Apparatus, method, and computer program

Abstract

An apparatus for a terminal is provided, the apparatus being configured to determine that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power, and to transmit an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to apparatus, methods and computer programs, particularly, but not exclusively, to apparatus, methods and computer programs for network devices. [Background technology]

[0002] A communication system may be considered a facility that enables a communication session between two or more entities, such as user terminals, access nodes, and / or other nodes, by providing a carrier between the various entities involved in the communication path. A communication system may be provided, for example, by a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. A communication session may include, for example, the communication of data to carry communications such as voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia and / or content data. Content may be multicast or unicast to the communication devices.

[0003] A user may access a communication system using an appropriate communication device or terminal. A user's communication device is often referred to as user equipment (UE) or user device. The communication device may access a carrier provided by an access node and transmit and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0004] Communication systems and associated devices typically operate according to required standards or specifications that define what various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be accomplished. The communication protocols and / or parameters used for connectivity are also typically defined. One example of a communication system is UTRAN (3G wireless). Another example of a known architecture is the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. Another exemplary communication system is the so-called 5G wireless or New Radio (NR) access technology. Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to a first aspect, an apparatus for a terminal is provided, the apparatus comprising: means for determining that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power; and means for transmitting an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device.

[0006] The apparatus may comprise means for receiving configuration information for configuring the apparatus using said determining means.

[0007] The determining means may include comparing the measurement of the at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold for that parameter. At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second thresholds. At least one of the at least one parameters may have associated first and second thresholds, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power greater than the first threshold, and when only the first threshold is exceeded, the transmitting means may transmit at least one identification of uplink resources assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and when both the first and second thresholds are exceeded, the transmitting means may transmit to the terminal at least one identification of unassigned uplink resources relative to the uplink resources affected by the power reduction.

[0008] The identification may be included in a bitmap. The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0009] The apparatus may comprise means for updating the bitmap according to an uplink resource configuration.

[0010] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0011] The apparatus may comprise means for transmitting a cancellation indication to a network device when the apparatus determines that an event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed.

[0012] The apparatus may comprise means for determining whether the apparatus is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power, and the transmitting means may comprise means for transmitting the identification in response to determining that the apparatus is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel or a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power.

[0013] The instructions may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on the at least one uplink resource.

[0014] According to a second aspect, there is provided a network apparatus, comprising: means for receiving from a terminal an identification of at least one uplink resource associated with an uplink transmit power reduced by the terminal.

[0015] The network device may comprise means for transmitting configuration information that configures the device to determine that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0016] The configuration information may include comparing a measurement of at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold value for that parameter.

[0017] At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values.

[0018] At least one of the at least one parameter may have associated first and second thresholds, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power that is greater than the first threshold, and when only the first threshold is exceeded, the receiving means may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and when both the first and second thresholds are exceeded, the receiving means may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource not assigned to the terminal relative to the uplink resource affected by the power reduction.

[0019] The identification may be contained in a bitmap.

[0020] The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0021] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0022] The network device may comprise means for receiving a cancellation indication from a terminal indicating that an event causing a reduced uplink transmit power has passed, the indication may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on at least one uplink resource.

[0023] According to a third aspect, there is provided a method for an apparatus for a terminal, the method comprising: determining that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmission power; and transmitting an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device.

[0024] The method may comprise receiving configuration information for configuring the device using said determining step.

[0025] The determining step may include comparing the measurement value of the at least one parameter to at least one associated threshold value for the parameter. At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values. At least one of the at least one parameter may have associated first and second threshold values, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power greater than the first threshold value, and when only the first threshold value is exceeded, the transmitting step may transmit at least one identification of uplink resources assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction. When both the first and second threshold values ​​are exceeded, the transmitting step may transmit at least one identification of uplink resources not assigned to the terminal for uplink resources affected by the power reduction.

[0026] The identification may be included in a bitmap. The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0027] The method may comprise updating a bitmap according to an uplink resource configuration.

[0028] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0029] The method may comprise sending a cancellation indication to the network device when the device determines that the event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed.

[0030] The method may comprise determining whether the apparatus is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power, and the transmitting step may comprise transmitting the identification in response to determining that the apparatus is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel or a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power.

[0031] The instructions may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on the at least one uplink resource.

[0032] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a method for a network apparatus, the method comprising: receiving, from a terminal, an identification of at least one uplink resource associated with an uplink transmission power reduced by the terminal.

[0033] The method may comprise transmitting configuration information that configures the device to determine that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0034] The configuration information may include comparing a measurement of at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold value for that parameter.

[0035] At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values.

[0036] At least one of the at least one parameters may have associated first and second thresholds, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power that is greater than the first threshold, and when only the first threshold is exceeded, the receiving step may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and when both the first and second thresholds are exceeded, the receiving step may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource not assigned to the terminal for the uplink resource affected by the power reduction.

[0037] The identification may be contained in a bitmap.

[0038] The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0039] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0040] The method may include receiving a cancellation indication from a terminal indicating that an event causing a reduced uplink transmit power has passed, the indication may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device configured to transmit on at least one uplink resource.

[0041] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for a terminal, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the terminal to perform the steps of determining that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power; and transmitting an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device.

[0042] The terminal uses the determining step to receive configuration information for configuring the device.

[0043] The determining step may include comparing the measurement value of the at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold value for the parameter. At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values. At least one of the at least one parameter may have associated first and second threshold values, the second threshold value corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power greater than the first threshold value, and when only the first threshold value is exceeded, the transmitting step may transmit at least one identification of uplink resources assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and when both the first and second threshold values ​​are exceeded, the transmitting step may transmit at least one identification of uplink resources not assigned to the terminal for the uplink resources affected by the power reduction.

[0044] The identification may be included in a bitmap. The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0045] The terminal may be made to update the bitmap depending on the uplink resource configuration.

[0046] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0047] The terminal may be caused to send a cancellation indication to the network device when the device determines that an event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed.

[0048] The step of causing a terminal to determine whether the device is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power, wherein the transmitting step may comprise transmitting the identification in response to determining that the device is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel or a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power.

[0049] The instructions may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on the at least one uplink resource.

[0050] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a network apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the network apparatus to perform the step of receiving, from a terminal, an identification of at least one uplink resource associated with an uplink transmit power reduced by the terminal.

