) based on the new measurement of the related RSs.

[0180] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 applies the newly indicated TCI state to the SRS transmission after sending an ACK for the DCI message and then after an offset of X time units (i.e., immediately after the beam application timing).

[0181] In some embodiments, if the PUSCH transmission is an NCB PUSCH transmission, the terminal device 120 receives the RS and determines candidate precoding information based on the RS. Next, the terminal device 120 performs an SRS transmission based on the candidate precoding information. The network device 110 may determine target precoding information based on this candidate precoding information and transmit the target precoding information to the terminal device 120 via SRI or the like.

[0182] Next, refer to Figure 5. Figure 5 shows an exemplary application timing 500. As shown in Figure 5, at time T1, terminal device 120 receives a DCI message indicating a newly indicated TCI state. Next, terminal device 120 sends an ACK for the DCI message at time T2. The newly indicated TCI state is applied to other channels / signals (particularly SRS transmission) except PUSCH from T3 (i.e., beam switching timing, immediately after an X-hour offset after sending the ACK). As shown in Figure 5, terminal device 120 transmits a PUSCH transmission at time T4 via the currently used TCI state and transmits an SRS transmission at time T5 via the newly indicated TCI state.

[0183] Based on the SRS transmission, the network device 110 may determine the precoding information. As can be seen from Figure 5, the network device 110 transmits the precoding information to the terminal device 120 at time T6.

[0184] Based on the precoding information, the terminal device 120 may apply the newly indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission. As can be seen from Figure 5, the terminal device 120 transmits the PUSCH transmission at time T7 via the newly indicated TCI state.

[0185] In some embodiments, for CB PUSCH transmissions, the transmit precoder is selected from an uplink codebook having a number of antenna ports equal to the upper layer parameter nrofSRS-Port of SRS-Config. When the upper layer parameter txConfig set in “codebook” is configured on terminal device 120, at least one SRS resource is configured on terminal device 120. The SRI indicated by slot n is associated with the most recent transmission of the SRS resource identified by the SRI. The SRS resource is before the PDCCH transmitting the SRI and after the beam apply timing (e.g., BeamAppTime) after the last symbol of the PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the DCI transmitting the TCI status indication.

[0186] In some embodiments, for NCB PUSCH transmissions, only one SRS resource set can be configured in SRS-ResourceSetToAddModList, where the usage of the upper layer parameter of SRS-ResourceSet is set to "nonCodebook". Similarly, only one SRS resource set can be configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the usage of the upper layer parameter of SRS-ResourceSet is set to "nonCodebook". The maximum number of SRS resources that can be configured for non-codebook based uplink transmissions is four. The SRI indicated by slot n is associated with the most recent transmission of the SRS resource identified by the SRI, and the SRS transmission is before the PDCCH transmitting the SRI and after the beam apply timing (e.g., BeamAppTime) after the last symbol of the PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the DCI transmitting the TCI status indication.

[0187] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 transmits the last symbol of PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the DCI transmitting the TCI-State instruction, and if the indicated TCI state is different from a previously indicated one, the indicated [TCI-State] having [tci-StateId_r17] should be applied from the first slot, which is at least the BeamAppTime symbol after the last symbol of PUCCH excluding PUSCH. Both the first slot and the BeamAppTime symbol are determined on the carrier with the smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) among the carriers to which the beam instruction is applied. The UE can assume that one BeamAppTime is set for a given SCS for all CCs in the same CC list set by simultaneousTCI-UpdateList1 or simultaneousTCI-UpdateList2. The UE can assume one indicated [TCI-State] having [tci-StateId_r17] for the downlink and uplink at once, or one indicated [TCI-State] having [tci-StateId_r17] for each UL individually. Furthermore, with respect to PUSCH, the indicated [TCI-State] having [tci-StateId_r17] should be applied after the most recent SRS transmission to which the indicated [TCI-State] having [tci-StateId_r17] is applied.

[0188] Furthermore, in multi-TRP transmission / multi-TCI state mode, the above should apply to each TRP / TCI state.

[0189] Specifically, in some embodiments, if the number of at least one TCI states is greater than 1, the processes for at least one TCI state are executed independently. In one specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 executes a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the latest first SRS transmission sent in the indicated first TCI state, and a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission sent in the indicated second TCI state.

[0190] In one specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 applies the indicated first TCI state to the PUSCH transmission when the latest first SRS transmission is transmitted based on the indicated first TCI state, while applying the indicated second TCI state to the PUSCH transmission when the latest second SRS transmission is transmitted based on the indicated second TCI state.

[0191] In a further specific and exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 120 delays the application of the first TCI state to the PUSCH transmission until it acquires first precoding information corresponding to the first TCI state, and delays the application of the second TCI state to the PUSCH transmission until it acquires second precoding information corresponding to the second TCI state.

[0192] In some embodiments, there are N newly identified TCI states, and each newly identified TCI state corresponds to a corresponding SRS resource / SRS resource set. Therefore, N SRS resources or N SRS resource sets are required. In some embodiments, the N SRS resources or N SRS resource sets are configured for codebook-based PUSCH and non-codebook-based PUSCH transmissions, respectively.

[0193] Therefore, SRS transmissions corresponding to the newly identified N TCI states are required before PUSCH transmissions, because these SRS measurements are necessary to determine the precoding information in the network.

