Common spatial filter indication for reference signals in multi-transmit / receive point systems

Abstract

A method, network node and wireless device (WD) for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system are disclosed. According to one aspect, the method in the WD includes receiving at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregate TCI (transmission configuration indicator) states of a plurality of aggregate TCI states, each of the first and second aggregate TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of at least one of physical channels and reference signals by the WD. The method further includes receiving an association of each of the plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second aggregate TCI states.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) has developed and is developing standards for fourth-generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and fifth-generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide broadband communications between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile wireless devices (WDs), as well as communications between network nodes and between WDs. Various The sixth generation (6G) wireless communication system is also under development.

[0003] A 3GPP wireless communication system may include the following channels: Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH); Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH); Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH); Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH); and Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0004] In New Radio (NR), several signals may be transmitted from different antenna ports at the same base station, and these signals may have the same large-scale characteristics (such as Doppler shift and Doppler spread, mean delay spread, or mean delay), and these antenna ports are said to be quasi-colocated (QCL).

[0005] If the WD knows that two antenna ports are QCLs with respect to a particular parameter (e.g., Doppler spread), the WD can estimate that parameter based on one of the antenna ports and apply that estimate to receive signals on the other antenna port.

[0006] For example, there may be a QCL relationship between the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for the tracking reference signal (TRS) and the PDSCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS). When a WD receives a PDSCH DMRS, it can use measurements already made on the TRS to assist in DMRS reception.

[0007] Information about what assumptions can be made about the QCL is signaled from the network to the WD. NR defines four types of QCL relationships between a transmitting source RS and a target RS: Type A: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}; Type B: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}; Type C: {average delay, Doppler shift}; and Type D: {Spatial Receive (RX) parameters}.

[0008] QCL Type-D was introduced to facilitate beam management procedures using analog beamforming and is known as a spatial QCL. While there is currently no strict definition of a spatial QCL, one understanding is that if two transmit antenna ports are spatially QCLs, the WD can use the same Rx beam to receive them. This is useful for WDs that use analog beamforming to receive signals because the WD needs to adjust its RX beam to a certain direction before receiving a particular signal. If the WD knows that a previously received first signal is spatially QCL to a second signal received after the first signal, it can safely use the same RX beam to receive the second signal. While QCL Type-D is considered for beam management, the WD must also communicate the Type-A QCL's relationship to the reference signal so that the base station (network node) can estimate all relevant large-scale parameters.

[0009] Typically, this is achieved by configuring the WD with a tracking CSI-RS (TRS) used for time and frequency offset estimation. To be able to use any QCL reference, the WD must receive the QCL reference with a sufficiently good signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR). In many cases, this means that the TRS must be transmitted on an appropriate beam for a WD.

[0010] To introduce dynamics in the selection of beams and transmitting / receiving points (TRPs), the WD can be configured through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling with up to 128 TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states. The TCI state information elements are: TIFF0007780624000001.tif115146

[0011] Each TCI state includes QCL information related to one or two RSs. For example, a TCI state may include CSI-RS1 associated with QCL type A and CSI-RS2 associated with QCL type D. If a third RS (e.g., a PDCCH DMRS) has this TCI state as its QCL source, the WD may derive the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, delay spread, and spatial RX parameters (i.e., the RX beam to use) from CSI-RS2 when performing channel estimation for the PDCCH DMRS.

[0012] A first list of available TCI states is configured for the PDSCH, and a second list of TCI states is configured for the PDCCH. Each TCI state includes a pointer, known as a TCI state ID, that points to the TCI state. The network also activates one TCI state for the PDCCH and up to eight TCI states for the PDSCH via the Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). The number of active TCI states supported by the WD is WD capability, but the maximum is eight.

[0013] Assume that a WD has four activated TCI states (out of a list of 64 configured TCI states). Therefore, 60 TCI states are inactive for this particular WD, and the WD does not need to be prepared to have large-scale parameters estimated for those inactive TCI states. However, the WD continuously tracks and updates the large-scale parameters for RSs in the four active TCI states. When scheduling a PDSCH to a WD, the downlink control information (DCI) includes a pointer to one activated TCI state. As a result, the WD knows which large-scale parameter estimate to use when performing PDSCH DMRS channel estimation, and therefore PDSCH demodulation.

[0014] As long as the WD can use any of the currently activated TCI states, it is sufficient to use DCI signaling. However, at some point, none of the source RSs in the currently activated TCI states can be received by the WD, i.e., the WD moves out of the beam from which the source RSs in the activated TCI states are transmitted. When this happens (or before this actually happens), the network node must activate a new TCI state. Typically, the number of activated TCI states is fixed, so the network node must deactivate one or more of the currently activated TCI states.

[0015] Figure 1 shows the two-step procedure involved in updating the TCI state.

[0016] Activation / deactivation of TCI state for WD-specific PDSCH via MAC CE In Figure 2, the configuration of the MAC CE for activating / deactivating the TCI state for the WD-specific PDSCH is shown.

[0017] As shown in Figure 2, the MAC CE includes the following fields:

[0018] Serving Cell ID: This field indicates the identity of the serving cell to which the MAC CE applies. The field length is 5 bits.

[0019] Bandwidth Part (BWP) ID: This field contains the ID corresponding to the downlink bandwidth part to which the MAC CE applies. The BWP ID is given by the higher layer parameter BWP-Id as specified in 3GPP Technical Standard (TS) 38.331. The length of the BWP ID field is 2 bits, since up to four BWPs can be configured in the WD for the downlink (DL).

[0020] ● A variable number of fields Ti: If a TCI state with TCI state ID i is set to WD, the field Ti indicates the activation / deactivation status of the TCI state with TCI state ID i. If a TCI state with TCI state ID i is not set to WD, the MAC entity ignores the Ti field. The Ti field is set to "1" to indicate that the TCI state with TCI state ID i is activated and is mapped to a code point in the DCI transmission configuration indication field, as specified in 3GPP TS 38.214 / 38.321. The Ti field is set to "0" to indicate that the TCI state with TCI state ID i is deactivated and is not mapped to any code point in the DCI transmission configuration indication field. The code point to which a TCI state is mapped is determined by its ordinal position among all TCI states with the Ti field set to "1". That is, a first TCI state with the Ti field set to '1' is mapped to a code point value of 0 in the DCI transmission configuration indication field, and a second TCI state with the Ti field set to '1' is mapped to a code point value of 1 in the DCI transmission configuration indication field. In 3GPP NR Rel-15, the maximum number of activated TCI states is 8.

[0021] ● Reserved bit R: This bit is set to '0' in 3GPP NR Rel-15.

[0022] Note that the TCI state activation / deactivation for the WD-specific PDSCH MAC CE is identified by a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) subheader with a Logical Channel ID (LCID) as specified in Table 6.2.1-1 of 3GPP TS 38.321. The MAC CE for the TCI state activation / deactivation for the WD-specific PDSCH has a variable size.

[0023] TCI Status Indication for WD-Specific PDSCH via DCI A network node may use DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 to indicate to a WD that one of the activated TCI states should be used for subsequent PDSCH reception. The field used in the DCI is the Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI), which is 3 bits if tci-PresentInDCI is "enabled" or tci-PresentForDCI-Format1-2-r16 is present for DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2 by higher layers, respectively. An example of such a DCI indication is shown in Figure 3.

[0024] DCI codepoint 0 indicates the first TCI state index in a list of TCI states, DCI codepoint 1 indicates the second TCI state index in that list, and so on.

[0025] Multi-TRP TCI state operation In 3GPP Release 16 (3GPP Rel-16), multi-TRP (multiple-transmission reception point) operation was specified in two modes: single DCI-based multi-TRP and multiple DCI-based multi-TRP.

[0026] In 3GPP NR Rel-16, multi-DCI scheduling is for multi-TRP, where a WD can receive two DCIs, each scheduling a PDSCH and a PUSCH, and the two DCIs (carried by separate PDCCHs that schedule separate PDSCHs) are transmitted from the same TRP.

[0027] For multi-DCI multi-TRP operation, two CORESET pools need to be configured in the WD, each associated with a TRP. Each CORESET pool is a collection of CORESETs that belong to the same CORESET pool. A CORESET pool index can be configured in each CORESET with a value of 0 or 1. For the two DCIs in the above example, they are transmitted via separate PDCCHs in two CORESETs that belong to different CORESET pools (i.e., have CORESETPoolIndex 0 and 1, respectively). For each CORESET pool, the same TCI state operation methods are assumed regarding activation / deactivation / indication as described above.

[0028] Another multi-TRP mode, single DCI-based multi-TRP, requires two DL TCI states associated with one DCI codepoint. That is, if the TCI field codepoint in the DCI indicates two TCI states, each TCI state corresponds to a different beam or a different TRP. The activation and mapping of the two TCI states for the codepoints in the TCI field of the DCI is performed using the following MAC CE from 3GPP TS 38.321:

[0029] Extended TCI state activation / deactivation for WD-specific PDSCH MAC CE The extended TCI state activation / deactivation for WD-specific PDSCH MAC CE is identified by a MAC PDU subheader with eLCID as shown in Figure 4 and has a variable size consisting of the following fields:

[0030] Serving Cell ID: This field indicates the identity of the serving cell to which the MAC CE applies. The field length is 5 bits.

[0031] ● BWP ID: This field indicates the DL BWP to which the MAC CE applies as a codepoint of the DCI Bandwidth Fraction Indicator field specified in 3GPP TS 38.212. The length of the BWP ID field is 2 bits.

[0032] ● Ci: This field indicates whether an octet containing the TCI state ID i,2 is present. If this field is set to "1", an octet containing the TCI state ID i,2 is present. If this field is set to "0", an octet containing the TCI state ID i,2 is not present.

[0033] ● TCI_STATE_IDi,j: This field indicates the TCI state identified by TCI-State_ID specified in 3GPP TS 38.331, where i is the codepoint index of the DCI transmission configuration indication field specified in 3GPP TS 38.212. TCI_STATE_IDi,j indicates the j-th TCI state indicated for the i-th codepoint in the DCI TCI field. The TCI codepoint to which a TCI state is mapped is determined by its ordinal position among all TCI codepoints with a set of TCI_STATE_IDi,j fields, i.e., the first TCI codepoint with TCI_STATE_ID0,1 and TCI_STATE_ID0,2 is mapped to codepoint value 0, the second TCI codepoint with TCI_STATE_ID1,1 and TCI_STATE_ID1,2 is mapped to codepoint value 1, etc. TCI_STATE_IDi,2 is optional based on the indication in the Ci field. The maximum number of activated TCI codepoints is 8, and the maximum number of TCI states that can be mapped to a TCI codepoint is 2.

[0034] ●R: Reserved bit, set to "0".

[0035] Inter-cell multi-TRP operation 3GPP Rel-17 defines inter-cell multi-TRP operation, which is an extension of either the single DCI-based multi-TRP operation or the multiple DCI-based multi-TRP operation of 3GPP Rel-16. The inter-cell aspect of 3GPP Rel-17 refers to the case where two TRPs are associated with different synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) associated with different PCIs (Physical Cell IDs). That is, the TCI state referring to transmissions from TRP 1 or TRP 2 is either quasi-colocated with a reference signal of one of the SSB beams with the PCI belonging to that TRP, or quasi-colocated with another reference signal, such as CSI-RS or DMRS, that has its root quasi-colocated with one of the SSB beams with the PCI belonging to that TRP.

