User Device and Method

Abstract

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an effective mechanism for dealing with discontinuous coverage scenarios. In this solution, a terminal device configured with at least one of a serving cell associated with a physical cell identity (PCI) and a neighboring cell associated with a second PCI generates at least one beam report based on an active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status of the terminal device. The terminal device further transmits the at least one beam measurement report in the serving cell or in the neighboring cell. In this way, the number of useless and unnecessary measurement reports is reduced.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications technology, and more particularly to methods, apparatus, and media for beam measurement and reporting. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed and can support various types of service applications for terminal devices (i.e., user equipment, UE). To support rapidly increasing data traffic, many communication schemes have been proposed. For example, in current wireless communication networks, a terminal device may be configured with two or more cells, including a serving cell and optionally at least one neighboring cell. Furthermore, in both the serving cell and the neighboring cell, communication between a network device and the terminal device may be performed in two or more beams. Using beam management to maintain beams in the network improves the performance of the communication network. During the beam management procedure, the network device may configure and trigger beam measurements, and the terminal device may perform beam measurements and report the measurement results to the network device. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] Overall, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for beam measurement and reporting. Embodiments (if any) that do not fall within the scope of the claims are to be construed as examples useful for understanding various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In a first aspect, a method of communications is provided, the method including generating, in a terminal device configured with at least one of a serving cell associated with a physical cell identity (PCI) and a neighboring cell associated with a second PCI, at least one beam report based on an active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the terminal device, the method further including transmitting the at least one beam measurement report within the serving cell or within the neighboring cell.

[0005] In a second aspect, a method of communications is provided, the method including generating, in a terminal device, at least one beam measurement report indicating a first absolute value of a measurement result for the serving cell and a second absolute value of a measurement result for the neighboring cell, the method further including transmitting the at least one beam measurement report within the serving cell or within the neighboring cell.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method of communications is provided, the method including, in a terminal device configured with a recovery threshold in a first cell, obtaining measurements of reference signals (RS) associated with a second cell, the RS being synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RSs), and further including, during a beam failure recovery procedure, applying the recovery threshold to measurements obtained for the RS associated with the second cell after scaling the measurements by one of an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching, or a pre-configured offset that is a transmit power difference between the first cell and the second cell.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method of communications is provided, the method including generating, in a terminal device configured with at least one of a serving cell associated with a first physical cell identity (PCI) and a neighboring cell associated with a second PCI, a power headroom message including at least one of a first set of power control parameters associated with the serving cell, the first set of power control parameters including at least one power control parameter for an RS associated with the serving cell, or a second set of power control parameters associated with the neighboring cell, the method further including transmitting the power headroom message within the serving cell or within the neighboring cell.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a method of communication is provided, the method including, in a network device, transmitting a message for triggering beam measurements, the method further including receiving, from a terminal device, at least one beam measurement report generated by the terminal device based on an active TCI state of the terminal device.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a method of communications is provided, the method including receiving, at a first apparatus providing a serving cell for a terminal device or a second apparatus providing a neighboring cell for the terminal device, at least one beam measurement report from the terminal device indicating a first absolute value of a measurement result for the serving cell and a second absolute value of a measurement result for the neighboring cell.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a method of communications is provided, the method including receiving, in a first network device providing a serving cell associated with a first PCI or a second device providing a neighboring cell associated with a second PCI, from a terminal device, a power headroom message including at least one of a first set of power control parameters corresponding to the first PCI, the first set of power control parameters including power control parameters for an RS corresponding to the first PCI, or a second set of power control parameters corresponding to a second PCI associated with a neighboring cell of the terminal device.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a terminal device comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the terminal device to perform the method of the first aspect.

[0012] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a terminal device comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the terminal device to perform the method of the second aspect.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the terminal device to perform the method of the third aspect.

[0014] In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a terminal device comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the terminal device to perform the method of the fourth aspect.

[0015] In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a network device comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the network device to perform the method of the fifth aspect.

[0016] In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a network device comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the network device to perform the method of the sixth aspect.

[0017] In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a network device comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the network device to perform the method of the seventh aspect.

[0018] In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to any one of the first to seventh aspects above.

[0019] It should be understood that this Summary of the Invention is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of several embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings.

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication environment in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0022] [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating a process for communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Figure 7] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a network device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 8] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a network device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 9] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method performed by a network device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] [Figure 10]FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a device suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] In the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0033] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0034] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but do not necessarily mean that each embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed to be within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0035] While the terms "first," "second," and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0036] The terminology used herein is used only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "said" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that, as used herein, the terms "comprise," "include," "have," "comprise," "comprises," and / or "have" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0037] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to illustrate that choices may be made from among many functional alternatives used, and that such choices are not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or otherwise more preferred than other choices.

[0038] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any appropriate communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communications between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network may be implemented in accordance with any appropriate generation of communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, 5G-Advanced network, or sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocol now known or developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communications, there will naturally be future types of communications technologies and systems in which the present disclosure can be embodied, which should not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned systems.

[0039] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communications where X stands for pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network, devices for integrated access and integrated access and backhaul (IAB), satellite- or airborne vehicles in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) including High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) which encompass satellites and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), extended reality (XR) devices including different types of reality such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are aircraft without a human pilot and are commonly referred to as drones. This includes, but is not limited to, devices onboard vehicles, high-speed trains (HST), image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensor gaming devices, music storage and playback devices, or internet appliances that enable wireless or wired internet access and browsing. A "terminal device" may also have "multicast / broadcast" capabilities to support public safety and mission-critical V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, smart TV, wireless services, over-the-air software distribution, group communication, and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs.The term "terminal equipment" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0040] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage area over which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, a satellite, an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platform, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a transmit / receive point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), an IAB node, a femto node, a pico node, and a low-power node such as a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).

[0041] The terminal device or network device may have artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities, which generally include a model trained from a large amount of data collected for a specific function and can be used to predict some information.

[0042] The terminal device or network device may operate over several frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), frequency bands greater than 100 GHz, and Terahertz (THz). It can also operate over licensed, unlicensed, and shared spectrum. The terminal device may have two or more connections with the network device under a Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or network device can operate in full duplex, flexible duplex, and cross-division duplex modes.

[0043] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in test equipment, such as, for example, a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal device, a test network device, a channel emulator, and the like.

[0044] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in accordance with any currently known or future developed generation of communication protocols, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0045] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. As yet another example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor with software, including a digital signal processor, software, and one or more memories, that cooperate to cause a device, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or a processor, such as a microprocessor or portion thereof, that requires software / firmware for operation, although the software may not be present if not necessary for operation. As used herein, the term "circuitry" also includes an implementation of a hardware circuit or one or more processors only, or a hardware circuit or portion of one or more processors and its / their accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0046] As mentioned above, in current wireless communication networks, a terminal device may be configured with two or more cells, including a serving cell and optionally at least one neighboring cell (sometimes also referred to as a "non-serving cell"), which is hereinafter referred to as an inter-cell scenario. During the inter-cell scenario, RS, e.g., SSB or CSI-RS, are transmitted to the terminal device from both the serving cell and the neighboring cell.

[0047] In addition to the above, in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 17 (Rel-17), the technology of integrated TCI state, or Rel-17 TCI state, was introduced, and several agreements were made regarding the integrated TCI state, including the following: ● For intra-cell beam direction, the following downlink (DL) RSs may share the same indicated Rel-17 TCI state for UE-dedicated reception on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and for UE-dedicated reception on all CORESETs or a subset of CORESETs within a component carrier (CC): Demodulation reference signals (DMRS) associated with non-UE dedicated reception on the CORESET and associated PDSCH. · The non-UE dedicated physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and the non-UE dedicated PUSCH are pending. ● For inter-cell beam management, supported Rel-17 Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) based (MAC-CE based) and / or Downlink Control Information based (DCI based) beam indication (using at least DCI format 1_1 / 1_2 with and without DL allocation including associated MAC-CE based TCI state activation) applies to: Applies to channels and signals for intra-cell beam management, excluding non-UE dedicated channels / signals. For the above applicable channels and signals, an SSB associated with a different physical cell identity (PCI) than the serving cell is used as the DL TCL (in the case of separate DL / uplink (UL) TCIs) or indirect quasi-co-located (QCL) reference for combined TCIs, or the indirect / direct QCL reference for the UL TCI (in the case of separate DL / UL TCIs). Furthermore, if an RS (denoted as "RS X") is an indirect QCL reference for the target channel, there is at least one other source signal on the QCL chain between RS X and the target channel. Here, the 3GPP Release 15 / 16 (Rel-15 / 16) QCL rules are reused by replacing the SSB with an SSB associated with a PCI different from the PCI of the serving cell. ● For inter-cell beam management, support of more than one Rel-17 active DL TCI state / QCL per band is a UE capability. If the UE does not support such a capability, it can use MAC-CE based beam indication (activation of one TCI state) to switch between two different DL receptions along two different beams. Furthermore, it should be noted that the serving cell does not change when beam selection is made. Does not preclude the possibility of Timing Advance (TA) updates on non-serving cells. It is still pending whether up to five CORESETs can be configured per UE that supports BWP or Rel.17 beam direction functionality for inter-cell beam management.

