APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ENHANCED MULTI-BEAM OPERATION IN WIRELESS NETWORKS - Patent application

Abstract

A method for selecting an uplink beam includes a step of a user equipment (UE) receiving one or more messages including configuration parameters of a reference signal associated with a plurality of downlink beams including a first downlink beam, a decision step of determining a plurality of uplink beams associated with the first downlink beam based on a beam sweeping process including measurements of the reference signal, a decision step of determining a first subset of uplink beams of the plurality of uplink beams that meets maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits and is not affected by link impairments, a transmission step of transmitting a configuration message including configuration parameters of the first subset of uplink beams to a base station (BS), and a transmission step of transmitting uplink data or control information using one or more beams of the first subset of uplink beams.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 162,848, filed on March 18, 2021 (the "Provisional Application"), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention is directed to 5G, the fifth generation mobile network. It is the new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables networks designed to connect machines, objects, and devices.

[0003] The present invention more specifically relates to uplink beam selection, for example, one embodiment of the present invention relies on a beam sweeping process that includes measurements of reference signals to identify multiple uplink beams associated with a first downlink beam that meets Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) limits and is not subject to link impairments. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for providing a configuration message to a base station (BS) comprising: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), one or more messages including configuration parameters of a reference signal associated with a plurality of downlink beams including a first downlink beam; a first determination step of determining a plurality of uplink beams associated with the first downlink beam based on a beam sweeping process including measurements of the reference signal; a second determination step of determining a first subset of uplink beams of the plurality of uplink beams that meets a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit and is not subject to link impairments; and a first transmission step of transmitting a configuration message including configuration parameters of the first subset of uplink beams to a base station (BS). , thisand a second transmitting step of transmitting uplink data or control information using one or more beams of the first subset of uplink beams.

[0005] The reference signal may embody one or more of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The configuration parameters of the first subset of uplink beams may embody one or more of a CSI resource indicator (CSI-RI) and an SSB resource indicator (SSB-RI). The first determining step includes determining a plurality of uplink beams based on an uplink-downlink beam correspondence, and determining a plurality of uplink beams based on the uplink-downlink beam correspondence. 1. The second determining step of determining the subset preferably embodies a step of measuring the power of a plurality of uplink beams and comparing the measured power of the plurality of uplink beams with corresponding thresholds.

[0006] The present invention may further include a step of determining a back-off power of the powers of a plurality of uplink beams, and a step of determining the first subset of uplink beams when the back-off power of the first subset of uplink beams is less than a corresponding threshold. Preferably, the user equipment (UE) relies on a sensor for detecting a human body. Also, the second step of determining the first subset of uplink beams may include a step of determining a second subset of uplink beams toward the human body sensor, and a step of determining the first subset of uplink beams by excluding the second subset of uplink beams. The second step of determining the first subset of uplink beams may include a step of identifying beams that meet a particular power spectral density (PSD). The method may also include a receiving step of receiving downlink feedback from a base station (BS) indicating a channel quality of the first subset of uplink beams. In this case, the feedback instructs the user equipment (UE) to determine a third subset of uplink beams, or a plurality of uplink beams.

[0007] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for beam management, comprising the steps of: a base station (BS) transmitting one or more messages including configuration parameters of reference signals associated with a plurality of downlink beams; receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) defining configuration parameters associated with a first plurality of uplink beams; determining a first subset of uplink beams from the first plurality of uplink beams; and transmitting a message to the UE defining configuration parameters of reference signals associated with the first subset of uplink beams.

[0008] The reference signal may include one or more of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The configuration parameters associated with the first plurality of uplink beams include one or more of a CSI resource indicator (CSI-RI) and an SSB resource indicator (SSB-RI). The step of determining the first subset of uplink beams preferably includes a step of determining channel quality of uplink beams in the first plurality of uplink beams. In that regard, the present invention may include a step of transmitting an indication message to a user equipment (UE) for determining a second subset of uplink beams from the first plurality of uplink beams when the uplink beams of the first subset include at most zero uplink beams. The step of determining the channel quality of the uplink beams may be based on a decoding capability of a base station (BS) for the uplink beams.

[0009] In one embodiment, the present invention includes receiving one or more messages including configuration parameters of a reference signal associated with a plurality of downlink beams including a first downlink beam, and transmitting one or more uplink beams of a first plurality of uplink beams to the plurality of downlink beams. In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) is provided that includes a transceiver that transmits uplink data or control information using a beam sweeping method and transmits a message to a base station (BS) defining a first plurality of uplink beams; and a processor in communication with the transceiver that determines a second plurality of uplink beams associated with the first downlink beam based on a beam sweeping process that includes measurements of a reference signal, and determines a first plurality of uplink beams of the multiple uplink beams that meet maximum tolerated exposure (MPE) limits and are not subject to link impairments.

[0010] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a base station (BS) including a transceiver that transmits one or more messages including configuration parameters of reference signals associated with a plurality of downlink beams, receives a message from a user equipment (UE) defining configuration parameters associated with a first plurality of uplink beams, and transmits a message to the UE defining configuration parameters related to a second plurality of uplink beams, and a processor in communication with the transceiver that determines a second plurality of uplink beams from the first plurality of uplink beams.

[0011] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for controlling a user equipment (UE) to receive one or more messages that, when processed by a computer processor in the UE, include: controlling the UE to receive one or more messages that include configuration parameters of a reference signal associated with a plurality of downlink beams including a first downlink beam; controlling the UE to determine a plurality of uplink beams associated with the first downlink beam based on a beam sweeping process that includes measurements of the reference signal; controlling the UE to determine a first subset of uplink beams of the plurality of uplink beams that meet a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit and are not subject to link impairments; and controlling the UE to determine a configuration parameter of the first subset of uplink beams. Configuration including A non-transitory computer readable medium having program code recorded thereon is provided for controlling a UE to transmit a message to a base station and for controlling the UE to transmit uplink data or control information using one or more beams of a first subset of uplink beams. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communication system in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a user plane radio protocol stack in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a radio protocol stack for a control plane in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a mapping between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of mapping between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a radio protocol stack for NR sidelink communication in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of physical signals in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of Radio Resource Control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 illustrates an example frame structure and physical resources in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a configuration of component carriers in different carrier aggregation scenarios in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] A diagram showing an example of Bandwidth Part configuration and switching in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a four-step contention-based random access and non-contention-based random access process in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a two-step contention-based random access and non-contention-based random access process in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an SSB burst transmission according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of a beam management procedure used in conjunction with beam sweeping at the TRP / BS and / or UE side in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless system architecture utilizing an enhanced beam management procedure in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless system architecture utilizing an enhanced beam management procedure in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] 1 illustrates an example of time and frequency resource allocation for an UL beam in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a user equipment (UE) device in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is an example block diagram of a base station in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 21] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for uplink (UL) beam reporting from a UE to a base station in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 22]FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a method for a base station to perform a beam management process in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communication system 100 according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The mobile communication system 100 may be operated by a wireless communication system operator, such as a Mobile Network Operator (MNO), a private network operator, a Multi-System Operator (MSO), an Internet of Things (IOT) network operator, etc., and may provide services such as voice, data (e.g., wireless Internet access), messaging, vehicular communication services such as Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communication services, safety services, mission-critical services, and services in residential, commercial, or industrial environments such as IoT, Industrial IOT (IIOT), etc.

[0014] The mobile communication system 100 can enable various types of applications having different requirements with respect to latency, reliability, throughput, etc. Examples of supported applications include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC). eMBB supports high peak data rates as well as moderate rates for cell edge users. URLLC can support stable connections even at low latency. URLLC can support applications with stringent requirements on latency and reliability and moderate requirements on data rates. Examples of mMTC applications include networks of vast numbers of IoT devices that are sporadically active and transmit small data payloads.

[0015] The mobile communication system 100 may include a Radio Access Network (RAN) portion and a core network portion. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 105 and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 110 are shown as examples of a RAN and a core network, respectively. Other examples of a RAN and a core network may be implemented without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other examples of a RAN include an Evolved Universal Terrestrial RAN (EUTRAN), a Universal Terrestrial RAN ( ... Examples of core networks include the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRAN), the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), and the UMTS Core Network (UCN). The RAN implements a radio access technology (RAT) and resides between the user equipment (UE) 125 and the core network. Examples of such RATs include New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), also known as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA), and the UMTS Core Network (UCN). Examples of the RAT include LTE (LTE Evolution), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), etc. An example RAT of the mobile communication system 100 may be NR. The core network exists between the RAN and one or more external networks (e.g., data networks) and is responsible for functions such as mobility management, authentication, session management, bearer setup, and application of different Quality of Service (QoS). The functional layer between the UE 125 and the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 105) may be referred to as an Access Stratum (AS), and the functional layer between the UE 125 and the core network (e.g., 5GC 110) may be referred to as a Non-access Stratum (NAS).

[0016] The UE 125 may include wireless transmission and reception means for communicating with one or more nodes in the RAN, one or more relay nodes, or one or more other UEs, etc. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers, wireless transmitting and / or receiving units in vehicles, V2X or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) devices, wireless sensors, IoT devices, IIOT devices, etc. Other names may be used for UEs, such as mobile station (MS), terminal equipment, terminal node, client device, mobile device, etc.

[0017] The RAN may include nodes (e.g., base stations) for communicating with UEs. For example, the NG-RAN 105 of the mobile communication system 100 may include nodes for communicating with the UE 125. For example, different names may be used for the RAN nodes depending on the RAT used in the RAN. In a RAN using the UMTS RAT, the RAN node may be referred to as a Node B (NB). In a RAN using the LTE / EUTRA RAT, the RAN node may be referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB). In the example of the mobile communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1, the node of the NG-RAN 105 may be either a next generation Node B (gNB) 115 or a next generation evolved Node B (ng-eNB) 120. In this specification, the terms base station, RAN node, gNB, and ng-eNB may be used interchangeably. The gNB 115 may provide the NR user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE 125. The ng-eNB 120 may provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol termination for the UE 125. The interface between the UE 125 and the base station 115 may be referred to as a Uu interface. The Uu interface may be established using a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. For the Uu interface, the direction from the base station (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) to the UE 125 may be referred to as a downlink, and the direction from the UE 125 to the base station (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) may be referred to as an uplink.