[0051] The network device may be caused to transmit configuration information that configures the device to determine that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0052] The configuration information may include comparing a measurement of at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold value for that parameter.

[0053] At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values.

[0054] At least one of the at least one parameter may have associated first and second thresholds, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power that is greater than the first threshold, and when only the first threshold is exceeded, the receiving step may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource allocated to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and when both the first and second thresholds are exceeded, the receiving step may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource not allocated to the terminal for the uplink resource affected by the power reduction.

[0055] The identification may be contained in a bitmap.

[0056] The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0057] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0058] The network device may be caused to perform the step of receiving a cancellation indication from the terminal indicating that an event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed, the indication may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on at least one uplink resource.

[0059] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions to cause a terminal to perform the steps of determining that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power and transmitting an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device.

[0060] The terminal performs a step of receiving configuration information for configuring the device using the determining step.

[0061] The determining step may include comparing the measurement value of at least one parameter to at least one associated threshold value for that parameter. At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values. At least one of the at least one parameters may have associated first and second threshold values, the second threshold value corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power greater than the first threshold value, and when only the first threshold value is exceeded, the transmitting step may transmit at least one identification of uplink resources assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction. When both the first and second threshold values ​​are exceeded, the transmitting step may transmit at least one identification of uplink resources not assigned to the terminal for uplink resources affected by the power reduction.

[0062] The identification may be included in a bitmap. The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0063] The terminal may be made to update the bitmap depending on the uplink resource configuration.

[0064] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0065] The terminal causes the step of transmitting a cancellation indication to the network device when the device determines that an event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed.

[0066] The terminal may be caused to perform a step of determining whether the device is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power, and the transmitting step may comprise a step of transmitting the identification in response to determining that the device is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel or a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmission power.

[0067] The instructions may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on the at least one uplink resource.

[0068] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium comprising program instructions, the program instructions causing a network device to perform a step of receiving, from a terminal, an identification of at least one uplink resource associated with an uplink transmit power reduced by the terminal.

[0069] The network device may be caused to transmit configuration information that configures the device to determine that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0070] The configuration information may include comparing a measurement of at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold value for that parameter.

[0071] At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values.

[0072] At least one of the at least one parameter may have an associated first threshold and a second threshold, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power that is greater than the first threshold, and when only the first threshold is exceeded, the receiving step may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource allocated to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and when both the first threshold and the second threshold are exceeded, the receiving step may receive an identification of at least one uplink resource not allocated to the terminal for the uplink resource affected by the power reduction.

[0073] The identification may be contained in a bitmap.

[0074] The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0075] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0076] The network device may be caused to perform the step of receiving a cancellation indication from the terminal indicating that an event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed, the indication may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on at least one uplink resource.

[0077] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for a terminal, the apparatus comprising: a determining circuit that determines that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power; and a transmitting circuit that transmits an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device.

[0078] The device may include receiving circuitry for receiving configuration information for configuring the device using the decision circuitry.

[0079] The determination circuit may include comparing the measurement of at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold for that parameter. At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second thresholds. At least one of the at least one parameters may have associated first and second thresholds, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmit power greater than the first threshold, and the transmitting circuit may transmit, when only the first threshold is exceeded, at least one identification of uplink resources allocated to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and, when both the first and second thresholds are exceeded, the transmitting circuit may transmit, to the terminal, at least one identification of unallocated uplink resources for the uplink resources affected by the power reduction.

[0080] The identification may be included in a bitmap. The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0081] The apparatus may comprise an updating circuit that updates the bitmap according to an uplink resource configuration.

[0082] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0083] The apparatus may comprise a transmitting circuit that transmits a cancel indication to a network device when the apparatus determines that an event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed.

[0084] The apparatus may include a determination circuit that determines whether the apparatus is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with a reduced uplink transmit power, and the transmission circuit may include a transmission circuit that transmits an identification in response to determining that the apparatus is scheduled to transmit on resources of the physical uplink shared channel or the physical uplink control channel associated with the reduced uplink transmit power.

[0085] The instructions may provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on the at least one uplink resource.

[0086] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a network apparatus, the network apparatus comprising: a receiving circuit that receives, from a terminal, an identification of at least one uplink resource associated with an uplink transmit power reduced by the terminal.

[0087] The network device may comprise a transmitting circuit that transmits configuration information that configures the device to determine that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0088] The configuration information may include comparing a measurement of at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold value for that parameter.

[0089] At least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter may have respective first and second threshold values.

[0090] At least one of the at least one parameter may have associated first and second thresholds, the second threshold corresponding to a reduction in uplink transmission power greater than the first threshold, and the receiving circuit may receive, when only the first threshold is exceeded, an identification of at least one uplink resource assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction, and, when both the first and second thresholds are exceeded, the receiving circuit may receive, for the uplink resource affected by the power reduction, an identification of at least one uplink resource not assigned to the terminal.

[0091] The identification may be contained in a bitmap.

[0092] The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0093] A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmit power.

[0094] The network device can include a receiving circuit that receives a cancellation indication from a terminal indicating that an event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed, the indication can provide an identification of an antenna panel in the device that is configured to transmit on the at least one uplink resource.

[0095] According to an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising program instructions for causing a computer to carry out any of the methods described above.

[0096] According to a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program product stored on a medium capable of causing an apparatus to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0097] According to a thirteenth aspect, there is provided an electronic device which may comprise an apparatus as described herein.

[0098] According to a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a chipset that may comprise an apparatus as described herein.

[0099] Various other aspects are also set forth in the following detailed description and appended claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0100] Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0101] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a 5G system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a network device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a user equipment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a non-volatile memory medium that stores instructions that, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the methods of some embodiments. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows a signaling diagram illustrating potential messages that may be exchanged. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a flow chart illustrating potential actions by the device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows a flow chart illustrating potential actions by the device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0102] In the following, some embodiments will be described with reference to mobile communication devices capable of communicating over a wireless cellular system and a mobile communication system serving such mobile communication devices. Before describing example embodiments in detail, some general principles of 5G wireless communication systems will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

[0103] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a 5G system (5GS) 100. The 5GS may include a user equipment (UE) 102 (which may also be referred to as a communication device or terminal), a 5G access network (AN) (which may be a 5G radio access network (RAN) or any other type of 5G AN, such as a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) / trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF) for untrusted / trusted non-3GPP access, or a radio access gateway function (W-AGF) for radio access) 104, a 5G core (5GC) 106, one or more application functions (AFs) 108, and one or more data networks (DNs) 110.