[0048] In addition to the above, 3GPP Rel-17 proposes to support Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) reporting for inter-cell BMs to enable neighbor cell beam selection. To date, several agreements have been reached regarding L1-RSRP reporting, including the following: ● Rel.17 Multi-Beam Measurement / Reporting Extensions for Inter-Cell Mobility and Inter-Cell Multi-Transmitting / Received Points (mTRPs) Focused on Layer 1 / Layer 2 (L2) In one reporting instance, depending on the NW configuration, beams associated with non-serving cells can be mixed with beams associated with the serving cell. · It is open whether this will apply periodically, semi-permanently, and / or non-periodicly. If the transmit (Tx) power between the non-serving cell and the serving cell is not the same, it is still open as to how to report the K beams and their corresponding qualities. • Several alternatives have been proposed for extending Rel-17 for inter-cell beam management and inter-cell mTRP, including: Alternative 1: The Rel-15 L1-RSRP reporting format is reused for all L1-RSRPs within one L1-RSRP reporting instance, i.e., for K>1, (K-1) 4-bit differential L1-RSRPs are calculated relative to the reference (absolute) 7-bit L1-RSRP. Alternative 2: Per-PCI differential L1-RSRP is used. If two or more L1-RSRPs associated with the same PCI are reported, the Rel-15 L1-RSRP reporting format is reused for L1-RSRPs associated with the same PCI, i.e., a 4-bit differential L1-RSRP is calculated relative to a PCI-specific reference (absolute) 7-bit L1-RSRP. ● For Rel-17 extensions for inter-cell beam management and inter-cell mTRP, L1-RSRP reporting reuses the Rel-15 L1-RSRP table. ● For the Rel.17 L1-RSRP multi-beam measurement / reporting extension for inter-cell beam management and inter-cell mTRP, in RAN1#106bis-e, one of the following alternatives is selected: Alternative 1: L1-based event-driven beam reporting is supported for inter-cell beam management and inter-cell mTRP. Alternative 2: MAC CE based event-driven beam reporting is supported for inter-cell beam management and inter-cell mTRP; and Alternative 3: In Rel-17, event-driven beam reporting is not supported for inter-cell beam management and inter-cell mTRP.

[0049] While some discussion and proposals have been made regarding beam measurement and reporting, there are still several outstanding issues that need to be addressed.

[0050] One open problem is how to configure beam measurements for neighboring cells. Another open problem is how to achieve effective reporting for inter-cell beam information. For example, fast switching between serving and neighboring cells is supported by indicating the serving TCI state or neighboring cell TCI state. In inter-cell scenarios, measurements are generated for both the serving and neighboring cells. However, not all measurements are useful and necessary. Until now, there has been no solution on how to reduce the number of useless and unnecessary measurement reports.

[0051] Additionally, conventional solutions for L1-RSRP reporting are implemented in a differential mode, where the maximum supported quantization difference from the highest reported RSRP is 30 dB. If the difference is greater than 30 dB, the measurement result cannot be reported or is reported as "out of range" with the 4-bit value "1111". Furthermore, in conventional solutions, the SSB power is indicated by the higher layer parameter ss-PBCH-BlockPower within a range of (-60...50) dBm, which implies a very large Tx power variation.

[0052] Therefore, in the case of inter-cell scenarios, the transmit power of the serving cell and the neighboring cell may be set differently and with a large transmit power difference, so some useful measurement results cannot be reported successfully.

[0053] Other exemplary open issues include that conventional solutions to cell switching procedures do not consider beam recovery conditions, power headroom reporting (PHR) is reported only for the serving cell, etc.

[0054] It should be understood that the above illustrated problems are provided for illustrative purposes only and no limitations are to be implied, and neither these outstanding problems nor the problems solved by this disclosure are limited to the above illustrated problems.

[0055] In the following text, some embodiments are described in an inter-cell scenario only for better understanding, and it should be understood that unless explicitly stated otherwise, the embodiments described herein may be implemented in both inter-cell and intra-cell scenarios.

[0056] Furthermore, in the following text, just for better understanding, some exemplary embodiments will be described with respect to a specific inter-cell scenario in which a serving cell and neighboring cells are configured in a communication network, where the number of serving cells may be two or more, the number of neighboring cells may be two or more, and different neighboring cells may be associated with / configured to have different PCIs.

[0057] Hereinafter, L1-RSRP / L1-signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) is used as an example of beam quality to describe certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the exemplary embodiments described with respect to L1-RSRP are equally applicable to other types of beam quality, including, but not limited to, L1 / L3-RSRP, L1 / L3-SINR, L1 / L3 received signal strength indicator (RSSI), L1 / L3 reference signal received quality (RSRQ), etc. The present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0058] For ease of explanation, some terms and expressions used in the following description are listed below. The term "serving cell" is described as the cell having the PCI / first PCI or the cell associated with the PCI / first PCI; ● The term "neighboring cell": a cell having a PCI different from that of the serving cell, a cell having a second PCI, a cell associated with a PCI different from that of the serving cell, or a cell associated with a second PCI, which may also be referred to as a "non-serving cell." ● The term "serving cell RS": SSB / CSI-RS / SRS and other RS ​​associated with the serving cell; ● The term "serving cell SSB": the SSB associated with the serving cell; ● The term "serving cell CSI-RS": the CSI-RS associated with the serving cell SSB; ● The term "serving cell SRS": the SRS associated with the serving cell SSB; ● The term "neighbor cell RS": SSB / CSI-RS / SRS and other RS ​​associated with neighbor cells; ● The term "neighbor cell SSB": SSB associated with a neighbor cell; ● The term "neighbor cell CSI-RS": CSI-RS associated with neighbor cell SSB; ● The term "neighbor cell SRS": the SRS associated with the neighbor cell SSB; ● The term "serving cell TCI state": the TCI state that is directly or indirectly linked to the serving cell RS; ● The term "neighbor cell TCI state": the TCI state directly or indirectly linked to the neighbor cell RS; ● The term "active TCI state": indicated by a message / signaling from a network device (eg DCI message, RRC, MAC CE, etc.). ● Beam Index / Identity (ID): A resource indicator / ID, which may be identified by an indicator / ID of an RS (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, and SRS).

[0059] In this disclosure, some terms may refer to the same or similar physical meaning and may be used interchangeably. Some illustrative examples are given below: ● The terms "RS" and "RS resource" may be used interchangeably. • The terms "active TCI state", "activated TCI state", "applied TCI state", "indicated TCI state", "TCI state indicated in the TCI field in the DCI", "current TCI state", and "assumed TCI state" may be used interchangeably. - The terms "transmission", "transmission occasion", and "repetition" may be used interchangeably. The terms "beam failure", "link failure" and "radio link failure" may be used interchangeably. ● The terms "recovery threshold", "Q in The terms "threshold," "in-sync threshold," "new beam threshold," and "candidate beam threshold" may be used interchangeably. ● The terms "precoder", "precoding", "precoding matrix", "beam", "spatial relationship information", "spatial relationship info", "TPMI", "precoding information", "precoding information and number of layers", "precoding matrix indicator (PMI)", "precoding matrix indicator", "transmit precoding matrix indication", "precoding matrix indication", "TCI state", "transmit configuration indicator", "quasi co-location (QCL)", "quasi co-location", "QCL parameters", "QCL assumption", "QCL relationship" and "spatial relationship" may be used interchangeably. ● The terms "SRS resource index (SRI)", "SRS resource set index", "UL TCI", "UL spatial domain filter", "UL beam", and "combined TCI" may be used interchangeably. Example environment

[0060] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication environment 100 in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced.

[0061] The communication network 100 includes a terminal device 110, a network device 120-1 and a network device 120-2. In the following text, the network devices 120-1 and 120-2 are referred to as a first terminal network device 120-1 and a second network device 120-2, respectively.

[0062] In the example of FIG. 1, a first network device 120-1 provides a serving cell 130-1 for terminal device 110, and a second network device 120-2 provides a neighboring cell 130-2 for terminal device 110.

[0063] One or more beams / RSs may be configured within serving cell 130-1 or neighboring cell 130-2. For the sake of better understanding, in the specific example of FIG. 1, beam 140-1 is associated with serving cell 130-1 and is used as a Tx beam for SSB#1 associated with serving cell 130-1. Furthermore, beams 150-1 and 160-1 are associated with serving cell 130-1 and are used as Tx beams for CSI-RS#1 and CSI-RS#2, and the beams for CSI-RS#1 and CSI-RS#2 are associated with both serving cell 130-1 and SSB#1.

[0064] 1, beam 140-2 is associated with neighboring cell 130-2 and is used as a Tx beam for SSB#2 associated with neighboring cell 130-2. Additionally, beams 150-2 and 160-2 are associated with neighboring cell 130-2 and are used as Tx beams for CSI-RS#3 and CSI-RS#4, and beams for CSI-RS#1 and CSI-RS#2 are associated with both serving cell 130-2 and SSB#2.

[0065] In environment 100, the link from network device 120 to terminal device 110 is referred to as DL, and the link from terminal device 110 to network device 120 is referred to as UL. In DL, network device 120 is a transmitting device (or transmitter), terminal device 110 is a receiving device (or receiver), and network device 120 may send DL transmissions to terminal device 110 via one or more beams. In UL, network device 120 is a receiving device (or receiver), and terminal device 110 is a transmitting device (or transmitter).