[0018] The gNB 115 and the ng-eNB 120 may be interconnected using an Xn interface. The Xn interface may include an Xn User Plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn Control Plane (Xn-C) interface. The transport network layer of the Xn-U interface may be built on Internet Protocol (IP) transmission, and GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) may be used on User Datagram Protocol (UDP) / IP to carry user plane protocol data units (PDUs). Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and may support data forwarding and flow control. The transport network layer of the Xn-C interface may be built on Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) on IP. The application layer signaling protocol may be referred to as Xn Application Protocol (XnAP). The SCTP layer may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. At the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission may be used to deliver the signaling PDUs. The Xn-C interface can support Xn interface management, UE mobility management including context transfer and RAN paging, and dual connectivity.

[0019] The gNB 115 and ng-eNB 120 support 5GC over the NG interface. 110. More specifically, it may be connected to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 130 of the 5GC 110 by an NG-C interface and to the User Plane Function (UPF) 135 of the 5GC 110 by an NG-U interface. The transport network layer of the NG-U interface may be built on IP transport and may carry user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN nodes (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) and the UPF 135 using the GTP protocol over UDP / IP. The NG-U may provide unguaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN nodes and the UPF. The transport network layer of the NG-C interface may be built on IP transport. SCTP may be added on top of IP for reliable transmission of signaling messages. The application layer signaling protocol may be referred to as NG Application Protocol (NGAP). The SCTP layer may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. Transport IP Layer In, point-to-point transmission may be used to deliver signaling PDUs. The NG-C interface can provide the following functions: NG interface management, UE context management, UE mobility management, forwarding of NAS messages, paging, PDU session management, configuration forwarding, and alert message transmission.

[0020] The gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120 may perform the following functions: radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, radio resource management functions such as dynamic allocation of resources (e.g., scheduling) to UEs in both uplink and downlink, IP and Ethernet header compression, data encryption and integrity protection. , selection of an AMF at UE attachment when routing to the AMF cannot be determined based on information provided by the UE, routing of user plane data to the UPF, routing of control plane information to the AMF, connection setup and release, scheduling and transmission of paging messages, scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (e.g., originating from the AMF), configuration of measurements and measurement reports for mobility and scheduling, transport level packet marking in the uplink, session management, support for network slicing, QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers, support for UEs in RRC inactive state, delivery function of NAS messages, radio access network sharing, dual connectivity, close interaction between NR and E-UTRA, and maintaining security and radio configuration for user plane 5G system (5GS) Cellular IoT (CIoT) optimization.

[0021] The AMF 130 may be responsible for one or more of the following functions: NAS signaling termination, NAS signaling security, AS security control, CN inter-node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks, idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmissions), registration area management, support for intra-system and inter-system mobility, access authentication, access authorization including verification of roaming rights, mobility management control (subscription and policy), support for network slicing, Session Management Function (SMF) selection, and selection of 5GS CIoT optimization.

[0022] The UPF 135 may be responsible for one or more of the following functions: anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (if applicable); external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network; packet routing and forwarding; packet inspection and application of the user plane part of policy rules; traffic usage reporting; uplink classifier supporting routing of traffic flows to the data network; branching point to support multi-homed PDU sessions; QoS operations for the user plane, e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement, uplink traffic validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS Flow mapping); and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, the NG-RAN 105 may support a PC5 interface between two UEs 125 (e.g., UE 125A and UE 125B). In the PC5 interface, the direction of communication between the two UEs (e.g., from UE 125A to UE 125B or vice versa) is called the sidelink. Transmission and reception on the sidelink over the PC5 interface occurs when the UE 125 is within the coverage of the NG-RAN 105 and when the UE 125 is in a RRC state. 125 is outside the coverage of the NG-RAN 105. Support for V2X services over the PC5 interface is provided by NR sidelink communication and / or V2X sidelink communication.

[0024] PC5-S signaling is used for unicast link establishment using direct communication request / accept messages. The UE self-assigns the source Layer-2 ID of the PC5 unicast link, e.g. based on the V2X service type. During the unicast link establishment procedure, the UE sends its own source Layer-2 ID of the PC5 unicast link to a peer UE, e.g. the UE that received the destination ID from higher layers. The source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID pair can uniquely identify a unicast link. The receiving UE verifies that the destination ID belongs to it and accepts the sender UE’s request. E accepts a unicast link establishment request from E. During the PC5 unicast link establishment procedure, PC5-RRC procedures on the Access Stratum are invoked for UE sidelink context establishment as well as for AS layer configuration, capability exchange etc. PC5-RRC signalling allows for the exchange of UE capabilities and AS layer configuration such as sidelink radio bearer configuration between a pair of UEs with an established PC5 unicast link.

[0025] NR sidelink communication can support one of three types of transmission modes (e.g., unicast transmission, groupcast transmission, and broadcast transmission) for a pair of source Layer 2 ID and destination Layer 2 ID in an AS. The unicast transmission mode is characterized by the support of one PC5-RRC connection between peer UEs for the pair, the transmission and reception of control information and user traffic between peer UEs in the sidelink, the support of sidelink HARQ feedback, the support of sidelink transmit power control, the support of RLC acknowledged mode (AM), and the detection of radio link failure for the PC5-RRC connection. The groupcast transmission is characterized by the transmission and reception of user traffic between UEs belonging to a group in the sidelink, and the support of sidelink HARQ feedback. The broadcast transmission is characterized by the transmission and reception of user traffic between UEs in the sidelink.

[0026] For NR sidelink communications, the source Layer-2 ID, destination Layer-2 ID, and PC5 link identifier are used. The source Layer-2 ID is the identifier used in the sidelink communication frame. Send out The Destination Layer 2 ID may be a link layer identity that identifies a device or a group of devices. Is a recipient ofThe source Layer-2 ID may be a link layer identification that identifies the device. In some examples, the source Layer-2 ID and the destination Layer-2 ID may be assigned by a management function in the core network. The source Layer-2 ID can identify the source of the data in the NR sidelink communication. The source Layer-2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split into two bit strings at the MAC layer. One bit string may be the LSB portion (8 bits) of the source Layer-2 ID and may be forwarded to the sender's physical layer. This can identify the source of the intended data in the sidelink control information and can be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer. The second bit string may be the MSB portion (16 bits) of the source Layer-2 ID and may be carried in a Media Access Control (MAC) header. This can be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The destination Layer-2 ID can identify the target of the data in the NR sidelink communication. For NR sidelink communication, the destination Layer-2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split into two bit strings at the MAC layer. One bit string may be the LSB part (16 bits) of the destination Layer 2 ID and may be forwarded to the sender's physical layer. This may identify the target of the intended data in the sidelink control information and may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer. The second bit string may be the MSB part (8 bits) of the destination Layer 2 ID and may be carried in the MAC header. This may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The PC5 link identifier may uniquely identify a PC5 unicast link in the UE for the lifetime of the PC5 unicast link. The PC5 link identifier is used to indicate the PC5 unicast link for which a sidelink Radio Link Failure (RLF) declaration has been made and the PC5-RRC connection has been released.

[0027] 2A and 2B illustrate example user and control plane radio protocol stacks, respectively, in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the Uu interface (between the UE 125 and the gNB 115) The user plane protocol stack of the interface includes Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) 201 and SDAP 211, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) 202 and PDCP 212, Radio Link Control (RLC) 203 and RLC 213, MAC 204 and MAC 214, sublayers of Layer 2, and Physical (PHY) 205 and PHY 215 layers (Layer 1 is also referred to as L1).

[0028] The PHY 205 and PHY 215 provide transport channels 244 to the MAC 204 and MAC 214 sublayers. The MAC 204 and MAC 214 sublayers provide logical channels 243 to the RLC 203 and RLC 213 sublayers. The RLC 203 and RLC 213 sublayers provide RLC channels 242 to the PDCP 202 and PCP 212 sublayers. The PDCP 202 and PDCP 212 sublayers provide radio bearers 241 to the SDAP 201 and SDAP 211 sublayers. The radio bearers may be classified into two groups: Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) for user plane data and Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) for control plane data. The SDAP 201 and SDAP 211 sublayers provide QoS flows 240 to the 5GC.

[0029] The main services and functions of the MAC 204 or MAC 214 sublayer are mapping between logical channels and transport channels, one or MultipleMultiplexing / demultiplexing of MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) belonging to different logical channels to / from Transport Blocks (TBs) passed to / from the physical layer on transport channels, reporting of scheduling information, error correction with Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) (one HARQ entity per cell in case of Carrier Aggregation (CA)), priority handling between UEs with dynamic scheduling, priority handling between logical channels of one UE with Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP), priority handling between overlapped resources of one UE, and padding. A single MAC entity may support multiple numerologies, transmission timings, and cells. Mapping restrictions in logical channel prioritization that control which numerologies, cells, and transmission timings a logical channel can use.

[0030] The HARQ function can ensure delivery between peer entities at Layer 1. If the physical layer is not configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process can support one TB, and if the physical layer is configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process can support one or multiple TBs.

[0031] The RLC 203 or RLC 213 sublayer can support three transmission modes: Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC configuration may be per logical channel independent of the numerology and / or transmission time, and the Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) may operate with any of the numerologies and / or transmission times for which the logical channel is configured.

[0032] The main services and functions of the RLC 203 or RLC 213 sublayer depend on the transmission mode (e.g. TM, UM or AM) and include: transport of higher layer PDUs, sequence numbering independent of the PDCP sequence number (UM and AM), error correction through ARQ (AM only), segmentation (AM and UM) and resegmentation (AM only) of RLC SDUs, reassembly of SDUs (AM and UM), duplicate detection (AM only). , discarding of RLC SDUs (AM and UM), RLC re-establishment, and protocol error detection (AM only).

[0033] The automatic repeat request in the RLC 203 or RLC 213 sublayer has the following properties: ARQ retransmits RLC SDUs or RLC SDU segments based on an RLC status report. Polling for RLC status reports may be used if required by RLC, and the RLC receiver may also trigger an RLC status report after detecting a missing RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment.

[0034] The main services and functions of the PDCP 202 or PDCP 212 sublayer include forwarding of data (user plane or control plane), maintenance of the PDCP sequence number (SN), header compression and decompression using the Robust Header Compression (ROHC) protocol, header compression and decompression using the EHC protocol, encryption and decryption, integrity protection and integrity verification, timer-based SDU discard, split bearer routing, duplication, reordering and in-order delivery, out-of-order delivery, and duplicate discarding.

