User equipment initiated beam report structure and transmission for separate downlink and uplink transmission configuration indicators

Abstract

A method for UE-initiated beam reporting is disclosed. The method comprises sending, to a network node, data comprising an indication of a UE-initiated beam reporting capability. The method further comprises receiving, from the network node, data including a UE-initiated beam reporting configuration based on the UE-initiated beam reporting capability. The method further comprises sending, to the network node, an indication of a beam report to be sent, wherein the indication is based on a beam reporting trigger condition that has been met. The method further comprises sending, to the network node, the beam report using the UE-initiated beam reporting configuration.

Description

USER EQUIPMENT INITIATED BEAM REPORT STRUCTURE AND TRANSMISSION FOR SEPARATE DOWNLINK AND UPLINK TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION INDICATORSFIELD

[0001] This present disclosure relates to beam reports in a wireless communication system.BACKGROUND

[0002] A user equipment (UE) may be configured by a network node (e.g., gNB) to perform measurements of serving and neighbor cells by sending a measurement configuration set by the network node. The UE may send beam reports including measurement information to the network node. The network node may use the beam reports to trigger handover of the UE to a neighbor cell.

[0003] The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.SUMMARY

[0004] Various computer-implemented systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for UE-initiated beam reporting are described herein.

[0005] In one embodiment, a method performed by a UE for initiating beam reporting is disclosed. The method comprises sending, to a network node, data comprising an indication of a UE-initiated beam reporting capability. The method further comprises receiving, from the network node, data including a UE-initiated beam reporting configuration based on the UE- initiated beam reporting capability. The method further comprises sending, to the network node, an indication of a beam report to be sent, wherein the indication is based on a beam reporting trigger condition that has been met. The method further comprises sending, to the network node, the beam report using the UE-initiated beam reporting configuration.

[0006] In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node for receiving a CSI report is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, from a user equipment (UE), data comprising an indication of a UE-initiated beam reporting capability. The method further comprises sending, to the UE, data including a UE-initiated beam reporting configuration based on the UE-initiated beam reporting capability. The method further comprises receiving, fromthe UE, an indication of a beam report to be sent, wherein the indication is based on a beam reporting trigger condition that has been met. The method further comprises receiving, from the UE, the beam report by using the UE-initiated beam reporting configuration.

[0007] In one embodiment, a network node, comprising processing circuitry is configured to perform the method above.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] For a better understanding of the various described embodiments, reference should be made to the Detailed Description below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

[0009] Figure 1 illustrates example code representing Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state information elements.

[0010] Figure 2 illustrates an example method of updating TCI states.

[0011] Figure 3 illustrates an example structure of MAC CE for activating and deactivating TCI states for UE specific PDSCH.

[0012] Figure 4 illustrates an example DCI indication format.

[0013] Figure 5 illustrates a schematic example of activated TCI states and mappings to TCI filed codepoints for joint downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) TCI.

[0014] Figure 6 illustrates a schematic example of activated TCI states and mappings to TCI filed codepoints for separate downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) TCI.

[0015] Figure 7 illustrates an example event type defined to trigger beam reports.

[0016] Figure 8 illustrates another example event type defined to trigger beam reports.

[0017] Figure 9 illustrates a UE initiated beam reporting method in accordance with an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 10 illustrates a UE initiated beam reporting method in accordance with an embodiment.

[0019] Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary wireless network in accordance with some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 13 illustrates an exemplary virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 14 illustrates an exemplary telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 15 illustrates an exemplary host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Certain aspects of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. This concept may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the concept to those skilled in the art.

[0025] Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise:

[0026] The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments of the invention may be readily combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

[0027] As used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator and is equivalent to the term “and / or,” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0028] The term “based on” is not exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not described unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0029] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term “coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are used synonymously. Within the context of a networked environment where two or more components or devices are able to exchange data, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are also used to mean “communicatively coupled with”, possibly via one or more intermediary devices.

[0030] In addition, throughout the specification, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”.

[0031] Although some of the various embodiments presented herein constitute a single combination of inventive elements, it should be appreciated that the inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements. As such, if oneembodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and another embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subject matter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A, B, C, or D, even if not explicitly discussed herein. Further, the transitional term “comprising” means to have as parts or members, or to be those parts or members. As used herein, the transitional term “comprising” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[0032] In various embodiments, the devices, instruments, systems, and methods described herein may be used to provide a UE-initiated beam reporting mechanism that enables a UE to initiate a beam reporting process with a network node (e.g., gNB). The UE may send, to the network node, an indication of beam report to be sent, in response to a beam reporting trigger condition being met. The UE may then send the beam report to the network node. The UE may monitor multiple serving links and sends beam reports in response to qualifying events, the UE may report to the network node in an overhead efficient way.

[0033] It is noted that description herein is not intended as an extensive overview, and as such, concepts may be simplified in the interests of clarity and brevity. Any process or method or corresponding steps of any process or method described in this application may be performed in any order and may omit any of the steps in the process. Processes or methods may also be combined with other processes or steps of other processes, in part or in whole. Parts of processes or methods, or corresponding steps may be combined with other parts of processes or methods, or corresponding steps.

[0034] In New Radio (NR) technology, several signals can be transmitted from different antenna ports of a same base station. These signals can have the same large-scale properties such as Doppler shift / spread, average delay spread, or average delay. These antenna ports are then said to be quasi co-located (QCL).

[0035] In instances where a user equipment (UE) has received an indication that two antenna ports are QCL with respect to a certain parameter (e.g., Doppler spread), the UE may be configured to estimate the parameter, e.g., based on one of the two antenna ports, and apply the estimate for receiving signals on the other antenna port.

[0036] For example, there may be a QCL relation between a Channel State Information (CSI) Reference Signal (RS) for Tracking RS (TRS) and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS). When the UE receives the PDSCH DMRS it can use the measurements already made on the TRS to assist the DMRS reception.

[0037] Information about what assumptions can be made regarding QCL is signaled to the UE from the network. In NR, four types of QCL relations between a transmitted source RS and transmitted target RS are defined:

[0038] Type A: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}

[0039] Type B: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}

[0040] Type C: {average delay, Doppler shift}

[0041] Type D: {Spatial reception (Rx) parameter}

[0042] QCL Type D facilitates beam management with analog beamforming and is known as spatial QCL. Spatial QCL does not have a particular definition, but if two transmitted antenna ports are spatially QCL, the UE can use the same Rx beam to receive them. Such an approach may be helpful for a UE that uses analog beamforming to receive signals, since analog beamforming requires adjusting the UE Rx beam in some direction prior to receiving a certain signal. If the signal is spatially QCL with some other signal the UE has received earlier, then the UE can use the same Rx beam to also receive the signal. It should be noted that for beam management, the various examples herein relate to QCL Type D relations, but it is also necessary to convey a QCL Type A relation for the RSs to the UE, so the UE can estimate relevant large-scale parameters.

[0043] Typically, such parameter estimation may be achieved by configuring the UE with a CSI-RS for TRS time / frequency offset estimations. To be able to use any QCL reference, the UE may receive it with a sufficiently good Signal to Interference & Noise Ratio (SINR). In many cases, this means that the TRS needs to be sent to a certain UE in a beam such that the UE may reliably receive and decode the reference signal. .

[0044] To introduce dynamics in beam and Transmission Point (TRP) selection, the UE can be configured through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling with up to 128 Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states.

[0045] For example, Figure 1 illustrates example code 100 representing TCI state information elements. Each TCI state may include QCL information related to one or two RSs. For example, a TCI state may contain CSI-RS 1 associated with QCL Type A and CSI-RS2 associated with QCL Type D. If a third RS (e.g., the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) DMRS) has this TCI state as QCL source, it means that the UE can derive Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread from CSI-RS 1 and Spatial Rx parameter (i.e. the RX beam to use) from CSI-RS2 when performing the channel estimation for the PDCCH DMRS.

[0046] A first list of available TCI states is configured for PDSCH, and a second list of TCI states is configured for PDCCH. Each TCI state may contain a pointer, known as TCI State identification (ID), which points to the TCI state. The network then activates via Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) one TCI state for PDCCH (i.e. provides a TCI for PDCCH) and up to eight TCI states for PDSCH. The number of active TCI states the UE may support depends on the UE’s capability. In some instances, the maximum number of active TCI states may be 8.

