Terminal, wireless communication method, base station and system

Abstract

A terminal according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a reception unit for receiving a MAC CE (Medium Access Control control element) including a field indicating a period of time before activation of a spatial relation with reference to certain timing, and a control unit for controlling activation of the spatial relation on the basis of the MAC CE. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, favorable maintenance of communication quality can be attained.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal and a wireless communication method in a next-generation mobile communication system. 、 base station and systems Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] In Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks, Long Term Evolution (LTE) was specified with the aim of achieving higher data rates and lower latency (Non-Patent Document 1). Also, LTE-Advanced (3GPP Rel. 10-14) was specified with the aim of achieving higher capacity and more advanced features than LTE (Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release (Rel.) 8, 9).

[0003] Successor systems to LTE (e.g., 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G+ (plus), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), New Radio (NR), 3GPP Rel. 15 or later) are also being considered. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] 3GPP TS 36.300 V8.12.0 “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 8)”, April 2010 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Regarding future wireless communication technologies, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as machine learning (ML) for network / device control and management is being considered. For example, AI-aided beam management using AI-aided estimating is being considered.

[0006] However, the specifics of AI-assisted beam management have not yet been fully explored. Unless these are properly defined, there is a risk that improvements in communication throughput or communication quality may be hindered.

[0007] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a terminal and a wireless communication method that can maintain favorable communication quality. 、 base station and systems One of the aims is to provide [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a receiving unit that receives a Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) including a field indicating a time until activation of a spatial relationship based on a certain timing; and a control unit that controls activation of the spatial relationship based on the MAC CE. and when the MAC CE includes the field indicating a first time and the field indicating a second time, the control unit activates a first spatial relationship after the first time has elapsed with the certain timing as a reference, and activates a second spatial relationship after the sum of the first time and the second time has elapsed with the certain timing as a reference. do. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to maintain communication quality in an appropriate manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a beam pattern instruction. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of control based on a beam pattern instruction. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of application timing of a predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication including one time offset. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of application timing of a predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication including multiple time offsets. [Figure 5] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating an example of a predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication MAC CE. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a predicted SRS spatial relationship indication MAC CE. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a predicted PDCCH TCI status indication MAC CE. [Figure 8] 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating an example of a predicted PDSCH TCI status indication MAC CE. [Figure 9] 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of information on quantized spatial relationships / times for activating TCI states. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing an example of available time lengths. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a user terminal according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] (Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to wireless communications) Regarding future wireless communication technologies, the use of AI technology for network / device control and management is being considered.

[0012] For example, in future wireless communication technologies, particularly in communications using beams, there is a demand for high accuracy in channel estimation (which may also be called channel measurement) for beam management, decoding of received signals, and the like.

[0013] Channel estimation may be performed using at least one of, for example, a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Synchronization Signal (SS), a Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (SS / PBCH) block, a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), etc.

[0014] In conventional wireless communication technologies, highly accurate channel estimation requires a large amount of estimation resources (e.g., resources for transmitting reference signals), and channel estimation is required for all antenna ports used. Increasing resources such as DMRS and CSI-RS to achieve highly accurate channel estimation results in a decrease in resources for data transmission and reception (e.g., downlink shared channel (Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) resources and uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)) resources).

[0015] Furthermore, while conventional wireless communication technologies have been able to control communication based on current or past measurement results, they are slow to respond when the wireless quality deteriorates and the link is cut off.

[0016] In the future, it will be considered to use AI techniques such as machine learning (ML) to achieve highly accurate channel estimation with fewer resources and measurements that predict the future. Such channel estimation may be called AI-aided estimation. Beam management using AI-aided estimation may be called AI-aided beam management.

[0017] As an example of AI-assisted beam management, when AI is used in a terminal (user equipment (UE)), the AI ​​may predict future beam measurements, and the UE may trigger enhanced beam failure recovery (enhanced BFR) with prediction.

[0018] As an example of AI-assisted beam management, when AI is used in a base station (BS), the AI ​​may predict future beam measurements (e.g., narrow beam measurements) or may estimate (derive) narrow beam measurements based on a small number of beam managements. Also, the UE may receive beam instructions with a time offset.

[0019] However, the specifics of AI-assisted beam management have not yet been fully explored. Unless these are properly defined, there is a risk that improvements in communication throughput or communication quality may be hindered.

[0020] Therefore, the present inventors have conceived a control method suitable for beam instruction with a time offset. This allows a UE to suitably track a beam, thereby achieving suitable maintenance of communication quality. Note that each embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied when AI / prediction is not used.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a UE / BS trains an ML model in a training mode and executes the ML model in a test mode (also referred to as a test mode, etc.), where the accuracy of the ML model trained in the training mode may be validated.

[0022] In the present disclosure, the UE / BS may input channel state information, reference signal measurements, etc. to the ML model and output highly accurate channel state information / measurements / beam selection / position, future channel state information / radio link quality, etc.

[0023] In this disclosure, AI may be interpreted as an object (also referred to as a subject, object, data, function, program, etc.) that has (performs) at least one of the following characteristics: · inferences based on observed or collected information; · making choices based on information observed or collected; · Predictions based on observed or collected information.

[0024] In the present disclosure, the object may be, for example, an apparatus, device, etc., such as a terminal or a base station. The object may also correspond to a program included in the apparatus.

[0025] In addition, in the present disclosure, an ML model may be interpreted as an object having (implementing) at least one of the following characteristics: - Producing estimates by feeding information, · Predicting estimates by giving information, · Discover features by providing information, · Selecting behavior by providing information.

[0026] In the present disclosure, the term "ML model" may be interpreted as at least one of an AI model, predictive analytics, a predictive analysis model, etc. The ML model may be derived using at least one of regression analysis (e.g., linear regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, logistic regression analysis), a support vector machine, a random forest, a neural network, deep learning, etc. In the present disclosure, the term "model" may be interpreted as at least one of an encoder, a decoder, a tool, etc.

[0027] Based on input information, the ML model outputs at least one piece of information, such as an estimate, a prediction, a selected action, or a classification.

[0028] ML models may include supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning. Supervised learning may be used to learn general rules that map inputs to outputs. Unsupervised learning may be used to learn features of data. Reinforcement learning may be used to learn behaviors to maximize a goal.

[0029] Each embodiment described below will be mainly described assuming that supervised learning is used for the ML model, but is not limited to this.