[0194] In some embodiments, each of the N SRS resources / resource sets may be linked to each of the N newly indicated states (i.e., a one-to-one mapping). Alternatively, in some other embodiments, one SRS resource / resource set may have N uplink beams configured (i.e., a one-to-many mapping).

[0195] Furthermore, in some embodiments, for NCB, N associated CSI-RS also need to be configured. In addition, in some embodiments, for NCB, precoder information calculation is performed based on the N configured associated CSI-RS.

[0196] In some embodiments, based on the newly identified TCI state, the uplink beam for transmitting SRS resources can be updated immediately after the beam application timing. Exemplary beam fault recovery process

[0197] In related solutions, the beam expected to be used ("q") new Because Beam Fault Recovery Requests (BFRQs) are reported via (represented as ), BFRQs cannot be reported to the network in a timely manner.

[0198] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, if an available uplink TCI state exists, the BFRQ may be reported in the available uplink TCI state. This allows the BFRQ to be reported to the network in a timely manner.

[0199] Refer to Figure 3D, which shows a signaling flow 360 of communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. During operation, terminal device 120 receives downlink RS (362). By measuring RS, terminal device 120 may detect a beam fault (364). Next, if there is an available uplink TCI state, terminal device 120 may transmit a BFRQ in the available uplink TCI state (366). The network may transmit a BFRQ response in response to the BFRQ (368).

[0200] In some embodiments, BFRQ is a Beam Fault Report (BFR) MAC CE transmitted via PUCCH. Furthermore, in some embodiments, terminal device 120 also transmits a PUCCH scheduling request (SR) (PUCCH-SR) in the available uplink TCI state.

[0201] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 has an available uplink TCI status and the beam expected to be used (i.e., "q"). new The BFRQ is transmitted in both of the following states. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the terminal device 120 transmits the BFRQ in the available uplink TCI state if no new beam is found, for example, if no new beam can meet the RSRP threshold of a set candidate beam.

[0202] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 is configured with at least one TCI state used for uplink transmission and at least one TCI state used for downlink transmission, and the number of TCI states used for uplink transmission is not less than the number of TCI states used for downlink transmission. In this way, it is guaranteed that there will always be available uplink TCI states.

[0203] In a specific and exemplary embodiment, while a combined TCI state associated with the first TRP 130-1 is set in the terminal device 120, an uplink TCI state / additional combined TCI state associated with the second TRP 130-2 is set. Therefore, when a beam failure of the first TRP 130-1 is detected, the beam failure report may be transmitted in the uplink TCI state / additional combined TCI state associated with the second TRP 130-2.

[0204] In another specific and exemplary embodiment, while a downlink TCI state associated with the first TRP 130-1 is set in the terminal device 120, an uplink TCI state / additional combined TCI state associated with the second TRP 130-2 is set. Therefore, when a beam failure of the first TRP 130-1 is detected, the beam failure report may be transmitted in the uplink TCI state / additional combined TCI state associated with the second TRP 130-2.

[0205] In some embodiments, when a beam failure is associated with a combined TCI state, the terminal device 120 invalidates an uplink transmission (such as PUCCH transmission or PUSCH transmission) associated with the combined TCI state. Alternatively, when a beam failure is associated with a combined TCI state, the terminal device 120 transmits an uplink transmission associated with the combined TCI state in an available uplink TCI state (370).

[0206] Furthermore, in some embodiments, in response to receiving a response to the BFRQ, the terminal device 120 starts an uplink transmission associated with the combined TCI state in an available uplink TCI state.

[0207] Furthermore, in some embodiments, after receiving a response to the BFRQ, an uplink transmission associated with the combined TCI state is due to the reported beam ( "q new ") being confirmed by the network, so the available uplink TCI state and the beam expected to be used (i.e., "qnew It may be performed in both cases.

[0208] In some embodiments, if a beam fault is associated with a coupled TCI state, the terminal device 120 switches to single TCI mode and maintains single TCI mode until the conditions for switching to multi-TCI mode are met (for example, until it receives a message that triggers the switch to multi-TCI mode).

[0209] TIFF2026076238000007.tif62150

[0210] In some embodiments, if terminal device 120 is provided with an extra uplink TCI state (i.e., an available uplink TCI state), terminal device 120 transmits a PUCCH in the same cell having the extra TCI state using the following: - The same spatial filter as shown in the TCI status. - Power determined by the power control parameters in the TCI state

[0211] TIFF2026076238000008.tif44150

[0212] In some embodiments, if terminal device 120 is provided with an extra uplink TCI state (i.e., an available uplink TCI state), terminal device 120 transmits a PUCCH in the same cell having the extra TCI state using the following: - The same spatial filter as shown in the TCI status. - Power determined by the power control parameters in the TCI state

[0213] TIFF2026076238000009.tif148150 Exemplary Method

[0214] Figure 6 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 600 can be carried out in a terminal device 120 as shown in Figures 1A to 1C.

[0215] In block 610, the terminal device 120 receives at least one DCI message. The at least one DCI message indicates at least one of the following: a first TCI instruction associated with a first control resource set pool, a second TCI instruction associated with a second control resource set pool, or a third TCI instruction associated with either or both of the first and second control resource set pools.

[0216] In block 620, the terminal device 120 determines at least one TCI state based on at least one DCI message. The at least one TCI state includes at least one of a first TCI state applied to a first control resource set pool, or a second TCI state applied to a second control resource set pool.