[0047] In instances where a UE has four activated TCI states (from a list of totally 64 configured TCI states) 60 TCI states may be inactive for this particular UE and the UE need not be prepared to have large scale parameters estimated for those inactive TCI states. But the UE continuously tracks and updates the large-scale parameters for the RSs in the 4 active TCI states. When scheduling a PDSCH to a UE, the Downlink Control Information (DCI) contains a pointer to one activated TCI state. The UE then knows which large-scale parameter estimate to use when performing PDSCH DMRS channel estimation and thus PDSCH demodulation.

[0048] Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart for a method 200 of TCI state update. In some embodiments, the method 200 may be related to a base station (e.g., gNB) updating TCI state for a UE. In some instances, as long as the UE can use any of the currently activated TCI states, it may be sufficient to use DCI signaling. However, in some instances, none of the source RSs in the currently activated TCI states may be received by the UE. For instance, the UE may move out of the beams in which the source RSs in the activated TCI states are transmitted. In such instances, the base station may be configured to activate new TCI states. In some instances, the gNB may deactivate one or more currently activated TCI states as the number of activated TCI states may be fixed.

[0049] In some embodiments, the method 200 may begin at block 202. At block 202, whether an update to the current TCI state is needed may be determined. For example, in some embodiments, the gNB may determine that current TCI state for the UE needs to be updated based on different events. For example, the gNB may determine to update the TCI update for a handover event, resource reconfiguration, periodic updates, system information changes, among others.

[0050] In response to determining that an update is needed, at block 204, a new TCI state may be selected with DCI. For example, the TCI state may be selected from the activated set of TCI states using DCI. In response to determining that the current TCI need not be updated, the current TCI state may stay the same (e.g., repeat block 202). At block 206, it may be determined whether a new of TCI states need to be activated. For example, a number ofactivated TCI states may be limited. In such instances, to activate the set of TCI states may be updated such that the new TCI state is activated, and one or more existing TCI states are deactivated. At block 208, The new TCI states may be updated using MAC CE.

[0051] For example, Figure 3 illustrates a diagram 300 for a structure of MAC CE for activating and / or deactivating TCI states for UE specific PDSCH. As shown in Figure 3, the MAC CE may contain the following fields: Serving Cell ID, Bandwidth Part (BWP) ID, a variable number of fields, Ti, and a Reserved bit, R. The Serving Cell ID field indicates the identity of the Serving Cell for which the MAC CE applies. The length of the field is 5 bits. The BWP ID field contains the ID corresponding to a downlink bandwidth part for which the MAC CE applies. The BWP ID is given by the higher layer parameter BWP-Id as specified in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.331. The length of the BWP ID field is two (2) bits since a UE can be configured with up to four (4) BWPs for Downlink (DL). In the variable number of fields Ti, if the UE is configured with a TCI state with TCI State ID i, then the field Ti indicates the activation / deactivation status of the TCI state with TCI State ID i. If the UE is not configured with a TCI state with TCI State ID i, the MAC entity will ignore the Ti field. The Ti field is set to " 1" to indicate that the TCI state with TCI State ID i will be activated and mapped to a codepoint of the DCI Transmission Configuration Indication field, as specified in 3GPP TS 38.214 / 38.321. The Ti field is set to "0" to indicate that the TCI state with TCI State ID i will be deactivated and is not mapped to any codepoint of the DCI Transmission Configuration Indication field. It should be noted that the codepoint to which the TCI State is mapped is determined by the ordinal position among the TCI States with the Ti field set to " 1 " . That is, the first TCI State with the Ti field set to " 1 " will be mapped to the codepoint value “0” of the DCI Transmission Configuration Indication field, the second TCI State with Ti field set to " 1" will be mapped to the codepoint value “1” of DCI Transmission Configuration Indication field, and so on. In NR Rel-15, the maximum number of activated TCI states is 8. The Reserved bit R is set to “0” in NR Rel-15.

[0052] The TCI States Activation / Deactivation for UE-specific PDSCH MAC CE may be identified by a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) subheader with logical channel ID (LCID) as specified in Table 6.2.1-1 of 3GPP TS 38.321 (this table is illustrated in Figure 3). The MAC CE for Activation / Deactivation of TCI States for UE-specific PDSCH is variable in size.

[0053] The network node can use DCI format 1 1 or 1 2 to indicate to the UE that it will use one of the activated TCI states for the subsequent PDSCH reception. The field being used for this purpose in the DCI is Transmission configuration indication, which is three (3) bits iftci-PresentlnDCI is “enabled” by higher layers or tci-PresentForDCI-Formatl-2-rl6 is “enabled” by a higher layer for DCI format 1 1 and DCI format 1 2, respectively.

[0054] For example, Figure 4 illustrates an example DCI indication 400. The DCI indication 400 illustrates DCI code point 0 indicating the first TCI state index (e.g., TCI 3) in the list of TCI states, DCI code point 1 indicating the second TCI state index (e.g., TCI 7) in the list of TCI states, and so on. As shown, DCI code point 4 indicates the fifth TCI state index, TCI 25.

[0055] The NR framework for beam management may be based on the framework of spatial QCL assumptions and spatial relations in order to support, e.g., analog beamforming implementations at the UE and / or the network. The framework allows for flexibility for the network (e.g., the gNB) to instruct the UE to receive signals from several directions and to transmit signals in several directions. In this framework, the uplink and downlink configurations are decoupled, e.g., there is no direct relation between the configured spatial QCL assumptions and the spatial relations.

[0056] In the Rel-15 / Rel-16 framework, downlink beam management is performed by conveying spatial QCL (QCL Type D) assumptions to the UE, which are conveyed in TCI states. One TCI state contains one or two RSs, and each RS is associated with a QCL type. Regarding PDCCH beam management, the network configures the UE with a set of PDCCH TCI states by RRC, and then activates one TCI state per COntrol REsourceSET (CORESET) using MAC CE. Regarding PDSCH beam management, the network configures the UE with a set of PDSCH TCI states by RRC, and then activates up to eight (8) TCI states by MAC CE. After activation, the network dynamically indicates one of these activated TCI states using a TCI field in DCI when scheduling PDSCH. Alternatively, the network may simplify the beam management by not setting the RRC parameter tci-PresentlnDCI (which is configured per CORESET) to ‘enabled’. In this case, the UE uses the same TCI state for PDSCH as for PDCCH.

[0057] In the Rel-15 / Rel-16 framework, uplink beam management is performed using configuration of spatial relations. A spatial relation is defined at the UE side between a source RS and a target RS. The source RS can be a received DL RS (synchronization signal block (SSB) or CSI-RS) or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). The target RS can be a transmitted Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) DMRS or an SRS. Note that there is no direct configuration of the spatial relation for a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH): the PUSCH follows the spatial relation of a PUCCH or an SRS.

[0058] Regarding PUCCH beam management, for PUCCH, the network configures the UE with a set of eight (8) spatial relations using RRC, and subsequently activates one of these spatial relations using MAC CE. The spatial relation is defined per PUCCH resource. In Rel- 16, enhancements were made such that a spatial relation could be updated for a group of PUCCH resources using a single MAC-CE. In addition, a default spatial relation for PUCCH was introduced in Rel-16, such that when no spatial relation is configured / activated for a PUCCH resource, the UE uses the TCI state / QCL assumption of the CORESET with lowest ID, both to derive a spatial relation and to derive a path loss reference signal. Regarding PUSCH beam management, a PUSCH scheduled by DCI Format 0 1 is transmitted over the ports where a configured SRS resource may also be transmitted. Either two (codebook-based) or four (non-codebook-based) SRS resources can be defined in the SRS resource set. The network selects which SRS resource in the set should correspond to the PUSCH transmission (i.e., PUSCH is transmitted on the same ports as the selected SRS and using the spatial relation of the selected SRS) using the SRS resource indicator (SRI) field in DCI. The spatial relation for the SRS resources in the set is provided either by RRC (for periodic or aperiodic SRS) or MAC-CE (for aperiodic or semi-persistent SRS). For a PUSCH scheduled by DCI Format 0 0, there is no SRI and the spatial relation instead follows that of a PUCCH resource. In Rel-16, a default spatial relation for SRS was introduced, such that when no spatial relation is configured / activated for an SRS resource, the UE uses the TCI state / QCL assumption of the CORESET with lowest ID, both to derive the spatial relation and to derive the path loss reference signal.

[0059] Regarding SRS beam management, spatial relations for SRS are configured by RRC (for periodic and aperiodic) or by MAC CE (aperiodic or semi -persistent).

