Standalone physical sidelink control channel for beam reporting

Abstract

A user equipment (UE), a base station, a baseband processor or other network device can operate to receive or transmit reference signals via different transmit beams for beam pairing before a sidelink (SL) unicast link establishment. A beam report of an initial beam reporting can be provided or received with a standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) based on measurements of the reference signals and an association between a reference signal and a transmit beam of the beam report. An SL unicast link via the SL unicast link establishment can then be generated based on the beam report.

Description

STANDALONE PHYSICAL SIDELINK CONTROL CHANNEL FOR BEAM REPORTINGREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 519,016, filed on August 11 , 2023, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entiretyFIELD

[0002] The present disclosure is related to wireless technology and standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) for beam reporting.BACKGROUND

[0003] As the number of mobile devices within wireless networks, and the demand for mobile data traffic, continue to increase, changes are made to system requirements and architectures to better address current and anticipated demands. For example, some wireless communication networks (e.g., fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks) may be developed to include UE to UE (U2U) relay communications or UE to network (NW) (U2N) relay communications. In such scenarios, path sidelink (SL) relay enhancements can be made.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates an example signal flow of initial beam pairing before sidelink (SL) unicast link establishment according to various aspects.

[0005] FIG. 2 illustrates an example SL communication configuration between different UE pairs for beam reporting with a standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) according to various aspects.

[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates an example process flow for initial beam pairing before SL unicast link establishment according to various aspects.

[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates another example SL communication configuration between different UE pairs for beam reporting with a standalone PSCCH according to various aspects.

[0008] FIG. 5 illustrates another example SL communication configuration between different UE pairs for beam reporting with a standalone PSCCH according to various aspects.

[0009] FIG. 6 illustrates another example SL communication configuration between different UE pairs for beam reporting with a standalone PSCCH according to various aspects.

[0010] FIG. 7 illustrates an example process flow for configuring an SL communication between different UE pairs in either a receiving UE or a transmitting UE for beam reporting with a standalone PSCCH according to various aspects.

[0011] FIG. 8 is an example process flow or method for beam reporting with a standalone PSCCH in SL communication.

[0012] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary block diagram illustrating an example of user equipment(s) (UEs) communicatively coupled a network with network components as peer devices useable in connection with various embodiments (aspects) described herein.

[0013] FIG. 10 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a user equipment (UE) wireless communication device or other network device / component (e.g., base station, eNB, gNB) in accordance with various aspects.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar features, elements, operations, etc. Additionally, the present disclosure is not limited to the following description as other implementations may be utilized, and structural or logical changes made, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0015] Various aspects including a user equipment (UE) device enabling sidelink (SL) communication with standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmissions for beam reporting are described herein. Standalone for PSCCH can refer to at least no accompanying SL data channel transmission in the same slot or session / section of a slot, for example.

[0016] Two different modes of SL communication are utilized based on the resource allocation method configured: mode 1 communication and mode 2 communication. Mode 1 communication includes a base station (e.g., gNB oreNB) allocating usable resources for direct communication between terminals (different UEs) and can be used when all terminals that perform SL communication are in an in-coverage situation. Mode 2 communication is a method where each UE or terminal selects usable resources for direct communication and can be used even when the terminals are in an out-of- coverage situation. Because the base station does not intervene in resource allocation for mode 2 communication, the UE identifies the usable resources itself. Sensing for resources is used for identifying candidate resources for the sidelink, in order to decode the PSCCH during a sensing window of a certain period before performing the SL transmission or a unicast link establishment.

[0017] Different potential beam alignment issues can arise when a transmitting UE (Tx-UE) and a receiving UE (Rx-UE) participate in SL communication, especially regarding frequency range 2 (FR2) transmission in reception beam alignment for beam pairing and unicast link establishment. The UE that sends a reference signal to initiate SL communications can be referred to as the Tx-UE, while the Rx-UE can be referred to as the UE receiving the reference signal(s) for initial beam pairing and beam antenna matching. A primary focus to enhance SL has been on updating the evaluation methodology for commercial deployment scenarios. Study has been limited to the support of sidelink beam management (including initial beam pairing, beam maintenance, and beam failure recovery, etc.) by reusing existing sidelink channel state information (CSI) framework and reusing the air (Uu) interface beam management concepts. In particular, beam management in FR2 licensed spectrum considers sidelink unicast communication only.

[0018] One concern currently being addressed in this disclosure includes processes in the initial beam pairing procedure or candidate selection procedure, referred to as a “before case,” where the initial beam pairing is performed before SL unicast link establishment. This before case includes two procedures for initial beam pairing: one is to determine a proper beam pair between a Tx-UE and Rx-UE, where the Tx-UE seeks to find a Tx beam of the Rx UE and the Rx UE seeks to find the receive beam of the Tx-UE. The other procedure is SL unicast link establishment. When the Rx UE indicates to the Tx-UE a determined UE transmit beam for SL, processes by which to indicate the determined transmit beam reporting can be enhanced to further efficiency and quality of the SL. For example, the receive UE’s beam reporting can be associated with the determinedUE transmit beam; however, aspects of this association and the resources involved for the beam reporting are not detailed to ensure reliable SL communication between two UEs when initial beam pairing is being performed before the sidelink unicast establishment.

[0019] In an aspect, a UE1 as a Tx-UE can receive or transmit reference signals via different transmit beams associated with different transmit directions for establishing an SL unicast link. After measuring the different reference signals from the Tx-UE and determining a desired transmit beam, the Rx-UE provides a beam report of an initial beam reporting based on the measurements. The beam report can be transmitted using resources that are associated between the transmit beam selected from the reference signals and the beam report.

[0020] For example, reference signal dedicated slots of the reference signals being received by the Rx-UE can have a same beam or different beams within a reference signal and beam reporting period. The reference signals can include SL synchronization signal blocks (S-SSBs) or SL channel state information reference signals (SL CSI-RSs).

[0021] Various aspects include the manner and configuration for allocating resources in beam reporting with standalone PSCCH based on an association between the reference signal dedicated slots of the reference signals and beam reporting dedicated slots of the beam report or beam reporting processes. As standalone PSCCH refers to a PSCCH transmission being transmitted without any data transmission or physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), mainly with the beam reporting information, especially in the initial beam pairing when two UEs have not established the initial beam unicast link, as the UEs do not necessarily have any data to transmit.

[0022] In another example, a reference signal dedicated slot of the reference signal associated with the transmit beam selected and being indicated by the beam report can correspond in number of transmit beams in a beam reporting dedicated slot of the beam report. In other words, the beam reporting dedicated slot can be configured with a same number of transmit beams as the reference signal dedicated slot of the reference signal associated with the selected transmit beam.

[0023] In yet another example, the beam report can include a number of beam reporting dedicated slots in a beam reporting group being the same as a number of reference signal slots in a beam reporting group of the reference signals.Additional aspects and details of the disclosure are further described below with reference to figures.

[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates an example signal flow 100 for beam pairing with a standalone PSCCH before an SL unicast link establishment in accord with various aspects. UE 110-1 is represented as a transmitting UE (Tx-UE1 ) that initiates the SL communication to establish beam pairing and afterwards an SL unicast link establishment. UE 110-1 thus operates to initiate a sidelink for SL communication with a receiving UE2 1 10-2 or Rx-UE2 by sending beam reference signals 102 such as SL synchronization signal blocks (S-SSBs) or SL channel state information reference signals (SL CSI-RSs). The Tx-UE1 can communicate these reference signals 102 through one or more beam sweeping procedures so that all the beam resources of an allocated resource pool are transmitted one or more times, depending on the number of beam sweeping procedures.