[0030] In this disclosure, terms such as implementing, operating, operating, and executing may be interchangeable. Also, in this disclosure, terms such as testing, after-training, live use, and actual use may be interchangeable. Signal may be interchangeable with signal / channel.

[0031] In this disclosure, the training mode may refer to a mode in which the UE / BS transmits / receives signals for an ML model (i.e., a mode of operation during training). In this disclosure, the test mode may refer to a mode in which the UE / BS implements an ML model (e.g., implements a trained ML model to predict outputs) (i.e., a mode of operation during testing).

[0032] In the present disclosure, the training mode may refer to a mode in which a particular signal transmitted in the test mode is transmitted with a large overhead (e.g., a large amount of resources).

[0033] In the present disclosure, a training mode may refer to a mode that refers to a first configuration (e.g., a first DMRS configuration or a first CSI-RS configuration). In the present disclosure, a test mode may refer to a mode that refers to a second configuration (e.g., a second DMRS configuration or a second CSI-RS configuration) that is different from the first configuration. The first configuration may be configured with at least one of more time resources, frequency resources, code resources, and ports (antenna ports) related to measurements than the second configuration.

[0034] Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Wireless communication methods according to the embodiments may be applied independently or in combination.

[0035] In the following embodiments, to explain an ML model for communication between a UE and a BS, the relevant entities are a UE and a BS, but application of each embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, for communication between other entities (e.g., communication between UEs), the UE and BS in the following embodiments may be read as a first UE and a second UE. In other words, the UE, BS, etc. in the present disclosure may all be read as any UE / BS.

[0036] In the present disclosure, "A / B" and "at least one of A and B" may be read interchangeably.

[0037] In the present disclosure, terms such as activate, deactivate, indicate, select, configure, update, and determine may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, terms such as support, control, controllable, operate, and operable may be interchangeable.

[0038] In the present disclosure, Radio Resource Control (RRC), RRC parameters, RRC messages, higher layer parameters, information elements (IEs), and configurations may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, Medium Access Control (MAC) control elements (CEs), update commands, and activation / deactivation commands may be interchangeable.

[0039] In the present disclosure, the following terms are used: panel, UE panel, panel group, beam, beam group, precoder, Uplink (UL) transmitting entity, Transmission / Reception Point (TRP), Spatial Relation Information (SRI), spatial relation, SRS Resource Indicator (SRI), SRS resource, control resource set (CONTROLLER RESOLUTION SET (CORESET)), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), codeword, base station, predetermined antenna port (e.g., Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) port), predetermined antenna port group (e.g., DMRS port group), predetermined group (e.g., Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) group, predetermined reference signal group, CORESET group), predetermined resource (e.g., predetermined reference signal resource), predetermined resource set (e.g., predetermined reference signal resource set), CORESET pool, uplink control channel (Physical Uplink Control Channel (PDSCH)), The terms PUCCH group (PUCCH resource group), spatial relationship group, downlink Transmission Configuration Indication state (TCI state) (DL TCI state), uplink TCI state (UL TCI state), unified TCI state, common TCI state, Quasi-Co-Location (QCL), QCL assumption, etc. may be read as interchangeable.

[0040] In this disclosure, the terms index, ID, indicator, and resource ID may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, the terms sequence, list, set, group, group, cluster, and subset may be interchangeable.

[0041] In the present disclosure, CSI-RS may be interchangeably read as at least one of Non-Zero Power (NZP) CSI-RS, Zero Power (ZP) CSI-RS, and CSI Interference Measurement (CSI-IM).

[0042] In this disclosure, measured / reported RS may refer to RS measured / reported for predicted BFR.

[0043] (Wireless communication method) In the following embodiments, the UE may be notified of a beam instruction with a time offset. The beam instruction with a time offset may correspond to a beam instruction corresponding to each of a plurality of times. Hereinafter, the terms beam instruction with a time offset, multiple beam instruction, beam pattern instruction, predicted beam instruction, sequential beam instruction, extended beam instruction, etc. may be read interchangeably.

[0044] The time offset may refer to the time until activation of the spatial relationship / TCI state (until activation is applied) relative to a certain timing.

[0045] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of beam pattern instruction. In this example, a BS with AI transmits three CSI-RSs (CSI-RS1, 2, and 3) and predicts future beam quality (e.g., reception quality at the UE of each CSI-RS) based on signals (e.g., SRSs) / beam measurement results (e.g., CSI beam reports) from the UE.

[0046] The base station may transmit a one-shot beam pattern instruction containing information of one or more beams over one or more time periods based on future beam quality.

[0047] The beam pattern instruction in Figure 1 shows CSI-RS1 for time t = 0 (time offset #0 = 0 (no time offset)), CSI-RS2 for time t = 1 (time offset #1), and CSI-RS3 for time t = 2 (time offset #3). This may correspond to the beam predicted to have the highest reception quality at the UE at each time. The UE shown in the figure is moving in the direction of the dashed line, and the base station has taken this into consideration when generating the beam pattern instruction.

[0048] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of control based on a beam pattern instruction. The UE may apply (use, assume) a beam for each time instant (a time corresponding to each time offset) according to the received beam pattern instruction.

[0049] In this example, the UE receives a MAC CE indicating a beam pattern instruction via the PDSCH and transmits an ACK for this reception (e.g., a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK)). The UE applies TCI state / spatial relationship #0 corresponding to CSI-RS1 when a certain period of time (3 * the number of slots per subframe for setting the corresponding SubCarrier Spacing (SCS) in the figure, in other words, 3 ms) has elapsed since the transmission of this ACK. The UE may also apply TCI state / spatial relationship #1 corresponding to CSI-RS2 after time offset #1 has elapsed from the above timing, and apply TCI state / spatial relationship #2 corresponding to CSI-RS3 after time offset #2 has elapsed from the above timing.

[0050] In the present disclosure, the terms timing, time, duration, slot, subslot, symbol, subframe, etc. may be interpreted as interchangeable.

[0051] The following embodiments relate to the content, processing, application timing, etc. of beam pattern instructions.

[0052] First Embodiment The first embodiment relates to a beam pattern indication for PUCCH, which may also be called Predicted PUCCH spatial relation Activation / Deactivation MAC CE, PUCCH spatial relation Activation / Deactivation MAC CE with time offset, Predicted PUCCH spatial relation indication MAC CE, Predicted PUCCH spatial relation indication, etc.

[0053] [Embodiment 1.1] The predicted PUCCH spatial relation indication may include only one time offset, in which case the UE may apply the predicted PUCCH spatial relation indication (activation command) after one of the following times relative to the reference timing: time offset, · Time offset + X * (number of slots per subframe for the corresponding SCS setting).