[0217] In block 630, the terminal device 120 performs a transmission to the network based on at least one TCI state.

[0218] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission based on at least one TCI state by performing a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in at least one TCI state, performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the latest first SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated first TCI state, or performing a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated second TCI state.

[0219] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message, which includes a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction and a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction. A terminal device receives a first MAC CE message indicating at least one first mapping and a second MAC CE message indicating at least one second mapping. Each first mapping indicates a first correspondence between a first TCI code point and a first TCI state set for a first control resource set pool, and each second mapping indicates a second correspondence between a second TCI code point and a second TCI state set for a first control resource set pool.

[0220] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 receives an instruction from the network indicating the presence of a second TCI field.

[0221] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI including a third TCI state field indicating a third TCI instruction. Terminal device 120 receives a third MAC CE message from the network indicating at least one third mapping. Each third mapping indicates a third correspondence between a third TCI code point and at least one third TCI state, each of which is set for either a first control resource set pool or a second control resource set pool.

[0222] In some embodiments, the total bit size for representing TCI information depends on at least one of the following: whether at least one DCI message is a single DCI or multiple DCI messages, the number of TCI fields included in at least one DCI message, the bit size of each TCI field, or the number of TCI states represented by at least one DCI message.

[0223] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 performing a transmission with the network includes performing at least one of the following: applying a first TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a first control resource set pool, or applying a second TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a second control resource set pool.

[0224] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a plurality of DCI messages, including a first DCI message containing a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction and a second DCI message containing a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction.

[0225] In some embodiments, if at least one TCI state overlaps with at least one currently applied TCI state, the terminal device 120 applies the overlapping TCI state before applying any other TCI states to the at least one TCI state.

[0226] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 applies overlapping TCI states when sending an acknowledgment to at least one DCI message to the network.

[0227] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 applies another TCI state after a certain period of time has elapsed since sending an acknowledgment to at least one DCI message to the network.

[0228] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message used to trigger a switch between multiple TCI mode and single TCI mode.

[0229] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is multiple DCI messages. The terminal device 120 applies a first TCI state and a second TCI state, respectively, at a first start point associated with a first control resource set pool and a second start point associated with a second control resource set pool.

[0230] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 receives a configuration message from the network indicating at least one first transmission opportunity associated with a first TCI state and at least one second transmission opportunity associated with a second TCI state.

[0231] In some embodiments, at least one second transmission opportunity is linked to at least one first transmission opportunity by at least one pre-configured parameter.

[0232] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 activates at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity based on at least one TCI state or at least one of switching between multiple TCI modes and single TCI mode.

[0233] In some embodiments, at least one transmission parameter associated with at least one first transmission opportunity is the same as at least one second transmission parameter associated with at least one second transmission opportunity.

[0234] In some embodiments, the transmission parameters include at least one of the following: transmission method, repetition rate, beam mapping pattern, or TCI mapping pattern.

[0235] In some embodiments, at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity are associated with at least one of PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, or PUSCH.

[0236] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 700 can be carried out in a terminal device 120 as shown in Figures 1A to 1C.

[0237] In block 710, the terminal device 120 receives at least one DCI message indicating at least one TCI state applied by the terminal device 120.

[0238] In block 720, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission by at least one of the following: performing a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in at least one indicated TCI state, or, if the latest SRS transmission is transmitted based on at least one indicated TCI state, applying at least one indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission.

[0239] In some embodiments, after sending an acknowledgment to at least one DCI message, the terminal device 120 delays applying at least one indicated TCI state to a PUSCH transmission until it obtains precoding information corresponding to at least one indicated TCI state.

[0240] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 delays the application of at least one indicated TCI state by performing an SRS transmission with the network by applying at least one indicated TCI state, receiving information from the network for determining precoding information corresponding to at least one indicated TCI state, and applying at least one indicated TCI state to a PUSCH transmission.

[0241] In some embodiments, when the PUSCH transmission is an NCB PUSCH transmission, the terminal device 120 performs an SRS transmission by receiving an RS from the network, determining candidate precoding information based on the RS, and performing an SRS transmission based on the candidate precoding information.

[0242] In some embodiments, if at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission by performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the latest first SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated first TCI state, and a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated second TCI state.

[0243] In some embodiments, if at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state, the terminal device 120 performs a PUSCH transmission by applying the indicated first TCI state to the PUSCH transmission when the latest first SRS transmission is transmitted based on the indicated first TCI state, and by applying the indicated second TCI state to the PUSCH transmission when the latest second SRS transmission is transmitted based on the indicated second TCI state.

[0244] Figure 8 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 800 can be carried out in a terminal device 120 as shown in Figures 1A to 1C.

[0245] In block 810, the terminal device 120 detects a beam obstruction.

[0246] In block 820, the terminal device 120 determines whether there is an available uplink TCI state.

[0247] In block 830, the terminal device 120, upon determining that there is an available uplink TCI state, sends a beam fault recovery request to the network in the available uplink TCI state.

[0248] In some embodiments, if a beam fault is associated with a coupled TCI state, the terminal device 120 either disables the uplink transmission associated with the coupled TCI state or transmits the uplink transmission associated with the coupled TCI state in an available uplink TCI state.