[0060] The Rel- 15 / Rel- 16 framework provides the Network (NW) with great flexibility in some areas, at the cost of signaling efficiency. In some other areas, the specification is overly restrictive and prohibits efficient (low signaling overhead) and rapid beam management. These limitations are particularly noticeable and costly when UE movement is considered. One example is that beam update using DCI can only be performed for PDSCH, and MAC-CE and / or RRC is required to update the beam for other reference signals / channels, with cause extra overhead and latency.

[0061] Furthermore, in most cases, the specified beam management flexibility is not really needed since the network will transmit to and receive from the UE using the same beam for both data and control. Hence, using TCI state for DL signals / channels and spatial relations for UL signals / channels complicates the implementations.

[0062] Another issue is related to the path loss reference signal used for UL power control. In NR, only up to four path loss reference signals can be configured for a UE, which typically is significantly less than the number of beams a TRP at Frequency Ranges 2 (FR2) uses to cover the cell. Hence, when a UE moves around in the cell, the path loss reference signal needs to be updated using MAC-CE and / or RRC, which introduces extra latency and overhead.

[0063] In 3GPP Rel-17, a new unified TCI state framework is specified, which aims to streamline the indication of transmit / receive spatial filter (and other QCL properties) to the UE by letting a single TCI state indicate QCL properties for multiple different DL and / or UL signals / channels.

[0064] The unified TCI state framework of Rel-17 can be RRC configured in one out of two modes of operation “Joint DL / UL TCI” or “Separate DL / UL TCI”. For “Joint DL / UL TCI” operation, one common Joint TCI state is used for both DL and UL signals / channels. For “Separate DL / UL TCI” operation, one common DL-only TCI state is used for DL channels / signals, and one common UL-only TCI state is used for UL signals / channels.

[0065] It is expected that “Joint DL / UL TCI” operation will be the most common use case, but “Separate DL / UL TCI” operation can be useful in specific scenarios where the optimal DL beam differs from optimal UL beam, for example in case a UE panel associated with the best DL beam is affected by power management - maximum power reduction (P-MPR ), and hence need to reduce the maximum allowed output power.

[0066] The common TCI state ID can be updated in a similar way as the TCI state ID is updated for PDSCH in Rel-15 / 16, i.e., using a two-stage or three-stage process. For the two- stage process, RRC signaling is used to configure a number of TCI states in PDSCH-config, and MAC-CE is used to activate a single TCI state (which will then be applied). For the three- stage process, RRC signaling is used to configure a number TCI state in PDSCH-config, MAC- CE is used to activate up to 8 TCI states, and a 3 -bit TCI state bitfield (consisting of up to 8 codepoints) in DCI is used to indicate one of the activated TCI states (which will then be applied).

[0067] For “Joint DL / UL TCI” operation, a maximum of one Joint TCI state can be activated per TCI codepoint. One schematic example of activated TCI states and their mappings to TCI field codepoints for Joint DL / UL TCI is illustrated in Figure 5. For example, Figure 5 illustrates an example schematic 500 of activated TCI states and mappings to TCI filed codepoints for joint downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) TCI. A UE may be configured to apply different joint TCIs based on the TCI field codepoint. For example, in instances in whichthe TCI codepoint indicates “1”, the UE may be configured to apply “Joint TCI state 7” as the common QCL source for both DL and UL signals / channels.

[0068] For “Separate DL / UL TCI” operation, up to two TCI states may be activated per TCI codepoint: one for DL signals / channels (DL-only TCI state) and one for UL signals / channels (UL-only TCI state). One schematic example of activated TCI states and their mappings to TCI field codepoints for Separate DL / UL TCI is illustrated in Figure 6. For example, Figure 6 illustrates an example schematic 600 of activated TCI states and mappings to TCI filed codepoints for separate downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) TCI. Based on the TCI codepoint 600, one or more TCI states may be activated. For example, in instances in which the TCI codepoint is “0”, the UE may be configured to apply “DL-only TCI state 3” as the common QCL source for DL signals / channels, and not update the QCL source for UL signals channel. In another instance in which the TCI codepoint is “7”, the UE may be configured to apply “UL-only TCI state 57” as QCL source for UL signals / channels, and not update the QCL source for DL signals / channel.

[0069] The existing DCI formats 1 1 and 1_2 in NR are reused (as in Rel-15 / 16 beam management framework) for beam indication, both with and without DL assignment. For DCI formats 1 1 and 1_2 with DL assignment, Acknowledgement / Negative-acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) of the PDSCH can be used as an indication of a successful reception of the beam indication. For DCI formats 1 1 and 1_2 without DL assignment, a new ACK / NACK mechanism analogous to that for the SPS PDSCH release with both type-1 and type-2 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)ACK codebook is used, where upon a successful reception of the beam indication DCI, the UE reports an ACK.

[0070] For DCI-based beam indication, the first slot to apply the indicated TCI state is at least Y symbols after the last symbol of the acknowledgment of the joint or separate DL / UL beam indication. The Y symbols are configured by the network node based on UE capability, which is also reported in units of symbols.

[0071] For both “Joint DL / UL TCI” operation and “Separate DL / UL TCI” operation, the large scale QCL properties are inferred from one source RS (QCL Type 1 only) or two source RSs (QCL Type 1 and QCL Type 2) analogous to Rel-15 / 16 beam management framework. For “Joint DL / UL TCI” operation, the UL spatial filter is derived from that corresponding to the source RS of DL QCL Type D, analogous to default beam operation for Rel-15 / 16 beam management framework.

[0072] In DL, the Joint / DL-only TCI state can provide common QCL information at least for the following: UE-dedicated PDCCH; PDSCH; aperiodic CSI-RS for CSI; and aperiodicCSI-RS for beam management. So far, there has been no agreement on CSI-RS for other time domain behaviors.

[0073] RRC configuration is used to indicate if a non-UE dedicated PDCCH / PDSCH, AP CSI-RS for CSI and BM should follow the common beam or not. “Common beam” as used here means that the same beam is used for receiving DL signals / channels that are indicated to follow the common beam. For DL signal / channels that do not follow the common beam, a Rel- 17 TCI state can be indicated as QCL source in a similar way as for Rel-15 / 16 beam management framework. As an example, for a periodic CSI-RS that does not follow the common beam, a Rel-17 TCI state can be configured in the parameter “qcl-InfoPeriodicCSI- RS” in “NZP-CSI-RS-Resource information element” as specified in 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.7.0. The possible target and source RSs and corresponding QCL properties that are supported for Joint / DL-only TCI state indication are summarized in Table 1 below.Table 1: Possible configurations of target and source RS and corresponding QCL properties for Joint / DL-only TCI state indication

[0074] In UL, the Joint / UL-only TCI state can provide common QCL information at least for all or a subset of all PUCCH resources, dynamic-grant / configured-grant PUSCH, and SRS for all usages (except for usage “positioning”).

[0075] RRC configuration is used to indicate if an SRS and PUCCH resource should follow the common beam or not. “Common beam” as used here means that the same beam is used for receiving UL signals / channels that are indicated to follow the common beam. For UL signal / channels that do not follow the common beam, a Rel- 17 TCI state can be used to indicate spatial relation instead of a DL / UL-RS which is used to indicate spatial relation for Rel-15 / 16 beam management framework. As an example, for a periodic SRS resource that does not follow the common beam, a new RRC parameter in an SRS resource can be configured with a Rel-17 TCI state, and the UE will use that Rel-17 TCI state to determine the spatial relation for thatSRS resource. Any of the following reference signals can be used to indicate spatial relation for a UL signal / channel in Rel-17 TCI state framework: SSB, TRS (tracking reference signal), CSI-RS for beam management, and SRS with usage set to beam management.

[0076] Inter-cell beam management has been included in the Rel-17 TCI state framework to facilitate L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility (to be specified for higher layers in NR Rel-18) as well as inter-cell multi-TRP operation.

[0077] For inter-cell beam management, a UE can be configured to measure and report Rel-15 LI - Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) for SSB(s) associated with non-serving cells. Which serving cell an SSB is associated with is indicated by RRC signaling, where each SSB is paired with a PCI. The maximum number of PCIs different from the serving cell that can be used for SSB measurement / reporting is determined by UE capability, and can be, for example, 0, 1, 2, 3, or 7 PCIs. The beam indication for inter-cell beam management will work in the same way as for intra-cell Rel-17 unified TCI state framework.