[0066] Additionally, types of TCI states may be introduced and defined according to the present disclosure. The type of TCI state may be one of a serving cell TCI state, a neighboring cell TCI state, a DL / UL combined TCI state, a DL-only TCI state, a UL-only TCI state, a Rel-17 TCI state, a Rel-15 / 16 TCI state, etc. Different types of TCI states may be associated with different RS sets. As an example, for a neighboring cell TCI state, CSI-RS#3 or CSI-RS#4 may be used as the QCL source / reference RS. As another example, for a neighboring cell UL-only TCI state, SSB#2, CSI-RS#3, or CSI-RS#4 may be used as the Tx beam reference.

[0067] Communications in communication environment 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Furthermore, communications may be performed according to any currently known or future-developed generation of communications protocols. Examples of communications protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) communications protocols.

[0068] It should be understood that the number of devices (i.e., terminal devices 110, network devices 120) and their connection relationships and types as shown in Figure 1 are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitations. Communication network 100 may include any appropriate number of devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Process Example

[0069] Although features / operations are described separately in particular exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that, unless expressly indicated to the contrary, these features / operations described in different exemplary embodiments may be used in any suitable combination.

[0070] In the following description, the expression "highest" is used in some exemplary embodiments. In the present disclosure, "highest" does not refer to the unique highest value, but may refer to a relative highest value. Specifically, the highest value may refer to the nth highest value, for example, the second highest value, the third highest value, etc., where n is greater than "0."

[0071] Additionally, in the following description, value quality parameters (eg, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, etc.) may refer to measured values, reported values, scaled values, etc.

[0072] For example, the "highest L1-RSRP" may refer to at least the "nth highest L1-RSRP of all measured RSs," "nth highest L1-RSRP of all reported RSs," "nth highest L1-RSRP of all scaled RSs," etc. Also, the "highest L1-RSRP" may be equally replaced by other quality parameters (e.g., L1 / L3-RSRP, L1 / L3-SINR, L1 / L3 RSSI, L1 / L3 RSRQ, etc.).

[0073] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2, which shows a signaling chart illustrating a communication process 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 200 may involve a terminal device 120 and a network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 or a second network device 120-2). Furthermore, in the specific example of FIG. 2, the first network device 120-1 provides a serving cell 130-1 for the terminal device 110, and the serving cell 130-1 is associated with a first PCI. Furthermore, the second network device 120-2 provides a neighboring cell 130-2 for the terminal device 110, and the neighboring cell 130-2 is associated with a second PCI.

[0074] Optionally, terminal device 110 and network device 120 may communicate capability-related information and related measurement configurations to enable embodiments of the present disclosure described below. During this interactive procedure, certain rules for configuring and reporting measurement results may be defined, and related redefined / newly introduced parameters may be exchanged between terminal device 110 and network device 120.

[0075] 2, the terminal device 110 transmits (210) capability-related information to the network device 120. Alternatively or additionally, the network device 120 transmits (220) a measurement configuration to the terminal device 110.

[0076] Additionally, the capability related information and measurement configuration may be carried within any suitable signaling / message, including but not limited to, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, a DCI message, a MAC CE, etc.

[0077] In this way, existing signaling structures may be reused and updated to accommodate inter-cell beam measurement and reporting.

[0078] An example of capability-related information is whether the terminal device 110 supports generating at least one measurement report based on the active TCI state of the terminal device 110. Additionally, if the type of the (active) TCI state is introduced, the capability-related information may also indicate whether the terminal device 110 supports determining report content (i.e., generating at least one measurement report) based on the type of the (active) TCI state.

[0079] Another example of capability-related information is whether the terminal device 110 supports the configuration of serving cell RSs and neighbor cell RSs for one L1-RSRP reporting instance or within one resource set for L1-RSRP reporting. Alternatively or additionally, the capability-related information may indicate whether the terminal device 110 supports scaling of measurement results (e.g., measured L1-RSRP), thereby enabling L1-RSRP reporting of neighbor cell RSs.

[0080] Another example of capability related information is the maximum number of serving cell SSBs, neighbor cell SSBs, serving cell CSI-RS, neighbor cell CSI-RS in a report / resource set.

[0081] As described above, network device 120 may also transmit the measurement configuration to terminal device 110. In one exemplary embodiment, the measurement configuration may be generated based on capability-related information received from terminal device 110. In another exemplary embodiment, the measurement configuration is generated independently of the capability-related information (i.e., without requiring capability-related information from terminal device 110).

[0082] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may receive higher layer configuration (i.e., measurement configuration, e.g., via an RRC message) from network device 120. The higher layer configuration may also indicate / include cell-related configuration. For example, the higher layer configuration may include cell-specific configuration, including parameters such as PCI, cell ID, SSB transmit power, etc.

[0083] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the higher layer configuration may indicate / include measurement and reporting related configurations, for example, the higher layer configuration may indicate reporting quantities such as SSB Resource Indicator (SSBRI)-RSRP, CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI)-RSRP, SSBRI-SINR, CRI-SINR, etc.

[0084] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the higher layer configuration may indicate / include information (e.g., indications) to enable improving the measurement and reporting solutions described in this disclosure. In one exemplary embodiment, the measurement configuration indicates information to enable terminal device 110 to generate the at least one measurement report based on an active TCI state of terminal device 110. Alternatively or additionally, in one embodiment, the measurement configuration indicates information to enable terminal device 110 to generate the at least one measurement report by scaling measurement results (e.g., RSRP).

[0085] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the higher layer configuration may indicate / include some relevant parameters, such as a power offset. The power offset may be any power offset used by terminal device 110 in the following procedures. In some embodiments, the power offset may be: A power offset defined within the standard requirements; a power offset set by the network device; SSB transmission power difference and a power offset defined within the event-driven beam reporting; a power offset defined within the mobility event; the ratio of CSI-RS EPRE to SSB EPRE; the ratio of CSI-RS EPRE to PDSCH EPRE; The difference in path loss, the difference in coupling loss, the difference in value obtained by subtracting the received power from the transmitted power; a power offset reported by the UE; and Differences in transmit antenna / beamforming gain and Differences in receive antenna / beamforming gain and Difference in transmit / receive antenna / beamforming gain, is associated with at least one of

[0086] In some exemplary embodiments, the power offset refers to one of the parameters set forth above. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the power offset refers to a combination of the parameters set forth above.

[0087] An example of a power offset is an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching. Another example of a power offset is a transmit power difference between the first network device 120-1 (i.e., serving cell 130-1) and the second network device 120-2 (i.e., neighboring cell 130-2).

[0088] It should be understood that the above description of "power offset" is applicable throughout this disclosure, and for the sake of brevity, similar descriptions will be omitted in other parts of this disclosure.

[0089] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the measurement configuration indicates information about measurement resources, specifically, at least one ID of at least one individual cell to be measured and at least one RS ID associated with each of the at least one individual cell to be measured.

[0090] Additionally, measurement configurations may be realized as mixed configurations within one reporting configuration, e.g., additional PCIs or cell IDs are configured for the corresponding measurement resources. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the information about measurement resources is indicated by a single resource set.

[0091] One exemplary mixing setup is shown below: TIFF0007758186000001.tif69168

[0092] In this particular exemplary embodiment, the parameter / field "cell ServCellIndex" is used as an optional parameter, which means that this parameter / field may or may not be set depending on different application requirements / scenarios.

[0093] In this specific exemplary embodiment, SSBs are used as RS resources for illustrative purposes only, without any limitation being implied, and in other embodiments, SSBs may be replaced by any suitable RS (e.g., CSI-RS, SRS, etc.) or a combination of different RSs.

[0094] It should also be understood that the message structures and associated parameters / fields shown in the specific exemplary embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitations. Embodiments according to the present disclosure may be implemented with any suitable signaling / messages including any suitable parameters / fields.

[0095] Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, in the case of a mixed configuration, the terminal device 110 does not expect the parameter "repetition" of this resource set to be set as "ON." Also, if the parameter "repetition" is set to be "ON," the terminal device 110 may interpret this as the same spatial filter being used for resources associated with the same PCI.

[0096] Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the measurement configuration may be realized as a single configuration, e.g., in two or more reporting configurations, each reporting configuration corresponding to a respective PCI / cell. In one particular specific embodiment, the information about measurement resources is represented by at least one resource set, each associated with a cell to be measured. Additionally, the connection between these reporting configurations needs to be known by the terminal device 110.

[0097] In some exemplary embodiments, for an mTRP, one reporting configuration can be associated with two measurement resource sets. In one particular exemplary embodiment, one channel measurement resource set can include only resources associated with the same PCI.

[0098] In some exemplary embodiments, the measurement configuration may indicate / include relevant configurations for beam failure recovery (BFR), such as BFD RS, candidate beam RS, relevant thresholds, etc.

[0099] In some exemplary embodiments, the measurement configuration may indicate / include power headroom reporting (PHR), related configuration for UL beam selection, candidate SSB / CSI-RS resource pool configuration, and the like.