[0025] Each reference signal can be associated with a different beam pattern or beam direction. In response to receiving the various reference signals, the Rx- UE2 performs measurements and selection 104 of the reference signals for initial Tx I Rx beam pairing and the beam antennas for the SL communications. Here, the Rx-UE2 attempts to determine a best or optimal transmit beam and receive beam to establish a beam Tx I Rx pair match for SL when reference signals are received. Measuring of the reference signals can occur over multiple beam sweeps for more than one round (L) (or Reference Signal Group L) until the RX- UE determines an optimal transmit beam and / or receive beam. Because the Rx- UE2 attempts to measure and analyze each Tx beam of the reference signals, as well as the different Rx beams associated with these Tx beams to adequately measure the reference signals, more than one round L of communication of reference signals 102 can be performed by the Tx-UE. The Tx-UE1 can repeat this beam sweeping procedure by communicating reference signals for several rounds L, where L can be any integer of one or more, so that the Rx-UE2 can measure the various reference signals using different Rx beams.

[0026] Upon determining an optimal Tx-beam / Rx-beam, the Rx-UE2 provides a beam report 106 in a beam reporting procedure to the Tx-UE1 . In an aspect, the beam reporting is associated with the transmit beam being indicated in the beam report 106. This can be by way of the reference signal associated with the selected transmit beam, the initial beam reporting dedicated slot beingassociated with a corresponding reference signal dedicated slot associated with the selected transmit beam, as well as the time I frequency domain(s) association between a reference signal and the corresponding beam report 106, for example.

[0027] In other aspects, a beam reporting dedicated slot can be configured with standalone PSCCH transmission. Here, the beam report 106 only contains PSCCH transmissions to indicate the transmit beam that the Rx-UE2 has selected and an SL unicast link not been established. In other words, the beam report 106 is without a data signal, a data channel or the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0028] Additionally, or alternatively, the beam report 106 can be configured with contents of a sidelink control information (SCI) of the PSCCH. The SCI contents, which is associated with SL CSI-RS, can include a priority, an SL CSI-RS / S- SSB frequency resource assignment, an SL CSI-RS / S-SSB time resource assignment, an SL CSI-RS I S-SSB resource reservation period, an SL CSI-RS I S-SSB resource index, a Source ID, or a Destination ID for a beam reporting resource.

[0029] SCI can also be configured for beam reporting, which is different from the SCI associated with the reference signals. The beam report 106 can include one or more different standalone PSCCH transmissions in a beam reporting dedicated slot with SCI. The one or more different PSCCH transmissions can occupy different symbols in the slot corresponding to different transmit beam directions and indicate the transmit beam that is selected from among these PSCCH transmissions.

[0030] For example, the beam reporting dedicated slot can include a PSCCH session from among different PSCCH sessions, using a transmit beam with an automatic gain control (AGC) symbol, a (pre-)configured number of PSCCH symbols and / or a GAP symbol in each PSCCH session. The standalone PSCCH transmissions in a portion of the slot symbols as a PSCCH session can include SCI corresponding to a CSI-RS beam of the reference signals that further includes a priority, a beam measurement result, future beam reporting resource reservation or indication, a Source ID and / or a Destination ID.

[0031] Further, the SCI of a standalone PSCCH in a dedicated slot for beam reporting can be configured with a downlink polar coding with a twenty-four bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC), a length of 512 bits, and a rate matching withsub-block interleaving. A modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the at least one standalone PSCCH can scramble the SCI by a Gold sequence with a fixed initialization value of 1010 or with an initialization value that depends on a source identifier (ID) and / or a destination ID, for example.

[0032] At 108, the Tx-UE1 is able to utilize the beam report 106 from the Rx-UE2 110-2 and establish an SL unicast link (e.g., a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) connection or the like) as a logical connection between a pair of source and destination IDs for further NR SL communication. SL communication that supports beamforming is a major aspect of NR communication in high frequency bands (e.g., FR2). In SL beamforming, pairs of UEs that are being configured for transmission I reception as unicast pairs for SL communication can perform a link set up procedure to select transmit (TX) and receiver (RX) beams for use in directional sidelink communication. When a unicast pair selects TX and RX beams, if a UE in the pair supports beam correspondence, then the UE can use the same beam for transmitting to and receiving from the other UE in the unicast pair. If the UE does not support beam correspondence, then separate TX and RX beams are selected for use in sidelink communication with the other UE in the unicast pair. Thus, after an SL channel is established, there can be a single TX / RX beam pair used for communication in the unicast pair, or there can be two TX / RX beam pairs, with one pair for each direction of transmission.

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of SL communication 200 with directional transmission / receiving beam alignments. Directional transmission / receiving can be performed with a narrow beam directed in one particular angle or direction rather than many directions or angles as with omni-directional transmission / reception. In contrast, omni-directional transmission and receiving may be performed in a lower frequency FR1 sidelink communication, or when beamforming is not performed. In FIG. 2, UEs 210-2 and 210-1 are configured as a first unicast pair and UEs 210-3 and 210-4 are configured as a second unicast pair, each referred to as transmitter / receiver UE pairs or unicast pairs.

[0034] During configuration as a unicast pair, UEs 210-1 and 210-2 select beams Tx1 and Rx1 for use in unicast communication between them. As disclosed above, a different Tx / Rx pair (not shown) may be selected for the SL unicast pair for transmission from UE 210-1 to UE 210-2. The second unicast pair, UEs 210-3 and 210-4, selects beams Tx2 and Rx2 for use in SL unicast communication between them.

[0035] SL communication that supports beamforming is a major aspect of NR communication in high frequency bands (e.g., FR2). In SL beamforming, pairs of UEs that are being configured for transmission I reception as unicast pairs for SL communication may perform a link set up procedure to select transmit (Tx) and receiver (Rx) beams for use in directional SL communication. When a unicast pair selects Tx and Rx beams, if a UE in the pair supports beam correspondence, then the UE may use the same beam for transmitting to and receiving from the other UE in the unicast pair. If the UE does not support beam correspondence, then separate Tx and Rx beams are selected for use in sidelink communication with the other UE in the unicast pair. Thus, after an SL channel is established, there may be a single Tx I Rx beam pair used for communication in the unicast pair, or there may be two Tx / Rx beam pairs, with one pair for each direction of transmission, for example.

[0036] When a UE is configured in multiple unicast pairs, the UE may select different beams for use in SL communication with different UEs. When a receiving beam is in one slot only one set of receiving beams are utilized by the receiving UE 210-2 or Rx-UE2. After an SL link is established, the UEs may perform measurements and beam re-selection for each unicast pair that they belong to. In mode 2, the transmitting UE 210-1 (or Rx-UE2) can autonomously determine SL transmission resources by sensing and resource selection. However, resources may be selected that have a high chance of collision or are infeasible for the receiver UE 210-2, especially when the resource selection procedure does not take into account the receiver UE sensing results, where a lack of sensing results or hidden node issue may result in an inadequate or inefficient resource selection for SL communication. Sensing results taking into account RSRP measurements at the receiving antennas, or taking into account resources affected by another node (Tx / Rx UE pair) causing interference as a hidden node issue could fail to be taken into account at resource selection by the transmitting UE.

[0037] In an example, UE 210-3 may sense the transmission from the transmitting UE 210-1 to the receiving UE 210-2. However, the transmission UE 210-3 transmitting to the receiving UE 210-4 may not impact the reception of UE 210-2. The sensing results of the transmitting UE 210-1 thus would not necessarily take into account the interference conditions in a Tx / Rx beam-formed UE pair with the reception of the receiving UE 210-2.