[0035] The main services and functions of the SDAP 201 or SDAP 211 include mapping between QoS flows and data radio bearers, and marking both downlink and uplink packets with a QoS Flow ID (QFI). A single protocol entity of the SDAP may be configured for each individual PDU session.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2B, the control plane protocol stack of the Uu interface (between the UE 125 and the gNB 115) includes the PHY layer (Layer 1), the MAC, RLC and PDCP sublayers of Layer 2, and further the RRC 206 and RRC 216 sublayers, as described above. The main services and functions of the RRC 206 and RRC 216 sublayers on the Uu interface include broadcast of AS and NAS related system information, paging initiated by 5GC or NG-RAN, establishment, maintenance and release of RRC connection between UE and NG-RAN (including adding, modifying and releasing carrier aggregation and adding, modifying and releasing dual connectivity in NR or between E-UTRA and NR), security functions including key management, establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of SRBs and DRBs, mobility functions (including handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection and reselection, and inter-RAT mobility), QoS management functions, control of UE measurement reports and reports, detection and recovery of radio link failures, and forwarding of NAS messages between NAS and UE. The NAS 207 and NAS 227 layers are control protocols (terminated in the AMF on the network side) that perform functions such as authentication, mobility management, security control, etc.

[0037] Sidelink specific services and functions of the RRC sublayer over the Uu interface include configuration of sidelink resource allocation via system information or dedicated signaling, reporting of UE sidelink information, configuration and reporting of sidelink related measurements, and reporting of UE assistance information of SL traffic patterns.

[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of mapping between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Different types of data transfer services may be provided by the MAC. Each logical channel type may be defined according to what type of information is transferred. The logical channels are divided into two groups: control channels and traffic channels. A control channel may be classified into three types. A control channel is used only for the transfer of control plane information. A broadcast control channel (BCCH) is a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. A paging control channel (PCCH) is a downlink channel that carries paging messages. A common control channel (CCCH) is a channel for transmitting control information between a UE and a network. This channel may be used for UEs that do not have an RRC connection with the network. A dedicated control channel (DCCH) is a point-to-point bidirectional channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and a network and is used by UEs that have an RRC connection. A traffic channel is used only for the transfer of user plane information. A dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point channel dedicated to one UE for transferring user information. A DTCH can exist in both uplink and downlink. A sidelink control channel (SCCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting control information (e.g., PC5-RRC and PC5-S messages) from one UE to another UE. A Sidelink Traffic Channel (STCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting user information from one UE to other UEs. A Sidelink Broadcast Control Channel (SBCCH) is a sidelink channel for broadcasting sidelink system information from one UE to other UEs.

[0039] Downlink transport channel types include the Broadcast Channel (BCH), the Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH), and the Paging Channel (PCH). The BCH is characterized by a fixed, predefined transport format and the requirement to be broadcast throughout the coverage area of ​​a cell, either as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances. The DL-SCH is characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmit power, the possibility of being broadcast throughout the cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation, and support for discontinuous reception (DRX) of the UE to enable UE power saving. 。P The CH is characterized by support for UE Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving (DRX cycle is indicated to the UE by the network), the requirement to be broadcast throughout the coverage area of ​​a cell either as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances, and being mapped to physical resources that can also be dynamically used for traffic / other control channels.

[0040] In the downlink, the following connections exist between logical channels and transport channels: BCCH may be mapped to BCH. BCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH. PCCH may be mapped to PCH. CCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH. DCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH. DTCH may be mapped to DL-SCH.

[0041] Types of uplink transport channels include the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) and the random access channel (RACH). The UL-SCH is characterized by the possibility of using beamforming, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying transmit power and potentially modulation and coding, support for HARQ, and support for both dynamic and quasi-static resource allocation. The RACH is characterized by limited control information and collision risk.

[0042] In the uplink, the following connections exist between logical channels and transport channels: CCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, DCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, DTCH may be mapped to UL-SCH.

[0043] Sidelink transport channel types include the Sidelink Broadcast Channel (SL-BCH) and the Sidelink Shared Channel (SL-SCH). The SL-BCH is characterized by a predefined transport format. The SL-SCH is characterized by supporting unicast, groupcast and broadcast transmissions, supporting both UE autonomous resource selection and scheduled resource allocation by the NG-RAN, supporting both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation when the UE is assigned resources by the NG-RAN, supporting HARQ, and supporting dynamic link adaptation by varying transmit power, modulation and coding.

[0044] In the sidelink, the following connections exist between logical channels and transport channels: SCCH is mapped to SL-SCH, STCH is mapped to SL-SCH, and SBCCH is mapped to SL-BCH.

[0045] 4 illustrates an example of mapping between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The physical channels in the downlink include a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The PCH and DL-SCH transport channels are mapped to the PDSCH. The BCH transport channel is mapped to the PBCH. No transport channels are mapped to the PDCCH, but downlink control information (DCI) is transmitted via the PDCCH.

[0046] The physical channels in the uplink include the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). The UL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PUSCH, and the RACH transport channel may be mapped to the PRACH. No transport channel is mapped to the PUCCH, but uplink control information (UCI) is transmitted via the PUCCH.

[0047] The physical channels of the sidelink include the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), the physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), and the physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH). The physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) indicates the resources and other transmission parameters used by the UE for the PSSCH. The physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmits TBs of the data itself and control information such as HARQ procedures and CSI feedback triggers. At least six OFDM symbols in one slot are used for PSSCH transmission. The physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) can carry HARQ feedback over the sidelink from the UE that is the intended recipient of the PSSCH transmission to the UE that performed the transmission. The PSFCH sequence may be transmitted in one PRB that is repeated across two OFDM symbols near the end of the sidelink resources in the slot. The SL-SCH transport channel is mapped to the PSSCH. The SL-BCH is mapped to the PSBCH. The transport channels are not mapped to the PSFCH, but the sidelink feedback control information (SFCI) is mapped to the PSFCH. The transport channels are not mapped to the PSCCH, but the sidelink control information (SCI) is mapped to the PSCCH.

[0048] FIG. 5 illustrates an NR sub-routine in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 5 shows an example of a radio protocol stack for ID link communication. The AS protocol stack of the user plane in the PC5 interface (i.e., in the case of STCH) consists of SDAP, PDCP, RLC and MAC sublayers, and a physical layer. In FIG. 5(A), the protocol stack of the user plane is shown. The AS protocol stack of the SBCCH in the PC5 interface consists of RRC, RLC, MAC sublayers, and a physical layer, as shown below in FIG. 5(B). To support the PC5-S protocol, PC5-S is placed above the PDCP, RLC and MAC sublayers, and a physical layer in the control plane protocol stack for SCCH for PC5-S, as shown in FIG. 5(C). The AS protocol stack of the control plane for SCCH for RRC in the PC5 interface consists of RRC, PDCP, RLC and MAC sublayers, and a physical layer. In FIG. 5(D), the protocol stack of the control plane for SCCH for RRC is shown.

[0049] Sidelink Radio Bearers (SLRBs) can be classified into two groups: Sidelink Data Radio Bearers (SL DRBs) for user plane data and Sidelink Signalling Radio Bearers (SL SRBs) for control plane data. Separate SL SRBs using different SCCHs are configured for PC5-RRC and PC5-S signalling, respectively.

[0050] The MAC sublayer can provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: radio resource selection, packet filtering, priority handling between uplink and sidelink transmissions for a given UE, and sidelink CSI reporting. Due to the restriction of logical channel prioritization in the MAC, only sidelink logical channels belonging to the same destination are multiplexed into the MAC PDU for each unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmission associated with the destination. For packet filtering, a SL-SCH MAC header containing both source and destination Layer-2 ID parts is added to the MAC PDU. The logical channel identifier (LCID) contained within the MAC subheader can uniquely identify a logical channel within the combination of source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID.

[0051] The services and functions of the RLC sublayer may be supported for the sidelink. Both RLC unacknowledged mode (UM) and acknowledged mode (AM) may be used for unicast transmission, while only UM may be used for groupcast or broadcast transmission. For UM, only one-way transmission of groupcast and broadcast is supported.

[0052] The services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the Uu interface are supported for the sidelink with some restrictions: out-of-order delivery is supported only for unicast transmission and duplication over the PC5 interface may not be supported.

[0053] The SDAP sublayer can provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: mapping between QoS flows and sidelink data radio bearers: There is one SDAP entity per destination for one of unicast, groupcast and broadcast associated with the destination.

[0054] The RRC sublayer provides the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: forwarding PC5-RRC messages between peer UEs, maintaining and releasing the PC5-RRC connection between two UEs, and forwarding the PC5-RRC messages based on instructions from MAC or RLC. A PC5-RRC connection may provide detection of sidelink radio link failure for a connection. A PC5-RRC connection is a logical connection between two UEs for a pair of source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID that is expected to be established after the corresponding PC5 unicast link is established. There is a one-to-one correspondence between PC5-RRC connections and PC5 unicast links. A UE may have multiple PC5-RRC connections with one or more UEs for different pairs of source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID. Separate PC5-RRC procedures and messages are used for a UE to transfer UE capabilities and sidelink configurations, including SL-DRB configuration, to a peer UE. Both peer UEs may exchange their UE capabilities and sidelink configurations using separate bidirectional procedures in both directions of the sidelink.

[0055] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of physical signals in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Demodulation reference signals (DM-RS) are used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and are used for channel estimation. DM-RS is a UE-specific reference signal that is transmitted with the downlink, uplink, or sidelink physical channel and is used for channel estimation and coherent detection of the physical channel. Phase tracking reference signals (PT-RS) are used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and are used to track phase and mitigate performance loss due to phase noise. PT-RS is mainly used to estimate and minimize the impact of common phase error (CPE) on system performance. Due to phase noise characteristics, PT-RS signals have low density in the frequency domain and high density in the time domain. PT-RS occurs when the network configures PT-RS to exist in combination with DM-RS. Positioning reference signals (PRS) may be used in the downlink for positioning using different positioning techniques. The PRS is used to measure the delay of the downlink transmission by correlating the received signal from the base station with a local replica in the receiver. The Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) is used in the downlink and sidelink. The CSI-RS is used, among other things, for channel state estimation, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement for mobility and beam management, and time / frequency tracking for demodulation. The CSI-RS may be configured UE-specific, but multiple users may share the same CSI-RS resource. The UE determines the CSI reports and transmits these in the uplink to the base station using the PUCCH or PUSCH. The CSI reports may be carried in the sidelink MAC CE. The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) are used for radio frame synchronization. The PSS and SSS are used for cell search procedures during initial attach or for mobility purposes.A Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) is used in the uplink for uplink channel estimation. Similar to CSI-RS, the SRS serves as a QCL reference for other physical channels, which may be configured to be transmitted quasi-colocated with the SRS. Sidelink PSS (S-PSS) and Sidelink SSS (S-SSS) are used in the sidelink for sidelink synchronization.