[0100] The above exemplary capability-related information and associated measurement configurations are provided for illustrative purposes only. It should be understood that any suitable capability-related information and associated measurement configurations may be communicated during this stage to enable the following measurement and reporting procedures. The present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0101] 2 , in some exemplary embodiments, network device 120 may transmit 230 a message (e.g., a DCI message) to trigger beam measurements at terminal device 110. Terminal device 110 may receive 240 an RS from network device 120. Terminal device 110 may then generate 250 at least one beam measurement report (e.g., a reported SSBRI / CRI-RSRP) and transmit 260 the at least one beam measurement report to network device 120 (i.e., in serving cell 130-1 or in neighboring cell 130-2).

[0102] As described above, according to conventional solutions, some wasteful and unnecessary measurement results may be reported from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120. As one exemplary scenario, the terminal device 110 reports neighbor cell beam information when its transmission / reception is associated with the serving cell 130-1. In this case, if the L1-RSRP of the neighbor cell RS<the highest L1-RSRP of the serving cell RS, there is no need to switch to the neighbor cell 130-2, which means that this report is not useful.

[0103] In another exemplary scenario, the terminal device 110 reports serving cell beam information when its transmission / reception is associated with the neighboring cell 130-2. In this case, if the L1-RSRP of the serving cell RS<the highest L1-RSRP of the neighboring cell RS, there is no need to switch back to the serving cell 130-1, which means that this report is not useful.

[0104] To reduce the number of useless and unnecessary measurement results reported, in some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 generates the at least one beam measurement report based on the active TCI state of the terminal device 110.

[0105] As described above, the active TCI states of terminal device 110 may correspond to different cells, e.g., serving cell 130-1 or neighbor cell 130-2. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 may generate the at least one beam measurement report based on the specific cell corresponding to the active TCI state. Alternatively or additionally, the active TCI states of terminal device 110 may correspond to different transmission directions, e.g., uplink or downlink. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 may generate the at least one beam measurement report based on the transmission direction corresponding to the active TCI state.

[0106] It should be understood that the corresponding cell and the corresponding transmission direction are two different aspects of the active TCI state, which means that these two aspects may be combined. For example, the active TCI state may correspond to a serving cell UL-only TCI state and a neighbor cell DL-only TCI state. For the sake of brevity only, other combinations of these two aspects are not illustrated.

[0107] For better understanding, some exemplary processes for generating beam measurement reports based on active TCI states are described below.

[0108] In some exemplary embodiments, when the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1 (sometimes referred to as the serving cell TCI state), reporting of neighbor cell beam information may be restricted.

[0109] It should be understood that limiting the reporting of neighbor cell beam information may be achieved in several ways.

[0110] In one exemplary embodiment, if the active TCI state corresponds to terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for at least one RS associated with serving cell 130-1.

[0111] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, when the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1 of the terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for RSs associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 and whose signal quality satisfies the reporting condition. In other words, when the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1 of the terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report does not include any measurement results for RSs associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 and whose signal quality does not satisfy the reporting condition.

[0112] In one exemplary embodiment, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with neighboring cell 130-1 exceeds a preset threshold. Additionally, the preset threshold may be a default threshold (e.g., a fixed value defined by a wireless standard, e.g., 3GPP) or may be set by network device 120 and transmitted to terminal device 110.

[0113] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with neighboring cell 130-2 exceeds the highest signal quality of the RS associated with serving cell 130-1, e.g., L1-RSRP of neighboring cell RS > highest L1-RSRP of serving cell RS.

[0114] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 exceeds the sum of the highest signal quality of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 and a preset offset, e.g., L1-RSRP of the neighboring cell RS > highest L1-RSRP of the serving cell RS + the preset offset. In some exemplary embodiments, the power offset is an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the power offset is a transmit power difference between the first network device 120-1 (i.e., the serving cell 130-1) and the second network device 120-2 (i.e., the neighboring cell 130-2). Additionally, the transmit power difference is an SSB transmit power difference.

[0115] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, if the active TCI state corresponds to terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1, the at least one measurement report includes measurements for only RSs associated with serving cell 130-1.

[0116] Additionally, in some embodiments, if the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for only RSs of serving cell 130-1, the number of bits for indicating the RSs is determined based on the number of RSs measured and configured to be associated with serving cell 130-1. That is, the L1-RSRP report format can be updated. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the bit width of the SSBRI / CRI field can be reduced from ceil(log2(K)) to ceil(log2(K1)), where K is the total number of configured resources of the corresponding resource set and K1 is the total number of configured resources associated with serving cell 130-1.

[0117] Alternatively, the bit width of the SSBRI / CRI field may be ceil(log2(max(K1,K2))), where K1 is the total number of configured resources associated with the serving cell 130-1 and K2 is the total number of configured resources associated with the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0118] In some exemplary embodiments, reporting of serving cell 130-1 beam information may be restricted when the active TCI state corresponds to neighboring cell 130-2 (sometimes referred to as a neighboring cell TCI state). Similarly, restricting reporting of serving cell 130-1 beam information may also be achieved by several means.

[0119] In two exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to neighboring cell 130-2 of terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes measurements for at least one RS associated with neighboring cell 130-2.

[0120] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, when the active TCI state corresponds to neighboring cell 130-2 of terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for RSs associated with serving cell 130-1 and whose signal quality satisfies the reporting condition. In other words, when the active TCI state corresponds to neighboring cell 130-2 of terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report does not include any measurement results for RSs associated with serving cell 130-1 and whose signal quality does not satisfy the reporting condition.

[0121] In one exemplary embodiment, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with serving cell 130-1 exceeds a preset threshold. Additionally, the preset threshold may be a default threshold (e.g., a fixed value defined by a wireless standard, e.g., 3GPP) or may be set by network device 120 and transmitted to terminal device 110.

[0122] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 exceeds the highest signal quality of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2, i.e., the L1-RSRP of the serving cell RS > the highest L1-RSRP of the neighboring cell RS.

[0123] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 exceeds the sum of the highest signal quality of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 and a preset offset, e.g., L1-RSRP of the serving cell RS > highest L1-RSRP of the neighboring cell RS + the preset offset. In some exemplary embodiments, the power offset is an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the power offset is a transmit power difference between the first network device 120-1 (i.e., the serving cell 130-1) and the second network device 120-2 (i.e., the neighboring cell 130-2). Additionally, the transmit power difference is an SSB transmit power difference.

[0124] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, if the active TCI state corresponds to neighboring cell 130-2 of terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes measurements for only RSs associated with neighboring cell 130-2.

[0125] Additionally, in some embodiments, if the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for only RSs of neighbor cell 130-2, the number of bits indicating the RSs is determined based on the number of RSs measured and configured to be associated with neighbor cell 130-2. That is, the L1-RSRP report format can be updated. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the bit width of the SSBRI / CRI field can be reduced from ceil(log2(K)) to ceil(log2(K2)), where K is the total number of configured resources of the corresponding resource set and K2 is the total number of configured resources associated with neighbor cell 130-2.

[0126] Alternatively, the bit width of the SSBRI / CRI field may be ceil(log2(max(K1,K2))), where K1 is the total number of configured resources associated with the serving cell 130-1 and K2 is the total number of configured resources associated with the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0127] In some exemplary embodiments, when the active TCI state corresponds to an uplink transmission (sometimes referred to as a UL-only TCI state), reporting of DL beam information may be restricted.

[0128] In one exemplary embodiment, if the active TCI state corresponds to an uplink transmission, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for at least one RS configured for uplink beam selection (i.e., at least one beam suitable for UL). In one exemplary embodiment, the beam suitable for UL may be a beam that is an SSB / CSI-RS configured / used for PHR reporting for MPE mitigation.

[0129] Alternatively, in some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to downlink transmission (sometimes referred to as a DL-only TCI state), reporting of UL beam information may be restricted.

[0130] In one exemplary embodiment, if the active TCI state corresponds to a downlink transmission, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for at least one RS configured for downlink beam selection.

[0131] Additionally, as mentioned above, it should be understood that the corresponding cell and the corresponding transmission direction are two different aspects of the active TCI state, which means that these two aspects may be used separately or in combination.

[0132] As a specific example, the active TCI state corresponds to a serving cell UL-only TCI state and a neighbor cell DL-only TCI state. In this particular scenario, the at least one measurement report includes at least one serving beam suitable for UL and at least one neighbor cell beam. In one exemplary embodiment, the beam suitable for UL may be a beam that is a configured / used SSB / CSI-RS for PHR reporting for MPE mitigation. Furthermore, the terminal device 110 expects the configured number of reporting RSs to be greater than one. It should be understood that other implementations may also be implemented for the combined state. For brevity, other implementations are omitted here.

[0133] Alternatively or additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, measurement behavior and reporting may be determined based on the active TCI state, as follows: In this way, wasteful and unnecessary measurement reporting may be avoided and beam selection for the currently associated cell for data transmission may become more rational.

[0134] In one exemplary embodiment, if the at least two measurement reports are for L1-SINR and the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1, the value of L1-SINR is determined using at least one RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as a channel measurement RS and at least one RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-1 as an interference measurement RS.

[0135] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, if the at least one measurement report is for L1-SINR and the active TCI state corresponds to neighboring cell 130-2, the value of L1-SINR is determined using at least one RS associated with neighboring cell 130-2 as a channel measurement RS and at least one RS associated with serving cell 130-1 as an interference measurement RS.