[0038] Additionally, the receiver UE 210-2 should know the receiving beam. If multiple UEs are transmitting, the UE 210-2 may miss the transmission due to a reception beam misalignment. As such, a lack of sensing results can be more severe in the case of FR2, where directional transmission / receiving is operational for SL communication. The transmitter UE interference RSRP does not necessarily correlate with the receiving RSRP measurements in sensing. Thus, in this example the UE 210-1 transmits on resources that are not impacted by the UE 210-3 transmission to UE 210-4. Additionally, the UE 210-3 when doing resource selection based on RSRP sensing may see this resource slot as having a high interference when actually the receiving UE 210-4 may have a clear channel so that even if the transmitting UE 210-3 transmits to this direction, the receiving UE 210-4 would still not be impacted by the UE 210-2 and UE 210- 1 Tx / Rx UE pair.

[0039] In some aspects, an association is made between the beam reference signals with reference signal dedicated slots and the beam report with a beam reporting dedicated slot. Upon receiving the reference signals associated with different transmit beam directions for beam pairing by a beam sweeping procedure, the Rx-UE2 or UE 210-2, for example, can generate a beam report of the transmit beam / receive beam selected for SL communication based on the measurements it took of the reference signals and an association between the reference signal and the transmit beam being indicated in the beam report on a beam reporting dedicated slot.

[0040] In an aspect, the reference signal dedicated slots associated with the reference signals can include a same beam or different beams within a reference signal and beam reporting period, which is the period for reference signal groups of one or more beam sweeping operations and beam reporting to be performed. The reference signals groups include the reference signals in a number of reference signal dedicated slots, which can be configured or preconfigured. The reference signal dedicated slots and a beam reporting dedicated slot that corresponds to the reference signals can have a same number of transmit beams or beam resources. The number of beam reporting dedicated slots in a beam reporting group can have the same number of reference signal dedicated slots in a reference signal group, while beam reporting dedicated slot corresponds to one reference signal dedicated slot in the beam report 106.

[0041] FIG. 3 illustrates an example process flow 300 for an initial beam pairing and candidate procedure before establishment of an SL unicast link. Acts 310 of process flow 300 can be performed by UE1 (or Tx-UE1 ,) while acts 320 and 320 can be performed by UE2 (or Rx-UE2), for example.

[0042] At 310, the Tx-UE1 selects and transmits reference signals at different beams of different directions. The reference signal can be selected based on an S-SSB or a modified format of an S-SSB. Alternatively, the reference signals could be selected based on a standalone SL CSI-RS or its modified format, or a non- standalone SL CSI-RS or its modified format. A standalone SL CSI-RS transmission means that at least no accompanying sidelink data (e.g., SL medium access control (MAC) service data unit (SDU)) transmissions in the same slot, which may or may not include accompanying SCI(s) or SL MAC control element (CE) transmissions or physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH). Alternatively, the reference signals could be selected based on PSCCH I PSSCH demodulation reference signals (DMRS). The reference signals could be sent a-periodically, periodically, or semi-persistently with activation and deactivation, with or without additional contents or information associated with the CSI-RS.

[0043] At 320, Tx-UE1 ’s transmit beam and Rx-UE2’s receive beam are determined by Rx-UE2 as the pair with a reference signal receive power (RSRP) or other power measurement satisfying certain condition(s). Rx-UE2’s transmit beam is at least determined as the one corresponding to determined UE2’s receive beam, at least if beam correspondence is assumed.

[0044] At 330, Rx-UE2's beam reporting is associated with determined Tx-UE1 ’s transmit beam to generate beam reports in SL beam pairing and candidate resource procedures before establishment of an SL unicast link according to various aspects described herein. This does not necessarily preclude beam reporting in the link establishment message.

[0045] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of associations between the reference signal(s) and beam reporting. Here, the Tx-UE1 410-1 is sending the reference signals 420-1 through 420-(M*N) associated with different directions, prior to an SL unicast link being established. The Tx-UE1 sends different reference signals in reference signal dedicated slots M, where M can be an integer of one or greater than one. Each reference signal dedicated slot has a number of N reference signals 402 associated with a same or different N beams (illustrated, forexample, as sets of three beams with different hash marking). The reference signals 420-1 through 420-(M*N) can be sent via different beam sweeping operations as beam sweeping rounds L, also referred to as reference signal groups L, where L is an integer of one or greater than one. One or more rounds or beam sweeping operations can be performed for all beams of a resource pool in order for a receiving UE or the Rx-UE2 to analyze and determine an associated receive beam, as well as select one or more optimal transmit beams for beam reporting. That is, the Tx-UE1 410-1 sends several Tx beams with reference signals 420-1 through 420-(M*N). These Tx beams N can be sent across several subsets of Tx beams in one reference signal dedicated slot (e.g., Slot #1 ) and another set of Tx beams in another slot (e.g., Slot M), with slots each having a number of Tx beams (e.g., three Tx beams, or a different number of Tx beams).

[0046] The Tx-UE transmits different reference signals in different Tx beam directions. Because the Rx-UE2 measures each Tx beam, it evaluates different associated Rx beams to measure the particular Tx beams. Thus, the Tx-UE can repeat this beam sweeping procedure for multiple L rounds so that the Rx-UE can perform sufficient measurements while pairing different Rx beams. An L round can correspond to a beam sweeping operation of each set of reference signals 420-1 through 420-(M*N), and be associated with each reference signal (RS) group #1 through RS Group #L, respectively, for L rounds of beam sweeping. One RS group #L, for example, can be associated with one round of Tx-UE beam sweeping, which involves beamforming each of the reference signals for various directions and Tx beams in transmission bursts at various (pre)configured intervals.

[0047] In an aspect, the reference signals 402 can be based on an S-SSB or an SL CSI-RS, in which each reference signal dedicated slot (e.g., Slot #1 through Slot #M in each RS Group) can have a number N reference signals therein with same or different N Tx beams. N can be (pre)configured and each reference signal slot for the reference signal be configured with a similar structure as illustrated. Additionally, or alternatively, each reference signal group L (or round) can have M dedicated slots for N reference signals, in which M can also be (pre)configured. This means that a total of M*N beams, or the number of reference signal dedicated slots multiplied by the number of beams in each slotcan be (pre)configured as the number of total beams allocated for beam resources.

[0048] In other aspects, the Rx-UE2 410-2 can report to the Tx-UE1 410-1 a selected transmit beam for SL communication and subsequent SL unicast link establishment in a beam report (e.g., beam report 106). This transmit beam can be selected from a beam reporting group 430 with beams N and slots M corresponding to each Beam #N from among multiple L reference signal groups (RS groups), as the best beam to use for the Tx-UE1 410-1 to communicate in SL with the Rx-UE2. The Rx-UE2 410-2 can configure the beam report based on an association made by the Rx-UE2 410-2 for generating the beam report based on the beam reporting group 430. The association can be configured among several slots as beam reporting dedicated slots that are associated with each beam of each RS group, respectively, in a one-to-many mapping of beam resources. Likewise, M slots can be allocated for slots within the beam reporting group 430, just as among the RS groups (e.g., RS Group #1 through RS Group #L). Each beam reporting dedicated slot can correspond to N beams, further corresponding to reference signal dedicated slots (Slot #1 through #M) of the various different RS groups (RS Group #1 through RS Group #L). Each beam reporting dedicated slot can also correspond to one reference signal dedicated slot, which can be among each reference signal group L. For example, if the selected transmit beam to be indicated in the beam report is Beam #1 from Slot # 1 (e.g., of RS Group #1 ), then the beam reporting slot configured by the Rx-UE2 for providing the beam report can similarly be configured from beam resources associated with the same, with N beams, in M slot from among the beam reporting group. Although there are multiple RS groups, each of the resources in each group correspond to the beam resources in a single beam reporting group.