[0056] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of Radio Resource Control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE is in one of three RRC states: RRC connected state 710, RRC idle state 720, and RRC inactive state 730. After powering on, the UE is in the RRC idle state 720, and the UE establishes a connection with the network via an RRC connection establishment procedure using initial access to perform data transfer and / or voice calls. Once the RRC connection is established, the UE is in the RRC connected state 710. The UE can transition from the RRC idle state 720 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection establishment / release procedure 740. Cut.

[0057] The RRC inactive state 730 is used to reduce the signaling load and latency caused by frequent transitions from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 when the UE frequently transmits small data. In the RRC inactive state 730, the AS context is stored by both the UE and the gNB. This results in a faster state transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710. The UE transitions from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC inactive state 730 using an RRC connection resume / deactivation procedure 760. The UE transitions from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection release procedure 750.

[0058] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a frame structure and physical resources according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Downlink, uplink, or sidelink transmissions are made by frames with a time length of 10 ms that contain ten 1 ms subframes. Each subframe contains 1, 2, 4, ... slots, and the number of slots per subframe depends on the subcarrier spacing of the carrier on which the transmission takes place. The time length of a slot can be 14 symbols with a normal cyclic prefix (CP) or 12 symbols with an extended CP, and varies in time depending on the subcarrier spacing used so that the number of slots in a subframe is an integer. FIG. 8 illustrates a resource grid in the time and frequency domain. Each element of the resource grid that contains one symbol in time and one subcarrier in frequency is called a resource element (RE). A resource block (RB) may be defined as 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

[0059] In some examples, with non-slot-based scheduling, the transmission of a packet occurs over a portion of a slot, e.g., 2, 4, or 7 OFDM symbols, also called a minislot. Minislots are used for low-latency applications such as URLLC and operation in unlicensed bands. In some embodiments, minislots may also be used for fast flexible scheduling of services (e.g., preemption of URLLC for eMBB).

[0060] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of component carrier configurations in different carrier aggregation scenarios according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In carrier aggregation (CA), two or more component carriers (CCs) may be aggregated. A UE can simultaneously receive or transmit on one or more CCs depending on its capabilities. CA is supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs in the same band or different bands as illustrated in FIG. 9. The gNB and the UE can communicate using a serving cell. The serving cell is associated with at least one downlink CC (e.g., may be associated with only one downlink CC or may be associated with a downlink CC and an uplink CC). The serving cell is a Primary Cell (PCell) or a Secondary Cell (SCell).

[0061] The UE can adjust the timing of its uplink transmission using an uplink timing control procedure. A timing advance (TA) can be used to adjust the uplink frame timing relative to the downlink frame timing. The gNB can determine a desired timing advance setting and provide it to the UE. The UE can use the provided TA to determine its uplink transmit timing relative to the UE's observed downlink receive timing.

[0062] In the RRC connected state, the gNB is responsible for maintaining the timing advance to keep L1 synchronized. Serving cells with uplinks to which the same timing advance applies and using the same timing reference cell are grouped into a Timing Advance Group (TAG). A TAG contains at least one serving cell with a configured uplink. The mapping of serving cells to TAGs is set by RRC. For a primary TAG, the UE uses the PCell as the timing reference cell, except for shared spectrum channel access where in some cases a SCell may also be used as the timing reference cell. For a secondary TAG, the UE can use any of the activated SCells of this TAG as the timing reference cell and does not have to change this unless necessary.

[0063] Timing advance updates may be signaled from the gNB to the UE via a MAC CE command. Such a command may restart a TAG-specific timer indicating whether L1 can be synchronized or not; when the timer is running, L1 is considered to be synchronized, otherwise L1 is considered to be unsynchronized (uplink transmissions are only on the PRACH in this case).

[0064] A UE with single timing advance capability for CA may simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into one TAG) sharing the same timing advance. A UE with multiple timing advance capability for CA may simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into multiple TAGs) with different timing advances. NG-RAN ensures that each TAG contains at least one serving cell. A non-CA capable UE may receive on a single CC and transmit on a single CC corresponding to only a single serving cell (one serving cell in one TAG).

[0065] The multi-carrier property of the physical layer in case of CA may be exposed to the MAC layer, and one HARQ entity may be required per serving cell. If CA is configured, the UE may have one RRC connection with the network. In RRC connection establishment / re-establishment / handover, one serving cell (e.g., PCell) provides NAS mobility information. Depending on the UE capabilities, the SCell is configured to form a set of serving cells together with the PCell. The set of serving cells configured for the UE includes one PCell and one or more SCells. Reconfiguration, addition, and removal of SCells may be performed by RRC.

[0066] In a Dual Connectivity scenario, a UE is configured with multiple cells including a Master Cell Group (MCG) for communicating with a master base station, a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) for communicating with a secondary base station, and two MAC entities, i.e., a MAC entity for the MCG for communicating with the master base station and a MAC entity for the SCG for communicating with the secondary base station.

[0067] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of Bandwidth Part configuration and switching according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE may be configured with one or more Bandwidth Parts (BWPs) 1010 in a given component carrier. In some examples, one of the one or more Bandwidth Parts may be active at the same time. The active Bandwidth Part defines the operating bandwidth of the UE within the operating bandwidth of the cell. For initial access, the BWP is determined from the system information until the configuration of the UE in the cell is received. The initial Bandwidth Part 1020 specified in the first active BWP 1020 is used. For example, in Bandwidth Adaptation (BA) by BWP Switching 1040, the UE's transmission and reception bandwidth is adjusted since it is not as large as the cell's bandwidth. For example, the width may be ordered to be variable (e.g., shrink during low activity periods to save power), the position may be moved in the frequency domain (e.g., to increase scheduling flexibility), and the subcarrier spacing may be ordered to be variable (e.g., to enable different services). The first active BWP 1020 may be the active BWP at the time of RRC (re)configuration of the PCell or activation of the SCell.

[0068] For a downlink BWP or an uplink BWP in the set of downlink or uplink BWPs, the UE is provided with the following configuration parameters, respectively: subcarrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix, number of common RBs and consecutive RBs, index in the set of downlink or uplink BWPs by the respective BWP-Id, a set of BWP common parameters and a set of BWP-specific parameters. The BWP is associated with an OFDM numerology based on the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix configured for the BWP. For the serving cell, the UE is provided with a default downlink BWP among the configured downlink BWPs. If the UE is not provided with a default downlink BWP, the default downlink BWP is the initial downlink BWP.

[0069] A downlink BWP is associated with a BWP inactivity timer. If a BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is configured, the UE may perform BWP switching to the default BWP. If a BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is not configured, the UE may perform BWP switching to the initial downlink BWP.

[0070] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a process for four-step contention-based random access and non-contention-based random access according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a process for two-step contention-based random access and non-contention-based random access according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The random access procedure is triggered by several events, such as initial access from an RRC idle state, an RRC connection re-establishment procedure, arrival of downlink or uplink data during an RRC connected state when the uplink synchronization state is "unsynchronized", arrival of uplink data during an RRC connected state when there are no PUCCH resources available for a Scheduling Request (SR), an SR failure, a request by RRC during synchronization reconfiguration (e.g., handover), a transition from an RRC inactive state, establishing time alignment of the secondary TAG, a request for other system information (SI), beam failure recovery (BFR), and a consistent uplink listen-before-talk (LBT) failure on the PCell.

[0071] Two types of Random Access (RA) procedures are supported: a four-step RA type with MSG1 and a two-step RA type with MSGA. Both types of RA procedures support Contention-Based Random Access (CBRA) and Contention-Free Random Access (CFRA), as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0072] The UE can select the type of random access at the beginning of the random access procedure based on the network configuration. If the CFRA resource is not configured, the RSRP threshold is used by the UE to select the 2-step RA type or the 4-step RA type. If the CFRA resource for the 4-step RA type is configured, the UE shall: The UE may perform random access using a 4-step RA type. If a CFRA resource for a 2-step RA type is configured, the UE may perform random access using the 2-step RA type.

[0073] MSG(message)1 of the 4-step RA type is the preamble in the PRACH. After MSG1 transmission, the UE monitors for a response from the network within a configured window. In the case of CFRA, a dedicated preamble for MSG1 transmission is assigned by the network, and upon receiving a random access response (RAR) from the network, the UE can terminate the random access procedure as illustrated in FIG. 11. In the case of CBRA, upon receiving the random access response, the UE transmits MSG3 using the uplink grant scheduled in the random access response, and monitors collision resolution as illustrated in FIG. 11. If collision resolution is not successful after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE reverts to MSG1 transmission.

[0074] The MSGA of the two-step RA type may include a preamble in the PRACH and a payload in the PUSCH. After the MSGA transmission, the UE monitors for a response from the network within a configured window. In the case of CFRA, a dedicated preamble and PUSCH resources are configured for the MSGA transmission, and upon receiving a network response, the UE can terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 12. In the case of CBRA, if the collision resolution is successful upon receiving the network response, the UE can terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 12, while if a fallback indication is received in the MSGB, the UE performs a MSG3 transmission using the uplink grant scheduled with the fallback indication and monitors the collision resolution. If the collision resolution is not successful after the MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE returns to the MSGA transmission.

[0075] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The SS / PBCH block (SSB) consists of a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal (PSS, SSS), each occupying one symbol and 127 subcarriers (e.g., subcarrier numbers 56 to 182 in FIG. 13), and a PBCH that spans three OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, but leaves an unused portion in the middle for the SSS on one symbol as shown in FIG. 13. The time positions in the half frame where the SSBs can be placed may be determined by the subcarrier spacing, and the period of the half frame where the SSBs are transmitted is set by the network. During the half frame, different SSBs are transmitted in different spatial directions (i.e., using different beams that span the coverage area of ​​the cell).

[0076] The PBCH is used to carry the Master Information Block (MIB) used by the UE during cell search and initial access procedures. The UE first decodes the PBCH / MIB to receive other system information. The MIB provides the UE with the necessary parameters to acquire System Information Block 1 (SIB1), more specifically, the necessary information to monitor the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH carrying SIB1. In addition, the MIB may indicate cell barring status information. The MIB and SIB1 are collectively referred to as Minimum System Information (SI), and SIB1 may be referred to as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI). The other System Information Blocks (SIBs) (e.g., SIB2, SIB3, ..., SIB10, and SIBpos) may be referred to as Other SI. Other SI may be broadcast periodically on the DL-SCH, may be broadcast on demand on the DL-SCH (e.g., upon request from UEs in RRC idle, RRC inactive, or RRC connected states), or may be transmitted in a dedicated manner to RRC connected UEs on the DL-SCH (e.g., upon request, by the network from a UE in RRC connected state or if the UE has an active BWP for which a common search space is not configured).