[0136] Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, for L1-SINR reporting configuration, two resource sets may be configured, where one resource set is for channel measurement and another resource set is for interference measurement, and resources within one resource set may be associated with the same PCI.

[0137] Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, as one initial setting, when the active TCI is in the serving cell TCI state, the serving cell RS is configured in the channel measurement resource set, and the neighbor cell RS is configured in the interference measurement resource set. After the active TCI state is switched from the serving cell TCI state to the neighbor cell TCI state, the channel measurement resource set becomes the interference measurement resource set, and the interference resource set becomes the channel measurement resource set. In one exemplary embodiment, there may be a one-to-one (1-1) mapping between resources in the channel measurement resource (CMR) and resources in the interference measurement resource (IMR). Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, all resources or a subset of resources in the IMR may be used to calculate the interference power, for example, by accumulating the interference power, considering only the highest interference, or averaging the top N interferences.

[0138] Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, for L1-SINR reporting configuration, one resource set may be configured to have both serving cell RSs and neighbor cell RSs mixed together. When the active TCI state corresponds to serving cell 130-1, the serving cell RSs in the resource set are used for channel measurement, and the neighbor cell RSs in the resource set are used for interference measurement. Furthermore, the number of bits in the L1-SINR report for indicating RSs is determined based on the number of serving cell RSs configured in the resource set. When the active TCI state is switched from the serving cell TCI state to the neighbor cell TCI state, the neighbor cell RSs in the resource set are used for channel measurement, and the serving cell RSs in the resource set are used for interference measurement. Furthermore, the number of bits in the L1-SINR report for indicating RSs is determined based on the number of neighbor cell RSs configured in the resource set.

[0139] In one exemplary embodiment, if the active TCI state corresponds to the terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1, the terminal device 110 performs measurements using the quasi co-location (QCL) assumption of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as the QCL assumption of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2. Additionally, the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 is the RS included in the active TCI state. Alternatively, the RS associated with the serving cell is the corresponding serving cell RS of the neighboring cell RS in a 1-1 CMR / IMR mapping relationship.

[0140] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, if the active TCI state corresponds to the neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110, measurements are performed using the QCL assumption of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 as the QCL assumption of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1. Additionally, the RS associated with the neighboring cell is the RS included in the active TCI state. Alternatively, the RS associated with the neighboring cell is the corresponding neighboring cell RS of the serving cell RS in a 1-1 CMR / IMR mapping relationship.

[0141] Additionally, as discussed above, for inter-cell scenarios, transmit power differences can lead to an increased number of "out of range" reports. According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, terminal device 110 may scale at least one measurement result by a pre-configured offset based on the active TCI state.

[0142] In some exemplary embodiments, when the active TCI state corresponds to terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1, terminal device 110 scales measurements for RSs associated with neighbor cell 130-2 by a preset offset, e.g., scaled RSRP of neighbor cell RS = measured RSRP of neighbor cell RS + offset. Thus, in some exemplary embodiments, when the active TCI state corresponds to terminal device 110's neighbor cell 130-2, terminal device 110 scales measurements for RSs associated with serving cell 130-1 by a preset offset.

[0143] Alternatively, in some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to neighbor cell 130-2 of terminal device 110, terminal device 110 scales measurements for RSs associated with neighbor cell 130-2 by a preset offset. Thus, in some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to serving cell 130-1 of terminal device 110, terminal device 110 scales measurements for RSs associated with serving cell 130-1 by a preset offset.

[0144] In some exemplary embodiments, the power offset is an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the power offset is a transmit power difference between the first network device 120-1 (i.e., serving cell 130-1) and the second network device 120-2 (i.e., neighboring cell 130-2). Additionally, the transmit power difference is an SSB transmit power difference.

[0145] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 may scale measurements for RSs associated with cells having lower transmit power by the transmit power difference between serving cell 130-1 and neighboring cell 130-2. In other words, terminal device 110 scales measurements depending on which cell has the higher SSB transmit power. For example, if the SSB power of Cell 1 is the higher of the SSB power of Cell 1 and the SSB power of Cell 2, then the RSRP of Cell 2 RS may be scaled as follows: scaled RSRP of Cell 2 RS = measured RSRP of Cell 2 RS + SSB power of Cell 1 - SSB power of Cell 2.

[0146] In addition to scaling the measurements, improved formatting of the measurement results, as described below, may reduce the number of "out of range" reports.

[0147] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one beam measurement report indicates both a first absolute value of the measurement result for serving cell 130-1 and a second absolute value of the measurement result for neighbor cell 130-2. Furthermore, such beam measurement report is generated conditionally. One exemplary condition is that the transmit power (e.g., SSB transmit power) in serving cell 130-1 for terminal device 110 is different from the transmit power in neighbor cell 130-2 for terminal device 110. Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, the at least one beam measurement further indicates a differential measurement result for an RS associated with serving cell 130-1 relative to the first absolute value or a differential measurement result for an RS associated with neighbor cell 130-2 relative to the second absolute value.

[0148] In one particular exemplary embodiment, whenever the serving cell 130-1 and neighboring cell 130-2 have different SSB transmit powers, a PCI-specific reference (absolute) 7-bit L1-RSRP is reported, and a differential RSRP is calculated relative to the reference RSRP reported per PCI.

[0149] Two exemplary format examples for measurement reports are shown below in Tables 1 and 2. TIFF0007758186000002.tif65168TIFF0007758186000003.tif70168

[0150] As mentioned above, there is also a need to improve conventional BFR procedures.

[0151] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 is configured with a recovery threshold in a first cell (serving cell 130-1 or neighboring cell 130-2) and obtains measurements of an RS associated with a second cell different from the first cell. Then, during a BFR procedure, terminal device 110 applies the recovery threshold to measurements obtained for the RS associated with the second cell after scaling the measurements by a preconfigured offset. In some exemplary embodiments, the power offset is an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the power offset is a transmit power difference between first network device 120-1 (i.e., serving cell 130-1) and second network device 120-2 (i.e., neighboring cell 130-2). Additionally, the transmit power difference is an SSB transmit power difference.

[0152] In this way, an appropriate beam may be selected during a BFR procedure.

[0153] In one exemplary embodiment, if a neighbor cell SSB or neighbor cell CSI-RS is configured as a candidate beam RS, the terminal device 110 compares its received power with a threshold after scaling.

[0154] In one particular exemplary embodiment, "powerControlOffsetInterCell" is used as the threshold. In this case, terminal device 110 applies Q to L1-RSRP measurements obtained for neighbor cell SSBs after scaling the individual SSB received powers by the value provided by powerControlOffsetInterCell. in,LR Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 110 may apply a Q factor to the L1-RSRP measurements obtained for neighbor cell CSI-RS resources after scaling the individual CSI-RS received powers with the values ​​provided by powerControlOffsetSS and powerControlOffsetInterCell. in,LR Apply a threshold.

[0155] In another exemplary embodiment, if at least one of the neighbor cell SSBs in the candidateBeamRSList whose SS-RSRP exceeds rsrp-ThresholdSSB by X dB or the neighbor cell CSI-RSs in the candidateBeamRSList whose CSI-RSRP exceeds rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS by X dB is available, the terminal device 110 selects the neighbor cell SSBs in the candidateBeamRSList whose SS-RSRP exceeds rsrp-ThresholdSSB by X dB or the neighbor cell CSI-RSs in the candidateBeamRSList whose CSI-RSRP exceeds rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS by X dB. ● rsrp-ThresholdSSB: RSRP threshold for SpCell beam failure recovery. ● rsrp-ThresholdBFR: RSRP threshold for SCell beam failure recovery. ● candidateBeamRSList: A list of candidate beams for SpCell beam failure recovery. ● candidateBeamRSSCellList: A list of candidate beams for SCell beam failure recovery. ● rsrp-ThresholdSSB: RSRP threshold for SSB selection for 4-step RA type. If a random access procedure is initiated for beam failure recovery, the rsrp-ThresholdSSB used for the selection of an SSB in candidateBeamRSList points to the rsrp-ThresholdSSB in the IE that is BeamFailureRecoveryConfig. ● rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS: RSRP threshold for CSI-RS selection for 4-step RA type. If the random access procedure is initiated for beam failure recovery, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS is equal to rsrp-ThresholdSSB in the IE BeamFailureRecoveryConfig.

[0156] Furthermore, the BFR MAC CE may be improved accordingly. BFR MAC CE signaling can be used to notify the network device 120 of BFR-related information. The MAC format may include at least an AC field and a Candidate RS ID field. Specifically, in some embodiments, the field "AC" indicates the presence of the Candidate RS ID field in this octet. If at least one of the neighbor cell SSBs in the candidateBeamRSSCellList whose SS-RSRP exceeds rsrp-ThresholdBFR by X dB or the neighbor cell CSI-RSs in the candidateBeamRSSCellList whose CSI-RSRP exceeds rsrp-ThresholdBFR by X dB is available, the AC field is set to 1; otherwise, it is set to 0. If the AC field is set to 1, the Candidate RS ID field is present. If the AC field is set to 0, R bits are present instead. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the field "Candidate RS ID" is set to the index of the neighbor cell SSB in candidateBeamRSSCellList that has an SS-RSRP that exceeds rsrp-ThresholdBFR by X dB, or to the index of the neighbor cell CSI-RS in candidateBeamRSSCellList that has a CSI-RSRP that exceeds rsrp-ThresholdBFR by X dB. The index of the SSB or CSI-RS is the index of the entry in candidateBeamRSSCellList that corresponds to that SSB or CSI-RS. Index 0 corresponds to the first entry in candidateBeamRSSCellList, index 1 corresponds to the second entry in the list, and so on. The length of this field is 6 bits.