[0249] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 transmits uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state in an available uplink TCI state, by initiating the uplink transmission associated with the coupled TCI state in an available uplink TCI state in response to receiving a response of a beam fault recovery request from the network.

[0250] In some embodiments, if a beam fault is associated with a coupled TCI state, the terminal device 120 switches to a single TCI mode and maintains the single TCI mode until the conditions for switching to multiple TCI modes are met.

[0251] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 is configured with at least one TCI state used for uplink transmission and at least one TCI state used for downlink transmission, and the number of TCI states used for uplink transmission is not less than the number of TCI states used for downlink transmission.

[0252] Figure 9 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 900 can be implemented in a network device 110 as shown in Figures 1A to 1C.

[0253] In block 910, the network device 110 transmits at least one DCI message. The at least one DCI message indicates at least one of the following: a first TCI instruction associated with a first control resource set pool, a second TCI instruction associated with a second control resource set pool, or a third TCI instruction associated with either or both of the first and second control resource set pools.

[0254] In block 920, the network device 110 determines at least one TCI state based on at least one DCI message. The at least one TCI state includes at least one of a first TCI state applied to a first control resource set pool, or a second TCI state applied to a second control resource set pool.

[0255] In block 930, the network device 110 performs a transmission with the terminal device 120 based on at least one TCI state.

[0256] In some embodiments, the network device 110 performs a PUSCH transmission based on at least one TCI state by performing a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in at least one TCI state, performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the latest first SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated first TCI state, or performing a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated second TCI state.

[0257] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message, which includes a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction and a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction. The network device 110 transmits a first MAC CE message indicating at least one first mapping and a second MAC CE message indicating at least one second mapping. Each first mapping indicates a first correspondence between a first TCI code point and a first TCI state set for a first control resource set pool, and each second mapping indicates a second correspondence between a second TCI code point and a second TCI state set for a first control resource set pool.

[0258] In some embodiments, the network device 110 transmits an instruction to the terminal device 120 indicating the presence of a second TCI field.

[0259] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message including a third TCI state field indicating a third TCI instruction. The network device 110 transmits a third MAC CE message indicating at least one third mapping. Each third mapping indicates a third correspondence between a third TCI code point and at least one third TCI state, the at least one third TCI state being set for either or both of the first and second control resource set pools.

[0260] In some embodiments, the total bit size for representing TCI information depends on at least one of the following: whether at least one DCI message is a single DCI or multiple DCI messages, the number of TCI fields included in at least one DCI message, the bit size of each TCI field, or the number of TCI states represented by at least one DCI message.

[0261] In some embodiments, the network device 110 executing transmission with the terminal device 120 includes performing at least one of applying a first TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a first control resource set pool or applying a second TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a second control resource set pool.

[0262] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a plurality of DCI messages including a first DCI message including a first TCI field indicating a first TCI indication and a second DCI message including a second TCI field indicating a second TCI indication.

[0263] In some embodiments, when at least one TCI state overlaps with at least one currently applied TCI state, the network device 110 executes transmission with the terminal device 120 by applying the overlapping TCI state before applying another TCI state of the at least one TCI state.

[0264] In some embodiments, when the network device 110 receives an affirmative response from the terminal device 120 for at least one DCI message, or after a certain period of time since receiving an affirmative response from the terminal device 120 for at least one DCI message, the network device 110 applies the overlapping TCI state before applying another TCI state of the at least one TCI state by applying another TCI state.

[0265] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message and is used to trigger a switch between a plurality of TCI modes and a single TCI mode.

[0266] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is multiple DCI messages, and the network device 110 applies overlapping TCI states by applying a first TCI state and a second TCI state, respectively, at a first starting point associated with a first control resource set pool and a second starting point associated with a second control resource set pool.

[0267] In some embodiments, the network device 110 sends a configuration message to the terminal device 120. The configuration message indicates at least one first transmission opportunity associated with a first TCI state and at least one second transmission opportunity associated with a second TCI state.

[0268] In some embodiments, at least one second transmission opportunity is linked to at least one first transmission opportunity by at least one pre-configured parameter.

[0269] In some embodiments, the network device 110 activates at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity based on at least one TCI state or at least one of switching between multiple TCI modes and single TCI mode.

[0270] In some embodiments, at least one transmission parameter associated with at least one first transmission opportunity is the same as at least one second transmission parameter associated with at least one second transmission opportunity.

[0271] In some embodiments, the transmission parameters include at least one of the following: transmission method, repetition rate, beam mapping pattern, or TCI mapping pattern.

[0272] In some embodiments, at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity are associated with at least one of PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, or PUSCH.

[0273] Figure 10 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 1000 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 1000 can be implemented in a network device 110 as shown in Figures 1A to 1C.

[0274] In block 1010, the network device 110 transmits at least one DCI message indicating at least one TCI state applied by the terminal device 120.

[0275] In block 1020, the network device 110 receives a PUSCH transmission by at least one of the following: receiving a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in at least one indicated TCI state, or, if the latest SRS transmission is transmitted based on at least one indicated TCI state, applying at least one indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission.

[0276] In some embodiments, the network device 110 performs a push transmit by delaying the application of at least one indicated TCI state to the push transmit after an acknowledgment for at least one DCI message has been sent and until precoding information corresponding to at least one indicated TCI state is obtained.

