Systems and methods for PUCCH reliability enhancement

Abstract

SOLUTION: A method for operating a wireless device includes: receiving an activation command to activate a first spatial relation and a second spatial relation; optionally determining the first spatial relation and the second spatial relation based on one or more Downlink Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states; transmitting Uplink Control Information (UCI) according to the first spatial relation in a first set of symbols or slots; and transmitting the UCI according to the second spatial relation in a second set of symbols or slots. Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is used to select two or more spatial relations from a list of Radio Resource Control (RRC) configured spatial relations.EFFECT: Since MAC CE is used to select spatial relations, different combinations can be easily selected dynamically to improve Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) reliability.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Related Applications This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 970,572, filed February 5, 2020, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reliability. [Background technology]

[0003] Next-generation mobile radio communication systems (5G) or new radio (NR) will support a diverse set of use cases and deployment scenarios, the latter including deployments at both low frequencies (below 6 GHz) and very high frequencies (up to tens of GHz).

[0004] NR Frame Structure and Resource Grid

[0005] NR uses cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) in both the downlink (DL) (i.e., from the network node, gNB, or base station to the user equipment (UE)) and uplink (UL) (i.e., from the UE to the gNB). Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM is also supported in the uplink. In the time domain, the NR downlink and uplink are organized into equal-sized subframes of 1 ms each. The subframes are further divided into multiple slots of equal duration. The slot length depends on the subcarrier spacing. For a subcarrier spacing of Δf = 15 kHz, there is only one slot per subframe, and each slot consists of 14 OFDM symbols.

[0006] Data scheduling in NR may generally be slot-based, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1 with a 14-symbol slot, where the first two symbols contain the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and the rest contain the Physical Shared Data Channel, i.e., either the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). Different subcarrier spacing values ​​are supported in NR (also called different numerologies). The supported subcarrier spacing values ​​are Δf = (15 × 2 μ ) kHz, where ∈{0, 1, 2, 3, 4}. Δf = 15 kHz is the basic subcarrier spacing. The slot durations at different subcarrier spacings are Given by TIFF0007771243000001.tif11170.

[0007] In the frequency domain, the system bandwidth is divided into resource blocks (RBs), each corresponding to 12 adjacent subcarriers. RBs are numbered starting with 0 from one end of the system bandwidth. The basic NR physical time-frequency resource grid is shown in Figure 2, where only one RB in a 14-symbol slot is shown. One OFDM subcarrier in one OFDM symbol interval forms one resource element (RE).

[0008] Downlink transmissions are dynamically scheduled, i.e., in each slot, the gNB transmits downlink control information (DCI) on the PDCCH regarding to which UE data should be transmitted and on which RBs the data will be transmitted in the current downlink slot. UE data is carried on the PDSCH.

[0009] In NR, there are three DCI formats defined for scheduling PDSCH: DCI format 1_0 and DCI format 1_1 introduced in NR Rel-15, and DCI format 1_2 introduced in NR Rel-16. DCI format 1_0 has a smaller size than DCI 1_1 and may be used when the UE is not fully connected to the network, while DCI format 1_1 may be used to schedule multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmissions with multiple MIMO layers.

[0010] In NR Rel-16, DCI format 1_2 was introduced for downlink scheduling. One of the main motivations for having a new DCI format is the ability to configure a very small DCI size, which can provide some reliability improvement without losing much flexibility. A major design target of the new DCI format is therefore to have a DCI with configurable sizes for some fields, with the minimum DCI size targeted for a 10-16 bit reduction relative to Rel-15 DCI format 1_0.

[0011] NR HARQ ACK / NACK feedback on PUCCH Upon receiving a PDSCH from the serving gNB in ​​slot n in the downlink, the UE feeds back a HARQ ACK to the gNB in ​​slot n+k on PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) resources in the uplink if the PDSCH is successfully decoded; otherwise, the UE sends a HARQ NACK to the gNB in ​​slot n+k to indicate that the PDSCH was not successfully decoded. If two transport blocks (TBs) are carried by the PDSCH, a HARQ ACK / NACK is reported for each TB.

[0012] In DCI format 1_0, k is indicated by the 3-bit PDSCH-HARQ timing indicator field. In DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2, k is indicated either by the 0- to 3-bit PDSCH-HARQ timing indicator field, if present, or by higher layer configuration through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. Separate RRC configuration of PDSCH to HARQ-Ack timing is used for DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2.

[0013] In DCI format 1_1, if CBG transmission is configured, HARQ ACK / NACK for each CBG in the TB is reported instead.

[0014] In case of carrier aggregation (CA) and / or TDD operation involving multiple carriers, multiple aggregated HARQ ACK / NACK bits need to be sent in a single PUCCH.

[0015] PUCCH Resources

[0016] In NR, up to four PUCCH resource sets can be configured for a UE. A PUCCH resource set with pucch-ResourceSetId=0 can have up to 32 PUCCH resources, and for PUCCH resource sets with pucch-ResourceSetId=1-3, each set can have up to 8 PUCCH resources. The UE determines the PUCCH resource set in a slot based on the number of aggregated uplink control information (UCI) bits to be sent in the slot. The UCI bits consist of HARQ ACK / NACK, scheduling request (SR), and channel state information (CSI) bits.

[0017] For PUCCH transmission with HARQ-ACK information, the UE determines the PUCCH resource after determining the PUCCH resource set. The PUCCH resource determination is based on a 3-bit PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) field in DCI format 1_0 or DCI format 1_1. For DCI format 1_2, the PUCCH resource determination is based on a configurable PRI field with a field size configurable between 0 and 3 bits.

[0018] For CA and / or TDD, if two or more DCI formats 1_0, 1_1, or 1_2 are received, the PUCCH resource determination is based on the PRI field in the last DCI format 1_0, 1_1, or 1_2 among the multiple received DCI formats 1_0, 1_1, or 1_2 that the UE detects. In this case, the multiple received DCI formats 1_0, 1_1, or 1_2 have values ​​of the PDSCH-HARQ_Feedback Timing Indicator field that indicate the same slot for PUCCH transmission. For PUCCH resource determination in this case, the detected DCI formats are first indexed in ascending order across serving cells indexed for the same PDCCH monitoring occasion, and then indexed in ascending order across PDCCH monitoring occasion indices.

[0019] PUCCH format Five PUCCH formats are defined in NR, namely PUCCH formats 0 to 4. A UE transmits UCI in the PUCCH using PUCCH format 0 in the following cases: - The transmission is over one symbol or two symbols - The number of HARQ-ACK information bits (HARQ-ACK / SR bits) with positive or negative SR is 1 or 2 The UE shall transmit UCI in the PUCCH using PUCCH format 1 in the following cases: - The transmission spans four or more symbols - The number of HARQ-ACK / SR bits is 1 or 2 The UE shall transmit UCI in the PUCCH using PUCCH format 2 in the following cases: - The transmission is over one symbol or two symbols - The number of UCI bits is 3 or more The UE shall transmit UCI in the PUCCH using PUCCH format 3 in the following cases: - The transmission spans four or more symbols - The number of UCI bits is 3 or more - The PUCCH resource does not contain an orthogonal cover code The UE shall transmit UCI in the PUCCH using PUCCH format 4 in the following cases: - The transmission spans four or more symbols - The number of UCI bits is 3 or more - the PUCCH resource contains an orthogonal cover code

[0020] PUCCH formats 0 and 2 use one or two OFDM symbols, while PUCCH formats 1, 3, and 4 can span from four to 14 symbols. Thus, PUCCH formats 0 and 2 are called short PUCCHs, and PUCCH formats 1, 3, and 4 are called long PUCCHs.

[0021] Short PUCCH format A PUCCH Format 0 resource can be one or two OFDM symbols within a slot in the time domain and one RB in the frequency domain. Figure 3 shows an example of a one- and two-symbol short PUCCH without frequency hopping (FH). The UCI is used to select a cyclic shift of a computer-generated length-12 base sequence mapped to the RBs. The starting symbol and starting RB are configured by RRC. If two symbols are configured, the UCI bit is repeated in two consecutive symbols.

[0022] A PUCCH Format 2 resource can be one or two OFDM symbols within a slot in the time domain and one or more RBs in the frequency domain. UCI in PUCCH Format 2 is coded and scrambled with a Reed-Muller (RM) code (≦11-bit UCI+CRC) or a Polar code (>11-bit UCI+CRC). If two symbols are configured, UCI is coded and mapped across two consecutive symbols.

[0023] Intraslot FH may be enabled if two symbols are configured for PUCCH formats 0 and 2. If FH is enabled, the starting PRB in the second symbol is configured by RRC. When two symbols are configured such that different cyclic shifts are used in the two symbols, cyclic shift hopping is used.

[0024] Long PUCCH format PUCCH Format 1 resources are 4 to 14 symbols long and 1 PRB wide per hop. A computer-generated length-12 base sequence is modulated with UCI and weighted with a time-domain OCC code. Frequency hopping with one hop within the active UL BWP for the UE is supported and can be enabled / disabled by RRC. Base sequence hopping across hops is enabled for FH and across slots without FH.

[0025] PUCCH Format 3 resources are 4 to 14 symbols long and one or more PRBs wide per hop. UCI in PUCCH Format 3 is coded and scrambled with a Reed-Muller (RM) code (≦11-bit UCI+CRC) or a Polar code (>11-bit UCI+CRC). Figure 4 shows exemplary 14-symbol and 7-symbol long PUCCHs with intraslot frequency handoff enabled.

[0026] PUCCH Format 4 resources are 4 to 14 symbols long and 1 PRB wide per hop. PUCCH Format 4 resources have a similar structure to PUCCH Format 3, but can be used for multi-UE multiplexing. Figure 5 shows exemplary 14-symbol and 7-symbol long PUCCHs with intra-slot FH disabled.

