Electronic equipment and methods

Abstract

The present application relates to an electronic device, a communication method, a storage medium and a computer program product in a wireless communication system. An electronic device for use in a base station side is disclosed, the electronic device including a processing circuit configured to: transmit a single DCI to a user equipment UE, the single DCI being used for scheduling a plurality of downlink transmissions associated with the UE, indicating a corresponding beam scheduling to be used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions, determine a corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions, and perform a corresponding downlink transmission of the plurality of downlink transmissions using the determined corresponding actual beam.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Cross-reference to Related Applications) This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed on April 2, 2021, with application number 202110359046.2 and invention title "Electronic Device, Communication Method, Storage Medium, and Computer Program Product", and all of the content of the aforementioned application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication, and specifically, to an electronic device in a wireless communication system and way In the law related.

Background Art

[0003] The bands used for wireless communication are gradually expanding. In the standardization procedure of 3GPP (registered trademark) Rel.17, a specific band (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz) higher than FR1 (450 MHz to 6 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz) has attracted attention. Because this specific band is high and the spectrum resources are rich, a wider selectable subcarrier spacing can be used. A wider subcarrier spacing can promote the utilization of the spectrum, but shorten the duration of the OFDM symbol. Accordingly, the slot length is also shortened. Performing beam switching within the shortened slot increases the implementation complexity of the UE. Also, a high band means a greater path loss.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] The electronic device and method according to the present invention can improve wireless transmission in a wireless communication system.

[0005] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the base station side, the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit used to schedule a plurality of downlink transmissions associated with a UE, and is configured to transmit a single Downlink Control Information (DCI) to the user UE indicating the corresponding scheduling beam to be used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions, to determine the corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions, and to perform the corresponding downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions using the determined corresponding actual beam.

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the UE side, the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit used to schedule a plurality of downlink transmissions associated with the UE, and is configured to perform the following: receive a single DCI from a base station indicating the corresponding scheduling beam to be used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions; determine the corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions; and perform the corresponding downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions using the determined corresponding actual beam.

[0007] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit configured to transmit a single DCI to the UE that indicates multiple Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resource sets related to the same reporting setting across multiple slots; transmit a CSI-RS transmission to the UE in each of the multiple slots using the corresponding CSI-RS resource set from the multiple CSI-RS resource sets; and receive CSI reports from the UE related to measurements in the multiple slots, with reports based on the same reporting setting.

[0008] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the UE side, the electronic equipment including a processing circuit, which is configured to receive a single DCI from a base station that spans multiple slots and indicates multiple sets of CSI-RS resources associated with the same reporting configuration, to receive CSI-RS transmissions from the base station in each of the multiple slots that have been transmitted using the corresponding set of CSI-RS resources from the multiple sets of CSI-RS resources and to perform measurements, and to transmit CSI reports to the base station relating to the measurements in the multiple slots, in reports based on the same reporting configuration.

[0009] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the base station side, the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit, which is configured to transmit a single DCI to the UE, which is configured to schedule multiple Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) resources to multiple slots, and to transmit SSB transmissions in each of the multiple slots.

[0010] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the UE side, the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit configured to receive a single DCI from a base station, which is configured to schedule a plurality of synchronous signal block SSB resources into a plurality of slots, and to receive SSB transmissions in each of the plurality of slots.

[0011] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit configured to trigger an SRS resource set containing multiple Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resources, transmit a single DCI to the UE configured to schedule the multiple SRS resources to multiple slots, and receive SRS transmissions from the UE in each of the multiple slots.

[0012] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the UE side, the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit configured to receive a single DCI from a base station which is configured to trigger an SRS resource set including a plurality of sounding reference signal SRS resources and to schedule the plurality of SRS resources into a plurality of slots, and to transmit SRS transmissions to the base station 110 in each of the plurality of slots.

[0013] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit, the processing circuit is configured to set a first offset amount related to a first transmission between the base station and the UE, set a Channel Occupying Time (COT) related to the base station and the UE, included in a COT message, which indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, calculate a specific time to be used for the first transmission based on the COT and the first offset amount, and perform the first transmission at the specific time.

[0014] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the UE side, the electronic equipment including a processing circuit, the processing circuit is configured to set a first offset amount related to a first transmission between a base station and a UE, set a channel occupancy time COT related to the base station and the UE and included in a COT message, which indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, calculate a specific time to be used for the first transmission based on the COT and the first offset amount, and perform the first transmission at the specific time.

[0015] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit, which is configured to perform the following: determine a channel occupancy time (COT) relating to the base station and the UE, which is included in a COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band; determine whether the expected transmission time of a particular transmission among periodic transmissions with the UE falls within the COT; determine a particular transmission as a deactivated transmission in response to the expected transmission time of a particular transmission not falling within the COT; and determine a particular transmission as an activated transmission in response to the expected transmission time of a particular transmission falling within the COT.

[0016] One aspect of this disclosure relates to electronic equipment used on the UE side, wherein the electronic equipment includes a processing circuit, which is configured to perform the following: determine a channel occupancy time (COT) relating to a base station and a UE, which is included in a COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band; determine whether the expected transmission time of a particular transmission among periodic transmissions with the UE falls within the COT; determine a particular transmission as a deactivated transmission in response to the expected transmission time of a particular transmission not falling within the COT; and determine a particular transmission as an activated transmission in response to the expected transmission time of a particular transmission falling within the COT.

[0017] Other aspects of this disclosure relate to methods performed on the base station side, which may include operations performed by the processing circuits of the base station side electronic equipment described above.

[0018] Other aspects of this disclosure relate to methods performed on the UE side, which may include operations performed by the processing circuits of the UE-side electronic equipment described above.

[0019] Another aspect of this disclosure relates to a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processing circuits of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform any of the methods described in this disclosure.

[0020] Other aspects of the present disclosure relate to a computer program product including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements any of the methods described in the present disclosure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] The above and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to the drawings in conjunction with specific embodiments. In the drawings, the same or corresponding technical features or components are denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals.

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A shows a schematic diagram of multiple application examples of an improved beam selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B shows a schematic diagram of multiple application examples of an improved beam selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5C] FIG. 5C shows a schematic diagram of multiple application examples of an improved beam selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows an exemplary flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8A] FIG. 8A shows an example of a cross-slot CSI-RS transmission method scheduled by a single DCI. [Figure 8B]Figure 8B shows an example of an improved cross-slot CSI-RS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an illustrative flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an exemplary flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an example of an improved cross-slot SSB transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows an exemplary flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows an exemplary flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 14A] Figure 14A shows an example of an improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14B] Figure 14B shows another example of an improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows an exemplary flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 16] Figure 16 shows an exemplary flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 17A] Figure 17A shows an example of transmission related to COT. [Figure 17B] Figure 17B shows an example of a signal / channel transmission scheme triggered by COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] Figure 18 shows an exemplary flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 19] Figure 19 shows an illustrative flowchart of the method according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 20] Figure 20 shows an example of a signal / channel transmission scheme activated by COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 21] Figure 21 is a block diagram showing a first example of an exemplary configuration of a gNB to which the technology described herein can be applied. [Figure 22] Figure 22 is a block diagram showing a second example of an exemplary configuration of a gNB to which the technology described herein can be applied. [Figure 23] Figure 23 is a block diagram showing an example of an exemplary arrangement of communication equipment to which the technology described herein can be applied. [Figure 24] Figure 24 is a block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a car navigation system to which the technology described herein can be applied.

[0023] The embodiments described herein are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, the specific embodiments of which are shown as examples in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the accompanying drawings and their detailed descriptions do not limit the embodiments to any particular form of this disclosure, but rather include all modifications, equivalents, and alternative forms that fall within the essence and scope of the claims. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] The following describes exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. For clarity and brevity, not all features of the embodiments are described in the specification. However, it will be understood that during the implementation of the embodiments, a number of specific installations must be made in the embodiments. This will enable the developer to achieve specific goals, such as satisfying constraints on equipment and services, which may vary depending on the embodiment. It should also be understood that while development work can be very complex and time-consuming, such development work is merely routine for those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure.

[0025] It should be noted that, in order to avoid obscuring this disclosure by unnecessary details, the accompanying drawings show only processing steps and / or equipment structures that are closely related to the technical proposal of this disclosure, and other details that are not significantly related to this disclosure have been omitted.

[0026] [1. Exemplary wireless communication systems and exemplary electrical equipment] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Various techniques described in the present disclosure can be implemented in the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 110 and an UE 120. Although only one base station 110 and three UEs 120 are shown in Figure 1, it will be understood that the wireless communication system 100 may further include any other appropriate number of base stations and UEs.

[0027] Base station 110 is an example of network-side equipment in the wireless communication system 100. In this disclosure, the terms “base station” and “network-side equipment” may be used interchangeably. The operation of base station 110 may be implemented using any network-side equipment instead. Base station 110 may be implemented as any type of base station. For example, base station 110 may be implemented as an eNB, e.g., a macro eNB or a small eNB. A small eNB may be an eNB that covers cells smaller than macrocells, e.g., a pico eNB, a micro eNB or a femto eNB. Alternatively, base station 110 may be implemented as a gNB, e.g., a macro gNB or a small gNB. A small gNB may be a gNB that covers cells smaller than macrocells, e.g., a pico gNB, a micro gNB or a femto gNB. Alternatively, base station 110 may be implemented as any other type of base station, e.g., a NodeB and a Base Transceiver Station (BTS).

[0028] UE120 is an example of a user-side device in the wireless communication system 100. UE120 may be implemented as any type of terminal device. For example, UE120 may be implemented as a mobile terminal (e.g., a smartphone, tablet personal computer (PC), notebook PC, portable game console, portable / dongle mobile router, and digital imaging device) or an in-vehicle terminal (e.g., a car navigation system). Alternatively, UE120 may be implemented as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also called a machine-type communication (MTC) terminal). Furthermore, UE120 may be a wireless communication module (e.g., an integrated circuit module including a single chip) mounted on each of the above terminals.

[0029] The base station 110 and UE 120 can perform wireless communication according to any suitable communication protocol. For example, they can perform wireless communication according to a cellular communication protocol. The cellular communication protocol may include 4G, 5G, and any cellular communication protocol that is under development or will be developed in the future. Accordingly, the base station 110 and UE 120 can communicate in the corresponding wireless communication band. Examples of wireless communication bands may include, but are not limited to, the FR1 band, FR2 band, 52.6GHz–71GHz band, or any other suitable band.

[0030] Figure 2 shows a block diagram of an electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 200 may include a communication unit 210, a storage unit 220, and a processing circuit 230.

[0031] The communication unit 210 may be used to receive or transmit radio transmissions. For example, this radio transmission may include downlink transmissions from base station 110 to UE 120 and / or uplink transmissions from UE 120 to base station 110. This radio transmission may be used to transmit various control signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC), DCI) and / or user data. This radio transmission may be used to transmit one or more synchronization signals, reference signals, or measurement signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, SRS, etc.). The communication unit 210 can perform functions such as upconversion and digital-to-analog conversion on transmitted radio signals and / or downconversion and analog-to-digital conversion on received radio signals. In embodiments of this disclosure, the communication unit 210 can be implemented using various technologies. For example, the communication unit 210 may be implemented as a communication interface component such as an antenna device, a radio frequency circuit, or some baseband processing circuit. The communication unit 210 is depicted with a dashed line because it can also be located inside the processing circuit 230 or outside the electronic equipment 200.

[0032] The memory unit 220 can store information generated by the processing circuit 230, information received from or transmitted to other devices via the communication unit 210, programs used to operate the electronic device 200, machine code, data, and the like. The memory unit 220 may be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. For example, the memory unit 220 may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), and flash memory. The memory unit 220 can also be located inside the processing circuit 230 or outside the electronic device 200, and is therefore depicted with a dashed line.

[0033] The processing circuit 230 may be configured to perform one or more operations to provide various functions of the electronic device 200. For example, the processing circuit 230 can perform a corresponding operation by executing one or more executable instructions stored in the memory unit 220. For example, if the electronic device 200 is used to implement base station-side equipment as described in this disclosure, the processing circuit 230 may be configured to perform one or more base station-side operations as described in this disclosure. If the electronic device 200 is used to implement UE-side equipment as described in this disclosure, the processing circuit 230 may be configured to perform one or more UE-side operations as described in this disclosure. The electronic device 200 (more specifically the processing circuit 230) may be used to perform one or more operations related to the base station 110 as described herein. In this case, the electronic device 200 may be implemented as the base station 110 itself, as a part of the base station 110, or as control equipment for controlling the base station 110. For example, the electronic device 200 may be implemented as a chip for controlling the base station 110. Furthermore, the electronic equipment 200 (more specifically, the processing circuit 230) may be used to perform one or more operations related to the UE120 as described herein. In this case, the electronic equipment 200 may be implemented as the UE120 itself, a part of the UE120, or a control device for controlling the UE120. For example, the electronic equipment 200 may be implemented as a chip for controlling the UE120.

[0034] The parts described above are exemplary and / or preferred modules for performing the processes described in this disclosure. These modules may be hardware units (e.g., a central processing unit, a field-programmable gate array, a digital signal processor, or an application-specific integrated circuit) and / or software modules (e.g., a computer-readable program). The above does not exhaustively describe the modules for performing each of the steps described below. However, wherever there is a step for performing a certain process, there may be a corresponding module or unit (performed by hardware and / or software) for performing the same process. The proposed techniques limited by all combinations of the steps described below and the units corresponding to these steps are included in the disclosure insofar as the proposed techniques they constitute are complete and applicable.

[0035] Furthermore, equipment composed of various units may be incorporated into hardware devices such as computers as functional modules. Of course, computers may also have other hardware or software components in addition to these functional modules.

[0036] Illustrative embodiments of this disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, various methods performed on the base station side may be performed by processing circuits 230 of electronic equipment 200 implemented on the base station side. For convenience, such methods will be described below as being performed by the base station 110. However, as those skilled in the art will see, these methods may be performed by a part of the base station 110 or by the control equipment of the base station 110. Various methods performed on the UE side may be performed by processing circuits 230 of electronic equipment 200 implemented on the UE side. For convenience, such methods will be described below as being performed by the UE 120. However, as those skilled in the art will see, these methods may be performed by a part of the UE 120 or by the control equipment of the UE 120.

[0037] [2. Improved beam selection method] As 3GPP's latest standardization progresses, slot lengths are being shortened. For example, in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band, the length of slots occupied by transmissions such as physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions is being reduced. It is conceivable that a single DCI could schedule multiple such transmissions. In related technologies, a single DCI can typically only schedule a single transmission, and a corresponding beam selection scheme is designed for this single transmission. Such beam selection schemes are no longer suitable for scenarios where a single DCI schedules multiple transmissions. Improved beam selection schemes are needed.

[0038] Figure 3 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 300 may be used to implement the improved beam selection scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 300 may be performed on the base station 110 side. Method 300 may include steps 310 to 330.

[0039] In step 310, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit a single DCI to the UE 120. This single DCI may be used to schedule a plurality of downlink transmissions associated with the UE 120. Specifically, the single DCI may indicate to the UE 120 the corresponding scheduling beam to be used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions, where the corresponding scheduling beam means the desired transmit beam for performing each downlink transmission that the DCI schedules.