[0078] The DL QCL and UL spatial relation rules for inter-cell beam management will work in the same way as for intra-cell Rel-17 unified TCI state framework.

[0079] The UE can be configured by the network to perform measurements of serving and neighbor cells, by sending a measurement configuration, provided in an RRCReconfiguration message (in case of NR) or an RRCConnectionReconfiguration RRC message (for LTE), or as part of broadcasted system information. In accordance with this measurement configuration provided by the network, the UE also reports measurement information, using a Measurement Report RRC message, to the network. The network then typically uses the measurement reports to trigger handover of the UE to a neighbor cell.

[0080] The neighbor cell measurements are classified into intra-frequency, interfrequency or inter-RAT measurements.

[0081] The UE measures what is defined as a measurement object, which is part of the measurement configuration. A measurement object is: a carrier frequency for LTE, or frequency / time location and subcarrier spacing of reference signals for NR.

[0082] The measurement object may be refined by listed cells (such as allowed cells, and / or excluded cells) as well as listed cell-specific offsets. Excluded (also called blacklisted cells) are not considered in event evaluation or measurement reporting. The allowed (also called whitelisted) cells may be the only ones considered for event evaluation and measurement reporting, if so configured. If neither allowed nor excluded cells are configured, the UE considers detected cells in event evaluation and measurement reporting.

[0083] The measurement configuration also includes a reporting configuration, comprising a reporting criterion (used to trigger the report) and a reporting format (i.e., which quantities to include in the report). The reporting criterion is either “periodic” or “single event”. The reporting quantity may be RSRP for example.

[0084] The measurement configuration also includes a list of measurement identities where each measurement identity links one measurement object with one reporting configuration. By configuring multiple measurement identities, it is possible to link more than one measurement object to the same reporting configuration, as well as to link more than one reporting configuration to the same measurement object. The measurement identity is also included in the measurement report that triggered the reporting, serving as a reference to the network.

[0085] The measurement configuration also includes a quantity configuration, which defines the measurement filtering configuration used for event evaluation and related reporting, and for periodical reporting of that measurement.

[0086] The measurement configuration further includes measurement gaps, which are periods that the UE may use to perform measurements.

[0087] In the case of single event reporting criterion, there are a number of event types defined to trigger measurement reports, see e.g., TS 38.331 Section 5.5.4. Two example event types may include Event A3 and Event A5.

[0088] For example, Figure 7 illustrates an example event type 700 defined to trigger beam reports. The event type 700 may correspond to Event A3. Event A3 may be also known as “Neighbor becomes offset better than SpCell”. In case of NR, it is also known as “Neighbor becomes offset better than PCell / PSCell”. The offset is the cell specific offset part of the measurement object corresponding to the particular neighbor cell.

[0089] Figure 8 illustrates another example event type 800 defined to trigger beam reports. Event type 800 may correspond to Event A5. Event A5 may also be known as “SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and neighbor becomes better than threshold2”. In case of NR, it is also known as “PCell / PSCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and neighbor becomes better than threshold2”. The thresholds are part of the reporting configuration.

[0090] As part of the configuration for events A3, A5, and also other type of events, a hysteresis may also be included. The hysteresis is useful in combination with configuration of “reportOnLeave”, where the UE transmits a report when a trigger quantity of a measurement object ceases to fulfil the criterion (and taking the hysteresis into account) for reporting. For example, as also illustrated in Figure 7, when using the “reportOnLeave” applied on event A3for a neighbor cell, the UE transmits a measurement report when the neighbor cell falls below the serving cell plus offset minus the hysteresis.

[0091] P-MPR is the power reduction the UE may need to perform to comply with regulatory restrict Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE). P-MPR has been introduced in the PcMAx,f,c equation such that the UE can report to the network node the available maximum output transmit power, which can be used by the network node for scheduling decisions. In Rel-16, an event-triggered enhanced Power Head Room (PHR) report was specified which could indicate if a P-MPR value has been applied by the UE to meet the MPE requirements.

[0092] An MPE event is typically UE panel-specific and can, for example, depend on if a user’s finger is proximate to a UE panel or not. This means that different UE panels might experience different P-MPR situations, and hence be associated with different available output powers.

[0093] Due to beam correspondence at UEs, it is expected that both DL and UL beam selections in commercial products will be mainly based on measured DL performance metrics (RSRP or SINR) from DL beam management procedures using SSB and / or CSI-RS. However, since P-MPR is not included in DL performance measurements, the network node is unaware if an UL beam is associated with a UE panel suffering from P-MPR, which if selected could cause UL coverage problems.

[0094] To mitigate this issue, the Rel-16 event-triggered P-MPR-based reporting (which is included in a PHR report when a threshold is reached) was further enhanced in Rel-17. This Rel-17 further enhanced PHR report is signaled via MAC-CE, and in addition to the existing fields in the existing PHR MAC-CE, N>1 P-MPR values can be reported, where N can be 1, 2, 3, or 4 (depending on UE capability). In addition, for each of the reported N P-MPR values (which for example can be associated to N different UE panels), the UE can indicate a new preferred beam Synchronization Signal (SS) / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) Block Resource Indicator (SSBRI) / CSI Reference Signal Resource Indicator (CRI).

[0095] There currently exist certain challenges. Legacy NR beam reporting is either configured periodically with a certain periodicity or requested aperiodically from the network. This can cause, especially in high mobility FR2 scenarios, either a delay in reporting with a loss in performance due to non-updated measurements or a high signaling overhead. Also, there is an open issue regarding how to structure and transmit a UE initiated beam report when a UE is configured with separate DL / UL TCI for a unified TCI state framework.

[0096] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. To mitigate these challenges, a UE initiated beam report may bespecified, where the UE detects that a non-serving beam is better than a current serving beam and indicates this information to the network. In this disclosure, it is assumed that a UE is monitoring two serving links, one associated with an applied DL unified TCI state and one associated with an applied UL unified TCI state (or similar QCL and / or spatial filter related information element for 6G). The UE reports to the network in an overhead-efficient way if a better beam has been detected for one or both of the serving links, and if a better beam has been detected for only one serving link, an indication of which one of the two serving links for which a better beam has been detected.

[0097] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, certain embodiments enable the network node (e.g., gNB) to know if the recommended or candidate beams included in the UE initiated beam report are for the serving link associated with DL channels / signals or for the serving link associated with UL channels / signals. Hence, the UE and the network node can have the same understanding with regard to whether the recommended / candidate beam is for the DL channel / signal related serving link or the UL channel / signal related serving link.

[0098] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein may be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0099] This disclosure solves at least the following issues: how to indicate to the network in a UE initiated beam report if both of the serving links have met the trigger condition(s) or a single serving link has met the trigger condition; and, if a single serving link has met the trigger condition, how to indicate if it is the serving link associated with the applied Unified DL TCI state or if it is the serving link associated with the applied Unified UL TCI state.

[0100] Figure 9 illustrates a UE initiated beam reporting method 900 in accordance with an embodiment. As shown, some of the steps of method 900 are performed by a UE 902 (e.g., any UE described herein) and some of the steps of method 900 are performed by a network node 904 (e.g., any network node described herein). As described herein, an indication can represent one or more indices, representations, messages, or the like.

[0101] At block 910 (Step 1), UE 902 indicates to network node 904, e.g., during UE capability signaling, that it supports UE-initiated beam reporting. For example, the UE may indicate that the UE may provide feedback to the network node about the quality of signals from different antenna beams. In some embodiments, the UE may indicate the capability for UE initiated beam reporting at during initial communication establishment.

[0102] In an embodiment, a UE capability message may be used to indicate the support of a UE initiated beam report, where the UE capability message contains UE-initiated beam reporting information, including information related to one or more of the following: support for a single PUCCH-SR used to trigger a UE initiated beam report corresponding to one or both of at least one serving link for DL reception associated with an applied unified DL TCI state and at least one serving link for UL transmission associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; support for two PUCCH-SRs, where a first PUCCH-SR is used to trigger a UE initiated beam report corresponding to at least one serving link for DL reception associated with an applied unified DL TCI state and where a second PUCCH-SR is used to trigger a UE initiated beam report corresponding to at least one serving link for UL transmission associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; support for UL performance metrics included in the UE initiated beam report for the at least one serving link for UL transmission, where the UL performance metrics can include, for example, one or more of the following UL output power performance metrics: P-MPR associated with the spatial filter used to receive downlink reference signals (DL-RSs) associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; maximum output power (e.g., Pcmax) associated with the spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) associated with the UE panel used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; power head room (e.g., based on a default PUSCH transmission) for the spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; and / or UL RSRP; or a maximum supported number of DL and / or UL reported beam indication. In these and other embodiments, the DL-RS may represent a type of signal configured to help UEs estimate channel conditions, such as signal strength, interference, and fading characteristics.