[0027] For PUCCH formats 1, 3, or 4, the UE shall determine the number of slots for each repetition of PUCCH transmission by nrofSlots. TIFF0007771243000002.tif7170 can be set. In TIFF0007771243000003.tif8170, - UE, TIFF0007771243000004.tif Repeat PUCCH transmission with UCI over 8170 slots - TIFF0007771243000005.tif7170 PUCCH transmissions in each of the slots have the same number of consecutive symbols. - TIFF0007771243000006.tif9 The PUCCH transmission in each of the 170 slots has the same first symbol. - if the UE is configured to perform frequency hopping for PUCCH transmission across different slots, ○ UE performs frequency hopping for each slot o The UE transmits PUCCH starting with the first PRB in even slots and starting with the second PRB in odd slots. The slot indicated to the UE for the first PUCCH transmission has the number 0, and each subsequent slot indicates whether the UE transmits PUCCH in that slot or not. TIFF0007771243000007.tif Counts until PUCCH is transmitted within 8170 slots o The UE is not expected to be configured to perform frequency hopping for PUCCH transmissions within a slot - If the UE is not configured to perform frequency hopping for PUCCH transmission across different slots, and if the UE is configured to perform frequency hopping for PUCCH transmission within a slot, the frequency hopping pattern between the first PRB and the second PRB is the same within each slot. Figure 6 shows an example of PUCCH repetition in two slots with (a) inter-slot FH enabled and (b) inter-slot FH disabled and intra-slot FH enabled.

[0028] Spatial Regulations Spatial relationship is used in NR to refer to the relationship between a UL Reference Signal (RS), such as a PUCCH / PUSCH DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal), and another RS, which can be either a DL RS (CSI-RS (Channel State Information RS) or SSB (Synchronization Signal Block)), or a UL RS (SRS (Sounding Reference Signal)). This is also defined from the UE perspective.

[0029] If a UL RS is spatially related to a DL RS, it means that the UE should transmit the UL RS in the opposite (reciprocal) direction from which the UE previously received the DL RS. More precisely, the UE should apply the same Tx spatial filtering setting for transmitting the UL RS as the Rx spatial filtering setting that the UE previously used to receive the spatially related DL RS. Here, the term "spatial filtering setting" may refer to the antenna weights applied at either the transmitter or receiver for data / control transmission / reception. The DL RS is also called a spatially filtered reference signal.

[0030] On the other hand, if the first UL RS is spatially related to the second UL RS, the UE should apply the same Tx spatial filtering setting for transmission for the first UL RS as the Tx spatial filtering setting that the UE previously used to transmit the second UL RS.

[0031] An example of using spatial relationships for the PUCCH is shown in Figure 7. First, the gNB at transmission and reception point (TRP) A indicates to the UE that the PUCCH DMRS is spatially related to the DL RS. The UE then receives the DL RS using the RX spatial filtering setting (i.e., the Rx beam) shown in Figure 7A. As shown in Figure 7B, the UE uses the same TX spatial filtering setting (i.e., the Tx beam) that the UE used in Figure 7A to transmit the PUCCH.

[0032] Spatial Relationship Indication for PUCCH NR Rel-15 Spatial Relationship Indication for PUCCH In NR Rel-15, 3GPP TS38.213 and 3GPP TS38.331 specify that a UE can be RRC configured with a list of up to eight spatial relationships for the PUCCH. This list is given by the RRC parameter PUCCH_SpatialRelationInfo. For example, the list will typically contain IDs of several SSB and / or CSI-RS resources. Alternatively, the list may also contain IDs of several SRS resources.

[0033] Based on DL (UL) beam management measurements performed by the UE (gNB), the gNB selects one of the RS IDs from the list of configured RS IDs in the PUCCH_SpatialRelationInfo. The selected spatial relationship is then activated via a MAC-CE message signaled to the UE for a given PUCCH resource. The UE then uses the signaled spatial relationship to adjust the Tx spatial filtering settings for transmissions on that PUCCH resource.

[0034] The MAC CE for activation / deactivation for PUCCH spatial relations is shown in Figure 8. The MAC-CE message contains (1) the ID of the PUCCH resource and (2) an indicator of which of the eight configured spatial relations in PUCCH_SpatialRelationInfo has been selected (given by 8 bits S0, S1, S2, ..., S7). The MAC CE also contains the serving cell ID to which the MAC CE applies and a BWP ID (Bandwidth Portion ID) indicating the UL BWP to which the MAC CE applies as a codepoint in the DCI Bandwidth Portion Indicator field as specified in 3GPP TS38.212.

[0035] In addition to establishing the spatial relationship for the PUCCH, each PUCCH_SpatialRelationInfo (as shown below) also provides several PUCCH power control parameters, including a reference RS ID (i.e., pucch-PathlossReferenceRS-Id) for pathloss estimation, p0-PUCCH-Id for open-loop power control, and closedLoopIndex for closed-loop power control. The pucch-PathlossReferenceRS can be either a CSI-RS or an SSB. TIFF0007771243000008.tif127170

[0036] NR Rel-16 Spatial Relationship Indication for PUCCH One enhancement made in NR Rel-16 is to increase the maximum number of RRC-configured spatial relationships for PUCCH, allowing an NR Rel-16 UE to be RRC-configured with a list of up to 64 spatial relationships for PUCCH.

[0037] In NR Rel-15, the spatial relationship is updated for each PUCCH resource. In NR Rel-16, simultaneous spatial relationship update / indication for a group of PUCCH resources is introduced to achieve signaling overhead reduction. In Rel-16, explicit upper layer signaling is used to indicate the group of PUCCH resources to the UE, and the MAC CE is used to simultaneously update / indicate a single spatial relationship for each group of PUCCH resources. When the MAC CE simultaneously updates / indicates a single spatial relationship for a group of PUCCH resources, the indicated spatial relationship applies to all PUCCH resources in the group of PUCCH resources. In NR Rel-16, up to four PUCCH groups are supported per BWP.

[0038] HARQ A / N extension for URLLC in NR Rel-16 In NR Rel16, a higher priority is allocated to PDSCHs carrying URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency) traffic and may be indicated in the DCI that schedules the PDSCH. HARQ Ack / Nack information for PDSCHs with higher priority is transmitted separately from HARQ A / N information for other PDSCHs. This allows HARQ A / Ns for URLLC traffic to be transmitted earlier and more reliably in different PUCCH resources.

[0039] Furthermore, in NR Rel-16, it was agreed that at least one subslot configuration for the PUCCH can be UE-specifically configured and that multiple HARQ Ack / Nack transmissions per slot are possible. The subslot configuration supports periodicities of two symbols (i.e., seven two-symbol PUCCH occasions per slot) and seven symbols (i.e., two seven-symbol PUCCH occasions per slot). One of the reasons for introducing these subslot configurations in NR Rel-16 is to enable the possibility of multiple opportunities for HARQ Ack / Nack transmission within a slot without having to configure several PUCCH resources. For example, in Rel-16, a UE operating a URLLC service can be configured with the possibility of receiving a PDCCH every two OFDM symbols, e.g., in symbols 0, 2, 4, ..., 12, and with a PUCCH resource with seven two-symbol subslots for HARQ-ACK transmission every two symbols, e.g., in symbols 1, 3, ..., 13. For Rel-16 UEs configured with sub-slots for PUCCH transmission, the PDSCH-HARQ feedback timing indicator field in the DCI indicates the timing offset in terms of sub-slots instead of slots.

[0040] Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) data transmission over multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs) Reliable PDSCH transmission using multiple panels or transmission points has been introduced in 3GPP for NR Rel-16, and a transport block can be transmitted on multiple TRPs to achieve diversity. Reliability is achieved by transmitting different layers of a coded codeword (CW) for the TB on the same resource on two TRPs (also known as scheme 1a in the Rel-16 standardization), or by transmitting different parts of a CW on different frequency resources on two TRPs (also known as scheme 2a in the Rel-16 standardization), or by repeating the same TB in time (also known as schemes 3 and 4 in the Rel-16 standardization) or in the frequency domain (also known as scheme 2b in the Rel-16 standardization) on two TRPs. For this purpose, two TCI states are indicated in the DCI scheduling the PDSCH.

[0041] In NR Rel-17, it was proposed to introduce a further PUCCH extension with multiple TRPs by repeating the PUCCH towards different TRPs, as shown in Figure 9.

[0042] Three methods were proposed in R1-1911184 (referred to herein as [1]), "Enhancements on multi-TRP / panel transmission," NTT DOCOMO, 3GPP RAN1#98bis, Chongqing, China, October 14-20, 2019.

[0043] Alternative 1: Spatial relationship information for PUCCH for HARQ-ACK transmission to multiple TRPs is configured by RRC.

[0044] The spatial relationship information for PUCCH transmission for each TRP (for each repetition) is configured by RRC signaling. The configured sequence of spatialrelationinfo applies across repetitions, regardless of which PUCCH resource is determined by the ARI indicated in the DCI and / or CCE index of the PDCCH. An example is shown in Table 1. Table 1: Example of PUCCH resource indication with semi-statically configured Spatialrelationinfo sequence as suggested in [1] TIFF0007771243000009.tif30170

[0045] Alternative 2: Spatial relationship information for PUCCH for HARQ-ACK transmission to multiple TRPs is configured by RRC and MAC CE.

[0046] As shown in Table 2, a set of spatialrelationinfo sequences may be configured by the RRC, and then the MAC CE activates one spatialrelationinfo sequence from the multiple spatialrelationinfo sequences configured by the RRC. Table 2: Spatialrelationinfo sequence configured by RRC [1] TIFF0007771243000010.tif61170

[0047] Alternative 3: Spatial relationship information for PUCCH for HARQ-ACK transmission to multiple TRPs is indicated by RRC and DCI.