[0054] Here, the reference timing may be (the end of) the timing at which the UE transmits a PUCCH having a HARQ-ACK corresponding to a PDSCH carrying an activation command, or (the end of) the timing at which the UE receives a PDSCH carrying an activation command, or any of these timings plus X* (the number of slots per subframe for the corresponding SCS setting).

[0055] Note that even when the UE uses the timing of receiving a PDSCH that transmits an activation command as the reference timing, the UE may compare a first timing at which a time offset (or time offset + X* (number of slots per subframe for corresponding SCS setting)) has elapsed from the reference timing with a second timing at which a certain period has elapsed from the timing of transmitting a PUCCH that includes a HARQ-ACK corresponding to the PDSCH that transmits the activation command, and apply the activation command at the second timing if the first timing is earlier than the second timing. In this case, it is possible to prevent a change in the spatial relationship of PUCCHs before transmitting the PUCCHs. Note that this certain period may be X* (number of slots per subframe for corresponding SCS setting), a time offset, or time offset + X* (number of slots per subframe for corresponding SCS setting).

[0056] The UE may determine the value of X based on a specific rule, physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), a specific signal / channel, or a combination thereof, or may determine the value based on the UE capability. X may be, for example, 3.

[0057] The UE may apply the activation command in a specific slot (for example, the first slot, the first UL slot) after any of the above times has elapsed based on the reference timing.

[0058] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the application timing of a predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication including one time offset. In this example, the reference timing is the timing at which the UE transmits a HARQ-ACK corresponding to an activation command.

[0059] The time A shown is the time of application of an activation command when this occurs after a time offset from the reference timing, and the time B shown is the time of application of an activation command when this occurs after a time offset + 3 * (number of slots per subframe for the corresponding SCS configuration) from the reference timing.

[0060] [Embodiment 1.2] The predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication may include multiple time offsets. The predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication may include spatial settings (spatial relationship information) corresponding to each time offset.

[0061] The time offset may be an absolute time offset. In this case, the spatial relationship information corresponding to a certain time offset may be applied after the time offset has elapsed, with the reference timing being the time offset=0.

[0062] Alternatively, the time offsets may be relative (differential) time offsets. In this case, the spatial relationship information corresponding to a certain time offset may be applied after the time offset has elapsed, based on the reference timing or the timing at which spatial relationship information corresponding to another time offset was applied (the activation command was last applied), whichever is closer (the more recent). In other words, the spatial relationship information corresponding to a certain time offset may be applied after the sum of the time offset and the other time offset has elapsed, based on the reference timing.

[0063] Figure 4 shows an example of the timing of application of a predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication including multiple time offsets. This example is similar to Figure 2, except that if the time offset is an absolute time offset, time offset #2 is the length of period A shown, and if the time offset is a relative time offset, time offset #2 is the length of period B shown.

[0064] [Embodiment 1.3] The UE may determine the time offset based on a specific rule, or may determine it based on physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), a specific signal / channel, or a combination thereof, or may determine it based on UE capabilities.

[0065] For example, the UE may be configured with a time offset for each spatial relationship information / PUCCH resource by an RRC parameter, and the UE may assume that no time offset is applied (or apply time offset=0) to the spatial relationship information / PUCCH resource for which no time offset is configured, or may apply a default time offset.

[0066] The default time offset may be determined based on a specific rule, may correspond to a specific time offset among the configured time offsets, or may be determined based on the UE capabilities.

[0067] Embodiment 1.3, in which the time offset is set for each spatial relationship information / PUCCH resource, is suitable when the UE moves along a fixed route (for example, when riding a train).

[0068] [Embodiment 1.4] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating an example of a predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication MAC CE. The MAC CE includes a serving cell ID field, a BWP ID field, a PUCCH resource ID field, a spatial relationship ID (or Si ) field, C field, slot offset field, etc. may be included.

[0069] The serving cell ID field may be a field for indicating a serving cell to which the MAC CE applies, and the BWP ID field may be a field for indicating an UL BWP to which the MAC CE applies.

[0070] The PUCCH resource ID field may indicate the ID (Identifier) ​​of the PUCCH resource for which the spatial relationship is activated by the spatial relationship information.

[0071] The spatial relation ID field indicates the spatial relation ID (e.g., PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfoId) of the spatial relation to be activated. i The field indicates the spatial relation to be activated / deactivated and corresponds to the spatial relation with spatial relation ID (PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfoId) i (or i+1). For example, S i A field of '1' may indicate activation.

[0072] The slot offset field may indicate the time offset at which to activate the spatial relationship.

[0073] The C field contains the spatial relationship ID (or S i ) field (or another spatial setting) exists. For example, if the value of the C field is '1', the spatial relationship ID (or S i ) field exists, and if the value of the C field is '0', the spatial relationship ID (or S i ) field is not present.

[0074] FIG. 5A shows the slot offset field and the corresponding S for the PUCCH resource indicated by the PUCCH resource ID field. i Here is an example that contains more than one set of fields:

[0075] 5B shows an example in which one slot offset field includes one or more pairs of PUCCH resource ID fields and corresponding spatial relationship ID fields. In this case, different spatial relationships can be activated for multiple PUCCH resources at the timing of the time offset indicated by the slot offset field. Also, spatial configuration #0 and spatial configuration #1 shown in the figure may correspond to different time offsets (spatial configuration #0 may correspond to slot offset #0 indicated by the first slot offset field, and spatial configuration #1 may correspond to slot offset #1 indicated by the second slot offset field). A spatial configuration may correspond to a configuration of the correspondence between PUCCH resources and spatial relationships corresponding to one slot offset.

[0076] The predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication MAC CE may include a field indicating the cell to which the spatial relationship information belongs. For example, if the spatial relationship information is configured for each cell, a field for determining a cell ID such as a Physical Cell ID (PCI) may be included in the MAC CE. The PCI may be selected from PCI candidates configured by RRC.

[0077] The predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication MAC CE may include a field indicating how many time instants (time offsets) are present in the MAC CE, a field indicating whether a particular octet is present, and the like.

[0078] The UE may determine that the size of the predicted PUCCH spatial relationship indication MAC CE is fixed (predetermined), or may determine it based on an RRC parameter, or may determine it based on a field in the MAC CE.

[0079] The RRC parameter may be at least one of the maximum number of spatial relationship information, the maximum number of PUCCH resources, the number of time instants in a MAC CE, and the like.