[0040] In step 320, the base station 110 may be configured to determine the corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions. Here, the corresponding actual beam means the transmit beam for which the base station 110 actually performs the corresponding downlink transmission. As will be further discussed below, the corresponding actual beam used for each determined downlink transmission may be the same as, or different from, the corresponding scheduled beam used for that downlink transmission, which is scheduled by DCI.

[0041] In step 330, the base station 110 may be configured to perform the corresponding downlink transmission among the multiple downlink transmissions using the determined corresponding actual beam. Specifically, if the determined corresponding actual beam is different from the corresponding scheduled beam, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit the corresponding downlink transmission to the UE 120 using the corresponding actual beam instead of the corresponding scheduled beam. If the determined corresponding actual beam is the same as the corresponding scheduled beam, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit the corresponding downlink transmission to the UE 120 using the corresponding scheduled beam as scheduled by DCI.

[0042] In some embodiments, the example of multiple downlink transmissions that can be scheduled in a single DCI may include multiple PDSCH transmissions. PDSCH transmissions may be used to carry downlink user data. In some other embodiments, the example of multiple downlink transmissions may include multiple aperiodic channel state information reference signal (Aperiodic CSI-RS, AP CSI-RS) transmissions. AP CSI-RS transmissions may be used to perform channel measurements (e.g., beam scanning) to acquire channel state information.

[0043] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, in step 310, the base station 110 may be configured to include Transmission Configuration Information (TCI) in a single DCI such that it indicates corresponding scheduling beams for a plurality of downlink transmissions associated with the UE 120. In some embodiments, the corresponding scheduling beams scheduled for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions may be different. In other embodiments, the corresponding scheduling beams scheduled for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions may be the same. This can advantageously save the overhead of indicating corresponding scheduling beams for each downlink transmission (e.g., occupying fewer fields in the DCI).

[0044] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station 110 may be configured to determine the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of a plurality of downlink transmissions based on one or more parameters relating to the capabilities of the UE 120. In some embodiments, the one or more parameters relating to the capabilities of the UE 120 may be reported to the base station 110 by the UE 120 when the UE 120 accesses the cellular network. In some other embodiments, the base station 110 may obtain the one or more parameters at any other appropriate time or by any other appropriate method.

[0045] In some embodiments, the one or more parameters that the UE120 reports to the base station 110 may indicate that the UE120 uses the same receive beam for multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by a single DCI. For example, the UE120 may transmit a first parameter to the base station 110, which indicates that the UE120 uses the same receive beam for all multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by a single DCI. To reduce beam switching of the UE120, the UE120 may transmit the first parameter if its capability is so weak that it cannot complete beam switching within a predetermined time. For example, the first parameter may be the sameBeamForPDSCH parameter related to PDSCH transmissions. Similar parameters may be defined for AP CSI-RS transmissions. The first parameter may be included in the report of the UE120's capability and transmitted to the base station 110. The base station 110 may be configured to determine, based on a first parameter related to the capabilities of the UE 120, that the corresponding actual beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions associated with the UE 120 is the same beam.

[0046] The same beam can be determined in any manner. For example, the base station 110 may be configured to determine the corresponding default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the multiple downlink transmissions as the same beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions. In other words, the base station 110 may first determine the corresponding default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission and then apply that default beam to each of the multiple downlink transmissions. In this disclosure, the default beam may refer to the beam that the base station 110 or UE 120 should use, as defined by a set of rules. Unlike corresponding scheduled beams that are dynamically scheduled by DCI, the default beam is not dynamically scheduled by DCI.

[0047] In some other embodiments, one or more parameters reported by UE120 to base station 110 may indicate that UE120 is permitted to use different beams for multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by a single DCI. UE120 may also transmit a second parameter to base station 110, which may indicate that UE120 is permitted to use different beams for multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by the DCI. For example, to enable beam switching, UE120 may transmit the second parameter if its capability is strong enough to complete beam switching within a predetermined time. As an example, the second parameter may be the separateBeamForPDSCH parameter related to PDSCH transmissions. Similar parameters may also be defined for AP CSI-RS transmissions. The second parameter may be transmitted to base station 110, for example, in a report of UE120's capability. Accordingly, the base station 110 may be configured to determine, based on a second parameter relating to the capabilities of the UE 120, that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions associated with the UE 120 may not all be the same, but may include different beams. It should be understood that the second parameter and the first parameter have a correspondence. In one embodiment, the first parameter and the second parameter may be reported to the base station 110 by the UE 120 as different parameter fields. In another embodiment, the first parameter and the second parameter may be reported to the base station 110 by the UE 120 as different values ​​of the same parameter field.

[0048] If the corresponding actual beams used for multiple downlink transmissions associated with UE120 may include different beams, base station 110 may be configured to determine each corresponding actual beam based on a third parameter related to the capabilities of UE120. The third parameter may indicate a time threshold required for UE120 to prepare the scheduling beam indicated by the DCI. Base station 110 may determine the time threshold based on the third parameter. For example, if the downlink transmission is a PDSCH transmission, base station 110 may be configured to determine the time threshold based on the timeDurationForQCL parameter reported by UE120. The timeDurationForQCL parameter may indicate the time required from the time UE120 receives the DCI until the beam indicated by the DCI for the PDSCH transmission is ready. Exemplary values ​​for the timeDurationForQCL parameter may include 7, 14, 28, or any other appropriate number of OFDM symbols. As another example, if the downlink transmission is AP CSI-RS transmission, base station 110 may be configured to determine the time threshold based on the beamSwitchTiming parameter reported by UE 120. Exemplary values ​​for the beamSwitchTiming parameter may include 14, 28, 42, or any other appropriate number of OFDM symbols. The beamSwitchTiming parameter may indicate the time required from the time UE 120 receives the DCI until it switches to the beam indicated by the DCI for AP CSI-RS transmission. Before the time threshold determined based on the third parameter, UE 120 may not be able to prepare (or switch to) the scheduling beam indicated by the DCI.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the base station 110 may be configured to temporally divide a plurality of downlink transmissions to be performed based on the time threshold. Specifically, the base station 110 may be configured to determine a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold. The base station 110 may anticipate that when performing the first group of downlink transmissions, the UE 120 will not have enough time to prepare / switch to the corresponding receive beam scheduled by the DCI, and when performing the second group of downlink transmissions, the UE 120 will have enough time to prepare / switch to the corresponding receive beam scheduled by the DCI. For this reason, for each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the base station 110 may be configured to use a default beam as the corresponding actual beam used for the downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduled beam indicated by the DCI. For each of the second group of downlink transmissions, the base station 110 may be configured to use the corresponding scheduled beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for the downlink transmission.

[0050] As previously mentioned, the default beam may be defined based on pre-configured rules rather than being dynamically scheduled by DCI. In some embodiments, the default beam may be determined based on the control channel monitored by UE120. For example, the default beam may be defined as the beam used for the most recently received control channel transmission (e.g., PDCCH transmission) by UE120. In this case, the default beam associated with different slots may be different. More specifically, for each slot, UE120 may be configured to determine the corresponding default beam associated with that slot based on the CORESET with the lowest ID in the recently monitored search space, where CORESET refers to the resource set used for downlink control channel transmissions. The corresponding default beam may be the beam corresponding to the CORESET with the lowest ID. Since each of the first group of downlink transmissions may be scheduled to a different slot, the corresponding default beams for each downlink transmission may be different from each other. In this case, if each of the first group of downlink transmissions uses the corresponding default beam associated with the slot in which it is located, UE120 may require frequent beam switching between each slot. If the slot length is shortened, this increases the demands on the capabilities of UE120 and increases the implementation complexity of UE120.

[0051] Therefore, the base station 110 may also be configured to determine whether the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same or different. For example, this determination may be based on a fourth parameter related to the capabilities of the UE 120. An example of the fourth parameter may be trackDefaultBeamForPDSCH related to PDSCH. Similar parameters may be defined for AP CSI-RS or other downlink transmissions. The fourth parameter may be transmitted to the base station 110, for example, in a report of the capabilities of the UE 120.

[0052] In some cases, base station 110 may receive instructions from UE 120 indicating that UE 120 is unable to or unwilling to perform beam switching. For example, base station 110 may receive a fourth parameter from UE 120, the value of which indicates that UE 120 desires that the same corresponding actual beam be used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions. Based on the value of the fourth parameter, base station 110 may be configured to use the same corresponding actual beam for each of the first group of downlink transmissions.

[0053] The same corresponding actual beam used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions can be determined in various ways. For example, the base station 110 may be configured to determine the default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions as the same corresponding actual beam, but is not limited to this. In other words, to avoid frequent beam switching, the base station 110 may first determine the default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission and then apply that default beam to each of the first group of downlink transmissions.

[0054] In some cases, base station 110 may receive instructions from UE 120 indicating that UE 120 can or will perform beam switching. For example, base station 110 may receive a fourth parameter from UE 120, the value of which may indicate that UE 120 is permitted to use different corresponding actual beams for each of the first group of downlink transmissions. This allows UE 120 to use a beam with better performance. Based on the value of the fourth parameter, base station 110 may be configured to use different corresponding actual beams for the first group of downlink transmissions.

[0055] Various methods can be used to determine the corresponding actual beam used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions. For example, base station 110 may, but is not limited to, be configured to use a default beam corresponding to each of the first group of downlink transmissions. For example, for each of the first group of downlink transmissions, base station 110 may determine the beam corresponding to the CORESET with the lowest ID in the search space most recently monitored by UE 120 as the corresponding default beam and use it as the corresponding actual beam used for that downlink transmission. The corresponding default beam may change with the slot.

[0056] Figure 4 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 400 may be used to implement the improved beam selection scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 400 may be performed on the UE120 side. Method 400 may include steps 410 to 430.

[0057] In step 410, UE120 may be configured to receive a single DCI from base station 110. This single DCI may be used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions associated with UE120. Specifically, the single DCI may indicate to UE120 the corresponding scheduling beam to be used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions. UE120 can determine the corresponding scheduling beam to be used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions by analyzing the information in the DCI (e.g., TCI). For UE120, the corresponding scheduling beam means the desired received beam to perform each downlink transmission scheduled by the DCI. As previously discussed, the corresponding scheduling beams scheduled for each downlink transmission may be different, and preferably the same.

[0058] In step 420, UE120 may be configured to determine the corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions. For UE120, the corresponding actual beam refers to the receiving beam that UE120 actually uses to receive the corresponding downlink transmission. As will be further discussed below, the corresponding actual beam used for each determined downlink transmission may be the same as, or different from, the corresponding scheduling beam used for that downlink transmission.

[0059] In step 430, UE120 may be configured to receive the corresponding downlink transmission from the plurality of downlink transmissions using the determined corresponding actual beam. Specifically, if the determined corresponding actual beam is different from the corresponding scheduled beam, UE120 may be configured to receive the corresponding downlink transmission from base station 110 using the corresponding actual beam instead of the corresponding scheduled beam. If the determined corresponding actual beam is the same as the corresponding scheduled beam, UE120 may be configured to receive the corresponding downlink transmission from base station 110 using the corresponding scheduled beam as scheduled by DCI.

[0060] As previously discussed, examples of multiple downlink transmissions that can be scheduled with a single DCI may include multiple PDSCH transmissions or multiple AP CSI-RS transmissions.

[0061] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE 120 may be configured to indicate to the base station 110 a beam selection scheme for multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by a single DCI by reporting to the base station 110 one or more parameters related to the capabilities of the UE 120 (e.g., one or more of the first to fourth parameters discussed earlier). For example, the UE 120 may be configured to report these parameters to the base station 110 when accessing a cellular network (or at any other appropriate time). When determining the appropriate actual beam for each of the multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by a single DCI, the UE 120 selects the appropriate actual beam based on the reported parameters to correspond to the beam selection scheme of the base station 110 discussed earlier.

[0062] In some embodiments, UE120 may be configured to determine that the corresponding actual beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions is the same beam. For example, if UE120's capability is insufficient to complete beam switching within a given time, UE120 may transmit a first parameter to base station 110 to avoid beam switching, the first parameter indicating that UE120 will use the same receive beam for all of the multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by a single DCI. As previously discussed, examples of the first parameter may include sameBeamForPDSCH related to PDSCH transmissions, or a similar parameter used for AP CSI-RS transmissions. In this case, UE120 may be configured to receive each of the multiple downlink transmissions using the same receive beam. For example, UE120 may be configured to determine that the corresponding default beam related to the earliest downlink transmission among the multiple downlink transmissions is the same beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions.

[0063] In some other embodiments, UE120 may be configured to determine that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions may include different beams. For example, if UE120 has sufficient capability to complete beam switching within a given time, UE120 may transmit a second parameter to base station 110 to enable beam switching, the second parameter indicating that UE120 is permitted to use different beams for the multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by DCI. As previously discussed, examples of the first parameter may include separateBeamForPDSCH related to PDSCH transmission, or a similar parameter used for AP CSI-RS transmission. In this case, UE120 may be configured to receive the multiple downlink transmissions using different receiving beams.

[0064] If UE120 determines that the corresponding actual beams used for multiple downlink transmissions associated with UE120 may include different beams, UE120 may further be configured to determine a time threshold related to the time required for UE120 to prepare the scheduling beam indicated by DCI. The time threshold may be determined based on the capabilities of UE120 itself. UE120 may be configured to transmit parameters related to the time threshold to base station 110 as third parameters. As previously discussed, examples of the third parameters may include the timeDurationForQCL parameter or the beamSwitchTiming parameter. UE120 may be configured to determine a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold. For each of the first group of downlink transmissions, UE120 may be configured to use a default beam as the corresponding actual beam used for the downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by a single DCI. For each of the second group of downlink transmissions, the UE120 may be configured to use the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for that downlink transmission.

[0065] As previously discussed, since each of the first group of downlink transmissions is scheduled to a different slot, the corresponding default beams for each downlink transmission may be different from one another. Based on its capabilities, UE120 may determine whether the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same beam or different beams, and indicate the result of this determination to base station 110. For example, UE120 may transmit a fourth parameter related to the result of this determination to base station 110.

[0066] In some cases, UE120 may send an instruction to base station 110 indicating that UE120 cannot or does not wish to perform beam switching for the first group of downlink transmissions. For example, UE120 may send a fourth parameter to base station 110 and receive a fourth parameter from base station 110, the value of which indicates that UE120 wishes the same corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions (i.e., no beam switching). Accordingly, UE120 may be configured to receive each of the first group of downlink transmissions using the same beam. The same beam can be determined in various ways. For example, in response to determining that the same corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions is the same, UE120 may be configured to determine the default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions as the same beam.

[0067] In some other cases, UE120 may transmit an instruction to base station 110 indicating that UE120 can or wants to perform beam switching for the first group of downlink transmissions. For example, UE120 may transmit a fourth parameter to base station 110 and receive a fourth parameter from base station 110, the value of which indicates that UE120 allows a different corresponding actual beam to be used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions. Accordingly, UE120 may be configured to receive the first group of downlink transmissions using different beams. For example, UE120 may be configured to use a default beam corresponding to each of the first group of downlink transmissions for that downlink transmission, but is not limited to this. For example, in response to the decision that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions may be different beams, for each of the first group of downlink transmissions, UE120 may determine the beam corresponding to the CORESET with the lowest ID in the search space most recently monitored by UE120 as the default beam for that downlink transmission and use it as the corresponding actual beam used for that downlink transmission. In this case, the corresponding actual beam (i.e., the corresponding default beam) used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions may change with the slot.