[0048] Dynamic spatialrelationinfo update / indication, either a separate field or a joint field in the DCI is used to indicate the spatialrelationinfo sequence. To reduce signaling overhead, a joint field for indicating the PUCCH resource and the spatialrelationinfo sequence is considered in Table 3. Table 3: Example of joint field indication for Spatialrelationinfo sequence and PUCCH resource [1] TIFF0007771243000011.tif78170

[0049] DL TCI condition

[0050] For dynamic beam or transmission point selection, the UE may be configured through RRC signaling with up to 128 transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for PDSCH in frequency range 2 (FR2) and up to 8 in FR1, depending on the UE capabilities.

[0051] Each TCI state contains quasi-colocated (QCL) information, i.e., one or two source DL RSs, where each source RS is associated with a QCL type. For example, a TCI state contains a pair of reference signals, each associated with a QCL type, and two different CSI-RSs {CSI-RS1, CSI-RS2} are configured in the TCI state as {qcl-Type1, qcl-Type2} = {Type A, Type D}. This means that the UE can derive the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread from CSI-RS1, and the spatial Rx parameters (i.e., the RX beam to use) from CSI-RS2.

[0052] The list of TCI states may be interpreted as a list of possible beams transmitted from the network or a list of possible TRPs used by the network to communicate with the UE.

[0053] For PDSCH transmission, up to eight TCI states or pairs of TCI states may be activated by the MAC CE, and the UE may be dynamically indicated one or two of the activated TCI states for PDSCH reception by the TCI codepoint in the DCI.

[0054] CORESET (control resource set)

[0055] The UE monitors a set of PDCCH candidates in one or more CORESETs on the active DL Bandwidth Portion (BWP) on each activated serving cell configured with PDCCH monitoring by a corresponding search space set, where monitoring implies decoding each PDCCH candidate according to the monitored DCI format. For each CORESET, one TCI state is activated by the MAC CE.

[0056] Improved systems and methods are needed for transmitting UCI. Summary of the Invention

[0057] A system and method for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reliability are provided. In some embodiments, a method implemented by a wireless device for transmitting uplink control information (UCI) includes receiving an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships, determining the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship based on one or more downlink (DL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, transmitting the UCI according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots, and transmitting the UCI according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots. In this manner, fewer changes to specifications are required. In some embodiments, existing RRC configurations for spatial relationships and MAC CE activation for spatial relationships may be used. Instead of selecting one, two or more spatial relationships may be selected by the MAC CE. Also, because multiple spatial relationships are associated with each PUCCH resource, existing DCIs in which PUCCH resources are selected by PRI bits may be used. Furthermore, some embodiments provide more flexibility. Since the MAC CE is used to select two or more spatial relationships from a list of RRC configured spatial relationships, different combinations can be easily selected dynamically.

[0058] Some aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to the above-mentioned or other problems. The proposed solutions include one or more of the following:

[0059] Activating two or more spatial relationships for PUCCH resources by the MAC CE from a list of spatial relationships configured by the RRC; Applying different spatial relationships in different symbols of PUCCH resources or in different PUCCH transmission opportunities with PUCCH repetitions, and applying different spatial relationships only when certain conditions are met; Dynamically indicating in DCI a set of spatial relationships for PUCCH resources from among multiple activated sets of spatial relationships, each of which may contain one or more spatial relationships; Linking spatial relationships for PUCCH resources to DL TCI states indicated in DCI that schedule the associated PDSCH; Linking spatial relationships for PUCCH resources to DL TCI states of the CORESET associated with the search space set in which the associated PDCCH is received.

[0060] Various embodiments addressing one or more of the problems disclosed herein are proposed herein. In some embodiments, a method for transmitting UCI, implemented by a wireless device, includes receiving an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships, determining the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship based on one or more DL TCI states, transmitting uplink control information (UCI) according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots, and transmitting UCI according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots.

[0061] In some embodiments, the multiple spatial relationships are for PUCCH resources. In some embodiments, each spatial relationship includes at least a DL reference signal. In some embodiments, the UCI in the second set of symbols is a repetition of the UCI in the first set of symbols in the same slot.

[0062] In some embodiments, the time and frequency resources in the first set of symbols are specified by the PUCCH resources. In some embodiments, the UCI is carried in short PUCCH format 0 or 2. In some embodiments, the UCI is carried in PUCCH format 1 or 3 or 4.

[0063] In some embodiments, the UCI transmitted in the second set of slots is a repetition of the UCI transmitted in the first set of slots, and the time and frequency resources in each slot for the UCI are specified by the PUCCH resources.

[0064] In some embodiments, the method also includes signaling a total number of slots for one or more of the first set and second set of slots.

[0065] In some embodiments, transmitting the UCI according to a first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots and according to a second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots occurs when a condition is met, in some embodiments, the condition includes one or more of: two or more TCI states are indicated in the DCI scheduling the PDSCH in which the HARQ A / N is to be transmitted in the PUCCH resources; a high priority is indicated in the DCI scheduling the PDSCH in which the HARQ A / N is to be transmitted in the PUCCH resources; and the UCI associated with a certain traffic type.

[0066] In some embodiments, the activation command is carried by a MAC CE. In some embodiments, the MAC CE activates the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship for the two or more PUCCH resources.

[0067] In some embodiments, the method also includes receiving a plurality of spatial relationships. In some embodiments, receiving the plurality of spatial relationships includes receiving an RRC configuration of the plurality of spatial relationships.

[0068] In some embodiments, the activation command activates a UL TCI state from among multiple UL TCI states for the PUCCH resource, hi some embodiments, the UL TCI state includes a first DL reference signal and a second DL reference signal.

[0069] In some embodiments, transmitting the UCI according to the first spatial relationship or the second spatial relationship includes transmitting the UCI according to a first DL reference signal in a first set of symbols or slots and according to a second DL reference signal in a second set of symbols or slots.

[0070] In some embodiments, the one or more DL TCI states are one or more of: a DL TCI state indicated in a DCI scheduling a PDSCH on which HARQ A / N should be carried on PUCCH resources; and a DL TCI state of one or more control resource sets (CORESETs) on which a DCI scheduling a PDSCH is detected and on which HARQ A / N should be carried on PUCCH resources.

[0071] In some embodiments, the wireless device operates in an NR communication network.

[0072] Some embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages: Fewer changes to specifications are required. In some embodiments, existing RRC configuration for spatial relations and MAC CE activation for spatial relations may be used. Instead of selecting one, two or more spatial relations may be selected by the MAC CE. Also, since multiple spatial relations are associated with each PUCCH resource, existing DCIs in which the PUCCH resource is selected by PRI bits may be used. Furthermore, some embodiments provide more flexibility. Since the MAC CE is used to select two or more spatial relations from a list of RRC-configured spatial relations, different combinations may be easily selected dynamically.

[0073] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0074] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates that data scheduling in New Radio (NR) is generally slot-based. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates a basic NR physical time-frequency resource grid. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a 1 and 2 symbol short physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) without frequency hopping (FH). [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary 14-symbol and 7-symbol long PUCCH with intra-slot FH enabled. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary 14-symbol and 7-symbol long PUCCH with intra-slot FH enabled. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B show examples of PUCCH repetition in two slots with (a) inter-slot FH enabled and (b) inter-slot FH disabled and intra-slot FH enabled. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of using spatial relationships for PUCCH. [Figure 8] A diagram showing a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for activation / deactivation for PUCCH spatial relationships. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates a PUCCH extension with multiple transmission and reception points (TRPs) by repeating the PUCCH towards different TRPs. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a cellular communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates a method of operating a wireless device to transmit UCI according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 illustrates a method of operating a base station to receive uplink control information (UCI) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 illustrates that UCI to be sent in PUCCH resources with two or more spatial relationships is sent in different OFDM symbols or different RBs toward different beams or TRPs specified by the spatial relationships, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 10 illustrates that UCI in two or more spatially related PUCCH resources may be repeated in the time or frequency domain, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 illustrates that repetition may occur at the symbol level within a slot for PUCCH format 0 or 2, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a two-symbol PUCCH initially transmitted in subslot 5 toward TRP1 with a first spatial relationship, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 18]FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized embodiment of a radio access node, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 20] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 21] 10 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 22] FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system including a communication network, according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 23] FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system including a communication network, according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 24] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 25] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 26] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 27] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0075] The embodiments described below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best modes of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not specifically addressed herein. It is understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0076] Wireless Node: As used herein, a "wireless node" is either a wireless access node or a wireless communication device.

[0077] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a "radio access node" or "radio network node" or "radio access network node" is any node in a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to transmit and / or receive signals wirelessly. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth-generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a Home eNB, etc.), a relay node, a network node implementing part of the functionality of a base station (e.g., a network node implementing a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) or a network node implementing a gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU)), or a network node implementing part of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.

[0078] Core Network Node: As used herein, a "core network node" is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements a core network function. Some examples of a core network node include, for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Publication Function (SCEF), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), etc. Some other examples of a core network node include nodes that implement an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a UPF, a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Network Publication Function (NEF), a Network Function (NF) Repository Function (NRF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), etc.

[0079] Communications Device: As used herein, a "communications device" is any type of device that has access to an access network. Some examples of communications devices include, but are not limited to, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a sensor device, a meter, a vehicle, a household appliance, a medical appliance, a media player, a camera, or any type of consumer electronic device, such as, but not limited to, a television, a radio, a lighting device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer (PC). A communications device may be a portable, handheld, computer-equipped, or vehicle-mounted mobile device enabled to communicate voice and / or data via wireless or wired connections.

[0080] Wireless Communication Device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which can be any type of wireless device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network). Some examples of wireless communication devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment devices (UEs) in 3GPP networks, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Such wireless communication devices can be or can be integrated into mobile phones, smartphones, sensor devices, meters, vehicles, household appliances, medical appliances, media players, cameras, or any type of consumer electronics device, such as, but not limited to, televisions, radios, lighting devices, tablet computers, laptop computers, or PCs. Wireless communication devices can be portable, handheld, computer-equipped, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices enabled to communicate voice and / or data over a wireless connection.

[0081] Network Node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node that is part of either the radio access network or the core network of a cellular communications network / system.