[0103] At block 920 (Step 2), network node 904 sends a UE-initiated beam reporting configuration to UE 902. Lor example, UE-initiated beam reporting configuration may comprise UE configuration data for performing measurements (e.g., measuring parameters), triggering UE-initiated beam reports (e.g., triggering parameters), performing UE-initiated beam reports, etc. Lor example, the network node 904 may provide reporting conditions (e.g., signal quality drops below a certain threshold, occurrence of events such as Event A3 or Event A5, etc.) and procedures and message format standards.

[0104] At block 930 (Step 3), network node 904 sends downlink reference signals (DLRS) (e.g., CSI-RSs, SSBs or new DL-RSs in 6G) to UE 902. In some embodiments, the DLRS may provide UE 902 with timing and synchronization information. Additionally oralternatively, the DL-RS may facilitate channel estimation and demodulation of the downlink data.

[0105] At block 940 (Step 4), UE 902 may perform measurements on these DL-RSs and determine if a UE-initiated beam reporting trigger event has occurred. For example, the UE may monitor and / or evaluate whether triggering events such as the Event A3 of Figure 7 and / or Event A5 of Figure 8 have occurred. In some embodiments, the UE may perform periodic measurements. For example, the UE may perform the measurements at regular, predefined intervals. In other embodiments, the UE may perform aperiodic measurements. For example, the UE may perform the measurements at irregular, non-predefined intervals.

[0106] At block 950 (Step 5), in response to such UE initiated beam reporting trigger event occurring, the UE indicates to the network that the UE will transmit a UE initiated beam report to the network. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with separate DL / UL TCI states in the unified TCI state framework (or similar configuration for a new QCL and / or spatial filter related framework in 6G). In some embodiments, the UE may be indicated with two applied (indicated) unified TCI states, one unified DL TCI state and one unified UL TCI state (or a similar setup in 6G, where a first TCI state or similar QCL and / or spatial filter related information element is associated with one or more DL signals / channels, e.g., PDCCH and PDSCH, and a second TCI state or QCL and / or spatial filter related information element is associated with one or more UL signals / channels, e.g., PUCCH and PUSCH). It is further assumed that the UE is monitoring two separate serving links, where at least one serving link for DL reception is associated with the applied unified DL TCI state and at least one serving link for UL transmission is associated with the applied unified UL TCI state. By monitoring these two serving links, the UE may trigger a UE-initiated beam report for one or both of the serving links, based on different configured trigger conditions.

[0107] In one embodiment, the UE may be configured with two PUCCH-SR (scheduling request) resources, in which a first PUCCH-SR resource is associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception (e.g., DL signals / channels) and a second PUCCH-SR resource is associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission (e.g., UL signals / channels). In such instances, if the trigger condition is met for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the UE indicates with the first PUCCH-SR resource that the trigger condition has been met for the at least one serving link for DL reception and that the UE will send a UE- initiated beam report associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception. Similarly, in case the trigger condition is met for the at least one serving link for UL transmission, the UE indicates with the second PUCCH-SR resource that the trigger condition has been met for theat least one serving link for UL transmission and that the UE will send a UE-initiated beam report associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission. Once the network node has received / detected the scheduling request in the first and / or the second PUCCH-SR resource(s), the network node schedules a PUSCH transmission for the UE to transmit a beam report. The report may be a MAC CE or a RRC message carried in the PUSCH. Such approach may provide improvement over existing approaches in that the same message (e.g., MAC-CE or RRC message) containing the UE-initiated beam report can be used for the first service link and the second service link without additional information about which serving link the report is associated with, since the network will know, based on which PUCCH-SRthat was triggered, which serving link the UE-initiated beam report is associated with.

[0108] In one embodiment, in instances in which both the at least one serving link for DL receptionand the at least one serving link for UL transmission have met the triggering condition(s), the UE may indicate requests on both the first and the second configured PUCCH- SRs. The UE then sends two beam reports, corresponding to the two serving links, carried in a same PUSCH transmission.

[0109] In an alternative embodiment, a third PUCCH-SR resource may be configured to the UE which may be used to send a scheduling request when triggering conditions are met for both the first link (i.e., DL signals / channels) and the second link (i.e., UL signals / channels). Once the network node has received / detected the scheduling request in the third PUCCH-SR resource, the network node may schedule a PUSCH transmission for the UE to transmit beam reports corresponding to both the first link and the second link. In some embodiments, the beam reports may be carried in the same PUSCH transmission.

[0110] In some embodiments, receiving a UE-initiated beam report from the UE, the network node may send a response to acknowledge the reception of the report and, optionally, indicate a new DL TCI state or a new UL TCI state associated with one of the candidate beams reported in the beam indication report. Alternatively, the network node may send a response to acknowledge the reception of the report but may keep the DL or UL TCI states unchanged. In such instances, the UE may not trigger another UE-initiated beam report for the same condition until after certain time period. The response can be indicated by a bit field in a DCI (if a TCI state associated with the new beam has already been activated, the new TCI state indication can be done with DCI). Otherwise, a MAC CE may be used to activate the new TCI state first, before the new TCI state is indicated with a DCI. In another scenario, a single candidate beam can be indicated in the UE-initiated beam report and / or a beam switch request can be indicated in the UE-initiated beam report. Then, if a corresponding response for the UE-initiated beamreport is received, the UE may expect the candidate beam to be used, after certain time period from receiving the response, in the DL or UL before a new TCI state is indicated, i.e., the current TCI state is temporarily overridden by the candidate beam.

[0111] At block 960 (Step 6), the UE transmits the UE-initiated beam report. In some embodiments, prior to the UE transmitting the UE-initiated beam report. The UE may receive, from the network, a channel to transmit the UE. For example, the network may specify a channel that the UE may use to transmit the beam report.

[0112] In some embodiments, the beam indication report may include information about one or more new candidate beams for DL reception or one or more new candidate beams for UL transmission. For example, each candidate beam may be indicated via an identifier of the DL RS used to measure the beam (e.g., a candidate beam is reported via the SSB ID associated with the SSB). In some instances, in which the performance of an existing beam has substantially degraded, the UE may indicate a beam switch request in the beam indication report in addition to the one or more new candidate beams.

[0113] In one embodiment, the UE may be configured with a single PUCCH-SR resource, where the single PUCCH-SR resource is associated with both the at least one serving link for DL reception and at least one serving link for UL transmission. For instance, the UE may send a first beam report for the first link and / or a second beam report for the second link using the single PUCCH-SR resource. In one embodiment, the PUCCH-SR resource may trigger a message (e.g., MAC-CE or RRC message) that includes a field that may be used to indicate whether the trigger condition has been met for the at least one serving link for DL reception, and / or the at least one serving link for UL transmission. In some instances, the message may also include one or more recommended new beams (e.g., by using the indices of the DL-RS(s) used to measure / identify the one or more recommended new beams) of the indicated serving link.

[0114] In one embodiment, the message may include a field that can be used to indicate if the trigger condition has been met for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission. For example, the message may include a 2- bit field having a first bit and a second bit. The first bit may correspond to the at least one serving link for DL reception and the second bit may correspond to the at least one serving link for UL transmission. Each bit may be configured to represent whether the trigger condition for the corresponding serving link has been met. In some embodiments, the message may alsoinclude one or more recommended new beams (e.g., by using DL-RS indexes) of one or both indicated serving link(s).