[0104] A 5G RAN may include one or more gNodeB (GNB) distributed unit functions connected to one or more gNodeB (GNB) centralized unit functions. The RAN may include one or more access nodes.

[0105] The 5GC 106 may comprise one or more Access Management Functions (AMFs) 112, one or more Session Management Functions (SMFs) 114, one or more Authentication Server Functions (AUSFs) 116, one or more Unified Data Management (UDM) Functions 118, one or more User Plane Functions (UPFs) 120, one or more Unified Data Repository (UDR) Functions 122, one or more Policy Control (PCF) Functions 128, and / or one or more Network Exposure Functions (NEFs) 124. Although the PCF 128 is not depicted with its interfaces, this is for reasons of clarity, and it should be understood that the PCF 126 may have multiple interfaces with other network functions, such as the AMF 112 (via interface N15), the SMF 114 (via interface N7), the UDR 122 (via interface N36), the Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF) 126 (via interface N23), and many other network functions.

[0106] The 5GC 106 also includes a network data analysis function (NWDAF) 126. The NWDAF is responsible for providing network analysis information upon request from one or more network functions or devices in the network. Network functions may also subscribe to and receive information from the NWDAF 126. Thus, the NWDAF 126 is also configured to receive and store network information from one or more network functions or devices in the network. Data collection by the NWDAF 126 may be performed based on at least one subscription to events provided by at least one network function.

[0107] The number of online services increases dramatically every year, resulting in a corresponding demand for bandwidth. Millimeter-wave (mmW) spectrum can be used to provide extra bandwidth, offering the possibility of using large portions of contiguous bandwidth to address high-throughput applications. Therefore, the fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) frequency spectrum aims to extend wavelengths significantly above the previous fourth-generation (4G) frequency spectrum (400 MHz to 6 GHz, otherwise known as Frequency Range 1 (FR1)). This bandwidth extension is sometimes referred to as Frequency Range 2 (FR2). In the current proposal for mmWave 5G NR, FR2 could comprise frequencies between 24 GHz and 52.6 GHz. Extending NR operation to the 52.6-71 GHz range is currently under discussion in 3GPP Rel. 17.

[0108] Operating at such high frequencies with high-gain antennas has raised health concerns for users. Frequencies below 100 GHz are non-ionizing, and health concerns are limited to thermal heating of living tissue during its absorption of electromagnetic millimeter waves. Millimeter-wave frequencies have a penetration depth of 1 mm or less. Therefore, potential thermal damage is limited to the surface of the skin and eyes. Most of the energy is absorbed within the first 0.4 mm of human skin at 42 GHz.

[0109] To address these concerns, there are standards in the mmWave regime that define and regulate the maximum power that can be transmitted by user equipment (UE). Additionally, many jurisdictions have government exposure guidelines in place to prevent health problems due to thermal effects. Below 6 GHz (e.g., LTE), the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is used to determine exposure thresholds. SAR measures the energy absorbed by the human body when exposed to an electromagnetic field. The SAR limit in the United States is 1.6 W / kg averaged over 1 g of tissue from the FCC. In Europe, the SAR limit is 2 W / kg averaged over 10 g of tissue. 1 g averaging provides finer resolution for studying energy absorption in the human body.

[0110] In the millimeter regime, where penetration depths are less than 1 mm, even 1 g of tissue is a large volume to measure accurately. Because it is difficult to define a meaningful deposition for SAR assessment, it is generally accepted to use power density (PD) rather than SAR to set limits on exposure at millimeter wave frequencies. PD is a planar energy distribution as opposed to a volumetric distribution like SAR. Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) is the PD limit for the millimeter wave regime. The FCC and ICNIRP have set a limit of 10 W / m² for the general public between 6 or 10 GHz and 100 GHz, respectively. 2 (1mW / cm 2 ) sets the MPE threshold. The energy absorbed by the human body increases as a function of the distance to the UE. Therefore, to comply with the MPE limit, the UE may have to reduce its output power when the user is in close proximity to the antenna.

[0111] Some 5G NR bands operate at very high frequencies (FR2 and above), requiring high-gain antennas to maintain link budgets. However, high-gain antennas direct a lot of energy toward users, which the FCC protects by setting MPE thresholds. If a UE determines that it complies with the MPE limit and subsequently a user is in close proximity to the antenna, it reduces its output power for uplink transmissions. This output power reduction (by at least 20 dB relative to the incoming UE) likely causes the UE to lose connection to the base station (gNB) (i.e., a Radio Link Failure (RLF) event may occur).

[0112] In 3GPP, two methods are used and discussed to reduce the uplink power output by the UE: maxUplinkDutyCycle and P-PMR.

[0113] For maxUplinkDutyCycle, a duty cycle is defined that allows the UE to maintain its maximum transmit power while still meeting the MPE requirement. This is done by averaging the power output over a defined period so that some transmissions within the period are performed at "normal" transmit power and other transmissions scheduled to occur within the period are suppressed. The average power over this period will meet the MPE limit. As an example, the duty cycle value in FR1 may have a default value of 50% and optionally have reported values ​​of 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100%, with the averaging time / duty cycle observation period typically on the order of seconds / minutes, depending on the system. Dynamic duty cycles are not introduced in Rel-16. Instead, it is currently a fixed capability indicated using RRC signaling. However, this may not be the case in future releases and other network types (i.e., non-5G networks).

[0114] In the case of Power Management Maximum Power Reduction (PMPR), the UE may apply a reduction to the uplink maximum available power for all of its uplink transmissions to comply with emission requirements. The UE can detect when to apply a power reduction based on its own decision; for example, when the UE detects the proximity of a human body, the transmit power is reduced in the uplink. Thus, on the device side, there may be a proximity sensor available that is built into the device to detect nearby objects, including humans. These components may be implemented in many ways, including 60 GHz radar. Based on the proximity sensor, the device can autonomously back off its transmit power to comply with MPE requirements.