[0082] It should be noted that the description provided herein focuses on 3GPP cellular communication systems, and therefore 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is often used, however, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to 3GPP systems.

[0083] It should be noted that in the description herein, reference may be made to the term "cell." However, it is important to note that, particularly with regard to 5G NR concepts, beams may be used instead of cells, and therefore the concepts described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

[0084] 10 illustrates an example of a cellular communication system 1000 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communication system 1000 is a 5G system (5GS) including an NR RAN or an LTE RAN (i.e., an E-UTRA RAN), or an Evolved Packet System (EPS) including an LTE RAN. In this example, the RAN includes base stations 1002-1 and 1002-2, referred to as eNBs in LTE (when connected to an EPC) and gNBs in 5G NR (e.g., an LTE RAN node connected to a 5G RAN, referred to as gn-eNB), which control corresponding (macro) cells 1004-1 and 1004-2. Base stations 1002-1 and 1002-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 1002 and individually as base stations 1002. Similarly, (macro) cells 1004-1 and 1004-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cell 1004 and individually as (macro) cell 1004. The RAN may also include several low-power nodes 1006-1 through 1006-4 that control corresponding small cells 1008-1 through 1008-4. The low-power nodes 1006-1 through 1006-4 may be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations), remote radio heads (RRHs), or the like. Notably, although not shown, one or more of the small cells 1008-1 through 1008-4 may alternatively be provided by base station 1002. The low-power nodes 1006-1 through 1006-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as low-power nodes 1006 and individually as low-power nodes 1006. Similarly, small cells 1008-1 through 1008-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells 1008 and individually as small cells 1008. The cellular communication system 1000 also includes a core network 1010, referred to in 5GS as 5G Core (5GC). The base stations 1002 (and optionally low power nodes 1006) are connected to the core network 1010.

[0085] Base station 1002 and low power node 1006 serve wireless communication devices 1012-1 through 1012-5 in corresponding cells 1004 and 1008. Wireless communication devices 1012-1 through 1012-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 1012 and individually as wireless communication devices 1012. In the following description, wireless communication devices 1012 are often UEs, although the disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0086] In NR Rel-17, it was proposed to introduce further PUCCH extension with multiple transmission and reception points (TRPs) by repeating the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) toward different TRPs, as shown in Figure 9. As explained above, three methods were proposed in [1]. Currently, several challenges exist. Alternative 1 is impractical because it can only semi-statically set a single spatial relationship sequence and is not capable of adapting to fast beam changes. The issues with Alternative 1 can be somewhat alleviated by Alternative 2. However, Alternative 2 assumes that PUCCH repetition applies for all PUCCH resources and regardless of which type of UCI or which associated traffic type is carried by the PUCCH. This is inefficient because in practice, only some types of UCI, such as UCI associated with ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) traffic, may need to be repeated to improve reliability.

[0087] In Alternative 3, the PRI is used for joint PUCCH resource and spatial relationship sequence selection. Given that the PRI consists of only 3 bits, the selection flexibility is very limited. Note that in NR Rel-16, the number of spatial relationships for PUCCH is up to 64. Indicating a spatial relationship sequence consisting of two distinct spatial relationships would involve 64*63=4032 different spatial relationship sequences. Therefore, using a 3-bit PRI field to jointly select PUCCH resources and spatial relationship sequences, as proposed in Alternative 3, is impractical for NR Rel-16 UEs that support up to 64 spatial relationships for PUCCH.

[0088] Furthermore, the lists of spatial relationship sequences, each containing multiple spatial relationships, need to be configured by the RRC in all three cases. Given the large number of possible beams (and associated reference signals) per TRP, the number of combinations of these beams across multiple TRPs, i.e., spatial relationship sequences, can be large.

[0089] A system and method for PUCCH reliability are provided. In some embodiments, a method implemented by a wireless device for transmitting UCI includes receiving an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships, determining the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship based on one or more DL TCI states, transmitting UCI according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots, and transmitting UCI according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots. In this manner, fewer changes to specifications are required. In some embodiments, existing RRC configuration for spatial relationships and MAC CE activation for spatial relationships may be used. Instead of selecting one, two or more spatial relationships may be selected by the MAC CE. Also, because multiple spatial relationships are associated with each PUCCH resource, existing DCI in which the PUCCH resource is selected by PRI bits may be used. Furthermore, some embodiments provide more flexibility. Because the MAC CE is used to select two or more spatial relationships from a list of RRC-configured spatial relationships, different combinations may be easily selected dynamically.

[0090] 11 illustrates a method of operating a wireless device to transmit UCI in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the wireless device optionally receives multiple spatial relationships (step 1100). The wireless device also optionally signals a total number of slots for one or more of the first and second sets of slots (step 1102). The wireless device optionally receives an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among the multiple spatial relationships (step 1104). In some embodiments, the wireless device optionally determines the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship based on one or more DL TCI states (step 1106). The wireless device transmits UCI according to the first spatial relationship in the first set of symbols or slots (step 1108) and transmits UCI according to the second spatial relationship in the second set of symbols or slots (step 1110).

[0091] 12 illustrates a method of operating a base station to receive UCI in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the base station optionally transmits multiple spatial relationships (step 1200). The base station also optionally determines the total number of slots for one or more of the first and second sets of slots (step 1202). The base station optionally transmits an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among the multiple spatial relationships (step 1204). In some embodiments, the base station optionally indicates the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship based on one or more DL TCI states (step 1206). The base station receives UCI according to the first spatial relationship in the first set of symbols or slots (step 1208) and receives UCI according to the second spatial relationship in the second set of symbols or slots (step 1210).

[0092] In this embodiment, PUCCH resources may be configured or activated with two or more PUCCH spatial relationships, with each spatial relationship associated with a beam from a DL RS or TRP. Each PUCCH spatial relationship may include at least a DL reference signal (e.g., NZP CSI-RS, SSB, or SRS), a reference signal for path loss calculation, and power control parameters such as p0-PUCCH and closed-loop index. For simplicity, only "spatial relationship" may be used in the following description. Unless otherwise specified, "spatial relationship" refers to a PUCCH spatial relationship. UCI to be sent in PUCCH resources with two or more spatial relationships is sent in different OFDM symbols or different RBs toward different beams or TRPs specified by the spatial relationship. Some examples are shown in FIG. 13. In FIG. 13A, a two-symbol PUCCH with format 0 or 2 is sent according to a first spatial relationship in the first symbol (e.g., toward TRP1) and according to a second spatial relationship in the second symbol (e.g., toward TRP2).

[0093] In Figure 13B, a 14-symbol PUCCH having format 1, 3, or 4 and with frequency hopping (FH) turned on is sent according to a first spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP1) in the first seven symbols and according to a second spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP2) in the last seven symbols. Similarly, in Figure 13C, a 7-symbol PUCCH having format 1, 3, or 4 and with frequency hopping turned on is sent according to a first spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP1) in the first three symbols and according to a second spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP2) in the last four symbols. Figure 13C shows an example of a 7-symbol PUCCH with format 1, 3, or 4 without FH.

[0094] Two or more spatial relationships may only be applied when certain conditions are met, for example, when at least one TCI codepoint indicates two TCI states, or when the PUCCH is associated with some DL or UL traffic, such as URLLC traffic.

[0095] In Release 16, the spatial relationship for PUCCH and the spatial relationship for SRS are configured separately. For SRS resources, the spatial relationship of the SRS resources is configured by RRC in SRS-SpatialRelationInfo, and the DL reference signal (e.g., NZP CSI-RS, SSB, or another SRS) is specified. Power control parameters for SRS are configured for each SRS resource set, which may contain one or more SRS resources. For PUSCH, the spatial relationship of PUSCH is the same as the SRS spatial relationship for SRS resources indicated in the DCI scheduling the PUSCH. The intersection between the spatial relationship of PUCCH and the spatial relationship for SRS is that they are indicated by directly pointing to the DL reference signal for UL transmission. Similar to DL, an UL TCI state may be introduced to unify the spatial relationship indication for UL channels and signals. There are several options when the UL TCI state is defined. The UL TCI state may be defined as a single reference signal used as the spatial relation. A UL TCI state may optionally be defined as a set of reference signals to be used in a predefined manner for spatial relations. A UL TCI state, or alternatively, for example, a UL transmission state, may be defined as a set of reference signals to be used as spatial relations and / or associated path loss reference signal(s) and / or some specific configuration for a given UL transmission. Thus, in another embodiment, when a UL TCI is defined, UL TCI states with two or more DL reference signals, or two or more TCI states with one DL reference signal each, may be activated for a PUCCH resource.

[0096] In the following embodiments, sometimes the UL TCI state may be referred to, and sometimes the spatial relationship may be referred to. It should be understood that in some cases, either the spatial relationship, or the UL TCI state, or the UL transmission state may apply in the context.

[0097] Enhanced PUCCH reliability through PUCCH repetition towards multiple TRPs

[0098] In this embodiment, UCI in two or more spatially related PUCCH resources may be repeated in the time or frequency domain. In one scenario, PUCCH may be sent toward different beams or TRPs designated by spatial relationships in different slots. An example is shown in FIG. 14A, where a 14-symbol PUCCH with format 1, 3, or 4 and frequency hopping turned on is sent according to a first spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP1) in the first slot and according to a second spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP2) in the second slot. In this case, diversity across both TRPs and frequencies may be achieved. The PUCCH is decoded separately in each TRP, in which case successful decoding may be achieved if the PUCCH is decoded in any one of the TRPs, or it may be decoded together via soft-combining of two copies of the PUCCH.

[0099] In another scenario, the PUCCH may be sent toward different beams or TRPs designated by spatial relationships in different symbols or RBs in a slot, and repeated in different slots. An example is shown in Figure 14B, where a 14-symbol PUCCH with format 1, 3, or 4 and frequency hopping turned on is sent in the first slot according to a first spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP1) in the first seven symbols and a second spatial relationship (e.g., toward TRP2) in the last seven symbols. The same is then repeated in the second slot. In this case, joint decoding is required by combining the received PUCCH signals from the two TRPs. Because each TRP receives the PUCCH only on one frequency range, there is no frequency diversity within each TRP.