[0077] FIG. 14 illustrates an example of an SSB burst transmission according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. An SSB burst may include N SSBs, and each SSB of the N SSBs may correspond to a beam. The SSB burst may be transmitted according to a periodicity (e.g., an SSB burst period). During a contention-based random access process, the UE may perform a random access resource selection process, in which the UE first selects an SSB before selecting an RA preamble. The UE selects an SSB with an RSRP above a set threshold. In some embodiments, the UE may select any SSB if an SSB with an RSRP above a set threshold is not available. A set of random access preambles is associated with the SSB. After selecting the SSB, the UE selects a random access preamble from the set of random access preambles associated with the SSB, and transmits the selected random access preamble to initiate the random access process.

[0078] In some embodiments, one beam of the N beams is associated with a CSI-RS resource. The UE measures the CSI-RS resource and selects a CSI-RS with an RSRP above a configured threshold. The UE selects a random access preamble corresponding to the selected CSI-RS and transmits the selected random access process to initiate the random access process. If there is no random access preamble associated with the selected CSI-RS, the UE may select a random access preamble corresponding to an SSB quasi-co-located with the selected CSI-RS.

[0079] In some embodiments, based on the UE measurements of CSI-RS resources and the UE CSI report, the base station can determine a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state and can indicate the TCI state to the UE, and the UE uses the indicated TCI state for reception of downlink control information (e.g., via PDCCH) or data (e.g., via PDSCH). The UE uses the indicated TCI state to use an appropriate beam for reception of data or control information. The indication of the TCI state can be using an RRC configuration or a combination of RRC signaling and dynamic signaling (e.g., via a MAC Control Element (MAC CE) and / or based on the value of a field in the downlink control information that schedules the downlink transmission). The TCI state can indicate a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between a downlink reference signal, such as a CSI-RS, and a DM-RS associated with a downlink control or data channel (e.g., PDCCH or PDSCH, respectively).

[0080] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a list of up to M TCI-state configurations using a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration parameter to decode a PDSCH based on a detected PDCCH with DCI for the UE and a given serving cell, where M may depend on the UE capabilities. Each TCI-state may include parameters to configure a QCL relationship between one or two downlink reference signals and a DM-RS port of a PDSCH, a DM-RS port of a PDCCH, or a CSI-RS port of a CSI-RS resource. The quasi-collocation relationship is configured by one or more RRC parameters. The quasi-collocation type corresponding to each DL RS can take one of the following values: "QCL-TypeA": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}, "QCL-TypeB": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}, "QCL-TypeC": {Doppler shift, average delay}, "QCL-TypeD": {Spatial Rx parameters}. The UE shall use the activation information used to map the TCI status to codepoints in the DCI field. It is possible to receive commands (eg, MAC CE).

[0081] In some examples, three beam management procedures can be used with beam sweeping at the TRP / BS and / or UE side, namely, procedure 1 (P1): TRP / BS beam sweep and UE beam sweep, procedure 2 (P2): TRP / BS beam sweep only, and procedure 3 (P3): UE beam sweep only, as shown in FIG. 15. In some examples, to perform sweeping on multiple Tx beams, each Tx beam is transmitted on RS resources for beam management. In some examples, to perform sweeping across multiple Rx beams, a Tx beam may be repeatedly transmitted multiple times on the same RS resource set so that the receiving side can sweep its Rx beam at multiple transmission times. For downlink beam management, the TRP / BS can have a set of N Tx beams and the UE can have a set of M Rx beams for beam sweeping in P1. Each of the N Tx beams is transmitted M times from the TRP / BS side and received using M multi-beams per Tx beam. For P2, N BF CSI-RS transmission instants are needed since the UE receives a set of N Tx beams with the same Rx beam. For P3, M beamformed CSI-RS transmission instants transmitting the same Tx beam are needed for the UE to sweep M Rx beams. In some examples, the process may be the same except that the transmitter and receiver are switched between the TRP and the UE for uplink beam management.

[0082] In some examples, the UE and / or TRP / BS may perform beam measurement by measuring beam sweep-based RS for downlink, e.g., CSI-RS, and SRS for uplink. For downlink, the UE measures the received power of the beamformed RS and determines the beam quality based on the beam measurement. Based on the measurement, beam grouping is performed by the UE. The UE groups multiple downlink Tx beams into the same beam group according to the spatial channel characteristics (e.g., angle of arrival, spatial correlation, etc.) observed by the UE. In some examples, multiple TRP Tx beams are associated with the same one Rx beam at the UE. In some examples, multiple Tx and one Rx beam pairs may be considered as many-to-one beam grouping.

[0083] In some examples, the UE may report beam information including measurements of N downlink Tx beams and information indicative of these N beams, such as DL RS ID. The measurements may be in the form of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP). Depending on whether beam grouping is performed or not, the beam report format may be a group-based report or a non-group-based report.

[0084] In some examples, based on group-based reporting, N downlink Tx beams in a reporting instance may be simultaneously received by the UE by multiple receive panels. Subsequent DL transmissions are scheduled on up to N downlink Tx beams. In some examples, based on non-group-based reporting, the UE may report N downlink beams with the N best received powers. Subsequent DL transmissions may be performed on one Tx beam selected from the N beams. The TRP / BS may not know which beams are simultaneously received by the UE.

[0085] In some examples, based on the downlink Tx beam, measurement quantities, and grouping information reported by the UE, the TRP can determine the beam to be used for data transmission. In some examples, the TRP / BS can follow the UE recommendation and use the beam with the best reported RSRP for data transmission. , the TRP / BS changes or refines the beam. The TRP can indicate to the UE the beam to be used for transmitting data / control information, and the UE can use the corresponding appropriate receiving beam for data reception.

[0086] In some examples, the TRP / BS may indicate a beamformed RS ID (e.g., indicating a Tx beam ID) representing a beam. In some examples, the TRP / BS may indicate spatial channel property information to the UE to assist UE-side beamforming / reception. Beam indication is performed via multi-stage indication for QCL between RS ports via joint upper layer signaling and physical layer signaling to reduce overhead while maintaining flexibility of beam indication. In some examples, up to a first number (e.g., 128) of beams may be configured by radio resource control (RRC) layer signaling. Up to a second number (e.g., 8) of candidate beams are selected by MAC layer signaling from among the first number of candidate beams. Physical layer signaling is used to indicate a beam (of the second number of beams) for data transmission.

[0087] In some examples, the beam maintenance process (including beam tracking and refinement) may be designed to handle beam de-aiming caused by unexpected UE movement and support beam refinement from wide beam to narrow beam. The beam maintenance process may include beam tracking or refinement for each Tx / Rx beam supported by P2 and P3, respectively. By probing adjacent beams, the beam tracking can efficiently track and compensate for changes in the optimal transmission direction. In some examples, the beam refinement may be based on the wide beam selected from P1.

[0088] In some examples, the UE may monitor the reference signal for whether the beam failure detection and beam failure trigger conditions are met. Once a beam failure event is declared, a beam recovery procedure is triggered if one or more new candidate beams are identified. In some examples, the UE identifier and / or the new candidate beam may be indicated to the TRP / BS as part of the beam recovery request. The UE monitors the corresponding control channel search space to receive a TRP / BS response to the beam failure recovery request sent by the new Tx beam identified by the UE. In some examples, non-collision random access is used for the transmission of the beam failure recovery request. In some examples, in case of carrier aggregation, an uplink control channel may be used for the transmission of the beam failure recovery request to the secondary cell. The TRP / BS and the UE use the newly identified beam for subsequent communication.

[0089] In some examples, the network activates and deactivates the TCI state configured for the PDSCH of a serving cell or set of serving cells (e.g., as configured by RRC) by sending an activation / deactivation of the TCI state for the UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE. In some examples, the network can activate and deactivate the TCI state configured for a codepoint of the DCI transmission configuration indication field for the PDSCH of the serving cell by sending an activation / deactivation of the extended TCI state for the UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE. The TCI state configured for the PDSCH is initially deactivated at configuration and after handover.

[0090] In some examples, when a MAC entity receives an activation / deactivation of a TCI state of a UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE on a serving cell, the MAC entity may indicate information regarding the activation / deactivation of the TCI state of the UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE to lower layers.

[0091] In some examples, when a MAC entity receives an enhanced TCI state activation / deactivation of a UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE in a serving cell, the MAC entity may indicate information regarding the enhanced TCI state activation / deactivation of the UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE to lower layers.

[0092] In some examples, the network may indicate the TCI state for PDCCH reception for a serving cell or a CORESET of a set of serving cells (e.g., as configured by RRC) by sending a TCI state indication for a UE-specific PDCCH MAC CE.

[0093] In some examples, when a MAC entity receives a TCI status indication of a UE-specific PDCCH MAC CE on a serving cell, the MAC entity may indicate information about the TCI status indication of the UE-specific PDCCH MAC CE to lower layers.

[0094] In some examples, DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 may be used for scheduling PDSCH in one cell. DCI format 1_1 may include a transmission configuration indication (TCI) field. If the higher layer parameter tci-PresentInDCI is not enabled, the transmission configuration indication field is 0 bit, otherwise the transmission configuration indication field is 3 bit. DCI format 1_1 may include a transmission configuration indication field. If the higher layer parameter tci-PresentForDCI-Format1-2 is not enabled, the transmission configuration indication field is 0 bit, otherwise the transmission configuration indication field is 1, 2 or 3 bit determined by the higher layer parameter tci-PresentForDCI-Format1-2.

[0095] In some examples, channel state information (CSI) reporting may be triggered by DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 0_2. The time and frequency resources used by the UE to report CSI are controlled by the gNB. The CSI may consist of a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a SS / PBCH block resource indicator (SSBRI), a layer indicator (LI), a rank indicator (RI), an L1-RSRP, or an L1-SINR. For CQI, PMI, CRI, SSBRI, LI, RI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, the UE is configured by higher layers with a CSI-ReportConfig reporting setting of N≧1, a CSI-ResourceConfig resource setting of M≧1, and one or two lists of trigger states (given by higher layer parameters CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList and CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList). A trigger state in the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList may contain a list of associated CSI-ReportConfigs indicating the channel and optionally the resource set ID of the interference. A trigger state in the CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList may contain one associated CSI-ReportConfig.