[0049] For each slot in the beam reporting group, PSCCH sessions with at least one standalone PSCCH can be used with one or more symbols of a particular beam reporting dedicated slot to indicate the transmit beam selected. This session may be accompanied with other contents in the standalone PSCCH such as sidelink control information (SCI), for example, along with the selected transmit beam, but is configured as a standalone PSCCH without any data channel or PSSCH. Each standalone PSCCH can be associated with a section of a particular slot corresponding to the reference signal dedicated slot M of the selected transmit beam.

[0050] For example, each beam reporting dedicated slot M can be configured or mapped to three PSCCH sessions within one beam reporting dedicated slot with a number of symbols (e.g., 14 or other number of symbols). Other configurations with different numbers of standalone PSCCH sessions can also be envisioned. For example, if the reference signal dedicated slots are configured with four or a different number of beams N of reference signals N, then a beam reporting dedicated slot M of the beam reporting group can be configured with four or the different number of standalone PSCCH sessions. Although all M slots (e.g., Slot #1 through Slot #M) of a beam reporting group 430 are illustrated, the resources of only one beam reporting dedicated slot corresponding to the selected transmit beam could be used to provide the beam report. The remaining symbols of the slot could be unused as further detailed in FIG. 5, or used for other purposes I configurations without a data channel.

[0051] Each PSCCH session can include pre-defined or (pre)configured number of PSCCH symbols, an AGC symbol, and / or a gap symbol using a single receive beam. The number of standalone PSCCH transmissions in a PSCCH session can be (pre)configured per resource pool having one PSCCH format and one sub-channel frequency with contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs). A standalone PSCCH transmission can include SCI corresponding to an S-SSB or an CSI-RS beam of the reference signals. The SCI can include a priority, a beam measurement result, future beam reporting resource reservation or indication, a Source identifier (ID) and / or a Destination ID for beam resources. The beam report can include the SCI to the Tx-UE1 with a standalone PSCCH of a beam reporting dedicated slot for beam reporting. The standalone PSCCH can further comprise a downlink polar coding with a twenty-four bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC), a length of bits (e.g., 512 bits or the like), and a rate matching with subblock interleaving; a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the standalone PSCCH can be scrambled by a Gold sequence with a fixed initialization value of 1010 or with an initialization value that depends on the Source ID and / or the Destination ID.

[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates another example of associations that can be configured between the reference signal(s) 402 of FIG. 4 and beam reporting for a UE to generate beam reports in SL beam pairing and candidate resource procedures before establishment of an SL unicast link. Here, beam reporting can be configured based on the beam reporting group 430 of FIG. 4 with one or morestandalone PSCCH sessions 506 or session groups 502, 504, which can correspond to each beam reporting dedicated slot #1 through #M, for example, with associated beam resources of the reference signals in the reference signal dedicated slots. Depending on the selected transmit beam, the Rx-UE2 410-2 can utilize one of the PSCCH sessions 506 having one or more standalone PSCCH transmissions 512, 514 within the session 506 and I or other standalone PSCCH sessions of other session groups 502, 504. For example, if Beam #1 from the RS dedicated slots is selected as the transmit beam to report in the beam report, then PSCCH session 506 can be configured with resources associated with Slot #1 of the beam reporting dedicated slot (e.g., beam reporting dedicated Slot #1 of the beam reporting group 430) and the PSCCH session 506 alone be used for beam reporting. The remainder symbols in the beam reporting dedicated slot (Slot #1 ) of the beam reporting group 430 and the remainder of the beam reporting dedicated slots could then be unused; thus, standalone PSCCH session 506 would be used to transmit the selected transmit beam in a beam report with the remaining standalone PSCCH sessions of session group 502 be unused or not used for the beam report necessarily.

[0053] Any other PSCCH session 506 from among sessions 502 or 504 of a beam reporting dedicated slot, for example, could be reported for each transmission because the Tx-UE1 410-1 receives the beam reporting to use the particular receiver beam 520 that is aligned with the corresponding transmit beam. To be received the Tx-UE1 needs to find the proper slot and the proper session (of the associated slot) sent by the beam reporting of the Rx-UE2.

[0054] For example, Tx-UE1 sends all the reference signals, then Rx- UE2 410-2 selects Beam #1 in Slot # 1 based on measurements and associations of the resources of the transmit beam and the reference signal associated with it (e.g., in the first RS group, or the second RS group L). If beam #1 is determined to be the best Tx beam, then Rx-UE2 reports this within the particular resources corresponding to it because at that time the Tx-UE1 410-1 can then use the receiver beam 520, which is aligned with the transmit beam so that Tx-UE1 can receive the beam report.

[0055] In an aspect, each standalone PSCCH session 506 (with three sessions in session groups 502 or 504 associated with each beam reporting dedicated slot M, respectively) can be utilized to transmit the transmit beam in the beam report. Each standalone PSCCH session 506 can include an AGC symbol and a gapsymbol. The Rx-UE2 410-2 can carry all the beam reporting information in the standalone PSCCH transmissions, which can occupy more than one symbol (e.g., one or more symbols of a session 506). Then the Rx-UE2 410-2 does not necessarily have to use the remaining symbols for further transmissions (e.g., the symbols after and associated with Beam #2, Beam #N, etc., with each corresponding standalone PSCCH session, indicated with like hashing I shading marks). So within a beam reporting dedicated slot (e.g., Slot #M or other beam reporting dedicated slot) Rx-UE2 410-2 only transmits using one PSCCH session (e.g., PSCCH session 506). Within this PSCCH session the UE will indicate its ID (source ID), UE2’s ID (destination ID), the best Tx beam that is being used, and some additional information tied to the beam report in this PSCCH.

[0056] As discussed above, within each slot in the beam reporting group 430, PSCCH sessions 506 with at least one standalone PSCCH 512, 514 can be used with one or more symbols of a particular beam reporting dedicated slot (Beam #1 with similar hashing I shading marks) to indicate the transmit beam selected. This session 506 for example, although configured as a standalone PSCCH session 506, may be accompanied with other contents such as SCI, for example, along with the selected transmit beam, but is configured as a standalone PSCCH without any data channel or PSSCH. Each PSCCH session can include predefined or (pre)configured number of PSCCH symbols, an AGC symbol, and / or a gap symbol using a single receive beam. The number of standalone PSCCH transmissions in a PSCCH session can be (pre)configured per resource pool having one PSCCH format and one sub-channel frequency with contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs), for example. A standalone PSCCH transmission can include SCI corresponding to an S-SSB or an CSI-RS beam of the reference signals including. The SCI can include a priority, a beam measurement result, future beam reporting resource reservation or indication, a Source ID and / or a Destination ID for beam resources. The standalone PSCCH can further comprise a downlink polar coding with a twenty-four bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC), a length of bits (e.g., 512 bits or the like), and a rate matching with sub-block interleaving; a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the standalone PSCCH can be scrambled by a Gold sequence with a fixed initialization value of 1010 or with an initialization value that depends on the Source ID and / or the Destination ID.

