Enhanced SRS carrier switching in 5G networks

Abstract

An apparatus and system are described for providing carrier switching rules for multiple aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets triggered by a single downlink control information (DCI). Whether a user equipment (UE) retunes between a source component carrier (CC) and a target CC for an SRS transmission depends on the priority of the SRS transmission on the target CC and the simultaneous transmission on the source CC, as well as the duration between adjacent SRS resource sets. Furthermore, the timing of another DCI that scheduled a simultaneous transmission received before the associated SRS transmission affects which simultaneous transmission or associated SRS transmission is transmitted.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Claiming priority This application claims the benefit of priority to international application PCT / CN2021 / 106165, filed July 14, 2021, international application PCT / CN2021 / 111217, filed August 6, 2021, international application PCT / CN2021 / 122089, filed September 30, 2021, and international application PCT / CN2021 / 128966, filed November 5, 2021, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

[0002] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The embodiments relate to next generation (NG) wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to reference signals, particularly Sounding Reference Signals (SRS). In particular, some embodiments relate to switching carriers for transmission of SRS. [Background technology]

[0003] The use and complexity of New Radio (NR) radio systems, including fifth generation (5G) networks and beginning to include sixth generation (6G) networks in particular, is growing due to the impact of both the amount of data and the bandwidth used by the increasing variety of devices UEs using network resources and the various applications, such as video streaming, that run on these UEs. As the number and diversity of communication devices increases significantly, the corresponding network environment becomes more complex, including routers, switches, bridges, gateways, firewalls, and load balancers. As expected, the advent of any new technology is rich in numerous problems. In particular, when performing sounding, the control of component carrier (CC) switching for SRS transmission needs to be fully established. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0004] The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and like numbers may describe like components in different figures. Like numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of the like components. The drawings generally illustrate, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the present document.

[0005] [Figure 1A] 1 illustrates a network architecture, according to some aspects.

[0006] [Figure 1B] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some aspects.

[0007] [Figure 1C] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some aspects.

[0008] [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communications device according to some embodiments.

[0009] [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates an SRS carrier switching collision process according to some aspects.

[0010] [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an SRS carrier switching deadline, according to some aspects.

[0011] [Diagram 5] 1 illustrates an SRS carrier switching operation in accordance with some aspects.

[0012] [Figure 6] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0013] [Figure 7] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0014] [Figure 8] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0015] [Figure 9] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0016] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0017] [Figure 11] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0018] [Figure 12] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0019] [Figure 13] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0020] [Figure 14] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0021] [Figure 15] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0022] [Figure 16] 1 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects.

[0023] [Figure 17] 1 illustrates SRS carrier switching operation restrictions in accordance with some aspects.

[0024] [Figure 18] 1 illustrates a downlink control information (DCI) format 2_3 transmission in accordance with some aspects.

[0025] [Figure 19] 1 illustrates multiple component carriers (CCs) configured as source CCs for SRS carrier switching, according to some aspects.

[0026] [Figure 20] 1 illustrates a DCI format 2_3 transmission in accordance with some aspects.

[0027] [Figure 21] 1 illustrates another DCI format 2_3 transmission in accordance with some aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] The following description and drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, processing, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included or substituted for those of other embodiments. Embodiments defined in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0029] FIG. 1A illustrates a network architecture according to some aspects. Although network 140A generally illustrates the architecture of a 5G public network, it should be noted that one or more elements of the 5G public network may be present in a private 5G network, as described in more detail below. Network 140A includes 3GPP LTE / 4G and NG network functions that may be extended to 6G functions. Thus, even though 5G is mentioned, it should be understood that it is extended to allow for 6G structures, systems, and functions. Network functions may be implemented as separate network elements on dedicated hardware, as software instances running on dedicated hardware, and / or as virtualized functions instantiated on a suitable platform, such as dedicated hardware or cloud infrastructure.

[0030] Network 140A is shown including user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and 102 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a portable (laptop) or desktop computer, a wireless handset, a drone, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface. UE 101 and 102 may be collectively referred to herein as UE 101, and UE 101 may be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0031] Any of the wireless links described herein (e.g., as used in network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any exemplary wireless communication technology and / or standard. Any spectrum management scheme may be used, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (e.g., Licensed Shared Access (LSA) 2.3 to 2.4 GHz, 3.4 to 3.6 GHz, 3.6 to 3.8 GHz and other frequencies and Spectrum Access System (SAS) 3.55 to 3.7 GHz, and other frequencies). Different single carrier or Orthogonal Frequency Domain Multiplexing (OFDM) modes (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, Filter Bank Based Multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), and in particular 3GPP NR, may be used by allocating OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0032] In some aspects, both of the UEs 101 and 102 may comprise Internet-of-Things (IoT) UEs or Cellular IoT (CIoT) UEs, which may comprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connections. In some aspects, both of the UEs 101 and 102 may comprise narrowband (NB) IoT UEs (e.g., enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UEs and Further Enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UEs, etc.). The IoT UEs may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks to exchange data with an MTC server or device over a public land mobile network (PLMN). The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. The IoT network includes interconnected IoT UEs with short-term connections, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure). The IoT UEs may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate IoT network connectivity. In some aspects, both UEs 101 and 102 may include enhanced eMTC (eMTC) UEs or further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UEs.

[0033] UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to be connected, e.g., communicatively coupled, by a radio access network (RAN) 110. RAN 110 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN.

[0034] UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each comprising a physical communication interface or layer (described in further detail below); in this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces enabling communication coupling and may correspond to cellular communication protocols such as Global System for Mobile (GSM) protocols, code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocols, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocols, PTT over Cellular (POC) protocols, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, 5G protocols, 6G protocols, Wi-Fi protocols, etc. Thus, UEs 101 and 102 may include both a 3GPP (5G) modem and a separate Wi-Fi modem.

[0035] In an aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 can further directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 105. Alternatively, the ProSe interface 105 may refer to a Sidelink (SL) interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), and a Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH).

[0036] The UE 102 is shown configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via a connection 108. The connection 108 may comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, whereby the AP 106 may comprise a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet without connecting to a wireless system's core network (described in more detail below).

[0037] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (AN) may be referred to as base stations (BS), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may comprise terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmission / reception points (TRPs). In instances when the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within the communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing a macro cell, such as a macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing a femto cell or a pico cell (e.g., a cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macro cell), such as a low power (LP) RAN node 112.

[0038] Either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate air interface protocols and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may perform various logical functions for the RAN 110, including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions, such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In examples, either of the nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a gNB, an eNB, or another type of RAN node.

[0039] The RAN 110 is shown communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In an aspect, the CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as shown with reference to FIGS. 1B-1C ). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and a serving data gateway (S-GW) 122, and an S1 mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0040] In this aspect, the CN 120 comprises an MME 121, an S-GW 122, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. The MME 121 may be similar in function of the control plane of a legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME 121 may manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 may comprise a database for network users, including subscription related information to support network entity handling of communication sessions. The CN 120 may comprise one or several HSSs 124 depending on the number of mobile subscribers, device capacity, network organization, etc. For example, the HSS 124 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0041] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. Additionally, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other roles of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0042] The P-GW 123 can terminate the SGi interface towards the PDN. The P-GW 123 can route data packets between the CN 120 and external networks, such as a network including an application server 184 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 can also communicate data to other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. In general, the application server 184 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with a core network (e.g., UMTS packet service (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. The application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0043] The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. A Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 may be a policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0044] In some aspects, the communication network 140A may be an IoT network or a 5G or 6G network including a 5G new radio network using communication in licensed (5G NR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current enablers of IoT is narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT). Unlicensed spectrum operation may include unlicensed spectrum dual connectivity (DC) operation and standalone LTE systems, according to which LTE-based technologies operate alone in the unlicensed spectrum without using a licensed spectrum "anchor". Further enhanced operation of LTE systems in licensed and unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems. Such enhanced operation may include techniques for sidelink resource allocation and UE processing behavior for NR sidelink V2X communications.