[0277] In some embodiments, the network device 110 delays the application of at least one indicated TCI state by receiving an SRS transmission with the network by applying at least one indicated TCI state, determining precoding information corresponding to at least one TCI state based on the SRS transmission, and applying at least one indicated TCI state to a PUSCH transmission.

[0278] In some embodiments, when the PUSCH transmission is an NCB PUSCH transmission, the network device 110 receives the SRS transmission by transmitting an RS to the terminal device 120 and receiving the SRS transmission transmitted by the terminal device 120 based on candidate precoding information. The candidate precoding information is determined by the terminal device 120 based on the RS.

[0279] In some embodiments, if at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state, the network device 110 performs a PUSCH transmission by performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the latest first SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated first TCI state, and a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated second TCI state.

[0280] In some embodiments, if at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state, the network device 110 performs a push transmit by applying the indicated first TCI state to the push transmit if the latest first SRS transmit is transmitted based on the indicated first TCI state, and by applying the indicated second TCI state to the push transmit if the latest second SRS transmit is transmitted based on the indicated second TCI state.

[0281] Figure 11 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 1100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 1100 can be implemented in a network device 110 as shown in Figures 1A to 1C.

[0282] In block 1110, the network device 110 receives a beam fault recovery request transmitted by the terminal device 120 while the uplink TCI is available.

[0283] In block 1120, the network device 110 transmits a response to the beam failure recovery request to the terminal device 120.

[0284] In some embodiments, when a beam failure is associated with a combined TCI state, the network device 110 either invalidates the uplink transmission associated with the combined TCI state or receives the uplink transmission associated with the combined TCI state in an available uplink TCI state.

[0285] In some embodiments, in response to transmitting a response to the beam failure recovery request from the network device 110, the network device 110 receives the uplink transmission associated with the combined TCI state in an available uplink TCI state by starting to receive the uplink transmission associated with the combined TCI state in an available uplink TCI state.

[0286] In some embodiments, when a beam failure is associated with a combined TCI state, the network device 110 switches to a single TCI mode and maintains the single TCI mode until multiple TCI mode switching conditions are met.

[0287] In some embodiments, at least one TCI state used for uplink transmission and at least one TCI state used for downlink transmission are set in the terminal device 120, and the number of TCI states used for uplink transmission is not less than the number of TCI states used for downlink transmission. Exemplary device

[0288] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 includes circuitry configured to receive at least one DCI message, determine at least one TCI state based on the at least one DCI message, and perform a transmission to the network based on the at least one TCI state. The at least one DCI message indicates at least one of a first TCI instruction associated with a first control resource set pool, a second TCI instruction associated with a second control resource set pool, or a third TCI instruction associated with either or both of the first and second control resource set pools. The at least one TCI state includes at least one of a first TCI state applicable to the first control resource set pool, or a second TCI state applicable to the second control resource set pool.

[0289] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to perform a PUSCH transmission based on at least one TCI state by performing a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in at least one TCI state, performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the most recent first SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated first TCI state, or performing a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated second TCI state.

[0290] In some exemplary embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message, the single DCI message comprising a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction and a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction. The circuit is further configured to transmit a first MAC CE message indicating at least one first mapping and a second MAC CE message indicating at least one second mapping. Each first mapping indicates a first correspondence between a first TCI code point and a first TCI state set for a first control resource set pool, and each second mapping indicates a second correspondence between a second TCI code point and a second TCI state set for the first control resource set pool.

[0291] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to receive an indication from the network that a second TCI field is present.

[0292] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI including a third TCI state field indicating a third TCI instruction. The circuit is further configured to receive a third MAC CE message from the network indicating at least one third mapping. Each third mapping indicates a third correspondence between a third TCI code point and at least one third TCI state, each of which is set for either a first control resource set pool or a second control resource set pool.

[0293] In some embodiments, the total bit size for representing TCI information depends on at least one of the following: whether at least one DCI message is a single DCI or multiple DCI messages, the number of TCI fields included in at least one DCI message, the bit size of each TCI field, or the number of TCI states represented by at least one DCI message.

[0294] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured as follows: Performing a transmission with the network includes performing at least one of the following: applying a first TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a first control resource set pool, or applying a second TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a second control resource set pool.

[0295] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a plurality of DCI messages, including a first DCI message containing a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction and a second DCI message containing a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction.

[0296] In some embodiments, if at least one TCI state overlaps with at least one currently applied TCI state, the circuit is further configured to apply the overlapping TCI state before applying any other TCI states of the at least one TCI state.

[0297] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to apply overlapping TCI states when sending an acknowledgment to at least one DCI message to the network.

[0298] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to apply other TCI states after a certain period of time has elapsed since sending an acknowledgment to at least one DCI message to the network.

[0299] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message used to trigger a switch between multiple TCI mode and single TCI mode.

[0300] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is multiple DCI messages. The circuit is further configured to apply a first TCI state and a second TCI state at a first start point associated with a first control resource set pool and a second start point associated with a second control resource set pool, respectively.

[0301] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to receive configuration messages from a network device. The configuration messages indicate at least one first transmission opportunity associated with a first TCI state and at least one second transmission opportunity associated with a second TCI state.

[0302] In some embodiments, at least one second transmission opportunity is linked to at least one first transmission opportunity by at least one pre-configured parameter.

[0303] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to activate at least one first transmit opportunity and at least one second transmit opportunity based on at least one TCI state or at least one of switching between multiple TCI modes and single TCI mode.