[0057] FIG. 6 illustrates another example of associations that can be configured between the reference signal(s) 402 of FIG. 4 and beam reporting for a UE to generate beam reports in SL beam pairing and candidate resource procedures before establishment of an SL unicast link. Here, a time gap K1 602 can be (pre)configured or predefined between two neighboring dedicated slots (e.g., Slot # 1 of RS Group # 1 ) and the next Slot #M (e.g., Slot #2, not shown, or other numbered slot within the RS Group #1 or other RS Group, for example. For example, the first dedicated slot (with Beam #1 , Beam #2, and Beam #3) can be followed with another dedicated slot contiguously or a number of slots after (e.g., three, four or other number of slots later) another reference signal dedicated slot (at Beam # N+K1 , Beam # (N+K1 +1 ), Beam # (N+K1 +2) to Beam # (M*N-2), Beam # (M*N-2), Beam # (M*N)).

[0058] As indicated, the time gap K1 602 between any two neighboring candidate or reference signal dedicated slots for reference signals are (pre)configured, just as a second time gap K2 604 and a third time gap K3 606. For any two neighbor reference signal groups (RS Groups) K2 604 can be (pre)configured so that the time gap (K2) between any two neighboring reference signal dedicated groups are (pre)configured. For example, example Slot #1 to Slot #M can be one cell reference signal group because that group includes all the Tx beams from the transmit UE. But, the time gap between RS Group 1 and RS Group 2 is the time gap that can also be configured by the time gap K2, either as a same value or a different value like K1 and K3. For example, K1 can be zero, one or another value / number of slots (e.g., 3 slots) among all or different neighboring slots of an RS group, while K2 could be zero, one or something else that is different from K1 , as the same value or different number of slots or time units among RS groups, depending on the number of RS groups or beam sweeping operations performed. Similarly, the time gap K3 606 can be the time slots or time interval between the dedicated slots for reference signals and dedicated slots for beam reporting.

[0059] In addition, FIG. 6 illustrates that a one-to-many mapping can be configured between the beam reporting dedicated slots of the beam reporting group 430 and the various associated beams among the RS groups (RS Group #1 through RS Group # M, wherein M can be an integer greater than or equal to one). For example, Beam #1 of Slot #1 of RS Group #1 can have an association 608 to Beam #1 of Slot # 1 of the beam reporting group 430. Likewise, Beam #1 of Slot# (unknown) of RS Group #M can have an association 610 to Beam #1 of Slot # 1 of the beam reporting group 430. Thus, although the Rx-UE2 may not select a transmit beam for each of the reference signals, the resources of the beam report for the selected transmit beam to be reported can be configured based on the associations of the beam resources of the beam reporting group 430 with the selected transmit beam (e.g., Beam #1 ) in the reference signal dedicated slots.

[0060] In an aspect, the association comprises the beam report including a number of beam reporting dedicated slots in a beam reporting group 430 being a same as a number of dedicated slots in a reference signal group (e.g., RS Group #1 ) of the reference signals within a reference signal and beam reporting period 508.

[0061] In some aspects, the reference signal and beam reporting can be configured with beam resources based on a time domain association there-between, or based on a frequency domain resource association. This can be a one-to-one mapping between RS dedicated slots and beam reporting dedicated slots so that for one Beam of an RS dedicated slot, the frequency for that transmit beam if selected for beam reporting in the beam report can be the same or correspond to one another. For example, an SL CSI-RS or an S-SSB transmission, which may be repeated over various RS groups within the RS / beam reporting period 508 can have a same sub-channel or frequency resource in each slot. Although FIG. 6 illustrates the associations in a time domain, in the frequency domain these resources could otherwise have a same sub-channel in each slot so that the beam reporting of the selected transmit beam could be on the same frequency location. Thus, beam reporting uses the same sub-channel as the corresponding SL CSI-RS / S-SSB transmission(s) within one reference signal-reporting period 508. For example, the PSCCH sessions throughout or possible within the beam reporting group 430 could use the same sub-channel. Alternatively, or additionally, the same reference signal could use a frequency domain (e.g., frequency domain #1 ) and then on the corresponding beam reporting the same sub-channel (e.g., frequency domain number 1 ) configured for the beam reporting. That is, a one to one mapping can be configured between the reference signal (RS) and the beam reporting in the frequency domain.

[0062] FIG. 6 illustrates signaling among a pair of UEs (Tx-UE1 410-1 and Rx-UE2 410-2). At the same time another UE3 (e.g., UE 210-3) could also transmit reference signals to a UE4 (e.g., UE 210-4) and they could use a different frequency domain, but the same time domain. Now Rx-UE2 needs to report toUE1 and UE 4 (as Rx-UE4) needs to report to UE3. In this case, for the RS transmission UE1 and UE 3 could share the same slot (as a time domain resource), but they are transmitting toward each receiver UEs band using a different frequency domain resource. And then for UE2 as a receiving UE, upon beam reporting to UE1 , the same frequency sub-channel as the reference signal can be used so these can have a frequency division multiplexed (FDM) resource used with UE4 because they may also use the same slot for the beam reporting, just using different sub-channels.

[0063] In another aspect, a one-to-many mapping can be configured among RS dedicated slots and beam reporting dedicated slots so that an SL CSI-RS / S- SSB transmission may have a same sub-channel with a transmit beam of an RS dedicated slot while multiple sub-channels are used for beam reporting with frequency domain resources. The reference signals thus can have the same subchannel in each slot that corresponds to the same beam. So multiple subchannels may be associated with one SL CSI-RS transmissions for beam reporting. For example, an SL CSI-RS may be using sub-channel #1 and the beam reporting may be using sub-channel #1 , #2, #3, or some combination of different sub-channels corresponding to or associated with the SL CSI-RS, as a one to many mapping.

[0064] Alternatively, or additionally, frequency domain resources can be indicated by an SCI as a part of an SCI dynamic indication. For example, in the reference signal transmission, the Tx-UE1 can indicate which frequency domain subchannels that the UEs are going to use for the beam reporting as a dynamic indication. The SCI associated with the SL CSI-RS or S-SSB, for example, indicates the frequency location (e.g., sub-channel) of the beam reporting in the associated slot.

[0065] In other aspects, the slot structure for the beam reporting dedicated slot can be configured to have more than one PSCCH transmission. Different PSCCH transmissions can occupy different symbols associated with different beam directions, such as the first four symbols at PSCCH session 506, the next four symbols of session group 502, the next four symbols, etc. The beam reporting dedicated slot can be configured with multiple PSCCH session. Each standalone PSCCH session can include an AGC symbol that can be a copy of a following symbol and gap symbol for Tx / Rx switching.

[0066] In addition, each PSCCH session can contain the Tx beam. The PSCCH can be configured at each of one, two, three or other number of symbols. For example, in the FIG. 6, the PSCCH occupies two symbols in the first beam reporting and so on others going from left to right at the session groups 502 and 504 in various PSCCH session. Each PSCCH can be a standalone PSCCH that carries the SCI information. Standalone SCI can be a single stage SCI with contents that include: a source ID, a destination ID, and I or RSRP measurements. Each PSCCH session has the Tx beam or indication thereof. After performing RS measurements the Rx-UE2 thus determines which is the optimal Tx beam for SL and what is the corresponding best Rx beam associated with this Tx beam. When Rx-UE2 transmits the PSCCH to Tx-UE1 , it uses the transmit beam selected. UE2’s transmit beam can also then be derived from its best Rx beam for the reference signal. Thus, each PSCCH session could have the Tx beam, which is Rx-UE2’s optimally selected beam that can be derived from the UE2 Rx beam in the measurement.