[0036] 3GPP Rel-17 TCI State Framework 3GPP Rel-17 defines a new unified TCI state framework that aims to streamline the indication of transmit / receive spatial filtering (and other QCL characteristics) to WD by allowing a single TCI state to indicate QCL characteristics for multiple different DL and / or uplink (UL) signals / channels. The DL / UL signals / channels to which the unified TCI state framework should apply are still under consideration by 3GPP. See the following statement from RAN1#104-e:

[0037] statement In 3GPP Rel-17, the Integrated TCI Framework, RAN1#104bis-e considers:

[0038] DL or, if applicable, Joint TCI also applies to the following signals: Otherwise, any other extension beyond 3GPP Rel-15 / 16, for further study (FFS): - CSI-RS resources for CSI; - some CSI-RS resources for beam management (BM), if so which resources (e.g., aperiodic, recurring "ON"); - CSI-RS for tracking;

[0039] ● Whether UL or, where applicable, Joint TCI also applies to the following signals: - Some Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resources or resource sets for the BM. The above "joint TCI" refers to the "joint DL / UL TCI state."

[0040] At meeting RAN1#103-e, it was discussed that the new unified TCI state framework should include three stages of TCI state indication for all or a subset of all DL and / or UL channels / signals (in a manner similar to that described above for PDSCH). In the first stage, radio resource control (RRC) is used to configure a pool of TCI states. In the second stage, one or more of the RRC-configured TCI states are activated via MAC-CE signaling and associated with different TCI field codepoints in DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2. Finally, in the third stage, DCI signaling is used to select one of the TCI states (or two TCI states, if separate TCI states are used for DL ​​and UL channels / signals) activated via MAC-CE.

[0041] The RAN1#103-e meeting is considering support for both joint beam indication ("Joint DL / UL TCI") and separate DL / UL beam indication ("Separate DL / UL TCI"), as will be seen in the following description. In the case of joint DL / UL TCI, a single TCI state (which may be, for example, a DL TCI state or a joint DL / UL TCI state) is used to determine the transmit / receive spatial filters for both DL and UL signals / channels. In the case of separate DL / UL TCI, one TCI state (e.g., a DL TCI state) may be used to indicate the receive spatial filters for the DL signals / channels, and a separate TCI state (e.g., a UL TCI state) may be used to indicate the transmit spatial filters for the UL signals / channels.

[0042] statement Beam indication signaling medium to support joint or separate DL / UL beam indication in the integrated TCI framework of 3GPP Rel-17:

[0043] Support L1-based beam indication using at least WD-specific (unicast) DCI to indicate joint or separate DL / UL beam indication from active TCI state: - Existing DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2 are reused for beam indication;

[0044] • Support activation of one or more TCI states via MAC CE similar to 3GPP Rel-15 / 16.

[0045] statement To accommodate the beam indication cases for UL and DL in the 3GPP Rel-17 unified TCI framework:

[0046] • Utilizing two separate TCI states, one for DL ​​and one for UL;

[0047] ●For separate DL TCI: The (one or more) source reference signals in the M TCIs provide QCL information at least for WD dedicated reception on the PDSCH and for WD dedicated reception on all or a subset of the CORESET in the component carrier (CC);

[0048] ●For separate UL TCI: The source reference signal(s) in the N TCIs provide a basis for determining the common UL transmit (TX) spatial filter(s) at least for dynamic / configured grant based PUSCH, all or a subset of dedicated PUCCH resources in the CC; Optionally, the UL TX spatial filter may also be applied to all SRS resources in the resource set(s) configured for antenna switched / codebook-based / non-codebook-based UL transmission.

[0049] • For further consideration (FFS): Whether the UL TCI state is taken from a common / same or separate TCI state pool from the DL TCI state.

[0050] NR uses CP-OFDM (cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) in both the downlink (DL) (i.e., from the network node, gNB, or base station to the wireless device (WD)) and the uplink (UL) (i.e., from the WD 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.

[0051] Data scheduling in NR is typically performed on a slot-by-slot basis, with an example shown in FIG. 5 using a 14-symbol slot, where the first two symbols contain the PDCCH and the rest of the symbols contain either the PDSCH or the PUSCH.

[0052] NR supports several different subcarrier spacing values. Supported Subcarrier Spacing value (also called different numerologies) is given by Δf = (15 × 2μ) kHz, where μ∈{0, 1, 2, 3, 4}. Δf = 15 kHz is the basic subcarrier spacing. The slot durations for various subcarrier spacings are 1 / 2 μ It is given in milliseconds. In the frequency domain, the system bandwidth is divided into resource blocks (RBs), each corresponding to 12 consecutive subcarriers. RBs are numbered starting with 0 at one end of the system bandwidth. The basic NR physical time-frequency resource grid is shown in Figure 6, where only one resource block (RB) in a 14-symbol slot is shown. One OFDM subcarrier in one OFDM symbol interval forms one resource element (RE).

[0053] Beam Management At millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, concepts for handling inter-beam (both within and between TRPs) mobility are being considered in NR. At these frequencies, where high-gain beamforming is used, each beam is only optimal within a small area, and link budgets outside the optimal beam quickly degrade. Therefore, frequent and fast beam switching may be required to maintain high performance. To support such beam switching, a beam indication framework is being considered in NR. For example, for downlink data transmission (PDSCH), the downlink control information (DCI) includes a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) field that informs the WD which beam will be used so that the WD can adjust its receive beam accordingly. This is beneficial for the analog Rx beamforming case, where the WD needs to determine and apply the Rx beamforming weights before it can receive the PDSCH.

[0054] In the following, the term "spatial filtering weight" or "spatial filtering setting" refers to the antenna weights applied at either the transmitter (gNB or WD) and the receiver (WD or gNB) for data / control transmission / reception. This term is more general in the sense that different propagation environments result in different spatial filtering weights that match the transmission / reception of signals to the channel. The spatial filtering weights may not necessarily result in beams in the strict sense.

[0055] Prior to data transmission, a training phase is required to determine the gNB and WD spatial filtering settings. This is shown in Figure 7 and is referred to as DL beam management in NR. In NR, two types of reference signals (RSs) are used for DL ​​beam management operations: Channel State Information RS (CSI-RS) and Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Control Channel (SS / PBCH) Block, or SSB for short. Figure 7 shows an example in which CSI-RS is used to find a suitable beam pair link (BPL), meaning a suitable gNB transmit spatial filtering setting (gNB transmit (Tx) beam) and a suitable WD receive spatial filtering setting (UE Rx beam) that results in a sufficiently good link budget.

[0056] 7 shows a beam training phase followed by a data transmission phase. For downlink data / control transmissions, the gNB indicates to the WD that the PDCCH / PDSCH DMRS is spatially quasi-co-located (QCL) with RS6, on which the WD performs measurements during the WD beam sweep in the beam training phase. For uplink control channel transmissions at least, the gNB indicates to the WD the spatial relationship of RS6 for the PUCCH.

[0057] In the above example, in a gNB Tx beam sweep, the gNB configures the WD to measure on a set of five CSI-RS resources (RS1...RS5) transmitted with five different spatial filtering settings (Tx beams). The WD is further configured to report back the RS ID and reference signal received power (RSRP) of the CSI-RS corresponding to the highest measured RSRP. In this example, the highest measured RSRP corresponds to RS4. In this way, the gNB learns what the preferred Tx beam is from the perspective of the WD. In subsequent WD Rx beam sweeps, the gNB transmits several CSI-RS resources in different OFDM symbols, all with the same spatial filtering setting (Tx beam) previously used to transmit RS4. The WD then tests different Rx spatial filtering settings (Rx beams) in each OFDM symbol to maximize the received RSRP. The WD stores the RS ID (RS ID 6 in this example) and the corresponding spatial filtering setting that results in the highest RSRP. The network can then refer to this RS ID in the future when DL data is scheduled to the WD, allowing the WD to adjust its Rx spatial filtering settings (Rx beam) for receiving the PDSCH. As mentioned above, the RS ID is included in the transmission configuration indicator (TCI), which is carried in a field in the DCI that schedules the PDSCH.

[0058] Channel State Information (CSI) and CSI Feedback A core component in LTE and NR is support for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna deployment and MIMO-related technologies. Spatial multiplexing is one of the MIMO techniques used to achieve high data rates under favorable channel conditions.

[0059] r DL symbols s=[s1, s2, ..., s r ] T N in the gNB for transmitting T For an antenna array with antenna ports, N RThe received signal at the WD with receive antennas is TIFF0007780624000002.tif12166, where y n is N R is the x1 received signal vector, H n is the N in resource elements (RE) between the gNB and the WD R ×N T is the channel matrix, and W is N T ×r precoder matrix, and e n is the N received at the RE by the WD R ×1 noise-plus-interference vector. The precoder W can be a wideband precoder (i.e., constant over the entire bandwidth portion (BWP)) or a subband precoder (i.e., constant over each subband).

[0060] The precoder matrix is ​​typically selected from a codebook of possible precoder matrices and is typically reported by a precoder matrix indicator (PMI), which identifies a unique precoder matrix in the codebook for a given number of symbol streams. Each of the r symbols in s corresponds to a spatial layer. The parameter r is referred to as the rank of the channel and is reported by a rank indicator (RI).

[0061] For a given block error rate (BLER), the modulation level and coding scheme (MCS) are determined by the WD based on the observed signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SINR). The SINR is reported by the channel quality indicator (CQI). NR supports transmission of either one or two transport blocks (TBs) to the WD in a slot, depending on the rank. One TB is used for ranks 1-4, and two TBs are used for ranks 5-8. A CQI is associated with each TB. CQI / Rank Indicator (RI) / Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) reporting can be either wideband or subband based on the network configuration. In other words, the RI, PMI, and CQI are part of the channel state information (CSI) and are reported by the WD to the network node or gNB.

[0062] Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and CSI-IM The CSI-RS is transmitted on each transmit antenna port and is used by the WD to measure the downlink channel associated with each antenna port. An antenna port is also referred to as a CSI-RS port. The number of antenna ports supported in NR is {1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32}. By measuring the received CSI-RS, the WD can estimate the channel traversed by the CSI-RS, including the radio propagation channel and antenna gain. The CSI-RS for this purpose is also referred to as non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS.

[0063] The NZP CSI-RS may be configured to be transmitted in specific resource elements (REs) per physical resource block (PRB). Figure 8 shows an example of an NZP CSI-RS resource configuration with four CSI-RS ports in a PRB in one slot.

[0064] In addition to the NZP CSI-RS, a Zero Power (ZP) CSI-RS is defined in NR to indicate to the WD that the associated RE is not available for PDSCH scheduling in the gNB. The ZP CSI-RS may have the same RE pattern as the NZP CSI-RS.