[0115] In one embodiment, each recommended new beam in the UE-initiated beam report may include a corresponding indicator that indicates if that recommended new beam is for the at least one serving link for DL reception or for the at least one serving link for UL transmission. Table 2 below illustrates an example UE-initiated beam report with four recommended new beams, where the ithrecommended beam is denoted by ‘CRI or SSBRI #z” (where i = 1, 2, 3, or 4). The serving link indicator for the ithrecommended beam is included in the UE-initiated beam report as ‘serving link indicator #f . From the serving link indicator included in the UE-initiated beam report, the network node can recognize if the trigger condition has been met for the at least one serving link for DL reception (e.g., all serving link indicators in the report point to at least one serving link for DL reception), the at least one serving link for UL transmission (e.g., all serving link indicators in the report point to the at least one serving link for UL transmission), or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission (e.g., at least one serving link indicators in the report points to at least one serving link for DL reception, and at least one other serving link indicators in the report point to at least one serving link for UL transmission).Table 2

[0116] In an alternative embodiment, instead of a PUCCH-SR, a PUCCH resource that can carry two (2) bits may be used to indicate if the trigger condition has been met for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0117] In an embodiment, instead of using PUCCH-SR, dedicated contention free PhysicalRandom Access Channel (PRACH) resources may be configured and used for beam indication reports, in which a PRACH preamble is transmitted when the conditions for a UE-initiated beam report are met. The PRACH can be a type 1 PRACH or a Type 2 PRACH (e.g., with an associated PUSCH for message B). A dedicated search space may also be configured for theUE to monitor PDCCH after a PRACH is sent. When a PDCCH is received in the dedicated search space and is addressed to the UE’s Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), the UE considers the PRACH is received by the network node. The PDCCH may be used to schedule a PUSCH transmission for carrying a UE-initiated beam report MAC CE or RRC message. In the case of a type 2 PRACH, the UE may send a UE-initiated beam report directly in the message B PUSCH associated with the PRACH transmission. When the UE-initiated beam report is received at the network node, the network node may send a response in a PDCCH in the dedicated search space. In a further embodiment, contention based PRACH resources may be used instead. In one example, a Type-2 PRACH may be used in which the UE may send a UE-initiated beam report together with the UE identity (e.g., C-RNTI) in message B. The UE monitors a response from the network node in a normal search space associated with a PRACH response for a PDCCH addressed to the Random Access-RNTI (RA- RNTI), and an associated PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH addressed to the UE.

[0118] In an embodiment, the UE-initiated beam report may include a performance metric for one or more of the recommended new beams included in the report. In one embodiment, in case the UE-initiated beam report is associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission, (e.g.., UL signals / channels), the UE-initiated beam report may include a UL performance metric for one or more of the recommended new beams included in the report. In an embodiment, the UL performance metric may include a joint DL and UL performance metric or a separate DL and UL performance metric. For example, the joint DL and UL performance metric could be an “UL RSRP”, where the “UL RSRP” is calculated based on a DL-RSRP and an associated UL output power metric. The UL performance metric can be based on various UL output power-related measures, including one or more of the following: P-MPR associated with the spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied Unified UL TCI state; maximum output power (e.g., Pcmax) associated with the spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied Unified UL TCI state; maximum EIRP associated with the UE panel used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied Unified UL TCI state; and / or power head room (e.g., assuming a default PUSCH transmission) for the spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state.

[0119] At block 970 (Step 7), the network may receive the UE-initiated beam report and transmits a UE-initiated beam report response to the UE. For example, the network may evaluate the reported measurements and / or recommendations (e.g., recommended new beams) and generate the response. In some embodiments, the evaluation may include analyzing signal quality using metrics such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signalreceived quality (RSRQ), and other suitable indicators provided in the beam report. Additionally or alternatively, the network may analyze beam index, the information about specific beams being reported on and associated quality metrics. Based on the received information and the analysis, the network may select new beam pair, adjust beamforming strategies, allocate additional resources or adjust scheduling priorities, and / or initiate handover procedures. For example, such operations may be included in the response to the UE, such that UE may be caused to perform such operations. In some embodiments, the network may determine that adjusting spatial filter (e.g., beamforming parameters) may improve signal reception and / or network performance based on the analysis. In these and other embodiments, the response sent from the network to the UE may include spatial filter updates.

[0120] At block 980 (Step 8), the UE may receive the response and update the spatial filter corresponding to the beam in the UE-initiated beam report. For example, in some embodiments, the response obtained from the network may cause the UE to update the spatial filter such that signal reception and / or network performance may be improved. For example, the UE may modify beamforming weights, establish new beam pair link, and / or switch beam configurations.

[0121] At block 990 (Step 9), the network and the UE may communicate using the new beam pair link determined during the UE-initiated beam report procedure. For example, in response to determining and optimizing a new beam pair link, the UE may communicate with the network using the optimized beams. The new communication link may help improve signal reception, data throughput, and / or maintain stable connectivity.

[0122] One skilled in the art will note that one or more of the steps shown in Figure 9 may not be needed, as various steps may be optional in some embodiments, but modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to method 900 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The outlined steps and operations are provided only as examples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combined into fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps and operations without detracting from the essence of the disclosed embodiments.

[0123] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 for UE-initiated beam reporting, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Some of the steps of method 1000 are performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein). As described in this disclosure, an indication can represent one or more indices, representations, messages, or the like. In some embodiments, the UE may be indicated with at least one serving link for downlink reception and at least one observing link for uplink transmission.

[0124] With reference to Figure 10, in some embodiments, the UE may receive (1002) from a network node, data including a UE-initiated beam reporting configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals. In some embodiments, the configurations may be determined based the UE-initiated beam reporting capability. The configuration may include different parameters such as how the UE may perform the trigger of the UE-initiated beam indication events, how to process the UE-initiated beam report, etc. In some embodiments, the beam reporting configuration may include at least one downlink reference signal (DL-RS).

[0125] The UE may be configured to perform (1004) one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with at least one of the two serving links has occurred is based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals.

[0126] In some embodiments, the beam reporting trigger condition may be associated with at least one serving link for DL reception and the indication of the beam report to be sent may be sent using a first UL resource associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the beam reporting trigger condition may be associated with at least one serving link for UL transmission and the indication of the beam report to be sent is sent by using a second UL resource associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0127] In some embodiments, the beam reporting trigger condition may include a first trigger condition associated with at least one serving link for DL reception and a second trigger condition associated with at least one serving link for UL transmission. In these and other embodiments, the indication of the beam report to be sent may include an indication that that the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition have been met and an indication that the beam report to be sent will include first beam reporting data associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception and second beam reporting data associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0128] In some embodiments, the beam reporting trigger condition may be met in response to one or more of a first trigger condition or a second trigger condition being met. In one embodiment, the first trigger condition may be associated with at least one serving link for DL reception and the second trigger condition may be associated with a at least one serving link for UL transmission. In these and other embodiments, the indication that the beam report will be sent may include an indication of one or more of the first trigger condition or the second trigger condition that has been met.

[0129] The UE may transmit ( 1006), to the network node, the indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals. In some embodiments, the indication may indicate whether the beam report trigger event is for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission. In some embodiments, a first UL resource may be used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and a second UL resource may be used for is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for UL transmission. In some embodiments, the first UL resource may include at least one of the following: a first PUCCH- SR, a first PUCCH resource, or a first PRACH. In some embodiments, the second UL resource may include at least one of the following: a second PUCCH-SR, a second PUCCH resource, or a second PRACH.

[0130] In some embodiments, a third UL resource may be used for indicating that an event has been triggered for at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission. In some embodiments, the third UL resource may include at least one of the following: a third PUCCH-SR, a third PUCCH resource, or a third PRACH.

[0131] In some embodiment, the UL resource comprising two or more bits may be used for indicating the beam report trigger event, and if the beam report trigger event relates to at least one of: the at least one serving link for DL reception or the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0132] The UE may be configured to transmit (1008), to the network node, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication. In some embodiments, the beam report may indicate if the beam report is associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0133] In some embodiments, the beam report indicates beams associated with at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0134] In some embodiments, the beam report may comprise information regarding at least one of: one or more candidate beams for DL reception or one or more candidate beams for UL transmission. In these and other embodiments, the beam report may comprise one ormore performance metrics for the one or more new candidate beams for the DL reception or the one or more new beams for the UL transmission.

[0135] In some embodiments, the beam report may comprise one or more performance metrics for at least one of: the one or more candidate beams for DL reception or the one or more candidate beams for UL transmission. In these and other embodiments, when the beam report is associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission, the beam report may comprise a UL performance metric for one or more of the candidate beams for UL transmission. In some embodiments, the UL performance metric may be associated with or comprise at least one of: power management - maximum power reduction (P-MPR) associated with a spatial fdter used to receive a DL-RS associated with an applied unified UL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI)state; maximum output power (Pcmax) associated with a spatial filter used to receive a DL-RS associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; maximum EIRP associated with a UE panel used to receive a DL-RS associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; or power head room for a spatial filter used to receive a DL-RS associated with an applied Unified UL TCI state.