[0045] The NG system architecture (or 6G system architecture) includes a RAN 110 and a 5G core network (5GC) 120. The NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The CN 120 (e.g., 5G core network / 5GC) may include an access and mobility function (AMF) and / or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNBs and NG-eNBs via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNBs and NG-eNBs may be connected to the AMF via an NG-C interface and to the UPF via an NG-U interface. The gNBs and NG-eNBs may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0046] In some aspects, the NG system architecture may use reference points between various nodes. In some aspects, each of the gNB and the NG-eNB may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, etc. In some aspects, the gNB may be a master node (MN) and the NG-eNB may be a secondary node (SN) in the 5G architecture.

[0047] FIG. 1B illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some aspects. In particular, FIG. 1B illustrates a 5G system architecture 140B in a reference point representation, which may be extended to a 6G system architecture. More specifically, a UE 102 can communicate with a RAN 110 and one or more other 5GC network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes a number of network functions (NFs), such as an AMF 132, a session management function (SMF) 136, a policy control function (PCF) 148, an application function (AF) 150, a UPF 134, a network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, an authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and a unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146.

[0048] The UPF 134 can provide a connection to a data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third party services. The AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility, and can include a network slice selection function. The AMF 132 may provide UE-based authentication, authorization, mobility management, etc., and can be independent of the access technology. The SMF 136 can be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to the network policies. Thus, the SMF 136 can be responsible for managing sessions and assigning IP addresses to UEs. The SMF 136 can also select and control the UPF 134 for data transfer. The SMF 136 can be associated with a single session of the UE 101 or multiple sessions of the UE 101. That is, the UE 101 can have multiple 5G sessions. A different SMF may be assigned to each session. Using a different SMF can enable each session to be managed separately. As a result, the functionality of each session can be independent of each other.

[0049] The UPF 134 may be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type and may be connected to a data network. The PCF 148 may be configured to provide a policy framework with network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to a PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM may be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to a HSS in a 4G communication system).

[0050] The AF 150 may provide information about the packet flows to the PCF 148, which is responsible for policy control to support the desired QoS. The PCF 148 may set mobility and session management policies for the UE 101. To this end, the PCF 148 may use the packet flow information to determine appropriate policies for appropriate operation of the AMF 132 and SMF 136. The AUSF 144 may store data for UE authentication.

[0051] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168B and multiple IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as call session control functions (CSCFs). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF that may act as a Proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162BE, a Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an Emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not shown in FIG. 1B), or an Interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 166B. The P-CSCF 162B may be configured to be the first point of contact for the UE 102 within the IMS subsystem (IMS) 168B. The S-CSCF 164B may be configured to handle the network session state, and the E-CSCF may be configured to handle certain aspects of the emergency session, such as routing the emergency request to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B may be configured to act as a contact point for all IMS connections within an operator's network that are destined for the network operator's subscribers or roaming subscribers currently located within the network operator's service area. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B may be connected to another IP multimedia network 180E, e.g., an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0052] In some aspects, the UDM / HSS 146 may be coupled to an application server, which may include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS). The AS 160B may be coupled to the IMS 168B via the S-CSCF 164B or the I-CSCF 166B.

[0053] The representation of the reference points indicates that there may be interactions between the corresponding NF services. For example, Figure 1B shows the following reference points: N1 (between the UE 102 and the AMF 132), N2 (between the RAN 110 and the AMF 132), N3 (between the RAN 110 and the UPF 134), N4 (between the SMF 136 and the UPF 134), N5 (between the PCF 148 and the AF 150, not shown), N6 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152), N7 (between the SMF 136 and the PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between the two UPFs 134, not shown), N10 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), N11 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152, not shown), N13 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N14 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152, not shown), N15 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152, not shown), N16 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152, not shown), N17 (between the SMF 136 and the PCF 148, not shown), N18 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N19 (between the two UPFs 134, not shown), N20 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 13 1B , N11 (between AMF 132 and SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between AUSF 144 and UDM 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs 132, not shown), N15 (between PCF 148 and AMF 132 in case of a non-roaming scenario, or between PCF 148 and visited network and AMF 132 in case of a roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142, not shown). Representations of other reference points not shown in FIG. 1B may also be used.

[0054] 1C shows a 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation. In addition to the network entities shown in FIG. 1B, the system architecture 140C may also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based, and interactions between network functions may be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or as service-based interfaces.

[0055] In some aspects, as shown in Figure 1C, a service-based representation may be used to represent a network function in a control plane that allows other authorized network functions to access a service. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C may include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (service-based interface indicated by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (service-based interface indicated by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (service-based interface indicated by NEF 154), Npcf 158D (service-based interface indicated by PCF 148), Nudm 158E (service-based interface indicated by UDM 146), Naf 158F (service-based interface indicated by AF 150), Nnrf 158C (service-based interface indicated by NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (service-based interface indicated by NSSF 142), Nausf 158G (service-based interface indicated by AUSF 144). Other service-based interfaces not shown in FIG. 1C (eg, Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) may also be used.

[0056] The NR-V2X architecture can support reliable, low-latency sidelink communications with a variety of traffic patterns, including periodic and aperiodic communications with random packet arrival times and sizes. The techniques disclosed herein can be used to support high reliability in distributed communication systems with dynamic topologies, including sidelink NR V2X communication systems.

[0057] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communications device, according to some embodiments. Communications device 200 may be a dedicated computer, a personal or laptop computer (PC), a tablet PC, or a UE such as a smartphone, dedicated network equipment such as an eNB, a server executing software to configure a server to operate as a network device, a virtual device, or any machine capable of executing instructions (serialized or otherwise) that specify actions for the machine to perform. For example, communications device 200 may be implemented as one or more of the devices illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1C. It should be noted that communications described herein may be encoded prior to transmission by a transmitting entity (e.g., UE, gNB) for reception by the receiving entity (e.g., gNB, UE) and decoded after reception by the receiving entity.

[0058] The examples described herein may include or operate with respect to logic or several components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules and components are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) that can perform specified operations and can be configured or arranged in a particular way. In examples, a circuit may be arranged in a specified manner (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) as a module. In examples, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., standalone, client, or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured as modules that operate to perform operations specified by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application parts, or applications). In examples, the software may reside on a machine-readable medium. In examples, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of a module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

[0059] Accordingly, the terms "module" (and "component") are understood to encompass tangible entities, being physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., wired), or temporarily (e.g., transiently) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform some or all of any of the operations described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, the modules may comprise a general-purpose hardware processor that is configured with software, and the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as each different module at different times. Thus, the software may configure the hardware processor to, for example, configure a particular module at one instance of time and another module at another instance of time.

[0060] The communication device 200 may include a hardware processor (or equivalent processing circuitry) 202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a GPU, a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 204, and a static memory 206, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., a bus) 208. The main memory 204 may include some or all of removable and non-removable storage, volatile or non-volatile memory. The communication device 200 may further include a display unit 210, such as a video display, an alphanumeric input device 212 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 214 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 210, the input device 212, and the UI navigation device 214 may be touch screen displays. The communication device 200 may further include a storage device (e.g., a drive unit) 216, a signal generating device 218 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 220, and one or more sensors, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensor. The communication device 200 may further include an output controller, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection, for communicating with or controlling one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0061] Storage device 216 may include a non-transitory machine-readable medium 222 (hereinafter simply machine-readable medium) that stores one or more data structures or sets of instructions 224 (e.g., software) embodied or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. Instructions 224 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within main memory 204, static memory 206, and / or within hardware processor 202 during execution by communications device 200. Although machine-readable medium 222 is depicted as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 224.

[0062] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by communication device 200, causing communication device 200 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure, or capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memory, optical, and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0063] The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network using any one of a number of wireless local area network (WLAN) transmission protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.) via the network interface device 220 using a transmission medium 226. Exemplary communications networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile telephone network (e.g., a cellular network), a Plain Old Telephone (POTS) network, and a wireless data network. Communications over the network may include one or more different protocols, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi, the IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax, the IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, Next Generation (NG) / Fifth Generation (5G) standards, among others. In an example, the network interface device 220 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) for connecting to the transmission medium 226, or one or more antennas.