[0068] Figures 5A to 5C show schematic diagrams of several applications of the improved beam selection method according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0069] Figure 5A shows a single DCI 510 and a number of downlink transmissions 520-1 to 520-4 (collectively referred to as 520) scheduled by the DCI. These downlink transmissions 520-1 to 520-4 are temporally sequential. In this example, the number of downlink transmissions 520 are divided based on a time threshold 530 into a first group of downlink transmissions (520-1, 520-2) located before the time threshold 530 and a second group of downlink transmissions (520-3, 520-4) located after the time threshold 530. For the second group of downlink transmissions, the UE 120 has sufficient time to prepare the corresponding receive beams scheduled by the DCI 510, so it can execute downlink transmissions 520-3, 520-4 using the corresponding scheduled beams 540-3, 540-4 indicated by the DCI 510, respectively. Default beams 550-1 and 550-2 are used to execute downlink transmissions 520-1 and 520-2 of the first group of downlink transmissions. In some examples, default beams 550-1 and 550-2 may be the same beam, and this same beam may be default beam 550-1 associated with the earliest downlink transmission 520-1 of the first group of downlink transmissions. In this case, beam switching may occur only between transmissions 520-2 and 520-3. In some other examples, default beams 550-1 and 550-2 may be different beams. Therefore, beam switching may also occur between transmissions 520-1 and 520-2.

[0070] Figure 5B shows a special embodiment in which multiple downlink transmissions 520-1 to 520-4 scheduled by a single DCI are all located before the time threshold 530 and are thus all classified as the first group of downlink transmissions. In this example, the same beam is used for each of the downlink transmissions 520-1 to 520-4 within the first group of downlink transmissions. This same beam may also be the default beam 550-1 associated with the earliest downlink transmission 520-1 within the first group of downlink transmissions. In this example, beam switching is not required.

[0071] Figure 5C shows a scenario similar to Figure 5B. In this scenario, multiple downlink transmissions 520-1 to 520-4 scheduled by a single DCI are all located before the time threshold 530 and are thus all classified as the first group of downlink transmissions. Unlike the embodiment in Figure 5B, in the embodiment in Figure 5C, different corresponding default beams 550-1 to 550-4 are used for each of the downlink transmissions 520-1 to 520-4 within the first group of downlink transmissions. In this example, beam switching is required in response to changes in the default beam associated with different transmissions.

[0072] Figures 5A to 5C show only one or more exemplary scenarios of the improved beam selection scheme of the Disclosure, illustrating one or more aspects of the Disclosure, but not all aspects. Furthermore, while Figures 5A to 5C show an embodiment in which a single DCI schedules four transmissions, in other embodiments a single DCI may schedule more or fewer transmissions. The length of the time threshold 530 may also vary.

[0073] This section describes the various beams used for downlink transmission for base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. It should be understood that the beams described for base station 110 are transmit beams available for base station 110 to transmit downlink transmissions, and the beams described for UE 120 are receive beams available for UE 120 to receive downlink transmissions. It should also be understood that the transmit and receive beams associated with the same downlink transmission may be a matched beam pair. For example, the corresponding scheduling beams of base station 110 and UE 120 associated with the same downlink transmission may not be the same beam, but rather a matched transmit-receive beam pair.

[0074] The improved beam selection scheme of this disclosure provides a flexible beam selection mechanism. This beam selection mechanism is particularly suited to scenarios where a single DCI schedules multiple downlink transmissions. This beam selection mechanism enables the determination of an appropriate and corresponding actual beam for each of the multiple downlink transmissions. For example, the appropriate and corresponding actual beam can be determined based on the capabilities of the UE. In the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band, the slot length decreases, which places a higher demand on the capabilities of the UE (e.g., beam switching capability). The improved beam selection scheme of this disclosure enables UEs with different capabilities to all adapt to this characteristic in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band.

[0075] Furthermore, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to a specific bandwidth. These embodiments can be applied to any appropriate bandwidth other than the 52.6GHz–71GHz band.

[0076] [3. Improved cross-slot transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI] [3.1. Improved cross-slot CSI-RS transmission system scheduled by a single DCI] In the Rel.15 and Rel.16 protocols, a single DCI can trigger only one trigger state. This trigger state may indicate multiple reference signal resource sets used for multiple CSI-RS transmissions. Each of these reference signal resource sets is associated with a corresponding reporting setting. Therefore, these multiple reference signal resource sets are associated with multiple different reporting settings. Accordingly, multiple CSI reports are triggered for multiple CSI-RS transmissions triggered by the single DCI. Improved cross-slot CSI-RS transmissions are required.

[0077] Figure 6 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 600 may be used to implement improved cross-slot CSI-RS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 600 may be performed on the base station 110 side. Method 600 may include steps 610 to 630.

[0078] In step 610, the base station 110 may be configured to send a single DCI to the UE 120. This single DCI may represent multiple CSI-RS resource sets spanning multiple slots. These multiple CSI-RS resource sets may be associated with the same reporting configuration; that is, each of the multiple CSI-RS resource sets is associated with the same reporting configuration rather than each being associated with a different one. Specifically, these multiple CSI-RS resource sets may be associated with the same CSI ReportConfig parameter. Alternatively, the CSI ReportConfig parameter associated with each of the multiple CSI-RS resource sets may be set to the same value. In step 620, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit CSI-RS transmissions to the UE 120 using the corresponding set of CSI-RS resources from the plurality of CSI-RS resource sets in each of the plurality of slots. The CSI-RS transmissions scheduled by DCI are aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions, i.e., AP CSI-RS transmissions. The transmitted plurality of CSI-RS transmissions can be used to measure downlink channel quality. Since the plurality of CSI-RS transmissions span multiple slots, the measurement can also span multiple slots. The measurement in each slot can provide a corresponding measurement result based on the CSI-RS transmissions in that slot.

[0079] In step 630, the base station 110 may be configured to receive CSI reports from the UE 120 relating to the measurements of the multiple slots, in reports based on the same reporting settings. Multiple measurement results spanning multiple slots may be integrated to generate a CSI report. The CSI report may describe channel state information obtained based on multiple CSI-RS transmissions spanning multiple slots. Since each of the multiple CSI-RS resource sets is associated with the same reporting settings, measurement results obtained based on CSI-RS transmissions transmitted using each CSI-RS resource set may be associated with the same reporting settings. The UE 120 may send the CSI report to the base station 110 in a single report based on the reporting settings. This avoids multiple reports with multiple different reporting settings and saves overhead.

[0080] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station 110 may be configured to set the value of the Repetition parameter for each CSI-RS resource set to OFF. The value of the Repetition parameter may indicate whether all CSI-RS resources in the CSI-RS resource set are used to measure the same beam or multiple beams. An ON value for the Repetition parameter indicates that repetition is turned on, i.e., all CSI-RS resources in the CSI-RS resource set are used to repeatedly transmit the same beam. An OFF value for the Repetition parameter indicates that repetition is turned off, i.e., each CSI-RS resource in the CSI-RS resource set is used to transmit multiple different beams. For example, to perform beam scanning, based on the OFF value of the Repetition parameter, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit multiple transmit beams using each CSI-RS resource in one CSI-RS resource set in each slot.

[0081] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the CSI report received by the base station 110 in step 630 is generated based on measurements in each of a plurality of slots. The measurements in each slot may be based on the transmit beam of the base station 110 and the receive beam of the UE 120 in that slot. As previously stated, in order to perform beam scanning, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit multiple transmit beams in each slot. However, the UE 120 may not be able to receive the CSI-RS transmission using multiple receive beams. This is because, in particular, when the length of the slots is short, the UE 120 may not have sufficient capability to complete beam switching between multiple receive beams in a single slot. For this reason, the UE 120 may be configured to receive the CSI-RS transmission using a single receive beam in each of the plurality of slots in order to avoid beam switching in a single slot. The UE 120 may use different single receive beams in each of the plurality of slots. For example, the single receive beam in the first slot may be different from the single receive beam in the second slot. In this case, the UE120 can distribute multiple received beams across multiple slots and complete beam scanning across multiple slots (rather than within a single slot).

[0082] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the base station 110 and UE120 may be configured to operate in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. As previously discussed, the slot length is shortened in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. The shortened slot length places a relatively high demand on the beam switching capability of the UE120. By distributing the multiple received beams of the UE120 across multiple slots, the UE120 does not need to complete multiple beam switching operations in a single slot, thereby easing the demands on the capability of the UE120 and reducing the implementation complexity of the UE120.

[0083] Figure 7 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 700 may be used to implement the improved cross-slot CSI-RS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 700 may be performed on the UE120 side. Method 700 may include steps 710 to 730.

[0084] In step 710, UE120 may be configured to receive a single DCI from base station 110. This single DCI may represent multiple CSI-RS resource sets spanning multiple slots, and these multiple CSI-RS resource sets may be associated with the same reporting configuration.

[0085] In step 720, the UE 120 may be configured to receive and perform measurements in each of the plurality of slots by receiving CSI-RS transmissions transmitted from the base station 110 using the corresponding CSI-RS resource set from the plurality of CSI-RS resource sets. Since the plurality of CSI-RS transmissions span multiple slots, the measurement process can also span multiple slots. Measurements in each slot can provide corresponding measurement results based on the CSI-RS transmissions in that slot.

[0086] In step 730, UE 120 may be configured to send a CSI report to base station 110 in a report based on the same reporting settings, relating to the measurements of multiple slots. UE 120 may be configured to generate a CSI report by integrating multiple measurement results across multiple slots. The CSI report may describe channel state information obtained based on multiple CSI-RS transmissions across slots. Preferably, UE 120 may be configured to send the CSI report to base station 110 in a single report based on the same reporting settings.

[0087] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the value of the Repetition parameter for each CSI-RS resource set may be set to OFF. Based on this parameter value, the UE 120 may determine that the base station 110 is configured to transmit multiple transmit beams using each CSI-RS resource of one CSI-RS resource set in each slot.

[0088] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the UE120 may be configured to perform measurements using a different single receive beam in each of a plurality of slots. Specifically, the UE120 may be configured to receive a CSI-RS transmission transmitted by the base station 110 using multiple transmit beams using a single receive beam in each slot. Based on such reception, the UE120 can generate measurement results relevant to that slot. In this manner, the UE120 can distribute multiple receive beams across multiple slots, thereby completing beam scanning across multiple slots (rather than within a single slot). The UE120 can avoid performing beam switching in a single slot. As previously discussed, when the slot length is short (for example, when the UE120 operates in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band), such a design can reduce the implementation complexity of the UE120.

[0089] Figure 8A shows an example of a cross-slot CSI-RS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI. In this example, a single DCI 810 can schedule multiple CSI-RS transmissions, e.g., CSI-RS transmissions 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3, through a single trigger state. CSI-RS transmissions 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3 are scheduled to slots 820-1, 820-2, and 820-3, respectively. Each CSI-RS transmission 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3 is associated with a corresponding reporting setting 840-1, 840-2, and 840-3, respectively. As a result, for multiple CSI-RS transmissions scheduled by a single DCI 810, three reports are triggered, each associated with reporting settings 840-1, 840-2, and 840-3.

[0090] Figure 8B shows an example of an improved cross-slot CSI-RS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to Figure 8A, a single DCI 810 can schedule multiple CSI-RS transmissions, e.g., CSI-RS transmissions 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3, through a single trigger state. CSI-RS transmissions 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3 are scheduled to slots 820-1, 820-2, and 820-3, respectively. Unlike Figure 8A, in the example of Figure 8B, each CSI-RS transmission 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3 is associated with the same reporting setting 840, which may trigger only a single report 850. Such a scheme can reduce the overhead of setting up reporting settings and arranging CSI reports.

[0091] In the example in Figure 8B, the transmit and receive beams used by the base station 110 and UE 120 in each slot are further shown. In the first slot 820-1, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit CSI-RS transmissions and perform beam scanning using the first group of transmit beams 860-1. Meanwhile, the UE 120 may receive these CSI-RS transmissions using only a single receive beam 870-1. Measurement results related to the first slot may be based on the first group of transmit beams 860-1 and receive beam 870-1. In the second slot 820-2, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit CSI-RS transmissions and perform beam scanning using the second group of transmit beams 860-2. Meanwhile, the UE 120 may receive these CSI-RS transmissions using only a single receive beam 870-2. Measurement results related to the second slot may be based on the second group of transmit beams 860-2 and receive beam 870-2. In the third slot 820-3, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit CSI-RS transmissions and perform beam scanning using the third group of transmit beams 860-3. On the other hand, the UE 120 may receive these CSI-RS transmissions using only a single receive beam 870-3. Measurement results related to the third slot may be based on the third group of transmit beams 860-3 and receive beams 870-3. The CSI report 850 may be generated based on the integration of measurement results for the first to third slots. In this example, the three receive beams 870-1, 870-2, and 870-3 of the UE 120 are distributed across three slots so that the UE 120 does not need to perform beam switching in a single slot.

[0092] The improved cross-slot CSI-RS transmission scheme of this disclosure reduces the overhead associated with CSI-RS setup and CSI reporting. Furthermore, one or more preferred embodiments of this scheme enable the UE to adapt to shortened slot lengths (e.g., in the 52.6 GHz–71 GHz band). However, embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to specific bands. Embodiments of this disclosure are applicable to any suitable band beyond the 52.6 GHz–71 GHz band.

[0093] [3.2. Improved multi-slot SSB transmission scheduled by a single DCI] Multi-slot SSB transmissions scheduled by a single DCI face problems similar to those of the multi-slot CSI-RS described above. This disclosure provides an improved multi-slot SSB transmission scheduled by a single DCI.

[0094] Figure 9 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 900 may be used to implement improved multi-slot SSB transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 900 may be performed on the base station 110 side.

[0095] Method 900 may include steps 910 to 930. In step 910, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit a single DCI to the UE 120. The single DCI may be configured to schedule multiple SSB resources into multiple slots. In step 920, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit SSB transmissions to the UE 120 in each of the multiple slots.

[0096] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station 110 may be configured to perform downlink beam scanning by performing SSB transmission using multiple transmit beams in different directions corresponding to the multiple SSB resources in each of the multiple slots. In other words, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit SSB transmission by switching between multiple transmit beams in different directions in a single slot.

[0097] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the downlink beam scan in each of the plurality of slots may be based on a corresponding single receive beam of the UE. The base station 110 may use multiple transmit beams in different directions in each slot, while the UE 120 may be configured to use only a corresponding single receive beam in each slot. Furthermore, the corresponding receive beams used by the UE 120 in different slots may be different. The downlink beam scan in each slot may be based on multiple transmit beams in different directions transmitted by the base station 110 in that slot and a single receive beam used by the UE 120. In other words, the base station 110 can scan multiple transmit beams in a single slot. On the other hand, the UE 120 is configured to scan multiple receive beams across multiple slots (but not within a single slot).

[0098] Figure 10 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1000 may be used to implement the improved multi-slot SSB transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1000 may be performed on the UE120 side.

[0099] Method 1000 may include steps 1010 and 1020. In step 1010, UE 120 may be configured to receive a single DCI from base station 110. The single DCI may be configured to schedule multiple SSB resources into multiple slots. In step 1020, UE 120 may be configured to receive SSB transmissions in each of the multiple slots.