[0096] In some examples, due to RF exposure issues, the UE must not transmit at high power towards nearby human bodies, e.g., the human brain. The UE meets regulatory requirements regarding Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) limits. The MPE limits are based on the power that is taken into account by the UE in another procedure, e.g., a power control procedure for the calculated UE transmit power for an uplink signal or channel. The maximum power reduction (MPR) may be converted into a parameter. Examples of such parameters may include a P-MPR (maximum allowed UE output power reduction) parameter, or maxUplinkDutyCycle capability. In one example, based on the MPE limit, the UE may reduce the maximum output power due to higher order modulation and transmission bandwidth configuration. The maximum power reduction (MPR) depends on the UE power class, the channel bandwidth, and the physical channel / signal. Suffering from MPE issues may result in a significant reduction in transmission power, thus causing large performance degradation or even link failure (e.g., radio link failure (RLF) and / or uplink beam failure) in uplink transmission.

[0097] The use of P-MPR and maxUplinkDutyCycle may affect the maximum uplink performance of the selected UL transmission path. Since the MPE problem is highly directional in FR2, the required values ​​for P-MPR and maxUplinkDutyCycle are uplink beam specific and may vary between different candidate uplink beams across different UE panels. In some examples, certain beams, e.g., uplink beams that are pointed towards human bodies, may have high P-MPR requirements / low duty cycle, while some other beams, e.g., uplink beams with beam patterns that are not pointed towards human bodies, may have very low P-MPR requirements / high duty cycle. The MPE problem may be directional / beam specific, and the P-MPR requirements and duty cycle may be uplink beam specific. In some examples, having multiple candidate beams across multiple panels may provide an opportunity to determine beams vs. links with low P-MPR requirements / low duty cycle. The exemplary embodiments enable an uplink beam management process that can mitigate issues caused by MPE limitations (e.g., link / uplink beam obstruction).

[0098] In some examples, consideration of UL coverage loss mitigation by the MPE may enable UL beam selection for UEs equipped with multiple panels. In some examples, uplink beam selection may be based on UL beam indication with a unified TCI framework for UL fast panel selection. In some examples, a UL TCI may be used as a source for spatial characteristics of all UL signals / channels such as SRS, PUCCH, and PUSCH. Such a UL TCI may include a pointer to or to a reference signal, to an SSB, to a CSI-RS, or to an SRS. In some examples, a reference to a BWP may be included. In some examples, a reference to a serving cell may be included.

[0099] In some examples, if the UL TCI is a DL RS, the UE may use that RS as a path loss reference RS for UL power control. In some examples, if the UL TCI is an SRS, a separate DL RS may be provided. In some examples, the maximum allowed dose To mitigate issues related to Multipath Exponential Enhancement (MPE), UL TCI may be used. In some cases, the UE may reduce the transmit power of some of its antennas. If the gNB is aware of this reduction, it may schedule UL transmissions on other antennas where full transmit power is used.

[0100] In some examples, if a beam correspondence between DL and UL holds, the joint TCI may be used to indicate a common beam for both DL and UL. If a beam correspondence is not utilized, the UL-TCI may be used to indicate a common beam for UL. In some examples, if the UE is equipped with multiple antenna panels, fast panel selection (e.g., to mitigate UL coverage loss due to MPE or / and changing channel conditions) may be accommodated via panel-specific UL TCI states. In some examples, the UL TCI state may be associated / linked to an index of a source RS resource or resource set associated with the antenna panel. In some examples, For MPE mitigation, an alternative UL TX beam may be used, for example, using UE initiated UL TX beam update / switching.

[0101] In some examples, the MPE problem can be mitigated with processing at the UE and / or base station. In some examples, the base station can receive UL beam reports. To maximize UL coverage while maintaining DL performance, it is beneficial for the UE to report CRI / SSBRI (CSI-RS Resource Indicator / Synchronization Signal Block Resource Indicator) for the preferred UL and DL beams.

[0102] In some examples, the MPE report may be triggered by an UL beam failure. When an MPE occurs, the serving UL beam may fail and may not be able to report a preferred DL / UL beam as scheduled by the gNB. In some examples, a beam failure reporting and / or recovery procedure may be used to indicate an uplink beam failure due to an MPE problem. In some examples, the UE may autonomously select an uplink beam or switch to a new uplink for an MPE problem. The UE may indicate a selection of a new beam and / or a switch to a new uplink beam using physical layer (e.g., using uplink control information) or MAC layer (e.g., using MA CE) signaling. In some examples, the UE may use a procedure to determine an uplink beam / link failure due to an MPE problem. For example, the UE may determine an uplink beam / link failure in response to a calculated uplink power of an uplink channel or uplink signal being less than a threshold or a calculated backoff power of an uplink channel or uplink signal being greater than a threshold (e.g., to meet an MPE limit). The UE may determine that the serving UL beam suffers from MPE and that another UL beam is better than the serving UL beam.

[0103] In some examples, the UE may report a CRI and / or a CSI-RS resource indicator / Synchronization Signal Block resource indicator (SSBRI), Here, the CRI / SSBRI may refer to a suitable spatially related reference signal (RS) for UL transmission. In some examples, the UE may report an SRS resource indicator (SRI) (e.g., in addition to the CRI / SSBRI). In some examples, the reporting of the CRI and / or SSBRI and / or SRI may be joint with the reporting of beam measurement parameters related to the downlink beam. In some examples, the reporting of the CRI and / or SSBRI and / or SRI may be separate from the beam measurement parameters related to the downlink beam. In some examples, the reporting of the CRI and / or SSBRI and / or SRI may include one or more parameters related to the MPE or MPR.

[0104] In some examples, the base station may indicate multiple Sounding reference signal (SRS) resources associated with multiple uplink beams using physical layer signaling, such as, for example, an SRI field in downlink control information. An SRS resource may be autonomously selected from multiple SRS resources indicated by I, and an uplink channel (e.g., a PUSCH, e.g., a PUSCH for transmission of a transport block scheduled by a DCI) transmission or an uplink beam associated with an uplink beam for uplink signal transmission may be used.

[0105] In some examples, the UE may report a beam-specific PHR (power headroom report), which may be based on, for example, a difference value between Pc,max (which may be calculated based on the P-MPR) and the required transmit power, to estimate the beam-specific MPE impact. It may also be used by the base station to make transparent decisions.

[0106] In some examples, the DL and UL beam determination modes can be based on DL RS measurements and TX / RX beam correspondence at the UE. In some examples, the spatial source reference signal (RS) for the uplink signal and channel may be the DL RS. In some examples, the downlink RS may be used to determine the UL TX beam utilizing the TX / RX beam correspondence at the UE. Determining the UL TX beam based on the TX / RX beam correspondence can allow for avoiding SRS-based beam search, selection, and refinement schemes that can be resource-intensive and introduce high system overhead.

[0107] In some examples, the UL beam may be controlled by the gNB. When a particular beam is affected by MPE, uplink beam failure-free link maintenance may require a coordinated solution between the network and the UE. In some examples, a UE in severe MPE conditions may require coordinated uplink TX beam switching to avoid RLF / UL beam failure. In some examples, such coordination may require measurement and averaging over multiple samples of configured candidate spatial sources (SSB / CSI-RS). For example, the network may limit the UL power for a first period before the MPE event (e.g., the UE limits the UL power due to MPE) begins. ToThe UE may be configured to report on spatial sources for uplink TX determination that may be feasible from an MPE perspective. If the base station collects data on how to recover the link during the monitoring period, the base station may prepare the best link to handle the MPE event, avoid losing the UL, and / or avoid RLF / UL beam failure. In some examples, the UE may indicate to the gNB about the upcoming presence of a blocking user before an MPE operation is triggered to evaluate alternative uplink TX beams. The UE / gNB may start monitoring alternative links before the actual MPE event is triggered. The gNB may determine the best link preservation for UL and / or DL ​​during the MPE event and avoid RLF / UL beam failure. In some examples, the UE may report CRI and / or SSBRI before the MPE event, where the CRI and / or SSBRI may refer to a preferred spatial relationship RS for UL transmission.

[0108] FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a wireless system architecture 1600 utilizing an enhanced beam management procedure in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a UE 1603 transmits data and control information to a base station (e.g., a 5G NR gNB or an LTE eNB) 1605 using beams 1607a-d. The beams 1607a-d are a group of best DL beams identified in a cell search procedure. The beam 1607d is the best DL beam in the group of best beams. The UE 1603 can periodically measure the CSI-RS and SSB broadcast from the base station 1605 to determine the best DL beam.

[0109] As mentioned before, the MPE limits the maximum transmit power in a particular direction where the beam points to the human body. As shown in the architecture 1600, the beam 1607d is pointed towards the human body 1611, and therefore the UE 1603 needs to reduce its transmit power by backing off. As the transmit power of the UE 1603 is reduced, the base station 1605 may not be able to decode the received signal from the UE 1603. As a result, the UL performance is significantly degraded, and the user experiences poor quality of service and web Experience delays in accessing content and data streaming. UE 1603 In some scenarios where the mobile station is located at the cell edge and transmits at the maximum allowed transmit power to achieve a certain UL quality of service, this problem is even more severe and the UL performance is significantly degraded.

[0110] As shown in FIG 16, beams 1607a-c are not directed towards a human body and do not suffer from MPE. 1603 If the UE faces the MPE in one direction, it can transmit on a different beam pointing in a different direction. 1603 Since beam 1607d suffers from MPE, base station 1605 (e.g., gNB One or more of the beams 1607a-c may be used to transmit data and control information to a base station (eNB).

[0111] FIG. 17 illustrates a variation of a wireless system architecture 1700 utilizing an enhanced beam management procedure in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a UE 1703 can use beams 1707a-d to transmit data and control information to a base station (e.g., a 5G NR gNB or an LTE eNB) 1705. Beam 1607d is the best DL beam identified in a cell search procedure. Beams 1607a-c are the UE desired UL beams. The UE 1703 can periodically measure the CSI-RS and SSB broadcast from the base station 1705 to identify its preferred UL beam.

[0112] The MPE limit 1713 determines which beams suffer from the MPE problem. The UE 1703 may use a mechanism to identify beams that suffer from the MPE problem. As shown in the architecture 1700, the beam 1707d that is directed toward a human body suffers from MPE. The UE 1703 reduces the transmit power in the beam 1707d to meet the MPE requirement. In some variations, the UE 1703 may be equipped with a sensor (e.g., a human body sensor) to identify whether a transmission in a particular direction suffers from the MPE problem. The human body detection sensor may detect the presence of a human body in a spatial domain. In some implementations, the sensor may use infrared or radar technology, etc., to detect a human body. When the UE detects a human body in one transmit direction, it reduces its transmit power by backing off. In some other variations, the UE 1703 may detect an MPE event based on measuring its UL beam RSRP or its power backoff and compare it to a threshold to determine the occurrence of an MPE event. In one variation, thresholds for different directions and scenarios, including propagation channel, modulation and coding rate, etc., can be stored in a lookup table, and the UE compares the backoff to the stored threshold for a particular scenario, whether or not it exhibits MPE. Alternatively, the UE can use HARQ to determine whether a beam suffers from MPE.