[0100] Examples of UL TCI states or UL transmission states for this embodiment are: The UL TCI state is the first or second spatial relationship described above. A UL TCI state is a set of spatial relationships to be used in a given UL symbol, e.g., a first spatial relationship to be used in the first x symbols and a second spatial relationship to be used in the following y symbols.

[0101] Repetition may also be done at the symbol level within a slot for PUCCH formats 0 or 2. Figure 15A shows an example of a single-symbol PUCCH repeated within a slot, and Figure 15B shows an exemplary two-symbol PUCCH repeated within a slot.

[0102] In one embodiment, the same base sequence(s), cyclic shift(s), and RB(s) are applied in the second PUCCH transmission opportunity to the second TRP. In another embodiment, different cyclic shift(s) may be used in the second PUCCH transmission opportunity through cyclic shift hopping.

[0103] The number of repetitions can be indicated either implicitly or explicitly. For example, an implicit indication can be used for PUCCH format 0 or 2, which carries a HARQ A / N for a PDSCH scheduled by a DCI in which two TCI states are indicated. In that case, the PUCCH can be repeated twice on consecutive symbols. Alternatively, a gap in symbols between the start symbol of the second repetition and the last symbol of the first repetition can be set.

[0104] For PUCCH formats 1, 3, and 4, the list of repetition numbers may be semi-statically configured by the RRC and dynamically selected by the MAC CE. The same starting symbol may be used in each slot.

[0105] In another embodiment, PUCCH repetition can also be performed at the subslot level within a slot. Figure 16 shows an example of a two-symbol PUCCH that is first transmitted in subslot 5 towards TRP1 with a first spatial relationship. The subslot in which the first repetition is transmitted is given by the PDSCH-HARQ feedback timing indicator field in the DCI carried by the scheduling PDCCH. The PUCCH resource is selected by the PRI field in the DCI carried by the scheduling PDCCH. The two-symbol PUCCH is then repeated in subslot 6 towards TRP2 with a second spatial relationship.

[0106] The order of PUCCH repetitions may follow the order of the spatial relations that are activated. For example, when two spatial relations with indices i and j (i < j) are activated, the first PUCCH transmission follows the spatial relation with index i, and the next PUCCH transmission follows the spatial relation with index j. When three or more repetitions are configured, the even-numbered PUCCH transmissions follow the spatial relation with index i, and the odd-numbered PUCCH transmissions follow the spatial relation with index j, or vice versa. Alternatively, a fixed pattern such as [i, i, j, j, i, i, j, j,...], where the same spatial relation is used in two consecutive PUCCH transmission opportunities, may be set by RRC.

[0107] Repetition may be enabled only when the UCI carried by PUCCH is associated with a certain downlink or UL traffic, such as URLLC traffic. For example, PUCCH may be repeated only when it carries the HARQ A / N for the DL PDSCH for URLLC, which may be indicated with a higher priority indication in the DCI that schedules the PDSCH.

[0108] A time gap may be set between two PUCCH occasions directed to different TRPs within a slot.

[0109] Activating two or more spatial relations for a PUCCH resource

[0110] In one embodiment, the MAC CE may be used to activate two or more spatial relations for a PUCCH resource from within a list of spatially related RRC configurations. In one particular example, such a MAC CE may indicate at least the following. 1. The PUCCH resource ID of the PUCCH resource for which the spatial relation is updated / indicated, and 2. Up to 64 bits representing up to 64 spatial relationships can be set per PUCCH resource, where N>1 of the 64 bits indicates N>1 activated spatial relationships for the indicated PUCCH resource.

[0111] In another example, a MAC CE activating two or more spatial relationships for PUCCH resources may indicate at least the following: 1. The PUCCH resource ID of the PUCCH resource for which the spatial relationship is updated / indicated, and 2. Up to N>1 spatial relationship IDs to indicate the N>1 activated spatial relationships activated for the indicated PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource ID is followed by N spatial relationships, or UL TCI states, or UL transmission state IDs, if aN is RRC configured or fixed in the specification. If bN is not RRC configured or fixed in the specification, the MAC CE may include a field C that gives the number of these IDs. This field is required if the MAC CE may include more than one PUCCH resource ID and the corresponding spatial relationship / transmission information. The UE may also be able to infer N from the size field in the MAC CE's header.

[0112] The number of repetitions N associated with PUCCH resources with N>1 activated spatial relationships using this embodiment rep can be given by N or set separately. Then, UCI transmission using PUCCH resources is rep In some embodiments, the rep The number of repetitions is N rep In some other embodiments, the signal may be transmitted over N consecutive slots. rep The number of repetitions is N rep In an alternative embodiment, the repetition may be N of the symbols. rep The signals may be transmitted on successive sets of signals.

[0113] In the above embodiments, the order of the indicated spatial relationships may have meaning. In Option 1, where a bitmap is used, the order is taken into account in the RRC-configured list, e.g., the x first elements of the list correspond to r amounts of TRPa and / or UL symbols, and the y subsequent elements correspond to s amounts of TRPb and / or UL symbols. The Mac CE then selects up to n or n IDs from the initial part of the list and up to m or m IDs from the subsequent parts of the list. In Option 2, it may be specified which TRP or symbol or combination thereof the ID in octet v is associated with.

[0114] Activating two or more spatial relationships for a group of PUCCH resources

[0115] In this embodiment, a MAC CE may be used to activate two or more spatial relationships for a group of PUCCH resources. In one particular example, such a MAC CE may indicate at least the following: 1. A PUCCH resource group ID representing the PUCCH resource(s) for which the spatial relationship is to be updated / indicated, or a list of PUCCH resources / resource IDs representing such PUCCH resource groups; and 2. Up to N>1 spatial relationship IDs to indicate the N>1 activated spatial relationships activated for the indicated group of PUCCH resources. The PUCCH resource ID is followed by N spatial relationships, or UL TCI states, or UL transmission state IDs, if aN is RRC configured or fixed in the specification. If bN is not RRC configured or fixed in the specification, the MAC CE may include a field C that gives the number of these IDs. This field is required if the MAC CE may include more than one PUCCH resource ID and the corresponding spatial relationship / transmission information. The UE may also be able to infer N from the size field in the MAC CE's header.

[0116] The number of repetitions N associated with PUCCH resources belonging to a PUCCH resource group with N>1 activated spatial relationships using this embodiment rep can be either given by N or set separately. Then, UCI transmission using PUCCH resources is rep In some embodiments, the rep The number of repetitions is N rep In some other embodiments, the signal may be transmitted over N consecutive slots. rep The number of repetitions is N rep In an alternative embodiment, the repetition may be N of the symbols. rep The signals may be transmitted on successive sets of signals.

[0117] In the above embodiments, the order of the indicated spatial relationships may have meaning. In option 1, where a bitmap is used, the order is taken into account in the RRC configured list, e.g., the x first elements of the list correspond to r amounts of TRPa and / or UL symbols, and the y subsequent elements correspond to s amounts of TRPb and / or UL symbols. The MAC CE then selects up to n or n IDs from the initial part of the list and up to m or m IDs from the subsequent parts of the list. In option 2, it may be specified which TRP or symbol or combination thereof the ID in octet v is associated with.

[0118] In this embodiment, instead of the PUCCH resource group ID, as specified in NR Release 15, the PUCCH resource set ID may be applied.

[0119] Dynamic indication of spatial relationship(s) for PUCCH resources during DCI

[0120] In another embodiment, multiple sets of spatial relationships may be activated by the MAC CE, and each set may contain one or more spatial relationships (sometimes referred to as one UL TCI state or one UL transmission state) and may be mapped to a code point of a bit field in the DCI that schedules the PDSCH. The DCI may be used to indicate / select one set of spatial relationships from the activated set to be used for PUCCH transmission carrying HARQ A / N, either by reusing an existing DCI bit field or by introducing a new DCI field for that purpose. In this case, the spatial relationship(s) for the PUCCH resource may be indicated dynamically per slot. Some sets may contain only a single spatial relationship, while others may contain two or more spatial relationships. For eMBB traffic, a set with a single spatial relationship may be indicated, in which case the corresponding PUCCH may not be repeated. For URLLC traffic, a set with two or more spatial relationships may be indicated, in which case the corresponding PUCCH may be repeated.

[0121] Linking spatial relation(s) for PUCCH resource(s) to DL TCI state(s) of PDSCH

[0122] In another embodiment, the spatial relationship used for a PUCCH transmission carrying a HARQ A / N may be linked to the DL TCI state for the associated DL PDSCH transmission. For example, if two DL TCI states are indicated in the DCI scheduling the PDSCH, the PUCCH carrying the corresponding HARQ A / N may be sent based on the two DL TCI states, and the DL reference signal in the TCI state is assumed by the UE as the DL reference signal for the PUCCH transmission. The DL reference signal(s) in the spatial relationship (or UL TCI state, or UL transmission state) previously activated by the MAC CE for the PUCCH resource are overwritten by the DL TCI state(s).

[0123] In one embodiment, the PUCCH power control parameters included in the activated spatial relationship may be used. In another embodiment, the PUCCH power control parameters including the path loss reference signal may be configured by the RRC for each DL reference signal. When a DL reference signal is selected, the corresponding power control parameters are used for PUCCH transmission according to the DL reference signal.

[0124] Linking the spatial relationship(s) for the PUCCH resource(s) to the DL TCI state(s) of the CORESET(s) in the search space

[0125] In another embodiment, the spatial relationship used for a PUCCH transmission carrying a HARQ A / N may be linked to the TCI state(s) of the CORESET(s) associated with the search space set in which the associated DL PDCCH transmission is detected. If there are two CORESETs associated with the search space, the PUCCH carrying a HARQ Ack / Nack for a PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH may be sent based on the two activated TCI states of the two CORESETs, and the reference signal in the TCI state is assumed by the UE as the reference signal for the PUCCH transmission.