[0064] It should be noted that the term "circuitry" as used herein refers to, is a part of, or includes hardware components configured to provide a described functionality, such as, for example, electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or groups) and / or memories (shared, dedicated, or groups), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable SoCs), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc. In some embodiments, a circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least a portion of the described functionality. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or combinations of circuitry used in an electrical or electronic system) and program code used to perform the functions of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0065] Thus, as used herein, the term "processor circuitry" or "processor" refers to, is a part of, or includes circuitry that can continuously and automatically perform a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations or record, store, and / or transmit digital data. The term "processor circuitry" or "processor" may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single or multi-core processor, and / or any other device that can execute or operate computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes.

[0066] Any of the wireless links described herein may operate according to any one or more of the following wireless communication technologies and / or standards, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) wireless communication technologies, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) wireless communication technologies, Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) wireless communication technologies, and / or Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wireless communication technologies, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Freedom of Multimedia Access (FOMA), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3GPP Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE Advanced), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, Third Generation (3G), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), High-Speed ​​Circuit-Switched Data (HSD), High-Speed ​​Circuit-Switched Data (HSC), High-Speed ​​Circuit-Switched Data (HSD ... Data:HSCSD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (3rd Generation) (UMTS (3G)), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA (UMTS)), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High Speed ​​Packet Access Plus (HSPA+), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System-Time Division Duplex (UMTS-TDD), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TDS)Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 8 (pre-4th generation) (3GPP Rel. 8 (pre-4G)), 3GPP Rel. 9 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 9), 3GPP Rel. 10 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 10), 3GPP Rel. 11 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 11), 3GPP Rel. 12 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 12), 3GPP Rel. 13 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 13), 3GPP Rel. 14 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 14), 3GPP Rel. 15 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 15), 3GPP Rel. 16 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 16), 3GPP Rel. 17 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17) and subsequent releases (e.g., Rel. 18, Rel. 19, etc.), 3GPP 5G, 5G, 5G New Radio (5G NR), 3GPP 5G New Radio, 3GPP LTE Extra, LTE Advanced Pro, LTE Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), MuLTEfire, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Long Term Evolution Advanced (4th Generation) (LTE Advanced (4G)), cdmaOne (2G), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (3rd Generation) (CDMA2000 (3G)), Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO), Advanced Mobile Phone System (1st Generation) (AMPS (1G)), Total Access Communication System / Enhanced Total Access Communication System (TACS / ETACS), Digital AMPS (2nd Generation) (D-AMPS (2G)), Push-to-Talk (PTT), Mobile Telephone System (Mobile Telephone System:MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone SystemSystem:IMTS), Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS), OLT (Offentlig Landmobile Telefoni in Norwegian, Public Land Mobile Telephone), MTD (Swedish abbreviation of Mobiltelefonisystem D, or Mobile Telephone System D), Autotel / PALM, ARP (Autoradiopuhelin in Finnish, "Car Radio Telephone"), NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony), NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone)'s high-capacity version (Hicap), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, DataTAC, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), Personal Handy-phone System System (PHS®), Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (WiDEN), iBurst, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), (also referred to as the 3GPP Generic Access Network or GAN standard), Zigbee®, Bluetooth®, Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) standard, mmWave standards in general (wireless systems operating from 10 to 300 GHz or higher, such as WiGig, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11ay, etc.), technologies operating above the 300 GHz and THz bands, (3GPP / LTE-based, or IEEE 802.11p or IEEE802.11bd) Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-X (V2X), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), and Infrastructure-to-Vehicle (I2V) communication technologies, 3GPP Cellular V2X, DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) communication systems, such as Intelligent Transport Systems (typically operating at 5850 MHz to 5925 MHz and above (typically up to 5935 MHz as per the proposed changes in CEPT Report 71)), European ITS-G5 systems (i.e. IEEE 802.11bd), European flavours of 802.11p-based DSRC include ITS-G5A (i.e., ITS-G5 operation in the European ITS frequency bands dedicated to ITS for safety-related applications in the frequency range 5,875 GHz to 5,905 GHz), ITS-G5B (i.e., operation in the European ITS frequency bands dedicated to ITS non-safety applications in the frequency range 5,855 GHz to 5,875 GHz), ITS-G5C (i.e., operation for ITS applications in the frequency range 5,470 GHz to 5,725 GHz)), DSRC in the Japanese 700 MHz bands (715 MHz to 725 MHz inclusive), and IEEE 802.11bd-based systems.

[0067] The aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme including dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, license-exempt spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as LSA=Licensed Shared Access in 2.3 to 2.4 GHz, 3.4 to 3.6 GHz, 3.6 to 3.8 GHz, and other frequencies, and SAS=Spectrum Access System / CBRS=Citizen Broadband Radio System in 3.55 to 3.7 GHz, and other frequencies).IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) spectrum and other types of spectrum / bands, such as nationally allocated bands (including 450 to 470 MHz, 902 to 928 MHz (Note: allocated in e.g. the United States (FCC Part 15)), 863 to 868.6 MHz (Note: allocated in e.g. the European Union (ETSI EN 300 220), 915.9 to 929.7 MHz (Note: allocated for example in Japan), 917 to 923.5 MHz (Note: allocated for example in South Korea), 755 to 779 MHz and 779 to 787 MHz (Note: allocated for example in China), 790 to 960 MHz, 1710 to 2025 MHz, 2110 to 2200 MHz, 2300 to 2400 MHz, 2.4 to 2.4835 GHz (Note: this is a globally available ISM band, used by the Wi-Fi family of technologies (11b / g / n / ax) and also by Bluetooth), 2500 to 26 90 MHz, 698 to 790 MHz, 610 to 790 MHz, 3400 to 3600 MHz, 3400 to 3800 MHz, 3800 to 4200 MHz, 3.55 to 3.7 GHz (Note: allocated for example in the US to the Citizens Broadband Radio Service), 5.15 to 5.25 GHz, 5.25 to 5.35 GHz, 5.47 to 5.725 GHz, and 5.725 to 5.85 GHz bands (Note: allocated for example in the US (FCC Part 15) and consists of four U-NII bands totaling 500 MHz of spectrum), 5.725 to 5.875 GHz (Note: allocated for example in the EU (ETSI EN301 893)), 5.47 to 5.65 GHz (Note: for example, South Korea has allocated the 5925 to 7125 MHz and 5925 to 6425 MHz bands (Note: under consideration in the US and EU, respectively. Note that next generation Wi-Fi systems are expected to include the 6 GHz spectrum as a band of operation, but as of December 2017 Wi-Fi systems are not yet permitted in this band.The regulation is expected to be completed in the 2019-2020 timeframe), IMT Advanced Spectrum IMT-2020 spectrum (which is expected to include 3600 to 3800 MHz, 3800 to 4200 MHz, 3.5 GHz bands, 700 MHz bands, and bands in the 24.25 to 86 GHz range, among others), spectrum made available under the FCC's "Spectrum Frontier" 5G initiative (including 27.5 to 28.35 GHz, 29.1 to 29.25 GHz, 31 to 31.3 GHz, 37 to 38.6 GHz, 38.6 to 40 GHz, 42 to 42.5 GHz, 57 to 64 GHz, 71 to 76 GHz, 81 to 86 GHz, and 92 to 94 GHz, among others), and the 5.9 GHz ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) spectrum. Interoperability Systems (ITS) bands (typically 5.85 to 5.925 GHz) and 63 to 64 GHz, bands currently allocated to WiGig, e.g. WiGig band 1 (57.24 to 59.40 GHz), WiGig band 2 (59.40 to 61.56 GHz), and WiGig band 3 (61.56 to 63.72 GHz) and WiGig band 4 (63.72 to 65.88 GHz), 57 to 64 / 66 GHz (Note: this band is almost universally designated as Multi-Gigabit Wireless Systems (MGWS) / WiGig. A total of 14 GHz of spectrum has been allocated in the US (FCC Part 15), but not in the EU (ETSI EN 302 567 and ETSI EN 301 for fixed P2P) 217-2) allocates a total of 9 GHz of spectrum), and includes applicable spectrum bands including the 70.2 GHz to 71 GHz bands, any bands between 65.88 GHz and 71 GHz, bands currently allocated for automotive radar applications, such as 76 to 81 GHz, and future bands including 94 to 300 GHz and above. Additionally, the scheme may be used secondarily in bands such as the TV white space bands (typically below 790 MHz), with the 400 MHz and 700 MHz bands being promising candidates.Besides cellular applications, it can also address specific applications for vertical markets such as Program Making and Special Events (PMSE), medical, health, surgical, automotive, low latency and drone applications.