[0115] Improved solutions to the FR2 MPE problem are being considered. At recent meetings, it was agreed to consider further reporting of applied P-MPR and duty cycle values, but there was extensive discussion about how to implement the RF exposure compliance mechanism in the specification (i.e., 3GPP Technical Specification 38.101-2).

[0116] When reporting the P-MPR, periodic P-MPR reporting is not introduced. Instead, reporting is triggered when the P-MPR is higher than a threshold (which may be configurable). The signaling mechanism by which this triggered reporting occurs is not discussed (e.g., via a new reporting message as an extension to currently defined signals / messages). However, it is agreed that a P-MPR reporting value mapping table will be introduced in 3GPP Technical Specification 38.133.

[0117] Second, as mentioned above, dynamic duty cycles are not introduced in Rel-16.

[0118] Beam-based operation potentially allows multiple paths or beam pair links to be used for communication, where a beam pair link refers to a transmit beam at a transmitter and a receive beam at a receiver of a radio link between two nodes, such as between a UE and a gNB. Therefore, duty-cycle-based MPE actions can be avoided through the use of beam / path diversity for uplink transmissions. Such a configuration can improve scheduling flexibility in the network and avoid unnecessarily limiting uplink throughput outside of MPE events. This configuration (i.e., beam / path diversity) can also be an improvement over reducing transmit power to meet transmission requirements.

[0119] The following considers that when a potential alternative path / beam exists, it would be useful for the UE to indicate this to the network in order to avoid the UE reducing its UL transmit power more than necessary and avoid potential radio link failure. It is also useful for the UE to know when a potential alternative path / beam does not exist in order to mitigate beam failure.

[0120] Specifically, the following considers mechanisms for a UE to indicate to the network when it is experiencing an MPE scenario and is operating under transmit power constraints using a currently configured communication beam for the uplink. Specifically, the following considers mechanisms for identifying specific uplink transmission resources affected by the MPE to the network equipment and / or for identifying specific uplink transmission resources affected by the MPE to the network equipment. The following further considers mechanisms for quickly restoring normal operation when an MPE scenario no longer prevents the application of gNB uplink scheduling constraints when they are no longer needed.

[0121] FIG. 5 is a signalling diagram illustrating the proposed mechanism, showing signals exchanged between a user equipment 51 and a network device 52.

[0122] At 501, the network device 52 sends a signal to the user equipment 51 comprising a configuration for configuring the UE to detect and / or report an MPE event.

[0123] This configuration may comprise at least one threshold, and the UE may be triggered to report an MPE event if this threshold is exceeded. For example, in a TH1 threshold configuration, a threshold TH1 may be configured for any entry / bit location in the bitmap, such that when the maximum power reduction (MPR) applied by UE51 for the resource indicated by that bitmap location exceeds TH1, an event is triggered and a bit is set to indicate the event for the affected resource. UE51 may be configured via signaling to cancel the event and trigger a new report when the MPR applied by the UE is less than TH1.

[0124] Any additional MPE-related reports the UE may be configured with the same threshold, which may be useful when reporting candidate resources that are not affected by MPE, such as when reporting candidate Synchronization Signal (SS) / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block resources.

[0125] UE51 may be configured to use a second threshold (TH2) via signaling in 501. This second threshold TH1 may be applied when UE51 reports canceling an MPE event. TH2 may be set higher than TH1.

[0126] While the MPR is mentioned above as being used for the threshold trigger, it should be understood that other values ​​may be used, such as a threshold for uplink maximum power. Additionally, multiple thresholds may be configured in the UE 51 via signaling from the network device 52. These thresholds may be applied simultaneously (e.g., an event is detected (and then reported) if any of the configured thresholds are exceeded). These thresholds may also be applied sequentially (e.g., applied until one threshold is exceeded, then used after the threshold that exceeded a different second threshold).

[0127] At 502, after configuring itself to detect an MPE event based on the received configuration, the UE detects an MPE event, which may be performed through the use of a threshold, as described above.

[0128] At 503, the UE 51 determines to send an indication to the network device 52 indicating resources affected by the MPE event. The indication is sent to the network device 52 at 504. The indication may be an explicit indication. One way to efficiently indicate resources affected by the MPE event is to indicate one or more Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states affected by the MPE event. The at least one Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state is dynamically transmitted and provided to the UE (e.g., via a downlink control information message) and comprises a configuration such as a quasi-co-location-relationship between downlink reference signals in one channel state information reference signal set and a physical downlink shared channel demodulation reference signal port. The indication sent at 503 may include identification of the at least one TCI state affected by the MPE event.

[0129] Optionally, prior to or as part of sending the indication at 504, UE 51 may signal the network to request resources for reporting the MPE event. For example, scheduling request and / or preamble-based signaling may be used to indicate that an MPE event has occurred and that UE 51 requests more resources to provide additional MPE-related information. The additional MPE-related information may be conveyed using any of a variety of different signaling channels and mechanisms. For example, the additional MPE-related information may be signaled by UE 51 to network device 52 using a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), via a Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE), and / or via radio resource control signaling.

[0130] At 505, after receiving the indication sent at 504, the network device makes a network planning decision to take into account the MPE event and the affected resources. Examples of how this can be done are discussed below.

[0131] The UE51 may cancel the reporting event in at least one of multiple situations. For example, the UE51 may cancel the reporting event when new uplink resources are configured, and / or after the UE receives an indication that it may not expect the network device to schedule on certain resources, and / or after the UE is authorized to ignore UL grants, e.g., periodic grants on resources. As an example, when the UE expects the network device to schedule the UE to transmit uplink using the assumption that the UE may need to mitigate MPE on those uplink resources, the event may be considered triggered or pending and not canceled. In other words, the UE may be configured to report at least once (e.g., report once, or report periodically, or report N times) when the UE determines that an MPE event has occurred or new information has been provided. As a further example, the UE may stop periodic reporting (e.g., when an MPE limit is no longer applicable), or the UE may be configured to report whenever the MPE situation changes, such as when new resources are affected or when some resources / beams / links stop being affected. The network device may also explicitly cancel the UE reporting on the MPE event by signaling the UE to configure the UE to stop reporting on the MPE event.

[0132] 6 and 7 are flow charts illustrating potential actions that can be performed by the above-described interaction device.

[0133] FIG. 6 illustrates potential operations performed by an apparatus for a terminal.