[0126] 17 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dotted boxes. The radio access node 1700 may be, for example, a base station 1002 or 1006, or a network node implementing all or a portion of the functionality of the base station 1002 or gNB described herein. As shown, the radio access node 1700 includes a control system 1702 including one or more processors 1704 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), a memory 1706, and a network interface 1708. The one or more processors 1704 are also referred to herein as processing circuits. Additionally, the radio access node 1700 may include one or more radio units 1710, each including one or more transmitters 1712 and one or more receivers 1714 coupled to one or more antennas 1716. The radio unit 1710 may be referred to as or be part of a radio interface circuit. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1710 are external to the control system 1702 and are connected to the control system 1702, for example, via a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1710 and potentially the antenna(s) 1716 are integrated with the control system 1702. The one or more processors 1704 operate to provide one or more functions of the wireless access node 1700 described herein. In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software, for example, stored in the memory 1706 and executed by the one or more processors 1704.

[0127] 18 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized embodiment of a radio access node 1700 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. This description is equally applicable to other types of network nodes. Furthermore, other types of network nodes may have a similar virtualized architecture. Again, optional features are represented by dotted boxes.

[0128] As used herein, a “virtualized” radio access node is an implementation of a radio access node 1700 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node 1700 is implemented as virtual component(s) (e.g., via virtual machine(s) executing on physical processing node(s) in network(s)). As shown, in this example, the radio access node 1700 may include a control system 1702 and / or one or more radio units 1710, as described above. The control system 1702 may be connected to the radio unit(s) 1710 via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The radio access node 1700 includes one or more processing nodes 1800 coupled to or included as part of the network(s) 1802. If present, the control system 1702 or the radio unit(s) are connected to the processing node(s) 1800 via the network(s) 1802. Each processing node 1800 includes one or more processors 1804 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, etc.), memory 1806, and a network interface 1808.

[0129] In this example, the functions 1810 of the radio access node 1700 described herein are implemented in one or more processing nodes 1800, or distributed in any desired manner across one or more processing nodes 1800 and the control system 1702 and / or radio unit(s) 1710. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 1810 of the radio access node 1700 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 1800. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 1800 and the control system 1702 is used to perform at least some of the desired functions 1810. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system 1702 may not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 1710 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 1800 via an appropriate network interface(s).

[0130] In some embodiments, a computer program is provided that includes instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform functions of the radio access node 1700 or a node (e.g., processing node 1800) that implements one or more of the functions 1810 of the radio access node 1700 in a virtual environment in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, a carrier is provided that comprises the above-mentioned computer program product. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory).

[0131] 19 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1700 in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 1700 includes one or more modules 1900, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 1900 provide the functionality of the radio access node 1700 described herein. This description is equally applicable to the processing node 1800 of FIG. 18 , where the module 1900 may be implemented in one of the processing nodes 1800 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 1800 and / or distributed across the processing node(s) 1800 and the control system 1702.

[0132] 20 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 2000 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, the wireless communication device 2000 includes one or more processors 2002 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, etc.), a memory 2004, and one or more transceivers 2006, each including one or more transmitters 2008 and one or more receivers 2010 coupled to one or more antennas 2012. The transceiver(s) 2006 include radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna(s) 2012 configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna(s) 2012 and the processor(s) 2002, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The processor 2002 is also referred to herein as a processing circuit. The transceiver 2006 is also referred to herein as a radio circuit. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 2000 described above may be implemented completely or partially in software, for example, stored in memory 2004 and executed by processor(s) 2002. It should be noted that the wireless communication device 2000 may include additional components not shown in FIG. 20 , such as, for example, one or more user interface components (e.g., input / output interfaces including a display, buttons, a touchscreen, a microphone, a speaker(s), etc., and / or any other components for enabling input of information into and / or output of information from the wireless communication device 2000), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

[0133] In some embodiments, a computer program is provided that includes instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the functions of the wireless communication device 2000 in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, a carrier is provided that comprises the computer program product described above. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory).

[0134] 21 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 2000 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 2000 includes one or more modules 2100, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 2100 provide the functionality of the wireless communication device 2000 described herein.

[0135] 22 , according to one embodiment, a communications system includes a communications network 2200, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, comprising an access network 2202, such as a RAN, and a core network 2204. The access network 2202 comprises multiple base stations 2206A, 2206B, 2206C, such as Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points (APs), each defining a corresponding coverage area 2208A, 2208B, 2208C. Each base station 2206A, 2206B, 2206C can be connected to the core network 2204 via a wired or wireless connection 2210. A first UE 2212 located in the coverage area 2208C is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by the corresponding base station 2206C. A second UE 2214 in the coverage area 2208A can wirelessly connect to the corresponding base station 2206A. Although multiple UEs 2212, 2214 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only one UE is in the coverage area or connects to the corresponding base station 2206.

[0136] The communications network 2200 is itself connected to a host computer 2216, which may be embodied in hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 2216 may be owned or controlled by a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 2218 and 2220 between the communications network 2200 and the host computer 2216 may extend directly from the core network 2204 to the host computer 2216 or may proceed through an optional intermediate network 2222. The intermediate network 2222 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a hosted network, or a combination of two or more of them; the intermediate network 2222, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 2222 may comprise two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0137] The communication system of FIG. 22 as a whole enables connectivity between connected UEs 2212, 2214 and a host computer 2216. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 2224. The host computer 2216 and connected UEs 2212, 2214 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 2224 using the access network 2202, the core network 2204, any intermediate networks 2222, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 2224 may be transparent in the sense that participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 2224 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 2206 may not be, or need not be, informed about the past routing of incoming downlink communications involving data originating from the host computer 2216 that is to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 2212. Similarly, the base station 2206 does not need to be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE 2212 and destined for the host computer 2216 .

[0138] An exemplary implementation of the UE, base station, and host computer described in the previous paragraph, according to one embodiment, will now be described with reference to FIG. 23. In communication system 2300, host computer 2302 comprises hardware 2304, including communication interface 2306 configured to set up and maintain wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of communication system 2300. Host computer 2302 further comprises processing circuitry 2308, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 2308 may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 2302 further comprises software 2310, which is stored on or accessible by host computer 2302 and executable by processing circuitry 2308. Software 2310 includes host application 2312. The host application 2312 may be operable to provide services to a remote user, such as the UE 2314 connecting via an OTT connection 2316 that terminates at the UE 2314 and the host computer 2302. In providing services to the remote user, the host application 2312 may provide user data that is transmitted using the OTT connection 2316.

[0139] The communications system 2300 further includes a base station 2318 provided in the communications system, the base station 2318 comprising hardware 2320 that enables the base station 2318 to communicate with the host computer 2302 and the UE 2314. The hardware 2320 may include a communications interface 2322 for setting up and maintaining wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communications devices of the communications system 2300, as well as a wireless interface 2324 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 2326 with a UE 2314 located in a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 23 ) served by the base station 2318. The communications interface 2322 may be configured to facilitate a connection 2328 to the host computer 2302. The connection 2328 may be direct, or the connection 2328 may pass through a core network of the communications system (not shown in FIG. 23 ) and / or one or more intermediate networks outside the communications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 2320 of the base station 2318 further includes processing circuitry 2330, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 2318 further has software 2332 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0140] The communications system 2300 further includes the previously mentioned UE 2314. The hardware 2334 of the UE 2314 may include a wireless interface 2336 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 2326 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 2314 is currently located. The hardware 2334 of the UE 2314 further includes a processing circuit 2338, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 2314 further includes software 2340 stored on or accessible by the UE 2314 and executable by the processing circuit 2338. The software 2340 includes a client application 2342. The client application 2342, with the support of the host computer 2302, may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 2314. On the host computer 2302, a running host application 2312 may communicate with a running client application 2342 via an OTT connection 2316 that terminates at the UE 2314 and the host computer 2302. In providing services to a user, the client application 2342 may receive request data from the host application 2312 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 2316 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 2342 may interact with the user to generate the user data that the client application 2342 provides.

[0141] It should be noted that the host computer 2302, base station 2318, and UE 2314 shown in Figure 23 may be similar to or equivalent to the host computer 2216, one of the base stations 2206A, 2206B, 2206C, and one of the UEs 2212, 2214, respectively, of Figure 22. That is, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 23, and separately, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 22.

[0142] 23, the OTT connection 2316 is depicted abstractly to show communication between the host computer 2302 and the UE 2314 via the base station 2318, without explicit reference to intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to be hidden from the UE 2314, the service provider operating the host computer 2302, or both. While the OTT connection 2316 is active, the network infrastructure may also make decisions to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0143] The wireless connection 2326 between the UE 2314 and the base station 2318 follows the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 2314 using the OTT connection 2316, of which the wireless connection 2326 forms the final segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve, for example, data rates, latency, power consumption, etc., thereby providing benefits such as, for example, reduced user latency, relaxed limits on file sizes, better responsiveness, extended battery life, etc.