[0068] The aspects described herein may also implement a hierarchical application of the scheme, for example by introducing a hierarchical priority of usage for different types of users (e.g., low / medium / high priority, etc.), with highest priority for, e.g., tier-1 users, followed by tier-2, then tier-3 users, etc., based on higher priority access to the spectrum.

[0069] The aspects described herein may also be particularly applicable to 3GPP NR (New Radio) by allocating OFDM carrier data bit vectors to different single carriers or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, Filter Bank Based Multi-Carrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.) and corresponding symbol resources.

[0070] Some of the features in this document are defined on the network side, such as AP, eNB, NR, or gNB - note that this term is typically used in the context of 3GPP 5G and 6G communication systems, etc. Yet, a UE may equally assume this role and act as an AP, eNB, or gNB; it is any or all features defined for a network device that can be implemented by the UE.

[0071] As can be seen, different types of SRS resource sets are supported in the NR Rel-15 specification. An SRS resource set is configured with a parameter of "usage", which can be set to "beamManagement", "codebook", "nonCodebook" or "antennaSwitching". The SRS resource set configured for "beamManagement" is used for beam acquisition and uplink beam indication using SRS. The SRS resource set configured for "codebook" and "nonCodebook" is used to determine UL precoding, either explicitly indicated by the transmit precoding matrix index (TPMI) or implicitly indicated by the SRS resource index (SRI). Finally, the SRS resource set configured for "antennaSwitching" is used to acquire DL channel state information (CSI) using SRS measurements at the UE by exploiting the channel reciprocity in time domain duplexing (TDD) systems. For SRS transmission, the time domain behavior can be periodic, semi-persistent or aperiodic. The RRC configuration for SRS resource set is: SRS-ResourceSet ::= SEQUENCE { srs-ResourceSetId SRS-ResourceSetId, srs-ResourceIdList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofSRS-ResourcesPerSet)) OF SRS-ResourceId OPTIONAL, -- Cond Setup resourceType CHOICE { aperiodic SEQUENCE { aperiodicSRS-ResourceTrigger INTEGER (1..maxNrofSRS-TriggerStates-1), csi-RS NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId OPTIONAL, -- Cond NonCodebook slotOffset INTEGER (1..32) OPTIONAL, -- Need S ..., [[ aperiodicSRS-ResourceTriggerList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofSRS-TriggerStates-2))OF INTEGER (1..maxNrofSRS-TriggerStates-1) OPTIONAL -- Need M ]] }, semi-persistent SEQUENCE { associatedCSI-RS NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId OPTIONAL, -- Cond NonCodebook ... }, periodic SEQUENCE { associatedCSI-RS NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId OPTIONAL, -- Cond NonCodebook ... } }, usage ENUMERATED {beamManagement, codebook, nonCodebook, antennaSwitching}, alpha Alpha OPTIONAL, -- Need S p0 INTEGER (-202..24) OPTIONAL, -- Cond Setup pathlossReferenceRS PathlossReferenceRS-Config OPTIONAL, -- Need M srs-PowerControlAdjustmentStates ENUMERATED { sameAsFci2, separateClosedLoop} OPTIONAL, -- Need S

[0072] When an SRS resource set is configured as "aperiodic," it also includes a configuration of trigger states (aperiodicSRS-ResourceTrigger, aperiodicSRS-ResourceTriggerList) that define which downlink control information (DCI) code points trigger the corresponding SRS resource set transmission.

[0073] Aperiodic SRS may be triggered via an SRS request field of DCI, which may be carried by DCI formats 0_1 / 0_2 / 1_1 / 1_2 / 2_3. Note that DCI formats 0_1 / 0_2 are used to schedule the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), DCI formats 1_1 / 1_2 are used to schedule the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger aperiodic SRS for a UE group.

[0074] SRS may be used for carrier switching to perform sounding on a CC with no PUSCH configured. For carrier switching, an SRS resource set with usage setting for "antennaSwitching" is used. FIG. 3 illustrates SRS carrier switching collision handling according to some aspects. In some cases, a UE may not be able to support simultaneous transmission on multiple CCs. In those cases, in the current 3GPP Rel-16 specifications, collision handling rules are defined for SRS carrier switching when there is a collision between a UL signal on a source CC and an SRS transmission on a target CC.

[0075] For a serving cell carrier that is a TDD slot format that includes both UL and DL symbols and is not configured for PUSCH / PUCCH transmission, the UE cannot transmit SRS on the serving cell carrier whenever an overlap occurs within the same symbol on the serving cell carrier between an SRS transmission and a PUSCH / PUCCH transmission carrying HARQ-ACK / positive SR / RI / CRI / SSBRRI and / or PRACH that may result in the UE exceeding its indicated UL carrier aggregation capability. SRS transmission includes any interruption due to UL or DL ​​retuning time as defined by the switchingTimeUL and switchingTimeDL higher layer parameters of SRS-SwitchingTimeNR.

[0076] Furthermore, for a serving cell carrier that is a TDD slot format that includes both UL and DL symbols and is not configured for PUSCH / PUCCH transmission, the UE may drop periodic / semi-persistent SRS whenever an overlap occurs within the same symbol on the serving cell carrier between periodic / semi-persistent SRS transmissions and PUSCH transmissions carrying aperiodic SRS that may lead to UL transmissions exceeding the UE's indicated UL carrier aggregation capability. SRS transmissions include any interruptions due to UL or DL ​​retuning times, as defined by the higher layer parameters switchingTimeUL and switchingTimeDL of SRS-SwitchingTimeNR.

[0077] Furthermore, for a serving cell carrier that is a TDD slot format that includes both UL and DL symbols and is not configured for PUSCH / PUCCH transmission, the UE may drop a PUSCH / PUCCH transmission carrying periodic / semi-persistent CSI including only CQI / PMI / L1-RSRP / L1-SINR and / or an SRS transmission of another serving cell configured for PUSCH / PUCCH transmission whenever an overlap occurs in the same symbol on the serving cell carrier between transmission and SRS transmission that may lead to UL transmission exceeding the UE's indicated UL carrier aggregation capability. The SRS transmission includes any interruption due to UL or DL ​​retuning time as defined by the higher layer parameters switchingTimeUL and switchingTimeDL of SRS-SwitchingTimeNR.

[0078] Furthermore, for a serving cell carrier that is a TDD slot format that includes both UL and DL symbols and is not configured for PUSCH / PUCCH transmission, the UE may drop a PUSCH transmission carrying aperiodic CSI including only CQI / PMI / L1-RSRP / L1-SINR whenever an overlap occurs within the same symbol on the serving cell carrier between SRS transmission and aperiodic SRS transmission that may lead to UL transmissions exceeding the UE's indicated UL carrier aggregation capability. SRS transmission includes any interruption due to UL or DL ​​retuning time as defined by the higher layer parameters switchingTimeUL and switchingTimeDL of SRS-SwitchingTimeNR.