[0134] In 601, the apparatus determines that at least one uplink resource is associated with reduced uplink transmit power. This may be determined in response to determining that the terminal needs to comply with MPE requirements. Accordingly, the identification indicates a specific resource associated with reduced uplink transmit power. The specific resource may be assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission upon receiving the identification. The specific resource may not be assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission upon receiving the identification.

[0135] How the terminal determines that an MPE requirement should be met may be configured by signaling received by the terminal from a network device. Such configuration signaling may configure the terminal with at least one threshold associated with at least one parameter. The parameter may be, for example, a maximum power reduction and / or other parameter discussed herein. The determining may include comparing a measurement of the at least one parameter to a threshold and taking an action depending on whether the threshold is met and / or exceeded. For example, the terminal may determine that an MPE requirement should be met when a threshold is met and / or exceeded. The terminal may be configured to perform the measurement itself. Determining whether a particular MPE requirement needs to be met may also be determined internally by the terminal. The terminal may notify the network device that it cannot utilize certain resources without reducing the maximum power. The amount of the reduction may be indicated by the terminal to the network device, such that the terminal explicitly signals a value. The amount of the reduction may be assumed to be a specific / default value known by both the network device and the terminal (e.g., a default reduction amount may be predetermined). In this latter case, the amount of reduction is not explicitly signaled by the terminal to the network equipment.

[0136] There may be at least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter, each having a respective first threshold and a second threshold.

[0137] At least one of the at least one parameter may have an associated first threshold and a second threshold. The second threshold may correspond to a reduction in uplink transmit power that is greater than the first threshold. When only the first threshold is exceeded, the transmission may transmit identification of at least one of the uplink resources assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction (also referred to herein as reactive reporting) when both the first threshold and the second threshold are exceeded. The terminal may transmit identification of at least one of the uplink resources not currently assigned to the terminal for the uplink resources affected by the power reduction (also referred to herein as proactive reporting).

[0138] At 602, the device transmits an identification of at least one uplink resource to the network device. The identification may be included in a bitmap. The bitmap may identify at least one uplink resource that is not associated with (i.e., not affected by) reduced uplink transmit power. A single identification may be used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with reduced uplink transmit power. For example, resources / channels commonly considered to be quasi-co-located by the network device and the terminal may form a set that may be indicated by an indication to one of the resources / channels in the quasi-co-located set. The resources / channels may generally be considered to be quasi-co-located following signaling of this quasi-co-location by the network device to the terminal.

[0139] The device may cause the terminal to send a cancellation instruction to the network device when the device determines that the event causing the reduced uplink transmit power has passed. The cancellation instruction may thus indicate to the network that the uplink resources allocated to the terminal are not currently subject to transmit power limitation / reduction.

[0140] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating potential actions that may be performed by a network device interacting with the device of Figure 6. The network device may be a network access point, such as a gNB or equivalent.

[0141] In 701, the network device receives from the terminal an identification of at least one uplink resource associated with an uplink transmit power reduced by the terminal. Thus, the identification indicates a specific resource associated with the reduced uplink transmit power. The specific resource may be allocated to the terminal for uplink transmission when the identification is received (reactive reporting by the terminal). The specific resource may not be allocated to the terminal for uplink transmission when the identification is received (proactive reporting by the terminal).

[0142] As mentioned above, how the terminal determines that the MPE requirements should be met may be configured by signaling sent by the network device to the terminal. Such configuration signaling may comprise at least one threshold value associated with at least one parameter. The parameter may be, for example, a maximum power reduction and / or other parameters described herein.

[0143] There may be at least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter, each having a respective first threshold and second threshold.

[0144] At least one of the at least one parameter may have an associated first threshold and a second threshold. The second threshold may correspond to a reduction in uplink transmission power that is greater than the first threshold. When only the first threshold is exceeded, the transmitting terminal may transmit identification of at least one uplink resource assigned to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the power reduction. This is part of the reactive reporting described. When both the first threshold and the second threshold are exceeded, the terminal may transmit identification of at least one currently unassigned uplink resource for the uplink resource affected by the power reduction. This is part of the proactive reporting described.

[0145] The network device may receive a cancellation instruction terminal. The cancellation instruction may indicate to the network device that the uplink resources allocated to the terminal are not currently subject to a transmit power limitation / reduction.

[0146] Below, we consider more specific examples of the techniques described herein in which a UE is configured to indicate an MPE event and / or cancel an indicated MPE event, which can be done either proactively (i.e., by controlling the MPE event) or reactively (i.e., in response to the occurrence of an MPE event).

[0147] First, consider that the UE determines and transmits resource specific information for indicating an MPE event to a network device.

[0148] As a first example, the transmitted instructions may be based on Synchronization Signal (SS) / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) blocks, known as SSBs, and / or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources.

[0149] In LTE, all eNodeBs continuously transmit cell-specific reference signals (CRS) that allow UEs to measure the cell quality of neighboring cells. This CRS does not exist in 5G NR. Instead, 5G NR UEs perform cell signal measurements by using SSBs. These SSBs consist of synchronization signals and physical broadcast channels with a longer transmission periodicity than the LTE CRS.

[0150] Thus, a first example may use SSB and / or CSI-RS identifiers to indicate a particular resource. This may be used in combination with the concept of quasi-co-location (QCL). In QCL, the characteristics of the channel over which symbols on one antenna port are transmitted can be inferred from the characteristics of the channel over which symbols on another antenna port are carried. Thus, if a first channel is affected by an MPE event, the quasi-co-located sources for that channel will also be affected.

[0151] In a first example, the SSB and / or CSI-RS can be determined by spatial relationship information configured for the PUSCH and / or PUCCH. For example, spatial relationship resources such as sounding reference signal (SRS) resources or non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS may be used to determine the spatial relationship. In particular, for each PUCCH resource determined to be affected by an MPE event, the UE can determine the reference QCL source using a QCL source chain that leads back to a specific SSB. An indication of these types of resources may then be signaled using at least one SSB index or a bitmap in which each bitmap entry points to a specific SSB time index location.