[0144] Measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve upon. There may further be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2316 between the host computer 2302 and the UE 2314 in response to fluctuations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2316 may be implemented in the software 2310 and hardware 2304 of the host computer 2302 or in the software 2340 and hardware 2334 of the UE 2314, or both. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with communication devices through which the OTT connection 2316 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above or other physical quantities from which the software 2310, 2340 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 2316 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not affect the base station 2318, and the reconfiguration may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 2318. Such procedures and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host computer 2302 measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 2310 and 2340 cause messages, particularly empty or “dummy” messages, to be sent using the OTT connection 2316 while the software 2310 and 2340 monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0145] FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communications system according to one embodiment. The communications system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. For simplicity of this disclosure, only a drawing reference to FIG. 24 is included in this section. In step 2400, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 2402 of step 2400 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 2404, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 2406 (which may be optional), the base station transmits the user data carried in the host computer initiated transmission to the UE, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2408 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0146] FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. For simplicity of this disclosure, only a drawing reference to FIG. 25 is included in this section. In step 2500 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 2502, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may go through a base station in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2504 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0147] FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communications system according to one embodiment. The communications system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. For simplicity of this disclosure, only a drawing reference to FIG. 26 is included in this section. In step 2600 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 2602, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 2604 (which may be optional) of step 2600, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 2606 (which may be optional) of step 2602, the UE executes a client application that provides the user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates transmission of the user data to the host computer in sub-step 2608 (which may be optional). In method step 2610, the host computer receives user data transmitted from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0148] Figure 27 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to Figures 22 and 23. For simplicity of this disclosure, only a drawing reference to Figure 27 is included in this section. In step 2700 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2702 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 2704 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in a transmission initiated by the base station.

[0149] Any suitable step, method, feature, function, or benefit disclosed herein may be implemented through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may comprise several of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), dedicated digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, and the like. The program code stored in memory includes program instructions for implementing one or more communication and / or data communication protocols, as well as instructions for performing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause each functional unit to perform a corresponding function according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0150] While the processes in the figures may indicate a particular order of operations performed by some embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform operations in a different order, combine some operations, overlap some operations, etc.).

[0151] Embodiment

[0152] Group A Embodiments

[0153] Embodiment 1: A method, implemented by a wireless device, for transmitting uplink control information (UCI), the method including at least one of: receiving an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships (1104); determining the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship based on one or more DL TCI states (1106); transmitting the UCI according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots (1108); and transmitting the UCI according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots (1110).

[0154]

[0023] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the plurality of spatial relationships are for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources.

[0155] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein each spatial relationship includes at least a downlink (DL) reference signal.

[0156] Embodiment 4: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the UCI in the second set of symbols is a repetition of the UCI in the first set of symbols in the same slot.

[0157] Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 4, wherein the time and frequency resources in the first set of symbols are specified by the PUCCH resources.

[0158] Embodiment 6: The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein UCI is carried in short PUCCH format 0 or embodiment 2.

[0159] Embodiment 7: A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the UCI transmitted in the second set of slots is a repetition of the UCI transmitted in the first set of slots, and the time and frequency resources in each slot for the UCI are specified by the PUCCH resources.

[0160] Embodiment 8: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 7, further comprising signaling (1102) a total number of slots for one or more of the first set and the second set of slots.

[0161] Embodiment 9: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein transmitting UCI according to a first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots and according to a second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots is performed when a condition is met.

[0162] Embodiment 10: The method according to any one of embodiments 9, wherein the conditions include one or more of: two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states are indicated in a DCI that schedules a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in which a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement / negative acknowledgement (A / N) should be transmitted in a PUCCH resource; a high priority is indicated in a downlink control information (DCI) that schedules a PDSCH in which a HARQ A / N should be transmitted in a PUCCH resource; and a UCI associated with a certain traffic type.

[0163]

[0023] Embodiment 11: The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the activation command is carried by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0164] Embodiment 12: The method of embodiment 11, in which the MAC CE activates the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship for two or more PUCCH resources.

[0165] Embodiment 13: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 12, further comprising receiving (1100) a plurality of spatial relationships.

[0166]

[0033] Embodiment 14: The method of embodiment 13, wherein receiving the plurality of spatial relationships includes receiving radio resource control (RRC) configurations of the plurality of spatial relationships.

[0167]

[0033] Embodiment 15: The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the activation command activates an uplink (UL) TCI state from among a plurality of UL TCI states for the PUCCH resource.

[0168] Embodiment 16: The method of embodiment 15, wherein the UL TCI state includes a first DL reference signal and a second DL reference signal.

[0169] Embodiment 17: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein transmitting UCI according to the first spatial relationship or the second spatial relationship includes transmitting UCI according to a first DL reference signal in a first set of symbols or slots and according to a second DL reference signal in a second set of symbols or slots.

[0170] Embodiment 18: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 17, wherein the one or more DL TCI states are one or more of: a DL TCI state indicated in a DCI scheduling a PDSCH on which a HARQ A / N should be carried on a PUCCH resource; and a DL TCI state of one or more control resource sets (CORESETs) on which a DCI scheduling a PDSCH is detected and on which a HARQ A / N should be carried on a PUCCH resource.

[0171] Embodiment 19: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the wireless device operates in a New Radio (NR) communication network.

[0172] Embodiment 20: The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 19, further comprising providing user data and forwarding the user data to the host computer via transmission to the base station.

[0173] Group B Embodiments

[0174] Embodiment 21: A method, implemented by a base station, for receiving uplink control information (UCI), the method including at least one of: sending an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships (1204); indicating the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship based on one or more DL TCI states (1206); receiving UCI according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots (1208); and receiving UCI according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots (1210).

[0175]

[0082] Embodiment 22: The method of embodiment 21, wherein the plurality of spatial relationships are for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources.

[0176] Embodiment 23: The method of embodiment 21 or 22, wherein each spatial relationship includes at least a downlink (DL) reference signal.

[0177] Embodiment 24: The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 23, wherein the UCI in the second set of symbols is a repetition of the UCI in the first set of symbols in the same slot.

[0178] Embodiment 25: The method of embodiment 24, wherein the time and frequency resources in the first set of symbols are specified by the PUCCH resources.

[0179] Embodiment 26: The method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 25, wherein UCI is carried in short PUCCH format 0 or embodiment 2.

[0180] Embodiment 27: A method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 26, wherein the UCI received in the second set of slots is a repetition of the UCI received in the first set of slots, and the time and frequency resources in each slot for the UCI are specified by the PUCCH resources.

[0181] Embodiment 28: The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 27, further comprising signaling (1202) a total number of slots for one or more of the first set and the second set of slots.

[0182] Embodiment 29: A method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 28, wherein receiving UCI according to a first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols or slots and according to a second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols or slots is performed when a condition is met.

[0183] Embodiment 30: The method of any one of embodiments 29, wherein the conditions include one or more of: two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states are indicated in a DCI that schedules a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in which a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement / negative acknowledgement (A / N) should be transmitted in a PUCCH resource; a high priority is indicated in a downlink control information (DCI) that schedules a PDSCH in which a HARQ A / N should be transmitted in a PUCCH resource; and a UCI associated with a certain traffic type.

[0184]

[0062] Embodiment 31: The method of any one of embodiments 2 to 30, wherein the activation command is carried by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0185] Embodiment 32: The method of embodiment 31, in which the MAC CE activates the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship for two or more PUCCH resources.

[0186] Embodiment 33: The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 32, further comprising signaling (1200) a plurality of spatial relationships.

[0187]

[0081] Embodiment 34: The method of embodiment 33, wherein signaling the plurality of spatial relationships includes signaling radio resource control (RRC) configurations of the plurality of spatial relationships.

[0188]

[0082] Embodiment 35: The method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 30, wherein the activation command activates an uplink (UL) TCI state from among a plurality of UL TCI states for the PUCCH resource.

[0189] Embodiment 36: The method of embodiment 35, wherein the UL TCI state includes a first DL reference signal and a second DL reference signal.

[0190] Embodiment 37: A method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 36, wherein receiving UCI according to a first spatial relationship or a second spatial relationship includes receiving UCI according to a first DL reference signal in a first set of symbols or slots and according to a second DL reference signal in a second set of symbols or slots.

[0191] Embodiment 38: The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 37, wherein the one or more DL TCI states are one or more of: a DL TCI state indicated in a DCI scheduling a PDSCH on which HARQ A / N should be carried on PUCCH resources; and a DL TCI state of one or more control resource sets (CORESETs) on which a DCI scheduling a PDSCH is detected and on which HARQ A / N should be carried on PUCCH resources.

[0192] Embodiment 39: The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 39, wherein the base station operates in a New Radio (NR) communication network.

[0193] Embodiment 40: The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 39, further comprising obtaining user data and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

[0194] Group C Embodiments

[0195] Embodiment 41: A wireless device for transmitting uplink control information (UCI), the wireless device comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of group A; and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the wireless device.

[0196] Embodiment 42: A base station for receiving uplink control information (UCI), the base station comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group B; and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the base station.

[0197] Embodiment 43: A user equipment (UE) for transmitting uplink control information (UCI), the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive radio signals; a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and a processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit, the radio front-end circuit being configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A; an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to enable information input to the UE to be processed by the processing circuit; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information from the UE processed by the processing circuit; and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to provide power to the UE.

[0198] Embodiment 44: A communications system including a host computer, the host computer having processing circuitry configured to provide user data and a communications interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the cellular network having a base station having a wireless interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group B.

[0199] Embodiment 45: The communication system of embodiment 44, further comprising a base station.

[0200] Embodiment 46: The communication system of embodiment 44 or 45, further comprising a UE, the UE being configured to communicate with the base station.

[0201] Embodiment 47: A communication system described in any one of embodiments 44 to 46, wherein the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application and thereby provide user data, and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0202] Embodiment 48: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method including: providing user data at the host computer; and initiating a transmission at the host computer to carry the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group B.

[0203] Embodiment 49: The method of embodiment 48, further comprising transmitting user data at the base station.

[0204] Embodiment 50: A method as described in embodiment 48 or 49, wherein the user data is provided by executing a host application on the host computer, and the method further includes executing a client application associated with the host application on the UE.

[0205] Embodiment 51: A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to implement a method described in any one of embodiments 48 to 50.

[0206] Embodiment 52: A communications system including a host computer, wherein the host computer comprises processing circuitry configured to provide user data and a communications interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the UE comprising a wireless interface and processing circuitry, and wherein components of the UE are configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A.

[0207] Embodiment 53: The communication system described in embodiment 52, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0208] Embodiment 54: A communication system as described in embodiment 52 or 53, wherein the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application thereby providing user data, and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0209] Embodiment 55: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method including: providing user data at the host computer; and initiating a transmission at the host computer to carry the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A.