[0079] Also, the timeline process in collision handling for SRS carrier switching is defined in the 3GPP specifications. That is, DCI received after a certain deadline is not considered for collision handling. FIG. 4 illustrates an SRS carrier switching deadline according to some aspects. As shown in FIG. 4, T1 is the deadline for determining whether SRS carrier switching should be performed according to the collision handling rule. At T2, DCI is received and triggers PUCCH for ACK on the source CC. Although PUCCH has high priority, PUCCH is not considered for collision handling because DCI is received after the deadline for SRS switching decision. Therefore, the UE switches to the target CC for SRS transmission. However, in the current 3GPP specifications, it is unclear whether multiple SRS resource sets for carrier switching are triggered by the same DCI. For example, in the period between non-periodic SRS resource sets, it is unclear whether the UE should switch back to the source CC or stay on the target CC; the timeline process when multiple SRS resource sets are triggered by the same DCI is also unclear.

[0080] SRS carrier switching on multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets triggered by a single DCI

[0081] In an embodiment, for multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets for SRS carrier switching triggered by the same DCI, the UE's transmission carrier may remain on the target CC for the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets, regardless of the length of the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets.

[0082] In another embodiment, for multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets for the same DCI triggered SRS carrier switching, the UE may switch back to the transmission carrier of the source CC during the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets if the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets is longer than the RF switching time. Figure 5 illustrates an SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. In particular, Figure 5 illustrates an example operation where the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets (ΔT) is longer than the RF tuning time (ΔT1+ΔT2). In this case, the UE switches the transmission carrier back to the source CC after transmitting the first SRS resource set.

[0083] If the period between aperiodic SRS resource sets is less than (or equal to) the RF switching time, then the transmission carrier may remain on the target CC for the SRS transmission. Figure 6 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. In particular, Figure 6 illustrates an example of operation when the period between aperiodic SRS resource sets (ΔT) is less than the RF tuning time (ΔT1+ΔT2). In this case, the UE transmission carrier may remain on the target CC for the period between aperiodic SRS resource sets.

[0084] In another example, if the period between aperiodic SRS resource sets is less than the RF tuning time plus the minimum transmission time, the UE transmission carrier may remain on the target CC for the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets. Figure 7 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. In particular, Figure 7 illustrates an example of operation when the period between aperiodic SRS resource sets (ΔT) is less than the RF tuning time plus the minimum transmission time (ΔT1+ΔT2+ΔT3). In this case, the UE transmission carrier may remain on the target CC for the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets.

[0085] In another embodiment, for multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets for the same DCI triggered carrier switch, if the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets is shorter than the RF tuning time, it is up to collision handling whether the UE should stay on the target CC for the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets. In one example, if all of the multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets have higher priority than other UL transmissions on the source CC or there is no collision, the UE carrier frequency can continue to stay on the target CC for the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets. FIG. 8 illustrates another SRS carrier switch operation according to some aspects. In particular, FIG. 8 illustrates an example of an operation where the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets (ΔT) is shorter than the RF tuning time (ΔT1+ΔT2), but the aperiodic SRS resource set has a higher priority. In this case, the UE transmission carrier can remain on the target CC for the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets.

[0086] In another example, if a first SRS resource set is high priority and a second SRS resource set is low priority, the UE may switch back to the source CC after transmitting the first SRS resource set. FIG. 9 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. As shown in FIG. 9, the UE retunes to CC#1 to transmit a high priority SRS set (SRS set#A), and even though the period (ΔT) between the SRS resource sets is shorter than the RF tuning time (ΔT1+ΔT2), due to the difference in priority between the overlapping signals, the UE retunes to the source CC (CC#2) to transmit a high priority signal instead of the low priority SRS set (SRS set#B).

[0087] In another example, if a first SRS resource set is low priority and a second SRS resource set is high priority, the first SRS resource set may be dropped and the UE may switch to the targeting CC to transmit on the second SRS resource set. Figure 10 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. As shown in Figure 10, the UE remains on CC#2 to transmit a high priority signal due to the priority difference between the overlapping signals, drops the low priority SRS set (SRS set#A), and retunes the target CC (CC#1) to transmit on the high priority SRS set (SRS set#B).

[0088] In another embodiment, for multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets for carrier switching triggered by the same DCI, collision processing may be performed independently for each SRS resource set. In this case, the SRS resource set (including the RF switching time) that collide with a high priority UL transmission on the source CC may be dropped by the UE; the SRS resource set (including the RF switching time) that does not collide or collide with a low priority UL transmission on the source CC may be transmitted by the UE.

[0089] In another embodiment, for SRS carrier switching, the behavior of the UE over the time period between two SRS resources may be applied in the case of periodic SRS, semi-persistent SRS, and aperiodic SRS. Considering the time period between two SRS resources for carrier switching, both SRS resources may be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic; one SRS resource may be aperiodic and the other may be periodic; one SRS resource may be aperiodic and the other may be semi-persistent; or one SRS resource may be periodic and the other may be semi-persistent. In some embodiments, if the time period between two SRS resources is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (e.g., RF tuning time), then the UE may switch back to the source CC after transmitting to the first SRS resource. FIG. 11 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. FIG. 11 shows that the UE switches to the target CC to transmit a first SRS resource (periodic SRS resource), and then returns to the source CC after transmitting the first SRS resource before returning to the target CC to transmit a second SRS resource (non-periodic SRS resource) due to the time period between the two SRS resources being longer than the RF tuning time.

[0090] In some embodiments, if the period between two SRS resources is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, then the UE may remain on the target CC after transmitting the first SRS resource. Figure 12 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. Figure 12 illustrates that the UE switches to the target CC to transmit the first SRS resource (periodic SRS resource) and, after transmitting the first SRS resource, remains on the target CC to transmit the second SRS resource (non-periodic SRS resource) due to the period between the two SRS resources being less than the RF tuning time.

[0091] In another example, regardless of the length of the period between two SRS resources, the UE may always switch back to the source CC after transmitting a first SRS resource. If there is insufficient time for the UE to switch to the target CC to transmit on the second SRS resource, then the second SRS resource may be dropped (or the UE may drop only the portion of the SRS symbol that the UE cannot transmit due to timing).

[0092] In another example, the UE may always remain camped on a target CC between two SRS resources regardless of the length of the period between the two SRS resources.

[0093] In another embodiment, for SRS carrier switching, the UE behavior may be defined at the level of the SRS resource. The UE behavior over the period between two SRS resources may be applied in the cases of periodic SRS, semi-persistent SRS, and aperiodic SRS transmission.

[0094] As described above, considering the period between two SRS resource sets for carrier switching, both SRS resource sets may be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic; one SRS resource set may be aperiodic and the other periodic; one SRS resource set may be aperiodic and the other semi-persistent; or one SRS resource set may be periodic and the other semi-persistent.

[0095] In some embodiments, if the period between the two SRS resources is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (e.g., an RF tuning time), then the UE may switch back to the source CC after the first SRS resource transmission. In some embodiments, if the period between the two SRS resources is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, then the UE may remain on the target CC after the first SRS resource transmission.

[0096] In another example, the UE may always switch back to the source CC after a first SRS resource transmission, regardless of the length of the period between the two SRS resources. If there is insufficient time for the UE to switch to the target CC to transmit on the second SRS resource, then the second SRS resource may be dropped.

[0097] In another example, the UE may always remain camped on the target CC between two SRS resources regardless of the length of the period between the two SRS resources.

[0098] In another embodiment, for multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets for carrier switching triggered by the same DCI, the timeline processing (i.e., the deadline for considering DCI for collision processing) may be performed independently for each SRS resource set, regardless of whether the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets is shorter or longer than the RF tuning time. FIG. 13 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. As shown in FIG. 13, K1 is the deadline for considering DCI for collision processing of SRS resource set #A; K2 is the deadline for considering DCI for collision processing of SRS resource set #B. K1 and K2 may be independent of each other.