[0100] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the UE120 may be configured to receive SSB transmissions from the base station 110 using a single receive beam in each slot. The corresponding receive beams used by the UE120 in different slots may be different. In this manner, the UE120 is configured to scan multiple receive beams across multiple slots (but not within a single slot).

[0101] As previously mentioned, unlike the UE, the base station 110 can use multiple transmit beams in different directions in each slot. Therefore, the SSB transmission that the UE 120 receives from the base station 110 in each slot is transmitted by the base station 110 using multiple transmit beams in different directions corresponding to the multiple SSB resources.

[0102] Figure 11 shows an example of an improved cross-slot SSB transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, a single DCI 1110 can schedule multiple SSB transmissions, for example, SSB transmissions 1130-1, 1130-2, and 1130-3. SSB transmissions 1130-1, 1130-2, and 1130-3 are scheduled in consecutive slots 1120-1, 1120-2, and 1120-3, respectively. In the first slot 1120-1, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit the SSB transmission using a first group of transmit beams 1140-1. On the other hand, the UE 120 may receive these SSB transmissions using only a single receive beam 1170-1. Measurement results related to the first slot may be based on the first group of transmit beams 1140-1 and receive beams 1170-1. In the second slot 1120-2, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit SSB transmissions using the second group of transmit beams 1140-2. On the other hand, the UE 120 may receive these SSB transmissions using only a single receive beam 1170-2. Measurement results related to the second slot may be based on the second group of transmit beams 1140-2 and receive beam 1170-2. In the third slot 1120-3, the base station 110 may be configured to transmit SSB transmissions using the third group of transmit beams 1140-3. The UE 120 may receive these SSB transmissions using only a single receive beam 1170-3. Measurement results related to the third slot may be based on the third group of transmit beams 1140-3 and receive beam 1170-3. In this example, the three receive beams 1170-1, 1170-2, and 1170-3 of the UE 120 are distributed across three slots, so beam switching is not required in a single slot.

[0103] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the base station 110 and UE120 may be configured to operate in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. As previously discussed, the slot length may be shortened in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. By distributing the multiple receive beams of UE120 across multiple slots, UE120 is no longer required to complete multiple beam switching in a single shortened slot. This reduces the requirements for beam switching capability of UE120 and lowers the implementation complexity of UE120. However, embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to a specific band. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to any suitable band other than the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band.

[0104] [3.3. Improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI] Cross-slot SRS transmission schemes scheduled by a single DCI face problems similar to those of multi-slot CSI-RS transmissions and SSBs described above. This disclosure provides an improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI.

[0105] Figure 12 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 1200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1200 may be used to implement an improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1200 may be performed on the base station 110 side.

[0106] Method 1200 may include steps 1210 and 1220. In step 1210, base station 110 may be configured to transmit a single DCI to UE 120. The single DCI may be configured to trigger an SRS resource set containing multiple SRS resources and to schedule the multiple SRS resources into multiple slots. In step 1220, base station 110 may be configured to receive SRS transmissions from UE 120 in each of the multiple slots.

[0107] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the multiple SRS resources are scheduled into multiple slots. This allows the UE120 to transmit using only one of the multiple SRS resources in each of the multiple slots. For example, each slot may be assigned one SRS resource for the UE120 to use. Accordingly, the UE120 transmits the SRS transmission using only the transmit beam corresponding to that one SRS resource in each slot. Unlike the UE120, the base station 110 may be configured to receive SRS transmissions from the UE120 using multiple receive beams corresponding to all SRS resources in the SRS resource set in each slot. The above embodiment is particularly suitable for scenarios with short slot lengths. For example, for 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz, subcarrier SCS with a width of 480 kHz or 960 kHz may be employed. Relatively wide subcarrier widths facilitate the utilization of spectral resources but shorten the duration of OFDM symbols. Accordingly, the length of each slot becomes shorter. In this case, if the UE120 requires frequent beam switching within a single slot, the implementation complexity of the UE increases significantly.

[0108] If the subcarrier width is relatively narrow (e.g., 120 kHz) and the slot length is relatively wide, alternatively, more than one SRS resource may be allocated to each slot for use by UE120. These more than one SRS resources may be a subset of the aforementioned SRS resource set, or even the SRS resource set itself. In this case, UE120 may transmit SRS transmissions using more than one of the multiple SRS resources in each of the multiple slots. Accordingly, UE120 can transmit SRS transmissions using more than one transmit beam in each slot corresponding to these more than one SRS resource. In this case, as previously considered, base station 110 may be configured to receive SRS transmissions from UE120 using multiple receive beams in each slot corresponding to all SRS resources in the SRS resource set.

[0109] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the base station 110 may be configured to determine whether to restrict the UE 120 from transmitting an SRS transmission using only one SRS resource in a single slot, based on the width of the subcarrier currently in use. For example, if the subcarrier width is relatively wide (480 kHz or 960 kHz), the UE 120 may be restricted from transmitting an SRS transmission using only one SRS resource in a single slot. If the subcarrier width is relatively narrow (120 kHz), the UE 120 may be allowed to transmit an SRS transmission using more than one SRS resource in a single slot.

[0110] Figure 13 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 1300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1300 may be used to implement an improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1300 may be performed on the UE 120 side.

[0111] Method 1300 may include steps 1310 and 1320. In step 1310, UE 120 may be configured to receive a single DCI from base station 110. The single DCI may be configured to trigger an SRS resource set containing multiple SRS resources and to schedule the multiple SRS resources into multiple slots. In step 1320, UE 120 may be configured to transmit an SRS transmission to base station 110 in each of the multiple slots. By transmitting the SRS transmission, UE 120 can complete uplink beam scanning, codebook or non-codebook based transmission, uplink positioning, or switching of UE 120's transmitting antenna.

[0112] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the UE120 may be configured to transmit SRS transmissions using only one of several SRS resources in each of the multiple slots. This eliminates the need for the UE120 to perform beam switching in a single slot. Such a configuration can be applied, for example, when the subcarrier width is relatively wide (e.g., 480 kHz or 960 kHz).

[0113] According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE120 may be configured to transmit SRS transmissions using more SRS resources than one of the multiple SRS resources in each of the multiple slots. Accordingly, the UE120 can transmit SRS transmissions using more than one transmit beam corresponding to the more than one SRS resource in each slot. This allows the UE120 to perform a predetermined number of beam switches in a single slot. Such a configuration can be applied, for example, when the subcarrier width is relatively narrow (e.g., 120 kHz).

[0114] According to embodiments of the present invention, the number of SRS resources allocated to a single slot may be negatively correlated with the subcarrier width and / or positively correlated with the UE120 capability. In other words, when relatively wide subcarriers are used, the number of SRS resources allocated to a single slot may be relatively small (e.g., one). Also, when the UE120 capability is relatively weak, the number of SRS resources allocated to a single slot may be relatively small (e.g., one).

[0115] Figure 14A shows an example of an improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 14A, a single DCI 1410 can schedule multiple SRS transmissions, for example, SRS transmissions 1430-1, 1430-2, and 1430-3. SRS transmissions 1430-1, 1430-2, and 1430-3 are scheduled in consecutive slots 1420-1, 1420-2, and 1420-3, respectively. Each of the slots 1420-1, 1420-2, and 1420-3 may be relatively short. In the first slot 1420-1, the base station 140 may be configured to receive the SRS transmission using a group of receive beams 1440. On the other hand, the UE 120 may transmit the SRS transmission using only a single transmit beam 1450-1. The measurement results associated with the first slot may be based on one group of receive beams 1440 and transmit beam 1450-1. In the second slot 1420-2, the base station 140 may be configured to receive SRS transmissions using one group of receive beams 1440. On the other hand, the UE 120 may transmit SRS transmissions using only a single transmit beam 1450-2. The measurement results associated with the second slot may be based on one group of receive beams 1440 and transmit beam 1450-2. In the third slot 1420-3, the base station 140 may be configured to receive SRS transmissions using one group of receive beams 1440. On the other hand, the UE 120 may transmit SRS transmissions using only a single transmit beam 1450-3. The measurement results associated with the third slot may be based on one group of receive beams 1440 and transmit beam 1450-3. In this example, the multiple transmit beams of the UE 120 are distributed across multiple slots. This avoids performing beam switching in a single slot. In some embodiments, a group of received beams 1440 used by the base station 110 in each of the first slot 1420-1, second slot 1420-2, and third slot 1420-2 may be, for example, the same group of beams used for uplink beam scanning.In other embodiments, the group of received beams 1440 used by the base station 110 in each slot may vary across slots, but is not limited to this.

[0116] Figure 14B shows another example of an improved cross-slot SRS transmission scheme scheduled by a single DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 14B, a single DCI 1410 can schedule multiple SRS transmissions, for example, SRS transmissions 1430-1, 1430-2, and 1430-3. SRS transmissions 1430-1, 1430-2, and 1430-3 are scheduled in consecutive slots 1420-1, 1420-2, and 1420-3, respectively. Unlike the example in Figure 14A, in Figure 14B, each of the slots 1420-1, 1420-2, and 1420-3 may be relatively long. In the first slot 1420-1, the base station 140 may be configured to receive the SRS transmission using one group of receive beams 1440. Meanwhile, the UE 120 may transmit the SRS transmission using one group of transmit beams 1450-1. In the second slot 1420-2, the base station 140 may be configured to receive SRS transmissions using one group of receive beams 1440. Meanwhile, the UE 120 may transmit SRS transmissions using one group of transmit beams 1450-2. In the third slot 1420-3, the base station 140 may be configured to receive SRS transmissions using one group of receive beams 1440. Meanwhile, the UE 120 may transmit SRS transmissions using one group of transmit beams 1450-3. The transmit beams 1450-1, 1450-2, and 1450-3 of each group may correspond to one subset of SRS resources that may contain one or more SRS resources from a set of SRS resources scheduled by a single DCI 1410.

[0117] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the base station 110 and UE120 may be configured to operate in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. In the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band, a relatively wide subcarrier width and a shortened slot length are expected to be employed. Embodiments of this disclosure reduce the implementation complexity of the UE120 by distributing the multiple transmit beams of the UE120 across multiple slots, thereby easing the requirements for the beam switching capability of the UE120. Embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to a specific band. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to any suitable band other than the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band.

[0118] [4. Signal / channel transmission methods triggered / activated by COT] In the Rel.16 unlicensed bandwidth design, network-side equipment (e.g., base station) is responsible for monitoring the channel and determining the specific time period during which the channel is available as the COT. The network-side equipment informs the UE of this specific time period via a COT message in DCI. Some signal or channel transmissions between the base station and the UE may occur outside of this specific time period. When such a situation arises, transmissions outside the specific time period can typically be rescheduled using additional DCI signaling. Such a method requires additional signaling overhead. This disclosure provides an improved embodiment of signal / channel transmissions that are triggered / activated by the COT.

[0119] [4.1. Signal / Channel Transmission Methods Triggered by COT] Figure 15 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 1500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1500 may be used to implement a COT-triggered signal / channel transmission scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1500 may be performed on the base station 110 side. Method 1500 may include steps 1510 to 1540.

[0120] In step 1510, the base station 110 may be configured to set a first offset amount which may be related to a first transmission between the base station 110 and the UE 120. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the first transmission may be an uplink transmission or a downlink transmission. The first transmission may also be a signal transmission or a channel transmission. The first offset amount may be related to a time quantity. The first offset amount may be expressed in various ways. For example, the first offset amount may be described in time units such as nanoseconds, microseconds, milliseconds, or the number of OFDM symbols. In other examples, the first offset amount may be described as a percentage.

[0121] In step 1520, the base station 110 may be configured to set a COT associated with the base station 110 and the UE 120. The COT may indicate a specific time period during which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. Communication between the base station 110 and the UE 120 is not permitted outside of the COT. The COT may be transmitted between the base station 110 and the UE 120 in a COT message. For example, the COT message may include the start time and duration of the COT. In some embodiments, the base station 110 may generate and send the COT message to the UE 120. The COT message may be sent to the UE 120 by DCI (e.g., DCI_2.0). In some other embodiments, the base station 110 may receive the COT message from the UE 120.

[0122] In step 1530, the base station 110 may be configured to calculate a specific time used for the first transmission based on the COT and a first offset amount. The specific time may be obtained by combining the COT and the first offset amount in any preset manner. For example, the specific time may be calculated as a time offset by the first offset amount backward from the start time of the COT, or a time offset by the first offset amount forward from the end time of the COT. If the first offset amount is a percentage, the specific time may be calculated as a time when a predetermined percentage of the duration of the COT has elapsed from the start time of the COT.

[0123] In step 1540, the base station 110 may be configured to perform a first transmission at a calculated specific time. In some embodiments, the first transmission may be a downlink transmission, and the base station 110 performing the first transmission means that the base station 110 sends the first transmission to the UE 120. In some other embodiments, the first transmission may be an uplink transmission, and the base station 110 performing the first transmission means that the base station 110 receives the first transmission from the UE 120. The execution of the first transmission may be performed automatically when the specific time is reached, without requiring any additional dynamic signaling triggers. For example, the base station 110 may turn on a timer after entering COT. The timer expires after a first offset amount. When the timer expires, the base station 110 may perform the first transmission.

[0124] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing the first transmission, the base station 110 may further determine whether the calculated specific time falls within a specific time period indicated by the COT. In response to determining that the calculated specific time falls within a specific time period indicated by the COT, the base station 110 may be configured to perform the first transmission during that specific time. In response to determining that the calculated specific time falls outside that specific time period (for example, if the first offset amount is greater than the duration of the COT), the base station 110 may be configured to abandon performing the first transmission.

[0125] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the first offset amount can be set in a variety of suitable ways. For example, the first offset amount may be set by RRC signaling, COT messages, or a combination thereof.

[0126] In some embodiments, the first offset amount may be set by RRC signaling. For example, base station 110 may be configured to set information related to the first offset amount in the RRC signaling and transmit the RRC signaling to UE 120. The information related to the first offset amount in the RRC signaling may be the first offset amount itself. Since the RRC signaling belongs to the upper layer signaling, in such a setting scheme, the first offset amount has relatively low dynamics. In this case, if the information related to the first offset amount is not reset by a new RRC signaling, multiple COTs associated with base station 110 and UE 120 will be associated with the same first offset amount.

[0127] In some other embodiments, the first offset amount may be set by a COT message. For example, the first offset amount may be included in a COT message along with the COT and transmitted between the base station 110 and the UE 120. In this case, each COT associated with the base station 110 and the UE 120 has a specific first offset amount value for that COT. The value of the first offset amount is set by a COT message indicating that COT. The first offset amounts associated with different COTs may be different or the same. In some embodiments, the COT message may be transmitted via DCI, so the first offset amount in such a setting scheme has relatively high dynamics.

[0128] In other embodiments, the first offset amount may be set based on both RRC signaling and COT messages. For example, base station 110 may set a list containing multiple selectable offset amounts in the RRC signaling. Alternatively, an offset amount index may be set using COT messages. The selectable offset amount corresponding to the offset amount index in the list of selectable offset amounts may be set as the first offset amount. Setting the list of selectable offset amounts has relatively low dynamics. On the other hand, setting the offset amount index may have relatively high dynamics.

[0129] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the magnitude of the first offset amount may be set based on the priority of the UE120. Different first offset amounts may be set for multiple UE120s having different priorities. A smaller first offset amount may be set for a UE120 with a higher priority. This allows the base station 110 and the UE120 to perform the first transmission as soon as possible after entering the COT. A larger first offset amount may be set for a UE120 with a lower priority. This causes the first transmission between the base station 110 and the UE120 to be performed relatively late in the COT, in the next COT, or not performed at all.