[0210] Embodiment 56: The method of embodiment 55, further comprising receiving, in the UE, user data from the base station.

[0211] Embodiment 57: A communications system including a host computer, wherein the host computer has a communications interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, the UE having a wireless interface and processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry of the UE configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A.

[0212] Embodiment 58: The communication system described in embodiment 57, further including a UE.

[0213] Embodiment 59: A communication system as described in embodiment 57 or 58, further including a base station, the base station having a radio interface configured to communicate with a UE and a communication interface configured to forward user data carried by transmissions from the UE to the base station to a host computer.

[0214] Embodiment 60: A communication system described in any one of embodiments 57 to 59, wherein the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data.

[0215] Embodiment 61: A communication system described in any one of embodiments 57 to 60, wherein the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application and thereby provide requested data, and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application and thereby provide user data in response to the requested data.

[0216] Embodiment 62: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method including receiving, at the host computer, user data transmitted from the UE to the base station, and the UE performing any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A.

[0217] Embodiment 63: The method of embodiment 62, further comprising, in the UE, providing user data to the base station.

[0218] Embodiment 64: A method as described in embodiment 62 or 63, further comprising: executing, in the UE, a client application thereby providing user data to be transmitted; and executing, in the host computer, a host application associated with the client application.

[0219] Embodiment 65: A method according to any one of embodiments 62 to 64, further comprising: executing a client application in the UE; and receiving input data for the client application in the UE, the input data being provided in a host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application; and the user data to be transmitted being provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0220] Embodiment 66: A communications system including a host computer, wherein the host computer has a communications interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, the base station having a wireless interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group B.

[0221] Embodiment 67: The communication system described in embodiment 66, further comprising a base station.

[0222] Embodiment 68: The communication system of embodiment 66 or 67, further comprising a UE, the UE being configured to communicate with the base station.

[0223] Embodiment 69: A communication system described in any one of embodiments 66 to 68, wherein the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, and the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer.

[0224] Embodiment 70: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method including receiving, at the host computer, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission received by the base station from the UE, and the UE performing any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A.

[0225] Embodiment 71: The method of embodiment 70, further comprising receiving, at the base station, user data from the UE.

[0226] Embodiment 72: The method of embodiment 70 or 71, further comprising initiating, at the base station, transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

[0227] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. In the event of inconsistencies between abbreviations, the abbreviation as used above should prevail. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should prevail over the subsequent listing(s). 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G (fifth generation) 5GC 5th generation core 5GS 5th generation system A / N Acknowledgement / Negative acknowledgment ACK (acknowledgment) AMF access and mobility features AP access point ARI ACK / NACK resource indicator ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit AUSF authentication server function BWP Bandwidth Portion CA Carrier Aggregation CBG Code Block Group CCE Control Channel Element CE control element CORESET control resource set CP-OFDM Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing CPU Central Processing Unit CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check CSI (Channel State Information) CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal CW Codeword DCI Downlink Channel Information DFT Discrete Fourier Transform DL downlink DMRS demodulation reference signal = DSP Digital Signal Processor eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B EPS Evolved Packet System E-UTRA Enhanced Universal Terrestrial Radio Access FH Frequency Hopping FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array FR frequency range · gNB New wireless base station gNB-CU New Radio Base Station Central Unit gNB-DU New Radio Base Station Distributed Unit HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HSS Home Subscriber Server IoT (Internet of Things) LTE Long Term Evolution MAC Media Access Control MIMO multiple input multiple output MME Mobility Management Entity MTC Machine Type Communication NEF network publishing function NF network function · NR new radio NRF Network Function Repository Function NSSF network slice selection function · NZP non-zero power OCC Orthogonal Cover Code OTT (Over-the-Top) PC personal computer PCF policy control function PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway PRI PUCCH resource indicator PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel QCL Quasi-colocated RAM Random Access Memory RAN Radio Access Network RB Resource Block RE resource element ROM Read-Only Memory RRC Radio Resource Control RRH Remote Radio Head · RS reference signal SCEF Service Capability Publishing Function SMF session management function SR scheduling request SRS Sounding Reference Signal SSB sync signal block TB Transport Block TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator TRP Transmission Reception Point UCI Uplink Control Information UDM Integrated Data Management UE User Equipment UL uplink UPF user plane function URLLC Ultra-reliable low latency communication

[0228] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and all such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. 1. A method performed by a wireless device for transmitting uplink control information (UCI), the method comprising: receiving 1104 an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships, the plurality of spatial relationships being for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources; transmitting the UCI according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols (1108); transmitting the UCI according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols (1110); Including, the first set and the second set of symbols start in different RBs when frequency hopping is enabled for the PUCCH resource; A method wherein the UCI in the second set of symbols is a repetition of the UCI in the first set of symbols in the same slot.

2. 1. A method performed by a base station for receiving uplink control information (UCI), the method comprising: transmitting 1204, to a wireless device, an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships, the plurality of spatial relationships being for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources; receiving 1208 the UCI transmitted by the wireless device according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols; receiving 1210 the UCI transmitted by the wireless device according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols; Including, the first set and the second set of symbols start in different RBs when frequency hopping is enabled for the PUCCH resource; A method wherein the UCI in the second set of symbols is a repetition of the UCI in the first set of symbols in the same slot.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first spatial relationship is provided by a first uplink (UL) transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, the second spatial relationship is provided by a second UL TCI state, and the multiple spatial relationships are provided by multiple UL TCI states.

4. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the PUCCH resource comprises a starting symbol and a number of symbols in the time domain and a starting resource block (RB) and a number of RBs in the frequency domain.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the UCI is carried in the PUCCH resource.

6. 5. The method of claim 2, wherein each spatial relationship includes one or more of a downlink (DL) reference signal, a DL path loss reference signal, and power control parameters including p0-PUCCH and a closed-loop index.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first set and the second set of symbols are symbols configured for the PUCCH resource.

8. 8. The method of claim 2, wherein the time and frequency resources in the first set of symbols are specified by the PUCCH resources, and the second set of symbols is a repetition of the first set of symbols in the same slot.

9. 9. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second sets of symbols are in a first sub-slot and a second sub-slot, respectively, within a slot.

10. 10. The method of claim 2, wherein a time gap given by a number of symbols is set between the end of the first set of symbols and the start of the second set of symbols.

11. 11. The method of claim 2, wherein the number of iterations is indicated either explicitly or implicitly.

12. 12. The method of claim 2, wherein the PUCCH resource is associated with one of PUCCH format 0, PUCCH format 1, PUCCH format 2, PUCCH format 3, and PUCCH format 4.

13. The method of claim 2 , further comprising transmitting downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the UCI comprises a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ Ack) associated with the PDSCH.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the PUCCH resource is indicated in the DCI.

16. 16. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving UCI in accordance with the first spatial relationship among a first set of symbols and in accordance with the second spatial relationship among a second set of symbols occurs when a condition is met.

17. The condition is: Two or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states are indicated in a DCI scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in which a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment / negative acknowledgment (A / N) should be transmitted in the PUCCH resource; a high priority is indicated in a Downlink Control Information (DCI) scheduling a PDSCH in which HARQ A / N should be transmitted; and The UCI associated with a traffic type and 17. The method of claim 16, comprising one or more of:

18. 18. The method of claim 3, wherein the activation command is carried by a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

19. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the MAC CE activates the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship for two or more PUCCH resources.

20. signaling the plurality of spatial relationships (1200).

20. The method of any one of claims 2 to 19, further comprising:

21. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein signaling the plurality of spatial relationships comprises signaling radio resource control (RRC) configurations of the plurality of spatial relationships.

22. 18. The method of claim 2, wherein the activation command activates an uplink (UL) TCI state from among a plurality of UL TCI states for a PUCCH resource.

23. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the UL TCI state includes a first DL reference signal and a second DL reference signal.

24. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein receiving the UCI in accordance with the first spatial relationship or the second spatial relationship comprises receiving the UCI in accordance with the first DL reference signal in the first set of symbols and in accordance with the second DL reference signal in the second set of symbols.

25. One or more DL TCI conditions are: a DL TCI state indicated in a DCI scheduling a PDSCH on which HARQ A / N should be carried on the PUCCH resource; and the DL TCI state of one or more control resource sets (CORESETs) on which DCI scheduling PDSCH is detected and HARQ A / N should be carried on the PUCCH resources; and 25. The method of any one of claims 2 to 24, wherein the method is one or more of:

26. 26. The method of claim 2, wherein the base station operates in a New Radio (NR) communications network.

27. A wireless device (2000) for transmitting uplink control information (UCI), the wireless device (2000) comprising: one or more processors (2002); a memory (2004) with instructions; and wherein the instructions cause the wireless device (2000) to: receiving an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships, the plurality of spatial relationships being for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources; transmitting the UCI according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols; transmitting the UCI according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols; Let them do this, the first set and the second set of symbols start in different RBs when frequency hopping is enabled for the PUCCH resource; The wireless device (2000), wherein the UCI in the second set of symbols is a repetition of the UCI in the first set of symbols in the same slot.

28. A base station (1700) for receiving uplink control information (UCI), said base station (1700) comprising: one or more processors (1704); a memory (1706) with instructions; wherein the instructions cause the base station (1700) to: transmitting, to a wireless device, an activation command to activate a first spatial relationship and a second spatial relationship from among a plurality of spatial relationships, the plurality of spatial relationships being for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources; receiving the UCI transmitted by the wireless device according to the first spatial relationship in a first set of symbols; receiving the UCI transmitted by the wireless device according to the second spatial relationship in a second set of symbols; Let them do this, the first set and the second set of symbols start in different RBs when frequency hopping is enabled for the PUCCH resource; The base station (1700), wherein the UCI in the second set of symbols is a repetition of the UCI in the first set of symbols in the same slot.

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