[0099] In another embodiment, for multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets for the same DCI-triggered carrier switch, when a first SRS resource set is transmitted on a target CC, the second SRS set may be transmitted if there is insufficient time to switch back to the source CC to transmit a high priority signal even if the second SRS set should be dropped.

[0100] FIG. 14 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. As shown in FIG. 14, time example K1 is a deadline for determining whether SRS set #A should be transmitted according to the collision process. Time example K2 is a deadline for determining whether SRS set #B should be transmitted according to the collision process. At time example K3, a DCI is received that schedules a high priority transmission on the source CC. When determining whether SRS set #A should be transmitted at K1, the DCI received at K3 is not considered because the DCI is received after the deadline. Thus, SRS resource set #A is transmitted. When determining whether SRS set #B should be transmitted at K2, the DCI received at K3 is considered because the DCI is received before the deadline of K3. According to the collision process, SRS set #B should be dropped. However, since SRS set #A is already transmitted on the target CC, there is insufficient time for the UE to switch back to the source CC to transmit a high priority uplink signal. Therefore, the UE can transmit SRS Set #B while remaining on the target CC, with the higher priority signal on the source CC eventually being dropped.

[0101] In another embodiment, for multiple aperiodic SRS resource sets for carrier switching triggered by the same DCI, the timeline processing (i.e., the deadline for considering DCI for collision processing) should be performed for all SRS resource sets triggered by the same DCI, even if the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets is shorter or longer than the RF tuning time. That is, all SRS resource sets triggered by the same DCI share the same deadline for considering DCI for collision processing. FIG. 15 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. As shown in FIG. 15, K1 is the deadline for considering DCI for collision processing for both SRS resource set #A and SRS resource set #B. DCI received after K1 scheduling UL transmissions on source CCs that may collide with SRS resource sets #A and #B is not considered for collision processing.

[0102] Timeline behavior for periodic / semi-persistent SRS with carrier switching

[0103] In an embodiment, when a periodic / semi-persistent SRS configured with antenna switching is transmitted for an uplink component carrier CC1 that is not configured with PUSCH / PUCCH, it may be desirable for the UE to suspend uplink transmission on another carrier CC2 that is configured with PUSCH / PUCCH. In this case, there may be a timeline to handle collisions between the periodic / semi-persistent SRS on CC1 and the uplink transmission on the other carrier CC2. That is, there may be a deadline for determining the periodic / semi-persistent SRS transmission. For example, the deadline may be N symbols prior to the periodic / semi-persistent SRS transmission, where N may be greater than or equal to the RF tuning time. DCI received after the deadline may not be considered for collision handling for the periodic / semi-persistent SRS transmission.

[0104] FIG. 16 illustrates another SRS carrier switching operation according to some aspects. As shown, time instance K1 is the deadline for determining periodic / semi-persistent SRS transmission due to carrier switching. At time instance K3, a DCI is received that schedules a high priority transmission on the source CC. Because the DCI is received after the deadline, the high priority transmission on the source CC is not considered for collision handling. The UE can instead transmit periodic / semi-persistent SRS and drop the high priority transmission on the source CC.

[0105] It should be noted that all of the above embodiments are applicable to the case of SRS resource set processing, in which there are multiple gap symbols between SRS resources in the same SRS resource set.

[0106] Carrier Switching Configuration

[0107] In NR Rel-15 / Rel-16, some UL carriers may not be configured for PUSCH / PUCCH in a TDD system. In such cases, SRS carrier switching can be used to derive the downlink precoder. The SRS is configured by the antennaSwitching information element (IE).

[0108] When an SRS is triggered, the UE may suspend transmission on another uplink carrier in order to retune the RF if simultaneous transmission over multiple carriers exceeds the UE's capabilities.

[0109] The IE SRS-CarrierSwitching is used to configure for SRS carrier switching when PUSCH is not configured and SRS power control is independent from that of PUSCH. -- ASN1START -- TAG-SRS-CARRIERSWITCHING-STARTR (0..31) OPTIONAL, -- Need M srs-SwitchFromCarrier ENUMERATED {sUL, nUL}, srs-TPC-PDCCH-Group CHOICE { typeA SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..32)) OF SRS-TPC-PDCCH-Config, Type B SRS-TPC-PDCCH-Config } OPTIONAL, -- Need M monitoringCells SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofServingCells)) OF ServCellIndex OPTIONAL, -- Need M ... }SRS-TPC-PDCCH-Config ::= SEQUENCE { srs-CC-SetIndexlist SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..4)) OF SRS-CC-SetIndex OPTIONAL -- Need M }SRS-CC-SetIndex ::= SEQUENCE { cc-SetIndex INTEGER (0..3) OPTIONAL, -- Need M cc-IndexInOneCC-Set INTEGER (0..7) OPTIONAL -- Need M }-- TAG-SRS-CARRIERSWITCHING-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0110] The parameter srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex indicates a serving cell whose UL transmission may be blocked during SRS transmission in a SCell without PUSCH. It may be appreciated that only one value may be configured for srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex, i.e., only one source CC may be configured. This restricts the SRS switching operation. FIG. 17 illustrates an SRS carrier switching operation restriction according to some aspects. As shown in FIG. 17, if source CC#2 is configured as srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex, antenna switching from CC#3 is not possible.

[0111] The parameter monitoringCells defines a set of serving cells for monitoring PDCCH transmission DCI format 2_3, which can trigger SRS transmission for carrier switching. DCI format 2_3 can also be used to trigger SRS transmission, for which a separate power control state is configured as PUSCH.

[0112] However, if one CC (CC#2) is configured as monitoringCells for SRS carrier switching, then DCI format 2_3 on this CC is not differentiated and DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger SRS carrier switching on another CC (CC#1) or is used for SRS transmission of a separate power control state of CC (CC#2). Figure 18 illustrates DCI format 2_3 transmission according to some aspects.

[0113] SRS Carrier Switching Configuration

[0114] In an embodiment, for SRS carrier switching, SRS switching from multiple source CCs may be supported. The multiple CCs may be configured as srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex. Figure 19 illustrates multiple CCs configured as source CCs for SRS carrier switching according to some aspects.

[0115] In an example, the RRC configuration of SRS-CarrierSwitching may be modified as follows: A list may be added containing one or more serving cell indices (source CCs). The parameter maxNrofSwitchFromServCells indicates the maximum number of source CCs, which may be predefined or dependent on the UE's capabilities. SRS-CarrierSwitching information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-SRS-CARRIERSWITCHING-START SEQUENCE { srs-SwitchFromServCellIndexList SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNrofSwitchFromServCells) OF INTEGER (0..31) OPTIONAL, -- Need M srs-SwitchFromCarrier ENUMERATED {sUL, nUL}, srs-TPC-PDCCH-Group CHOICE { typeA SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..32)) OF SRS-TPC-PDCCH-Config, Type B SRS-TPC-PDCCH-Config } OPTIONAL, -- Need M monitoringCells SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofServingCells)) OF ServCellIndex OPTIONAL, -- Need M ... } SRS-TPC-PDCCH-Config ::= SEQUENCE { srs-CC-SetIndexlist SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..4)) OF SRS-CC-SetIndex OPTIONAL -- Need M }SRS-CC-SetIndex ::= SEQUENCE { cc-SetIndex INTEGER (0..3) OPTIONAL, -- Need M cc-IndexInOneCC-Set INTEGER (0..7) OPTIONAL -- Need M-- TAG-SRS-CARRIERSWITCHING-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0116] In an embodiment, the RRC configuration for SRS-Carrier Switching may be applied for a PUSCH-less carrier, or the SRS may be configured with separate power control state as the PUSCH. Examples of changes to the RRC specification are shown below: SRS-Carrier Switching

[0117] The IE SRS-CarrierSwitching is used to configure SRS carrier switching when PUSCH is not configured, or SRS power control independent of that of PUSCH. [Table 1]

[0118] In another embodiment, DCI format 2_3 may be able to distinguish whether DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger SRS carrier switching on a carrier without PUSCH or whether DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger SRS transmission on a carrier with PUSCH, where the SRS transmission is configured with a separate power control state as the PUSCH.