[0067] The SCI contents associated with SL CSI-RS transmission can include the following: the priority; SL CSI-RS / S-SSB frequency resource assignment, SL CSI-RS / S-SSB time resource assignment, SL CSI-RS / S-SSB resource reservation period, SL CSI-RS / S-SSB resource index, beam reporting frequency location, Source ID, and / or a Destination ID. The SCI associated with beam reporting can further include a beam measurement result, or a future beam reporting resource reservation / indication, as the SCI contents for this PSCCH associated with the reference signal configuration.

[0068] FIG. 7 illustrates an example process flow 700 of standalone PSCCH processing and configuration. The SCI of the PSCCH can carry the payload information. At 710 the SCI can be configured with CRC attachment and the expected distribution of a message length. The UE could perform this channel coding similar to a downlink (DL) polar code with a 24 bit CRC and with a maximum mother code length of 512 bits. At 720, polar encoding and rate matching can be performed, in which the rate matching can be with a sub-bloc interleaving. At 730, scrambling of the sequence is performed where the sequence code for scrambling could be seeded by a Gold sequence with an initial value as a fixed value (e.g., 1010, or otherwise) or alternately with an initialization value that depends on the source ID and / or the destination ID of the SL UE. At 740, modulation and resource mapping can be performed with theSCI. The modulation can be a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation and the resource mapping be only one or two symbols of PSCCH time resources. The AGC symbols could be excluded, if present. The number of PSCCH symbols can be explicitly (pre)configured per resource pool. The PSCCH frequency domain resources could be within just one sub-channel with contiguous PRBs, and each resource pool be configured with just one standalone PSCCH format.

[0069] In an aspect, the standalone PSCCH can be configured for the reference signals being transmitted by the Tx-UE according to the process flow 700 of FIG. 7. The PSCCH for the reference signal can indicate the next transmissions time and frequency resources as well as the periodicity, along with what could be the corresponding beam ID, source ID, destination ID and other information with the standalone PSCCH for the SL CSI-RS or S-SSB

[0070] In other aspects, the Tx beams or Rx beams can be configured based on an associated among dedicated slots for beam reporting. The Tx-UE, for example, can use the same Rx beam as its Tx beam for the associated reference signal transmission. This Rx beam is where Tx-UE1 , for example, would use the same Rx beam to receive the PSCCH sessions of the associated RS transmission. The Rx-UE2 can transmit only in one PSCCH session if it only reports the best Tx beam, (e.g., either Beam #1 , Beam #2, etc.). The Tx beam of the PSCCH can be the same as the Rx beam which results in the largest RSRP measurement on the associated reference signal beam. Thus, the UE only transmits the beam which has the largest RSRP measurement among the beams N and transmits in the corresponding beam sessions. The transmit beam could be the one which is containing the corresponding beam information. In particular, the transmit beam of the standalone PSCCH can be the same as the Rx beam which results in the largest RSRP measurement.

[0071] FIG. 8 illustrates an example process flow 800 for beam reporting with standalone PSCCH. The process flow 800 can initiate at 810 with transmitting I receiving, via processing circuitry of the UE, reference signals or RSs corresponding to different transmit beams to establish a beam pairing and an SL unicast link for SL communication. At 820, a beam report can be transmitted or received with a standalone PSCCH based on an association between beam reporting dedicated slots and one or more resources corresponding to reference signal dedicated slots for the beam pairing with a selected transmit beam of thebeam report. At 830, an SL unicast link can be generated with the transmit beam of the beam report.

[0072] The beam reporting dedicated slot of the beam report can comprise a same number of transmit beams as the reference signals in a reference signal dedicated slot of a reference signal that corresponds to the transmit beam. A reference signal group that includes each of the reference signals with their associated beams can further correspond or be associated with the configuration of a beam reporting group with the beam report. The number of reference signal dedicated slots in the reference signal group can have a same number of beam reporting dedicated slots in the beam reporting group. The beam reporting group corresponds to a plurality of reference signal groups, in which a time gap between the reference signal group and the beam reporting group can be configured or preconfigured by a number of slots or other resource interval.

[0073] FIG. 9 is an example network 900 according to one or more implementations described herein. Example network 900 can include UEs 910-1 , 910-2, representative of Tx-UE1 and an Rx-UE2, as discussed here (referred to collectively as “UEs 910” and individually as “UE 910”), a radio access network (RAN) 920, a core network (CN) 930, application servers 940, and external networks 950.

[0074] UEs 910 can communicate and establish a connection with (be communicatively coupled to) RAN 920, which can involve one or more wireless channels 914-1 and 914-2, each of which can comprise a physical communications interface I layer. In some implementations, a UE can be configured with dual connectivity (DC) as a multi-radio access technology (multi- RAT) or multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), where a multiple receive and transmit (Rx / Tx) capable UE can use resources provided by different network nodes or base stations 922 (e.g., 922-1 and 922-2) that can be connected via non-ideal backhaul (e.g., where one network node provides NR access and the other network node provides either E-UTRA for LTE or NR access for 5G). In such a scenario, one network node can operate as a master node (MN) and the other as the secondary node (SN). The MN and SN can be connected via a network interface, and at least the MN can be connected to the CN 930. Additionally, at least one of the MN or the SN can be operated with shared spectrum channel access, and functions specified for UE 910 can be used for an integrated access and backhaul mobile termination (IAB-MT). Similar for UE 910,the IAB-MT can access the network using either one network node or using two different nodes with enhanced dual connectivity (EN-DC) architectures, new radio dual connectivity (NR-DC) architectures, or other direct connectivity such as an SL communication channel as an SL interface 912.

[0075] In some implementations, a base station (as described herein) can be an example of network node 922. As shown, UE 910 can additionally, or alternatively, connect to access point (AP) 916 via connection interface 918, which can include an air interface enabling UE 910 to communicatively couple with AP 916. AP 916 can comprise a wireless local area network (WLAN), WLAN node, WLAN termination point, etc. The connection 918 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 702.11 protocol, and AP 916 can comprise a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router or other AP. AP 916 could be also connected to another network (e.g., the Internet) without connecting to RAN 920 or CN 930.

[0076] RAN 920 can also include one or more RAN nodes 922-1 and 922-2 (referred to collectively as RAN nodes 922, and individually as RAN node 922) that enable channels 914-1 and 914-2 to be established between UEs 910 and RAN 920. RAN nodes 922 can include network access points configured to provide radio baseband functions for data or voice connectivity between users and the network based on one or more of the communication technologies described herein (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi, etc.). As examples therefore, a RAN node can be an E-UTRAN Node B (e.g., an enhanced Node B, eNodeB, eNB, 4G base station, etc.), a next generation base station (e.g., a 5G base station, NR base station, next generation eNBs (gNB), etc.). RAN nodes 922 can include a roadside unit (RSU), a transmission reception point (TRxP or TRP), and one or more other types of ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points). In some scenarios, RAN node 922 can be a dedicated physical device, such as a macrocell base station, or a low power (LP) base station for providing femtocells, picocells or other like having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells. In some implementations, satellites can operate as bases stations (e.g., RAN nodes 922) with respect to UEs 910. As such, references herein to a base station, RAN node 922, etc., can involve implementations where the base station, RAN node 922, etc., is a terrestrialnetwork node and also to implementation where the base station, RAN node 922, etc., is a non-terrestrial network node.