[0080] The MAC CE fields may be at least one of the following: Information indicating whether a certain octet is present in this MAC CE (e.g., the C field mentioned above), The number indicated by a certain field (for example, a field indicating the number of spatial settings included in the MAC CE).

[0081] According to the first embodiment described above, it is possible to appropriately perform beam pattern instruction using predicted PUCCH spatial relationship instruction.

[0082] <Second embodiment> The second embodiment relates to a beam pattern indication for SRS. The indication may be called a predicted enhanced SP / AP SRS spatial relation indication MAC CE, a time-offset SP / AP SRS spatial relation indication MAC CE, a predicted SRS spatial relation indication MAC CE, a predicted SRS spatial relation indication, etc. Note that SP / AP stands for semi-persistent / aperiodic.

[0083] As the second embodiment, an embodiment in which PUCCH is replaced with SRS in embodiments 1.1 to 1.4 can be used, and therefore redundant description will not be repeated.

[0084] In addition, Resource ID i The field corresponds to the field that specifies the spatial relationship. iThe field may indicate the ID (e.g., SSB index, SRS resource ID) of the resource used for spatial relationship derivation for the i-1 (or i)th SRS resource in the SRS resource set indicated by the SRS resource set ID field.

[0085] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a predicted SRS spatial relationship indication MAC CE. Since the fields other than the C field and slot offset field are the same as the extended SP / AP SRS spatial relationship indication MAC CE of Rel. 16, a description of each field will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a spatial relationship corresponding to an SRS resource for each slot offset can be specified.

[0086] According to the second embodiment described above, it is possible to appropriately instruct a beam pattern using a predicted SRS spatial relationship instruction.

[0087] <Third embodiment> The third embodiment relates to a beam pattern indication for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), which may also be called a predicted TCI state indication for UE-specific PDCCH MAC CE, a TCI state indication for PDCCH with time offset MAC CE, a predicted TCI state indication for PDCCH MAC CE, a predicted TCI state indication for PDCCH, etc.

[0088] As a third embodiment, an embodiment in which PUCCH in embodiments 1.1 to 1.4 is replaced with PDCCH, PUCCH resources with CORESET (or CORESET ID), spatial relationships with TCI states applicable to CORESET, etc. can be used, and therefore redundant explanations will not be repeated.

[0089] 7 shows an example of a MAC CE for a predicted PDCCH. Since the fields other than the C field and slot offset field are the same as the MAC CE for a UE-specific PDCCH TCI state indication in Rel. 15 / 16, a description of each field will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the TCI state corresponding to the CORESET (CORESET ID) for each slot offset can be specified.

[0090] According to the third embodiment described above, it is possible to appropriately instruct a beam pattern using an indication of the predicted TCI state for PDCCH.

[0091] <Fourth embodiment> A fourth embodiment relates to a beam pattern indication for a PDSCH, which may also be called Predicted (Enhanced) TCI States Activation / Deactivation for UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE, TCI State Indication MAC CE for PDSCH with time offset, TCI State Indication MAC CE for Predicted PDSCH, TCI State Indication for Predicted PDSCH, etc.

[0092] As the fourth embodiment, embodiments in which PUCCH is replaced with PDSCH and spatial relationships are replaced with TCI states in embodiments 1.1 to 1.4 can be used, and therefore redundant description will not be repeated.

[0093] 8A and 8B are diagrams showing an example of a predicted PDSCH TCI state indication MAC CE. Except for the C field and slot offset field, the fields are the same as the Rel. 15 / 16 UE-specific PDSCH TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE and the enhanced UE-specific PDSCH TCI state activation / deactivation MAC CE, and therefore a description of each field will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the TCI state for the PDSCH for each slot offset can be specified.

[0094] According to the fourth embodiment described above, it is possible to appropriately instruct a beam pattern using an indication of the predicted TCI state for PDSCH.

[0095] <Fifth embodiment> The fifth embodiment relates to a time offset specified by the MAC CE in the first to fourth embodiments.

[0096] 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of information on quantized spatial relationships / times for activating TCI states.

[0097] The UE may be notified by the MAC CE of a bit field (time offset field) indicating one time offset selected from the configured time offsets. In Figure 9A, it is assumed that the UE has been configured with four time offsets (12, 14, 16, and 18 slots) corresponding to each bit field using RRC parameters.

[0098] Note that if only one time offset is configured, the UE does not need to receive information about the time to activate the spatial relationship / TCI state (because the base station knows the time offset expected by the UE).

[0099] The UE may receive a bit field indicating one time offset selected from predefined time offsets as information on the time to activate the spatial relationship / TCI state. In Figure 9B, four time offsets (2, 4, 6, and 8 slots) corresponding to each bit field may be predefined, for example, by a specification.

[0100] If the UE handles a time offset, the UE may determine the time duration available for prediction based on the time offset, and there may be one or more times during which the spatial relationship / TCI state is activated.

[0101] In the present disclosure, to determine the time length, the UE may report / receive / determine / configure a time offset and a window size instead of the time offset.

[0102] The UE may activate the spatial relationship / TCI state at a particular time instant (eg, a particular slot) during the length of time specified by the time offset and window size.

[0103] Also, in the present disclosure, to determine the above-mentioned time length, the UE may report / receive / determine / configure two time offsets instead of one time offset.

[0104] The UE may activate the spatial relationship / TCI state at a particular time instant (eg, a particular slot) between the lengths of time specified by the two time offsets.

[0105] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing an example of available time lengths.

[0106] FIG. 10A shows an example in which a time length is specified by a time offset and a window size. The time length may be at least one of the periods AC shown. Period A is a period of the window size range (the period after the point (time T)) that starts at a point specified by a time offset relative to the reference time. Period B is a period of the window size range (the period before the point (time T)) that ends at a point specified by a time offset relative to the reference time. Period C is a period of the window size range (including the periods before and after the point (time T)) that is specified by a time offset relative to the reference time and is centered at the point (time T) that is specified by the time offset relative to the reference time.

[0107] 10B shows an example in which a time length is specified by two time offsets (a first time offset and a second time offset). The time length may be the period shown. This period has a start time of one of a point identified by the first time offset relative to a reference time and a point identified by the second time offset relative to the reference time, and an end time of the other. The length of this period may be expressed as ZX, where, for example, the second time offset (e.g., Z slot) > the first time offset (e.g., X slot).

[0108] According to the fifth embodiment described above, the time offset can be appropriately specified.