[0152] As a second example, the transmitted indication may be based on a PUCCH resource ID. In this case, the transmitted indication may include a specific field for each configured PUCCH resource ID. For an MPE indication, the UE may determine whether a specific PUCCH resource ID is directly affected by the MPE event or whether the PUCCH resource ID is related to a PUSCH transmission. If the specific resource is one of these, the UE may transmit an indication that the specific resource is affected by the MPE event. If at least one PUCCH group is configured (in Rel. 16 and later, there may be up to four PUCCH groups defined in terms of spatial relationships), the indication may be based on a PUCCH group ID. Using a PUCCH group-based indication instead of indicating individual resources may provide lower overhead.

[0153] As a third example, the transmitted indication is based on at least one sounding reference signal (SRS) resource ID (SRI). The SRS is a reference signal transmitted by the UE to a network device that can be used by the network device to determine uplink channel quality. The SRS may be configured in the UE via signaling from the network device and may relate to resources not allocated to the UE for communication with the network device. Thus, measurements made in the SRS may provide some indication of how the UE performs in other parts of the time-frequency resource grid. The SRS resource ID (SRI) identifies at least one time-frequency resource / pattern used for the SRS. The UE may transmit an indication of an MPE event using at least one SRS ID used for a PUSCH spatial relationship configured by the downlink control information transmitted by the network device.

[0154] As a fourth example, the transmitted indication is based on at least one active transmission configuration indication (TCI) state of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). As mentioned above, a TCI state defines a configuration, such as a QCL relationship, between downlink reference signals in one CSI-RS set and a PDSCH DMRS port. In this case, based on the configured uplink resources, the UE determines which active TCI state for the PDSCH corresponds to a particular uplink resource, and when indicating an MPE event, the UE indicates one or more active TCI state indexes to identify those particular UL resources as affected.

[0155] As a fifth example, the transmitted indication may be based on active TCI states for uplink transmission in a common TCI framework for uplink and downlink beam management. In this case, the MPE indication may comprise an indication of a set of active TCI states for PUSCH, or PUCCH, or both.

[0156] As a sixth example, an antenna panel including antenna elements may be mentioned. For example, a device may have two antenna panels on both sides of the device. As another example, a device may have four panels, each panel on a different side of the device. An antenna panel with multiple antenna elements may perform beamforming. When panel information (i.e., the number of panels and the identifier of each panel) is established between the network device and the UE, the transmitted instruction may be based on the antenna panel's unique identifier. As an example, the network device may configure the UE with an antenna panel-specific beam report, and the UE may determine the affected resource instruction based on the antenna panel ID.

[0157] As an example, a UE may have four panels, and the UE may transmit at least one indication indicating which of the panels are affected by the MPE and / or which of the panels are not affected by the MPE. The network device may determine specific uplink resources or candidate uplink spatially related resources based on panel-specific downlink reference signal reports (or sounding reference signal information). As a further example, if the UE is equipped with two (or more) antenna panels (labeled #1 and #2 in this example), the UE may indicate to the network device that panel #2 is affected by the MPE. This indication may therefore inform the network device of the affected uplink transmission resources for PUCCH / PUSCH transmissions through association with the panel ID, allowing the network device to avoid scheduling uplink transmissions for the UE on those resources. Furthermore, if the UE indicates that panel #1 is not affected by the MPE, the UE may indicate this to the network device. Receipt of this indication causes the network device to recognize that it may be beneficial to use resources associated with panel #1 for UE uplink transmissions. Thus, upon receiving an indication that some resources are not affected by the MPE for a particular antenna panel of the UE, the network device may schedule UE uplink transmissions for those some resources.

[0158] The UE may be a network device having MPE-related restriction indications provided for each UE transmission panel, where the panel is identified by an explicit antenna panel identification, by a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource set ID, by a PUCCH group identification, and / or by corresponding to a set of downlink reference signals that are potential spatial source reference signal uplink transmission beams. By way of example, either a particular SRS resource or group ID or downlink reference signal ID may implicitly indicate to the network device that a particular panel is affected.

[0159] The instruction to the network device may be implicit when the antenna panel identification is not explicitly used. In this example, the UE may indicate that restrictions may be defined for the duty cycle per antenna panel due to MPE or for each SRS resource identification, PUCCH group identification, PUCCH identification, PUSCH identification, and downlink reference signal identification. The MPE constraints applied by the UE may be defined for the maximum allowed transmit power / EIRP per antenna panel due to MPE.

[0160] In some examples, the UE may indicate, for each antenna panel identification, and / or SRS resource set identification, and / or PUCCH identification, and / or PUSCH resource, and / or downlink reference signal identification, whether that antenna panel, resource, and / or resource identification is affected by MPE, and the amount of PMPR or duty cycle per indicated resource / panel. These listed resource, resource identification, and antenna panel identifiers may generally be considered to be the identifications and / or resources corresponding to the PUSCH / PUCCH used as identifications for aligning the uplink transmit beam.

[0161] In the above example, the information provided in the MPE indication may comprise a resource-specific indication. The bit width per resource in the MPE indication may be one or more bits. In other words, a resource may be indicated using one or more bits. The indication may be in the form of a bitmap. In this case, the indication may be set such that at least one of the bits in the resource-specific bitmap indicates a resource affected by MPE. A resource may be indicated as affected by MPE based on, for example, a single threshold. The bitmap may also indicate resources that are not affected by MPE. For example, a bit representing a particular resource in the bitmap may be set to "1" to indicate that the resource is affected by an MPE event, or set to "0" to indicate that the resource is not affected by an MPE event (or vice versa).

[0162] In one example, the UE may receive a configuration from the network device to provide at least one of a reactive (first type) indication and a proactive (second type) indication to the network device in an MPE event.

[0163] The reactive indication may include, in the UE, determining whether the network device has scheduled at least one transmission on at least one PUSCH or PUCCH resource affected by the MPE limit configured / determined to be reported by the UE. If the network device has scheduled at least one transmission, an MPE event is triggered and an MPE indication is generated and sent by the UE to the network device. Alternatively or additionally, if the UE determines that it has transmitted or is transmitting at least one transmission on a channel (PUSCH / PUSCH) or associated resource affected by the MPE, an MPE event is triggered and an MPE indication is generated and sent by the UE to the network device. As an example, the UE may be configured to perform periodic transmissions on the uplink, or the network is scheduling the UE on the downlink and the UE is providing DL feedback on the uplink. In another example, if the network schedules or performs at least one transmission on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or PDSCH resource corresponding to a configured PUCCH / PUSCH resource, the UE may indicate to the network device that an MPE event, a potential MPE event, or a proactive MPE event is expected to occur on that resource. Event reporting may be performed as described herein.