[0157] In some embodiments, if both the neighbor cell RS and the serving cell RS are BFD RSs, the ratio of the PDCCH EPRE to the RS EPRE is assumed to be 0 dB when the terminal device 110 estimates the hypothetical PDCCH BLER. Specifically, for link recovery, the ratio of the PDCCH EPRE to the corresponding NZP CSI-RS EPRE is assumed to be 0 dB. Furthermore, the corresponding RS may be the activated RS, or if both RSs are activated, the corresponding RS may be the RS with the highest ERPE.

[0158] Additionally, as mentioned above, there is a need to improve upon conventional solutions for reporting PHR. In some embodiments, terminal device 110 generates a power headroom message that includes a first set of power control parameters associated with serving cell 130-1, the first set including at least one power control parameter for an RS associated with serving cell 130-1. In this way, beam-dedicated PHR is supported. In the current PHR reporting format, the reported PHR is CMAX,f,c is defined for carrier f of serving cell c and the reported PH and P-MPR values. If the reported SSBRI / CRI is associated with neighbor cell c', then the reported P CMAX , PH, and P-MPR must also be for the neighbor cell c'. Otherwise, misalignment of power control parameters in different cells occurs. Therefore, for the PHR reporting extended to facilitate MPE mitigation, multiple sets of power control parameters can be reported, and the P-MPR for each reported set can be CMAXEach reported set of P-MPR, PH, or P-MPR parameters may be associated with a cell having a distinct PCI with which the reported SSBRI / CRI is associated. It should be understood that the power control parameters may include any suitable parameters. An example of a power control parameter is the P-MPR parameter specified in 3GPP TS 38.213 and used for the calculation of the previous power headroom (PH) field. CMAX,f,c is.

[0159] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, terminal device 110 generates a PH message that includes a second set of power control parameters associated with neighboring cell 130-2, thus supporting power control for neighboring cell 130-2.

[0160] In one specific embodiment, P CMAX,f,c is the UE configured maximum output power for carrier f of neighboring cell 130-2, and PH is associated with neighboring cell 130-2.

[0161] In some embodiments, the PH message includes multiple sets of power control parameters corresponding to multiple PCIs, including the first PCI and the second PCI. CMAX ) is reported, and the reported P CMAX The number of PCIs is related to the number of different PCIs. CMAX,f,c is defined for carrier f of the cell with which the SSBRI / CRI is associated.

[0162] In some embodiments, each of the first set of power control parameters and the second set of power control parameters includes at least one parameter, the at least one parameter including: a power headroom corresponding to an individual PCI; a power headroom for each particular channel or RS (such as a PUCCH, PUSCH, or SRS) corresponding to the individual PCI; a power headroom for each particular channel or RS (such as a PUCCH, PUSCH, or SRS) corresponding to a cell associated with the individual PCI; a maximum transmit power level corresponding to the individual PCI; a maximum transmit power level corresponding to a cell associated with the individual PCI; a maximum power reduction corresponding to the individual PCI; a maximum power reduction corresponding to a cell associated with the individual PCI; a maximum power reduction for the individual RS; a delta power reduction for the individual RS with respect to the maximum power reduction; and information indicating whether the individual RS belongs to serving cell 130-1 or neighboring cell 130-2.

[0163] In one particular exemplary embodiment, power management power reductions (P-MPRs) are included in the PH message. Specifically, the PH message includes one common P-MPR per PCI and a delta P-MPR per RS ​​ID.

[0164] Additionally, in some embodiments, the RS ID is a logical ID to indicate the position of the corresponding RS in the configured SSB / CSI-RS list for MPE reporting or for P-MPR reporting.

[0165] Additionally, in some embodiments, an additional bit is introduced to indicate whether the reported RS ID refers to a neighbor cell RS. Alternatively, in some embodiments, an additional bit is introduced to indicate the exact cell of the reported RS ID.

[0166] Additionally, terminal device 110 transmits the PH message in response to activation of a TCI state corresponding to a PCI different from the first PCI. In one particular exemplary embodiment, terminal device 110 transmits this PH message when a TCI state associated with a PCI different from the current PCI is activated (or indicated) and the SSB transmit power difference is greater than a threshold (or the offset is greater than a threshold). Example method

[0167] 3 is a flowchart of an example method 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 300 may be implemented in the terminal device 110 shown in FIG.

[0168] In block 310, a terminal device 110 configured to have at least one of a serving cell 130-1 associated with a PCI and a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI generates at least one beam report based on the active TCI state of the terminal device 110.

[0169] In block 310, terminal device 110 transmits at least one beam measurement report in serving cell 130-1 or in neighboring cell 130-2.

[0170] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 generates the at least one beam measurement report based on at least one of the cell corresponding to the active TCI state, which is the serving cell 130-1 or the neighboring cell 130-2, and the transmission direction corresponding to the active TCI state, which is the uplink or the downlink.

[0171] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1 of the terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes at least one of measurement results for at least one RS associated with the serving cell 130-1, measurement results for RSs associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 and whose signal quality meets the reporting condition, or measurement results for only the RSs associated with the serving cell 130-1.

[0172] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with neighboring cell 130-2 exceeds one of a preset threshold, the highest signal quality of the RS associated with serving cell 130-1, or the highest signal quality of the RS associated with serving cell 130-1 plus a preset offset.

[0173] In some exemplary embodiments, if the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for only the RSs of serving cell 130-1, the number of bits to indicate the RSs is determined based on the number of RSs that are measured and configured to be associated with serving cell 130-1.

[0174] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to a neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes at least one of measurement results for at least one RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2, measurement results for RSs associated with the serving cell 130-1 and whose signal quality meets a reporting condition, or measurement results for only RSs associated with the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0175] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 exceeds one of a preset threshold, the best signal quality of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2, or the best signal quality of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 plus a preset offset.

[0176] In some exemplary embodiments, if the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for only the RSs of neighboring cell 130-2, the number of bits to indicate the RSs is determined based on the number of RSs that are measured and configured to be associated with neighboring cell 130-2.

[0177] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to an uplink transmission, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for at least one RS configured for uplink beam selection.

[0178] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to a downlink transmission, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for at least one RS configured for downlink beam selection.

[0179] In some exemplary embodiments, if the at least one measurement report is for L1-SINR, the value of L1-SINR is determined by using at least one RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as a channel measurement RS and at least one RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 as an interference measurement if the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1, or by using at least one RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 as a channel measurement RS and at least one RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as an interference measurement if the active TCI state corresponds to the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0180] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to the terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1, the terminal device 110 performs measurements using the QCL assumptions of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as the QCL assumptions of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2, or if the active TCI state corresponds to the terminal device 110's neighboring cell 130-2, the terminal device 110 performs measurements using the QCL assumptions of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 as the QCL assumptions of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1.

[0181] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 scales at least one measurement result by a preset offset based on the active TCI state and generates at least one beam measurement report including the scaled measurement result.

[0182] In some exemplary embodiments, the pre-set offset is one of an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching, or the transmit power difference between the serving cell 130-1 and the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0183] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 scales measurements for RSs associated with neighbor cell 130-2 by a pre-configured offset when the active TCI state corresponds to terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1.

[0184] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 scales measurements for RSs associated with serving cell 130-1 by a preconfigured offset when the active TCI state corresponds to terminal device 110's neighbor cell 130-2.

[0185] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 scales measurement results for an RS associated with neighboring cell 130-2 by a pre-configured offset when the active TCI state corresponds to neighboring cell 130-2 of terminal device 110.

[0186] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 scales measurement results for RSs associated with serving cell 130-1 by a preconfigured offset when the active TCI state corresponds to terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1.

[0187] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 scales the measurement results for the RS associated with the cell having the lower transmission power by the transmission power difference between the serving cell 130-1 and the neighboring cell 130-2, and generates the at least one beam measurement report including the scaled measurement results.

[0188] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 transmits capability-related information indicating whether the terminal device 110 supports generating the at least one measurement report based on the active TCI status of the terminal device 110 within the serving cell 130-1 or within the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0189] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 receives a measurement configuration indicating at least one of information to enable the terminal device 110 to generate the at least one measurement report based on an active TCI state of the terminal device 110, or information regarding measurement resources indicating at least one ID of at least one individual cell to be measured and at least one RS ID to be measured associated with each of the at least one individual cell.

[0190] In some exemplary embodiments, the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by a single resource set, or the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by at least one resource set each associated with a cell being measured.

[0191] 4 is a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 400 may be implemented in the terminal device 110 shown in FIG.

[0192] In block 410, terminal device 110 generates at least one beam measurement report indicating a first absolute value of the measurement result for serving cell 130-1 and a second absolute value of the measurement result for neighbor cell 130-2.