[0109] <Other> At least one of the above embodiments may be applied only to UEs that have reported or support a particular UE capability.

[0110] The specific UE capabilities may indicate at least one of the following: Whether or not specific operations / information in each embodiment are supported; · The maximum number of time instants that can be included in one MAC CE (per MAC CE type), Maximum time offset for spatial relationships, Maximum time offset for TCI state for PDSCH, · Maximum time offset for TCI state (per CORESET / per CORESET pool / per total CORESET (pool)) for PDCCH.

[0111] The UE capabilities may be reported per frequency, per frequency range (e.g., Frequency Range 1 (FR1), Frequency Range 2 (FR2), FR2-1, FR2-2), per cell, per UE, or per subcarrier spacing (SCS).

[0112] The UE capabilities may be reported jointly for Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), or may be reported independently.

[0113] Furthermore, at least one of the above-described embodiments may be applied when specific information related to the above-described embodiments is configured in the UE by higher layer signaling. For example, the specific information may be information indicating that beam pattern indication is enabled, any RRC parameter for a specific release (e.g., Rel. 18), etc.

[0114] (wireless communication system) The configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. In this wireless communication system, communication is performed using any one of the wireless communication methods according to the above embodiments of the present disclosure or a combination thereof.

[0115] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system 1 may be a system that realizes communication using Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 5th generation mobile communication system New Radio (5G NR) specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0116] The wireless communication system 1 may also support dual connectivity between multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC)). MR-DC may include dual connectivity between LTE (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)) and NR (E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC)), dual connectivity between NR and LTE (NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC)), etc.

[0117] In EN-DC, the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the master node (MN), and the NR base station (gNB) is the secondary node (SN). In NE-DC, the NR base station (gNB) is the MN, and the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the SN.

[0118] The wireless communication system 1 may support dual connectivity between multiple base stations within the same RAT (for example, dual connectivity in which both the MN and the SN are NR base stations (gNBs) (NR-NR Dual Connectivity (NN-DC))).

[0119] The wireless communication system 1 may include a base station 11 that forms a macrocell C1 with a relatively wide coverage, and base stations 12 (12a-12c) that are located within the macrocell C1 and form small cells C2 that are smaller than the macrocell C1. A user terminal 20 may be located within at least one of the cells. The locations and numbers of the cells and user terminals 20 are not limited to the embodiment shown in the figure. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the base stations 11 and 12, they will be collectively referred to as base station 10.

[0120] The user terminal 20 may be connected to at least one of the multiple base stations 10. The user terminal 20 may utilize at least one of carrier aggregation (CA) using multiple component carriers (CC) and dual connectivity (DC).

[0121] Each CC may be included in at least one of a first frequency band (Frequency Range 1 (FR1)) and a second frequency band (Frequency Range 2 (FR2)). The macro cell C1 may be included in FR1, and the small cell C2 may be included in FR2. For example, FR1 may be a frequency band of 6 GHz or less (sub-6 GHz), and FR2 may be a frequency band above 24 GHz (above-24 GHz). Note that the frequency bands and definitions of FR1 and FR2 are not limited to these, and for example, FR1 may be a frequency band higher than FR2.

[0122] Furthermore, the user terminal 20 may perform communication using at least one of Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) in each CC.

[0123] The multiple base stations 10 may be connected by wire (for example, optical fiber conforming to the Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), an X2 interface, or the like) or wirelessly (for example, NR communication). For example, when NR communication is used as a backhaul between the base stations 11 and 12, the base station 11 corresponding to the upper station may be called an Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) donor, and the base station 12 corresponding to the relay station (relay) may be called an IAB node.

[0124] The base station 10 may be connected to the core network 30 directly or via another base station 10. The core network 30 may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), a Next Generation Core (NGC), and the like.

[0125] The user terminal 20 may be a terminal compatible with at least one of communication methods such as LTE, LTE-A, and 5G.

[0126] An Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based radio access scheme may be used in the radio communication system 1. For example, Cyclic Prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), or the like may be used in at least one of the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL).

[0127] The radio access scheme may also be called a waveform. Note that in the wireless communication system 1, other radio access schemes (for example, other single-carrier transmission schemes, other multi-carrier transmission schemes) may be used as the UL and DL radio access schemes.

[0128] In the wireless communication system 1, a downlink shared channel (Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) shared by each user terminal 20, a broadcast channel (Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)), a downlink control channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)), etc. may be used as the downlink channel.

[0129] Furthermore, in the wireless communication system 1, an uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)) shared by each user terminal 20, an uplink control channel (Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)), a random access channel (Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)), etc. may be used as an uplink channel.

[0130] The PDSCH transmits user data, higher layer control information, System Information Block (SIB), etc. The PUSCH may transmit user data, higher layer control information, etc. Furthermore, the PBCH may transmit Master Information Block (MIB).

[0131] Lower layer control information may be transmitted by the PDCCH. The lower layer control information may include, for example, Downlink Control Information (DCI) including scheduling information for at least one of the PDSCH and the PUSCH.

[0132] Note that the DCI for scheduling the PDSCH may be referred to as a DL assignment, a DL DCI, etc., and the DCI for scheduling the PUSCH may be referred to as an UL grant, a UL DCI, etc. Note that the PDSCH may be interpreted as DL data, and the PUSCH may be interpreted as UL data.

[0133] A control resource set (CORESET) and a search space may be used to detect the PDCCH. The CORESET corresponds to resources to search for DCI. The search space corresponds to a search region and a search method for PDCCH candidates. One CORESET may be associated with one or more search spaces. The UE may monitor a CORESET associated with a certain search space based on the search space configuration.

[0134] One search space may correspond to PDCCH candidates corresponding to one or more aggregation levels. One or more search spaces may be called a search space set. Note that the terms "search space," "search space set," "search space setting," "search space set setting," "CORESET," "CORESET setting," etc. in the present disclosure may be read interchangeably.

[0135] The PUCCH may transmit uplink control information (UCI) including at least one of channel state information (CSI), acknowledgement information (which may be called, for example, Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK), ACK / NACK, etc.), and scheduling request (SR). The PRACH may transmit a random access preamble for establishing a connection with a cell.

[0136] In the present disclosure, downlink, uplink, etc. may be expressed without adding "link." Also, various channels may be expressed without adding "Physical" to the beginning.

[0137] In the wireless communication system 1, a synchronization signal (SS), a downlink reference signal (DL-RS), etc. may be transmitted. In the wireless communication system 1, a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), etc. may be transmitted as DL-RS.