[0130] Selectively, the COT message may further include an instruction on whether or not to trigger the first transmission. If the COT message indicates not to trigger the first transmission, the base station 110 may abandon performing the first transmission. Otherwise, the base station 110 may perform the first transmission at a calculated specific time.

[0131] In some embodiments, the base station 110 may generate the COT message. In these embodiments, the base station 110 may be configured to perform a Listen Before Talk (LBT) operation to determine a specific time period in which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, i.e., the COT associated with the base station 110 and the UE 120. For example, the base station 110 may be configured to detect the energy of a channel in the unlicensed band and determine the time period in which the channel energy falls below a threshold as the COT in which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate. The base station 110 may include the determined COT in the COT message and transmit the COT message to the UE 120 via DCI. Optionally, as previously stated, the base station 110 may include information related to the first offset amount in the generated COT message.

[0132] In these embodiments, the first transmission may include various downlink transmissions. In some examples, the first transmission may be a Downlink Reference Signal (DL RS) transmission. A DL RS transmission triggered by COT may be used to perform channel measurements. One or more transmissions of an existing periodic CSI-RS transmission may be outside the COT, resulting in missing channel measurements. To compensate for the missing channel measurements, a DL RS transmission triggered by COT may be used in place of or in combination with a periodic CSI-RS transmission. In some other examples, the first transmission may be a PDSCH transmission. A PDSCH transmission triggered by COT may be used to transmit downlink user data. Existing semi-static PDSCH (SP PDSCH) transmissions are periodic, and one or more of these PDSCH transmissions may be outside the COT and therefore cannot be performed. To ensure the reliability of PDSCH transmission, COT-triggered PDSCH transmission may be used instead of, or in combination with, semi-static PDSCH transmission. In some other embodiments, the base station 110 may receive a COT message from the UE 120. The COT message may include a COT determined by the UE 120 based on LBT operation. Optionally, the COT message may further include information relating to a first offset amount. In this case, the base station 110 may extract the information relating to the first offset amount from the COT message and, accordingly, set a first offset amount to be used by the base station 110 based on that information.

[0133] In these embodiments, the first transmission may include various uplink transmissions. In some examples, the first transmission may include an uplink reference signal (UL RS) transmission. The UL RS transmission, triggered by the COT, may be used in place of or in combination with an existing periodic uplink reference signal transmission. In some other examples, the first transmission may include a PUSCH transmission. The PUSCH transmission, triggered by the COT, may be used in place of or in combination with an existing semi-static PUSCH (SP PUSCH) transmission. In some other examples, the first transmission may further include a PUCCH transmission. The PUCCH transmission, triggered by the COT, may be used in place of or in combination with an existing semi-static PUCCH (SP PUCCH) transmission.

[0134] Figure 16 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 1600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1600 may be used to implement a COT-triggered signal / channel transmission scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1600 may be performed on the UE 120 side. Method 1600 may include steps 1610 to 1640.

[0135] In step 1610, UE120 may be configured to set a first offset amount which may be related to a first transmission between base station 110 and UE120. As previously stated, the first transmission may be an uplink transmission, e.g., UL RS transmission, PUCCH transmission, PUSCH transmission, etc. Alternatively, the first transmission may be a downlink transmission, e.g., DL RS transmission, PDSCH transmission, etc. The first transmission may be a signal transmission, e.g., UL RS transmission, DL RS transmission, etc. Alternatively, the first transmission may be a channel transmission, e.g., PUCCH transmission, PUSCH transmission, PDSCH transmission, etc.

[0136] In step 1620, UE120 may be configured to set a COT associated with the base station and UE120. The COT may indicate a specific time period during which base station 110 and UE120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. Base station 110 and UE120 are not permitted to communicate outside of the COT. The COT may be transmitted between base station 110 and UE120 in a COT message. In some embodiments, UE120 may receive a COT message from base station 110. In some other embodiments, UE120 may generate and send a COT message to base station 110.

[0137] In step 1630, UE120 may be configured to calculate a specific time used for the first transmission based on the COT and a first offset amount. The specific time may be obtained by combining the COT and the first offset amount in any preset manner. For example, the specific time may be calculated as the sum of the start time of the COT and the first offset amount, or as the difference between the end time of the COT and the first offset amount. If the first offset amount is also a percentage, the specific time may be calculated as the time elapsed from the start time of the COT to a predetermined percentage of the duration of the COT.

[0138] In step 1640, the UE 120 may be configured to perform a first transmission at a calculated specific time. If the first transmission is a downlink transmission, the UE 120 may be configured to receive the first transmission from the base station 110 at the calculated specific time. If the first transmission is an uplink transmission, the UE 120 may be configured to transmit the first transmission to the base station 110 at the calculated specific time. The execution of the first transmission may be performed automatically when the specific time is reached, without requiring any additional dynamic signaling triggers.

[0139] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing the first transmission, the UE120 may further determine whether the calculated specific time falls within a specific time period indicated by the COT. In response to determining that the calculated specific time falls within a specific time period indicated by the COT, the UE120 may be configured to perform the first transmission at that specific time. Otherwise, the UE120 may be configured to abandon the performance of the first transmission.

[0140] As described in detail above with respect to Method 1500, the first offset amount can be set in various suitable ways, as long as the first offset amount associated by UE 120 and base station 110 with each COT matches. For example, UE 120 may set the first offset amount by RRC signaling, COT messages, or a combination thereof, but is not limited to these.

[0141] In some embodiments, the UE120 may be configured to set the first offset amount based at least partially on RRC signaling received from the base station 110. Specifically, the UE120 may obtain information related to the first offset amount by analyzing the RRC signaling from the base station 110, and set the first offset amount to be used by the UE120 based on this information related to the first offset amount.

[0142] In some other embodiments, UE120 may be configured to set the first offset amount using a COT message, at least in part. For example, UE120 may obtain information related to the first offset amount by parsing a COT message from base station 110, and set the first offset amount to be used by UE120 based on that information related to the first offset amount. Alternatively, if a COT message is generated by UE120, UE120 may include the first offset amount in the COT message and send it to base station 110.

[0143] In other embodiments, UE120 may set the first offset amount based on both RRC signaling and COT messages. Specifically, UE120 may extract a list of selectable offset amounts from the RRC signaling, set an offset amount index using COT messages, and set the selectable offset amount corresponding to the offset amount index in the list of selectable offset amounts as the first offset amount used by UE120.

[0144] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the magnitude of the first offset amount may be set based on the priority of the UE120. Different first offset amounts may be set for UE120s of different priorities. A smaller first offset amount may be set for a higher priority UE120. A larger first offset amount may be set for a lower priority UE120. The priority of the UE120 may be determined by the type of UE120 or the type of service performed by the UE120. For example, the highest priority may be assigned to a UE120 related to life-saving, safety warning, or making an emergency call. An intermediate priority may be assigned to a UE120 as a streaming device or a UE120 performing a normal call. A lower priority may be assigned to some MTC devices or UE120s that only perform periodic updates or background handshake services.

[0145] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the COT message transmitted between the base station 110 and the UE 120 may optionally further include an instruction on whether or not to trigger a first transmission. If the COT message indicates not to trigger a first transmission, the UE 120 may abandon performing the first transmission. Otherwise, the UE 120 may perform the first transmission at a calculated specific time.

[0146] In some embodiments, UE120 may receive a COT message from base station 110. The COT message may include a COT determined by base station 110 based on LBT operation. Optionally, the COT message may further include information relating to a first offset amount. In this case, UE120 may extract the information relating to the first offset amount from the COT message and, accordingly, set the first offset amount to be used by UE120. In these embodiments, the first transmission may include various downlink transmissions, such as the DL RS transmission and PDSCH transmission described above.

[0147] In some other embodiments, the UE120 may generate the COT message. In these embodiments, the UE120 may be configured to perform LBT operation to determine a specific time period in which the base station 110 and the UE120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, i.e., the COT associated with the base station 110 and the UE120. For example, the UE120 may be configured to detect the energy of a channel in the unlicensed band and determine the time period in which the channel energy falls below a threshold as the COT in which the base station 110 and the UE120 are permitted to communicate. The UE120 may include the determined COT in a COT message and transmit the COT message to the base station 110. If the LBT performed by the UE120 is directional (i.e., the UE120 completes the LBT using a receiver with a beam in a particular direction), the COT message may be a directional COT message that may include information related to that particular direction. That is, a directional LBT generates a directional COT message. Selectively, as previously stated, the UE120 may include information related to the first offset amount in the generated COT message. In these embodiments, the first transmission may include various uplink transmissions, such as the UL RS transmission, PUSCH transmission, PUCCH transmission, etc., as previously described.

[0148] Figure 17A shows an example of a transmission related to COT. In this example, base station 110 triggers corresponding COTs 1720-1 and 1720-2 by COT messages 1710-1 and 1710-2, respectively. Base station 110 and UE 120 wish to perform a periodic transmission 1730, where the periodic transmission 1730 may be any one of the following: a periodic CSI-RS transmission, a semi-static PDSCH transmission, a periodic uplink RS transmission, a semi-static PUSCH transmission, or a semi-static PUCCH transmission. As shown in the figure, the first transmission 1730-1 of the periodic transmission 1730 can be performed because it is within COT 1720-1. The second transmission 1730-2 of the periodic transmission 1730 cannot be performed because it is not within any COT. To compensate for the second transmission 1730-2 that is not performed, base station 110 must dynamically trigger transmission 1750 by an additional DCI 1740.

[0149] As a more specific example, the periodic transmission 1730 may be, for example, a periodic CSI-RS transmission. In high-bandwidth beam fault recovery, the UE 120 relies on the periodic CSI-RS transmission to monitor the channel's beam quality. However, when outside the COT, the base station 110 cannot transmit a periodic beam fault monitoring signal or a new beam discovery signal, and the UE 120 cannot monitor the channel quality in real time. Therefore, to compensate for any previously missed periodic CSI-RS transmissions 1730-2, the base station 110 needs to dynamically trigger an aperiodic CSI-RS transmission 1750 by an additional DCI 1740. The triggered aperiodic CSI-RS transmission 1750 must use the same QCL-TypeD assumption as the missed periodic CSI-RS transmission 1730-2.

[0150] Figure 17B shows an example of a signal / channel transmission scheme triggered by COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. COT messages 1710-1 and 1710-2 trigger corresponding COTs 1720-1 and 1720-2, respectively. These COT messages may be transmitted to the UE 120 by the base station 110, or to the base station 110 by the UE. For each of COTs 1720-1 or 1720-2, the corresponding first transmission 1760-1 or 1760-2 is automatically executed after a first offset amount 1770-1 or 1770-2 from the start time of the COT. In other words, the first transmissions 1760-1 or 1760-2 are triggered by COTs 1720-1 or 1720-2, respectively, and do not need to be dynamically triggered by an additional DCI (e.g., DCI 1740 in Figure 17A). As previously discussed, base station 110 and UE 120 may set a first offset amount 1770-1 and a second offset amount 1770-2 by RRC signaling (not shown), COT message 1710, or a combination of both. The set first offset amount 1770-1 and second offset amount 1770-2 may be the same or different. Compared to the example in Figure 17A, the example in Figure 17B avoids the additional DCI 1740 and saves overhead.

[0151] Although the periodic transmission 1730 in Figure 17A is not shown in Figure 17B, the periodic transmission 1730 may be selectively suspended in Figure 17B. For example, the first transmission 1760 in Figure 17B may be used in combination with the periodic transmission 1730 in Figure 17A. In such an example, since the periodic transmission 1730-1 can be executed normally in COT 1720-1, the first transmission 1760-1 does not need to be executed in COT 1720-1. Since the periodic transmission 1730-2 (which is not in any COT) cannot be executed, COT message 1710-2 may indicate to COT 1710-2 that the first transmission 1760-2 should be executed to compensate for the absence of periodic transmission 1730-2. In this case, COT message 1710-2 may include an instruction to execute the first transmission, while COT message 1710-1 may not include an instruction to execute the first transmission. The first transmission 1760-2 may employ the same or similar settings as the corresponding missing periodic transmission 1730-2. For example, if periodic transmission 1730-2 is a CSI-RS transmission, the first transmission 1760-2 may be a DL RS transmission and may employ the same QCL-TypeD assumption as periodic transmission 1730-2.

[0152] [4.2. Signal / Channel Transmission Methods Activated by COT] Figure 18 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 1800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1800 may be used to implement a signal / channel transmission scheme activated by COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1800 may be performed on the base station 110 side. Method 1800 may include steps 1810 to 1840.

[0153] In step 1810, the base station 110 may be configured to determine a COT related to the base station 110 and the UE 120. As previously discussed, the COT may indicate a specific time period during which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. Communication between the base station 110 and the UE 120 is not permitted outside of the COT. The COT may be transmitted between the base station 110 and the UE 120 in a COT message. For example, the COT message may include the start time and duration of the COT. In some embodiments, the base station 110 may generate and send the COT message to the UE 120. The COT message may be sent to the UE 120 by DCI (e.g., DCI_2.0). In some other embodiments, the base station 110 may receive the COT message from the UE 120.

[0154] In step 1820, the base station 110 may be configured to determine whether the expected transmission time of a particular transmission among the periodic transmissions with the UE 120 is within the COT. The time interval between each of two adjacent transmissions in the periodic transmission is a predetermined interval. Therefore, the expected transmission time for each transmission can be determined based on the first / previous transmission and this predetermined interval. The determination of whether the expected transmission time is within the COT may be made based on a comparison of the expected transmission time determined for a particular transmission with the COT. In some embodiments, the periodic transmission between the base station 110 and the UE 120 may be a downlink transmission and may include, but are not limited to, downlink semi-static reference signal (SP RS) transmissions and semi-static scheduling physical downlink shared channel (SPS PDSCH) transmissions. In some embodiments, the periodic transmission between base station 110 and UE 120 may be an uplink transmission and may include, but are not limited to, uplink semi-static sounding reference signal (SP SRS) transmission and configured grant push (CG push) transmission.

[0155] In response to determining in step 1820 that the expected transmission time for a particular transmission is not within the COT, method 1800 may proceed to step 1830. In step 1830, base station 110 may be configured to determine the particular transmission as a deactivated transmission. In response to determining in step 1820 that the expected transmission time for a particular transmission is within the COT, method 1800 may proceed to step 1840. In step 1840, base station 110 may be configured to determine the particular transmission as an activated transmission.

[0156] In some embodiments, the base station 110 may generate the COT message. In these embodiments, the base station 110 may be configured to perform LBT operation and determine, based on said LBT operation, a specific time period in which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, i.e., the COT associated with the base station 110 and the UE 120. For example, the base station 110 may be configured to detect the energy of a channel in the unlicensed band and determine the time period in which the channel energy falls below a threshold as the COT in which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate. The base station 110 may include the determined COT in a COT message and transmit said COT message to the UE 120 via DCI (e.g., DCI_2.0). In these embodiments, examples of periodic transmissions may include periodic transmissions of various downlinks, e.g., downlink SP RS transmission or SPS PDSCH transmission.

[0157] In some other embodiments, the base station 110 may receive a COT message from the UE 120 and determine the COT based on the COT message from the UE 120. The COT message may include the COT determined by the UE 120 based on LBT operation. In these embodiments, examples of periodic transmissions may include periodic transmissions of various uplinks, such as uplink SP SRS transmissions or CG PUSCH transmissions.