[0193] In block 420, terminal device 110 transmits at least one beam measurement report in serving cell 130-1 or in neighboring cell 130-2.

[0194] In some exemplary embodiments, if the transmit power in serving cell 130-1 for terminal device 110 differs from the transmit power in neighboring cell 130-1 for terminal device 110, terminal device 110 generates at least one beam measurement at the terminal device indicating a first absolute value of the measurement result for the serving cell and a second absolute value of the measurement result for the neighboring cell. Additionally, terminal device 110 transmits at least one beam measurement report in the serving cell or in the neighboring cell.

[0195] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one beam measurement further indicates at least one of a differential measurement result for an RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 relative to a first absolute value and a differential measurement result for an RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 relative to a second absolute value.

[0196] 5 is a flowchart of an example method 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 500 may be implemented in the terminal device 110 shown in FIG.

[0197] In block 510, the terminal device 110 configured with a recovery threshold in the first cell obtains measurements on an RS associated with the second cell, the RS being an SSB or a CSI-RS.

[0198] In block 510, during a beam failure recovery procedure, the terminal device 110 applies a recovery threshold to the measurement results obtained for the RS associated with the second cell after scaling the measurement results by a pre-configured offset, which is one of an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching, or the transmission power difference between the first cell and the second cell.

[0199] 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 600 may be implemented in the terminal device 110 shown in FIG.

[0200] In block 610, the terminal device 110 configured to have at least one of a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI and a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI generates a power headroom message including at least one of a first set of power control parameters associated with the serving cell 130-1, the first set of power control parameters including at least one power control parameter for an RS associated with the serving cell 130-1, or a second set of power control parameters associated with the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0201] In block 620, terminal device 110 transmits a power headroom message in serving cell 130-1 or in neighboring cell 130-2.

[0202] In some exemplary embodiments, the power headroom message includes multiple sets of power control parameters corresponding to multiple PCIs, including the first PCI and the second PCI.

[0203] In some exemplary embodiments, each of the first set of power control parameters and the second set of power control parameters includes at least one of a maximum transmit power level corresponding to an individual PCI, a maximum power reduction corresponding to the individual PCI, a power headroom corresponding to the individual PCI, a delta power reduction for the individual RS relative to the maximum power reduction, or information indicating whether the individual RS belongs to the serving cell 130-1 or the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0204] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 transmits the power headroom message in response to a TCI state corresponding to a PCI different from the first PCI being activated.

[0205] 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 700 may be implemented in the network device 120 shown in FIG.

[0206] In block 710, a network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) transmits a message to trigger beam measurements.

[0207] In block 720, network device 120 receives, from terminal device 110, at least one beam measurement report generated by terminal device 110 based on the active TCI state of terminal device 110.

[0208] In some exemplary embodiments, network device 120 receives capability-related information from terminal device 110 indicating whether terminal device 110 supports generating the at least one measurement report based on the active TCI state of terminal device 110.

[0209] In some exemplary embodiments, network device 120 transmits to terminal device 110 a measurement configuration indicating at least one of: information to enable terminal device 110 to generate the at least one measurement report based on the active TCI state of terminal device 110; or information regarding measurement resources indicating at least one ID of at least one individual cell to be measured and at least one RS ID to be measured associated with each of the at least one individual cell.

[0210] In some exemplary embodiments, the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by a single resource set, or the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by at least one resource set each associated with a cell being measured.

[0211] 8 is a flowchart of an example method 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 800 may be implemented in the network device 120 shown in FIG.

[0212] In block 810, the network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI, or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) receives at least one beam measurement report from the terminal device 110 indicating a first absolute value of the measurement result for the serving cell 130-1 and a second absolute value of the measurement result for the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0213] In some exemplary embodiments, a network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI, or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) receives at least one beam measurement report from a terminal device 110 indicating a first absolute value of a measurement result for the serving cell 130-1 and a second absolute value of a measurement result for the neighboring cell 130-2, where the transmit power of the first device is different from the transmit power of the second device.

[0214] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one beam measurement further indicates at least one of a delta measurement result for an RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 relative to a first absolute value and a delta measurement result for an RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 relative to a second absolute value.

[0215] 9 is a flowchart of an example method 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 900 may be implemented in the network device 120 shown in FIG.

[0216] In block 910, the network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) receives a power headroom message from the terminal device 110, the power headroom message including at least one of a first set of power control parameters corresponding to the first PCI, the first set of power control parameters including power control parameters for an RS corresponding to the first PCI, or a second set of power control parameters corresponding to a second PCI associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110.

[0217] In some exemplary embodiments, the power headroom message includes multiple sets of power control parameters corresponding to multiple PCIs, including the first PCI and the second PCI.

[0218] In some exemplary embodiments, each of the first set of power control parameters and the second set of power control parameters includes at least one of a maximum transmit power level corresponding to an individual PCI, a maximum power reduction corresponding to the individual PCI, a power headroom corresponding to the individual PCI, a delta power reduction for the individual RS with respect to the maximum power reduction, or information indicating whether the individual RS belongs to serving cell 130-1 or neighboring cell 130-2. Equipment example

[0219] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to generate at least one beam report based on an active TCI state of the terminal device 110 configured to have at least one of a serving cell 130-1 associated with a PCI and a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI, and to transmit the at least one beam measurement report within the serving cell 130-1 or within the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0220] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to generate the at least one beam measurement report based on at least one of a cell that is a serving cell 130-1 or a neighboring cell 130-2 corresponding to an active TCI state, and a transmission direction that is an uplink or a downlink corresponding to the active TCI state.

[0221] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1 of the terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes at least one of measurement results for at least one RS associated with the serving cell 130-1, measurement results for RSs associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 and whose signal quality meets the reporting condition, or measurement results for only the RSs associated with the serving cell 130-1.

[0222] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with neighboring cell 130-2 exceeds one of a preset threshold, the highest signal quality of the RS associated with serving cell 130-1, or the highest signal quality of the RS associated with serving cell 130-1 plus a preset offset.

[0223] In some exemplary embodiments, if the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for only the RSs of serving cell 130-1, the number of bits for indicating the RSs is determined based on the number of RSs that are measured and configured to be associated with serving cell 130-1.

[0224] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to a neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110, the at least one measurement report includes at least one of measurement results for at least one RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2, measurement results for RSs associated with the serving cell 130-1 and whose signal quality meets a reporting condition, or measurement results for only RSs associated with the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0225] In some exemplary embodiments, the reporting condition is that the signal quality of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 exceeds one of a preset threshold, the best signal quality of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2, or the best signal quality of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 plus a preset offset.

[0226] In some exemplary embodiments, if the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for only the RSs of neighboring cell 130-2, the number of bits for indicating the RSs is determined based on the number of RSs that are measured and configured to be associated with neighboring cell 130-2.

[0227] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to an uplink transmission, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for at least one RS configured for uplink beam selection.

[0228] In some exemplary embodiments, if the active TCI state corresponds to a downlink transmission, the at least one measurement report includes measurement results for at least one RS configured for downlink beam selection.

[0229] In some exemplary embodiments, if the at least one measurement report is for L1-SINR, the value of L1-SINR is determined by using at least one RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as a channel measurement RS and at least one RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 as an interference measurement if the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1, or by using at least one RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 as a channel measurement RS and at least one RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as an interference measurement if the active TCI state corresponds to the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0230] In some demonstrative embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to perform measurements using the QCL assumption of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 as the QCL assumption of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 when the active TCI state corresponds to the serving cell 130-1 of the terminal device 110. When the active TCI state corresponds to the neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110, the circuitry is further configured to perform measurements using the QCL assumption of the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 as the QCL assumption of the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1.

[0231] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to scale at least one measurement result by a preset offset based on the active TCI state and generate the at least one beam measurement report including the scaled measurement result.

[0232] In some exemplary embodiments, the pre-set offset is one of an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching, or the transmit power difference between the serving cell 130-1 and the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0233] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to scale measurement results for an RS associated with neighboring cell 130-2 by a pre-configured offset when the active TCI state corresponds to serving cell 130-1 of terminal device 110.

[0234] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to scale the measurement results for the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 by a pre-configured offset when the active TCI state corresponds to the neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110.

[0235] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to, when the active TCI state corresponds to the neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110, scale the measurement results for the RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 by a pre-configured offset.

[0236] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to, when the active TCI state corresponds to the terminal device 110's serving cell 130-1, scale the measurement results for the RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 by a pre-configured offset.

[0237] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to scale the measurement results for the RS associated with the cell having the lower transmit power by a transmit power difference between the serving cell 130-1 and the neighboring cell 130-2, and generate the at least one beam measurement report including the scaled measurement results.

[0238] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to transmit capability-related information indicating whether the terminal device 110 supports generating the at least one measurement report based on the active TCI state of the terminal device 110 within the serving cell 130-1 or within the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0239] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive a measurement configuration indicating at least one of information for enabling the terminal device 110 to generate the at least one measurement report based on an active TCI state of the terminal device 110, or information regarding measurement resources indicating at least one ID of at least one individual cell to be measured and at least one RS ID to be measured associated with each of the at least one individual cell.