[0164] A proactive MPE event may be determined when the UE determines whether an UL resource is affected by MPE immediately or based on an observation period over a predetermined duration. If an uplink resource is determined to be affected / unaffected, this indication is reported proactively (i.e., without the UE currently being scheduled to use that resource). Thus, the UE proactively triggers a report that it may experience uplink transmission limitations on the indicated resource.

[0165] In a combined proactive / reactive approach, the UE may be configured with one or more thresholds (such as maximum power reduction) for triggering an event. When the amount of MPR is within a first threshold, the UE may be configured with a reactive event. For example, when the transmit power does not need to be reduced by more than the first threshold (less than the second threshold), the UE may trigger a reactive event when a network device schedules an UL transmission or when the UE performs a transmission on one or more UL resources affected by the MPE (e.g., uplink channels such as PUCCH and / or PUSCH, or corresponding resources associated with the transmission). However, when the amount of MPR is greater than a second threshold (greater than the first threshold), the UE may proactively indicate an MPE event, preferably before the network device schedules the UE on the affected resources and / or before the UE performs a transmission on the affected resources.

[0166] While an MPR-based threshold is described above, it is understood that this is just one type of parameter that may be used to determine an MPE event, and that other parameters may be used (and applied) in the above example. For example, a counter-based mechanism may be used to calculate the number of scheduling events for the affected resource (e.g., the number of scheduling events associated with a particular resource within a time window), which may be used to set a threshold for when to send at least one MPE indication.

[0167] The UE may also be configured to provide an indication of both affected and unaffected resources of the MPE. One of these examples is described above in connection with bitmaps. In this case, when the UE is configured with a downlink reference signal-specific bitmap (e.g., for SSB / CSI-RS), the UE may be configured to provide full bitmap information including bitmaps of all DL RSs (i.e., occupied SSB time locations) configured in the system or SSBs configured for L1-RSRP / CSI reporting. In one example, the bitmap or partial bitmap may comprise information on a particular set of reference signals associated with the MPE, e.g., reference signals / resources associated with PUCCH / PUSCH transmissions. In one example, the (full) bitmap information may comprise a larger or broader set of reference signals than those configured by the network device or associated for the current PUCCH / PUSCH transmission by the UE.

[0168] When providing full bitmap information, the UE can indicate which downlink reference signal resources are affected and / or not affected by MPE, which can serve as potential spatially related reference signals for uplink transmissions. This information can be provided regardless of the MPE indication method described above. For example, this indication can be sent by the UE when the UE indicates that all resources in the configured MPE indication are affected or that N of M resources are affected (N is less than or equal to M, and N is 1, 2, 3, etc.).

[0169] The bitmap may be transmitted using a random access channel procedure and / or may be multiplexed in any available uplink grant if the corresponding uplink is not affected by the MPE (i.e., the resources used to transmit in the grant). As an example, the affected / unaffected resource list may be based on the TCI status list for the physical downlink shared channel, as described above.

[0170] In one example, the network device may configure the UE with reference signal types used to construct the bitmap. In another example, the bitmap types may be pre-configured in the UE. Based on the configured reference signal types, whenever the network device configures the UE with a new transmission configuration (e.g., for PUCCH / PUSCH / PDCCH / PDSCH), the UE may update the association of bit locations in the bitmap. This association may also be known in the network device. As an example, the bitmap may be constructed according to any of resource IDs, antenna panel IDs, TCI state IDs / ink IDs, beam IDs, etc., as identifiers that the UE can point to / reference when identifying resources affected by an MPE. In other words, the resource indication identifies the beams / links directly affected, or the resources indirectly indicate at least one beam / link affected by an MPE event (e.g., via a spatial relationship between the indicated beams / links and the indicated resources).

[0171] As an example of a bitmap configuration, if there are resource identifications #1, #2, #3, and #4 (which may be downlink reference signals considered as spatially related reference signals for uplink channels such as PUCCH / PUSCH, or may be antenna panel IDs or SRS resource set IDs, etc.), these resource identifications may be mapped to bit locations 1 through 4 in the bitmap. In a further example, if there is a resource ID update such that, for example, for PUSCH / PUCCH transmission, resource identifications #1, #2, #3, and #4 are updated to become #3, #4, #5, and #8, respectively, those resources will correspond to the same bit locations (1 through 4 in order) in the map. This is merely an example, and other mechanisms may be configured to report mapping resources / links / beams (instead of MPE (e.g., descending order may be used instead of ascending order)). The bitmap may also have a variable length determined by the resource configuration. As another example, resources may also be identified such that, for example, resource identification #1 is a logical resource ID and the actual reference signal may be changed while the identification remains the same. In this case, the UE may update the associated reference signal for resource identification #1 while the bit location in the bitmap remains unchanged.

[0172] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a controller for a communication system coupled to or for controlling a station of an access system, such as a base station, a RAN node such as a gNB, a central unit of a node of a cloud architecture or core network, such as an MME or S-GW, a scheduling entity such as a spectrum management entity, or a server or host, such as an apparatus hosting an NWDAF, an AMF, an SMF, a UDM / UDR, etc. The controller may be integrated with or external to a node or module of the core network or RAN. In some embodiments, the base station comprises a separate controller unit or module. In other embodiments, the controller may be another network element, such as a radio network controller or a spectrum controller. The controller 200 may be configured to provide control over communications in a service area of ​​the system. The apparatus 200 comprises at least one memory 201, at least one data processing unit 202, 203, and an input / output interface 204. Via the interface, the controller may be coupled to a receiver and a transmitter of the apparatus. The receiver and / or transmitter may be implemented as a radio front end or a remote radio head. For example, the controller 200 or processor 201 may be configured to execute appropriate software code to provide the control functionality.

[0173] Possible wireless communication devices will now be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3, which shows a schematic, partial cross-sectional view of a communication device 300. Such communication devices are often referred to as user equipment (UE) or terminals. A suitable mobile communication device may be provided by any device capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include mobile stations (MS) or mobile devices such as mobile phones or what are known as "smartphones," computers equipped with wireless interface cards or other wireless interface facilities (e.g., USB dongles), personal data assistants (PDAs) or tablets equipped with wireless communication capabilities, or any combination thereof. Mobile communication devices can provide communication of data to carry communications such as voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia, and the like. Thus, users can receive and be provided with numerous services via the communication device. Non-limiting examples of these services include two-way or multi-way calling, data communication or multimedia services, or simply access to a data communication network system such as the Internet. Users may also be provided with broadcast or multicast data. Non-limiting examples of content include downloads, television and radio programs, videos, advertisements, various alerts, and other information.