[0158] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station 110 may further be configured to selectively perform a particular transmission determined to be in an activated state without performing a particular transmission determined to be in a deactivated state. In embodiments where the periodic transmission is a downlink transmission, the base station 110 performing a particular transmission may include the base station 110 transmitting the particular transmission to the UE 120. In embodiments where the periodic transmission is an uplink transmission, the base station 110 performing a particular transmission may include the base station 110 receiving the particular transmission from the UE 120.

[0159] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station 110 may be configured to perform method 1800 for each transmission in a periodic transmission until the execution of the periodic transmission is completed. Figure 19 shows an exemplary flowchart of Method 1900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1900 may be used to implement a signal / channel transmission scheme activated by COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1900 may be performed on the UE 120 side. Method 1900 may include steps 1910 to 1940.

[0160] In step 1910, the UE 120 may be configured to determine a COT related to the base station 110 and the UE 120. As previously discussed, the COT may indicate a specific time period during which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. The COT may be transmitted between the base station 110 and the UE 120 in a COT message. In some embodiments, the UE 120 may receive a COT message from the base station 110. In some other embodiments, the UE 120 may generate a COT message and send it to the base station 110.

[0161] In step 1920, the UE 120 may be configured to determine whether the expected transmission time for a particular transmission among the periodic transmissions with the base station 110 is within the COT. For example, the expected transmission time for each transmission may be determined based on a predetermined interval between the first transmission / previous transmission and the periodic transmission. Alternatively, the expected transmission time may be determined based on a comparison of the expected transmission time determined for a particular transmission with the COT.

[0162] In response to determining in step 1920 that the expected transmission time for a particular transmission is not within the COT, method 1900 may proceed to step 1930. In step 1930, UE 120 may be configured to determine the particular transmission as a deactivated transmission. In response to determining in step 1920 that the expected transmission time for a particular transmission is within the COT, method 1900 may proceed to step 1940. In step 1940, UE 120 may be configured to determine the particular transmission as an activated transmission.

[0163] In some embodiments, the UE 120 may receive a COT message from the base station 110 and determine the COT based on the COT message from the base station 110. In these embodiments, the base station 110 may be configured to perform an LBT operation and, based on the LBT operation, determine a specific time period in which the base station 110 and the UE 120 are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, i.e., the COT associated with the base station 110 and the UE 120. In these embodiments, examples of periodic transmissions may include periodic transmissions of various downlinks, such as downlink SP RS transmissions or SPS PDSCH transmissions.

[0164] In some other embodiments, UE120 may be configured to perform a listen-before-talk LBT operation and determine the COT based on said LBT operation. If the LBT performed by UE120 is directional (i.e., UE120 completes the LBT using a receiver having a beam in a particular direction), the COT message may be a directional COT message that may include information related to that particular direction. That is, a directional LBT generates a directional COT message. In these embodiments, examples of periodic transmissions may include periodic transmissions of various uplinks, such as uplink SP SRS transmissions or CG PUSCH transmissions.

[0165] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE120 may further be configured to selectively perform a particular transmission determined to be in an activated state without performing a particular transmission determined to be in a deactivated state. In embodiments where the periodic transmission is a downlink transmission, the UE120 performing a particular transmission may include the UE120 receiving the particular transmission from the base station 110. In embodiments where the periodic transmission is an uplink transmission, the UE120 performing a particular transmission may include the UE120 transmitting the particular transmission to the base station 110.

[0166] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE120 may be configured to perform method 1900 for each transmission in a periodic transmission until the execution of the periodic transmission is completed.

[0167] In the signal / channel transmission scheme activated by COT according to the embodiments of this disclosure, the base station 110 and UE 120 can coincidentally determine whether each transmission in the periodic transmission is in an activated or deactivated state. Additional transmissions do not need to be scheduled by additional signaling to compensate for transmissions outside of COT.

[0168] Figure 20 shows an example of a signal / channel transmission scheme activated by COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. COT messages 2010-1 and 2010-2 trigger corresponding COT2020-1 and COT2020-2, respectively. These COT messages may be transmitted by the base station 110 to the UE 120, or by the UE to the base station 110. For a group of periodic transmissions 2030, the time interval 2040 between each pair of adjacent transmissions may be constant. For the first transmission 2030-1 of the periodic transmissions 2030, it can be determined that the expected transmission time of the first transmission 2030-1 is within COT2020-1. Thus, the base station 110 and the UE 120 can determine that the first transmission 2030-1 is in an activated state. For the second transmission 2030-2 of the periodic transmission 2030, it can be determined that the expected transmission time for the second transmission 2030-2 is not in COT2020-1, COT2020-2, or any other COT. Therefore, base station 110 and UE120 can determine that the second transmission 2030-2 is in an inactive state. For the third transmission 2030-3 of the periodic transmission 2030, it can be determined that the expected transmission time for the third transmission 2030-3 is within COT2020-2. Therefore, base station 110 and UE120 can determine that the third transmission 2030-3 is in an active state. Base station 110 and UE120 may be configured to perform the first transmission 2030-1 and the third transmission 2030-3 in an active state, but not the second transmission 2030-2 in an inactive state. Accordingly, the second transmission 2030-2 is shown by a dashed line in the figure.

[0169] Figure 20 shows a periodic transmission 2030 having two COTs and three transmissions, but other embodiments may include more or fewer COTs, and the periodic transmission 2030 may include more or fewer transmissions; it is not limited to these.

[0170] [5. Application Examples] The technology disclosed herein can be applied to a variety of products.

[0171] For example, the control-side electronic equipment according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented as various control devices / base stations, or may be included in various control devices / base stations. For example, the transmitting device and terminal device according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented as various terminal devices, or may be included in various terminal devices.

[0172] For example, the control equipment / base station referred to in this disclosure may be implemented as any type of base station, eNBs such as macro eNBs and small eNBs. A small eNB may be an eNB that covers cells smaller than macrocells, e.g., pico eNBs, micro eNBs, or femto eNBs. Alternatively, a gNB may be implemented as a gNB, e.g., macro gNBs and small gNBs. A small gNB may be a gNB that covers cells smaller than macrocells, e.g., pico gNBs, micro gNBs, or femto gNBs. Alternatively, a base station may be implemented as any other type of base station, e.g., a NodeB and a Base Transceiver Station (BTS). A base station may include a subject (also called base station equipment) configured to control the radio communication and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) located separately from the subject. Furthermore, various terminals described later can operate as base stations by temporarily or semi-permanently performing base station functions.

[0173] For example, the terminal devices referred to in this disclosure may be implemented in some embodiments as mobile terminals (e.g., smartphones, tablet personal computers (PCs), notebook PCs, portable game consoles, portable / dongle mobile routers, and digital imaging devices) or in-vehicle terminals (e.g., car navigation systems). The terminal devices may be implemented as terminals that perform machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also called machine-type communication (MTC) terminals). The terminal devices may also be wireless communication modules (e.g., integrated circuit modules including a single chip) mounted on each of the above terminals.

[0174] Examples of applications of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0175] [Examples related to base stations] It should be understood that, in this disclosure, "base station" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes radio communication stations that are at least part of a radio communication system or radio system in order to perform communications. Examples of base stations include, for example, one or both of a base station transceiver (BTS) and / or a base station controller (BSC) in a GSM® system, one or both of a radio network controller (RNC) and / or a Node B in a WCDMA® system, an eNB in ​​LTE and LTE-Advanced systems, or a corresponding network node in a future communication system (e.g., a gNB, eLTE eNB, etc., which may appear in a 5G communication system). Some functions of base stations in this disclosure may be implemented as entities with control functions over communications in D2D, M2M and V2V communication scenarios, or as entities with spectrum tuning functions in cognitive radio communication scenarios.

[0176] (Example 1) Figure 21 is a block diagram showing a first example of an exemplary configuration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The gNB 2100 includes a plurality of antennas 2110 and base station equipment 2120. The base station equipment 2120 and each antenna 2110 can be connected to each other via RF cables. In one implementation, the gNB 2100 (or base station equipment 2120) herein may correspond to the control-side electronic equipment.

[0177] Each of the antennas 2110 includes one or more antenna elements (for example, multiple antenna elements included in a multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna) and is used by the base station equipment 2120 to transmit and receive radio signals. As shown in Figure 21, the gNB2100 may include multiple antennas 2110. For example, the multiple antennas 2110 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB2100.

[0178] The base station equipment 2120 includes a controller 2121, memory 2122, network interface 2117, and wireless communication interface 2125.

[0179] The controller 2121 is, for example, a CPU or DSP and can operate various functions of the upper layer of the base station equipment 2120. For example, the controller 2121 determines the location information of a target terminal device among the at least one terminal device based on positioning information of at least one terminal device on the terminal side of the wireless communication system acquired by the wireless communication interface 2125 and specific location placement information of at least one terminal device. The controller 2121 may have logic functions that perform control such as wireless resource control, wireless bearer control, mobility management, access control, and scheduling. This control can be performed in combination with nearby gNB or core network nodes. The memory 2122 includes RAM and ROM and stores programs executed by the controller 2121 and various control data (e.g., terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

[0180] Network interface 2123 is a communication interface for connecting base station equipment 2120 to the core network 2124. Controller 2121 can communicate with core network nodes or other gNBs via network interface 2117. In this case, gNB 2100 and the core network nodes or other gNBs can be connected to each other by logic interfaces (e.g., S1 interface and X2 interface). Network interface 2123 can also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface used for a wireless backhaul line. If network interface 2123 is a wireless communication interface, it can be used for wireless communication using a higher frequency band than the frequency band used by wireless communication interface 2125.

[0181] The wireless communication interface 2125 supports any cellular communication scheme (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the cells of the gNB2100 via the antenna 2110. The wireless communication interface 2125 may typically include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 2126 and an RF circuit 2127. The BB processor 2126 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, and various signal processing at different layers (e.g., L1, Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Integration Protocol (PDCP)). Instead of the controller 2121, the BB processor 2126 may have some or all of the above-described logical functions. The BB processor 2126 may be a memory in which a communication control program is stored, or it may be a module including a processor and associated circuitry configured to execute the program. Program updates can change the functionality of the BB processor 2126. This module may be a card or bread inserted into a slot in the base station equipment 2120. Alternatively, this module may be a chip mounted on a card or bread. At the same time, the RF circuit 2127, including, for example, a mixer, filter, and amplifier, can transmit and receive radio signals via the antenna 2110. Figure 21 shows an example in which one RF circuit 2127 is connected to one antenna 2110, but the disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 2127 may be connected to multiple antennas 2110 simultaneously.

[0182] As shown in Figure 21, the wireless communication interface 2125 may include multiple BB processors 2126. For example, the multiple BB processors 2126 may be compatible with multiple bandwidths used by the gNB2100. As shown in Figure 21, the wireless communication interface 2125 may include multiple RF circuits 2127. For example, the multiple RF circuits 2127 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. Although Figure 21 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2125 includes multiple BB processors 2126 and multiple RF circuits 2127, the wireless communication interface 2125 may include a single BB processor 2126 or a single RF circuit 2127.

[0183] (Example 2) Figure 22 is a block diagram showing a second example of an exemplary configuration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The gNB 2200 includes a plurality of antennas 2210, an RRH 2220, and a base station device 2230. The RRH 2220 and each antenna 2210 can be connected to each other via an RF cable. The base station device 2230 and the RRH 2220 can be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as an optical fiber cable. In one implementation, the gNB 2200 (or base station device 2230) herein may correspond to the control-side electronic equipment. Each of the antennas 2210 includes one or more antenna elements (for example, multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving radio signals of the RRH2220. As shown in Figure 22, the gNB2200 may include multiple antennas 2210. For example, the multiple antennas 2210 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB2200.

[0184] The base station equipment 2230 includes a controller 2231, a memory 2232, a network interface 2233, a wireless communication interface 2234, and a connection interface 2236. The controller 2231, memory 2232, and network interface 2233 are the same as the controller 1521, memory 1522, and network interface 1523 described with reference to Figure 15.

[0185] The wireless communication interface 2234 supports any cellular communication scheme (e.g., LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless communication to terminals located in the sector corresponding to the RRH2220 via the RRH2220 and antenna 2210. The wireless communication interface 2234 may typically include, for example, a BB processor 2235. The BB processor 2235 is the same as the BB processor 1526 described with reference to Figure 15, except that the BB processor 2235 is connected to the RF circuit 2222 of the RRH2220 via connection interface 2236. As shown in Figure 22, the wireless communication interface 2234 may include multiple BB processors 2235. For example, multiple BB processors 2235 may be compatible with multiple bands used by the gNB2200. Although Figure 22 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2234 includes multiple BB processors 2235, the wireless communication interface 2234 may include a single BB processor 2235.

[0186] The connection interface 2236 is an interface for connecting the base station equipment 2230 (wireless communication interface 2234) to the RRH2220. The connection interface 2236 may also be a communication module for communication in the high-speed line described above that connects the base station equipment 2230 (wireless communication interface 2234) to the RRH2220. The RRH2220 includes a connection interface 2223 and a wireless communication interface 2221.

[0187] The connection interface 2223 is an interface for connecting the RRH2220 (wireless communication interface 2221) to the base station equipment 2230. The connection interface 2223 may also be a communication module for communication on the high-speed line described above.

[0188] The wireless communication interface 2221 transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 2210. The wireless communication interface 2221 may typically include, for example, an RF circuit 2222. The RF circuit 2222 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 2210. Figure 22 shows an example in which one RF circuit 2222 is connected to one antenna 2210, but the disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 2222 may be connected to multiple antennas 2210 simultaneously. As shown in Figure 22, the wireless communication interface 2221 may include multiple RF circuits 2222. For example, multiple RF circuits 2222 can support multiple antenna elements. Although Figure 22 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2221 includes multiple RF circuits 2222, the wireless communication interface 2221 may also include a single RF circuit 2222.

[0189] [Examples related to user equipment / terminal equipment] (Example 1) Figure 23 is a block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a communication device 2300 (e.g., a smartphone, a contactor, etc.) to which the technology of this disclosure can be applied. The communication device 2300 includes a processor 2301, memory 2302, storage device 2303, external connection interface 2304, imaging device 2306, sensor 2307, microphone 2308, input device 2309, display device 2310, speaker 2311, wireless communication interface 2312, one or more antenna switches 2315, one or more antennas 2316, bus 2317, battery 2318, and auxiliary controller 2319. In one implementation, the communication device 2300 (or processor 2301) herein may correspond to the transmitting device or terminal-side electronic device.

[0190] The processor 2301 is, for example, a CPU or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and can control the application layer and other layer functions of the communication device 2300. The memory 2302 includes RAM and ROM and stores data and programs executed by the processor 2301. The storage device 2303 may include storage media such as semiconductor memory and a hard disk. The external connection interface 2304 is an interface for connecting external devices (e.g., memory cards and Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices) to the communication device 2300.

[0191] The imaging device 2306 includes an image sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)) and generates a captured image. Sensor 2307 may include a set of sensors such as a measuring sensor, a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor, and an accelerometer. Microphone 2308 converts sound input to the communication device 2300 into an audio signal. Input device 2309 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, buttons, or switches configured to detect touches on the screen of the display device 2310 and receives operations or information input from the user. Display device 2310 includes a screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display) and displays the output image from the communication device 2300. Speaker 2311 converts the audio signal output from the communication device 2300 into sound.