[0304] In some embodiments, at least one transmission parameter associated with at least one first transmission opportunity is the same as at least one second transmission parameter associated with at least one second transmission opportunity.

[0305] In some embodiments, the transmission parameters include at least one of the following: transmission method, repetition rate, beam mapping pattern, or TCI mapping pattern.

[0306] In some embodiments, at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity are associated with at least one of PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, or PUSCH.

[0307] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 includes circuitry configured to perform a PUSCH transmission by receiving at least one DCI message indicating at least one TCI state applied by the terminal device 120 and performing a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission sent in at least one indicated TCI state, or, if the most recent SRS transmission is sent based on at least one indicated TCI state, applying at least one indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission.

[0308] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to delay applying at least one indicated TCI state to a PUSCH transmission until it has received precoding information corresponding to at least one indicated TCI state, after sending an acknowledgment for at least one DCI message.

[0309] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to perform an SRS transmission to the network by applying at least one indicated TCI state, to receive information from the network for determining precoding information corresponding to at least one indicated TCI state, and to delay the application of at least one indicated TCI state by applying at least one indicated TCI state to a PUSCH transmission.

[0310] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to perform an SRS transmission by receiving an RS from the network, determining candidate precoding information based on the RS, and performing an SRS transmission based on the candidate precoding information, if the PUSCH transmission is an NCB PUSCH transmission.

[0311] In some embodiments, if at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state, the circuit is further configured to perform a PUSCH transmission by performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the most recent first SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated first TCI state, and a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated second TCI state.

[0312] In some embodiments, if at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state, the circuit is further configured to perform a PUSCH transmit by applying the indicated first TCI state to a PUSCH transmit if the most recent first SRS transmit has been transmitted based on the indicated first TCI state, and by applying the indicated second TCI state to a PUSCH transmit if the most recent second SRS transmit has been transmitted based on the indicated second TCI state.

[0313] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 includes circuitry configured to detect beam faults, determine whether there is an available uplink TCI state, and, if it is determined that there is an available uplink TCI state, to send a beam fault recovery request to the network in the available uplink TCI state.

[0314] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to either disable uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state or transmit uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state in any available uplink TCI state, if the beam fault is associated with a coupled TCI state.

[0315] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to transmit uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state in an available uplink TCI state, by initiating the uplink transmission associated with the coupled TCI state in an available uplink TCI state in response to receiving a beam fault recovery request response from the network.

[0316] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to switch to a single TCI mode if a beam fault is associated with a coupled TCI state, and to maintain the single TCI mode until the multiple TCI mode switching conditions are met.

[0317] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 is configured with at least one TCI state used for uplink transmission and at least one TCI state used for downlink transmission, and the number of TCI states used for uplink transmission is not less than the number of TCI states used for downlink transmission.

[0318] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device 110 includes circuitry configured to transmit at least one DCI message, determine at least one TCI state based on at least one DCI message, and perform a transmission with the terminal device 120 based on at least one TCI state. The at least one DCI message indicates at least one of a first TCI instruction associated with a first control resource set pool, a second TCI instruction associated with a second control resource set pool, or a third TCI instruction associated with either or both of the first and second control resource set pools. The at least one TCI state includes at least one of a first TCI state applicable to the first control resource set pool, or a second TCI state applicable to the second control resource set pool.

[0319] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to perform a PUSCH transmission based on at least one TCI state by performing a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in at least one TCI state, performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the most recent first SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated first TCI state, or performing a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in a indicated second TCI state.

[0320] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message, which includes a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction and a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction. The circuit is further configured to transmit a first MAC CE message indicating at least one first mapping and a second MAC CE message indicating at least one second mapping. Each first mapping indicates a first correspondence between a first TCI code point and a first TCI state set for a first control resource set pool, and each second mapping indicates a second correspondence between a second TCI code point and a second TCI state set for a first control resource set pool.

[0321] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to send an instruction to the terminal device 120 indicating the presence of a second TCI field.

[0322] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message including a third TCI state field indicating a third TCI instruction. The circuit is further configured to send a third MAC CE message indicating at least one third mapping. Each third mapping indicates a third correspondence between a third TCI code point and at least one third TCI state, the at least one third TCI state being set for either or both of the first and second control resource set pools.

[0323] In some embodiments, the total bit size for representing TCI information depends on at least one of the following: whether at least one DCI message is a single DCI or multiple DCI messages, the number of TCI fields included in at least one DCI message, the bit size of each TCI field, or the number of TCI states represented by at least one DCI message.

[0324] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured as follows: Performing a transmission with the terminal device 120 includes performing at least one of the following: applying a first TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a first control resource set pool, or applying a second TCI state to a combination of physical channels associated with a second control resource set pool.

[0325] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a plurality of DCI messages, including a first DCI message containing a first TCI field indicating a first TCI instruction and a second DCI message containing a second TCI field indicating a second TCI instruction.

[0326] In some embodiments, if at least one TCI state overlaps with at least one currently applied TCI state, the circuit is further configured to perform a transmission with the terminal device 120 by applying the overlapping TCI state before applying any other TCI states of the at least one TCI state.