[0065] A CSI resource for interference measurement (CSI-IM) is also defined in NR for WD to measure noise and interference, typically from other cells. CSI-IM includes four REs in a slot. Two different CSI-IM patterns are defined: a CSI-IM pattern can be either four consecutive REs in one OFDM symbol or two consecutive REs in both the frequency and time domains. Figure 8 shows an example. Typically, a gNB does not transmit any signal in the CSI-IM resource, so what is observed in this resource is noise and interference from other cells.

[0066] CSI Framework in NR In NR, one or more CSI reporting configurations can be configured in a WD. Each CSI reporting configuration (defined by the higher layer information element (IE) CSI-ReportConfig) is associated with a bandwidth portion (BWP) and includes one or more of the following: ● CSI resource configuration for channel measurement; ● CSI-IM resource configuration for interference measurement; ● NZP CSI-RS resource for interference measurements; ● Reporting type, i.e., aperiodic CSI (on PUSCH), periodic CSI (on PUCCH), or semi-persistent CSI (on PUCCH and on DCI activated on PUSCH); • Report quantities that identify the reporting targets, such as RI, PMI, CQI, etc.; Codebook configuration, such as Type I or Type II CSI; and / or Frequency domain configuration, i.e., subband vs wideband CQI or PMI, and subband size.

[0067] The CSI-ReportConfig IE according to the NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) specification, 3GPP technical specification (TS 38.331), is as follows (some parameters are omitted): TIFF0007780624000003.tif146128TIFF0007780624000004.tif178128

[0068] A WD may be configured with one or more CSI resource configurations, each having a CSI-ResourceConfigId, for channel and interference measurements. Each CSI resource configuration for channel measurements or for NZP CSI-RS-based interference measurements may include one or more NZP CSI-RS resource sets. For each NZP CSI-RS resource set, the CSI resource configuration may further include one or more NZP CSI-RS resources. The NZP CSI-RS resources may be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0069] Similarly, each CSI-IM resource configuration for interference measurement may include one or more CSI-IM resource sets. For each CSI-IM resource set, the CSI-IM configuration may further include one or more CSI-IM resources. The CSI-IM resources may be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0070] The periodic CSI starts after being configured by RRC and reported on the PUCCH, and the associated NZP CSI-RS resource(s) and CSI-IM resource(s) are also periodic.

[0071] For semi-persistent CSI, the CSI resource configuration can be either on the PUCCH or on the PUSCH. Semi-persistent CSI on the PUCCH is activated or deactivated by a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) command. Semi-persistent CSI on the PUSCH is activated or deactivated by a DCI. The associated NZP CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources can be either periodic or semi-persistent.

[0072] For aperiodic CSI, the CSI is reported on the PUSCH and activated by the CSI request bit field in the DCI. The associated NZP CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. The link between the codepoint in the CSI request field and the CSI reporting configuration is via the aperiodic CSI trigger state. The WD is configured by higher layers with a list of aperiodic CSI trigger states, each of which includes an associated CSI reporting configuration. The CSI request field is used to indicate one of the aperiodic CSI trigger states and thus indicates one CSI reporting configuration.

[0073] If there are two or more NZP CSI-RS resource sets and / or two or more CSI-IM resource sets associated with a CSI reporting configuration, only one NZP CSI-RS resource set and one CSI-IM resource set are selected in the aperiodic CSI trigger state, so that each aperiodic CSI report is based on a single NZP CSI-RS resource set and a single CSI-IM resource set.

[0074] If multiple NZP CSI-RS resources are configured in the NZP CSI-RS resource set for channel measurement, the WD selects one NZP CSI-RS resource and reports the CSI associated with the selected NZP CSI-RS resource. A CRI (CSI-RS Resource Indicator) is reported as part of the CSI. In this case, the same number of CSI-IM resources paired with each NZP CSI-RS resource must be configured in the associated CSI-IM resource set. That is, when the WD reports a CRI value k, this corresponds to the (k+1)th entry in the NZP CSI-RS resource set for channel measurement, and when configured, it corresponds to the (k+1)th entry in the CSI-IM resource set for interference measurement (clause 5.2.1.4.2 of 3GPP TS 38.214).

[0075] If (one or more) NZP CSI-RS resources are configured in a CSI-ReportConfig for interference measurements, only a single NZP-CSI-RS resource in the CSI-RS resource set may be configured in the same CSI-ReportConfig for channel measurements.

[0076] QCL Since the TRPs may be in different physical locations, the propagation channels to the WDs may also be different. Different antennas or transmit beams are used at different TRPs. At the WD side, different receive antennas or receive beams may be used to receive from different TRPs. To facilitate reception of PDSCH from different TRPs, a TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) state was introduced in 3GPP NR Release 15 (Rel-15).

[0077] The TCI state includes quasi-co-location (QCL) information between the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) for PDCCH or PDSCH and one or two DL reference signals such as CSI-RS or SSB. The QCL information types supported in NR are: ● "QCL-Type A": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, delay spread}; ● "QCL Type B": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}; ● "QCL Type C": {Doppler shift, average delay}; ● "QCL Type D": {Spatial Rx parameters}.

[0078] The QCL information is used by the WD to apply one or more channel characteristics estimated from the DL reference signal (CSI-RS or SSB) to DMRS-based channel estimation for PDSCH or PDCCH reception. For example, channel delay spread and Doppler shift parameters can be estimated from the QCL source RS, which are then used to determine channel filtering parameters for DMRS-based channel estimation.

[0079] Non-coherent Joint Transmission (NC-JT) 3GPP NR Rel-15 only supports PDSCH transmission from a single transmission / reception point (TRP), where a WD receives PDSCH from a single TRP at any given time.

[0080] 3GPP NR Rel-16 introduced PDSCH transmission via multiple TRPs. One of the multi-TRP schemes is NC-JT, in which the PDSCH to a WD is transmitted via two TRPs with different MIMO layers of the PDSCH transmitted from different TRPs. For example, two layers can be transmitted from the first TRP and one layer can be transmitted from the second TRP.

[0081] NC-JT refers to MIMO data transmission via multiple TRPs, where different MIMO layers are transmitted via different TRPs. An example is shown in Figure 9, where the PDSCH is transmitted to the WD via two TRPs, each carrying one codeword. If the WD has four receive antennas while each TRP has only two transmit antennas, the WD can support up to four MIMO layers, but there are up to two MIMO layers from each TRP. In this case, transmitting data to the WD via two TRPs can increase the peak data rate to the WD, since up to four aggregated layers from the two TRPs can be used. This is beneficial when the traffic load and therefore resource utilization are low at each TRP. This scheme can also be beneficial when the WD is within line-of-sight (LOS) of both TRPs and the rank per TRP is limited even if more transmit antennas are available at each TRP.

[0082] This type of NC-JT is supported in LTE using two TRPs, each with up to eight antenna ports. For CSI feedback purposes, a CSI process using two NZP CSI-RS resources, one for each TRP and one interference measurement resource, is configured in the WD. The WD may report one of the following scenarios:

[0083] (1) The WD reports CRI=0, which indicates that CSI is calculated and reported only for the first NZP CSI-RS resource, i.e., the RI, PMI, and CQI associated with the first NZP CSI-RS resource are reported, if the WD understands that the best throughput is achieved by transmitting the PDSCH via the TRP or beam associated with the first NZP CSI-RS resource.

[0084] (2) The WD reports CRI=1, indicating that only CSI is calculated and reported for the first NZP CSI-RS resource, i.e., the RI, PMI, and CQI associated with the first NZP CSI-RS resource are reported, if the WD understands that the best throughput is achieved by transmitting the PDSCH via the TRP or beam associated with the second NZP CSI-RS resource.

[0085] (3). The WD reports CRI=2, which indicates both of the two NZP CSI-RS resources. In this case, two sets of CSI, one for each CW, are calculated and reported based on the two NZP CSI-RS resources and by considering the inter-CW interference caused by other CWs. The reported RI combinations are constrained to be |RI1-RI2|≦1, where RI1 and RI2 correspond to the ranks associated with the first and second NXP CSI-RS, respectively.

[0086] 3GPP Rel-16 takes a different approach, where a single carrier wave (CW) is transmitted over two TRPs. An example is shown in Figure 10, where one layer is transmitted from each of the two TRPs.

[0087] Two types of NC-JT are supported: single DCI-based N-JT and multi-DCI-based NC-JT. In single DCI-based NC-JT, it is assumed that a single scheduler is used to schedule data transmissions over multiple TRPs, and different layers for a single PDSCH scheduled by a single PDCCH can be transmitted from different TRPs.

[0088] In multi-DCI based NC-JT, independent schedulers are assumed in different TRPs to schedule PDSCHs for WDs. Two PDSCHs scheduled from two TRPs may be fully or partially overlapped in time and frequency resources. Only semi-static coordination between TRPs may be possible.

[0089] NC-JT CSI in 3PP NR Rel-17 In 3GPP RAN1, for CSI measurements associated with the CSI reporting configuration, CSI-ReportConfig, and thus for NC-JT, the following is considered:

[0090] ● Ks≧2 NZP CSI-RS resources in the CSI-RS resource set for channel measurement; the Ks resources are referred to as channel measurement resources (CMR).

[0091] N≧1 NZP CSI-RS resource pairs for NC-JT CSI within the Ks CMRs, each pair being used for an NC-JT CSI measurement hypothesis.

[0092] Furthermore, the Ks≧2 NZP CSI-RS resources in the CSI-RS resource set for CMR may be divided into two different CMR groups, and each of the N pairs used for the NC-JT CSI measurement hypotheses may be associated with one CMR from each of the two CMR groups.

[0093] Furthermore, higher layer signaling is used to configure N CMR pairs for the purpose of NC-JT CSI.

[0094] The current 3GPP Rel-17 study is mainly focused on TCI state updating for a single TRP. However, how to update the TCI state of reference signals for single DCI-based multi-TRP operation is an open issue. Summary of the Invention

[0095] Some embodiments advantageously provide a method, network node, and wireless device for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system.

[0096] Some embodiments provide a method for associating a common transmit / receive spatial filter with different DL / UL reference signals for single DCI-based multi-TRP operation. Some embodiments determine to which DL / UL reference signals the common transmit / receive spatial filter is applied.

[0097] In some embodiments, a method is provided for associating one or more reference signals with two different applied DL TCI conditions (or joint DL / UL TCI conditions). In some embodiments, the method includes one or more of the following steps:

[0098] Step 1: Configuring a list of DL TCI states (or joint DL / UL TCI states) from the network node to the WD via higher layer configuration (RRC configuration) to the WD;

[0099] Step 2: activating a subset of a list of DL TCI states (or joint DL / UL TCI states) configured via MAC CE signaling from the network to the WD, where a codepoint in a TCI field in the DCI may be mapped to one or more DL TCI states (or joint DL / UL TCI states);

[0100] Step 3: Update N>1 DL TCI states (or joint DL / UL TCI states) from the network to the WD via DL DCI;

[0101] Step 4: Applying the N>1 updated DL TCI states (or joint DL / UL TCI states) to a reference signal or a set of reference signals or multiple sets of reference signals;

[0102] Step 5: Receive and transmit reference signals using the applied DL TCI state and UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state).