[0113] In the architecture 1700, the UE 1703 can determine a desired UL beam (e.g., beams 1707a-c) and indicate the desired UL beam to the base station 1705. In some aspects, the UL beam reporting is performed separately from the DL beam reporting. When the UE is in idle mode, the UE can report the SSBRI of its desired UL beam via Msg2 or Msg4 of the RACH process. In RRC connected mode, the UE can report the CRI of the desired UL beam. As specified in 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.0.0 (2020-03) entitled "Radio Access Network; Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specifications", the IE EINformationResponse is currently used to report DL beam measurements to the gNB and can be modified to include UL beam measurements. The MeasResultIdleNR and MeasResultNR fields of the IE UEINformationResponse contain the DL beam level measurements that the UE reports to the gNB for idle and connected modes, respectively. To report the desired beam, MeasResultIdleNR and MeasResultNR are modified to include the SSBRI and CRI of the desired UL beam. For example, resultsSSBIndex and resultCSI-RS-Cell in MeasResultIdleNR can be modified to include separate fields for UL and DL.

[0114] In some examples, if the UE 1703 suffers from MPE in one or more directions, the UE 1703 reports several beams from the list of identified UL groups to the base station 1705 for UL transmission of data and control information. In these cases, the UE can allocate its transmit power across several different beams. For example, as shown, beam 1707d suffers from MPE, and the UE can allocate its transmit power over beams 1707a-d.

[0115] 18a-b illustrate an example of time and frequency resource allocation for a UL beam according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In a wireless network (e.g., architecture 1600, 1700), different frequency bands have different power spectral density (PSD) requirements. A UE (e.g., 1603, 1703) can identify a UL beam to meet a specific PSD requirement in each UL beam direction of an operating frequency band. As shown in FIG. 18a, the UE can assign a set of RBs that are frequency contiguous in the frequency domain to the UL beam to meet the PSD and MPE requirements. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 18b, the UE can assign a set of RBs that are interlaced (spatially separated) in the frequency domain to the UL beam to meet the PSD and MPE requirements.

[0116] In some examples, the PSD may have specific requirements, and the UL beam needs to be spread across several RBs to meet the PSD requirements. The disclosed embodiments divide the frequency allocation into different RBs according to the PSD requirements. In some examples, different UL beams may be assigned to different RBs (contiguous or spatially separated). This approach efficiently utilizes the frequency spectrum while minimizing the occurrence of MPE. As a result, users experience a higher quality of service utilizing the disclosed embodiments.

[0117] FIG. 19 illustrates an example of components of a user equipment for transmission and / or reception according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. All or some of the blocks and functions of FIG. 19 may be implemented by a user equipment. 1900 1900, or may be implemented by a user equipment (e.g., 1603, 1703). The antenna 1910 may be used for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals. The antenna 1910 may include one or more antenna elements and may enable different input / output antenna configurations including a Multiple-Input Multiple Output (MIMO) configuration, a Multiple-Input Single-Output (MISO) configuration, and a Single-Input Multiple-Output (SIMO) configuration. In some embodiments, the antenna 1910 may enable a massive MIMO configuration having tens or hundreds of antenna elements. The antenna 1910 may enable other multi-antenna techniques such as beamforming. In some examples, depending on the capabilities of the UE 1900 or the type of the UE 1900 (e.g., a low complexity UE), the UE 1900 may only support a single antenna.

[0118] The transceiver 1920 may communicate bidirectionally over the wireless links described herein via the antenna 1910. For example, the transceiver 1920 may represent a wireless transceiver in a UE and may communicate bidirectionally with a wireless transceiver in a base station, or vice versa. The transceiver 1920 may modulate packets and transmit the modulated packets. 1910。 For transmitting packets to antenna 1910, a modem may be included to provide a packet to antenna 1910 for transmission and to demodulate packets received from antenna 1910.

[0119] The memory 1930 can include RAM and ROM. The memory 1930 can store computer readable computer executable code 1935 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the memory 1930 can include a Basic Input / Output System (BIOS) that can control basic hardware or software operations such as interaction with peripheral components or devices, among other things.

[0120] The processor 1940 may include a hardware device having processing capabilities (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some examples, the processor 1940 may be configured to operate a memory using a memory controller. In other examples, the memory controller may be incorporated into the processor 1940. The processor 1940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1930) to cause the UE to perform various functions.

[0121] A central processing unit (CPU) 1950 can execute basic arithmetic, logical, control, and input / output (I / O) operations specified by computer instructions in memory 1930. User equipment 1900 also includes a graphics processing unit (GPU). 1960 and a global positioning system (GPS) 1970. The GPU 1960 is a dedicated circuit for rapid manipulation and alteration of memory 1930 to accelerate the processing performance of the user equipment 1900. The GPS 1970 may be used to enable location-based services or other services, for example, based on the geographic location of the user equipment 1900.

[0122] The MPE event detector and beam manager 1980 can implement mechanisms to detect MPE events and select a desired beam of the UE 1900 for UL transmission. Additionally, the block 1980 includes mechanisms for allocating time and frequency resources to UL beams, as previously described. For example, the block 1980 can include a body sensor for detecting a human body located in the direction of the UL beam from the UE 1900 to the base station. In some other examples, the block 1980 can implement procedures to measure beam quality (e.g., RSRP) and identify the MPE event.

[0123] In some examples, the UE 1900 may perform a set of physical layer / medium access control procedures to acquire and maintain a set of beam pair links, e.g., a beam used at a BS-side transmit / receive point (TRP) paired with a beam used at the UE. The beam pair links are used for downlink and uplink transmission and reception. The beam management procedures may include one or more of a beam sweep process, a beam measurement process, a beam reporting process, a beam determination process, a beam maintenance process, and a beam recovery process. For example, the beam sweep process may be used to cover a spatial region with beams transmitted and / or received during a time interval in a predetermined manner. The beam measurement process is used by the TRP or UE to measure characteristics of a received beamforming (BF) signal. The beam reporting process is used by the UE to report information of the BF signal based on the beam measurements. The beam determination process is used by the TRP or UE to select Tx / Rx beams. The beam maintenance process is used to perform beam tracking to adapt to channel changes due to UE movement or disturbances. It may be used by the TRP or the UE to maintain the candidate beam by refinement or refinement. The beam recovery process is used by the UE to identify a new candidate beam after detecting a beam failure and subsequently indicate a beam recovery request to the TRP with information indicating the new candidate beam.

[0124] In some examples, beam management may be performed in the UL and / or DL ​​directions. If good channel reciprocity is available (e.g., in a time division duplex (TDD) system), beam management in one direction may be based on another direction, e.g., UL beam management may be performed well based on the results of DL beam management. In some examples, beam correspondence may be used based on the uplink-downlink reciprocity of the beamformed channel, e.g., the UL Tx / Rx beams may be determined based on beam measurements of the DL beamformed reference signal (RS).

[0125] In some examples, group-based beam management may be used to manage beams on a group-by-group basis rather than on a beam-by-beam basis, e.g., considering that beams sharing similar channel characteristics may be placed in the same beam group. Beam management procedures may include beam sweeping, beam measurement, beam reporting (e.g., grouping-based beam reporting), beam determination, beam maintenance (e.g., group-based beam maintenance), and beam failure recovery.

[0126] FIG. 20 illustrates an example of components of a base station 2000 for transmission and / or reception according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. All or some of the blocks and functions of FIG. 20 may include: base station 2000The antenna 2010 may be within a base station 2000 or may be performed by a base station (e.g., 1605, 1705). The antenna 2010 may be used to transmit or receive electromagnetic signals. The antenna 2010 may include one or more antenna elements and may enable different input / output antenna configurations including a Multiple-Input Multiple Output (MIMO) configuration, a Multiple-Input Single-Output (MISO) configuration, and a Single-Input Multiple-Output (SIMO) configuration. In some embodiments, the antenna 2010 may enable a massive MIMO configuration having tens or hundreds of antenna elements. The antenna 2010 may enable other multi-antenna techniques such as beamforming. In some examples, the capabilities of the base station 2000 or the type of the base station 2000 may be different. P Accordingly, the base station 2000 may support only a single antenna.

[0127] The transceiver 2020 can communicate bidirectionally over the wireless links described herein via the antenna 2010. For example, the transceiver 2020 may represent a wireless transceiver in a UE and may communicate bidirectionally with a wireless transceiver in a base station, or vice versa. The transceiver 2020 can include a modem to modulate packets, provide the modulated packets to the antenna 2010 for transmission, and demodulate packets received from the antenna 2010.

[0128] The memory 2030 can include RAM and ROM. The memory 2030 can store computer readable computer executable code 2035 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the memory 2030 can include a Basic Input / Output System (BIOS) that can control basic hardware or software operations such as interaction with peripheral components or devices, among others.

[0129] The processor 2040 is a hardware device having processing capabilities (e.g., a general-purpose processor). The processor 2040 may include a memory controller, such as a processor, DSP, CPU, microcontroller, ASIC, FPGA, programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the processor 2040 may be configured to operate the memory using a memory controller. In other examples, the memory controller may be incorporated into the processor 2040. The processor 2040 may be configured to execute computer readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 2030) to cause the base station 2000 to perform various functions.

[0130] The central processing unit (CPU) 2050 is 2030 The microprocessor is capable of performing basic arithmetic, logical, control, and input / output (I / O) operations specified by computer instructions in the microprocessor.

[0131] The MPE agent 2060 can receive UL beam reports from a UE (e.g., UE 1900) and determine the quality of the reported UL beam. MPE agent 2060 can determine whether it can decode the data and control information in the reported UL beam. The MPE agent 2060 can instruct the base station 2000 to transmit a response signal to the UE so that the UE can specify which UL beams it can use for UL transmission.

[0132] 21 is a flow diagram of a method 2100 for a UE to perform UL beam reporting according to some aspects of the disclosure. The method 2100 is performed by a UE (e.g., UE 1603, 1703, 1900). The steps of the method 2100 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuitry, and / or other components) of the UE. As shown, the method 2100 may include additional steps before, after, and between the recited steps.

[0133] In step 2105, the UE detects an UL beam that is suffering from MPE. The UE may use a sensor to detect the MPE event or may measure beam quality to determine which beam is suffering from MPE.