[0136] It is understood that method 1000 shown in Figure 10 is merely an illustration. Certain steps can be removed from method 1000; other steps can be added to the method 1000; or the steps can be duplicated or altered. For example, the method 1000 may further include the UE sending, to the network node, data regarding user information using a beam pair link configured based on the beam report.

[0137] Additionally or alternatively, the method 1000 may further include receiving, from the network node, a response acknowledging reception of the beam report. In some embodiments, the response may include one or more of a new DL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) and / or a new UL TCI state associated with at least one candidate beam of the one or more candidate beams included in the beam report.

[0138] Additional embodiments are described below.

[0139] (1) A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for initiating a beam report, wherein the UE has been indicated with at least one serving link for downlink (DL) reception and at least one serving link for uplink (UL) transmission, the method comprising: receiving, from a network node, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals; performing one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with at least one of theserving links has occurred is based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; transmitting, to the network node, an indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and transmitting, to the network node, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication.

[0140] (2) The method of (1), wherein the indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred indicates if the beam report trigger event is for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0141] (3) The method of (2), wherein a first UL resource is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and a second UL resource is used for is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0142] (4) The method of (3), wherein the first UL resource includes at least one of the following: a first Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), a first PUCCH resource, or a first Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0143] (5) The method of any one of (3) - (4), wherein the second UL resource includes at least one of the following: a second Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), a second PUCCH resource, or a second Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0144] (6) The method of any one of (2) - (5), wherein a third UL resource is used for indicating that an event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0145] (7) The method of (6), wherein the third UL resource includes at least one of the following: a third Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), a third PUCCH resource, or a third Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0146] (8) The method of any one of (2) - (7), wherein a UL resource comprising two or more bits is used for indicating the beam report trigger event, and if the beam report trigger event relates to at least one of: the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0147] (9) The method of any one of (1) - (8), wherein the beam report indicates if it is associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link forUL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0148] (10) The method of any one of (1) - (9), wherein the beam report indicates beams associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0149] (11) The method of any one of (1) - (10), wherein the beam report comprises information regarding at least one of: one or more candidate beams for DL reception or one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

[0150] (12) The method of (11), wherein the beam report comprises one or more performance metrics for at least one of: the one or more candidate beams for DL reception or the one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

[0151] (13) The method of any one of (11) - (12), wherein when the beam report is associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission, the beam report comprising a UL performance metric for one or more of the candidate beams for UL transmission.

[0152] (14) The method of (13), wherein the UL performance metric is associated with or comprises at least one of: power management - maximum power reduction (P-MPR) associated with a spatial fdter used to receive a downlink - reference signal (DL-RS) associated with an applied unified UL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state; maximum output power (Pcmax) associated with a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) associated with a UE panel used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; or power head room for a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state.

[0153] (15) The method of any one of (1) - (14), further comprising: transmitting, to the network node, data regarding user information using a beam pair link configured based on the beam report.

[0154] (16) The method of any one of (1) - (15), further comprising: receiving, from the network node, a response acknowledging reception of the beam report.

[0155] (17) The method of (16), wherein the response includes one or more of a DLTransmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state or a UL TCI state associated with at least one candidate beam of one or more candidate beams included in the beam report.

[0156] (18) A method performed by a network node for supporting UE-initiated beam reporting, wherein a UE has been indicated with at least one serving link for downlink (DL) reception and at least one serving link for uplink (UL) transmission, the method comprising: sending, to the UE, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals, wherein the UE is configured to perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, and wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with at least one of the serving links has occurred is based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; receiving, from the UE, an indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and receiving, from the UE, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication.

[0157] (19) The method of (18), further comprising the step of:

[0158] transmitting, to the UE, a response acknowledging reception of the beam report.

[0159] (20) The method of (19), wherein the response includes one or more of a DLTransmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state or a UL TCI state associated with at least one candidate beam of the one or more candidate beams included in the beam report.

[0160] (21) The method of any one of (18) - (20), wherein a first UL resource is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and a second UL resource is used for is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0161] (22) The method of any one of (18) - (21), wherein the beam reporting trigger condition is associated with at least one serving link for DL reception and the indication of the beam report is received by using a first UL resource associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception.

[0162] (23) The method of (22), wherein the first UL resource includes one of: firstPhysical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), first PUCCH resource, or first Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0163] (24) The method of any one of (18) - (23), wherein the beam reporting trigger condition is associated with at least one serving link for UL transmission and the indication of the beam report is received by using a second UL resource associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0164] (25) The method of (24), wherein the second UL resource includes at least one of: a second Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), a second PUCCH resource, or a second Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0165] (26) The method of any one of (18) - (25), wherein the indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred indicates if the beam report trigger event is for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0166] (27) The method of (26), wherein a third UL resource is used for indicating that an event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0167] (28) The method of any one of (18) - (27), wherein the beam report indicates beams associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0168] (29) The method of any one of (18) - (28), further comprising:

[0169] receiving, from the UE, data regarding user information using a beam pair link configured based on the beam report.

[0170] (30) The method of any one of ( 18) - (29), wherein a UL resource comprising two or more bits is used for indicating the beam report trigger event, and if the beam report trigger event relates to at least one of: the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

[0171] (31) The method of any one of (18) - (30), wherein the beam report comprises information regarding at least one of: one or more candidate beams for DL reception or one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

[0172] (32) The method of (31), wherein the beam report comprises one or more performance metrics for at least one of: the one or more candidate beams for DL reception or the one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

[0173] (33) The method of any one of (18) - (32), wherein the beam report is associated with the UL serving link, the beam report comprising an UL performance metric for one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

[0174] (34) The method of (33), wherein the UL performance metric is associated with or comprises at least one of: power management - maximum power reduction (P-MPR) associated with a spatial filter used to receive a downlink - reference signal (DL-RS) associatedwith an applied unified UL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state; maximum output power (Pcmax) associated with a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) associated with a UE panel used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; or power head room for a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state.

[0175] (35) A network node for supporting UE-initiated beam reporting, wherein a UE has been indicated with at least one serving link for downlink (DL) reception and at least one serving link for uplink (UL) transmission, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to: send, to the UE, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals, wherein the UE is configured to perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, and wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with at least one of the serving links has occurred is based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; receive, from the UE, an indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and receive, from the UE, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0176] (36) A user equipment (UE) for initiating coordination with a network node for beam reporting, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive, from the network node, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals; perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with two serving links has happened is made based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; transmit, to the network node, an indication that a beam report trigger event has happened based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and transmit, to the network node, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0177] (37) A user equipment (UE) for initiating coordination with a network node for beam reporting, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to: receive, from the network node, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals; perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with two serving links has happened is made based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; transmit, to the network node, an indication that a beam report trigger event has happened based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and transmit, to the network node, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0178] Figure 11 shows an example of a communication system 1100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0179] In the example, the communication system 1100 includes a telecommunication network 1102 that includes an access network 1104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1106, which includes one or more core network nodes 1108. The access network 1104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1110a and 1110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1102 that supports anORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1102, including one or more network nodes 1110 and / or core network nodes 1108.

[0180] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or anon-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1112a, 1112b, 1112c, and 1112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1112) to the core network 1106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0181] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0182] The UEs 1112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with theUEs 1112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1102.

[0183] In the depicted example, the core network 1106 connects the network nodes 1110 to one or more hosts, such as host 1116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0184] The host 1116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1104 and / or the telecommunication network 1102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0185] As a whole, the communication system 1100 of Figure 11 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802. 11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wirelesscommunication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0186] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1102. For example, the telecommunications network 1102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0187] In some examples, the UEs 1112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN- DC).

[0188] In the example, the hub 1114 communicates with the access network 1104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1110b). In some examples, the hub 1114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1114. As another example, the hub 1114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after addingadditional local content. In still another example, the hub 1114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0189] The hub 1114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1110b. The hub 1114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1114 and UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d), and between the hub 1114 and the core network 1106. In other examples, the hub 1114 is connected to the core network 1106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1110 while still connected via the hub 1114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1110b. In other embodiments, the hub 1114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0190] Figure 12 shows aUE 1200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0191] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or whichmay not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0192] The UE 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1204 to an input / output interface 1206, a power source 1208, a memory 1210, a communication interface 1212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 12. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0193] The processing circuitry 1202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine -readable computer programs in the memory 1210. The processing circuitry 1202 may be implemented as one or more hardware -implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0194] In the example, the input / output interface 1206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0195] In some embodiments, the power source 1208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1200 to which power is supplied.