[0103] According to one aspect, a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD) comprises a processing circuit configured to transmit at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second integrated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states of a plurality of integrated TCI states, each including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of at least one of physical channels and reference signals by the WD. The processing circuit is further configured to associate each of a plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second integrated TCI states by one of: (a) configuring, for each of the first and second integrated TCI states, one or more associated reference signals of the plurality of reference signals; and (b) including, for each of the plurality of reference signals, a pointer to one of the first and second integrated TCI states in a corresponding reference signal configuration. The network node further comprises a radio interface in communication with the processing circuit and configured to transmit the association of the plurality of reference signals to the WD.

[0104] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command for activating a subset of aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states. In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted in a DCI (downlink control information) format when there are three or more aggregated TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of aggregated TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a CSI (channel state information) reference signal (CSI-RS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) in the uplink. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS and the SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time. In some embodiments, the reference signal configuration for a reference signal may be one of (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal, (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource, and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource. In some embodiments, the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the first and second joint TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to configure the WD by RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to configure the WD by a second MAC (Medium Access Control) CE (Control Element) command.In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes at least one reference signal pair, wherein the first reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the first aggregated TCI state and the second reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, wherein reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with the first aggregated TCI state, and reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

[0105] According to another aspect, a method in a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD) includes transmitting at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second integrated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states of a plurality of integrated TCI states, each including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission by the WD of a plurality of at least one of physical channels and reference signals. The method further includes associating each of a plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second integrated TCI states by one of: configuring, for each of the first and second integrated TCI states, one or more associated reference signals of the plurality of reference signals; and including, for each of the plurality of reference signals, a pointer to one of the first and second integrated TCI states in a corresponding reference signal configuration. The method further includes transmitting the association of the plurality of reference signals to the WD.

[0106] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command for activating a subset of aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states. In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted in a DCI (downlink control information) format when there are three or more aggregated TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of aggregated TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a CSI (channel state information) reference signal (CSI-RS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) in the uplink. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS and the SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time. In some embodiments, a reference signal configuration for a reference signal may be one of (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal, (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource, and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource. In some embodiments, the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the first and second joint TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters. In some embodiments, The method is: In some embodiments, the method further includes configuring the WD by RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling. The method is:and further configuring the WD by a second MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes at least one reference signal pair, wherein the first reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the first aggregated TCI state and the second reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, wherein reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with the first aggregated TCI state, and reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

[0107] According to yet another aspect, a WD (wireless device) configured to communicate with a network node comprises a radio interface configured to receive at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second integrated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states of a plurality of integrated TCI states, each of the first and second integrated TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission by the WD of a plurality of at least one of physical channels and reference signals. The radio interface is further configured to receive an association of each of a plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second integrated TCI states.

[0108] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command for activating a subset of aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states. In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted in a DCI (downlink control information) format when there are three or more aggregated TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of aggregated TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a CSI (channel state information) reference signal (CSI-RS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) in the uplink. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS and the SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time. In some embodiments, a reference signal configuration for a reference signal may be one of (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal, (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource, and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource. In some embodiments, the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the first and second integrated TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with the first integrated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with the second integrated TCI state.In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes at least one reference signal pair, wherein the first reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the first aggregated TCI state and the second reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, wherein reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with the first aggregated TCI state and reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

[0109] According to another aspect, a method in a wireless device (WD) configured to communicate with a network node includes receiving at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states of a plurality of aggregated TCI states, each of the first and second aggregated TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of at least one of physical channels and reference signals by the WD. The method further includes receiving an association of each of a plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second aggregated TCI states.

[0110] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command for activating a subset of aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states. In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted in a DCI (downlink control information) format when there are three or more aggregated TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of aggregated TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a CSI (channel state information) reference signal (CSI-RS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) in the uplink. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS and the SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time. In some embodiments, a reference signal configuration for a reference signal may be one of (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal, (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource, and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource. In some embodiments, the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the first and second integrated TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with the first integrated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with the second integrated TCI state.In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes at least one reference signal pair, wherein the first reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the first aggregated TCI state and the second reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, wherein reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with the first aggregated TCI state and reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with the second aggregated TCI state. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0111] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and their attendant advantages and features, will be more readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0112] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary process for two-stage TCI state update. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the activation / deactivation of the TCI states. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an example of a DCI indication of a TCI condition. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an example of an extended TCI state. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows the NR time domain structure. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows the NR resource grid. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows beam training. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows resource element allocation. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 shows an example of NC-JT supported in LTE. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an example of NC-JT supported in NR. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary network architecture showing a communication system connected to a host computer through an intermediate network in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a wireless device via a network node, at least partially over a wireless connection, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for executing a client application on a wireless device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data at a wireless device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer from a wireless device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an example process in a wireless device for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. [Figure 19] FIG. 17 is a flowchart of another example process in a wireless device node for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a flowchart of another example process in a network node for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a flowchart of an example process in a wireless device for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a first example of an activated TCI state. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a second example of an activated TCI state. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a third example of an activated TCI state. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a fourth example of an activated TCI state. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a fifth example of an activated TCI state. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is an example of the first information element. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is an example of the second information element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0113] Before describing the exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be noted that the embodiments primarily consist in a combination of apparatus components and processing steps associated with common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multiple transmit / receive point (TRP) system. Accordingly, components have, where appropriate, been represented by conventional symbols in the drawings, and only specific details relevant to understanding the embodiments are shown, so as not to obscure the present disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Like numbers refer to the same elements throughout the description.

[0114] As used herein, relational terms such as “first” and “second,” “upper,” and “lower,” etc., may be used only to distinguish one entity or element from another and do not necessarily require or imply any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, or groups thereof.

[0115] In the embodiments described herein, coupling terms such as "in communication with" may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be achieved, for example, by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, wireless signaling, infrared signaling, or optical signaling. Those skilled in the art will understand that multiple components may interoperate and that modifications and variations are possible to achieve electrical and data communication.

[0116] In some embodiments described herein, the terms "coupled," "connected," and the like may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily a direct connection, which may include a wired and / or wireless connection.

[0117] The term "network node" as used herein may refer to any type of network node comprising a wireless network, and may further include any of a base station (BS), a radio base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), a Node B, a multi-standard radio (MSR) node such as an MSR BS, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a donor node controlled relay, a wireless access point (AP), a transmission point, a transmitting node, a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), a self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordination node, a positioning node, an MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., a third-party node, a node outside the current network), a node of a distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. As used herein, the term "wireless node" may also be used to denote a wireless device (WD) such as a wireless device (WD) or a wireless network node.

[0118] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. A WD herein may be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD via wireless signals, such as a wireless device (WD). A WD may also be a wireless communication device, a target device, a device-to-device (D2D) WD, a machine-type WD or a machine-to-machine (M2M) capable WD, a low-cost and / or low-complexity WD, a WD-equipped sensor, a tablet, a mobile terminal, a smartphone, a laptop embedded equipped (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a narrowband IoT (NB-IOT) device, etc.

[0119] Also, in some embodiments, the generic term "radio network node" is used, which may be any type of radio network node, which may include any of a base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, radio access point, remote radio unit (RRU), remote radio head (RRH).

[0120] It should be noted that, while terminology from one particular wireless system, such as 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be considered to limit the scope of this disclosure to only those systems. Other wireless systems, including, but not limited to, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UWB), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), can also benefit from utilizing the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0121] Furthermore, it should be noted that functionality described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed across multiple wireless devices and / or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functionality of the network nodes and wireless devices described herein is not limited to being performed by a single physical device, but may in fact be distributed among several physical devices.

[0122] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Terms used herein should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the present specification and related art, and it will be further understood that they are not to be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined herein.

[0123] Some embodiments provide a common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multi-value transmit / receive point (TRP) system.

[0124] Some embodiments extend the unified TCI framework to handle reference signal reception in single DCI-based multi-TRP operation.

[0125] Referring again to the drawings, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to one embodiment, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G), including an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 includes multiple network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (collectively referred to as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (collectively referred to as coverage area 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c can be connected to the core network 14 via a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in the coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by a corresponding network node 16a. A second WD 22b within coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to a corresponding network node 16b. While multiple WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a single WD is within a coverage area or connects to a corresponding network node 16. Note that for convenience, while only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown, a communication system may include many more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0126] It is also contemplated that the WD 22 may be configured to simultaneously and / or separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, the WD 22 may have dual connectivity with a network node 16 supporting LTE and the same or different network node 16 supporting NR. As an example, the WD 22 may communicate with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0127] The communication system 10 itself may be connected to a host computer 24, 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 24 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The connection 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24 or may extend through an optional intermediate network 30. The intermediate network 30 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a hosted network, or a combination of two or more thereof. The intermediate network 30 may, in some cases, be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0128] The communication system of FIG. 12 generally implements a connection between one of the connected WDs 22a, 22b and the host computer 24. The connection may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection. The host computer 24 and the connected WDs 22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection using the access network 12, the core network 14, any intermediate networks 30, and possibly further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the network node 16 may not, or need not, be informed about the past routing of incoming downlink communications bearing data originating from the host computer 24 that are forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected WD 22a. Similarly, the network node 16 need not be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications from the WD 22a toward the host computer 24.

[0129] The network node 16 is configured to include a TCI state unit 32 configured to transmit at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second integrated TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states of a plurality of integrated TCI states, each including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of ones of at least one of physical channels and reference signals over a WD. The TCI state unit may be further configured to associate a reference signal set of the plurality of reference signal sets with a beam index. The TCI state unit 32 may be further configured to configure a plurality of common beam indexes for the WD, each common beam index corresponding to a set of reference signals. The wireless device 22 is configured to include a configuration unit 34 configured to determine a spatial filter corresponding to the reference signal set based at least in part on the beam index. The configuration unit 34 may be further configured to override a received TCI state configuration with a TCI state configuration applied to the common beam index. The setting unit 34 may further be configured to override the TCI state setting by the TCI state setting applied to the common beam index by the received TCI state setting.

[0130] 12, an exemplary implementation of the WD 22, the network node 16, and the host computer 24 described in the preceding paragraph will be described. In the communication system 10, the host computer 24 comprises hardware (HW) 38 including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 10. The host computer 24 further comprises processing circuitry 42, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. The processing circuitry 42 may include a processor 44 and memory 46. In particular, in addition to or instead of the processor and memory of a central processing unit, the processing circuitry 42 may comprise integrated circuits for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) configured to execute instructions. The processor 44 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) memory 46, which may include any type of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory).

[0131] Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or cause such methods and / or processes to be performed, for example, by host computer 24. Processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing the functions of host computer 24 described herein. Host computer 24 includes memory 46 configured to store data, program software code, and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, software 48 and / or host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by processor 44 and / or processing circuitry 42, cause processor 44 and / or processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to host computer 24. The instructions may be software associated with host computer 24.

[0132] Software 48 may be executable by processing circuitry 42. Software 48 includes a host application 50. Host application 50 may be operable to provide services to remote users, such as WD 22, connecting via an OTT connection 52 that terminates at WD 22 and host computer 24. In providing services to remote users, host application 50 may provide user data transmitted using OTT connection 52. "User data" may be data and information described herein as implementing described functionality. In one embodiment, host computer 24 may be configured to provide control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. Processing circuitry 42 of host computer 24 may enable host computer 24 to observe, monitor, control, transmit to, and / or receive from network node 16 and / or wireless device 22.