[0192] The wireless communication interface 2312 supports any cellular communication method (e.g., LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 2312 may typically include, for example, a broadband processor 2313 and an RF circuit 2314. The broadband processor 2313 can perform various signal processing for wireless communication, such as encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing. At the same time, the RF circuit 2314, which may include, for example, a mixer, filter, and amplifier, can transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 2316. The wireless communication interface 2312 may be a single chip module on which the broadband processor 2313 and the RF circuit 2314 are integrated. As shown in Figure 23, the wireless communication interface 2312 may include multiple broadband processors 2313 and multiple RF circuits 2314. Figure 23 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2312 includes multiple BB processors 2313 and multiple RF circuits 2314, but the wireless communication interface 2312 may also include a single BB processor 2313 or a single RF circuit 2314.

[0193] In addition to cellular communication, the wireless communication interface 2312 can support other types of wireless communication, such as short-range wireless communication, proximity communication, and wireless local network (LAN) communication. In this case, the wireless communication interface 2312 may include a BB processor 2313 and an RF circuit 2314 for each wireless communication method.

[0194] Each of the antenna switches 2315 switches the destination of the antenna 2316 among multiple circuits included in the wireless communication interface 2312 (for example, circuits used for different wireless communication methods).

[0195] Each of the antennas 2316 includes one or more antenna elements (for example, multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used to transmit and receive radio signals of the wireless communication interface 2312. As shown in Figure 23, the communication device 2300 may include multiple antennas 2316. Although Figure 23 shows an example in which the communication device 2300 includes multiple antennas 2316, the communication device 2300 may include a single antenna 2316.

[0196] The communication equipment 2300 may also include antennas 2316 for each wireless communication method. In this case, the antenna switch 2315 may be omitted from the arrangement of the communication equipment 2300.

[0197] Bus 2317 connects the processor 2301, memory 2302, storage device 2303, external connection interface 2304, imaging device 2306, sensor 2307, microphone 2308, input device 2309, display device 2310, speaker 2311, wireless communication interface 2312, and auxiliary controller 2319 to each other. Battery 2318 provides power to each block of the communication device 2300 shown in Figure 23 via power supply lines, which are partially indicated by dotted lines in the drawing. The auxiliary controller 2319 operates the minimum necessary functions of the communication device 2300, for example, in sleep mode.

[0198] (Example 2) Figure 24 is a block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a car navigation system 2400 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation system 2400 includes a processor 2401, memory 2402, a global positioning system (GPS) module 2404, a sensor 2405, a data interface 2406, a content player 2407, a storage medium interface 2408, an input device 2409, a display device 2410, a speaker 2411, a wireless communication interface 2413, one or more antenna switches 2416, one or more antennas 2417, and a battery 2418. In one implementation, the car navigation system 2400 (or processor 2401) herein may correspond to a transmitting device or terminal electronic equipment.

[0199] The processor 2401 is, for example, a CPU or SoC, and can control the navigation and other functions of the car navigation device 2400. The memory 2402 includes RAM and ROM and stores data and programs executed by the processor 2401.

[0200] The GPS module 2404 measures the position (e.g., latitude, longitude, altitude) of the car navigation device 2400 using GPS signals received from GPS satellites. The sensor 2405 may include a set of sensors, such as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and a barometric pressure sensor. The data interface 2406 connects to, for example, an in-vehicle network 2421 via a terminal (not shown) to acquire data generated by the vehicle (e.g., vehicle speed data).

[0201] The content player 2407 plays content stored on a storage medium (e.g., CDs and DVDs). This storage medium is inserted into the storage medium interface 2408. The input device 2409 includes, for example, a touch sensor, button, or switch configured to detect touches on the screen of the display device 2410, and receives operations or information input from the user. The display device 2410 includes, for example, an LCD or OLED display screen, and displays images of the navigation function or the played content. The speaker 2411 outputs sounds of the navigation function or the played content.

[0202] The wireless communication interface 2413 supports any cellular communication method (e.g., LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 2413 may typically include, for example, a broadband processor 2414 and an RF circuit 2415. The broadband processor 2414 can perform various signal processing for wireless communication, such as encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing. At the same time, the RF circuit 2415, which includes, for example, a mixer, filter, and amplifier, can transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 2417. The wireless communication interface 2413 may be a single chip module on which the broadband processor 2414 and the RF circuit 2415 are integrated. As shown in Figure 24, the wireless communication interface 2413 may include multiple broadband processors 2414 and multiple RF circuits 2415. Figure 24 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2413 includes multiple BB processors 2414 and multiple RF circuits 2415, but the wireless communication interface 2413 may also include a single BB processor 2414 or a single RF circuit 2415.

[0203] In addition to cellular communication, the wireless communication interface 2413 can support other types of wireless communication, such as short-range wireless communication, proximity communication, and wireless LAN. In this case, the wireless communication interface 2413 may include a BB processor 2414 and an RF circuit 2415 for each wireless communication method.

[0204] Each of the antenna switches 2416 switches the destination of the antenna 2417 between multiple circuits included in the wireless communication interface 2413 (for example, circuits used for different wireless communication methods).

[0205] Each of the antennas 2417 includes one or more antenna elements (for example, multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used to transmit and receive radio signals of the wireless communication interface 2413. As shown in Figure 24, the car navigation device 2400 may include multiple antennas 2417. Although Figure 24 shows an example in which the car navigation device 2400 includes multiple antennas 2417, the car navigation device 2400 may include a single antenna 2417.

[0206] The car navigation system 2400 may also include antennas 2417 for each wireless communication method. In this case, the antenna switch 2416 may be omitted from the arrangement of the car navigation system 2400.

[0207] Battery 2418 supplies power to each block of the car navigation system 2400 shown in Figure 24 via power supply lines. The power supply lines are partially indicated by dotted lines in the drawing. Battery 2418 stores the power supplied from the vehicle.

[0208] The technology described herein may be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 2420 which includes one or more blocks of a car navigation device 2400, an in-vehicle network 2421, and a vehicle module 2422. The vehicle module 2422 generates vehicle data (e.g., vehicle speed, engine speed, fault information) and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 2421.

[0209] While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present disclosure is, of course, not limited to these examples. Those skilled in the art will understand that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the appended claims, and that such changes and modifications will fall within the scope of the art of the present disclosure.

[0210] It should be understood that the machine-executable instructions in the machine-readable storage medium or program product according to the embodiments of this disclosure may be configured to perform operations corresponding to the embodiments of the above-described equipment and methods. When referring to the embodiments of the above-described equipment and methods, the embodiments of the machine-readable storage medium or program product will be obvious to those skilled in the art and will not be described further. Machine-readable storage medium or program product that contains or includes the above-described machine-executable instructions are also within the scope of this disclosure. Such storage media include, but are not limited to, floppy disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory cards, memory sticks, and the like.

[0211] Furthermore, it should be understood that the above series of processes and devices may be implemented by software and / or firmware. When implemented by software and / or firmware, the relevant programs constituting the relevant software are stored in the storage medium of the relevant device, and when the program is executed, various functions can be performed.

[0212] For example, the multiple functions included in one unit in the above embodiments can be implemented by separate devices. Alternatively, the multiple functions implemented by multiple units in the above embodiments can each be implemented by separate devices. Furthermore, one of the above functions can be implemented by multiple units. Of course, such arrangements are within the scope of the art of this disclosure.

[0213] In this specification, the steps described in the flowchart include not only processes that are executed chronologically in the order described, but also processes that are not necessarily executed chronologically but in parallel or individually. Furthermore, the order of steps that are executed chronologically may also be changed as appropriate.