[0138] The synchronization signal may be, for example, at least one of a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). A signal block including the SS (PSS, SSS) and the PBCH (and DMRS for the PBCH) may be referred to as an SS / PBCH block, an SS Block (SSB), or the like. Note that the SS, SSB, and the like may also be referred to as reference signals.

[0139] Furthermore, in the wireless communication system 1, a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. may be transmitted as an uplink reference signal (UL-RS). Note that the DMRS may also be called a user equipment-specific reference signal (UE-specific reference signal).

[0140] (base station) 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment. The base station 10 includes a control unit 110, a transceiver unit 120, a transceiver antenna 130, and a transmission line interface 140. Note that the base station may include one or more of each of the control unit 110, the transceiver unit 120, the transceiver antenna 130, and the transmission line interface 140.

[0141] In this example, the functional blocks of the characteristic parts of the present embodiment are mainly shown, and it may be assumed that the base station 10 also has other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each unit described below may be omitted.

[0142] The control unit 110 performs overall control of the base station 10. The control unit 110 can be configured from a controller, a control circuit, and the like that are explained based on common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure relates.

[0143] The control unit 110 may control signal generation, scheduling (e.g., resource allocation, mapping), etc. The control unit 110 may control transmission and reception using the transceiver unit 120, the transceiver antenna 130, and the transmission path interface 140, measurement, etc. The control unit 110 may generate data to be transmitted as signals, control information, sequences, etc., and transfer them to the transceiver unit 120. The control unit 110 may perform call processing (setting up, releasing, etc.) of communication channels, status management of the base station 10, management of radio resources, etc.

[0144] The transceiver unit 120 may include a baseband unit 121, a radio frequency (RF) unit 122, and a measurement unit 123. The baseband unit 121 may include a transmission processing unit 1211 and a reception processing unit 1212. The transceiver unit 120 may be configured with a transmitter / receiver, an RF circuit, a baseband circuit, a filter, a phase shifter, a measurement circuit, a transceiver circuit, etc., which are described based on common understanding in the technical field related to the present disclosure.

[0145] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may be configured as an integrated transmitting / receiving unit, or may be composed of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit may be composed of a transmission processing unit 1211 and an RF unit 122. The receiving unit may be composed of a reception processing unit 1212, an RF unit 122, and a measurement unit 123.

[0146] The transmitting and receiving antenna 130 can be configured from an antenna described based on common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains, such as an array antenna.

[0147] The transceiver 120 may transmit the above-mentioned downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transceiver 120 may receive the above-mentioned uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

[0148] The transceiver 120 may form at least one of a transmission beam and a reception beam using digital beamforming (for example, precoding), analog beamforming (for example, phase rotation), or the like.

[0149] The transceiver 120 (transmission processing unit 1211) may perform Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer processing, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer processing (e.g., RLC retransmission control), Medium Access Control (MAC) layer processing (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), etc. on data, control information, etc. obtained from the control unit 110, and generate a bit string to be transmitted.

[0150] The transceiver 120 (transmission processor 1211) may perform transmission processing such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) processing (if necessary), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion on the bit string to be transmitted, and output a baseband signal.

[0151] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform modulation to a radio frequency band, filtering, amplification, etc. on the baseband signal, and transmit the radio frequency band signal via the transmitting / receiving antenna .

[0152] On the other hand, the transmitting / receiving unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc. on the radio frequency band signal received by the transmitting / receiving antenna .

[0153] The transceiver 120 (reception processing unit 1212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing, Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (which may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal, thereby acquiring user data, etc.

[0154] The transceiver 120 (measurement unit 123) may perform measurements on the received signal. For example, the measurement unit 123 may perform Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements, Channel State Information (CSI) measurements, etc. based on the received signal. The measurement unit 123 may measure received power (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)), received quality (e.g., Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)), signal strength (e.g., Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 110.

[0155] The transmission path interface 140 may transmit and receive signals (backhaul signaling) between devices included in the core network 30, other base stations 10, etc., and may acquire and transmit user data (user plane data), control plane data, etc. for the user terminal 20.

[0156] The transmitting section and receiving section of the base station 10 in the present disclosure may be configured by at least one of the transmitting / receiving section 120, the transmitting / receiving antenna 130, and the transmission path interface 140.

[0157] The transmitter / receiver 120 may transmit to the user terminal 20 a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) including a field indicating the time until activation of the spatial relationship relative to a certain timing (reference timing).

[0158] The control unit 110 may assume that the user terminal 20 controls the activation of the spatial relationship based on the MAC CE, and may perform scheduling / beam control based on this assumption.

[0159] In addition, the transceiver 120 may transmit to the user terminal 20 a Medium Access Control control element (MAC Control Element (CE)) including a field indicating the time until activation of the Transmission Configuration Indication state (TCI state) based on a certain timing (reference timing).

[0160] The control unit 110 may assume that the user terminal 20 controls the activation of the TCI state based on the MAC CE, and may perform scheduling / beam control based on this assumption.

[0161] (user terminal) 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to one embodiment. The user terminal 20 includes a control unit 210, a transceiver unit 220, and a transmitting / receiving antenna 230. Note that the user terminal 20 may include one or more of each of the control unit 210, the transceiver unit 220, and the transmitting / receiving antenna 230.

[0162] Note that this example mainly shows functional blocks of the characteristic parts of the present embodiment, and it may be assumed that the user terminal 20 also has other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each unit described below may be omitted.

[0163] The control unit 210 performs overall control of the user terminal 20. The control unit 210 can be configured from a controller, a control circuit, and the like that are explained based on common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure relates.

[0164] The control unit 210 may control signal generation, mapping, etc. The control unit 210 may also control transmission and reception, measurement, etc. using the transceiver unit 220 and the transceiver antenna 230. The control unit 210 may generate data, control information, sequences, etc. to be transmitted as signals, and transfer them to the transceiver unit 220.

[0165] The transceiver unit 220 may include a baseband unit 221, an RF unit 222, and a measurement unit 223. The baseband unit 221 may include a transmission processing unit 2211 and a reception processing unit 2212. The transceiver unit 220 may be configured from a transmitter / receiver, an RF circuit, a baseband circuit, a filter, a phase shifter, a measurement circuit, a transceiver circuit, etc., which are described based on common understanding in the technical field related to the present disclosure.

[0166] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may be configured as an integrated transmitting / receiving unit, or may be composed of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit may be composed of a transmission processing unit 2211 and an RF unit 222. The receiving unit may be composed of a reception processing unit 2212, an RF unit 222, and a measurement unit 223.