[0133] The communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided within the communication system 10 and including hardware 58 that enables communication with the host computer 24 and the WD 22. The hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices in the communication system 10, and a wireless interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with the WD 22 located in the coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The wireless interface 62 may be formed as or include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24. The connection 66 may be direct or may pass through the core network 14 of the communication system 10 and / or one or more intermediate networks 30 external to the communication system 10.

[0134] In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. In particular, in addition to or instead of the processor and memory of a central processing unit, the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuits for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) configured to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) the memory 72, which may include any type of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory).

[0135] To this end, network node 16 further includes software 74, e.g., stored internally in memory 72 or stored in external memory accessible to network node 16 via an external connection (e.g., a database, storage array, network storage device, etc.). Software 74 may be executable by processing circuitry 68. Processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or cause such methods and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing the functions of network node 16 described herein. Memory 72 is configured to store data, program software code, and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by processor 70 and / or processing circuitry 68, cause processor 70 and / or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, the processing circuitry 68 of the network node 16 may be configured to include a TCI state unit 32 configured to transmit at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second integrated TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states of a plurality of integrated TCI states, each including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of at least one of physical channels and reference signals over the WD. The TCI state unit may be further configured to associate a reference signal set of the plurality of reference signal sets with a beam index. The TCI state unit 32 may be further configured to set a plurality of common beam indices to the WD, each common beam index corresponding to a set of reference signals.

[0136] The communication system 10 further includes the previously mentioned WD 22. The WD 22 may have hardware 80, which may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a radio connection 64 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located. The radio interface 82 may be configured as or include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 82 is configured to receive at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregated TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states of a plurality of aggregated TCI states, each of the first and second aggregated TCI states including quasi-colocation (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission by the WD of a plurality of at least one of physical channels and reference signals. The radio interface 82 is further configured to receive an association of each of the plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second aggregated TCI states.

[0137] The hardware 80 of the WD 22 further includes processing circuitry 84. Processing circuitry 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88. In particular, in addition to or instead of the processor and memory of a central processing unit, processing circuitry 84 may comprise integrated circuits for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) configured to execute instructions. Processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) memory 88, which may include any type of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read-only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0138] To this end, the WD 22 may further comprise software 90, stored, for example, in the memory 88 of the WD 22 or in an external memory accessible to the WD 22 (e.g., a database, a storage array, a network storage device, etc.). The software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84. The software 90 may include a client application 92. The client application 92 may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the WD 22 with the support of the host computer 24. A host application 50 running on the host computer 24 may communicate with the running client application 92 via the WD 22 and an OTT connection 52 terminating at the host computer 24. In providing services to a user, the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0139] The processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or cause such methods and / or processes to be performed, for example, by the WD 22. The processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing the functions of the WD 22 described herein. The WD 22 comprises a memory 88 configured to store data, program software code, and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 90 and / or client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and / or the processing circuitry 84, cause the processor 86 and / or the processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to the WD 22. For example, the processing circuitry 84 of the wireless device 22 may include a configuration unit 34 configured to determine a spatial filter corresponding to a reference signal set based at least in part on a beam index. The configuration unit 34 may be further configured to override a received TCI state setting with a TCI state setting applied to a common beam index. In some embodiments, the setting unit 34 is configured to override the TCI state setting by the TCI state setting applied to the common beam index by the received TCI state setting.

[0140] In some embodiments, the internal operation of network node 16, WD 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in FIG. 12, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG.

[0141] 12, OTT connection 52 is depicted abstractly to show communication between host computer 24 and wireless device 22 via network node 16, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the exact routing of messages through these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be hidden from WD 22, or from the service provider operating host computer 24, or both. While OTT connection 52 is active, the network infrastructure may further decide to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or network reconfiguration).

[0142] The wireless connection 64 between the WD 22 and the network node 16 follows the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the WD 22 using the OTT connection 52, of which the wireless connection 64 may form the final segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve data rate, latency, and / or power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user latency, relaxed file size limitations, better responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0143] In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. There may also be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 between the host computer 24 and the WD 22 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24, in the software 90 of the WD 22, or both. In embodiments, a sensor (not shown) may be located within or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 52 passes. The sensor may participate in the measurement procedure by providing values ​​of monitored quantities, such as those exemplified above, or other physical quantities from which the software 48, 90 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 52 may include message formatting, retransmission configuration, preferred routing, etc. The reconfiguration need not affect the network node 16 and may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Several such procedures and functions are known in the art and may be implemented. In particular embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary WD signaling that facilitates the host computer 24 measuring throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. In some embodiments, the measurements may be performed by having the software 48, 90 send messages (particularly empty or "dummy" messages) using the OTT connection 52 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0144] To this end, in some embodiments, host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and a communications interface 40 configured to transfer the user data to a cellular network for transmission to WD 22. In some embodiments, the cellular network further includes network node 16 having a wireless interface 62. In some embodiments, network node 16 and / or processing circuitry 68 of network node 16 are configured to perform the functions and / or methods described herein for preparing / initiating / maintaining / terminating transmissions to WD 22 and / or preparing / terminating / maintaining / terminating reception of transmissions from WD 22.

[0145] In some embodiments, host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 and a communications interface 40 configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from WD 22 to network node 16. In some embodiments, WD 22 comprises a wireless interface 82 and / or processing circuitry 84 configured to perform and / or configured to perform functions and / or methods described herein for preparing / initiating / maintaining / terminating a transmission to network node 16 and / or for preparing / terminating / maintaining / terminating reception of a transmission from network node 16.

[0146] 11 and 12 show various "units," such as TCI state unit 32 and configuration unit 34, as being within separate processors, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that portions of the units are stored in corresponding memories within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware within the processing circuitry, or in a combination of hardware and software.

[0147] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication systems of FIGS. 11 and 12, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be as described with reference to FIG. 12. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (block S100). In an optional sub-step of the first step, the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as host application 50 (block S102). In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (block S104). In an optional third step, the network node 16 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer 24 to the WD 22 (block S106), in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional fourth step, the WD 22 executes a client application, such as the client application 92 associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (block S108).

[0148] 14 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system of FIG. 11, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (block S110). In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as host application 50. In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (block S112). The transmission may pass through the network node 16 in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step, the WD 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (block S114).

[0149] 15 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system of FIG. 11, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In an optional first step of the method, the WD 22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (block S116). In an optional sub-step of the first step, the WD 22 executes a client application 92, which provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (block S118). Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step, the WD 22 provides the user data (block S120). In an optional sub-step of the second step, the WD provides the user data by executing a client application, such as the client application 92 (block S122). In providing the user data, the executed client application 92 may further take into account user input received from a user. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data was provided, in an optional third sub-step, WD 22 may begin transmitting the user data to host computer 24 (block S124). In a fourth step of the method, host computer 24 receives the transmitted user data from WD 22 (block S126) in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0150] Figure 16 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system of Figure 11, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be as described with reference to Figures 11 and 12. In an optional first step of the method, the network node 16 receives user data from the WD 22 (block S128) in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional second step, the network node 16 initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (block S130). In a third step, the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in a transmission initiated by the network node 16 (block S132).

[0151] FIG. 17 illustrates a network node for a common spatial filter indication for a reference signal in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. 16 1 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16, such as by one or more of the processing circuitry 68 (including the TCI state unit 32), the processor 70, the radio interface 62, and / or the communication interface 60. The network node 16 is configured to set a plurality of common beam indexes for the WD, each common beam index corresponding to a set of reference signals (block S134). The process further includes transmitting each set of reference signals on a beam corresponding to the common beam index (block S136).

[0152] 18 is a flowchart of an example process in the wireless device 22 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be executed by one or more elements of the wireless device 22, such as by one or more of the processing circuitry 84 (including the setting unit 34), the processor 86, the air interface 82, and / or the communication interface 60. The wireless device 22 is configured to receive at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting, such as via the processing circuitry 84 and / or the processor 86 and / or the air interface 82 (block S138). The process further includes overriding the received uplink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index if the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS) (block S140). The process further includes overriding the received downlink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index if the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) (block S142).

[0153] 19 is a flowchart of another example process in the wireless device 22 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be executed by one or more elements of the wireless device 22, such as by one or more of the processing circuitry 84 (including the setting unit 34), the processor 86, the air interface 82, and / or the communication interface 60. The wireless device 22 is configured to receive at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting, such as via the processing circuitry 84 and / or the processor 86 and / or the air interface 82 (block S144). The process further includes overriding the received uplink TCI state setting with the uplink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index if the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS) (block S146). The process further includes, if the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), overriding the received downlink TCI state setting with the downlink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index (block S148).

[0154] FIG. 20 illustrates a network node for a common spatial filter indication for a reference signal in a multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) system. 161 is a flowchart of an example process in a mobile station in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. One or more blocks described herein may be executed by one or more elements of network node 16, such as by one or more of processing circuitry 68 (including TCI state unit 32), processor 70, radio interface 62, and / or communication interface 60. Network node 16 is configured to transmit at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states of a plurality of aggregated TCI states, each including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of ones of at least one of physical channels and reference signals over WD (block S150). The method further includes associating each of the plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second aggregated TCI states (S152), where the associating is performed by one of: configuring one or more associated reference signals of the plurality of reference signals for each of the first and second aggregated TCI states (S154); and including, for each of the plurality of reference signals, a pointer to one of the first and second aggregated TCI states in the corresponding reference signal configuration (S156). The method further includes transmitting the association of the plurality of reference signals to a WD. The method includes transmitting the association of the plurality of reference signals to the WD (block S158).

[0155] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command for activating a subset of the aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states. In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted in a DCI (downlink control information) format when there are three or more aggregated TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of aggregated TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a CSI (channel state information) reference signal (CSI-RS) for the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for the uplink. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS and SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time. In some embodiments, the reference signal configuration for the reference signal may be one of (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal, (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource, and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource. In some embodiments, the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the first and second joint TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters. In some embodiments, the method includes configuring the WD (22) by RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling. In some embodiments, the method includes configuring the WD (22) by a second MAC (Medium Access Control) CE (Control Element) command.In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with a second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to the second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and indication includes at least one reference signal pair, where a first reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with a first aggregated TCI state and a second reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with a second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, wherein the reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with a first aggregated TCI state and the reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with a second aggregated TCI state.

[0156] 21 is a flowchart of an example process in the wireless device 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be executed by one or more elements of the wireless device 22, such as by one or more of the processing circuitry 84 (including the configuration unit 34), the processor 86, the air interface 82, and / or the communication interface 60. The wireless device 22 is configured to receive, such as via the processing circuitry 84 and / or the processor 86 and / or the air interface 82, at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second integrated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states of a plurality of integrated TCI states, each of the first and second integrated TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of ones of at least one of physical channels and reference signals according to the WD (block S160). The method further includes receiving an association of each of the plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second integrated TCI states (block S162).