[0196] The memory 1210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1210 includes one or more application programs 1214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1216. The memory 1210 may store, for use by the UE 1200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0197] The memory 1210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1210 may allow the UE 1200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0198] The processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1212. The communication interface 1212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1222. The communication interface 1212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1218 and / or a receiver 1220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1218 and receiver 1220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0199] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0200] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0201] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, themotor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0202] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1200 shown in Figure 12.

[0203] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0204] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone . When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of thefunctionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0205] Figure 13 shows a network node 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0206] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0207] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0208] The network node 1300 includes a processing circuitry 1302, a memory 1304, a communication interface 1306, and a power source 1308. The network node 1300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in someinstances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1300.

[0209] The processing circuitry 1302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1300 components, such as the memory 1304, to provide network node 1300 functionality.

[0210] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and the baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0211] The memory 1304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1302. The memory 1304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1302 and utilized by the network node 1300. The memory 1304 may beused to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 and memory 1304 is integrated.

[0212] The communication interface 1306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1310. Radio front-end circuitry 1318 comprises fdters 1320 and amplifiers 1322. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may be connected to an antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1320 and / or amplifiers 1322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0213] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1318, instead, the processing circuitry 1302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1312 is part of the communication interface 1306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1306 includes one or more ports or terminals 1316, the radio front-end circuitry 1318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0214] The antenna 1310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1310 may be coupled to the radio frontend circuitry 1318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1310 is separate from the network node 1300 and connectable to the network node 1300 through an interface or port.

[0215] The antenna 1310, communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1310, the communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0216] The power source 1308 provides power to the various components of network node 1300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1308. As a further example, the power source 1308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0217] Embodiments of the network node 1300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 13 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1300 and to allow output of information from the network node 1300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1300.

[0218] Figure 14 is a block diagram of a host 1400, which may be an embodiment of the host 1116 of Figure 11, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0219] The host 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1404 to an input / output interface 1406, a network interface 1408, a power source 1410, and a memory 1412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 12 and 13, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1400.

[0220] The memory 1412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1414 and data 1416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1400 or data generated by the host 1400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1400 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0221] Figure 15 is ablock diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments,the virtualization environment 1500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0222] Applications 1502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0223] Hardware 1504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1508a and 1508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1508.

[0224] The VMs 1508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0225] In the context of NFV, a VM 1508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non- virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1508, and that part of hardware 1504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1508 on top of the hardware 1504 and corresponds to the application 1502.

[0226] Hardware 1504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a datacenter or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1502. In some embodiments, hardware 1504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0227] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0228] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of thoseparticular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

Claims1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for initiating a beam report, wherein the UE has been indicated with at least one serving link for downlink (DL) reception and at least one serving link for uplink (UL) transmission, the method comprising: receiving, from a network node, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals; performing one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with at least one of the serving links has occurred is based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; transmitting, to the network node, an indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and transmitting, to the network node, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred indicates if the beam report trigger event is for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a first UL resource is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and a second UL resource is used for is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first UL resource includes at least one of the following: a first Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), a first PUCCH resource, or a first Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

5. The method of any one of claims 3-4, wherein the second UL resource includes at least one of the following: a second Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH- SR), a second PUCCH resource, or a second Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

6. The method of any one of claims 2-5, wherein a third UL resource is used for indicatingthat an event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

7. The method of claim 6. wherein the third UL resource includes at least one of the following: a third Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), a third PUCCH resource, or a third Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

8. The method of any one of claims 2-7, wherein a UL resource comprising two or more bits is used for indicating the beam report trigger event, and if the beam report trigger event relates to at least one of: the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the beam report indicates if it is associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein the beam report indicates beams associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the beam report comprises information regarding at least one of: one or more candidate beams for DL reception or one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the beam report comprises one or more performance metrics for at least one of: the one or more candidate beams for DL reception or the one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

13. The method of any one of claims 11-12, wherein when the beam report is associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission, the beam report comprising a UL performance metric for one or more of the candidate beams for UL transmission.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the UL performance metric is associated with or comprises at least one of: power management - maximum power reduction (P-MPR) associated with a spatial fdter used to receive a downlink - reference signal (DL-RS) associated with an applied unified UL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state; maximum output power (Pcmax) associated with a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) associated with a UE panel used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; or power head room for a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state.

15. The method of any one of claims 1-14, further comprising: transmitting, to the network node, data regarding user information using a beam pair link configured based on the beam report.

16. The method of any one of claims 1-15, further comprising: receiving, from the network node, a response acknowledging reception of the beam report.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the response includes one or more of a DL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state or a UL TCI state associated with at least one candidate beam of one or more candidate beams included in the beam report.

18. A method performed by a network node for supporting UE-initiated beam reporting, wherein a UE has been indicated with at least one serving link for downlink (DL) reception and at least one serving link for uplink (UL) transmission, the method comprising: sending, to the UE, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals, wherein the UE is configured to perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, and wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with at least one of the serving links has occurred is based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; receiving, from the UE, an indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; andreceiving, from the UE, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of: transmitting, to the UE, a response acknowledging reception of the beam report.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the response includes one or more of a DL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state or a UL TCI state associated with at least one candidate beam of the one or more candidate beams included in the beam report.

21. The method of any one of claims 18-20, wherein a first UL resource is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and a second UL resource is used for is used for indicating that the beam report trigger event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

22. The method of any one of claims 18-21, wherein the beam reporting trigger condition is associated with at least one serving link for DL reception and the indication of the beam report is received by using a first UL resource associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first UL resource includes one of: first Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), first PUCCH resource, or first Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

24. The method of any one of claims 18-23, wherein the beam reporting trigger condition is associated with at least one serving link for UL transmission and the indication of the beam report is received by using a second UL resource associated with the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second UL resource includes at least one of: a second Physical Uplink Control Channel - scheduling request (PUCCH-SR), a second PUCCH resource, or a second Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

26. The method of any one of claims 18-25, wherein the indication that a beam report triggerevent has occurred indicates if the beam report trigger event is for the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or both the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein a third UL resource is used for indicating that an event has been triggered for the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

28. The method of any one of claims 18-27, wherein the beam report indicates beams associated with the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

29. The method of any one of claims 18-28, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, data regarding user information using a beam pair link configured based on the beam report.

30. The method of any one of claims 18-29, wherein a UL resource comprising two or more bits is used for indicating the beam report trigger event, and if the beam report trigger event relates to at least one of: the at least one serving link for DL reception, the at least one serving link for UL transmission, or the at least one serving link for DL reception and the at least one serving link for UL transmission.

31. The method of any one of claims 18-30, wherein the beam report comprises information regarding at least one of: one or more candidate beams for DL reception or one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the beam report comprises one or more performance metrics for at least one of: the one or more candidate beams for DL reception or the one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

33. The method of any one of claims 18-32, wherein the beam report is associated with the UL serving link, the beam report comprising an UL performance metric for one or more candidate beams for UL transmission.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the UL performance metric is associated with or comprises at least one of: power management - maximum power reduction (P-MPR) associated with a spatial fdter used to receive a downlink - reference signal (DL-RS) associated with an applied unified UL Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state; maximum output power (Pcmax) associated with a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with an applied unified UL TCI state; maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) associated with a UE panel used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state; or power head room for a spatial filter used to receive the DL-RS associated with the applied unified UL TCI state.

35. A network node for supporting UE-initiated beam reporting, wherein a UE has been indicated with at least one serving link for downlink (DL) reception and at least one serving link for uplink (UL) transmission, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to: send, to the UE, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals, wherein the UE is configured to perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, and wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with at least one of the serving links has occurred is based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; receive, from the UE, an indication that a beam report trigger event has occurred based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and receive, from the UE, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

36. A user equipment (UE) for initiating coordination with a network node for beam reporting, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive, from the network node, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals; perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated withtwo serving links has happened is made based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; transmit, to the network node, an indication that a beam report trigger event has happened based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and transmit, to the network node, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

37. A user equipment (UE) for initiating coordination with a network node for beam reporting, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to: receive, from the network node, data comprising a UE-initiated beam report configuration and a configuration of one or more downlink reference signals; perform one or more measurements on the one or more downlink reference signals, wherein a determination of whether a beam report trigger event associated with two serving links has happened is made based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; transmit, to the network node, an indication that a beam report trigger event has happened based on the measurements of the one or more downlink reference signals; and transmit, to the network node, a beam report associated with at least one of the serving links in accordance with the indication; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to theUE.

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