[0214] [6. Realization of Exemplary Embodiments of the Presumptive Disclosure] From the embodiments of this disclosure, various exemplary realizations of the concepts of this disclosure can be conceived, including, but not limited to, the following embodiments. That is, Example 1: Electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions associated with the UE, and transmitting a single DCI to the user equipment UE indicating the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, Electronic equipment configured to perform a corresponding downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions using a determined corresponding actual beam. Example 2: Each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission, or The electronic device according to Embodiment 1, wherein each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is an aperiodic channel state information reference signal AP CSI-RS transmission. Example 3: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 1, which includes determining that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions are the same beam, based on a first parameter relating to the capabilities of the UE. Example 4: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 3, further comprising determining a corresponding default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions as the same beam. Example 5: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 1, comprising determining, based on a second parameter relating to the capabilities of the aforementioned UE, that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions include different beams. Example 6: Determining a suitable actual beam is The time threshold is determined based on a third parameter related to the capabilities of the aforementioned UE, To determine, among the plurality of downlink transmissions, a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold, For each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the default beam is used as the corresponding actual beam for that downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI. The electronic device according to Embodiment 5, further comprising using, for each of the second group of downlink transmissions, a corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for said downlink transmission. Example 7: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 6, further comprising determining whether the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same beam or different beams, based on a fourth parameter related to the capabilities of the aforementioned UE. Example 8: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 7, further comprising determining, in response to determining that the corresponding actual beam used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions is the same, the default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions is said to be the same beam. Example 9: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 7, further comprising determining, in response to the determination that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are not the same beam, that for each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the beam corresponding to the CORESET having the lowest ID in the search space most recently monitored by the UE is the corresponding actual beam used for said downlink transmission. Example 10: A method performed on the base station side, Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions associated with the UE, and transmitting a single DCI to the user equipment UE indicating the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, A method comprising performing a corresponding downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions using a corresponding actual beam determined. Example 11: An electronic device used on the user equipment UE side, wherein the electronic device is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions related to the UE, and receiving a single DCI from the base station that indicates the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, Electronic equipment configured to perform the task of receiving a corresponding downlink transmission from among a plurality of downlink transmissions using a determined corresponding actual beam. Example 12: Each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission, or The electronic device according to Embodiment 11, wherein each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is an aperiodic channel state information reference signal AP CSI-RS transmission. Example 13: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Example 12, which includes determining that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions are the same beam. Example 14: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 13, further comprising determining a corresponding default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions as the same beam. Example 15: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Example 11, which includes determining that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions include different beams. Example 16: Determining a suitable actual beam is Determining the time threshold, To determine, among the plurality of downlink transmissions, a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold, For each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the default beam is used as the corresponding actual beam for that downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI. The electronic device according to Example 15, further comprising using, for each of the second group of downlink transmissions, a corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for said downlink transmission. Example 17: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Example 16, further comprising determining whether the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same beam or different beams. Example 18: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Embodiment 17, further comprising determining, in response to determining that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same beam, the default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions is said to be the same beam. Example 19: Determining a suitable actual beam is The electronic device according to Example 17, further comprising determining, in response to the determination that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are not the same beam, that for each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the beam corresponding to the CORESET having the lowest ID in the search space most recently monitored by the UE is the corresponding actual beam used for said downlink transmission. Example 20: A method executed on the user device UE side, Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions related to the UE, and receiving a single DCI from the base station that indicates the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, A method comprising receiving a corresponding downlink transmission from among a plurality of downlink transmissions using a determined corresponding actual beam. Example 21: Electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Transmitting a single DCI across multiple slots, indicating multiple channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource sets associated with the same reporting configuration, to the user equipment UE, In each of the plurality of slots, a CSI-RS transmission is sent to the UE using the appropriate CSI-RS resource set from the plurality of CSI-RS resource sets. An electronic device configured to perform the following actions: receive CSI reports from the UE relating to the measurements of the multiple slots, based on the same reporting settings as described above. Example 22: The electronic device according to Example 21, wherein the value of the repetition parameter Repetition for each of the multiple CSI-RS resource sets is set to OFF. Example 23: The electronic device according to Example 21, wherein the CSI report is generated based on the measurement of each of the plurality of slots, and the measurement of each slot is generated based on a different single received beam of the UE. Example 24: The base station is the electronic device described in Example 20, operating in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. Example 25: A method performed on the base station side, Transmitting a single DCI across multiple slots, indicating multiple channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource sets associated with the same reporting configuration, to the user equipment UE, In each of the plurality of slots, CSI-RS is transmitted to the UE using the appropriate CSI-RS resource set from the plurality of CSI-RS resource sets, A method comprising receiving a CSI report from the UE relating to the CSI measurement of the plurality of slots, based on the same reporting settings described above. Example 26: An electronic device used on the user equipment UE side, wherein the electronic device is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Receiving a single DCI from the base station that indicates multiple channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource sets related to the same reporting configuration across multiple slots, In each of the plurality of slots, the CSI-RS transmission transmitted using a corresponding CSI-RS resource set from the plurality of CSI-RS resource sets is received from the base station and measurement is performed; An electronic device configured to perform the following actions: transmit a CSI report to the base station relating to the measurement of the multiple slots, based on the same reporting settings as described above. Example 27: The electronic device according to Example 26, wherein the value of the repetition parameter Repetition for each of the multiple CSI-RS resource sets is set to OFF. Example 28: The electronic device according to Example 26, wherein performing the measurement involves performing the measurement using a different single receiving beam in each of the plurality of slots. Example 29: The UE is the electronic device described in Example 20, operating in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. Example 30: A method executed on the user device UE side, Receiving a single DCI from the base station that indicates multiple channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource sets related to the same reporting configuration across multiple slots, In each of the plurality of slots, the CSI-RS transmitted using the appropriate CSI-RS resource set from the plurality of CSI-RS resource sets is received from the base station and measurement is performed; A method comprising transmitting a CSI report relating to the measurement of the plurality of slots to the base station in a report based on the same reporting settings as described above. Example 31: Electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Sending a single DCI configured to schedule multiple synchronization signal block SSB resources to multiple slots to the user equipment UE, An electronic device configured to perform SSB transmission in each of the aforementioned multiple slots. Example 32: Transmitting SSB transmission in each of the plurality of slots is The electronic device according to Embodiment 31, comprising performing SSB transmission and downlink beam scanning using multiple transmit beams in different directions corresponding to the multiple SSB resources in each of the multiple slots. Example 33: The electronic device according to Example 32, wherein the downlink beam scanning in each of the plurality of slots is based on a corresponding single receiving beam of the UE. Example 34: The base station is the electronic device described in Example 32, operating in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. Example 35: A method performed on the base station side, Sending a single DCI configured to schedule multiple synchronization signal block SSB resources to multiple slots to the user equipment UE, A method comprising transmitting an SSB transmission in each of the aforementioned plurality of slots. Example 36: An electronic device used on the user device UE side, wherein the electronic device is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Receiving a single DCI from a base station configured to schedule multiple synchronization signal block SSB resources into multiple slots, An electronic device configured to perform the function of receiving SSB transmissions in each of the aforementioned plurality of slots. Example 37: Receiving SSB transmission in each slot is The electronic device according to Embodiment 36, which includes receiving SSB transmissions from the base station using a single receiving beam in each slot. Example 38: The electronic device according to Example 37, wherein the SSB transmission received from the base station in each slot is performed by the base station using multiple transmit beams in different directions corresponding to the multiple SSB resources. Example 39: The UE is the electronic device described in Example 37, operating in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz band. Example 40: A method executed on the user device UE side, Receiving a single DCI from a base station configured to schedule multiple synchronization signal block SSB resources into multiple slots, A method comprising receiving an SSB transmission in each of the aforementioned plurality of slots. Example 41: Electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Sending a single DCI to the user equipment UE that is configured to trigger an SRS resource set containing multiple sounding reference signal SRS resources and to schedule the multiple SRS resources into multiple slots, An electronic device configured to perform the following in each of the plurality of slots: receiving SRS transmission from the UE. Example 42: The electronic device according to Example 41, wherein the plurality of SRS resources are scheduled into a plurality of slots such that the UE transmits SRS transmissions using only one of the plurality of SRS resources in each of the plurality of slots. Example 43: The electronic device according to Example 42, wherein the width of the subcarrier SCS used by the base station is 480 kHz or 960 kHz. Example 44: The electronic device according to Example 41, wherein the plurality of SRS resources are scheduled into a plurality of slots such that the UE uses more SRS resources in each of the plurality of slots than one of the plurality of SRS resources to perform transmission. Example 45: A method performed on the base station side, Sending a single DCI to the user equipment UE that is configured to trigger an SRS resource set containing multiple sounding reference signal SRS resources and to schedule the multiple SRS resources into multiple slots, A method comprising receiving an SRS transmission in each of the aforementioned plurality of slots. Example 46: An electronic device used on the user equipment UE side, wherein the electronic device is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Receiving a single DCI from a base station, configured to trigger an SRS resource set containing multiple sounding reference signal SRS resources scheduled for multiple slots, An electronic device configured to perform SRS transmission to a base station 110 in each of the aforementioned multiple slots. Example 47: The electronic device according to Example 46, wherein the plurality of SRS resources are scheduled into a plurality of slots such that the UE transmits SRS transmissions using only one of the plurality of SRS resources in each of the plurality of slots. Example 48: The electronic device according to Example 47, wherein the width of the subcarrier SCS used by the UE is 480 kHz or 960 kHz. Example 49: The electronic device according to Example 46, wherein the plurality of SRS resources are scheduled into a plurality of slots such that the UE transmits SRS transmissions using more SRS resources in each of the plurality of slots than one of the plurality of SRS resources. Example 50: A method executed on the user device UE side, Receiving a single DCI from a base station, configured to trigger an SRS resource set containing multiple sounding reference signal SRS resources scheduled for multiple slots, A method comprising transmitting an SRS transmission to a base station 110 in each of the aforementioned multiple slots. Example 51: Electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Setting a first offset amount related to the first transmission between the base station and the user equipment UE, In relation to the base station and the UE, a channel occupancy time (COT) is set, which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. Based on the COT and the first offset amount, a specific time used for the first transmission is calculated, An electronic device configured to perform the first transmission at the specified time. Example 52: The electronic device according to Example 51, wherein the first transmission is performed in response to the determination that the specific time is within the specific time period indicated by the COT. Example 53: Setting the first offset amount is Setting the information related to the first offset amount described above into the RRC signaling, The electronic device according to Example 51, comprising transmitting the RRC signaling to the UE. Example 54: The electronic device according to Example 51, wherein setting the first offset amount includes setting the first offset amount using the COT message, at least in part. Example 55: Setting the first offset amount is Setting a list of selectable offset amounts in the RRC signaling, The offset amount index is set using the aforementioned COT message, The electronic device according to Embodiment 54, further comprising setting a selectable offset amount corresponding to the offset amount index from the list of selectable offset amounts as the first offset amount. Example 56: The electronic device according to Example 55, wherein the magnitude of the first offset amount is set based on the priority of the UE. Example 57: The electronic device according to Example 54, wherein the COT message includes an instruction whether or not to trigger the first transmission. Example 58: The COT message is transmitted from the base station to the UE, and the first transmission is Downlink reference signal DL RS transmission, or The electronic device according to Example 51, which is either PDSCH transmission or otherwise. Example 59: The COT message is received from the UE by the base station, and the first transmission is Uplink reference signal UL RS transmission, PUSCH transmission, or The electronic device according to Example 51, which is either PUCCH transmission or otherwise. Example 60: A method performed on the base station side, Setting a first offset amount related to the first transmission between the base station and the user equipment UE, In relation to the base station and the UE, a channel occupancy time (COT) is set, which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. Based on the COT and the first offset amount, a specific time used for the first transmission is calculated, A method comprising performing the first transmission at the specified time. Example 61: An electronic device used on the user equipment UE side, wherein the electronic device is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Setting a first offset amount related to the first transmission between the base station and the user equipment UE, In relation to the base station and the UE, a channel occupancy time (COT) is set, which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. Based on the COT and the first offset amount, a specific time used for the first transmission is calculated, An electronic device configured to perform the first transmission at the specified time. Example 62: The electronic device according to Example 61, wherein the first transmission is performed in response to the determination that the specific time is within the specific time period indicated by the COT. Example 63: The electronic device according to Example 62, wherein setting the first offset amount includes setting the first offset amount based at least in part on RRC signaling received from the base station. Example 64: The electronic device according to Example 61, wherein setting the first offset amount includes setting the first offset amount using the COT message at least in part. Example 65: Setting the first offset amount includes extracting a list of selectable offset amounts from RRC signaling, setting an offset amount index using the COT message, and setting, as the first offset amount, a selectable offset amount corresponding to the offset amount index from the list of selectable offset amounts; the electronic device according to Example 64. Example 66: The electronic device according to Example 65, wherein the magnitude of the first offset amount is determined based on the priority of the UE. Example 67: The electronic device according to Example 64, wherein the COT message includes an indication of whether or not to trigger the first transmission. Example 68: The COT message is received by the UE from the base station, and the first transmission is either a downlink reference signal DL RS transmission, or a PDSCH transmission; the electronic device according to Example 61. Example 69: The COT message is transmitted by the UE to the base station, and the first transmission is an uplink reference signal UL RS transmission, a PUSCH transmission, or a PUCCH transmission; the electronic device according to Example 61. Example 70: A method executed on a user equipment UE side, the method including setting a first offset amount related to a first transmission between the base station and the user equipment UE, In relation to the base station and the UE, a channel occupancy time (COT) is set, which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band. Based on the COT and the first offset amount, a specific time used for the first transmission is calculated, A method comprising performing the first transmission at the specified time. Example 71: Electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is In relation to the base station and the UE, determining the channel occupancy time (COT) which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, To determine whether the expected transmission time of a particular transmission among the periodic transmissions with the aforementioned UE falls within the COT, In response to determining that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is not within the COT, the particular transmission is determined to be a transmission in an inactive state. An electronic device configured to determine that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is within the COT, and to determine that the particular transmission is an activated transmission. Example 72: Determining the COT is The aforementioned base station performs listen-before-talk LBT operation, The electronic device according to Embodiment 71, further comprising determining the COT based on the LBT operation by the base station. Example 73: The periodic transmission is, Downlink semi-static reference signal SP RS transmission, or The electronic device according to Embodiment 72, which is either a semi-static scheduling physical downlink shared channel SPS PDSCH transmission or one of the other. Example 74: Determining the COT is The electronic device according to Embodiment 71, which includes determining the COT based on the COT message from the UE. Example 75: The periodic transmission is, Uplink semi-static sounding reference signal SP SRS transmission, or The electronic device according to Embodiment 74, which is either a configured authorized physical uplink shared channel CG PUSCH transmission. Example 76: The processing circuit further comprises, The electronic device according to Embodiment 71, configured to perform the specific transmission in an activated state and not to perform the specific transmission in an inactivated state. Example 77: A method implemented on the base station side, In relation to the base station and the UE, determining the channel occupancy time (COT) which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, To determine whether the expected transmission time of a particular transmission among the periodic transmissions with the aforementioned UE falls within the COT, In response to the fact that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is not within the COT, the particular transmission is determined to be a transmission in an inactive state. A method comprising determining the particular transmission as an activated transmission in response that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is within the COT. Example 78: An electronic device used on the user equipment UE side, wherein the electronic device is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is In relation to the base station and the UE, determining the channel occupancy time (COT) which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, To determine whether the expected transmission time of a particular transmission among the periodic transmissions with the aforementioned UE falls within the COT, In response to the fact that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is not within the COT, the particular transmission is determined to be a transmission in an inactive state. An electronic device configured to determine that the particular transmission is an activated transmission in response that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is within the COT. Example 79: Determining the COT is The electronic device according to Embodiment 78, which includes determining the COT based on the COT message from the base station. Example 80: The periodic transmission is, Downlink semi-static reference signal SP RS transmission, or The electronic device according to Embodiment 79, which is either a semi-static scheduling physical downlink shared channel SPS PDSCH transmission or one of the other. Example 81: Determining the COT is The aforementioned UE performs a listen-before-talk LBT operation, The electronic device according to Embodiment 78, comprising determining the COT based on the LBT operation by the UE. Example 82: The periodic transmission is, Uplink semi-static sounding reference signal SP SRS transmission, or The electronic device according to Embodiment 81, which is either a configured authorized physical uplink shared channel CG PUSCH transmission. Example 83: The processing circuit further comprises, The electronic device according to Embodiment 78, configured to perform the specific transmission in an activated state and not to perform the specific transmission in an inactivated state. Example 84: A method executed on the user device UE side, In relation to the base station and the UE, determining the channel occupancy time (COT) which is included in the COT message and indicates a specific time period during which the base station and the UE are permitted to communicate with each other in the unlicensed band, To determine whether the expected transmission time of a particular transmission among the periodic transmissions with the aforementioned UE falls within the COT, In response to the fact that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is not within the COT, the particular transmission is determined to be a transmission in an inactive state. A method comprising determining the particular transmission as an activated transmission in response that the expected transmission time of the particular transmission is within the COT. Example 85: A computer-readable storage medium storing one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processing circuits of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method described in any one of Examples 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, 77, or 84. Example 86: A computer program product comprising one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processing circuits of an electronic device, causing the electronic device to perform the method described in any one of Examples 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, 77, or 84.

Claims

1. Electronic equipment used on the base station side, wherein the electronic equipment is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions related to the UE, and transmitting a single DCI to the user equipment UE indicating the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, It is configured to perform a corresponding downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions using a determined corresponding actual beam, Determining an appropriate actual beam is When a first parameter related to the capabilities of the UE is received from the UE, it is determined that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions are the same beam. Electronic equipment that, when a second parameter relating to the capabilities of the UE is received from the UE, which is different from the first parameter, determines that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions include different beams.

2. Each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions is a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission, or The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is an aperiodic channel state information reference signal AP CSI-RS transmission.

3. The first parameter is a parameter transmitted when the UE is unable to complete beam switching within a predetermined time, The second parameter is a parameter that is transmitted when the UE can complete beam switching within a predetermined time. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising determining a corresponding default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions as the same beam when the first parameter is received from the UE.

5. Determining an appropriate actual beam is When the second parameter is received from the UE, Based on a third parameter related to the capabilities of the aforementioned UE, a time threshold is determined. Of the plurality of downlink transmissions, a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold are determined. For each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the default beam is used as the corresponding actual beam for that downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising using a corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for each of the second group of downlink transmissions.

6. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to claim 5, further comprising determining, based on a fourth parameter relating to the capabilities of the UE, whether the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same beam or different beams.

7. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to claim 6, further comprising determining, in response to determining that the corresponding actual beam used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions is the same, the default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions is said to be the same beam.

8. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to claim 6, further comprising determining, in response to the determination that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are not the same beam, the beam corresponding to the CORESET having the lowest ID in the search space most recently monitored by the UE as the corresponding actual beam used for the downlink transmission for each of the first group of downlink transmissions.

9. This is a method that is executed on the base station side. Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions related to the UE, and transmitting a single DCI to the user equipment UE indicating the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, This includes performing a corresponding downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions using a corresponding actual beam that has been determined, Determining an appropriate actual beam is When a first parameter related to the capabilities of the UE is received from the UE, it is determined that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions are the same beam. A method comprising determining that, if a second parameter relating to the capabilities of the UE is received from the UE, which is different from the first parameter, the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions include different beams.

10. Determining a suitable actual beam is When the second parameter is received from the UE, Based on a third parameter related to the capabilities of the aforementioned UE, a time threshold is determined. Of the plurality of downlink transmissions, a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold are determined. For each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the default beam is used as the corresponding actual beam for that downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI. The method according to claim 9, further comprising using, for each of the second group of downlink transmissions, a corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for the downlink transmission.

11. An electronic device used on the user device UE side, wherein the electronic device is It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions related to UE, and receiving a single DCI from the base station that indicates the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, It is configured to perform the following: using a determined corresponding actual beam, to receive a corresponding downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions; Determining an appropriate actual beam is When the first parameter related to the capabilities of the UE is transmitted to the base station, it is determined that the corresponding actual beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions is the same beam. Electronic equipment that, when a second parameter relating to the capabilities of the UE, which is different from the first parameter, is transmitted to the base station, determines that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions include different beams.

12. Each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions is a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission, or The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is an aperiodic channel state information reference signal AP CSI-RS transmission.

13. The first parameter is a parameter transmitted when the UE is unable to complete beam switching within a predetermined time, The second parameter is a parameter that is transmitted when the UE can complete beam switching within a predetermined time. The electronic device according to claim 11 or 12.

14. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to any one of claims 11 to 13, further comprising determining a corresponding default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions as the same beam when the first parameter is transmitted to the base station.

15. Determining an appropriate actual beam is When the second parameter is transmitted to the base station, Based on the capabilities of the aforementioned UE, a time threshold is determined. Of the plurality of downlink transmissions, a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold are determined. For each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the default beam is used as the corresponding actual beam for that downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI. The electronic device according to any one of claims 11 to 14, further comprising using a corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for each of the second group of downlink transmissions.

16. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to claim 15, further comprising determining whether the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same beam or different beams.

17. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to claim 16, further comprising determining, in response to determining that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are the same beam, the default beam associated with the earliest downlink transmission among the plurality of downlink transmissions is said to be the same beam.

18. Determining an appropriate actual beam is The electronic device according to claim 16, further comprising determining, in response to determining that the corresponding actual beams used for each of the first group of downlink transmissions are not the same beam, the beam corresponding to the CORESET having the lowest ID in the search space most recently monitored by the UE as the corresponding actual beam used for the downlink transmission for each of the first group of downlink transmissions.

19. A method that is executed on the user device UE side, Used to schedule multiple downlink transmissions related to UE, and receiving a single DCI from the base station that indicates the corresponding scheduling beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions, Determining the appropriate actual beam to be used for each of the aforementioned multiple downlink transmissions, This includes receiving a corresponding downlink transmission from among the plurality of downlink transmissions using a corresponding actual beam that has been determined, Determining an appropriate actual beam is When the first parameter related to the capabilities of the UE is transmitted to the base station, it is determined that the corresponding actual beam used for each of the multiple downlink transmissions is the same beam. A method comprising determining that, if a second parameter relating to the capabilities of the UE, which is different from the first parameter, is transmitted to the base station, the corresponding actual beams used for each of the plurality of downlink transmissions include different beams.

20. Determining a suitable actual beam is When the second parameter is transmitted to the base station, Based on the capabilities of the aforementioned UE, a time threshold is determined. Of the plurality of downlink transmissions, a first group of downlink transmissions scheduled before the time threshold and a second group of downlink transmissions scheduled after the time threshold are determined. For each of the first group of downlink transmissions, the default beam is used as the corresponding actual beam for that downlink transmission, rather than the corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI. The method according to claim 19, further comprising using, for each of the second group of downlink transmissions, a corresponding scheduling beam indicated by the single DCI as the corresponding actual beam used for the downlink transmission.

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