[0157] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command for activating a subset of the aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states. In some embodiments, the indication is transmitted in a DCI (downlink control information) format when there are three or more aggregated TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of aggregated TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a CSI (channel state information) reference signal (CSI-RS) for the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for the uplink. In some embodiments, the CSI-RS and SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time. In some embodiments, the reference signal configuration for the reference signal may be one of (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal, (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource, and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource. In some embodiments, the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the first and second aggregated TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters. In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with the second aggregated TCI state.In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to a first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to a second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and the indication includes at least one reference signal pair, where the first reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with a first aggregated TCI state and the second reference signal in each reference signal pair is associated with a second aggregated TCI state. In some embodiments, at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, where reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with a first aggregated TCI state and reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with a second aggregated TCI state.

[0158] Having described the general process flow of the arrangements of the present disclosure and provided example hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the present disclosure, the following sections provide details and examples of arrangements for common spatial filter indication for reference signals in a multiple transmit / receive point (TRP) system. One or more network node 16 functions described herein may be performed by one or more of the processing circuitry 68, processor 70, air interface 62, TCI state unit 32, etc. One or more wireless device 22 functions described herein may be performed by one or more of the processing circuitry 84, processor 86, override unit 34, air interface 82, etc.

[0159] As used herein, references to a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state may refer to either a "DL TCI state" or a "UL TCI state." Additionally, the "DL TCI state" and / or the "UL TCI state" may be referred to as a "joint DL / UL TCI state."

[0160] FIG. 22 shows a schematic example of how a list of activated DL TCI states is mapped to a set of TCI field codepoints in the DCI for joint DL / UL TCI updating for single-TRP-based operation. The mapping of DL TCI states to codepoints in the TCI field may be performed by the MAC CE. In this case, the codepoints of the TCI field in the DCI may be used to update the DL TCI state. The DL TCI state may be used by the WD22 to determine the TX / RX spatial filters for both DL and UL signals / channels. For example, if codepoint 2 is indicated to the WD22, the WD22 may update its TX / RX spatial filters based on the DL TCI state 9 for both DL and UL signals / channels.

[0161] Figure 23 shows a schematic example in which a list of activated DL TCI state pairs is mapped to a set of TCI field codepoints in a DCI for joint DL / UL TCI updating for multi-TRP-based operation. In this case, a single TCI field codepoint in the DCI can be used to update two DL TCI states. The two DL TCI states can be used to determine two TX / RX spatial filters (e.g., one spatial filter per TRP) for both DL and UL signals / channels. For example, if a DCI with TCI field codepoint 2 is indicated to the WD22, the WD22 can update one TX / RX spatial filter based on the DL TCI state 9 for both DL and UL signals / channels associated with the first TRP and one TX / RX spatial filter based on the DL TCI state 38 for both DL and UL signals / channels associated with the second TRP.

[0162] It may be that some TCI field code points are associated with two DL TCI states and some TCI field code points are associated with a single DL TCI state, in which case it may be assumed that an indication of a TCI state code point associated with a single DL TCI state indicates to the WD22 to update the TX / RX spatial filter for only one of the TRPs (while maintaining the current TX / RX spatial filter for the other TRP).

[0163] Whether the first TX / RX spatial filter or the second TX / RX spatial filter should be updated may be indicated to the WD22 when a TCI state is mapped to a codepoint in the TCI field of the MAC CE. For example, if a codepoint in the TCI field in the DCI maps to a single TCI state and another codepoint in the TCI field maps to two TCI states, a field in the MAC CE may indicate whether the single TCI state associated with the codepoint in the TCI field corresponds to the first TX / RX spatial filter or the second spatial filter. Based on the information indicated in the MAC CE field, the WD22 determines which TX / RX spatial filter (first or second) to update when a TCI field codepoint with a single TCI state is notified to the WD22 via the DCI.

[0164] Figure 24 shows a schematic example of how the list of activated DL / UL TCI states and their association to TCI field codepoints in the DCI can be used to find distinct DL / UL TCIs for a single TRP operation. Here, each TCI field codepoint in the DCI is associated with one DL TCI state and one UL TCI state. If a particular TCI field codepoint that maps to one DL TCI state and one UL TCI state is indicated to the WD22, the WD22 may apply one DL TCI state and one UL TCI state.

[0165] Figure 25 shows a schematic example of how the list of activated DL / UL TCI states and their association with TCI field codepoints in the DCI can be used to find separate DL / UL TCIs for multi-TRP operation. Here, each TCI field codepoint in the DCI can be associated with two DL TCI states and two UL TCI states. In this case, a single TCI field codepoint in the DCI can be used to update two DL TCI states and two UL TCI states. These can be used to determine two RX spatial filters (e.g., one spatial filter per TRP) for DL ​​signals / channels and two TX spatial filters for UL signals / channels. For example, if a DCI having a TCI field code point of 2 is indicated to WD22, WD22 may update one RX spatial filter based on DL TCI state 9 for the DL signal / channel from the first TRP, update one RX spatial filter based on DL TCI state 47 for the DL signal / channel from the second TRP, update one TX spatial filter based on UL TCI state 9 for the UL signal / channel from the first TRP, and update one TX spatial filter based on UL TCI state 39 for the UL signal / channel from the second TRP.

[0166] Some TCI field codepoints may be associated with zero, one, or two DL TCI states and / or zero, one, or two UL TCI states. In this case, it may be assumed that an indication of a TCI state codepoint associated with a single DL and / or single UL TCI state indicates to WD22 to update the TX and / or RX spatial filters for only one of the TRPs (while maintaining the current TX and / or RX spatial filters for the other TRPs). If zero DL TCI states are associated with the indicated TCI field codepoint, WD22 may not update its RX spatial filter(s) (only the TX spatial filter(s) based on the associated UL TCI state(s)). Similarly, if zero UL TCI states are associated with the indicated TCI field codepoint, WD22 may not update its TX spatial filter(s) (only the RX spatial filter(s) based on the associated DL TCI state(s)).

[0167] Figure 26 shows an example of activated TCI states and their association to TCI field code points in the DCI for separate DL / UL TCI operation for multi-TRP operation, where some TCI field code points are associated with 0, 1 or 2 DL TCI states and 0, 1 or 2 UL TCI states.

[0168] The term TRP may not be used in 3GPP specifications. In some embodiments, a TRP may be a network node, a radio head, a spatial relationship, or a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state. In some embodiments, a TRP may be represented by a TCI state. In some embodiments, a TRP may use multiple TCI states. In some embodiments, a TRP may be part of a network node 16 that transmits and receives radio signals to and from a WD 22 according to physical layer characteristics and parameters specific to that element. In some embodiments, in multi-transmit / receive point (multi-TRP) operation, a serving cell may schedule a WD 22 from two TRPs, providing better PDSCH coverage, reliability, and / or data rates. In some embodiments, there are two different modes of operation for multi-TRP: single DCI and multi-DCI. For both modes, control of uplink and downlink operations may be performed by both the physical layer and the MAC. In single DCI mode, WD22 may be scheduled by the same DCI for both TRPs, and in multi-DCI mode, WD22 may be scheduled by independent DCI from each TRP.

[0169] Some embodiments include a method for associating a common transmit / receive spatial filter for different DL / UL reference signals for single DCI-based multi-TRP operation. Disclosed herein are details regarding determining to which DL / UL reference signals the common transmit / receive spatial filter is applied. One or more wireless device 22 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 84, processor 86, override unit 34, etc. One or more network node 16 functions described below may be performed by processing circuitry 68, processor 70, TCI state unit 32, wireless interface 62, or the like.

[0170] Introducing a "common beam index" and linking it to a reference signal In some embodiments, a parameter referred to herein as "CommonBeamIndex" is introduced. This parameter can be used to associate DL and / or UL reference signals with one of multiple joint DL / UL TCI states (or DL ​​TCI states or UL TCI states) activated by DCI for sDCI-based multi-TRP operation. That is, this parameter can be used to associate DL reference signals with one of multiple joint DL / UL TCI states or DL ​​TCI states, and to associate UL reference signals with one of multiple joint DL / UL TCI states or UL TCI states, depending on whether a joint DL / UL TCI state or separate DL and UL TCI states are configured. When a joint DL / UL TCI state is configured, the same common beam is assumed for both DL reception and UL transmission at WD22. When separate DL and UL TCI states are configured, different common beams are assumed for DL ​​reception and UL transmission at WD22.

[0171] In some embodiments, a new information element (IE) is introduced in 3GPP NR TS 38.331, in which reference signals applicable to the new integrated TCI state framework are listed and their association with different "CommonBeamIndexes" is explicitly configured. An example of this is shown in FIG. 27, in which two common beam indices, CommonBeamIndex1 and CommonBeamIndex2, are configured in WD22. For example, CommonBeamIndex1 can be associated with a first TRP (TRP1), and CommonBeamIndex2 can be associated with a second TRP (TRP2). For each CommonBeamIndex, a list of reference signals is configured (in this example, by configuring a set of CSI-RS resource sets and / or SRS resource sets), which indicates to WD22 which reference signals (in this case, the CS-RS resources included in the listed CSI-RS resource sets and the SRS resources included in the listed SRS resource sets) are associated with which CommonBeamIndex. Each CommonBeamIndex will be associated with a TX and / or RX spatial filter, as indicated by the activated joint TCI state or separate DL and UL TCI states, so that WD22 will know which TX and / or RX spatial filter to use when receiving / transmitting the listed reference signals.

[0172] In some embodiments, the list includes CSI-RS resource(s) and / or SRS resource(s) instead of CSI-RS resource sets and / or SRS resource sets.

[0173] In some embodiments, a reference signal may be configured in a list associated with one of the two CommonBeamIndexes, but at the same time have a DL / UL TCI state explicitly or implicitly configured, for example, in an SRS Resources IE, a CSI-RS Resources IE, or through an aperiodic CSI-RS trigger condition (specified in 3GPP TS 38.331). Also, WD22 determines the TX and / or RX spatial filters for the reference signal based on the explicitly or implicitly configured DL / UL TCI state instead of using the DL / UL TCI state applied to the common beam index, i.e.: • If the UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly set for the sounding reference signal (SRS), for example in the SRS Resources IE, is set to WD22, the UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly set overrides the UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) applied for the common beam index; If the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly configured for the CSI-RS, e.g., in the CSI-RS Resources IE, is set to WD22, the explicitly or implicitly configured DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) overrides the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) applied for the common beam index; and / or ●If the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly set for aperiodic CSI-RS is set to WD22 through the aperiodic CSI-RS trigger state, the explicitly or implicitly set DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) overrides the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) applied for the common beam index.

[0174] In some embodiments, when WD22 is configured by the network to operate in a common beam mode for a single DCI-based multi-TRP scheme, WD22 must determine the TX and / or RX spatial filters for the reference signals based on the DL / UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) that applies to the common beam index. This determination may be instead of the DL / UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) that is explicitly or implicitly set, for example, in the SRS resource IE, CSI-RS resource IE, or through the aperiodic CSI-RS trigger state. That is, when WD22 is configured to operate in a common beam mode, one or more of the following steps may be performed: • For example, in the SRS resource IE, if the UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly set for the SRS is set to WD22, the UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly set is overridden by the UL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) applied for the common beam index; ● If the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly configured for the CSI-RS, e.g., in the CSI-RS Resources IE, is set to WD22, the explicitly or implicitly configured DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) is overridden by the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) applied for the common beam index; and / or ●If the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) explicitly or implicitly set for aperiodic CSI-RS is set to WD22 through the aperiodic CSI-RS trigger state, the explicitly or implicitly set DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) is overridden by the DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) applied for the common beam index.