[0240] In some exemplary embodiments, the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by a single resource set, or the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by at least one resource set each associated with a cell being measured.

[0241] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to cause the terminal device 110 to generate at least one beam measurement report indicating a first absolute value of a measurement result for the serving cell 130-1 and a second absolute value of a measurement result for the neighboring cell 130-2, and to transmit the at least one beam measurement report within the serving cell 130-1 or within the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0242] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 110 comprises circuitry configured to generate at least one beam measurement report indicative of a first absolute value of a measurement result for the serving cell 130-1 for terminal device 110 and a second absolute value of a measurement result for the neighboring cell 130-1, when a transmit power in a serving cell 130-1 for terminal device 110 differs from a transmit power in a neighboring cell 130-1 for terminal device 110, and to transmit the at least one beam measurement report in the serving cell or in the neighboring cell.

[0243] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one beam measurement further indicates at least one of a differential measurement result for an RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 relative to a first absolute value and a differential measurement result for an RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 relative to a second absolute value.

[0244] In some exemplary embodiments, a terminal device 110 configured to have a recovery threshold in a first cell comprises circuitry configured to obtain measurement results of an RS associated with a second cell, the RS being an SSB or a CSI-RS, and during a beam failure recovery procedure, apply the recovery threshold to the measurement results obtained for the RS associated with the second cell after scaling the measurement results by a pre-configured offset that is one of an offset defined by event-driven beam reporting or event-driven cell switching, or a transmission power difference between the first cell and the second cell.

[0245] In some exemplary embodiments, a terminal device 110 configured to have at least one of a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI and a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI comprises circuitry configured to generate a power headroom message including at least one of a first set of power control parameters associated with the serving cell 130-1, the first set of power control parameters including at least one power control parameter for an RS associated with the serving cell 130-1, or a second set of power control parameters associated with the neighboring cell 130-2, and transmit the power headroom message within the serving cell 130-1 or within the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0246] In some exemplary embodiments, the power headroom message includes multiple sets of power control parameters corresponding to multiple PCIs, including the first PCI and the second PCI.

[0247] In some exemplary embodiments, each of the first set of power control parameters and the second set of power control parameters includes at least one of a maximum transmit power level corresponding to an individual PCI, a maximum power reduction corresponding to the individual PCI, a power headroom corresponding to the individual PCI, a delta power reduction for the individual RS with respect to the maximum power reduction, or information indicating whether the individual RS belongs to serving cell 130-1 or neighboring cell 130-2.

[0248] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry may be further configured to transmit a power headroom message in response to a TCI state corresponding to a PCI different from the first PCI being activated.

[0249] In some exemplary embodiments, a network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) comprises circuitry configured to send a message to trigger beam measurements and to receive from the terminal device 110 at least one beam measurement report generated by the terminal device based on the active TCI state of the terminal device.

[0250] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive capability-related information from the terminal device 110 indicating whether the terminal device 110 supports generating the at least one measurement report based on the active TCI state of the terminal device 110.

[0251] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to transmit to the terminal device 110 a measurement configuration indicating at least one of: information to enable the terminal device 110 to generate the at least one measurement report based on an active TCI state of the terminal device 110; or information regarding measurement resources indicating at least one ID of at least one individual cell to be measured and at least one RS ID to be measured associated with each of the at least one individual cell.

[0252] In some exemplary embodiments, the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by a single resource set, or the information regarding measurement resources is indicated by at least one resource set each associated with a cell being measured.

[0253] In some exemplary embodiments, a network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) comprises circuitry configured to receive from the terminal device 110 at least one beam measurement report indicating a first absolute value of a measurement result for the serving cell 130-1 and a second absolute value of a measurement result for the neighboring cell 130-2.

[0254] In some exemplary embodiments, a network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) comprises circuitry configured to receive from the terminal device 110 at least one beam measurement report indicating a first absolute value of a measurement result for the serving cell 130-1 and a second absolute value of a measurement result for the neighboring cell 130-2, wherein the transmit power of the first device is different from the transmit power of the second device.

[0255] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one beam measurement further indicates at least one of a delta measurement result for an RS associated with the serving cell 130-1 relative to a first absolute value and a delta measurement result for an RS associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 relative to a second absolute value.

[0256] In some exemplary embodiments, a network device 120 (a first network device 120-1 providing a serving cell 130-1 associated with a first PCI or a second device providing a neighboring cell 130-2 associated with a second PCI) comprises circuitry configured to receive from the terminal device 110 a power headroom message including at least one of a first set of power control parameters corresponding to the first PCI, the first set of power control parameters including power control parameters for an RS corresponding to the first PCI, and a second set of power control parameters corresponding to a second PCI associated with the neighboring cell 130-2 of the terminal device 110.

[0257] In some exemplary embodiments, the power headroom message includes multiple sets of power control parameters corresponding to multiple PCIs, including the first PCI and the second PCI.

[0258] In some exemplary embodiments, each of the first set of power control parameters and the second set of power control parameters includes at least one of a maximum transmit power level corresponding to an individual PCI, a maximum power reduction corresponding to the individual PCI, a power headroom corresponding to the individual PCI, a delta power reduction for the individual RS with respect to the maximum power reduction, or information indicating whether the individual RS belongs to serving cell 130-1 or neighboring cell 130-2.

[0259] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparatus 1000 may be considered as another exemplary implementation of terminal device 110 and network devices 120-1 and 120-2 shown in Figure 1. Accordingly, apparatus 1000 may be implemented in, or as at least a part of, terminal device 110 and network devices 120-1 and 120-2.

[0260] As shown, the apparatus 1000 comprises a processor 1010, a memory 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1040 coupled to the processor 1010, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1040. The memory 1010 stores at least a portion of a program 1030. The TX / RX 1040 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access nodes referred to herein may actually have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a mobility management entity (MME) / serving gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, a Un interface for communication between an eNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0261] The program 1030 is assumed to include program instructions, as described herein with reference to Figures 3-9, that, when executed by the associated processor 1010, enable the device 1000 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1010 of the device 1000, by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1010 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 1010 and the memory 1020 may form a processing means 1050 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0262] The memory 1020 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. While only one memory 1020 is shown in the device 1000, several physically distinct memory modules may be present within the device 1000. The processor 1010 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1000 may have multiple processors, for example, application-specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0263] Overall, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software executable by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented, by way of non-limiting example, in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0264] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above with reference to FIGS. 11 through 22. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0265] Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when executed by the processor or controller, cause the program code to implement the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a separate software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0266] The above-described program code may be embodied on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or associated with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned media. More specific examples of a machine-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0267] It should be noted that, although operations have been described in a particular order, it should not be understood that performing such operations in the particular order shown, or in any sequential order, or performing all of the operations described, is required to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Some features that are described in the context of individual embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0268] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure, as defined in the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), means for obtaining Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) measurements for Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) that are quasi-co-located (QCLed) with Synchronization Signal and PBCH blocks (SSBs) associated with an additional Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) different from the serving cell's Physical Cell Identifier (PCI); means for applying a Qin,LR threshold to the L1-RSRP measurement after the UE has scaled individual CSI-RS received power by a value provided by powerControlOffsetSS; means for transmitting to the network a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including a UE capability information element indicating a maximum number of L1-RSRP measurements associated with the additional PCI; Including, The Qin,LR threshold corresponds to rsrp-ThresholdBFR, which is used by the UE to determine whether to include the SSB associated with the additional PCI in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) for Beam Failure Recovery (BFR). UE.

2. means for the UE to determine whether to include the SSB associated with the additional PCI in the MAC CE for BFR; The UE of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The MAC CE includes a candidate RS ID field; The candidate RS ID field includes an index of the SSB associated with the additional PCI if the SS-RSRP of the SSB associated with the additional PCI exceeds the rsrp-ThresholdBFR.

3. The UE according to claim 1 or 2.

4. means for transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) message to the network, the radio resource control (RRC) message including a UE capability information element including a parameter indicating support of inter-cell beam management (BM) and multiple transmission / reception points (mTRP); The UE of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

5. 1. A method for a user equipment (UE), comprising: obtaining Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) measurements for Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) that are quasi-co-located (QCLed) with Synchronization Signal and PBCH blocks (SSBs) associated with an additional Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) different from the serving cell's Physical Cell Identifier (PCI); applying a Qin,LR threshold to the L1-RSRP measurement after the UE has scaled the individual CSI-RS received power by the value provided by powerControlOffsetSS; sending a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message to the network including a UE capability information element indicating a maximum number of L1-RSRP measurements associated with the additional PCI; Including, The Qin,LR threshold corresponds to rsrp-ThresholdBFR, which is used by the UE to determine whether to include the SSB associated with the additional PCI in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) for Beam Failure Recovery (BFR). method.

6. determining whether the UE includes the SSB associated with the additional PCI in the MAC CE for BFR; The method of claim 5 further comprising:

7. The MAC CE includes a candidate RS ID field; The candidate RS ID field includes an index of the SSB associated with the additional PCI if the SS-RSRP of the SSB associated with the additional PCI exceeds the rsrp-ThresholdBFR.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6.

8. Sending a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message to the network, the message including a UE capability information element, the UE capability information element including parameters indicating support for inter-cell beam management (BM) and multiple transmission / reception points (mTRP); The method of claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

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