[0134] In step 2109, the UE determines its desired UL beam. The UE's desired UL beam may be different from the UE's DL desired beam. The UE's desired UL beam is selected based on the MPE event detection from the previous step.

[0135] In step 2113, the UE reports its desired group of UL beams to the base station. UL reporting may be performed separately from DL reporting.

[0136] In step 2117, the UE receives feedback from the base station on whether the base station can decode on the UE's UL desired beam. In some examples, if the base station cannot decode on the UE's desired UL beam, the base station can request the UE to determine a new set of UL beams.

[0137] 22 is a flow diagram of a method 2200 for a base station to perform a beam management process according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The method 2200 is performed by a base station (e.g., base station 1605, 1705, 2000). The steps of the method 2200 include: base stationThe method 2200 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and / or other components) of a computer. As shown, the method 2200 may include additional steps before, after, and between the recited steps.

[0138] In step 2203, the base station receives a UL beam report from the UE. The UL beam report may include a desired UL beam of the UE for transmission of data and control information.

[0139] In step 2207, the base station measures the quality of the reported UL beam and determines whether decoding is possible in the reported UL beam. If the UE can decode the desired UL beam, the base station sends feedback to the UE to acknowledge that decoding is possible in the UL beam. (Step 2011) The base station can request the UE to report a new set of UL beams if it cannot decode on any of the UE desired beams. If the UE cannot find any other group of beams that comply with the MPE requirements, it can inform the base station of the beam failure. It is worth mentioning that although the base station can detect UL beam failure, when the UE indicates beam failure due to MPE, it makes it clear to the base station that it cannot transmit in any other direction, and thus the base station can decide to schedule the UE on a different frequency band.

[0140] The exemplary blocks and modules described in this disclosure with respect to various exemplary embodiments may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Examples of general purpose processors include, but are not limited to, a microprocessor, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some examples, a processor may be implemented using a combination of devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0141] The functions described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Instructions or codes may be stored or transmitted to a computer-readable medium to implement the functions. Other examples for implementing the functions disclosed herein are also within the scope of this disclosure. Implementation of the functions may be via physically co-located or distributed elements (e.g., at various locations), including being distributed such that some of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0142] Computer-readable media includes, but is not limited to, non-transitory computer storage media. Non-transitory storage media may be accessed by general-purpose or special-purpose computers. Examples of non-transitory storage media include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, and the like. Non-transitory media may be used to carry or store desired program code means (e.g., instructions and / or data structures) and may be accessed by general-purpose or special-purpose computers or general-purpose or special-purpose processors. In some examples, the software / program code may be transmitted from a remote source (e.g., a website, a server, etc.) using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, microwave, and the like. In such examples, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, and the like, are within the definition of media. Combinations of the above examples are also within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0143] As used in this disclosure, the use of the term "or" in a list of items means inclusive. indicates a generic list. A list of items can begin with a phrase such as "at least one" or "one or more." For example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C includes A or B or C or AB (i.e., A and B) or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" preceding a list of conditions should not be construed as "based only on" the set of conditions, but rather as "based at least in part on" the set of conditions. For example, a result described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0144] As used herein, the terms "comprise", "include" or "contain" may be used interchangeably, have the same meaning, and should be construed as inclusive and open-ended. The terms "comprise", "include" or "contain" may be used before a list of elements to indicate that at least all of the listed elements in the list are present, but other elements not in the list may also be present. For example, if A contains B and C, then both {B, C} and {B, C, D} are within the scope of A.

[0145] The present disclosure describes exemplary configurations in connection with the accompanying drawings, which do not represent all examples that may be implemented or all configurations within the scope of the present disclosure. The term "exemplary" should not be interpreted as "preferred" or "advantageous compared to other examples," but rather as "an example, instance, or example." By reading this disclosure, including the description of the embodiments and drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the technology disclosed herein may be implemented using alternative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments, or specific features of the embodiments described herein, may be combined to arrive at yet other embodiments for implementing the technology described in the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), receiving one or more messages including configuration parameters of reference signals associated with a plurality of downlink beams including a first downlink beam; a first determining step of determining a plurality of uplink beams associated with the first downlink beam based on a beam sweeping process including measurements of the reference signal; a second determining step of determining a first subset of uplink beams of the plurality of uplink beams that meets maximum permissible dose (MPE) limits and is not subject to link impairments; limiting uplink power due to the MPE; notifying a base station (BS) of the presence of a blocking user for evaluation of the plurality of uplink beams before a step of limiting uplink power due to the MPE is triggered; a first transmission step of transmitting a configuration message including configuration parameters of the first subset of the uplink beams to the BS during a first period set by the BS before the step of limiting uplink power due to the MPE begins; initiating monitoring of at least one uplink beam of the plurality of uplink beams before a step of limiting uplink power due to the MPE is triggered; a second transmitting step of transmitting uplink data or control information using one or more beams of the first subset of uplink beams; A method for uplink beam selection, comprising:

2. The reference signal is A channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS); and A synchronization signal block (SSB); [0033] The method of claim 1.

3. The configuration parameters of the first subset of uplink beams are a CSI resource indicator (CSI-RI); and an SSB resource indicator (SSB-RI); [0033] The method of claim 1.

4. In the first determining step, the plurality of uplink beams are determined based on an uplink-downlink beam correspondence relationship. The method of claim 1.

5. The second determining step of determining the first subset of uplink beams further comprises: measuring the power of the multiple uplink beams; and comparing the measured powers of the uplink beams with corresponding thresholds. The method of claim 1.

6. determining a back-off power of the powers of the multiple uplink beams; determining the first subset of uplink beams if the back-off power of the first subset of uplink beams is less than the corresponding threshold; Further comprising: The method according to claim 5.

7. The user equipment (UE) includes a sensor for detecting a human body. The method of claim 1.

8. The second determining step of determining the first subset of uplink beams further comprises: determining a second subset of uplink beams directed toward bodies detected by the sensor; determining the first subset of uplink beams by excluding the second subset of uplink beams. The method according to claim 7.

9. the second determining step of determining the first subset of uplink beams includes identifying uplink beams that meet a particular power spectral density (PSD). The method of claim 1.

10. receiving downlink feedback from the base station (BS) indicative of a channel quality of the first subset of uplink beams; The method of claim 1.

11. the feedback instructs the user equipment (UE) to determine a third subset of uplink beams, or the plurality of uplink beams. The method of claim 10.

12. The base station transmitting one or more messages including configuration parameters for reference signals associated with a plurality of downlink beams; receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) defining configuration parameters associated with a first plurality of uplink beams; determining a first subset of uplink beams from the first plurality of uplink beams; receiving from the UE a notification of the presence of a blocking user for evaluation of the first plurality of uplink beams before a limitation of uplink power due to a maximum permitted dose (MPE) by the UE is triggered; transmitting to the UE a message defining the configuration parameters of reference signals associated with the first subset of uplink beams during a first time period configured by the base station before the onset of the MPE-induced uplink power limitation; initiating monitoring of at least one uplink beam of the first plurality of uplink beams before a limitation of uplink power due to the MPE is triggered; A method of beam management comprising:

13. The reference signal is A channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS); and A synchronization signal block (SSB); [0033] The method of claim 12.

14. The configuration parameters associated with the first plurality of uplink beams include: a CSI resource indicator (CSI-RI); and an SSB resource indicator (SSB-RI); [0033] The method of claim 12.

15. determining the first subset of uplink beams includes determining a channel quality of an uplink beam in the first plurality of uplink beams. The method of claim 12.

16. If the first subset of uplink beams includes at most zero uplink beams, sending an instruction message to the user equipment (UE) to determine a second subset of uplink beams from the first plurality of uplink beams. The method of claim 15.

17. determining the channel quality of the uplink beam is based on a decoding capability of the base station (BS) for the uplink beam; The method of claim 15.

18. receiving one or more messages including configuration parameters for reference signals associated with a plurality of downlink beams including the first downlink beam; Transmitting uplink data or control information using one or more uplink beams of the first plurality of uplink beams; A transceiver; a processor in communication with the transceiver, determining a second plurality of uplink beams associated with the first downlink beam based on a beam sweep process that includes measurements of the reference signal; determining the first plurality of uplink beams of the second plurality of uplink beams that meets maximum permissible dose (MPE) limits and is not subject to link impairments; Limiting uplink power due to the MPE; beginning monitoring at least one uplink beam of the second plurality of uplink beams before the MPE-induced uplink power limitation is triggered; A processor; Including, The transceiver includes: notifying a base station (BS) of the presence of a blocking user for evaluation of the second plurality of uplink beams before the MPE-induced uplink power limitation is triggered; transmitting a message to the BS defining the first plurality of uplink beams at a first time period set by the BS before the onset of the uplink power limitation due to the MPE; User Equipment (UE).

19. Transmitting one or more messages including configuration parameters for reference signals associated with a plurality of downlink beams; receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) defining configuration parameters associated with a first plurality of uplink beams; receiving from the UE a notification of the presence of a blocking user for evaluation of the first plurality of uplink beams before a limit on uplink power due to a maximum permitted dose (MPE) by the UE is triggered; transmitting to the UE a message defining configuration parameters associated with a second plurality of uplink beams during a first time period before the MPE-induced uplink power limitation begins; A transceiver; a processor in communication with the transceiver, determining the second plurality of uplink beams from the first plurality of uplink beams; beginning monitoring at least one uplink beam of the first plurality of uplink beams before a limitation of uplink power due to the MPE is triggered; A processor; A base station (BS) including:

20. Upon processing by a computer processor in a user equipment (UE), controlling the UE to receive one or more messages including configuration parameters of reference signals associated with a plurality of downlink beams including a first downlink beam; controlling the UE to determine a number of uplink beams associated with the first downlink beam based on a beam sweeping process that includes measurements of the reference signal; controlling the UE to determine a first subset of uplink beams of the plurality of uplink beams that meets a maximum tolerated dose (MPE) limit and is not subject to link impairments; controlling the UE to limit uplink power due to the MPE and, controlling the UE to notify a base station (BS) of the presence of a blocking user for evaluation of the multiple uplink beams before a step of limiting uplink power due to the MPE is triggered; controlling the UE to transmit a configuration message to the BS including configuration parameters of the first subset of the uplink beams at a first time period set by the BS before the step of limiting uplink power due to the MPE begins; controlling the UE to start monitoring at least one uplink beam of the plurality of uplink beams before a step of limiting uplink power due to the MPE is triggered; controlling the UE to transmit uplink data or control information using one or more beams of the first subset of uplink beams; To carry out A non-transitory computer readable medium having program code recorded thereon.

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