[0175] In some embodiments, the list of reference signals or reference signal resource sets for a common beam index may not be higher layer configured. Instead, which reference signals or reference signal resource sets correspond to the common beam index may be indicated to the WD 22 via the MAC CE. For example, the MAC CE may be provided with: NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id 1, NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id 2, and NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id 4 are indicated in a MAC CE field within a MAC CE, together with their associated common beam index (e.g., CommonBeamIndex1), which may be indicated by one or more fields within the MAC CE; and / or ●NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id 3 and NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id 5 are indicated in the MAC CE field within the MAC CE, along with their associated common beam index (e.g., CommonBeamIndex2), which may be indicated by one or more fields within the MAC CE.

[0176] While the above examples show the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet ID being associated with a common beam index via MAC CE, some embodiments are equally applicable to the NZP CSI-RS resource set (by replacing the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id with the NZP CSI-RS resource Id), to the SRS resource set (by replacing the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id with the SRS resource set Id), or to the SRS resource (by replacing the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet Id with the SRS resource Id).

[0177] In some embodiments, the NZP CSI-RS resource set / NZP CSI-RS resource / SRS resource set / SRS resource set associated with a first common beam index applies a first common beam (i.e., a first applied DL TCI state / UL TCI state / joint DL / UL TCI state using the integrated TCI state framework). Similarly, the NZP CSI-RS resource set / NZP CSI-RS resource / SRS resource set / SRS resource set associated with a second common beam index applies a second common beam (i.e., a second applied DL TCI state / UL TCI state / joint DL / UL TCI state using the integrated TCI state framework).

[0178] If the DL and / or UL TCI state for a CommonBeamIndex does not apply (e.g., network node 16 may suddenly turn off one of the CommonBeamIndexes and use single-TRP operation instead), WD22 may determine the TX and / or RX spatial filters for the reference signals associated with that CommonBeamIndex in an alternative manner. In some embodiments, WD22 assumes that configured reference signals in a list associated with a CommonBeamIndex that does not have an applied DL and / or UL TCI state follow the DL and / or UL TCI state of the other CommonBeamIndex. For example, assume that CommonBeamIndex1 has a configuration list including CSI-RS resource 1 and SRS resource 1, and that CommonBeamIndex2 has a configuration list including CSI-RS resource 2 and SRS resource 2. Further, assume that DL TCI state 1 (or joint DL / UL TCI state 1) is activated for CommonBeamIndex1, and DL TCI state 2 (or joint DL / UL TCI state 2) is activated for CommonBeamIndex2. In some embodiments, this means that WD22 determines the TX / RX spatial filters for CSI-RS Resource 1 and SRS 1 based on DL TCI State 1 (or joint DL / UL TCI State 1), and determines the TX / RX spatial filters for CSI-RS Resource 2 and SRS 2 based on DL TCI State 2 (or joint DL / UL TCI State 2). Next, assume that WD22 receives a TCI field codepoint indicating that CommonBeamIndex1 should apply DL TCI State 3 and that CommonBeamIndex2 should be deactivated; in this case, WD22 determines the TX / RX spatial filters for CSI-RS Resource 1, CSI-RS Resource 2, SRS 1, and SRS 2 based on DL TCI State 3.

[0179] In some embodiments, the MAC-CE used to activate / deactivate semi-persistent reference signal(s) includes an indication of CommonBeamIndex (e.g., one CommonBeamIndex may be indicated for each activated RS resource, for each activated RS resource set, or for all activated RSs on that MAC-CE). The CommonBeamIndex may be indicated as a field in the MAC CE for each activated RS resource, for each activated RS resource set, or for all activated RSs. In one example, new MAC-CE(s) dedicated to activating / deactivating semi-persistent CSI-RS resources and / or semi-persistent SRS resources, e.g., for the integrated TCI state framework, include one or more common beam indices. In another example, an existing MAC-CE (specified in 3GPP TS 38.321) used to activate, for example, SP CSI-RS resources and / or SP SRS resources is modified to include one or more CommonBeamIndexes (e.g., by using reserved bits or dedicated MAC CE fields for each CommonBeamIndex).

[0180] In some embodiments, when separate DL / UL TCI is applied for Common Beam Index, WD22 is: ● Based on the DL TCI state applied for a CommonBeamIndex, determine the RX spatial filter for the DL RS(s) configured in the list corresponding to that CommonBeamIndex; and / or ● Based on the UL TCI state applied for a CommonBeamIndex, determine the TX spatial filter for the UL RS(s) configured in the list corresponding to that CommonBeamIndex.

[0181] However, because some DL RSs may be used to determine reciprocity-based UL precoding (e.g., CSI-RS resources used to determine SRS precoding for non-codebook-based PUSCH transmissions as described in 3GPP TS 38.214) and some UL RSs may be used to determine DL reciprocity precoding (e.g., SRSs using "antenna switching" as specified in 3GPP TS 38.214), in some embodiments, WD22 may be: may determine an RX spatial filter for some DL RS configured in the list corresponding to a CommonBeamIndex (e.g., a CSI-RS for non-codebook-based operation) based on the UL TCI state applied for that CommonBeamIndex; and / or ● Based on the DL TCI state applied for that CommonBeamIndex, the TX spatial filter for some UL RSs configured in the list corresponding to the CommonBeamIndex (e.g., SRS resources using "antennaSwitching") may be determined.

[0182] Which DL RS(s) and UL RS(s) strictly follow the applied DL or UL TCI state for the CommonBeamIndex may be implicitly indicated (e.g., through a specification) or may be explicitly configured using RRC and / or MAC-CE signaling.

[0183] In some embodiments, instead of configuring a new IE list indicating which reference signal should be associated with which CommonBeamIndex, the CommonBeamIndex may be explicitly configured in each individual reference signal resource (or reference signal resource set). Figure 28 shows an example of a CommonBeamIndex IE for CSI-RS resources.

[0184] Some embodiments described herein may be extended to semi-persistent scheduling (eg, configured grants).

[0185] In some embodiments, when a channel measurement resource (CMR) pair is configured to be used for channel measurements to compute CSI associated with an NC-JT CSI measurement hypothesis: ● A first common beam (i.e., a first applied DL TCI state / joint DL / UL TCI state using the integrated TCI state framework) is applied to a first NZP CSI-RS resource in each CMR pair (i.e., a first CMR in the CMR pair); ● A second common beam (i.e., a second applied DL TCI state / joint DL / UL TCI state using the integrated TCI state framework) is applied to the second NZP CSI-RS resource in each CMR pair (i.e., the second CMR in the CMR pair).

[0186] In some embodiments, if a CSI reporting configuration for NC-JT, CSI-ReportConfig, and different CMR groups for associated CSI measurements are configured: A first common beam (i.e., a first applied DL TCI state / joint DL / UL TCI state using a unified TCI state framework) is applied to NZP CSI-RS resources (i.e., CMRs) in a first CMR group; and / or ● A second common beam (i.e., a second applied DL TCI state / joint DL / UL TCI state using the integrated TCI state framework) is applied to the NZP CSI-RS resources (i.e., CMRs) in the second CMR group.

[0187] SFN (Single Frequency Network Node) based NZP CSI-RS:

[0188] In the SFN scheme, the network node 16 transmits the NZP CSI-RS from two or more TRPs to the wireless device 22. The network node 16 may indicate this SFN transmission to the wireless device 22 by configuring two or more TCI states for the NZP CSI-RS. When the wireless device 22 receives the NZP CSI-RS for CSI calculation configured in two TCI states, the WD 22 may perform synchronization and estimation of large-scale channel characteristics (average delay, delay spread, Doppler shift, spatial direction, etc.) using the DL RS (e.g., TRS) indicated in both TCI states. For example, the wireless device 22 may obtain two channel delay spreads (which may be compared to legacy operation in which a single channel delay spread is obtained). The wireless device 22 may then combine these measurements to obtain the channel characteristics of the SFN channel. For example, the WD 22 may calculate a weighted average of the delay spreads. This average may then be used as input to a channel estimation algorithm for the NZP CSI-RS for CSI calculation. Note that the NZP CSI-RS are transmitted as SFNs while the DL RSs (e.g., TRSs) are not transmitted as SFNs, and they are transmitted "per TRP." Thus, measurements on the TRSs provide wireless device 22 with information about whether one TRP dominates over the others, for example, when wireless device 22 is close to one of the TRPs or when the channel toward one of the TRPs is blocked. The algorithm at wireless device 22 may then decide to use only estimates from one of the TRSs (one TCI state) when SFN transmission is weak (meaning one TRP dominates even when the NZP CSI-RS for CSI calculation is transmitted as SFNs).

[0189] In some embodiments, when an NZP CSI-RS is configured (implicitly or explicitly) to be used for SFN-based CSI-RS reception / measurement and WD22 has two common beams (i.e., two applied DL TCI states (or joint DL / UL TCI states) using a unified TCI state framework), WD22 may implicitly assume that it should determine two RX spatial filters when receiving the NZP CSI-RS. In that case, the first RX spatial filter may be determined based on the first applied DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) associated with the first common beam, and the second RX spatial filter may be determined based on the second applied DL TCI state (or joint DL / UL TCI state) associated with the second common beam (i.e., no explicit indication is required).

[0190] According to one aspect, a network node 16 configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD) is provided. The network node 16 includes an air interface 62 and / or processing circuitry 68 configured to set a plurality of common beam indexes WD22, each common beam index corresponding to a set of reference signals, and to transmit each set of reference signals on a beam corresponding to the common beam index.

[0191] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the set of reference signals includes one of a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate to the WD 22 at least one of a downlink Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state and an uplink TCI state.

[0192] According to another aspect, a method is provided that is implemented in a network node 16 configured to communicate with a wireless device WD22. The method includes setting a plurality of common beam indexes WD22, each common beam index corresponding to a set of reference signals, and transmitting each set of reference signals on a beam corresponding to the common beam index.

[0193] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the set of reference signals includes one of a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). In some embodiments, the method further includes indicating to the WD22 at least one of a downlink Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state and an uplink TCI state.

[0194] According to another aspect, the WD 22 is configured to communicate with the network node 16. The WD 22 comprises an air interface 82 and / or processing circuitry 84, which are configured to receive at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting, and, if the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), override with the received uplink TCI state setting an uplink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index, and, if the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), override with the received downlink TCI state setting an downlink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index. According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the common beam index is associated with a transmitting / receiving point (TRP).

[0195] According to yet another aspect, a method implemented in WD22 includes receiving at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting, and if the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), overriding an uplink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index with the received uplink TCI state setting, and if the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), overriding a downlink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index with the received downlink TCI state setting. According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the common beam index is associated with a transmitting / receiving point (TRP).