[0119] In one example, an indicator may be added to DCI format 2_3 to indicate whether DCI format 2_3 is used for SRS carrier switching on a carrier without PUSCH or to trigger SRS transmission in a separate power control state as PUSCH. FIG. 20 illustrates a DCI format 2_3 transmission according to some aspects. FIG. 21 illustrates another DCI format 2_3 transmission according to some aspects. In particular, in FIG. 20, only one new field (Ind) is added to DCI format 2_3 and may apply to all blocks of DCI format 2_3. In FIG. 21, a new field (Ind) is added to each block in DCI format 2_3.

[0120] In another embodiment, to avoid confusion with DCI format 2_3, one CC may not be configured as srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex and minitoringCells at the same time, and it is included in SRS-CarrierSwitching on another CC.

[0121] In another example, monitoringCells can be configured the same as CC, on top of which SRS-CarrierSwitching can be configured, which can also be achieved implicitly by removing the monitoringCells parameter.

[0122] In another example, for a CC configured with PUSCH, SRS-CarrierSwitching can be configured on this CC to trigger SRS transmission with separate power control state as PUSCH via DCI format 2_3. Furthermore, srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex and monitoringCells can be configured the same as CC.

[0123] Thus, in the above embodiments, the gNB can configure the UE using an RRC information element (IE) for SRS transmission including carrier switching. DCI format 2_3 can be used to trigger SRS transmission. SRS switching from multiple source CCs can be configured using the srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex parameter of the SRS-CarrierSwitching IE. The RRC configuration of the SRS-CarrierSwitching IE can be applied to a carrier without PUSCH or the SRS transmission can be configured with a separate power control state as the PUSCH. DCI format 2_3 may be able to distinguish whether DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger SRS carrier switching on a carrier without PUSCH or to trigger SRS transmission on a carrier with PUSCH and the SRS transmission is configured with a separate power control state from the PUSCH. In some embodiments, an indicator may be added to DCI format 2_3 to indicate whether DCI format 2_3 is used for SRS carrier switching on a carrier without PUSCH or for triggering SRS transmission with a separate power control state from the PUSCH. In this case, the new field of indicator added to DCI format 2_3 may be applied to all blocks or may be applied to each block of DCI format 2_3 individually. In some embodiments, the UE configuration may be limited such that the srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex and monitoringCells parameters included in SRS-CarrierSwitching do not simultaneously configure a single CC on another CC. This may avoid confusion in DCI format 2_3. The monitoringCells parameter may be configured the same as the CC on which the SRS-CarrierSwitching parameter is configured. Alternatively, the CC may be implicitly indicated by removing the monitoringCells parameter.For a CC configured with PUSCH, the SRS-CarrierSwitching parameter can be configured on the CC to trigger SRS transmission with a power control state separate from the PUSCH via DCI format 2_3. Furthermore, the srs-SwitchFromServCellIndex and monitoringCells parameters can be configured the same as the CC.

[0124] While the embodiments have been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Where appropriate, the specification and drawings should be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The drawings forming a part of the accompanying drawings show, by way of example and not limitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. The illustrated embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments can be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

[0125] Subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and / or collectively, under the term "embodiments" merely for convenience, and is not intended to spontaneously limit the scope of the present application to any single inventive concept when a plurality is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that any configuration calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments illustrated. The present disclosure is intended to include any and all adaptations or modifications of the various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.

[0126] In this document, as is common in patent documents, the terms "a" or "an" are used to include one or more, independent of any other instance or use of "at least one" or "one or more." In this document, unless otherwise noted, the term "or" is used to refer to a non-exclusive or, and "A or B" includes "A but not B," "B but not A," and "A and B." In this document, the terms "including" and "in" are used as the plain English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein." Also, in the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, i.e., a system, UE, article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements in addition to those recited after such terms in the claim are still deemed to be within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are used merely as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