[0327] In some embodiments, the circuit further applies overlapping TCI states before applying other TCI states to at least one TCI state by applying an acknowledgment for at least one DCI message from the terminal device 120, or by applying other TCI states a certain period of time after receiving an acknowledgment for at least one DCI message from the terminal device 120.

[0328] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is a single DCI message used to trigger a switch between multiple TCI mode and single TCI mode.

[0329] In some embodiments, at least one DCI message is multiple DCI messages, and the circuit is further configured to apply overlapping TCI states by applying a first TCI state and a second TCI state at a first start associated with a first control resource set pool and a second start associated with a second control resource set pool, respectively.

[0330] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to send a configuration message to a terminal device 120. The configuration message indicates at least one first transmission opportunity associated with a first TCI state and at least one second transmission opportunity associated with a second TCI state.

[0331] In some embodiments, at least one second transmission opportunity is linked to at least one first transmission opportunity by at least one pre-configured parameter.

[0332] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to activate at least one first transmit opportunity and at least one second transmit opportunity based on at least one TCI state or at least one of switching between multiple TCI modes and single TCI mode.

[0333] In some embodiments, at least one transmission parameter associated with at least one first transmission opportunity is the same as at least one second transmission parameter associated with at least one second transmission opportunity.

[0334] In some embodiments, the transmission parameters include at least one of the following: transmission method, repetition rate, beam mapping pattern, or TCI mapping pattern.

[0335] In some embodiments, at least one first transmission opportunity and at least one second transmission opportunity are associated with at least one of PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, or PUSCH.

[0336] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device 110 includes circuitry configured to receive a PUSCH transmission by transmitting at least one DCI message indicating at least one TCI state applied by the terminal device 120 and receiving a PUSCH transmission based on precoding information determined by the latest SRS transmission transmitted in at least one indicated TCI state, or by applying at least one indicated TCI state to the PUSCH transmission if the latest SRS transmission is transmitted based on at least one indicated TCI state.

[0337] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to perform a push transmit by delaying the application of at least one indicated TCI state to the push transmit until precoding information corresponding to at least one indicated TCI state is obtained after an acknowledgment for at least one DCI message has been sent.

[0338] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to receive an SRS transmission with the network by applying at least one indicated TCI state, to determine precoding information corresponding to at least one TCI state based on the SRS transmission, and to delay the application of at least one indicated TCI state by applying it to a PUSCH transmission.

[0339] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to receive an SRS transmission by sending an RS to the terminal device 120 if the PUSCH transmission is an NCB PUSCH transmission, and by receiving an SRS transmission transmitted by the terminal device 120 based on candidate precoding information. The candidate precoding information is determined by the terminal device 120 based on the RS.

[0340] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to perform a PUSCH transmission by performing a first PUSCH transmission based on first precoding information determined by the most recent first SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated first TCI state, and a second PUSCH transmission based on second precoding information determined by the most recent SRS transmission transmitted in the indicated second TCI state, provided that at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state.

[0341] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to perform a push transmit by applying the indicated first TCI state to a push transmit if the most recent first SRS transmit is transmitted based on the indicated first TCI state, and by applying the indicated second TCI state to a push transmit if the most recent second SRS transmit is transmitted based on the indicated second TCI state, provided that at least one indicated TCI state includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state.

[0342] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device 110 includes circuitry configured to receive beam fault recovery requests transmitted by the terminal device 120 in an available uplink TCI state and to transmit a response to the beam fault recovery request to the terminal device 120.

[0343] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to disable uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state, or to receive uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state in available uplink TCI states, if a beam fault is associated with a coupled TCI state.

[0344] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to receive uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state in an available uplink TCI state, by initiating the reception of uplink transmissions associated with a coupled TCI state in an available uplink TCI state in response to a response of a beam fault recovery request from the network device 110.

[0345] In some embodiments, the circuit is further configured to switch to a single TCI mode if a beam fault is associated with a coupled TCI state, and to maintain the single TCI mode until the multiple TCI mode switching conditions are met.

[0346] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 is configured with at least one TCI state used for uplink transmission and at least one TCI state used for downlink transmission, and the number of TCI states used for uplink transmission is not less than the number of TCI states used for downlink transmission.

[0347] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram of a device 1200 suitable for carrying out embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 1200 can be considered a further exemplary implementation of the terminal device 120 and network devices 110-1, 110-2 shown in Figures 1A to 1C. Thus, device 1200 can be implemented in, or at least as part of, the terminal device 120 and network devices 110-1, 110-2.

[0348] As shown in the figure, the device 1200 includes a processor 1210, a memory 1220 coupled to the processor 1210, appropriate transmitters (TX) and receivers (RX) 1240 coupled to the processor 1210, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1240. The memory 1210 stores at least a portion of the program 1230. The TX / RX 1240 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1240 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice the access node described herein may have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, for example, an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / serving gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0349] Program 1230 is deemed to include program instructions, and when the program is executed by the associated processor 1210, it enables the device 1200 to operate according to embodiments of the disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to Figures 3 to 11. Embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented by computer software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware that can be executed by the processor 1210 of the device 1200. The processor 1210 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the disclosure. Alternatively, a combination of the processor 1210 and memory 1220 may constitute processing means 1250 suitable for implementing each embodiment of the disclosure.