[0196] According to another aspect, the WD 22 is configured to communicate with the network node 16. The WD 22 comprises an air interface and / or processing circuitry configured to receive at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting, and, if the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), override the received uplink TCI state setting with an uplink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index, and, if the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), override the received downlink TCI state setting with a downlink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index.

[0197] According to yet another aspect, a method implemented in WD22 includes receiving at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting; if the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), overriding the received uplink TCI state setting with an uplink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index; and if the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), overriding the received downlink TCI state setting with a downlink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index.

[0198] Some embodiments may include one or more of the following:

[0199] Embodiment A1. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD), the network node being configured and / or comprising a wireless interface and / or processing circuitry configured to: Setting a plurality of common beam indexes to the WD, each common beam index corresponding to a set of reference signals; transmitting each set of reference signals on a beam corresponding to a common beam index; A network node configured to:

[0200] Embodiment A2. The network node of embodiment A1, wherein the set of reference signals includes one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0201] Embodiment A3. The network node of any of embodiments A1 and A2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate at least one of a downlink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state and an uplink TCI state to the WD.

[0202] Embodiment B1. A method implemented in a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device WD, the method comprising: Setting a plurality of common beam indexes to the WD, each common beam index corresponding to a set of reference signals; transmitting each set of reference signals on a beam corresponding to a common beam index; A method comprising:

[0203] Embodiment B2. The method of embodiment B1, wherein the set of reference signals includes one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0204] Embodiment B3. The method of any of embodiments B1 and B2, further comprising indicating at least one of a downlink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status and an uplink TCI status to the WD.

[0205] Embodiment C1. A wireless device (WD) configured to communicate with a network node, the WD being configured to and / or comprising a wireless interface and / or processing circuitry configured to: receiving at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting; If the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), overriding the uplink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index with the received uplink TCI state setting; If the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), overriding a downlink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index with the received downlink TCI state setting; WD is configured to do this.

[0206] Embodiment C2. The WD of embodiment C1, wherein the common beam index is associated with a transmitting / receiving point (TRP).

[0207] Embodiment D1. A method implemented in a wireless device (WD), the method comprising: receiving at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting; If the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), overriding the uplink TCI state setting applied to the common beam index with the received uplink TCI state setting; If the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), overriding a downlink TCI state setting applied to a common beam index with the received downlink TCI state setting; A method comprising:

[0208] Embodiment D2. The method of embodiment D1, wherein the common beam index is associated with a transmitting / receiving point (TRP).

[0209] Embodiment E1. A wireless device (WD) configured to communicate with a network node, the WD being configured to and / or comprising a wireless interface and / or processing circuitry configured to: receiving at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting; If the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), overriding the received uplink TCI state setting with an uplink TCI state setting that applies to a common beam index; If the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), overriding the received downlink TCI state setting with a downlink TCI state setting that applies to a common beam index; WD is configured to do this.

[0210] Embodiment F1. A method implemented in a wireless device (WD), the method comprising: receiving at least one of an uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state setting, a downlink TCI state setting, and a joint downlink / uplink TCI state setting; If the received TCI state is an uplink TCI state setting for a sounding reference signal (SRS), overriding the received uplink TCI state setting with an uplink TCI state setting that applies to a common beam index; If the received TCI state is a DL TCI state setting for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), overriding the received downlink TCI state setting with a downlink TCI state setting that applies to a common beam index; A method comprising:

[0211] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, a computer program product, and / or a computer storage medium storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, all generally referred to herein as a "circuit" or "module." Any process, step, action, and / or function described herein may be performed by and / or associated with a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer-usable storage medium having computer program code embodied therein, capable of being executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer-readable medium may be utilized, including a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an electronic storage device, an optical storage device, or a magnetic storage device.

[0212] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, systems, and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer (thereby creating a special-purpose computer), a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to create a machine, such that the instructions, executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the function / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0213] These computer program instructions may further be stored in a computer-readable memory or storage medium that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory create an article of manufacture that includes instruction means that implement the functions / acts defined in the flowchart and / or block diagram blocks or blocks.

[0214] The computer program instructions may further be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus and cause the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to perform a series of operational steps, creating a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, when executed on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions / operations defined in the flowchart and / or block diagram blocks or blocks.

[0215] It should be understood that the functions / acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational diagrams. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently or may even be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functions / acts involved in the blocks. While some of the figures include arrows on communication paths to indicate the primary direction of communication, it should be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to that of the depicted arrow.

[0216] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object-oriented programming language such as Python, Java, or C++. However, computer program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may run entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer, partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer via a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0217] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein in connection with the above description and drawings. It will be understood that literally describing and illustrating every combination and subcombination of these embodiments would be unduly repetitive and obscure. Accordingly, all embodiments may be combined in any manner and / or combination, and the specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of every combination and subcombination of the embodiments described herein, and of the methods and processes for making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

[0218] Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments described herein are not limited to those particularly shown and described hereinabove. Additionally, unless noted to the contrary above, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. Various modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A method in a network node (16) configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD) (22), comprising: transmitting (S150) at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregated TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states of a plurality of aggregated TCI states, each of the first and second aggregated TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of physical channels, a plurality of reference signals, or a plurality of physical channels and a reference signal by the WD (22); Associating each of a plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second aggregated TCI states (S152), (a) for each of the first and second aggregated TCI states, configuring one or more associated reference signals from the plurality of reference signals (S154); and (b) for each of the plurality of reference signals, including in a corresponding reference signal configuration a pointer to one of the first and second aggregated TCI states (S156); and associating the and transmitting (S158) the association of the plurality of reference signals to the WD (22) via RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling.

2. 10. The method of claim 1, The method, wherein the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command to activate a subset of aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is sent in a DCI (Downlink Control Information) format if there are three or more aggregate TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command.

4. 10. The method of claim 1, The method, wherein each of the plurality of aggregate TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state.

5. 10. The method of claim 1, The method, wherein each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a downlink CSI (Channel State Information) reference signal (CSI-RS) and an uplink SRS (Sounding Reference Signal).

6. 6. The method of claim 5, The method, wherein the CSI-RS and the SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time.

7. 10. The method of claim 1, a reference signal configuration for a reference signal may be one of: (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal; (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource; and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource.

8. 10. The method of claim 1, The method, wherein the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD (22) for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission.

9. 10. The method of claim 1, The method, wherein the first and second integrated TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively.

10. 10. The method of claim 9, A method wherein each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters.

11. 10. The method of claim 1, The method further includes configuring the WD (22) by RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling.

12. 10. The method of claim 1, The method further includes setting the WD (22) by a second MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command.

13. 10. The method of claim 1, 11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

14. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to the first aggregated TCI state, and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to the second aggregated TCI state.

15. 10. The method of claim 1, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes at least one reference signal pair, a first reference signal in each reference signal pair being associated with the first aggregated TCI state, and a second reference signal in each reference signal pair being associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

16. 10. The method of claim 1, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, wherein reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with the first aggregated TCI state, and reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

17. A network node (16) configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD) (22), said network node (16) comprising: A processing circuit (68) comprising: transmitting at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregated TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states of a plurality of aggregated TCI states, each of the first and second aggregated TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of physical channels, a plurality of reference signals, or a plurality of physical channels and a reference signal by the WD (22); associating each of a plurality of reference signals with one of the first and second aggregate TCI states; (a) for each of the first and second aggregated TCI states, configuring one or more associated reference signals of the plurality of reference signals; and (b) for each of the plurality of reference signals, including a pointer to one of the first and second aggregated TCI states in a corresponding reference signal configuration; and associating the and a processing circuit configured to: a radio interface (62) in communication with the processing circuit (68) and configured to transmit the association of the plurality of reference signals to the WD (22) via RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling; A network node comprising:

18. A network node (16) according to claim 17, further configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 16.

19. A method in a wireless device (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16), comprising: receiving (S160) at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregated TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states of a plurality of aggregated TCI states, each of the first and second aggregated TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of physical channels, a plurality of reference signals, or a plurality of physical channels and a reference signal by the WD (22); receiving (S162) via RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling an association between each of a plurality of reference signals and one of the first and second aggregated TCI states.

20. 20. The method of claim 19, The method, wherein the activation command is a first MAC (medium access control) CE (control element) command to activate a subset of aggregated TCI states from the plurality of aggregated TCI states.

21. 21. The method of claim 20, The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is sent in a DCI (Downlink Control Information) format if there are three or more aggregate TCI states activated by the first MAC CE command.

22. 20. The method of claim 19, The method, wherein each of the plurality of aggregate TCI states is one of: (a) a joint DL (downlink) and UL (uplink) TCI state; (b) a DL TCI state; and (c) a separate UL TCI state.

23. 20. The method of claim 19, The method, wherein each of the plurality of reference signals may be one of a downlink CSI (Channel State Information) reference signal (CSI-RS) and an uplink SRS (Sounding Reference Signal).

24. 24. The method of claim 23, The method, wherein the CSI-RS and the SRS may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent in time.

25. 20. The method of claim 19, a reference signal configuration for a reference signal may be one of: (a) a reference signal resource configuration for the reference signal; (b) a reference resource set configuration including the reference signal resource; and (c) a configuration of an aperiodic CSI trigger state including the reference signal resource.

26. 20. The method of claim 19, The method, wherein the QCL information includes information of a QCL source reference signal, the QCL source reference signal indicating a spatial filter to be used by the WD (22) for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission.

27. 20. The method of claim 19, The method, wherein the first and second integrated TCI states are associated with first and second spatial filters, respectively.

28. 28. The method of claim 27, A method wherein each of the plurality of reference signals is received or transmitted using one of the first and second spatial filters.

29. 20. The method of claim 19, 11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with the first aggregated TCI state and a second list of reference signals associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

30. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes a first list of reference signals associated with a first pointer that points to the first aggregated TCI state, and a second list of reference signals associated with a second pointer that points to the second aggregated TCI state.

31. 20. The method of claim 19, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes at least one reference signal pair, a first reference signal in each reference signal pair being associated with the first aggregated TCI state, and a second reference signal in each reference signal pair being associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

32. 20. The method of claim 19, the at least one of the activation command and the indication includes one or more channel measurement resource groups of reference signals, wherein reference signals in a first set of channel measurement resource groups are associated with the first aggregated TCI state, and reference signals in a second set of channel measurement resource groups, separate from the first set of channel measurement resource groups, are associated with the second aggregated TCI state.

33. A wireless device (WD) (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16), said WD (22) comprising: a wireless interface (82), the wireless interface comprising: receiving at least one of an activation command and an indication for first and second aggregated TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states of a plurality of aggregated TCI states, each of the first and second aggregated TCI states including quasi-co-location (QCL) information for at least one of downlink reception and uplink transmission of a plurality of physical channels, a plurality of reference signals, or a plurality of physical channels and a reference signal by the WD (22); receiving via RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling an association between each of a plurality of reference signals and one of the first and second aggregated TCI states; The WD is configured to perform the following.

34. 34. The WD (22) of claim 33, further configured to perform the method of any one of claims 20 to 32.

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