[0167] The transmitting / receiving antenna 230 can be configured as an antenna described based on common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains, such as an array antenna.

[0168] The transceiver 220 may receive the above-mentioned downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transceiver 220 may transmit the above-mentioned uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

[0169] The transceiver 220 may form at least one of a transmission beam and a reception beam using digital beamforming (for example, precoding), analog beamforming (for example, phase rotation), or the like.

[0170] The transceiver 220 (transmission processing unit 2211) may perform PDCP layer processing, RLC layer processing (e.g., RLC retransmission control), MAC layer processing (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), etc. on data, control information, etc. obtained from the control unit 210, and generate a bit string to be transmitted.

[0171] The transceiver 220 (transmission processor 2211) may perform transmission processing such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, DFT processing (if necessary), IFFT processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion on the bit string to be transmitted, and output a baseband signal.

[0172] Whether or not to apply DFT processing may be based on the setting of transform precoding. When transform precoding is enabled for a certain channel (e.g., PUSCH), the transceiver unit 220 (transmission processing unit 2211) may perform DFT processing as the transmission processing to transmit the channel using a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, and when transform precoding is not enabled, the transceiver unit 220 may not perform DFT processing as the transmission processing.

[0173] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform modulation to a radio frequency band, filtering, amplification, etc. on the baseband signal, and transmit the radio frequency band signal via the transmitting / receiving antenna 230.

[0174] On the other hand, the transmitting / receiving unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc. on the radio frequency band signal received by the transmitting / receiving antenna 230.

[0175] The transceiver 220 (reception processing unit 2212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, FFT processing, IDFT processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (which may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal to acquire user data, etc.

[0176] The transceiver 220 (measurement unit 223) may perform measurements on the received signal. For example, the measurement unit 223 may perform RRM measurement, CSI measurement, etc. based on the received signal. The measurement unit 223 may measure received power (e.g., RSRP), received quality (e.g., RSRQ, SINR, SNR), signal strength (e.g., RSSI), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 210.

[0177] The transmitting unit and receiving unit of the user terminal 20 in the present disclosure may be configured by at least one of the transmitting / receiving unit 220, the transmitting / receiving antenna 230, and the transmission path interface 240.

[0178] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may receive a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) including a field indicating the time until activation of the spatial relationship relative to a certain timing (reference timing).

[0179] The control unit 210 may control the activation of the spatial relationship based on the MAC CE.

[0180] The certain timing may be a timing to transmit an uplink control channel having a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK) corresponding to a downlink shared channel that transmits the MAC CE.

[0181] The transceiver 220 may also receive a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) that includes a field indicating the time until activation of the Transmission Configuration Indication state (TCI state) based on a certain timing (reference timing).

[0182] The control unit 210 may control activation of the TCI state based on the MAC CE.

[0183] When the MAC CE includes the field indicating a first time and the field indicating a second time, the control unit 210 may activate the first spatial relationship / TCI state after the first time has elapsed based on the certain timing, and may activate the second spatial relationship / TCI state after the second time has elapsed based on the certain timing, which may correspond to a case where the fields represent absolute times.

[0184] When the MAC CE includes the field indicating a first time and the field indicating a second time, the control unit 210 may activate a first spatial relationship / TCI state after the first time has elapsed based on the certain timing, and may activate a second spatial relationship / TCI state after the sum of the first time and the second time has elapsed based on the certain timing. This may correspond to a case where the fields represent absolute times.

[0185] (Hardware configuration) The block diagrams used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining the single device or multiple devices with software.

[0186] Here, the functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, deeming, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission may be called a transmitting unit, transmitter, etc. As mentioned above, the implementation method of each is not particularly limited.

[0187] For example, a base station, a user terminal, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a user terminal according to an embodiment. The above-described base station 10 and user terminal 20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0188] In this disclosure, terms such as apparatus, circuit, device, section, unit, etc. may be read interchangeably. The hardware configurations of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

[0189] For example, although only one processor 1001 is shown, there may be multiple processors. Furthermore, processing may be performed by one processor, or processing may be performed by two or more processors simultaneously, serially, or in other ways. Furthermore, processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips.

[0190] Each function in the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 is realized, for example, by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as a processor 1001 and a memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication via the communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 1002 and the storage 1003.

[0191] The processor 1001, for example, runs an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, at least a part of the above-mentioned control unit 110 (210), transmission / reception unit 120 (220), etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0192] The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 110 (210) may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and the other functional blocks may be realized in a similar manner.

[0193] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by at least one of, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), or other suitable storage medium. The memory 1002 may also be referred to as a register, a cache, a main memory, or the like. The memory 1002 may store executable programs (program codes), software modules, and the like for implementing a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0194] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be constituted by at least one of, for example, a flexible disk, a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (e.g., a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM)), a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disc), a removable disk, a hard disk drive, a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, stick, key drive), a magnetic stripe, a database, a server, or other suitable storage medium. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as a secondary storage device.

[0195] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the above-mentioned transmission / reception unit 120 (220), transmission / reception antenna 130 (230), etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit 120 (220) may be implemented as a transmission unit 120a (220a) and a reception unit 120b (220b) that are physically or logically separated.

[0196] The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, a light emitting diode (LED) lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (for example, a touch panel).

[0197] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0198] Furthermore, the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized using such hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0199] (Variation) Note that terms explained in the present disclosure and terms necessary for understanding the present disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, a channel, a symbol, and a signal (signal or signaling) may be interchangeable. A signal may also be a message. A reference signal may be abbreviated as RS, and may also be called a pilot, pilot signal, etc. depending on the applicable standard. A component carrier (CC) may also be called a cell, frequency carrier, carrier frequency, etc.

[0200] A radio frame may be composed of one or more periods (frames) in the time domain. Each of the one or more periods (frames) constituting a radio frame may be called a subframe. Furthermore, a subframe may be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0201] Here, the numerology may be a communication parameter applied to at least one of transmission and reception of a signal or channel, and may indicate at least one of, for example, a subcarrier spacing (SCS), a bandwidth, a symbol length, a cyclic prefix length, a transmission time interval (TTI), the number of symbols per TTI, a radio frame structure, a specific filtering process performed by a transceiver in the frequency domain, and a specific windowing process performed by a transceiver in the time domain.