[0077] Some or all of RAN nodes 922 can be implemented as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of a virtual network, which can be referred to as a centralized RAN (CRAN) or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these implementations, the CRAN or vBBUP can implement a RAN function split, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) split wherein radio resource control (RRC) and PDCP layers can be operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and other Layer 2 (L2) protocol entities can be operated by individual RAN nodes 922; a media access control (MAC) / physical (PHY) layer split wherein RRC, PDCP, radio link control (RLC), and MAC layers can be operated by the CRAN I vBBUP and the PHY layer can be operated by individual RAN nodes 922; or a “lower PHY” split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers and upper portions of the PHY layer can be operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and lower portions of the PHY layer can be operated by individual RAN nodes 922. This virtualized framework can allow freed-up processor cores of RAN nodes 922 to perform or execute other virtualized applications, for example.

[0078] In some implementations, an individual RAN node 922 can represent individual gNB-distributed units (DUs) connected to a gNB-control unit (CU) via individual F1 interfaces. In such implementations, the gNB-DUs can include one or more remote radio heads or radio frequency (RF) front end modules (RFEMs), and the gNB-CU can be operated by a server (not shown) located in RAN 920 or by a server pool (e.g., a group of servers configured to share resources) in a similar manner as the CRAN / vBBUP. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more of RAN nodes 922 can be next generation eNBs (i.e. , gNBs) that can provide evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward UEs 910, and that can be connected to a 5G core network (5GC) 930 via a Next Generation (NG) interface 924.

[0079] Any of the RAN nodes 922 can terminate an air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for UEs 910. In some implementations, any of the RAN nodes 922 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 920 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. UEs 910 can be configured to communicate using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 922 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an OFDMA communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a single carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or SL communications), although the scope of such implementations cannot be limited in this regard. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0080] A physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) can carry user data and higher layer signaling to UEs 910. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. The PDCCH can also inform UEs 910 about the transport format, resource allocation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (e.g., assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 910-2 within a cell) can be performed at any of the RAN nodes 922 based on channel quality information fed back from any of UEs 910. The downlink resource assignment information can be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of UEs 910.

[0081] The PDCCH uses control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information, wherein a number of CCEs (e.g., 6 or other number) can consists of a resource element groups (REGs), where a REG is defined as a physical resource block (PRB) in an OFDM symbol. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching, for example. Each PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as REGs. Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the DCI and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1 , 2, 4, 8, or 16).

[0082] The RAN nodes 922 may be configured to communicate with one another via interface 923. In implementations where the system is an LTE system, interface 923 may be an X2 interface. In LTE networks, X2 and S1 interface are defined asthe interfaces between RAN nodes and between RAN and Core Network. 5G may operate in two modes as non-standalone and standalone mode. For non- standalone operation the specification defines the extension for S1 and X2 interfaces as for standalone operation as X2 / Xn for the interface between RAN nodes 922 and S1 / NG for the interface 924 between RAN 920 and GN 930. The interface 924 may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 922 (e.g., two or more eNBs I gNBs or a combination thereof) that connect to evolved packet core (EPC), the CN 930, or between eNBs connecting to an EPC. In some implementations, the X2 / Xn interface may include an X2 / Xn user plane interface (X2-U I Xn-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C I Xn-C). The X2- U I Xn-U may provide flow control mechanisms for user data packets transferred over the X2 I Xn interface and may be used to communicate information about the delivery of user data between eNBs or gNBs. For example, the X2-U / Xn-U may provide specific sequence number information for user data transferred from a master eNB (MeNB) to a secondary eNB (SeNB); information about successful in sequence delivery of PDCP packet data units (PDUs) to a UE 910 from an SeNB for user data; information of PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to a UE 910; information about a current minimum desired buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting to the UE user data; and the like. The X2-C / Xn-C may provide intra- LTE access mobility functionality (e.g., including context transfers from source to target eNBs, user plane transport control, etc.), load management functionality, and inter-cell interference coordination functionality.

[0083] Alternatively, or additionally, RAN 920 can be also connected (e.g., communicatively coupled) to CN 930 via a Next Generation (NG) interface as interface 924. The NG interface 924 can be split into two parts, a Next Generation (NG) user plane (NG-U) interface 926, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 922 and a User Plane Function (UPF), and the S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 928, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 922 and Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs).

[0084] CN 930 can comprise a plurality of network elements 932, which are configured to offer various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 910) who are connected to the CN 930 via the RAN 920. In some implementations, CN 930 can include an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G CN, and / or one or more additional or alternative types of CNs. The components of the CN 930 can be implemented in one physicalnode or separate physical nodes including components to read and execute instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non- transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0085] As shown, CN 930, application servers 940, and external networks 950 can be connected to one another via interfaces 934, 936, and 938, which can include IP network interfaces. Application servers 940 can include one or more server devices or network elements (e.g., virtual network functions (VNFs) offering applications that use IP bearer resources with CN 930 (e.g., universal mobile telecommunications system packet services (UMTS PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). Application servers 940 can also, or alternatively, be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., voice over IP (VoIP sessions, push-to-talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UEs 910 via the CN 930. Similarly, external networks 950 can include one or more of a variety of networks, including the Internet, thereby providing the mobile communication network and UEs 910 of the network access to a variety of additional services, information, interconnectivity, and other network features.

[0086] In an aspect, the UEs 910-1 and 910-2 can operate to receive or transmit reference signals via different transmit beams for beam pairing before an SL unicast link establishment. A beam report of an initial beam reporting can be then transmitted by an Rx-UE and received by the Tx-UE with a standalone PSCCH based on measurements of the reference signals and an association between a reference signal and a transmit beam of the beam report. An SL unicast link can then be established via the SL unicast link establishment based on the beam report. The UE 910-1 or 910-2, as an Tx-UE or Rx-UE, respectively, is configured to process, perform, generate, communicate or cause execution of any one or more combined further aspects described herein or in association with any of the FIGs. 1 through 8 and 10.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 10, illustrated is a block diagram of a UE device or other network component / device 1000 (e.g., V-UE / P-UE, loT, gNB, eNB, base station or other participating network entity I component). The device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010 (e.g., one or more baseband processors) comprising processing circuitry and associated interface(s), transceiver circuitry 1020 (e.g., comprising RF circuitry, which can comprise transmitter circuitry (e.g., associated with one or more transmit chains) and / or receiver circuitry (e.g.,associated with one or more receive chains) that can employ common circuit elements, distinct circuit elements, or a combination thereof), and a memory 1030 (which can comprise any of a variety of storage mediums and can store instructions and / or data associated with one or more of processor(s) 1010 or transceiver circuitry 1020).

[0088] Memory 1030 (as well as other memory components discussed herein, e.g., memory, data storage, or the like) can comprise one or more machine-readable medium / media including instructions that, when performed by a machine or component herein cause the machine or other device to perform acts of a method, an apparatus or system for communication using multiple communication technologies according to aspects, embodiments and examples described herein. It is to be understood that aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium (e.g., the memory described herein or other storage device). Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media or a computer readable storage device can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transitory medium, that can be used to carry or store desired information or executable instructions. Any connection can be also termed a computer-readable medium.

[0089] Memory 1030 can include executable instructions, and be integrated in, or communicatively coupled to, processor or processing circuitry 1010. The executable instructions of the memory 1030 can cause processing circuitry 1010 to receive or transmit reference signals via different transmit beams for beam pairing before an SL unicast link establishment. A beam report of an initial beam reporting can be then transmitted by an Rx-UE and received by the Tx-UE with a standalone PSCCH based on measurements of the reference signals and an association between a reference signal and a transmit beam of the beam report. An SL unicast link can then be established via the SL unicast link establishmentbased on the beam report. The device 1000 is configured to process, perform, generate, communicate or cause execution of any one or more combined aspects described herein or in association with any of the FIGs. 1 through 9.