[0174] A wireless communication device may, for example, be a mobile device, i.e., a device that is not fixed to a particular location, or may be a fixed device. A wireless device may or may not require human interaction for communication. As used herein, the term UE or "user" is used to refer to any type of wireless communication device.

[0175] The wireless device 300 may receive signals over the air or radio interface 307 via suitable equipment for receiving and may transmit signals via suitable equipment for transmitting radio signals. In Figure 3, a transceiver unit is shown schematically by block 306. The transceiver unit 306 may be provided, for example, by a radio section and associated antenna unit. The antenna unit may be located internal or external to the wireless device.

[0176] A wireless device typically comprises at least one data processing entity 301, at least one memory 302, and possibly other components 303 for use in software- and hardware-assisted execution of tasks designed to perform, including controlling access to and communicating with access systems and other communication devices. Data processing, storage, and other related control devices may be provided on a suitable circuit board and / or within a chipset. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 704. A user may control the operation of the wireless device using a suitable user interface, such as a keypad 305, voice commands, a touch-sensitive screen or pad, or a combination thereof. A display 308, a speaker, and a microphone may also be provided. Additionally, the wireless communication device may comprise appropriate connectors (either wired or wireless) to other devices and / or for connecting external accessories, such as hands-free equipment.

[0177] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of non-volatile memory media 400a (e.g., a computer disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD)) and 400b (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) memory stick) that store instructions and / or parameters 402 that, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the methods of FIGS. 6-7.

[0178] Accordingly, embodiments may vary within the scope of the appended claims. In general, some embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special-purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but embodiments are not limited thereto. Although various embodiments may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special-purpose circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controller, or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0179] The embodiments may be implemented by computer software stored in a memory and executable by at least one data processor of the participating entities, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Further in this regard, it should be noted that any procedure, such as that shown in Figures 6 and 7, may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. Software may be stored on physical media, such as memory chips or memory blocks implemented within a processor, magnetic media, such as hard disks or floppy disks, and optical media, such as DVDs and their data variants, CDs, etc.

[0180] The memory may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed and removable memory, etc. The data processor may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may include, by way of non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a gate-level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0181] Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments may be implemented using circuitry configured to perform one or more of the functions and / or method steps described above, which circuitry may be provided within a base station and / or a communications device.

[0182] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" refers to one or more or all of the following: (a) a hardware-only circuit implementation (e.g., an implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only); (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, e.g. (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware; (ii) any portion of software (including digital signal processors), hardware processors with software and memory that cooperate to cause an apparatus, such as a communications device or base station, to perform the various functions described above; (c) Hardware circuitry and / or processors, such as microprocessors or portions of microprocessors, that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0183] This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuit also encompasses simply a hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, as well as its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware implementations. The term circuit also encompasses, for example, integrated devices.

[0184] The foregoing description provides a complete and informative description of several embodiments, by way of illustrative and non-limiting example. However, various modifications and adaptations will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the present teachings will still fall within the scope as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for a terminal, comprising: means for determining that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power that satisfies a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) requirement; means for transmitting an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device, the identification indicating the at least one uplink resource using an identifier of an SSB and / or a CSI-RS, the identification being included in a bitmap; The determining means further comprises means for receiving configuration information for configuring the device; said determining includes comparing the measured value of at least one parameter with at least one associated threshold value for that parameter; means for determining whether to be scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with the reduced uplink transmission power; the transmitting means comprises means for transmitting the identification in response to determining that the apparatus is scheduled to transmit on at least one resource of a physical uplink shared channel or a physical uplink control channel associated with the reduced uplink transmit power.

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a first parameter and a second parameter of the at least one parameter have respective first and second threshold values.

3. at least one of the at least one parameter has an associated first threshold and a second threshold, the second threshold corresponding to a greater reduction in uplink transmit power than the first threshold; If only the first threshold is exceeded, the transmitting means transmits an identification of at least one of uplink resources allocated to the terminal for uplink transmission affected by the reduced uplink transmit power; 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein if both the first threshold and the second threshold are exceeded, the transmitting means transmits an identification of at least one uplink resource not assigned to the terminal among uplink resources affected by the reduced uplink transmit power.

4. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bitmap identifies at least one uplink resource that is not associated with reduced uplink transmit power.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising means for updating the bitmap depending on the uplink resource configuration.

6. 6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a single identification is used to identify multiple uplink resources associated with a reduced uplink transmission power.

7. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for sending a cancellation indication to the network device when the apparatus determines that the event that caused the reduced uplink transmit power has passed.

8. A method for an apparatus for a terminal, comprising: determining that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power that meets a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) requirement; transmitting an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device, wherein the identification indicates the at least one uplink resource using an identifier of an SSB and / or a CSI-RS, and the identification is included in a bitmap; receiving configuration information for configuring the device by the determining; said determining includes comparing the measured value of at least one parameter to at least one associated threshold value for that parameter; determining whether the mobile station is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with the reduced uplink transmit power; 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting the identification in response to determining that the device is scheduled to transmit on at least one resource of a physical uplink shared channel or a physical uplink control channel associated with the reduced uplink transmit power.

9. When executed on at least one processor of an apparatus for a terminal, determining that at least one uplink resource is associated with a reduced uplink transmit power that meets a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) requirement; transmitting an identification of the at least one uplink resource to a network device, the identification indicating the at least one uplink resource using an identifier of an SSB and / or a CSI-RS, the identification being included in a bitmap; receiving configuration information for configuring the device by the determining; said determining includes comparing the measured value of at least one parameter to at least one associated threshold value for that parameter; determining whether the device is scheduled to transmit on resources of at least one of a physical uplink shared channel and a physical uplink control channel associated with the reduced uplink transmit power; 12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting the identification in response to determining that the device is scheduled to transmit on at least one resource of a physical uplink shared channel or a physical uplink control channel associated with the reduced uplink transmit power.

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