[0202] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol), and may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0203] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0204] A radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a minislot, and a symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals. The radio frame, the subframe, the slot, the minislot, and the symbol may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, the subframe, the slot, the minislot, and the symbol. Note that the time units such as a frame, a subframe, a slot, a minislot, and a symbol in the present disclosure may be interchangeable.

[0205] For example, one subframe may be referred to as a TTI, or multiple consecutive subframes may be referred to as a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be referred to as a TTI. That is, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (for example, 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0206] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) to each user terminal in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0207] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0208] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0209] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in 3GPP Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

[0210] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

[0211] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and the frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may also be determined based on numerology.

[0212] In addition, an RB may include one or more symbols in the time domain and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0213] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.

[0214] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0215] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth, may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a given BWP and numbered within that BWP.

[0216] The BWP may include an UL BWP (a BWP for UL) and a DL BWP (a BWP for DL). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

[0217] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0218] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc. may be changed in various ways.

[0219] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by a predetermined index.

[0220] The names used for parameters and the like in this disclosure are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions and the like using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0221] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0222] Furthermore, information, signals, etc. may be output from a higher layer to a lower layer and / or from a lower layer to a higher layer. Information, signals, etc. may be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0223] Input and output information, signals, etc. may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information, signals, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or added. Output information, signals, etc. may be deleted. Input information, signals, etc. may be transmitted to another device.

[0224] Notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, notification of information in the present disclosure may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI) and Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB) and System Information Block (SIB)), Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling), other signals, or a combination thereof.

[0225] Note that the physical layer signaling may be called Layer 1 / Layer 2 (L1 / L2) control information (L1 / L2 control signal), L1 control information (L1 control signal), etc. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be called an RRC message, such as an RRC connection setup message or an RRC connection reconfiguration message. Furthermore, the MAC signaling may be notified using, for example, a MAC Control Element (CE).

[0226] Furthermore, notification of specified information (e.g., notification that "it is X") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be made implicitly (e.g., by not notifying the specified information or by notifying other information).

[0227] The determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a Boolean value represented by true or false, or by a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0228] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0229] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0230] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" may be used interchangeably. A "network" may refer to devices included in the network (e.g., base stations).

[0231] In the present disclosure, terms such as "precoding," "precoder," "weight (precoding weight)," "Quasi-Co-Location (QCL)," "Transmission Configuration Indication state (TCI state)," "spatial relation," "spatial domain filter," "transmit power," "phase rotation," "antenna port," "antenna port group," "layer," "number of layers," "rank," "resource," "resource set," "resource group," "beam," "beam width," "beam angle," "antenna," "antenna element," "panel," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0232] In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNB (eNodeB)," "gNB (gNodeB)," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," "component carrier," etc. may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, picocell, etc.

[0233] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can be provided with communication service by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head (RRH))). The term "cell" or "sector" refers to a part or the entire coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication service within this coverage.

[0234] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0235] A mobile station may also be referred to as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0236] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a wireless communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile object, or the mobile object itself. The mobile object may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

[0237] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a user terminal. For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between multiple user terminals (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the user terminal 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.

[0238] Similarly, the user terminal in the present disclosure may be read as a base station, in which case the base station 10 may be configured to have the functions of the user terminal 20 described above.

[0239] In the present disclosure, an operation described as being performed by a base station may be performed by its upper node in some cases. It is apparent that in a network including one or more network nodes having a base station, various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by the base station, one or more network nodes other than the base station (such as, but not limited to, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and a Serving-Gateway (S-GW)), or a combination thereof.

[0240] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Furthermore, the order of the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0241] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be related to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (x is, for example, an integer or a decimal)), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE The present invention may be applied to systems that use 802.20, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other appropriate wireless communication methods, or to next-generation systems that are based on and extend these systems. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to a combination of multiple systems (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G).

[0242] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0243] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

[0244] The term "determining," as used in this disclosure, may encompass a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may be considered to be judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, etc.

[0245] Additionally, "determining" may be considered to be "determining" receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), etc.

[0246] Also, "decision" may be considered to be "deciding" resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "decision" may be considered to be "deciding" on some action.

[0247] Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" may be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," or the like.

[0248] The "maximum transmit power" in this disclosure may mean the maximum value of transmit power, the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or the rated UE maximum transmit power.

[0249] As used in this disclosure, the terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access."

[0250] In this disclosure, when two elements are connected, they may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to one another using one or more wires, cables, printed electrical connections, etc., as well as using electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, light (both visible and invisible) range, etc., as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0251] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0252] When used in this disclosure, the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0253] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0254] Although the invention according to the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the invention according to the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The invention according to the present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and explanatory and does not impose any limiting meaning on the invention according to the present disclosure.

Claims

1. a receiver for receiving a Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) including a field indicating a time until activation of a spatial relationship relative to a certain timing; a control unit that controls activation of the spatial relationship based on the MAC CE; the control unit, when the MAC CE includes the field indicating a first time and the field indicating a second time, activates a first spatial relationship after the first time has elapsed based on the certain timing, and activates a second spatial relationship after the sum of the first time and the second time has elapsed based on the certain timing.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the certain timing is a timing to transmit an uplink control channel having a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK) corresponding to a downlink shared channel that transmits the MAC CE.

3. receiving a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) including a field indicating a time to activation of a spatial relationship relative to a timing reference; and controlling activation of the spatial relationship based on the MAC CE; a first spatial relationship is activated after the first time has elapsed based on the certain timing, and a second spatial relationship is activated after the sum of the first time and the second time has elapsed based on the certain timing, when the MAC CE includes the field indicating a first time and the field indicating a second time.

4. a transmitter for transmitting a Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) to a terminal, the MAC control element including a field indicating a time until activation of a spatial relationship based on a certain timing; a control unit that assumes that the terminal controls activation of the spatial relationship based on the MAC CE; the control unit assumes, when the MAC CE includes the field indicating a first time and the field indicating a second time, that the terminal will activate a first spatial relationship after the first time has elapsed based on the certain timing, and assumes that the terminal will activate a second spatial relationship after the sum of the first time and the second time has elapsed based on the certain timing.

5. A system including a terminal and a base station, The terminal a receiver for receiving a Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) including a field indicating a time until activation of a spatial relationship relative to a certain timing; a control unit that controls activation of the spatial relationship based on the MAC CE; the control unit, when the MAC CE includes the field indicating a first time and the field indicating a second time, activates a first spatial relationship after the first time has elapsed with the certain timing as a reference, and activates a second spatial relationship after the sum of the first time and the second time has elapsed with the certain timing as a reference; The base station a transmitter for transmitting the MAC CE.

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