[0090] While the methods described within this disclosure are illustrated in and described herein as a series of acts or events, it will be appreciated that the illustrated ordering of such acts or events are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. For example, some acts can occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and / or described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts can be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the description herein. Further, one or more of the acts depicted herein can be carried out in one or more separate acts and / or phases. Reference can be made to the figures described above for ease of description. However, the methods are not limited to any particular embodiment, aspect or example provided within this disclosure and can be applied to any of the systems I devices I components disclosed herein.

[0091] It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

[0092] The present disclosure is described with reference to attached drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures and devices are not necessarily drawn to scale. As utilized herein, terms “component,” “system,” “interface,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and / or firmware. For example, a component can be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller, or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet PC and / or a user equipment (e.g., mobile phone, etc.) with a processing device. By way of illustration, an application running on a server and the server can be also a component. One or more components can reside within a process, and a component can be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. Aset of elements or a set of other components can be described herein, in which the term “set” can be interpreted as “one or more.”

[0093] Further, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon such as with a module, for example. The components can communicate via local and / or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and / or across a network, such as, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or similar network with other systems via the signal).

[0094] As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, in which the electric or electronic circuitry can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors can be internal or external to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein to execute software and / or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, the functionality of the electronic components.

[0095] Use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Additionally, in situations wherein one or more numbered items are discussed (e.g., a “first X”, a “second X”, etc.), in general the one or more numbered items can be distinct,or they can be the same, although in some situations the context can indicate that they are distinct or that they are the same.

[0096] As used herein, the term “circuitry” can refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), or associated memory (shared, dedicated, or group) operably coupled to the circuitry that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry can be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry can be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry can include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

[0097] As it is employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” can refer to substantially any computing processing unit or device including, but not limited to including, single-core processors; single-processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic controller, a complex programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions and / or processes described herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance performance of mobile devices. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0098] Examples (embodiments) can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine- readable medium including instructions that, when performed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like) cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described herein.

[0099] Moreover, various aspects or features described herein can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer- readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROM, card, stick, key drive, etc.). Additionally, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term “machine-readable medium” can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instruction(s) and / or data. Additionally, a computer program product can include a computer readable medium having one or more instructions or codes operable to cause a computer to perform functions described herein.

[0100] Communications media embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

[0101] An exemplary storage medium can be coupled to processor, such that processor can read information from, and write information to, storage medium. In the alternative, storage medium can be integral to processor. Further, in some aspects, processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Additionally, ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, processor and storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the processes and / or actions of a method or algorithm can reside as one or any combination or set of codes and / or instructions on a machine-readable medium and / or computer readable medium,which can be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0102] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding Figures, where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below.

[0103] In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations of the disclosure. In addition, while a particular feature can have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature can be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as can be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:1 . A baseband processor configured to, when executing instructions stored in a memory, perform operations comprising: receiving one or more reference signals associated with one or more respective transmit beams; selecting a transmit beam from the one or more transmit beams based on the one or more reference signals; providing a beam report to a radio frequency (RF) interface for transmission on a standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) based on the one or more reference signals and an association between the selected transmit beam and the beam report; and establishing a sidelink (SL) unicast link via the RF interface based on the beam report.

2. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more reference signals comprise sidelink synchronization signal blocks (S-SSBs) or sidelink channel state information reference signals (SL CSI-RSs).

3. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving the one or more reference signals within reference signal dedicated slots of a reference signal group.

4. The baseband processor of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving the one or more reference signals with a first time gap between neighboring reference signal dedicated slots and a second time gap between reference signal groups.

5. The baseband processor of claim 3, wherein the association includes an association between the selected transmit beam and a beam reporting dedicated slot, wherein a number of beam reporting dedicated slots in a beam reporting group is equal to the number of reference signal dedicated slots within each reference signal group, and wherein each reference signaldedicated slot within each reference signal group corresponds to one beam reporting dedicated slot; wherein the operations further comprise providing the beam report during the beam reporting dedicated slot.

6. The baseband processor of claim 5, wherein the operations further comprise: providing the beam report within one or more symbols of the beam reporting dedicated slot based on the association.

7. The baseband processor of claim 3, wherein at least one of: a number of reference signals within each reference signal dedicated slot, a number of reference signal dedicated slots within each reference signal group, or a number of reference signal groups within each reference signal and beam reporting period are configured or preconfigured.

8. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: providing the beam report for transmission in a beam reporting dedicated slot using a same sub-channel or a same frequency domain resource as a reference signal associated with the selected transmit beam.

9. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: providing the beam report for transmission in a beam reporting dedicated slot based on sidelink control information (SCI) associated with a sidelink channel state information reference signal (SL CSI-RS) transmission or a sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB) transmission associated with the selected transmit beam, wherein the SCI indicates a frequency location for the beam report in the beam reporting dedicated slot.

10. The baseband processor of claim 9, wherein the SCI is associated with the SL CSI-RS transmission, and wherein the SCI includes at least one of: a priority, an SL CSI-RS frequency resource assignment, an SL CSI-RS time resource assignment, an SL CSI-RS resource reservation period, an SL CSI-RS resource index, a Source ID, or a Destination ID.11 . The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the beam report is included in sidelink control information SCI.

12. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: providing the beam report for transmission on only one PSCCH session of a beam reporting dedicated slot, wherein the transmit beam of the PSCCH session utilizes a same beam resource as a receive beam associated with a largest reference signal receive power (RSRP) measurement among candidate resources of a resource pool.

13. A method for a user equipment (UE) comprising: transmitting one or more reference signals using one or more respective transmit beams to establish a sidelink (SL) unicast link; and receiving a beam report on a standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH); determining a selected transmit beam from the one or more transmits beams based on an association between the one or more reference signals and the beam report; and establishing the SL unicast link based on the selected transmit beam.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more reference signals are transmitted in one or more reference signal dedicated slots, wherein the beam report is received in a beam reporting dedicated slot of one or more beam reporting dedicated slots, and wherein the association includes an association between the one or more reference signal dedicated slots and the one or more beam reporting dedicated slots.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmissions in a beam reporting dedicated slot that are associated with different symbols for different transmit beams respectively; wherein the beam reporting dedicated slot comprises a plurality of standalone PSCCH sessions, with each PSCCH session comprising a pre-defined or (pre)configured number of PSCCH symbols, an automatic gain control (AGC) symbol, and / or a gap symbol using a single receive beam.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the beam report comprises sidelink control information (SCI) with a number of standalone PSCCH transmissions in a beam reporting dedicated slot for beam reporting, wherein the number of standalone PSCCH transmissions is (pre)configured per resource pool having one PSCCH format and one sub-channel frequency with contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs).

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving the beam report using a receive beam that is a same beam as the transmit beam indicated in the beam report.

18. A user equipment (UE) comprising: radio frequency (RF) circuitry; and one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored in a memory to cause the UE to: receive one or more reference signals associated with one or more respective transmit beams; selecting a transmit beam from the one or more transmit beams based on the one or more reference signals; transmit, via the RF circuitry, a beam report on a standalone physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) in a beam reporting dedicated slot based on the one or more reference signals and an association between the selected transmit beam and the beam report; and establish a sidelink (SL) unicast link based on the beam report.

19. The UE of claim 18, wherein the association includes an association between one or more beam reporting dedicated slots and one or more reference signal dedicated slots, configured based on a same number of transmit beams.

20. The UE of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors further cause the UE to: transmit the beam report using a same sub-channel or a same frequency domain resource as a reference signal associated with the selected transmit beam.

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