[0350] Memory 1220 may be of any type suitable for the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology (e.g., computer-readable non-temporary storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and movable memory, etc.). Although only one memory 1220 is shown for device 1200, device 1200 may have multiple physically different memory modules. Processor 1210 may be of any type suitable for the local technical network and may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: general-purpose computers, dedicated computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multi-core processor configurations. Device 1200 may have multiple processors, for example, application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent to a clock synchronized with a master processor.

[0351] Typically, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some embodiments may be implemented by hardware, while others may be implemented by firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or by any other pictorial representation, and it will be understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented by, for example, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or any combination thereof, but are not limited thereto.

[0352] This disclosure further provides at least one computer program product stored in tangible form on a computer-readable non-temporary storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions contained within a program module. These instructions are executed on a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above, for example, with reference to Figures 3 to 11. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of program modules may be combined or divided among program modules as needed. The machine-readable instructions of a program module may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module may reside on either a local or remote storage medium.

[0353] Program code for performing the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. This program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations defined in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams are performed. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a standalone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0354] The program code described above may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program used by an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, or a program used in conjunction with such a system or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable and writable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0355] While the operations have been described in a specific order, it should not be understood that, in order to obtain the desired results, these operations must be performed in a specific order or sequence, or that all of the operations shown must be performed. In some situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, the above discussion includes some specific implementation details, which should be interpreted not as limitations on the scope of this disclosure, but as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be implemented in combination in one embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of one embodiment may be implemented separately or in any suitable secondary combination in multiple embodiments.

[0356] While this disclosure has been described using terminology specific to structural features and / or methodological behavior, it should be understood that this disclosure, as defined by the attached claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or behaviors described above. Rather, the specific features and behaviors described above are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. Means for receiving first downlink control information (DCI) from a network device, which includes a first TCI state and a second TCI state among a plurality of transmit setting indicator (TCI) states indicated by a first radio resource control (RRC) configuration, Means for receiving from the network device a second RRC configuration indicating that both the first TCI state and the second TCI state are applied to physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, The means for performing the PUSCH transmission with the network device, Equipped with, The aforementioned PUSCH transmission is associated with a first PUSCH transmission opportunity and a second PUSCH transmission opportunity. The first TCI state applies to a first SRS resource identified by a first Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource indicator of a second DCI and the first PUSCH transmission opportunity, and the second TCI state applies to a second SRS resource identified by a second SRS resource indicator of a second DCI and the second PUSCH transmission opportunity, The application time of the first TCI state and the second TCI state is based on the pool index of the control resource set (CORESET) and whether the first TCI state and the second TCI state are different from previously indicated TCI states. Terminal device.

2. The first SRS resource corresponds to the most recent first transmission of the SRS resource identified by the first SRS resource indicator, and the second SRS resource corresponds to the most recent second transmission of the SRS resource identified by the second SRS resource indicator. The terminal device according to claim 1.

3. The PUSCH transmission is performed based on a first precoder, which is determined based on the first SRS resource indicator. The terminal device according to claim 1.

4. The PUSCH transmission is performed based on a second precoder, which is determined based on the second SRS resource indicator. The terminal device according to claim 1.

5. The system includes means for receiving a first mapping and a second mapping via media access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling. The first mapping, which shows the correspondence between the first TCI state and the TCI code point of the DCI message, is associated with a first control resource set (CORESET) pool, and the second mapping, which shows the correspondence between the second TCI state and the TCI code point of the DCI message, is associated with a second CORESET pool. The terminal device according to claim 1.

6. The aforementioned PUSCH transmission is a non-codebook-based transmission. The terminal device according to claim 1.

7. Means for transmitting first downlink control (DCI) information to a terminal device, including a first TCI state and a second TCI state among a plurality of transmit setting indicator (TCI) states indicated by a first radio resource control (RRC) configuration, Means for transmitting a second RRC configuration to the terminal device, indicating that both the first TCI state and the second TCI state are applied to physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, The means for performing the PUSCH transmission with the terminal device, Equipped with, The aforementioned PUSCH transmission is associated with a first PUSCH transmission opportunity and a second PUSCH transmission opportunity. The first TCI state applies to a first SRS resource identified by a first Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource indicator of a second DCI and the first PUSCH transmission opportunity, and the second TCI state applies to a second SRS resource identified by a second SRS resource indicator of a second DCI and the second PUSCH transmission opportunity, The application time of the first TCI state and the second TCI state is based on the pool index of the control resource set (CORESET) and whether the first TCI state and the second TCI state are different from previously indicated TCI states. Network device.

8. The first SRS resource corresponds to the most recent first transmission of the SRS resource identified by the first SRS resource indicator, and the second SRS resource corresponds to the most recent second transmission of the SRS resource identified by the second SRS resource indicator. The network device according to claim 7.

9. The PUSCH transmission is performed based on a first precoder, which is determined based on the first SRS resource indicator. The network device according to claim 7.

10. The PUSCH transmission is performed based on a second precoder, which is determined based on the second SRS resource indicator. The network device according to claim 7.

11. The system includes means for receiving a first mapping and a second mapping via media access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling. The first mapping, which shows the correspondence between the first TCI state and the TCI code point of the DCI message, is associated with a first control resource set (CORESET) pool, and the second mapping, which shows the correspondence between the second TCI state and the TCI code point of the DCI message, is associated with a second CORESET pool. The network device according to claim 7.

12. The aforementioned PUSCH transmission is a non-codebook-based transmission. The network device according to claim 7.

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