[0127] The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 CFR §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Moreover, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, the following claims reflect less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. 。 Other possible items [Item 1] An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), comprising: The UE, receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a fifth generation NodeB (gNB), the PDCCH including downlink control information (DCI), the DCI triggering a plurality of aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets in a target component carrier (CC); and transmitting to the gNB an SRS transmission in at least one of the aperiodic SRS resource sets that depends on at least one of a timing between the aperiodic SRS resource sets or a timing between the DCI and each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets. processing circuitry configured to cause a memory configured to store the PDCCH; An apparatus comprising: [Item 2] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to remain on the target CC for the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets regardless of a length of the period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets. [Item 3] The processing circuitry further causes the UE to: determining a time period between a first aperiodic SRS resource set and a second aperiodic SRS resource set; in response to determining that the period is greater than a radio frequency (RF) switching time, switching a first SRS transmission in the first aperiodic SRS resource set to a source CC after transmission on the target CC; and In response to determining that the period is up to the RF switching time, remain on the target CC during transmission of the first SRS transmission and transmission of a second SRS transmission on the second aperiodic SRS resource set on the target CC. 2. The device according to item 1, configured as follows: [Item 4] The processing circuitry further causes the UE to: determining a time period between a first aperiodic SRS resource set and a second aperiodic SRS resource set; in response to determining that the period is greater than a radio frequency (RF) switching time plus a minimum transmission period, switching a first SRS transmission in the first aperiodic SRS resource set to a source CC after transmission on the target CC; and in response to determining that the period is at most the RF switching time plus the minimum transmission period, remain on the target CC during transmission of the first SRS transmission and a transmission of a second SRS transmission on the second aperiodic SRS resource set on the target CC. 2. The apparatus according to item 1, configured to: [Item 5] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to select a CC to use between the target CC and the source CC based on collision handling between each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets in the target CC and a simultaneous transmission in a source CC. [Item 6] 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to select the CC to use further based on a radio frequency (RF) tuning time. [Item 7] The processing circuitry may further include: determining a priority of the aperiodic SRS resource set; and in response to determining that the aperiodic SRS resource set is of high priority, remain on the target CC during a period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets. 7. The apparatus according to item 6, configured as follows: [Item 8] The processing circuitry may further include: determining a priority of the aperiodic SRS resource set; determining a period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets; and and in response to determining that the aperiodic SRS resource set is a high priority and that the time period is less than the RF tuning time, remaining on the target CC for the time period. 7. The apparatus according to item 6, configured to: [Item 9] The processing circuitry may further include: determining a priority of the aperiodic SRS resource set; determining a period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets; and in response to determining that the time period is less than the RF tuning time, for each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets: in response to determining that the aperiodic SRS resource set is a high priority and the simultaneous transmission is a low priority, selecting the target CC to transmit the aperiodic SRS resource set while dropping the simultaneous transmission; and and in response to determining that the aperiodic SRS resource set is of low priority and the simultaneous transmission is of high priority, selecting the source CC to drop the aperiodic SRS resource set and transmit the simultaneous transmission. 7. The apparatus according to item 6, configured to: [Item 10] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to select a CC to use between the target CC and source CC independently for each aperiodic SRS resource set. [Item 11] 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to set a deadline for each aperiodic SRS resource set, the deadline indicating a period before the aperiodic SRS resource set is to receive another DCI to take into account collision handling of the aperiodic SRS resource set based on collisions indicated by the other DCI. [Item 12] The processing circuitry may further include: determining another time period between the end of transmission of an SRS on an earlier one of the aperiodic SRS resource sets and a time until transmission of a higher priority transmission on the source CC; and ignore the other DCI received before the deadline, and in response to determining that the other period is less than a radio frequency (RF) tuning time, remain on the target CC and transmit a later one of the aperiodic SRS resource sets. Item 12. The device according to item 11, configured as follows: [Item 13] The processing circuitry may further include: 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a first DCI receiving a first DCI packet from a second SRS resource set; a second DCI receiving a second DCI packet from a third DCI resource set; a second DCI receiving a second DCI packet from a fourth DCI resource set; [Item 14] The processing circuitry may further include: determining a time period between a first aperiodic SRS resource set and a second aperiodic SRS resource set; in response to determining that the period is greater than a radio frequency (RF) switching time, switching a first SRS transmission in the first aperiodic SRS resource set to the source CC after transmission on the target CC; and In response to determining that the period is at most the RF switching time, remain on the target CC during transmission of the first SRS transmission and transmission of a second SRS transmission on the second aperiodic SRS resource set on the target CC. Item 14. The device according to item 13, configured as follows: [Item 15] In response to receiving downlink control information (DCI) format 2_3, the processing circuitry further instructs the UE to: SRS carrier switching on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) low carrier, and SRS transmission on a carrier along with a PUSCH, the SRS transmission being configured with a separate power control state as the PUSCH. The device according to item 1, wherein the device is configured to determine a trigger according to the DCI format 2_3 between. [Item 16] The processing circuitry further causes the UE to: An indicator that applies to all blocks of said DCI format 2_3, or Separate indicators for each block in DCI format 2_3 16. The device of claim 15, configured to determine the trigger according to the DCI format 2_3 based on one of the above. [Item 17] A device for a fifth generation NodeB (gNB), encoding a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) including downlink control information (DCI) for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the DCI triggering a plurality of aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets in a target component carrier (CC); and decoding, from the UE, an SRS transmission in at least one of the aperiodic SRS resource sets that is dependent on at least one of a timing between the aperiodic SRS resource sets or a timing between the DCI and each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets; processing circuitry configured to perform a memory configured to store the PDCCH; An apparatus comprising: [Item 18] The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the gNB to receive from the UE a transmission from the UE that is dependent on collision handling between simultaneous transmissions from the UE on each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets and a source CC; The receiving of the transmission further comprises: For a time period between aperiodic SRS resource sets that is less than the RF tuning time, for each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets: in response to the aperiodic SRS resource set having a high priority and the simultaneous transmission having a low priority, the aperiodic SRS resource set is received at the target CC; In response to the aperiodic SRS resource set having a low priority and the simultaneous transmission having the high priority, the simultaneous transmission is received at the source CC. Based on the radio frequency (RF) tuning time and the priority of the aperiodic SRS resource set, Item 18. The apparatus according to item 17. [Item 19] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions causing the one or more processors, when executed, to: A procedure for determining a duration between adjacent Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resources on a target component carrier (CC) for transmitting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to a fifth generation NodeB (gNB); and in response to determining that the time period is longer than an RF tuning time, switching a radio frequency (RF) between a target CC and a source CC during the time period, and in response to determining that the time period is shorter than the RF tuning time, remaining on the target CC during the time period. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for configuring the UE to perform the [Item 20] 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the adjacent SRS resources are selected from a group of SRS resources including: both SRS resources are periodic, both SRS resources are semi-persistent, both SRS resources are aperiodic, a first SRS resource is aperiodic and a second SRS resource is periodic, the first SRS resource is aperiodic and the second SRS resource is semi-persistent, or an SRS resource where the first SRS resource is periodic and the second SRS resource is semi-persistent.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), comprising: The UE, receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a fifth generation NodeB (gNB) including downlink control information (DCI), the DCI triggering a plurality of aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets in a target component carrier (CC); and Transmitting to the gNB an SRS transmission in at least one of the aperiodic SRS resource sets that depends on at least one of the timing between the aperiodic SRS resource sets or the timing between the DCI and each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets. a processing circuit configured to cause a memory configured to store the PDCCH; Equipped with The processing circuitry further provides the UE with: determining a time period between a first aperiodic SRS resource set and a second aperiodic SRS resource set; in response to determining that the period is greater than a radio frequency (RF) switching time, causing a first SRS transmission in the first aperiodic SRS resource set to switch to a source CC after transmission on the target CC; and In response to determining that the period is up to the RF switching time, remain on the target CC during transmission of the first SRS transmission and transmission of a second SRS transmission on the second aperiodic SRS resource set on the target CC. The apparatus is configured to:

2. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), comprising: The UE, receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a fifth generation NodeB (gNB) including downlink control information (DCI), the DCI triggering a plurality of aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets in a target component carrier (CC); and Transmitting to the gNB an SRS transmission in at least one of the aperiodic SRS resource sets that depends on at least one of the timing between the aperiodic SRS resource sets or the timing between the DCI and each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets. a processing circuit configured to cause a memory configured to store the PDCCH; Equipped with The processing circuitry further provides the UE with: determining a time period between a first aperiodic SRS resource set and a second aperiodic SRS resource set; in response to determining that the period is greater than a radio frequency (RF) switching time plus a minimum transmission period, causing a first SRS transmission in the first aperiodic SRS resource set to switch to a source CC after transmission on the target CC; and In response to determining that the period is a maximum of the RF switching time plus the minimum transmission period, remain on the target CC during transmission of the first SRS transmission and a transmission of a second SRS transmission on the second aperiodic SRS resource set on the target CC. The apparatus is configured to:

3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to select a CC to use between the target CC and a source CC based on collision handling between simultaneous transmissions of each of the aperiodic SRS resource sets in the target CC and the source CC.

4. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to select the CC to use further based on a radio frequency (RF) tuning time.

5. The processing circuitry further controls the UE to: determining a priority of the aperiodic SRS resource set; determining a period between the aperiodic SRS resource sets; and and in response to determining that the aperiodic SRS resource set is a high priority and that the period is less than the RF tuning time, remaining on the target CC for the period. The apparatus of claim 4 configured to:

6. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to select a CC to use between the target CC and source CCs independently for each aperiodic SRS resource set.

7. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to set a deadline for each aperiodic SRS resource set, the deadline indicating a time period before the aperiodic SRS resource set is to receive another DCI to take into account collision handling of the aperiodic SRS resource set based on collisions indicated by the other DCI.

8. The processing circuitry further controls the UE to:

7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising: a DCI receiving a DCI signal from a base station that receives ...

9. The processing circuitry further controls the UE to: determining a time period between a first aperiodic SRS resource set and a second aperiodic SRS resource set; in response to determining that the period is greater than a radio frequency (RF) switching time, switching a first SRS transmission in the first aperiodic SRS resource set to the source CC after transmission on the target CC; and In response to determining that the period is at most the RF switching time, causing the first SRS transmission and the second SRS transmission on the second aperiodic SRS resource set to remain on the target CC during transmission on the target CC. The apparatus of claim 8 , configured to:

10. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein in response to receiving downlink control information (DCI) format 2_3 of the DCI, the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to determine whether the DCI format 2_3 of the DCI is used to trigger SRS carrier switching on a carrier without a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or to trigger SRS transmission on a carrier with a PUSCH, where the SRS transmission is configured in a separate power control state as the PUSCH.

11. The processing circuitry further provides the UE with: An indicator that applies to all blocks of the DCI format 2_3; or A separate indicator for each block in the DCI format 2_3 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further configured to determine whether the DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger an SRS carrier switching on a carrier without the PUSCH or to trigger an SRS transmission on a carrier with the PUSCH based on one of:

12. To one or more processors of a user equipment (UE): A procedure for determining a period between adjacent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources in a target component carrier (CC) for transmitting SRS to a fifth generation NodeB (gNB); and in response to determining that the time period is longer than an RF tuning time, switching a radio frequency (RF) between a target CC and a source CC during the time period, and in response to determining that the time period is shorter than the RF tuning time, remaining on the target CC during the time period. A computer program for executing the above.

13. 13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the adjacent SRS resources are selected from a group of SRS resources including: both SRS resources are periodic, both SRS resources are semi-persistent, both SRS resources are aperiodic, a first SRS resource is aperiodic and a second SRS resource is periodic, the first SRS resource is aperiodic and the second SRS resource is semi-persistent, or the first SRS resource is periodic and the second SRS resource is semi-persistent.

14. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program according to claim 12 or 13.

Images